Captivate/Android questions

[toonman]

I just stopped using a BB Bold 9000 (trackball crapped out)
I replaced it with an Iphone 4 and am not happy with it so it will be going back to AT&T.

I am really interested in the Captivate (I like the Atrix but don't have time to wait for it to release)

I have some things I want to find out about the captivate and android first and thought this would be easierthan rooting through 100's of posts looking for each question (all based on stock firmware/non rooted)

1) Can I use separate tones for different email accounts, text mms messages, etc (of my own choosing, not just built in ones like the iphone)

2) are there different sound profiles that can be created (loud, quiet, phone calls only, etc)

3) and problems with reception (as in iphone 4 not being able to be held like a normal phone)

4) how hard is it to get outlook 2007 to sync contacts & Calendars with Kies or another free program (without transferring everything to gmail) I use outlook for everything and this is a key point for me (outlook for personal use, not exchange)

5) is email push (for gmail and non gmail accounts) or do you have to set up download intervals

6) Transferring photos/music/etc will Kies cover that or does the phone just show up as a hard drive on windows 7

7) Does voice dial work from a blue tooth headset

8) Does GPS now work? I remember reading some stories that it was hit or miss

9) (last one I promise) when the phone rings through the blue tooth headset, does it play your ring tone or just a generic ring (Iphone plays ring tone, the BB I had just was a standard ring)

Thanks in advance

 

[s2h2golf]

I just stopped using a BB Bold 9000 (trackball crapped out)
I replaced it with an Iphone 4 and am not happy with it so it will be going back to AT&T.

I am really interested in the Captivate (I like the Atrix but don't have time to wait for it to release)

I have some things I want to find out about the captivate and android first and thought this would be easierthan rooting through 100's of posts looking for each question (all based on stock firmware/non rooted)


Thanks in advance

I can only answer a couple of these questions since 1) I check email through my phone on an as needed basis - I do not push email; 2) I do not use bluetooth as the speaker phone works great for me when I am driving; and 3) I am running a custom 2.2 ROM and haven't used stock in so long I do not remember exactly what you can and can't do with 2.1.

1) Can I use separate tones for different email accounts, text mms messages, etc (of my own choosing, not just built in ones like the iphone)

You can create custom ringtones for different contacts, but I believe you can only have one ringtone for notifications.

2) are there different sound profiles that can be created (loud, quiet, phone calls only, etc)

I believe there are apps that let you emulate what you can do with profiles in BB, but I am not 100% sure. The Captivate has a pull down notification bar that lets you switch to vibrate with one simple tap. That's all I use.

3) and problems with reception (as in iphone 4 not being able to be held like a normal phone)

My wife has a iPhone 4 and I have had a BB Bold, Samsung BlackJack and various other ATT phones. The Captivate maybe drops one call a month as compared to 2-3 calls a day with the other phones I have used from ATT. If you want to root your phone and go with a custom ROM, there are other modems that can be flashed to your phone that improve signal strength and data speeds.

4) how hard is it to get outlook 2007 to sync contacts & Calendars with Kies or another free program (without transferring everything to gmail) I use outlook for everything and this is a key point for me

This was my biggest disappointment with Android. Outlook was my best friend and I did not want to have to sync everything up with Gmail just to get my contacts and calendar on my phone, but in the end that's what I had to do. I have a program called gSyncit (costs $14.99, but was well worth it) that automatically syncs all of my calendar appointments and contacts with my work email (on Outlook) to a Gmail account that I created. The good thing about going this route is that if anything crashes in Outlook, I always have a backup with Gmail. Plus, if I get a new Android phone, all I have to do is add my Gmail account and I automatically have everything on there.

Now, HTC has a program called HTC Sync that allows you to do this without any extra programs. I had an Aria for a while when it first came out, but I never could get the program to work right with my phone. My co-worker has a HTC Hero and he says it works great with his phone.

5) is email push (for gmail and non gmail accounts) or do you have to set up download intervals

I think push is available for Gmail, but not other email accounts that you add to the stock email app. However, I believe there are other email apps out there that have that capability.

6) Transferring photos/music/etc will Kies cover that or does the phone just show up as a hard drive on windows 7

I believe at one time Kies allowed you to do this, but the program has now been switched to a more compact version that only pushes updates out to your phone (not sure on that). You can always sync everything through iTunes and then using one of the iTunes apps available through the Market, you can sync all of that wirelessly through your phone.

When you connect your phone to your computer, it shows up as removeable media.

7) Does voice dial work from a blue tooth headset

I believe this is a feature only available with 2.2, and even then it is sketchy. Some use Vlingo for this purpose and from what I understand it works OK, but not as well as it supposedly works with BB.

8) Does GPS now work? I remember reading some stories that it was hit or miss

My GPS works great, but some of the batches that were made had horrible GPS and regardless of the tweaks and custom ROMs, the GPS never worked right. If you get a Captivate, get a new one and not one off of eBay. As mentioned before, there are custom ROMs that include new modems that seem to have an effect on how well your GPS works - the ROM I am on right now locks well and tracks well.

9) (last one I promise) when the phone rings through the blue tooth headset, does it play your ring tone or just a generic ring (Iphone plays ring tone, the BB I had just was a standard ring)

Not sure on that one.

Good luck on your purchase - I really enjoy Android and do not miss having to do a battery pull once a week just to get my BB working again.

 

[loraque]

1. Yes, you can set separate tones for each email account you have, and it can be separate from the default notification tone. SMS can also use a unique tone. By default, all apps use the default notification tone, but it can be changed easily.

2. Default, you can only have normal and silent mode. There are probably apps for this.

3. There is no special handling, or rubber insulators required for the Captivate to function properly as a phone.

4. Outlook sync, which I assume you mean personal sync and not Exchange based on your post, will require more work than if you were using Gmail. Honestly, your best bet here is to use a Gmail account as the intermediary and still use Outlook as your client (you can pop or imap to gmail easily). Yes, this is a pain in the short run, but I am trying to save you more pain in the long run. Android uses the default Gmail account on the phone for a great deal of the experience... you will be swimming upstream trying to avoid it. I suggest more of a merger. Check out the sync tools from Google for syncing outlook to gmail.

If you do use Exchange email, the app Touchdown is probably your winner. Just FYI, the reason this is sort of a pain on Android and not on the iPhone, is because Apple paid Microsoft big money for the programming interface for Outlook/Exchange, and that goes against the Android Way.

5. Gmail is push, email is interval. Works reliably enough, it seems like push.

6. Your phone will show as removal storage, so easy drag n drop.

7. BT headsets work, but if you mean click the button on the headset, say "call my woman", no, that does not work on stock Captivate. Loading a custom 2.2 ROM based on the i9000 (European model, aka base model) it does work. You can push Vlingo or Voice Search on the Captivate and tell it to call your woman, but you need to talk at the phone (speakerphone) for it to work stock. Annoying, but this is one of the "bugs" that exists in the US version.

8. GPS is still hit or miss. I highly recommend that you get your phone from the store, and make it clear up front that you will be testing the GPS outside the store before you take it home. Chances are, you will be fine first try... but take the time to be sure. Open up Google Nav while outside and make sure it finds you within a minute or so. The real problem with GPS is drifting however, and there is no good way to test that without driving around. Test this early and exchange it if you have to.

9. Can't say on this one. My BT is through my car, so it does its own thing when the phone rings.

 

[toonman]

Thanks for the answers so far, it looks like this will do most of what I want it to do (biggest issue being outlook)
I updated my original post as I'm not using exchange, just outlook for personal use (using gmail and 2 other non gmail accounts)

 

[valueman]

When I migrated from BB to android I was in the same boat with regard to Outlook. I hated it at first, but now I haven;t even thought about it in months.

I got a free program from Google that synchs my Outlook calender with my gmail calender, and it works great.

For email I use k-9 mail. You could also just use gmail to check your other email accounts, but I like the features in k9.

I am rooted and run Froyo, but voice dialing through the BT does not work for me. I really don't miss it though because the voice commands in 2.2 work great. I long press the search button and just say "Call Bill Smith mobile" and it does it.

 

[toonman]

I've been trying to get Kies to work to sync with outlook, it will only sync 2 contacts.
the bigger problem is after I disconnect the USB cable I loose internet access.
I always have to reboot the phone to get wifi, bluetooth and internet access working again

Also I can't seem to get my Win7 PC to connect to the phone via bluetooth, the phone & pc show up in both devices but it will never pair up

anyone else have these problems?

 

[DroidXcon]

http://forum.androidcentral.com/members/loraque.html
http://forum.androidcentral.com/members/s2h2golf.html

I have pushed the thank you button to both of these responses, as they were lengthy and thoughtful answers. i appreciate people that take their time to patiently answers others concerns

 

[loraque]

I've been trying to get Kies to work to sync with outlook, it will only sync 2 contacts.
the bigger problem is after I disconnect the USB cable I loose internet access.
I always have to reboot the phone to get wifi, bluetooth and internet access working again

Also I can't seem to get my Win7 PC to connect to the phone via bluetooth, the phone & pc show up in both devices but it will never pair up

anyone else have these problems?

Search google, gmail in particular, for Outlook to gmail sync tools. This should be done from your computer, not your phone. Once you sync the contacts to your gmail, and you have your gmail setup on your phone, all your contacts will sync. If you continue to use Outlook for your primary Contacts repository, you will need to run the sync tool from time to time,

This should remove your need from ever running kies, which should remove the data access reboot phone problem. Not sure on pairing to a PC as I have not done that, just to my car.

 

[musthavemuzk]

new here so this is of alot of interest to me.
currently on alltel waiting on the att merge to happen.
using a bb tour now, been on blackberry for cpl years now, ordered my captivate the other day.

so many things to figure out about android.

while i do have a gmail account i really only use if for a few things. so far it is spam free and i like it that way.
i only have it set up on my ipod touch and that is fine by me.
i use hotmail as my main day to day email. is that easy to set up on android without using gmail?

i do not use the FB apps and do not not have twitter.
i just want to take my contact list from my tour to my captivate when it is time to do that. can that be done without gmail?

i do like the various ring/vibe settings on my tour. it seems i have some learning to do on getting that on my captivate when it comes. i do use rings for calls from contacts as well as rings for messages from contacts. i like knowing who it is before i even touch my phone.

just starting here and seeing what i can learn before i get android phone in my hands

Monty

 

[loraque]

Sounds will be easy to manage like you have been.

I strongly recommend you do not try to avoid using your Gmail account. You can have both on there, but if you want the EASIEST way to get your contacts on your phone, EXPORT them from hotmail and IMPORT them in Gmail, Gmail is the easiest way to get this done, it will be more headache any other way you do it. You can setup your Hotmail account easily enough using the standard email client, but I am not certain how the contact sync will work from the standard email client... probably not as well as Gmail.

No need to stop using your Hotmail account, but I would utilize your gmail as your master list for contacts, and sync it to Hotmail from there. It will be seamless on your phone this way.

 

[musthavemuzk]

been reading a little each day on making this switch to the captivate from BB.
wish i had more time as well as the captivate in hand to actually understand what i am reading, but i think reading in advance will help me in the end.

i have no plans to root or anything like that. i just want things to work and not have the pauses and such i have experienced with my BB.

i will keep reading and be back on here when i have questions.

i spent a little time in the last cpl days lookin at other android forums......no impressed. guess i will go with my first instinct in thinking this is the place to fo for good info.

thanx

Monty