General Android Questions

[Exiled Bulldawg]

I would like to convert to Android, however, when I tried the Droid in November I had some general issues. I took the phone back, because of the first problem. My carrier is VZW, and I?m planning on staying with Big Red. If I could get some answers to the following questions, I would appreciate it!

1. When I had the Moto Droid, it constantly chirped for new messages in my Yahoo! e-mail account . It was set to poll the POP3 account every 10 minutes for new mail. When it detected any UNREAD message it would chirp. This despite the total number of unread messages not changing. This was a major annoyance as the phone chirped at night. And because not every message is read immediately. The VZW sales rep said, ?that?s how it is.? Has this been fixed, or do other Android phones not do this?
2. Is there a way to setup something similar to the profiles on the Blackberry? It was a handy way to control rings, email notifications, etc for different times of the day.
3. Is there any Android phone that senses the holster, sort of like a Blackberry does? I like the option of the phone not dialing while in the holster and vibrating first.
4. Can Android phones tether? The Droid couldn?t last November.
5. Can the icons change for instance weather app icons update for conditions?

I went back to my Curve while the phones were sorted out. Since, I have transferred my most important mail to Gmail, but still need to access Yahoo!. I would appreciate any information. Thanks!

 

[weirdkid]

4. They can Tether, Verizon might charge you for it though.

5. Yes, the widgets update according to the time intervals you set it to.

 

[takeshi]

Don't assume that everything you want has to be out-of-the-box. I really don't understand why so many people have that mindset. That said:

1. You really should have looked for an app to schedule your notifications. Another possibility could be to find an email app that gives you more control over the email notifications so you're not notified for every single message. Again, don't assume it's stock-or-nothing.
2. Not exactly but, again, there are profiles apps out there that come fairly close. I'm currently using Profiles by egg n stone.
3. Nope. Magnets are used to place the Droid in the dock modes. You can lock the device before holstering though.
4. With PDAnet. Not officially supported by VZW though.

 

[Exiled Bulldawg]

Thanks for the replies! Since I posted this, I have had a chance to play with an Eris for a few hours. I have found some new information.

1. When I had the Moto Droid, it constantly chirped for new messages in my Yahoo! e-mail account . It was set to poll the POP3 account every 10 minutes for new mail. When it detected any UNREAD message it would chirp. This despite the total number of unread messages not changing. This was a major annoyance as the phone chirped at night. And because not every message is read immediately. The VZW sales rep said, ?that?s how it is.? Has this been fixed, or do other Android phones not do this?
   UPDATED INFORMATION: Trying the HTC Eris out, I found it DOES not alert unless the message count changes. The Moto Droid appears to only notice if an UNREAD message is in the in box. While I wouldn?t mind a third party app, I prefer to stay stock with the core functions of a phone.
2. Is there a way to setup something similar to the profiles on the Blackberry? It was a handy way to control rings, email notifications, etc for different times of the day.
   See the post above by Takeshi.
3. Is there any Android phone that senses the holster, sort of like a Blackberry does? I like the option of the phone not dialing while in the holster and vibrating first.
   The answer I have found so far, is no. There is no sensor in any of the phones for a holster.
4. Can Android phones tether? The Droid couldn?t last November.
   Supposedly there is a fix coming.
5. Can the icons change for instance weather app icons update for conditions?
   On the Droid Eris, yes. On the Moto Droid, I dunno.

It would appear that many of my issues with Android were related to the roughness of the Moto Droid and choices the designers made were less than thought out. HTC is on their third or fourth Android phone, and they seem to have a better handle on the device settings. I think I have found my next phone platform!