[APP] auto-mate first showing of features - Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games

Hi all
I've been a member of XDA for a while (have a hero and been on the villanrom builds since they began). But I am a developer full time and so I have decided to start in Windows Phone 7. I know silverlight, I know .NET so why not.
I have started the company 'Infinite Monkey Theorem' and this is a showing of the first application.
auto-mate. This app allows you to record your cars stats at each fuel up and service to allow you to view statistics about your cars. This app will also allow you to setup service types (months or miles) and the app will schedule them for you taking into account your mileage per year. MOT and Tax renewals are stored and show when they are close.
The reason for this app is this: I drive 24,000 miles / year which means that I need to maintain the car more than just a yearly service, this app will tell me when I need to change my oil or have a minor/major service based upon the miles I drive per year and the miles I'm doing recently allowing me to budget for it accordingly.
This app syncs to the cloud so you can look over all the cars you are monitoring from your office and export the information or book a service.
This app is in beta at the moment, it is not feature complete as I need you to be able to say you have done your MOT or Tax but its almost there. Of course with it syncing to the cloud there is a cost, that I MUST pass on somehow. I looked into Ads but Microsoft in thier wisdom only allow thier ad framework in america so Im out (UK). But I'm thinking of a free version that has ads (in future) and does not sync to cloud. Thoughts on what you would/might pay for this app would be greatly appreciated.
The future of the app?
Well I am planning a pro version which is for business mileage and will export from the web site allowing business travellers to fill out expense forms. But there are lots to add to this app as well.
Take a look at the vid and let me know what you think.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tyw_ivcygk
Njoy.

id add light comercial vans upto 3.5tonnes as many courier use wm devices so many will upgrade to wp7

Love it and it looks superb. I dont know what you can and cannot do in regards to apps interacting with other features of the phone. But the option to put a reminder in the calendar or a pop up one month before the tax is due or service is due etc I think would be really beneficial (liked I said not sure if MS will let you do that though)
The only other thing I can think of is a field it enter a monetary value for the top up. So you put 44.66 litres in and it cost £70 for instance. You could maybe track this in the same way the MPG are, but as a Pence, or cent etc per mile.
In regards to price, there are alot of apps/games I have seen for say £2.99 that I refuse to pay for (bejwelled for one) but this I would pay for. Im not sure what price you were expecting but Id happily pay £2.99 for it which seems the average.
I know you have spoke about the cloud but is it possible to export the information to PDF or excel etc and then have the users email this to themselves, this would cut your costs but again I dont know whats allowed
Good Luck and I look forward to this being released.

4 or 5 euro isn't a bad prize .
if you could put in lpg and diesel blend (trucks that run on diesel and lpg ) then this app would be the hammer .
it would also be nice if you could ad your own car/truck .
lets say I have a scania R420 and I am driving on diesel and lpg , I would want to know if I am saving money .
normally a truck uses 32 litre of diesel every 100 KM
now it uses 22 litre of diesel and 10 litre of LPG
Diesel: costs 1 Euro
LPG: costs 0.50 Euro
it would be nice if your app could calculate my savings per 100 KM .
if you could make that happen you would have a winner .
Greetings Cees.

looks great! i would be willing to pay $5-7 for it without adds. I would also be willing to beta test for you as i am picking up a samsung focus on monday.
Keep up the good work, hopefully we will see this app in the market soon!

App showing in other games on my phone
I bought the app yesterday and couldn't find it. Today I noticed in other games. Should I uninstall and resync? I pinned to start for now.
thanks for what looks like a good app. Have another question. I have a csv file exported from a program I was using on my iphone. Any way of exporting or manually entering almost two years of data online vs the phone? You also mention website. Was is the url so I can check it out.
Thanks,
Johnny

Looks like a decent app but it also shows up in other gas for me

Thanks for comments
Hi all
Thanks for the comments, aint been on here in a while. Dont know why its showing in the games section, I've downloaded the trial and it shows in the normal menu, have purchase it and try it that way.
Answers:
1) Cost of fueling up will be coming in an update (not long)
2) Putting final touches to website then its live. it will be at www.infinitemonkeytheorem.co.uk You will be able to do everything you can do on the phone but see more information and view multiple car details over each other
3) Had to do some changes to the app to see the charts better, this is coming real soon.
4) will be adding fuel type soon.

barryallott said:
Hi all
Thanks for the comments, aint been on here in a while. Dont know why its showing in the games section, I've downloaded the trial and it shows in the normal menu, have purchase it and try it that way.
Answers:
1) Cost of fueling up will be coming in an update (not long)
2) Putting final touches to website then its live. it will be at www.infinitemonkeytheorem.co.uk You will be able to do everything you can do on the phone but see more information and view multiple car details over each other
3) Had to do some changes to the app to see the charts better, this is coming real soon.
4) will be adding fuel type soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I put it to my phone using a developer account its in the normal place. Strange

jgibo said:
I bought the app yesterday and couldn't find it. Today I noticed in other games. Should I uninstall and resync? I pinned to start for now.
thanks for what looks like a good app. Have another question. I have a csv file exported from a program I was using on my iphone. Any way of exporting or manually entering almost two years of data online vs the phone? You also mention website. Was is the url so I can check it out.
Thanks,
Johnny
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could try uninstaling and resyncing, as its all stored online you just re log back in.

acky85 said:
Love it and it looks superb. I dont know what you can and cannot do in regards to apps interacting with other features of the phone. But the option to put a reminder in the calendar or a pop up one month before the tax is due or service is due etc I think would be really beneficial (liked I said not sure if MS will let you do that though)
The only other thing I can think of is a field it enter a monetary value for the top up. So you put 44.66 litres in and it cost £70 for instance. You could maybe track this in the same way the MPG are, but as a Pence, or cent etc per mile.
In regards to price, there are alot of apps/games I have seen for say £2.99 that I refuse to pay for (bejwelled for one) but this I would pay for. Im not sure what price you were expecting but Id happily pay £2.99 for it which seems the average.
I know you have spoke about the cloud but is it possible to export the information to PDF or excel etc and then have the users email this to themselves, this would cut your costs but again I dont know whats allowed
Good Luck and I look forward to this being released.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One idea I have going is that as the data is stored online, I should be able to send a message to the phone when a service / mot /tax is due and the pic will go amber and show a 1.
The thing i'm working on right now is auto-mate (offline edition). The basic functionality of keeping track of your vehicle, store when your tax/mot is, and it will schedule the services for you, but all offline. becuase of the zero cost to me, it will be priced low. thinking £0.75...
Hope to have that out in a week.

Just checked and microsoft has put it under games, when I specifically said Tools and it was under tools originally.???
Nice one microsoft.
I could e-mail microsoft to change this but I'll just do an update which will fix it. Sorry for it being in the wrong place, not my fault.

Glad to hear. I just tried uninstall and reinstall and it didn't work. I hope I can enter my 2 years of data easily on the website. Can't see doing that on the phone. I could just get a new car and start over Those new 5.0 mustangs are nice. Add sync and I would be a happy camper

Prepare to be one happy camper, now im not saying now, im not saying in 1 week but excel import/export is always a step in the process

Just to let you know, an update was sent to microsoft over the weekend. This update will put the app back in the apps list. Include better charting, bug fixes. And ability to send error reports on some errors if they happen

Thanks for the update. Finally moved from under Games. When will the web site be up? I still haven't entered my previous data. Have been hoping to do it online and sync to phone.

Its in alpha now.... Beta next then live.

I just realized after putting in my second entry that I can't enter how much per tank or price per gallon. Any chance you will be adding this?

Yes, this is coming in an update.

Clicking on the historical button for miles/week shows the graph for MPG?
Also, whenever I enable the live tile, save the settings. The marker always goes back to disabled?

Related

money managing app

does anyone know of a top money managing app that does NOT ask for my bank/credit accounts? i want basically an offline to manually add myself the amounts. i had http://www.ascendo-inc.com/Money.html for the longest time on my blackberry and still use the desktop version but cant sync it to my android because its not made for android. im looking for a replacement that is basically the same thing. would be a great bonus if it has a desktop version also! the market has really failed for me in categorizing and sorting and i have had way better results by asking the users here.
Its called EasyMoney. Great UI and a ton of functionality.
The dev is responsive and he promised me the features i requested.
Its $10. You can purchase a license through paypal if you don't have access to paid apps. The price might sound a little high, but trust me, its well worth it.
Unlimited accounts with what ever currency you want, transfer between accounts, recursive transactions, graphs and so on.\
A 10 day trial is available i think. Go for that at first.
ok for that price its way better then 30 and addtional 10 for updates on my old blackberry. will try them and hope they can provide a desktop client in the future. thanks for the reply!

Free GPS tracking app that works on android and iphone?

My fiancee is leaving for vacation in a few weeks and I wanted to get a gps tracking app in case her iphone should get lost or stolen. I would like one that works for android too so i could have one account for both our phones. I thought about google lattitude but i dont see that iphone gets that. Any ideas?
ukulele_ninja said:
My fiancee is leaving for vacation in a few weeks and I wanted to get a gps tracking app in case her iphone should get lost or stolen. I would like one that works for android too so i could have one account for both our phones. I thought about google lattitude but i dont see that iphone gets that. Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only one that I know of for the iPhone that is a sure thing is mobileMe. $99 though, but it's for the year, plus it'll back up just about everything on the phone too, so if anything does happen to it, it'll be backed up.
As far as android, I was using lookout, it's free in the market. Simple web interface, and it too will back up a bunch of your info, as well as find your phone.
krakerx said:
The only one that I know of for the iPhone that is a sure thing is mobileMe. $99 though, but it's for the year, plus it'll back up just about everything on the phone too, so if anything does happen to it, it'll be backed up.
As far as android, I was using lookout, it's free in the market. Simple web interface, and it too will back up a bunch of your info, as well as find your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ill check out mobileme for me, theres no way im paying $100 for the iphone program though. I just want something that you can pull up say, 'hey theres my phone' and be done.
While iOS4 finally allows location to run in the backgroud, I think it only allows pre-running location to run. Meaning the program would have to be started by her any time her phone resets, constantly be tracking the phone, and would wear out the battery super fast. I could be wrong on this, but I have never personally come across an app store program that could do this.
If your wifes phone is jailbroken, there are a few apps that do this in a much better way. Ilocalis is supposed to be one but I never got around to trying any of them when I had my iPhone. Hope this helps!
Suggest you to try Fameelee - Family Locator app. It works in background, highly accurate and drain 3% of the battery life only.
Give it a try and you will be addicted to it.
Fameelee said:
Suggest you to try Fameelee - Family Locator app. It works in background, highly accurate and drain 3% of the battery life only.
Give it a try and you will be addicted to it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry but i couldn't find any app for iOS. This seems to be another nice app
.....
I found some apps
Labour Sync: This GPS tracker app eliminates the need for paper timesheets with automatic reports that can be customized and filtered by employee, job and time frame. You can see exactly how much time is being spent on a particular project.
+ Android
+ AppStore
+Apk file
Hubstaff: Time tracking and GPS verification
+ Android
+ AppStore
+ Apk file
Hope it will help.

Some questions from a HTC HD2 user before swaping

Hi I consider buying HD7, I am owning HTC HD2 now, cld u answer my questions pls.
how is HD7 compared to HT2
- Call recording - can some1 test VITO Audio Notes 1.38, does it record both sides?
- Battery Live - HD2 must be charged every day
- playing avi and other formats - no problem at all with HD2 (useing TCPMP)
- email - HD2 can record only on phones memory, so I use Profimail which is much better then original one.
- any navigation? garmin and iGo 8 works perfect on HD2
- is Cookie working on HD7?
- Facebook? working properly?
- Myspace? (not working on HD2)
- Word? (full version?)
- any English dictionares?
Thank you!
I came from a HD2
If i you are a gadget freek and like to play with new things, then go for it. But if you want something that can do everything and not parts then stick with the HD2.
I wish i had waited until things pick up a bit before jumping ship, i would say wp7 isnt ready yet. Ok the basics work but thats about it.
I think your expectations aren't quite right.. Windows Mobile 6.5 apps won't work under WP7. Nevertheless, my thoughts:
- Call recording - can some1 test VITO Audio Notes 1.38, does it record both sides?
Can't find this in the WP7 marketplace
- Battery Live - HD2 must be charged every day
For me, that's true with the HD7, although I've only had it 2 days, and battery life tends to get better after a week or so.
- playing avi and other formats - no problem at all with HD2 (useing TCPMP)
I've not had any problems aside from FLAC so far, but it's probably only a matter of time before apps are out which can play more formats.
- email - HD2 can record only on phones memory, so I use Profimail which is much better then original one.
I've not seen any email apps. I'm happier with the defailt WP7 email experience, compared that that on WM6.5
- any navigation? garmin and iGo 8 works perfect on HD2
Nothing in the marketplace yet, although Bing maps does support rudimentary navigation -- not turn-by-turn though.
- is Cookie working on HD7?
No, and it won't - MS have blocked any changes to the main interface.
- Facebook? working properly?
The Facebook app is one of the most impressive ones I've seen on WP7 to date.
- Myspace? (not working on HD2)
Can't see a myspace app, although the web browser is pretty impressive. I don't use myspace myself, so can't comment on how the website appears.
- Word? (full version?)
There's a Word app -- it'll read pretty much anything you throw at it, but if you start from scratch, it's just a glorified notepad, to be honest.
- any English dictionares?
The SMS app and Word will autocorrect, and underline mistakes.
Thank you guys. I will wait then a month or so, if there is still a lack of applications I will get Nokia E7.
Has anything changed after a month?
Ive still got my HTC HD2, had N8 for a week but it was a crap, considerind HD7
Pls answer the question from post nr1
Cheers
I wish I could change. I already sold my HD2. I really am regretting it. I'm tired of people saying it a brand new OS and give it some time. I think MS sold a barebones OS just to follow the Apple business model. Meaning only add things if the masses demand it.
I still believe in Windows mobile compared to Windows Phone. i think WM was and is still way ahead of it's time. Windows Mobile was MS vision of bringing or taking the PC Mobile; multi tasking and all.
However we live in an AOL Walled garden world which works. People really don't like options. They do want things to work but just don't like to choose. I'm ranting I know but WP7 seems to always get me ranting these days.
I'll hang with MS on this one. I know they're in for the long haul but things really aren't looking good.
alabij said:
I wish I could change. I already sold my HD2. I really am regretting it. I'm tired of people saying it a brand new OS and give it some time. I think MS sold a barebones OS just to follow the Apple business model. Meaning only add things if the masses demand it.
I still believe in Windows mobile compared to Windows Phone. i think WM was and is still way ahead of it's time. Windows Mobile was MS vision of bringing or taking the PC Mobile; multi tasking and all.
However we live in an AOL Walled garden world which works. People really don't like options. They do want things to work but just don't like to choose. I'm ranting I know but WP7 seems to always get me ranting these days.
I'll hang with MS on this one. I know they're in for the long haul but things really aren't looking good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree, bare bone or not, there is many basic functions which are missing.
To me it seems like they released it unfinished. Or for 12 year old girls who want to keep up with face book, i mean look at the color options for the tiles?
Not one male color.
Also I get the whole live tiles, but how different are they from apps. only diff is they are bigger then ur avg app icon ( negative feature ) , and they update, whoopty do, u can set software to display updates on the app icon on any of the OS we see now ( if the developers wanted to), but things like alarm or that I have a new message, I dont need a huge tile to tell me, I have to scroll down twice to see if my alarm is set cause my phone, contacts, sms, and 4 email account tiles ( cause u cant view all 4 from one area, you have to have them separate) are all in the way.
The old small tile bar up top of the screen which told you your signal strength, network, battery and a little alarm bell, was very effective, first rule of good business, dont change what works.
But great features like assignable favs from phone book to access are missing
Im ranting to, and I'm ranting cause if they think this OS is what ppl want then they need to fire their R&D
I know I know its new, its in development, when some one tells me something is new and in development I think of a door way to a building, it opens, it closes, it has a door handle, a lock with a key access, hinges, screws, paint, glass, sealed and their working on the art on the glass and adding thumb print access.
OS 7: they gave us a piece of wood with some glass, some slippery stuff to make it very smooth and said "hold on the hinges will be here in a month". but feel free to stare at the ppl tile as your friends faces rotate on them and tell u when little jimmy is updating his face book status cause he went poop.
Sorry guys just expected more, I know read the past its been talked about, well i have not read it, I though it would be an upgrade from HD2 6.5, instead we went back wards.
They just made it more slick, so slick its empty.
Fair enough, it's not for you, but I would totally disagree about it being a step back.
I think they've got a real winner on their hands. Android is already out there for people who want to tweak to their hearts content, have access to the entire OS, and have a slightly unstable phone as a result.
MS have instead produced a focussed, useable platform that does what it says it will. It provides functionality within one or two presses of the screen, it all integrates very nicely and hangs together well. It's easy and intuitive to navigate, and it VERSION 1!!!
This expectation that a brand new, from the ground up, piece of software will be fully featured and working perfectly is utterly unrealistic. Name me one piece of software that has EVER met those criteria?!?!
In fairness to MS, they have taken the decision to release what works, rather than throw in a few extra features that need a couple more months development and will be buggy and generally drag the whole experience down. They have stated that there will be regular updates, and we have no reason to think that they won't be true to their word. As long as they keep to that, and fill in the functionality then they will have a great OS on their hands.
For those complaining that it doesn't do what WM did, it's not meant to - hence why it's called windows phone rather than mobile - it's not meant to be a pocket PC anymore. Also, MS have said that they will be aiming to make the phone more business friendly with future releases next year - right now it's not intended to be a business machine, that's why WM6.5 hasn't been scrapped.
Personally, as much as I love android, I quickly got bored of it - it tries to be all things to all people, and suffers as a result. It's still a great OS, but it's not what I want. I've been following the development of WP7 for a long time, and had a few chances to play with it at MS events, and it really is fantastic. We all knew it didn't have cut and paste, we all knew it doesn't multi-task, so why oh why do people buy it and then complain about these missing features - it's like buying a bike, then complaining that it's got two wheels missing?!?!
WP7 does what it does very well, it's that simple.
rob_p said:
Fair enough, it's not for you, but I would totally disagree about it being a step back.
I think they've got a real winner on their hands. Android is already out there for people who want to tweak to their hearts content, have access to the entire OS, and have a slightly unstable phone as a result.
MS have instead produced a focussed, useable platform that does what it says it will. It provides functionality within one or two presses of the screen, it all integrates very nicely and hangs together well. It's easy and intuitive to navigate, and it VERSION 1!!!
This expectation that a brand new, from the ground up, piece of software will be fully featured and working perfectly is utterly unrealistic. Name me one piece of software that has EVER met those criteria?!?!
In fairness to MS, they have taken the decision to release what works, rather than throw in a few extra features that need a couple more months development and will be buggy and generally drag the whole experience down. They have stated that there will be regular updates, and we have no reason to think that they won't be true to their word. As long as they keep to that, and fill in the functionality then they will have a great OS on their hands.
For those complaining that it doesn't do what WM did, it's not meant to - hence why it's called windows phone rather than mobile - it's not meant to be a pocket PC anymore. Also, MS have said that they will be aiming to make the phone more business friendly with future releases next year - right now it's not intended to be a business machine, that's why WM6.5 hasn't been scrapped.
Personally, as much as I love android, I quickly got bored of it - it tries to be all things to all people, and suffers as a result. It's still a great OS, but it's not what I want. I've been following the development of WP7 for a long time, and had a few chances to play with it at MS events, and it really is fantastic. We all knew it didn't have cut and paste, we all knew it doesn't multi-task, so why oh why do people buy it and then complain about these missing features - it's like buying a bike, then complaining that it's got two wheels missing?!?!
WP7 does what it does very well, it's that simple.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats the problem, we all didnt know, not all of us have been following this thing all this time or its development nor have the time to, but there is basic features which are expected in any phone to have in 2010 era.
Im sorry but not having cut and past on a phone which is all about media is rediculas, it should be part of the code, and its not complicated code, they know how to do it, but if you notice, there is an app out there you can buy that will do it for you. Hence, Microsoft has decided to bank on the app market vs the phone OS sales by giving us nothing and charging us for what we want.
What I predict in the upcoming updates? very basic things, everthing else that we want, that should be part of the basic OS will be available to buy, I dont blame them, it makes perfect sense.
For example, I over slept today, since there is only one setting for volume, I set my phone on vibrate over night so that if I have that one client who just cant wait till 9am to talk to me and calls at 6:30 i dont get woken up, but since the alerm sound is now not working, i sleep right through my 7:30 am alarm.
So the general person would say but no one else needs that, put it ringer on ring, cause most of us wont get calls at 6am right. Say you want to take a mid day nap cause ur head still pounding from going out the previous night, you need your alarm to wake u up but when that girl you chilled with last night calls you five times cause she is emotionaly unstable you dont want to hear it. How would you set that up?
Every phone since, hell 2002 I have seen have the ability to set different ring type and volume on alarm then the master one.
Thats a simple basic feature.
Things like that is what botheres me about this phone, like they forgot to put it in as they rushed it out the door for the holiday season so they can sell them for xmas
@Rysksy
Give it up dude- copy and paste will be in Jan update, along with other stuff. God knows what you did with the alarm but my WP7 phone is set to vibrate for calls and texts and full volume for music/ alarms etc. Press the volume key and you'll see how to do it.
Fair enough to complain about valid concerns, but the comments you are making sound like you haven't actually got one and would just like to have a moan about things which are either well documented and will soon be fixed, or aren't in fact an issue. If you loathe it so much why not sell it (if indeed you do own one), and buy a HD2 again with cash left over?
monkeybutler365 said:
@Rysksy
Give it up dude- copy and paste will be in Jan update, along with other stuff. God knows what you did with the alarm but my WP7 phone is set to vibrate for calls and texts and full volume for music/ alarms etc. Press the volume key and you'll see how to do it.
Fair enough to complain about valid concerns, but the comments you are making sound like you haven't actually got one and would just like to have a moan about things which are either well documented and will soon be fixed, or aren't in fact an issue. If you loathe it so much why not sell it (if indeed you do own one), and buy a HD2 again with cash left over?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the HD2 and the HD7, money is not the issue, id spendn 800$ on the N8 or E7 if I could test it before I got it, just no Nokia dealers in my city.
There is not many alarm settings, and when u press the volume key, your options is to either tune the level of ring up or down, or press in top right corner to go to ring or vibrate, there is no profile selection.
When I set my phone to vibrate, the alarm does not sound, it goes off, in a nice vibrating kind of way, but not sound. That is a bit frustrating, for the fact that some times I need to have alarm wake me up but not my calls or messages, dont have that kind of a setting, heck no setting to keep media volume separte from ringer volume, same problem HD2 had to, if I want to watch a movie I turn the volume up in hte movie, then I get a call and it blares at full volume. Those should be independent of each other.
I am not bitter, I just feel that we were given a half finish OS, lots of promises and not much delivered, but they are capitalizing on us buying things from the market to temp fix what we need. And having to wait for update, they know that most of us have 14 days from the time we buy to return, so they set the new release way out, so that every one is stuck with phone if they dont like it, maximize profits for the holidays, very smart of them.
If i was a car maker, i would not put a car on the market, and say " hold on doors coming soon"
Thats all I am saying
Wait a sec....
rysky007 said:
I have the HD2 and the HD7, money is not the issue, id spendn 800$ on the N8 or E7 if I could test it before I got it, just no Nokia dealers in my city.
There is not many alarm settings, and when u press the volume key, your options is to either tune the level of ring up or down, or press in top right corner to go to ring or vibrate, there is no profile selection.
When I set my phone to vibrate, the alarm does not sound, it goes off, in a nice vibrating kind of way, but not sound. That is a bit frustrating, for the fact that some times I need to have alarm wake me up but not my calls or messages, dont have that kind of a setting, heck no setting to keep media volume separte from ringer volume, same problem HD2 had to, if I want to watch a movie I turn the volume up in hte movie, then I get a call and it blares at full volume. Those should be independent of each other.
I am not bitter, I just feel that we were given a half finish OS, lots of promises and not much delivered, but they are capitalizing on us buying things from the market to temp fix what we need. And having to wait for update, they know that most of us have 14 days from the time we buy to return, so they set the new release way out, so that every one is stuck with phone if they dont like it, maximize profits for the holidays, very smart of them.
If i was a car maker, i would not put a car on the market, and say " hold on doors coming soon"
Thats all I am saying
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am a phone whore and have used just about every mobile platform available and many many many phone devices as well.
I currently have a Samsung Vibrant, HD2 and HD7 and here's my take.
This is not the first phone to come out unfinished and it probably won't be the last. All versions of Apples Mobile OS to this very day have been released with some major feature missing or a ton of bugs. This is really nothing new.
I've been using Android since the G1 and I can remember when many people scoffed at the platform. No one is laughing at Android now.
My HD2 is a pretty phone with a ****ty OS and I hacked and flashed custom ROMs on that thing from day one. My Android devices (all of them) though awesome, have also been customized, Rooted and flashed with all kinds of ROMs. When I used iPhones, I jailbroke them all. Heck, even my iPad is jailbroken right now.
There is no level playing field and there certainly is no perfect phone.
These things take time.
Now granted, some things in Windows phone should probably have been added from jump, e.g. Cut & Paste, but we all know that's coming sooner rather than later.
Regardless, this is a very polished platform that obviously has a lot of room for growth and amazing potential.
The question is can you be patient enough to wait a few weeks/months, or are you going to keep kvetching over the situation?
Once you answer that question, I'm pretty sure your next step will become clear to you
HD7 Really?
So, I got a HD2. . . It has been a decent phone for a few weeks(I got way fed up with my 3G iPhone and found a straight across trade).
It's the usual WMO OS, decent at best. Quite stable, but the menus are just. . . . Well, WMO.
Now, I just ordered the HD7. I called t-mobile and they just wanted to give me this thing. I added a line and renewed a contract and they gave me 2 HD7's for 300 Bucks on some loyalty BS.
So, I went to the T-mobile store to play with it before it got here.
Seriously what gives?
No Background
The tiles look idiotic(the rendering is nice, I guess)
Is there even a file management system?
SPB Shell will not work on it
Can you access the files in a removable storage format?
I guess that about covers it. . . Geez, it's like the iPhone OS in the early days.
rysky007 said:
I have the HD2 and the HD7, money is not the issue, id spendn 800$ on the N8 or E7 if I could test it before I got it, just no Nokia dealers in my city.
There is not many alarm settings, and when u press the volume key, your options is to either tune the level of ring up or down, or press in top right corner to go to ring or vibrate, there is no profile selection.
When I set my phone to vibrate, the alarm does not sound, it goes off, in a nice vibrating kind of way, but not sound. That is a bit frustrating, for the fact that some times I need to have alarm wake me up but not my calls or messages, dont have that kind of a setting, heck no setting to keep media volume separte from ringer volume, same problem HD2 had to, if I want to watch a movie I turn the volume up in hte movie, then I get a call and it blares at full volume. Those should be independent of each other.
I am not bitter, I just feel that we were given a half finish OS, lots of promises and not much delivered, but they are capitalizing on us buying things from the market to temp fix what we need. And having to wait for update, they know that most of us have 14 days from the time we buy to return, so they set the new release way out, so that every one is stuck with phone if they dont like it, maximize profits for the holidays, very smart of them.
If i was a car maker, i would not put a car on the market, and say " hold on doors coming soon"
Thats all I am saying
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
do not know how to google???
Everything you complain about has been covered ad nauseum on the web for MONTHS!!!!
It's not MS's fault you didn't do your homework.
Maybe if you need to put your phone on vibrate when you sleep you should invest in a 10 dollar alarm clock. I've used the same one for over a decade, batteries last about 2 years in it.
If you are within your 2 weeks, I suggest you return the phone.
And FYI, you can adjust the ringer and media volumes separately on the hd2. It's obvious you didn't do your homework on that one either.
samson_420 said:
So, I got a HD2. . . It has been a decent phone for a few weeks(I got way fed up with my 3G iPhone and found a straight across trade).
It's the usual WMO OS, decent at best. Quite stable, but the menus are just. . . . Well, WMO.
Now, I just ordered the HD7. I called t-mobile and they just wanted to give me this thing. I added a line and renewed a contract and they gave me 2 HD7's for 300 Bucks on some loyalty BS.
So, I went to the T-mobile store to play with it before it got here.
Seriously what gives?
No Background
The tiles look idiotic(the rendering is nice, I guess)
Is there even a file management system?
SPB Shell will not work on it
Can you access the files in a removable storage format?
I guess that about covers it. . . Geez, it's like the iPhone OS in the early days.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once again, a little research before you buy electronics goes a long way.
nrfitchett4 said:
Once again, a little research before you buy electronics goes a long way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very true, I got it just because it was cheap. It will most likely be sold due to these issues.
But, come on. . . You can't tell me these issues should not be resolved before a OS is released. Some of these issues are unreasonable.
nrfitchett4 said:
do not know how to google???
Everything you complain about has been covered ad nauseum on the web for MONTHS!!!!
It's not MS's fault you didn't do your homework.
Maybe if you need to put your phone on vibrate when you sleep you should invest in a 10 dollar alarm clock. I've used the same one for over a decade, batteries last about 2 years in it.
If you are within your 2 weeks, I suggest you return the phone.
And FYI, you can adjust the ringer and media volumes separately on the hd2. It's obvious you didn't do your homework on that one either.
Once again, a little research before you buy electronics goes a long way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually I never said that you cannot do it on HD2, thats one of the features I liked on the HD2, so you miss read my statement as I said that since the HD2 had the feature why not HD7.
Im glad that its been covered and beaten up for months on thousands of diff forums. And I will give you the same answer I gave the other person who made that comment. When I buy a car, I dont spend hours on line to research if it comes with brakes and doors. I research if it has a certain adapter or feature, but usually a quick glance to their site or call to dealer can solve that issue.
I dont have time to spend on line reading the thousands of posts.. which i did do a little research about it before I got one, and sorting through the clutter of personal reviews did not answer the question of what it does and does not have.
Especially since many of the posts were, "I took the fuzzy picture the guy took at the private release that was leaked to us and photo shopped it and rendered it 3d view and it looks like there is a small hole for something but I cannot tell what"
Until the product is released and played with, you will never fully know what it does and does not have. Things like cut and paste which many complained about is not a big deal for me. But alarm features, select all, and view multiple email accounts from one place i did not see discussed, why? cause its not important to most avg users who spend hours a day on google or face book,
I run two businesses, time is limited.
^ Yup. . . . So far from what I have seen of this new WMO Phone it is a fail. They really bit the big one on this. The only way I can use this device is if they release a serious update.
I recently had my HD2 stolen, so for the time being, I have had to go back to my old Orbit. I am so jealous of you guys with multiple phones and OSs
Anyway, to get to the point. I was totally in love with my HD2 and am a long time WinMo user and fan. But now I have the chance to look around for a new phone. Sorry, but iPhone doesn't even come into the equation. I have an iPod Touch and that has put me off the whole iOS. So that leaves only Symbian, Android and WP7. And you can kick Symbian off the list as I don't like the look of the OS. So, Android or WP7.
The beauty of the HD2 was that you can run it with Android, so I have already had a lot of use and fun out of that OS. It is smart and polished and with a lot of regular updates to keep it fresh and up to the minute. A serious contender in the replacement market.
My only experience with WP7 is 10 mins playing with it in a T-Mobile shop the other day and from what I have read here and on other sites. As many say, iOS started off the same; bare-bones with room for more as and when the public cry loud enough for it. But those 10 mins playing with it in the shop didn't give me a lot of faith in it. Yes, it's very fluid and slick, but the eco-system is too restrictive, just like the iPhone. And from Microsoft, I expected more... much more. They had 10 years of WinMo experience which in my opinion, they decided to pass up on and follow the Apple route. Copy and paste may not be something everyone uses, but the world scoffed at Apple for not having it until the 3Gs came along. The tiles on the "home" screen are an excellent idea, for a quick glance at what's new, but you could do the same with WinMo with one or two added apps (or just use Titanium, which also told you you had new mails, messages, etc).
In conclusion, I would most likely be replacing my HD2 with a new HD2. OK, WinMo may be old hat and a bit awkward, but with HTCs Sense it runs like a charm. And if I want Android, I can run that too. And who knows, maybe in the not too distant future there will be a WP7 port for it too. The perfect phone for me!
samson_420 said:
Very true, I got it just because it was cheap. It will most likely be sold due to these issues.
But, come on. . . You can't tell me these issues should not be resolved before a OS is released. Some of these issues are unreasonable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I and most other users don't find anything "unreasonable" missing. It makes calls, texts, emails, plays music, videos, games, has office integration.
rysky007 said:
Actually I never said that you cannot do it on HD2, thats one of the features I liked on the HD2, so you miss read my statement as I said that since the HD2 had the feature why not HD7.
Im glad that its been covered and beaten up for months on thousands of diff forums. And I will give you the same answer I gave the other person who made that comment. When I buy a car, I dont spend hours on line to research if it comes with brakes and doors. I research if it has a certain adapter or feature, but usually a quick glance to their site or call to dealer can solve that issue.
I dont have time to spend on line reading the thousands of posts.. which i did do a little research about it before I got one, and sorting through the clutter of personal reviews did not answer the question of what it does and does not have.
Especially since many of the posts were, "I took the fuzzy picture the guy took at the private release that was leaked to us and photo shopped it and rendered it 3d view and it looks like there is a small hole for something but I cannot tell what"
Until the product is released and played with, you will never fully know what it does and does not have. Things like cut and paste which many complained about is not a big deal for me. But alarm features, select all, and view multiple email accounts from one place i did not see discussed, why? cause its not important to most avg users who spend hours a day on google or face book,
I run two businesses, time is limited.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Time is limited, yet you can't read one review before you buy a phone, yet can post 20 times what you hate about it afterwards. You probably buy an SUV, then complain to everyone when it gets 15mpg, like that is some unknown problem.....
[email protected] said:
I recently had my HD2 stolen, so for the time being, I have had to go back to my old Orbit. I am so jealous of you guys with multiple phones and OSs
Anyway, to get to the point. I was totally in love with my HD2 and am a long time WinMo user and fan. But now I have the chance to look around for a new phone. Sorry, but iPhone doesn't even come into the equation. I have an iPod Touch and that has put me off the whole iOS. So that leaves only Symbian, Android and WP7. And you can kick Symbian off the list as I don't like the look of the OS. So, Android or WP7.
The beauty of the HD2 was that you can run it with Android, so I have already had a lot of use and fun out of that OS. It is smart and polished and with a lot of regular updates to keep it fresh and up to the minute. A serious contender in the replacement market.
My only experience with WP7 is 10 mins playing with it in a T-Mobile shop the other day and from what I have read here and on other sites. As many say, iOS started off the same; bare-bones with room for more as and when the public cry loud enough for it. But those 10 mins playing with it in the shop didn't give me a lot of faith in it. Yes, it's very fluid and slick, but the eco-system is too restrictive, just like the iPhone. And from Microsoft, I expected more... much more. They had 10 years of WinMo experience which in my opinion, they decided to pass up on and follow the Apple route. Copy and paste may not be something everyone uses, but the world scoffed at Apple for not having it until the 3Gs came along. The tiles on the "home" screen are an excellent idea, for a quick glance at what's new, but you could do the same with WinMo with one or two added apps (or just use Titanium, which also told you you had new mails, messages, etc).
In conclusion, I would most likely be replacing my HD2 with a new HD2. OK, WinMo may be old hat and a bit awkward, but with HTCs Sense it runs like a charm. And if I want Android, I can run that too. And who knows, maybe in the not too distant future there will be a WP7 port for it too. The perfect phone for me!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android doesn't get that many updates. It just seems that way because the android builds for the hd2 pull from all the android OS's. Most of them still haven't gotten an official 2.2 that has been released from google for months.
nrfitchett4 said:
I and most other users don't find anything "unreasonable" missing. It makes calls, texts, emails, plays music, videos, games, has office integration.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So does a much lower end phone. . . .
It will just take time as always for people that know what their doing to improve upon where the manufacturer has failed.

[Q] I was robbed last night!

Man what a weekend. For the last 6 months I've been working may ass off just trying to stay ahead of the game. I'm overworked and underpaid (who isn't these days) and it starting to take its toll. I'm making mistakes I would have never made before. Like last night. I fell asleep early and the dog woke me up to go out. I took her out and in my dazed way back in neglected to lock the door.
I feel like a world class jackass but not for long. I'm looking for a security system. I need something advanced and am hoping among all the techies here there's some experience and advice on where to start looking for the best system.
Things I know I want/need are sensors for all windows, motion detectors, automatic light control, some fixed cameras, some 360 degree cameras. Oh and of course I will need an android app to interact and control the system.
In my case this was my own fault for not locking my door but it really hit home how unsecure my house really is. I have barely a line of defense and its time to get with the program. Even if I had locked the door there were still a number of unsecured entry points into my home.
So does anyone have any experience with home security? Do you have any suggestions on where to start? Have you come across any systems in tech blogs and such that look promising?
I'm beginning to research into all this as we speak but this is unfamiliar territory for me. I'm a tech Guy like you but home security has never been an interest till now. If you have anything to offer as far as what to get, what to do, and what not to do it will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
I've never tried an Android-based home security system, but I don't see why not. For example, you could install a Schlage LiNK™ system. There's also Alarm.com and ElkDroid. I suppose other home automation tools might be useful.
But, um... are you planning to take your Nook Color with you while you walk the dog? These apps require network access; if you plan to stray more than ~20m from your house, you'd probably need a portable access point. Of course, it's not a problem if you plan to monitor your home while you're at the office (with network access).
Good luck!
Thanks for the reply and links to look into. You made a good point about not having network access to my Nook on a dog walk. I guess in that situation I would use my android phone instead. But while at home since my nook is my go to device I would use it. I don't think the system needs to be android based but I would like an app that would let me monitor the security cameras, turn on and off lights, and be notified of opened doors and windows.
The system needs to be a hardwired system and if possible also be capable of wireless. Maybe I'm going to have to pick one or the other but I haven't figured that out yet. I'm probably going to start out small and cover the most important aspects first so the system would also need to be expandable.
I began searching the net yesterday for information regarding home security. Theres alot! Hopefully as I research and begin making my choices in equipment and monitoring I will update this thread to maybe help others. What ever I choose Android will be a part of the system.
Best security system you can get on a budget is a Foscam camera.
luke121 said:
Best security system you can get on a budget is a Foscam camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you mind sending me a pm about foscam? My restaurant just got broken into and I'm looking for an economic and proficient way to watch or protect.
Thank you in advance!
Sent from my unrooted Galaxy Tab.
I was robbed last night
I know the feeling well. I've been broken into twice. As a result, I called Brinks and had a system installed. But I kept forgetting to set the alarm and it was costing me $35.00 a month. So I began looking for other alternatives. In the search, I discovered all kinds of DIY things I could do to safeguard my house. So I ended up with a self defense website. You can install door and window alarms, surveillance systems, ect. There is actually a barking dog alarm that really works. A local woman had one and was able to scare an intruder off. I'm sure she thinks it was worth every penny she paid for it.
I was robbed also, about 4 years ago.
They made off with a new 24" iMac, WiFi printer, Gateway laptop, my old ass 8 year old PC with a 15" CRT monitor that I used to run Mandrake and other flavors of Linux on. They also managed to locate my backup hard drive in the kitchen.
I have worked as freelance Web Development & Design for years and lost a ton of work, clients respect and reliability.
I now have two remote backup hard drives (my moms house and my friend) with automation scripts that run nightly.
I use Dropbox on my two Android™ phones + my Nook + my desktop PC + my clients PCs.
As for home security: I no longer advertise on my vehicle, nor promote myself on the streets, I carry the minimum amount of cash, only carry one credit card, don't wear any jewelry, and talk to my children about the dangers of strangers, open the front door, etc.
Plus we have the peace of mind having electronic home security, motion sensors, door + window sensors, etc.
The geek in me wants to install a few webcams throughout the house, front yard, back, etc. and have access to view them via https via one of my websites.
But that'll have to wait.
I have 2 Panasonic Network Cameras with audio. You can monitor the cams on your Android phone with an app. There is a way to set it up for motion detection too.
Thanks for the replies. I'm still searching for the best system to meet my needs. We did check into ADT but I'd hate to pay the 35 dollars a month bill when we have the tech today that would make proffesional monitoring a waste. They do provide the equipment and install which is nice though.
Isn't there some kind of security enthusiast sites like a maximum PC or Tg daily. A site that could get me better informed of my options?
IFLATLINEI said:
Thanks for the replies. I'm still searching for the best system to meet my needs. We did check into ADT but I'd hate to pay the 35 dollars a month bill when we have the tech today that would make proffesional monitoring a waste. They do provide the equipment and install which is nice though.
Isn't there some kind of security enthusiast sites like a maximum PC or Tg daily. A site that could get me better informed of my options?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The best security I know is, no one can steal your stuff if its all on fire.
For a real serious system that is also open to DIY, I'd strongly recommend the Elk Products M1G Gold system.
A great site to learn more is from http://www.cocoontech.com
Can do extensive home automation as well if that's your wish.
Awesome! Thank you.

Soonr app

The market has a Soonr Workplace app, which allows collaboration of work. Has anyone tried it yet, and does it allow annotation of all kinds of files with the S Pen, which is what the Soonr app is supposed to do?
When i looked into it, it seams to be a trial software package, after 30 days its a months fee....ouch.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium
Hmm...thanks! Someone on the market commented that it's a virus or something.
Well, I'm hoping the Soonr app comes out soon as it's free! Or if there are some mods/apps that allow annotating of microsoft documents with the S Pen.
Its free because its a trial period, then you pay monthly.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium
holgalee said:
The market has a Soonr Workplace app, which allows collaboration of work. Has anyone tried it yet, and does it allow annotation of all kinds of files with the S Pen, which is what the Soonr app is supposed to do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i think no , the soonr app for the Galaxy note is called Soonr scribble and its "comming soon" according to samsung , they have videos of that app on youtube , but i just couldnt find it anywhere , guess we will have to wait.
on the other hand , u can annotate PDFs using ezpdf , i find it not that productive and quite annoying sometimes with ezpdf (due to small issues that require tweaking) , hope soonr scribble will be the best all in 1 annotation app for the GNote
Yes, it's quite cumbersome and altogether exasperating trying to annotate using EZPDF. It's great for just about everything except that!
You know what? I was poking around the S Choice app today when I saw Soonr Scribble listed for sale. There was a note to register online* for the free version (go to www.soonr.com/galaxynote) of the app, but when I did so, I received the message that I will be informed once the app is publicly released.
I hope it comes sooner rather than later, pun intended!
BTW, you need to click on the phone rather than the red register free trial icon on the top right corner. That's for Soonr Workplace I believe.
been a wild goose chase trying to get the soonr scribble. when i registered earlier, all i got was the other soonr software and was told that i would be able to get soonr scribble soon.
just a couple of days ago, i saw it on the samsung apps costing several dollars with a caveat that if i register at soonr, i would be able to download a free copy. but when i wrote in to soonr about the free copy, their response was that they do not know when samsung and market is gonna release it and it is beyond their control. Plus they did not address my concern about where I could download a copy, as samsung had said. What a confusion.
I don't mind paying for the app but just needed to get a trial version first lest it be a junk piece of software. With market at least there is a 15 min trial period but currently scribble is on samsung apps which does not have a trial period. right?
You're right. I don't mind paying as well but want to try it our first. Thanks for sharing your experience with us
Please everybody who have tried Soonr app, give their review or just opinion about the features of this application! I hope that it can annotate ppt and pptx files directly with S pen so that Galaxy Note can be used as a general tool for presentation.
Hi guys.
Soonr Scribble allows you to annotate in any major Microsoft Office format (.doc/x, .xls/x, .ppt/x) as well as .PDFs.
The app is free for a limited time. Signing up for a free 30 day trial account will include 5GB of storage and allow 2 seats and 2 guests. You can always upgrade storage and team-sizes to fit your needs.
We expect to full go live within a week or so and will keep everyone updated.
Thanks for the reply, Soonr! I can't wait! It's been announced on CES.
Hmm...I just chatted with Ryan on Soonr's website and he says it should be out end of the month. Yay!
Now it's been the end of the month, but still no news about Soonr Scribble for Galaxy Note. Why it takes too long time?
I don't know either. Smoothing out some bugs I suppose...
Hope they keep to their word. I've been checking S Choice and Samsung Apps twice a day for the past few days.
Soonr Scribble
I was just checking on the market to see if it showed up, IT DOES!!!!
But... not letting me download it yet, says its not compatible with any of my devices:
check out the link and let me know if you can download:
https://market.android.com/details?...t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5zb29ucnNjcmliYmxlIl0.
confirmed "No compatible device found"
Soonr Scribble Now available on Android Market, Get it while its Free!!!!
Once installed, you will need to create an account with them using an email address before you can use the app, have not used the app yet so cant comment on how good or bad it is.
Thanks, Hasc. I'm the OP and I downloaded the app this morning! It's available on the android market as well as via Samsung apps.
Before you can use the app, it will download a What is Soonr.ppt file (7.3MB). It took me a while to realise that (You'll also need to register for an account first.) So you do need to have your Wifi or 3G turned on. Be forewarned that if it's free Wifi that you're using, the downloading can take quite a while.
After you have scribbled on the file, you will also need Wifi or 3G to upload (=update) the file. I chose "Save for offline use in settings", and it updates the file once I turn on my Wifi.
I think the app works fairly well though I would have preferred a tutorial or a more helpful screen than what you see when you first start out. I'll also like to see an eraser instead of just an undo button, as I can't make changes after the file is updated. Scribble to text conversion will also be great, and I hope that's not a pipe dream!
Any thoughts about this app? I haven't used it much, frankly, so I would like to hear from others.
Had a quick play with it on the GNote (Scribble version) and it does work well and seem useful BUT I personally think the pricing is too high (unless you are guaranteed to use it frequently enough to justify it of course).
I might be interested if there was a "per GB" pay as you go model, but wouldn't be using it enough to justify EUR 9.99 a month minimum.
Uninstalled already!
so far i have *not* found it to be user friendly...i could not seem to get it to work by just playing around.
there seems to be a battery drain with the program too.
after one day, i uninstalled it. i was particularly disappointed as i was very much looking forward to the program.

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