newb, have read faqs. few questions though

[whats_tour2]

hello i've got my lovely samsung moment couple days ago and i have to say WOW. Coming from a blackberry curve 8330, i feel like ive been living under a rock. I'm glad that i didn't wait for tour2/bold for sprint. however I do have few questions though. I've searched this forum, but couldn't find any answers i need.

1. does samsung moment have an led indicator? it says it should have light sensor but mine doesn't work. is there a secret to activating it?

2. Does the moment have spell check? one thing i miss about my blackberry.

3. My bb curve used to get EVDO signal all the time, but it looks like moment has trouble looking for it? is this also normal?

4. I know this phone wont push any emails, except for gmail. but it doesnt even push my gmail.

5. Is there a way to hide a media file folder?

7. a friend told me that i should download an anti-virus for this phone. is this true?

6. Do I have a defective phone?

 

[arwild01]

Did you configure your gmail through the "email" application or through the "gmail" application itself. To get push you must do the latter. (Its a little confusing if you are new to Android because Sprint/Samsung choose to put the e-mail icon on the home screen).

I also switched from an 8330 after getting impatient waiting for the Tour2 and I don't think I could go back.

My signal quality is comparable (although I can now also use WiFi at home).

Would love to see others' responses to your other questions.

 

[waazzupppp#WN]

1) This is a two parter... a) Yes and No, the "LED Indicator" are the stupid keys at the bottom of the screen (the Home>Menu>Back buttons.) So, technically, yes it has one, but it's a pretty darn LOUSY one! b) The light sensor works two ways: when you are on a call and it's pressed against your face, it will dim the screen and also when you have the screen brightness set to "Auto-Adjust" in settings, it will dim the screen in darker areas.

2) The Moment has 'predictive text' when you use the on screen keyboard in certain areas - messaging for example - but not when you use the slider!?! Go figure that one out... Third party apps like Docs to Go start working spell check back into things.

3) From what my Sprint Rep told me about the phone, it's signal strength with CL14 is not the strongest - mainly due to the fact they turned down the radio power a bit to increase the horrid battery life that many early users were experiencing. He said it should be better with the next MR. Take this with a grain of salt though, since we know how 'in the know' Sprint Reps usually are. You might also want to try updating your PRL's about once a week. It took a good week or two of doing it for mine to start pulling EVDO regularly at my home and office.

4) Gmail is the only program that 'pushes' email like the Berry system did. You can set up standard POP3 or IMAP emails in the standard program (although everyone I know recommends K9 Mail instead) and set them for as little as 5 minute pulling times.

5) Not really - you can bury the folder, but usually the gallery will find the items. I've heard there are 3rd party apps to replace the standard gallery apps, but I haven't tried any of them yet. Course, I don't have anything on my phone I want to hide either... lol

6) No, your phone isn't defective, it's probably just not set to the way you want it. BlackBerries are set up so anyone can turn it on and use it. Android is so open with limitless options that you can set it up a billion different ways. Take your time and have some fun with settings - you may find that turning off your roaming gets rid of your EVDO search problem or setting the screen to auto gets rid of your light sensor problem.

7) Anti-Virus on a smartphone is a good idea. It does depend on how important your info is and how often you back it up. If you sync to your computer, remember, people can put a Trojan in a file you download on your phone and then poof - right on the old laptop when you get home. I know there's alot of talk about Android viruses, but I'm much more afraid of infecting my laptop off something from my phone than losing anything in my phone - but then again, I back up almost daily.

Overall, keep the questions coming as you get them, I'll do my best to answer them (I have a Ton of BB and WinMo experience, but I'm really just getting in to Droid). There's also a bunch of other users that can answer questions too.

 

[chibucks]

1. as zcarmen mentioned, the LED indicators are the three buttons on the bottom - however, not many applications employ them. there is a free app in the market called FlashNotify that works for the moment that flashes the lights (and the screen) whenever you get a text / missed call.

2. as zcarmen mentioned - yes. however, i think that incorporating the hero virtual keyboard has been better in terms of spell check and predictive text. under menu > settings > locale & text > android keyboard - you have options to turn it on/off.

3. what zcarmen daid.

4. actually - moxier mail allows push and it works faster than my company's server (i get e-mails faster) - the only thing is it's dependent on an exchange server.

5. yes - when you create the folder, start it with a "."

7. not needed yet (anti-virus)

6. nope - not defective.

 

[duratime]

New to Andriod (Friday will be two weeks)too, coming from BB Pearl, and Palm Pre. The Moment and Android do have some things that could be better, but overall, I'm really liking it. There is no competition in the email department when it comes to BB, they are the best I have used. Gmail is pushed on the Moment though, and if you can use that for your primary email, you should be happy. There are some really cool aps that I have found to make the phone more to my liking. I'm not a developer (far from it, I depend on this site to figure this stuff out) nor do I get any type of kickback for suggesting these apps. I found them by reading other's posts. I would suggest Handcent MMS for texting. I really like it, the pop up window allows quick responses. I also like Timeriffic, this allows you to set up some of the features of you phone to get changed based on the time and/or day of the week. For example, I have Wifi turned on at 5pm Mon-Fir, and turned off at 6am. But the best is, I have the email and text message notifications turned off from 10pm to 6am, so I'm not annoyed by the sound while I'm trying to sleep. I also like Calendar Pad (4x3 Month Widget). The best part is, I think they were all free! Just a couple of tips that I learned. Good luck.

 

[wkj]

Not sure if this is relevant but regarding the EVDO issue. I noticed that when the phone is idol, I get the little D under the data indicator (D meaning data unvailable). However, when I go to access anything requiring data, I get full EVDO almost immediately.

Maybe Sammy set the data to "sleep" until needed?

wkj

 

[whats_tour2]

thanks guys. seems like this place is actually more helpful and friendlier than crackberry.

I do find it weird that the manual says "light indicator", although its technically like a light sensor. so i thought it was equipped with led lights.

I'm pretty sure I am a minority on this one, but I don't have a battery problem, it lasts about good 12-13 hours of heavy texting and emails, also an hour or so on the phone. Might be because I don't surf the web much or play games. I do use App Killer.

My only regret is that I didn't get this phone sooner. My upgrade was offered in July/August of 09, but i was waiting for the tour2. When the news came out about rumored release date of June, I was done waiting.

 

[wkj]

Pretty decent battery life here too. I do charge every night out of habit rather than necessity.

wkj

 

[Hustletron]

Not sure if this is relevant but regarding the EVDO issue. I noticed that when the phone is idol, I get the little D under the data indicator (D meaning data unvailable). However, when I go to access anything requiring data, I get full EVDO almost immediately.

Maybe Sammy set the data to "sleep" until needed?

wkj

After reading your post I was noticing this too. I was also noticing it more so when I was actually using it and the battery was super low and close to dying, I think the phone might have some trouble functioning when it gets that far to depleted battery, I tried to send the same text message 3 or 4 times and it kept failing.