Question Smart Switch Alternative? - Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra

TL;DR: Is there an alternative to Smart Switch that will bring over App data?
I just upgraded from a Note9 to a S21 Ultra and I used Smart Switch to bring over some stuff. However, I was displeased to learn that Smart Switch doesn't bring over application data it just installs the app on the other side. I have a few games and chat apps that don't have cloud sync option so I don't know of a way to get the history over to the new phone. Samsung support confirmed that Smart Switch doesn't do that... But are there any apps out there that will?
To be clear, I'm not talking about "system" level stuff. My contacts, email and so on are through my Google Apps account and my text messages were brought over by Smart Switch... I'm talking about stuff like my Solitaire High Scores and puzzle game progress and so on. I'd rather not have to replay 500 levels of <insert digital addiction here>. I'd also like to avoid rooting for now if possible although I guess I'm not opposed in principle.
Thanks in advance!

Related

Questions... Help me understand

Ok, I'm stuck at work and our net was down today, so maybe I missed something, excuse me if I'm wrong.
I'm wondering about:
Xbox Live, me and my friends and some people I met on Game Center, we play COD(call of duty) Zombies, and we all chat it up while we're playing. You know like, "watch this door, and I'll watch this side", or "come help me". Basically it's Xbox Live on the phone. What I'm wondering is, has Microsoft mentioned this today? Any word on real time multiplayer gaming? Voice chats?
Next question. I read that the new mapping service has disabled voice navigation for all except Nokia. Is this true? I'll post links to this specific article later. That's a real bummer if true.
I read dragging and dropping is supported, and iTunes is supported. That's great.
I can't stop thinking about the new lock screen features and I can wait to try that out.
Any word on Google Talk being built in? It uses a open standard.
Next question, notifications. I know the star screen can be setup to view all of your information. However, what if I'm in a app doing something else? Any word on notification improvements?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
There is no new Chat or VoIP Services built-in to the system. Apps can extend the VoIP functionality though (and given that Skype does this which also uses Instant Messaging it should be doable with GTalk as well - but my guess is that Google again won't do anything).
The Maps-App does no longer integrate Voice guided navigation which was only available in the US anyway. Routing launches an App to do this. According to this post by Nokia in June Nokia Drive will be available for all WP8 devices: http://conversations.nokia.com/2012/06/20/nokia-drive-for-all-windows-phone-8-smartphones/ so that will most likely be launched from there.
Regular notifications have not changed - Toasts and Live Tiles as before (aside from the Lock screen changes).

Is turn-by-turn nav part of Win8..or just Nokia Lumia?

As per title, i cant figure this out. My carrier seems to only be getting the Samsung ATIV S, and i use turn-by-turn alot on my Android device. Im worried about losing too many features such as Turn by turn, and a proper notification center?
Second question, how do WP8 users see notifications, do they have to open the app to check?
Rekzer said:
As per title, i cant figure this out. My carrier seems to only be getting the Samsung ATIV S, and i use turn-by-turn alot on my Android device. Im worried about losing too many features such as Turn by turn, and a proper notification center?
Second question, how do WP8 users see notifications, do they have to open the app to check?
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Nokia announced that they would provide Nokia Drive for other OEMs as well but it is up to those wether they will deploy it through the Marketplace. Currently we don't know for sure bit I guess the feature will show up.
For Notifications there are PopUp Messages at the top of the screen (Toast-Notifications) but unlike Android they vanish from there after a set time (a few seconds). Aside from that there are Tile notifications. Depending on the App that can range from simple counters (which can also be configured to be shown on the Lock screen (but a limit numberbpf apps can reside there at the same time)) to textual representations or full images. Those show up on Tiles that are pinned to the start screen.
Concerning the Turn-by-Turn functionality I would suggest to wait until we have a statement by HTC and Samsung on the situation.
No voice turn by turn on any WP8 device except Nokia.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Nokia Drive is coming to all Windows Phone 8 devices if other manufacturers/carriers choose to offer it.
Nokia Drive+ is exclusive to Lumia devices and has some fancy features and enhancements.
prjkthack said:
Nokia Drive is coming to all Windows Phone 8 devices if other manufacturers/carriers choose to offer it.
Nokia Drive+ is exclusive to Lumia devices and has some fancy features and enhancements.
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This
Sent from my One X using Tapatalk 2
On the Nokia Drive + BETA app as it is listed, I went to download the USA map, and it was 2.4GB. I cancelled the download and just got Indiana instead. That was 140MB. It does warn/maybe require to download maps over WiFi rather than using cell data.
There are several turn by turn GPS apps in the marketplace. None of them really stack up to Google Maps on Android - or Nokia Drive on Lumias for that matter. But as other have said, Nokia is making Drive available to others.
As far as a notification center goes, thats a questions that always makes me grin. Your entire homescreen is a notification center really. If youd like a more centralized place for all of your social media updates and such, you can pin yourself to a tile. Then your "me" tile will auto update with all of your personal notifications.
I don't understand how OEMs get a say in what you can install from the Windows Phone Store. Either Nokia Drive goes in the store or of doesn't. What am I missing?
Cant we grab the XAP file. I have the xap for drive 3 but it is having issues with the signature but could we not resign it with a test one?
Rekzer said:
As per title, i cant figure this out. My carrier seems to only be getting the Samsung ATIV S, and i use turn-by-turn alot on my Android device. Im worried about losing too many features such as Turn by turn, and a proper notification center?
Second question, how do WP8 users see notifications, do they have to open the app to check?
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Click to collapse
Nokia Drive is good, and you should be happy with it when it goes live for other devices. It's not as good as Google Maps, but I expect it will be getting better quickly. The only two real drawbacks to Nokia Drive is that it does not show an mage of your destination when you arrive, and the blocks are empty of buildings. Other than that it gives timely notice of when to turn, runs happily when gps signal drops, warns you when you speed, and is responsive when you pan around on the map.
The notification center is sadly missed. Hopefully something like it will be quickly implemented. What is even more missed is the quick setting in the notifications menu, or a quick settings tile.
Love comments about the lack of a notification being a good thing because the main screen is a notification centre. What nonsense. What is the point of toast notifications if you don't have a notification centre? There isn't one.... Its a major omission and yet ms find time to add rubbish like kids corner that is good for how many people? Microsoft really need to get a grip.
Sent from my Windows Phone 8X by HTC using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
DoogieDC said:
I don't understand how OEMs get a say in what you can install from the Windows Phone Store. Either Nokia Drive goes in the store or of doesn't. What am I missing?
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There are carrier- and OEM-specific subsections of the store, where they can release their own apps only to users of their phones. Nokia could, if they chose, let other OEMs offer Drive in their sections of the Store as well, rather than releasing it in the public area.
---------- Post added at 04:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:15 PM ----------
Dr.Paul said:
Love comments about the lack of a notification being a good thing because the main screen is a notification centre. What nonsense. What is the point of toast notifications if you don't have a notification centre? There isn't one.... Its a major omission and yet ms find time to add rubbish like kids corner that is good for how many people? Microsoft really need to get a grip.
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Kids Corner is a distinguishing feature that will sell phones. A notification center is a nice touch that people won't notice until after they've been using it for a while. Microsoft is prioritizing the former.
A notification center would be quite welcome - I will be quite happy if they add it. But I will say that all my messages/emails/etc. show up on tile counts anyway, so the point of a toast there is just instantaneous notification of what's going on right now. Once it's not immediate any longer, I'll still see the tile count/lockscreen notification. That doesn't apply to things like Foursquare checkins via 4th & Mayor, but that's about the only app I can think of that pops up toasts at me without also throwing a tile count on there, and I don't necessarily need a log of all my friends' past checkins. That's not to say I don't want to see a notification center, but it's really at the level of an extra that would be nice to have, but that I only rarely miss not having.
Dr.Paul said:
Love comments about the lack of a notification being a good thing because the main screen is a notification centre. What nonsense. What is the point of toast notifications if you don't have a notification centre? There isn't one.... Its a major omission and yet ms find time to add rubbish like kids corner that is good for how many people? Microsoft really need to get a grip.
Sent from my Windows Phone 8X by HTC using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
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I for one am very pleased with the lack of a notification center. It was unnecessary on Android with counters, and I find it unnecessary on WP7 and WP8.
There are other phones that offer it and if you need it then you go with one of them. I left Android after 3 years to get away from the clutter, the flash-a-holic I became, constant adjustment of my home screen, etc. I just wanted clean and usable - exactly what WP is. My favorite part...all the apps look like they belong! Android apps were all over the map in design.
WM 6.5
LudoGris said:
I for one am very pleased with the lack of a notification center. It was unnecessary on Android with counters, and I find it unnecessary on WP7 and WP8.
There are other phones that offer it and if you need it then you go with one of them. I left Android after 3 years to get away from the clutter, the flash-a-holic I became, constant adjustment of my home screen, etc. I just wanted clean and usable - exactly what WP is. My favorite part...all the apps look like they belong! Android apps were all over the map in design.
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Dear Ludogris, I think you should have stuck to Windows Mobile 6.5....
the windows phone team has admitted that a notification center is on their list of things to implement but they simply ran out of time with wp8, it will probably come in an 8.5 or similar update. while the system works okay without one, a catch all would be nice to be able to glance at in case you miss a toast.
as for the OP, like others have stated, nokia has stated they will release their drive app to the whole ecosystem with some extra features in the drive+ app being exclusive to their lumia line.
i love the addition of the tts for street names they added to the new app, and the new speech in wp8 is so much nicer than the siri sounding one in wp 7.5, more like the natural speech that is in google now.
how did a Nokia Drive thread turn into a notifications request thread? Seriously, though, i got HTC8x for family members to replace their HD7 (tmobile upgrades, I thought they'd be more familiar with HTC instead of the lumia810, wrong choice?). I myself am using Android/HD2, and know nothing about WP7/8, and just rely on threads like this to update my other phones. nevermind, somebody wake me up when the htc 8x gets nokia drive or some flavor of it... subscribed.
on a side note, anyone know how to move the SMS Texts and call history from WP7(HD7) to WP8(htc8x) ? stock phones, no dev unlock, so I'm relying solely on the marketplace and whatever free desktop sync MS has to offer. doesn't seem possible via skydrive either. oh, i don't have outlook on the desktop, if that matters. wish I could just use PIMbackupCAB like on my trusted hd2... why did microsoft have to mess with a good thing? pardon me, i digress. carry on... so, how did you guys migrate your SMS?
Bad news: you don't - not from WP7.
Good news: starting in WP8, the phone will back them up to the cloud, so it'll be seamless going forward.
I like this one:
http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/navigon-europe/da8734ed-666a-4227-81ea-8fc937752d98
all the others have ****ty maps where i live (including google, nokia and bing maps) compared to garmin...

[Q] Considering switching from HTC One to 1020; have questions

As the title suggests, I'm considering jumping from my HTC One to the Nokia Lumia 1020, and I have some questions. If this is the wrong forum, I'm sorry.
1. Is it possible (even through a hack) to set a homescreen background? I used to do this on the WP 7 themes on my iPhone, and it looked great with transparent tiles.
2. Has Google gotten into WP8? Voice, Gmail, Play Music?
3. Photo editing. What sort of post-processing options are there? I must have had 10gb of just photo apps on my iPhone, and I'm kinda struggling now on Android.
4. Keyboards? I've become a Swiftkey addict. Is there anything comparable to this in Redmond's garden?
5. Twitter and Facebook? My fiance has a Lumia 900, however her Facebook and Twitter apps look awful. Tweetbot was the best Twitter client I've ever used, so my standards are high.
Thank you in advance for any insight.
Start screen backgrounds are still not supported. There are pseudo-hacks to do it, using a large array of customized tiles, but there's still black or white behind them. The hacking scene or WP8 has been very limited.
Gmail works fine on WP8, as it did on WP7. There's no official app that I know of, though. Google has no official Music app for the OS, but there are plenty of third party ones (I cannot comment on the quality as I use Pandora and Zune/Xbox Music Pass). There's also Nokia's music app, which I don't use. Google Voice is similar; no official app but several third-party ones, and WP8 allows apps to integrate into the phone system and to continue calls when backgrounded (this is how Skype works).
Lots of photo editing apps, plus time-of-shot "filters". I have no idea of their quality as a PC is, and always will be, better at that task.
Sadly, custom keyboards are not currently supported at all. The built-in keyboard is excellent, with nice new features like next-word prediction, but it's not customizable or aimed at specific nich users, nor is it (yet) replaceable.
I don't use Twitter, even the integrated functionality. The new version of the Facebook app is excellent, though. It's much faster, has more features, and looks better than the old app.
GoodDayToDie said:
Start screen backgrounds are still not supported. There are pseudo-hacks to do it, using a large array of customized tiles, but there's still black or white behind them. The hacking scene or WP8 has been very limited.
Gmail works fine on WP8, as it did on WP7. There's no official app that I know of, though. Google has no official Music app for the OS, but there are plenty of third party ones (I cannot comment on the quality as I use Pandora and Zune/Xbox Music Pass). There's also Nokia's music app, which I don't use. Google Voice is similar; no official app but several third-party ones, and WP8 allows apps to integrate into the phone system and to continue calls when backgrounded (this is how Skype works).
Lots of photo editing apps, plus time-of-shot "filters". I have no idea of their quality as a PC is, and always will be, better at that task.
Sadly, custom keyboards are not currently supported at all. The built-in keyboard is excellent, with nice new features like next-word prediction, but it's not customizable or aimed at specific nich users, nor is it (yet) replaceable.
I don't use Twitter, even the integrated functionality. The new version of the Facebook app is excellent, though. It's much faster, has more features, and looks better than the old app.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the responses. With regards to music, I had a 64gb iPhone 4S and still have an active subscription to iTunes in the Cloud. So I could store most of my music on my phone, and have access to the rest as needed. My One is only 32gb, so I keep some music on it, and the rest I stream via Google Play.
As for Google, does WP8 integrate with Google Voice at all? Or is there at least an app?
With photos, there are some apps from iOS that I truely miss, and haven't seen any alternatives on Android as of yet. I fear my pickings will be even slimmer on WP8.
Does the built in keyboard have anything akin to Swype? I'm fairly certain my girls WP7 does not.
As my girl does have WP7, she can't upgrade to the newest Facebook and is thus stuck with the awful one she currently has.
Thanks again.
As I mentioned, there are apps for streaming music from Google. Nothing official, but the reviews say they work.
There's one app I can find in the store, "Spare Phone", which claims to integrate somewhat (and has the WP8-specific app capability to do so). However, it looks like it can't recieve GV calls directly (forward to your mobile number or take voicemail notifications only) when it's in the background. I'm pretty sure the dev could fix this with enough effort. The app costs $3.49 USD, so I can't easily test if for you. There's no OS-level integration with GV, which doesn't surprise me in the least. Google is Microsoft's biggest competitor in this space...
I have no real idea what the photo app situation is like. There are tons of them, some well-rated, plus some built-in features of the OS. I still prefer to do my photo editing with the power and precision of a PC, though, so I haven't tried. The photos are overcompressed as is (all smartphone photos are), so manipulating them tends to produce artifacts anyhow.
Nothing like Swype, sorry. Microsoft really needs to get with the picture there. It's especially sad/funny, considering that Swype was originally for Windows Mobile and (according to a guy I know who works there) they'd be happy to bring it to WP, but MS hasn't allowed it yet.
Most of my FB on the phone is just done using the built-in integration (People hub, Messaging hub. etc.), but the new WP8 app really is excellent.
1. No you can't set homescreen background. I hope it will be coming in WP Blue update.
2.Gmail works fine, Xbox music is very much better option.
3. WP store is full of lots of photo editing apps, 1020 itself has proshot app. I think you would be very happy in this department.
4.No, unfortunately but you can expect it in updates.
5. Both official apps are very very good. FB just got updated and it's very good. You can also have beta app which updates continuously so FB support from MS is very much active. Official twitter app has everything you want, same as its iOS & Android counter part.
Instagram has 3rd party app instance which is very good, even you can save photo in it. Official Vine app is coming till then 6 sec is available.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Google Voice is handled quite nicely by Metrotalk. It takes some work to get setup properly, but once setup works very seamlessly.
Google has no official apps (aside from a poor Google search app) on Windows Phone, and the only thing known on the horizon is an official YouTube app (a joint project between Microsoft and Google). Otherwise Google has been pretty anti-Windows Phone. If you want the quality and selection of Google apps and services that you find on an Android phone, you simply won't get it anywhere except Android. Windows Phone and even iPhone don't compare to what Google offers on it's own platform. There are third party apps, and some of them are decent.
The Twitter and Facebook apps for WP8 now very closely match the functionality and look/feel of their official counterparts on iOS and Android. They still aren't as awesome, but thankfully, because of the tight OS integration, they aren't necessarily needed as much as you would need them on iOS or Android.
Nothing close to Swype and I'm gonna take a guess and say that it won't be coming anytime soon. There just isn't a demand for it. Clearly there is one here on this site (and other enthusiast sites), but this is a site made up of hardcore tweakers and enthusiasts. In the real world, most people do not know what Swype is and simply don't bother to learn it even if it is available to them. The Windows Phone keyboard is an excellent stock keyboard, and with some of the improvements being seen in Windows 8.1, you can expect it to get better as time goes on.
Almost any kind of configuring, tweaking, or hacking you may be used to on Android goes out the window with Windows Phone 8. For the most part, the operating system just works, so you don't always need it (like iOS), but some people still have that itch to tweak, and if that's you, Windows Phone 8 may not make you happy. But then again, I used to be that type of person, but once I got used to a platform that just worked and didn't need me to go ROM hunting every week, its just became so much better. The operating system is just so much more secure than WP7 or Android, so there isn't much of a development/hacking community for it.
As with any upgrade, new line, or purchase, you should have an opportunity to try it for a bit before you go past the point of no return. So your best bet is to try it as your main driver for a week and see how it works for you.
prjkthack said:
The operating system is just so much more secure than WP7 or Android, so there isn't much of a development/hacking community for it.
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You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
Security, in the context of operating systems or really anything else, is about granting or revoking authorization for access or activity. The key point, there, is "authorization". Authority is a property of ownership. However, I actually have relatively (compared to other OSes) little ability to authorize, *or* revoke authorization for, actions occurring on what is nominally my phone. So, which of the following is true?
A) It's not my phone; it's actually owned by Microsoft, the OEM, and the operator (but mostly Microsoft).
B) The OS is "so much more" locked down than WP7 or Android, and is actually pretty meager on security features.
Did you know that on some Android ROMs, you can do things like prevent apps from making using of certain capabilities while still using the app? That on WP7, you can disable the "Microsoft, may I install or run sideloaded apps?" check that the OS makes periodically without your authorization? Now *that* is an increase in security!
GoodDayToDie said:
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
Security, in the context of operating systems or really anything else, is about granting or revoking authorization for access or activity. The key point, there, is "authorization". Authority is a property of ownership. However, I actually have relatively (compared to other OSes) little ability to authorize, *or* revoke authorization for, actions occurring on what is nominally my phone. So, which of the following is true?
A) It's not my phone; it's actually owned by Microsoft, the OEM, and the operator (but mostly Microsoft).
B) The OS is "so much more" locked down than WP7 or Android, and is actually pretty meager on security features.
Did you know that on some Android ROMs, you can do things like prevent apps from making using of certain capabilities while still using the app? That on WP7, you can disable the "Microsoft, may I install or run sideloaded apps?" check that the OS makes periodically without your authorization? Now *that* is an increase in security!
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Click to collapse
Whether the product is yours or not does not matter much here. At its base level, all the platforms are "locked down" to a certain extent, some more than others, and what you can do is limited by what the OEMs (Microsoft, Apple, or Google) say you can do. Now you can go ahead and throw hacks at it, tear it apart, or throw money at it to completely change it, but that's going beyond the scope of this discussion. They choose what permissions you may alter or ask for. Finding loopholes to get around permissions or authorization goes beyond what the original manufacturer intended, but its pretty fair to say that its far easier to circumvent security on Android than on any other platform. Android's inherently more "open" platform allows for greater risk at times because it isn't as locked down as iOS or Windows Phone.
That being said, being more locked down inherently offers more security or at the very least, piece of mind, whether that be protection from scripts or hacks, viruses, financial security, or just preventing errors/crashes. Denying or granting access to certain activities, or just flat out not having the option to deny/grant certain activities can be the base for a safer, more reliable, more secure operating environment. "Security" and being "locked down", in some cases, go hand in hand. Of course it can mean many different things to many people.
Now you could also be referring to other "security" features like corporate encryption policies or secure NFC or stuff like that, but that wasn't part of the original discussion, so my use of the word security does not include any of that, but I understand that certainly those types of security features may or may not exist between platforms.
So I have another question.
I've been quite spoiled by 64gb of storage on my 4S combined with iTunes in the Cloud and lately been forced to stream from Play Music due to my One only having 32gb of storage.
Does WP8 have any sort of set up where I upload my music collection to the cloud and can download/stream from there? I do have a 50gb AT&T Locker account, but I'd rather use something that's a little more polished.
OGhoul said:
So I have another question.
I've been quite spoiled by 64gb of storage on my 4S combined with iTunes in the Cloud and lately been forced to stream from Play Music due to my One only having 32gb of storage.
Does WP8 have any sort of set up where I upload my music collection to the cloud and can download/stream from there? I do have a 50gb AT&T Locker account, but I'd rather use something that's a little more polished.
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Yes, you have 7GB of skydrive space for free, can be increased for additional cost.
mcosmin222 said:
Yes, you have 7GB of skydrive space for free, can be increased for additional cost.
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I have over 60 gigs of music alone.
OGhoul said:
I have over 60 gigs of music alone.
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I doubt anybody is going to give you 60 gigs of storage for free (ATT does not count, since you pay for it anyway)
There are apps which can stream from Google Music.
Alternatively, get a phone that has a microSD slot; my ATIV S has 80GB of total local storage, never mind the amount I have in my butt.
mcosmin222 said:
I doubt anybody is going to give you 60 gigs of storage for free (ATT does not count, since you pay for it anyway)
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iCloud.
OGhoul said:
iCloud.
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so then what's the problem?
I mean, you can stream it the same way you did on your HTC one.
But unless you want that camera badly, there is no real reason to get the lumia 1020.
lumia 820 or Ativ S are probably better for you.
mcosmin222 said:
so then what's the problem?
I mean, you can stream it the same way you did on your HTC one.
But unless you want that camera badly, there is no real reason to get the lumia 1020.
lumia 820 or Ativ S are probably better for you.
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The camera is the reason I'm considering a WP. Don't get me wrong, I like the Metro UI. I would usually install a Metro theme on my iPhone when I had it. I'm tremendously underwhelmed with Android and in particular, the camera in my One, which is what prompted my questions.
Basically, if I can get WP8 to do things close to as seamless as they are on iOS, I'd really consider switching. If I'm reading this correctly, SkyDrive offers automatic syncing of photos to my PC from my phone, the way iCloud does?
OGhoul said:
The camera is the reason I'm considering a WP. Don't get me wrong, I like the Metro UI. I would usually install a Metro theme on my iPhone when I had it. I'm tremendously underwhelmed with Android and in particular, the camera in my One, which is what prompted my questions.
Basically, if I can get WP8 to do things close to as seamless as they are on iOS, I'd really consider switching. If I'm reading this correctly, SkyDrive offers automatic syncing of photos to my PC from my phone, the way iCloud does?
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Yes windows phone will upload full res images to skydrive. Great feature actually. BTW have you looked at Xbox music? Its similar to Google play music and iTunes streaming. Take a look, it might be what your looking for: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/music
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
Xbox music, Pandora, Nokia Music all work great on my 1020. And something new in WP8, it can sync from your iTunes library. (new WP8 desktop app, no more Zune app like used for WP7)
Did you ever get the 1020 and what were your thoughts?
Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk 4

[Q] Looking to switch

hi people,
I'm looking to switch to WinPhone.
I've got a few quite good features on Android that I'd like to make sure I can have/reproduce on WinPhone too. May you help me with those ?
- Have ringer/notifications volume to get adjusted to ambient noise and/or calendar events automatically
- have a car mode
- have an event/place actions system (like Tasker or OnX)
Many many thanks
Fabio
- for ambient no...
- all this (car mode, task manager with close X) is available with upcoming GDR3 update or today for developer or via WP AppStudio...
notice: car connection with BT for hands free calls and audio reproduction is available long time ago in WP but with upcoming GDR3 come additional settings
I'd say it depends on what type of android user you are. If you just user the phone, sms, browsing and occasional app then you're fine. If you're a power user then you'll just get annoyed and frustrated at simple things that you use yo be able to do but now can't.
As I've said in the windows 1520 thread, its undoubtedly a gorgeous piece of hardware and is the prime drive for me to keep looking into windows phone. Dare I say it and definitely not trying to be a troll, but if it did run android, I'm sure myself and others would buy it in a flash.
Sticking with realities though, I don't think WP8 is quite there yet for the advanced android user. I'm still very concerned that without DPI settings/apps with phablet UI, that the 1520 is just going to be running blown up phone apps, like first gen android tablets, which is not ideal.
File browser is key and offers so much flexibility. Copying and sharing photos off your DSLR, sending whatever file you want through gmail, deleting downloaded files etc. Skydrive is not a suitable replacement, especially if you're not always on wifi/limited 4G data plans.
Apps is becoming less of an issue with most of the core apps there in some shape and using 3rd party official apps is not something I worry about. It is still an issue however for niche apps. Eg Niche medical apps, a reliable CHM file reader (reference text books), advanced pdf reader/editor with the ability to underline/comment/draw in.... I can go on. Even office 365 functionality that is supposedly a huge selling point is largely replaceable with Kingsoft office which is superb sans the synching (you just need the extra step of google drive).
Then there are the core google services which have really exploded in functionality to become more than just gimmicks in the past 12 months. – Chrome browser with its desktop session synching, google now with its local contextual searches, automatic G+ photo uploader (full size backups with auto enhancement unlike dropbox).
Lets not mention 3rd party accessory compatibility with Windows Phone...ie. there APIs are so closed that no BT keyboards work with it for example.
There's a lot which is being fixed and is "promised" to be fixed in upcoming updates from MS – unfortunately thats always been the story with WP as they play catchup, which I understand being a new OS. However, 12 months on, even basic things like notification centre, screen rotation lock, separate notification ringtones, separate notification/system volumes are still yet to be fixed/only being patched now.
In terms of positives of the windows phone os, to be honest there isn't anything that appeals to me that I'm not already experiencing in android. Metro UI I don't mind but can be hit and miss with no notification centre and when you're relying on 3rd party live tiles which don't always update frequently enough for your liking (and wit no option to change). Simplicity is always touted as a windows phone advantage, but to be honest I find android simple enough if you know what you're doing and the appeal is more for perhaps people new to smartphones. As an android user, the simplicity actually feels limiting as I can't get things to work exactly how I want it to. In short it's a matter of how much I can compromise when coming from Android to wp on the software side unfortunately.
Having said all this I'd still keep looking at WP due to Nokia's hardware and their general nailing of the camera (which android hasn't accomplished fully yet), but there needs to be a lot of improvement on the software side from MS and 3rd party developers before I can fully see myself changing platforms. As good as the hardware and camera may be, my smartphone is my mobile computer replacement and the OS needs to be able to function like that.
Perhaps when RT merges with 8.1 and a few more MS and Nokia updates roll out it'll get more capable and phablet friendly. But until that time I'm keep jealously watching and admiring in awe at the camera and hardware but deep down knowing I just can't do what I want to do on it right now.
YMMV.
Good luck!
Something like Tasker or automatic volume adjustment will require homebrew, or at least an OEM app; third-party apps aren't allowed to run continuously in the background (it's bad for performance and battery life) on WP.
thank to you all so far
is it possible to have voice driving directions in car (thinking of Here Drive) AND listen to music from another app at the same time ? Or view a Youtube video ? Is WP8 really multitask these days ?
chareos12 said:
thank to you all so far
is it possible to have voice driving directions in car (thinking of Here Drive) AND listen to music from another app at the same time ? Or view a Youtube video ? Is WP8 really multitask these days ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes you can listen music and working here drive+ navigation in same time... music temporally get lower and pause when navigation give voice direction
dxdy said:
yes you can listen music and working here drive+ navigation in same time... music temporally get lower and pause when navigation give voice direction
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Youtube too ?
Man, I'm getting really impatient to make the switch
chareos12 said:
Youtube too ?
Man, I'm getting really impatient to make the switch
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
youtube no, because when you switch to start screen or other app automatically stop playing (but only tried in official YT app and SuperTube)
Here Drive will run fully in the background (battery warning: don't forget to stop it if you take a break somewhere short of your destination!) and will override other audio playback to give directions. Start Here Drive, enter directions and start navigation, then hit Start (or press-and-hold Back) and go to your media player app. You should continue getting turn-by-turn prompts. It doesn't actually pause the audio, which is annoying - you'll miss bits of songs or audiobooks, for example - but it works.

Very 1st Things to do After Activation?

Hi everyone, just got my N3 last night and I am pretty excited about it.
I am a long time Mac Rumors member and my past phones have been ...... JB 3g, JB 3gs, JB 4, JB 4s
I am very upset with the tiny screens on my iphones and I refuse to wait another year for the 6 to come out.
So now I am a 1st time Android user and what to really check out the Android scene.
What are the first things I should do with the phone, what should I install right away? (different keyboards, apps, etc)
Is there a thread around here with tutes instructing how to transfer my contacts etc?
I surely will appreciate all replies, so thanks in advance. I really wanna get the very MOST out of this device.
edit: does Google Play offer any rebates/coupons/freebies for newly purchased devices?
Hey I would use smart switch to get your things from iPhone to your new phone but that is after you have it activated
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using xda app-developers app
XiphoneUzer said:
Hi everyone, just got my N3 last night and I am pretty excited about it.
I am a long time Mac Rumors member and my past phones have been ...... JB 3g, JB 3gs, JB 4, JB 4s
I am very upset with the tiny screens on my iphones and I refuse to wait another year for the 6 to come out.
So now I am a 1st time Android user and what to really check out the Android scene.
My N3 arrived Wednesday evening, and it's STILL not activated, (and its killing me).
The reason being, I wanna know if there is anything I should do BEFORE I call ATT and activate it.
(I do NOT want to close any windows, so is there is anything you folks recommend I do before I activate it)?
Once activated, what are the first things I should do with the phone, what should I install right away?
Is there a thread around here with tutes instructing how to transfer my contacts etc?
I surely will appreciate all replies, so thanks in advance. I really wanna get the very MOST out of this device.
edit: does Google Play offer any rebates/coupons/freebies for newly purchased devices?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you mean by call ATT and activate it? All you have to do is put your SIM card in and it is ready to go with a few account setups. After that it is up to you except for rooting and modding. Cant be done right now without voiding your warranty.
First thing you do is scratch off the att emblem since they locked the bootloader
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
XiphoneUzer said:
Once activated, what are the first things I should do with the phone, what should I install right away?
Is there a thread around here with tutes instructing how to transfer my contacts etc?
I surely will appreciate all replies, so thanks in advance. I really wanna get the very MOST out of this device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello?
Looking for some help here. This keyboard is way different than iphone, is it something you get used to, or should I install something else?
Please tell me what are some of the things I should change/install right away, (there's got to be some "must haves" no?)
XiphoneUzer said:
Hello?
Looking for some help here. This keyboard is way different than iphone, is it something you get used to, or should I install something else?
Please tell me what are some of the things I should change/install right away, (there's got to be some "must haves" no?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For the keyboard, i prefer the google keyboard over the samsung one. It provides functionality similar to the iphone and is easy to switch between the iphone and android if you use them both in daily life.
As for apps, here is a small list of apps i like to have on all of my devices.
GOOGLE CHROME. Its much better than the built in browser and is able to synchronize with my desktop browsers favorites, etc.
Skype: Perfect for if you are travelling over seas at all with your device.
Google Hangouts: A good replacement for the built in SMS app.
Facebook & Twitter: If you need an explanation, you shouldn't be useing these apps.
Battery Doctor by KS Mobile: Simple app, but is helpful to save battery life and know exactly how much you have left.
Google Music: I have most of my library stored on google so it makes my life easy to have this.
Google Books: The book equivalent of my music library. Syncronizes what i have read across devices and browsers.
Kindle for Android: For the ebooks you buy on amazon.
Google Keep: Great for taking quick notes and having them on all your devices.
Dropbox: Great cloud file storage. Comes with free storage and you can pay to get more.
Google Drive: Google version of dropbox.
MX Player: This video player will play any video format you throw at it.
Google Maps: A must have for all smartphone users.
Zedge: While its quality has gone down a fair bit from what it once was, its still a great place to find ringtones and notification sounds for your android device.
GPS Status: Great for calibrating your devices sensors and ensuring that it works properly.
Now for the ROOT ONLY apps.
Titanium backup
SuperSU
Triangle Away
Hopefully this is a useful list to get you started. I have all these plus many more installed on my devices, and I find I use them all fairly regularly.
djdelusional said:
Skype: Perfect for if you are travelling over seas at all with your device.
Google Hangouts: A good replacement for the built in SMS app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I prefer Hangouts to Skype because Hangouts features free video multi-chat.
But I use Google Voice for SMS because it provides free unlimited texting. Hangouts insists on using the phone's native number rather than your Google Voice number, so you have to pay extra for a text plan or for individual messages.
Doesn't anyone else have any advice for a first time Android user?
XiphoneUzer said:
Doesn't anyone else have any advice for a first time Android user?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your new to android I'd stay away from root for a while.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I467 using Tapatalk 4
XiphoneUzer said:
Hello?
Looking for some help here. This keyboard is way different than iphone, is it something you get used to, or should I install something else?
Please tell me what are some of the things I should change/install right away, (there's got to be some "must haves" no?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I feel like for every-day typical phone use cases, there aren't that many gaps that stand out as needing to be filled by a third party app. You'll probably need a new music player, the defaults are crapola - but I can't be much help here; I keep my music as folders full of MP3 files (like God intended!) and play with Music Folder Player, and shun the dirty S&M ("sync and manage") apps.
There's a big list of stuff that I did when I first got the phone to get it to where I'm happy with it, but all of this was root required stuff. There are apps that come pre-loaded on android devices and can't be removed or disabled without root. Also, customizing stuff that can't be customized without root. I couldn't abide by some of the not-changable-without-root defaults. Getting rid of the "screen turns on so you can unlock it when you hit the home key" behavior is probably the most glaring example for me; my ass* was unlocking it constantly - but coming from iPhone, you probably view that as the Right Thing for home button to do.
I think most people use a custom keyboard. Swiftkey and Swype are the most popular. The phone comes with Swype, but it's an ancient version with limited support for changing the dictionary, you want the newest one.
I use Hangouts for gchat, but not for SMS. I actually prefer default app for SMS..
Settings:
Pull down status bar, long press on wifi, WiFi -> menu -> advanced settings, uncheck auto connect to AT&T hotspots (unless they don't suck where you are. Around here, they often don't have internet behind them, and just break your connectivity for the 30 seconds or so it takes for the phone to connect to them, determine that the wifi is no good, and fall back to 4G. At least this phone does that; Original note would just sit there like a fool trying to use non-functional wifi... I've also yet to find a hotspot that performs better than the 4G does. But I live in a city, so the situation may be different elsewhere).
Pull down status bar, long press on GPS. Uncheck "Use wireless networks" - on newer versions of android, this drains battery while idle; the damned thing wakes the phone periodically to check the networks around it - if the phone is nearly idle, this can halve battery life (!!!)
Pull down status bar, swipe to the left along the options at the top (woah, did you know you could do that?), tap multiwindow to enable multiwindow (this was a headline feature for the note 3, but comes disabled by default). If I long-press back button, that makes the multiwindow tab hide or unhide (once it's enabled), but I don't remember if I had to do something to get this behavior.
General must-have things:
AppOps Starter (to kill permissions from apps that request permissions you don't want to give them)
Battery Monitor Widget (gives you a realtime readout of battery usage)
ES File Explorer
If you want to pretty-ize clock + weather widgets:
DigiClock
Eye in Sky
If you work in IT or have need of these (if you aren't sure what these mean, you don't need them ):
ConnectBot (telnet/ssh client)
AndFTP (ftp/sftp client, supports scp if you pay)
RDP Client (remote desktop and VNC client)
FEAT VPN (OpenVPN client)
Hacker's Keyboard (you'll tear your hair out trying to use swype/swiftkey for terminal sessions or RDP)
If you want to root the phone:
Root it, then immediately install titanium backup and "freeze" AT&T software update, so it won't update your phone (breaking root) while you're not looking
Titanium Backup - freeze all the useless bloatware that AT&T and Samsung included (there's a list of what apps you can freeze here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmzC8GFarItSdGpOZzBfWlR4MC03aDMyZ1BDUFNqU0E - not my work)
Root Explorer
Pen Window Manager for adding apps to the pen window feature
Xposed Framework
Wanam - general huge amount of customization, including selecting apps for multiwindow.
Keyboard Manager (almost a necessity if you use ConnectBot/RDP frequently - keyboards designed for messaging and such are garbage for doing administration of non-phone systems, while hacker's keyboard is garbage for messaging and everyday phone stuff)
Terminal Emulator (gives you a command prompt on phone. Doesn't require root, but there are very few use cases for terminal on android that don't also need root)
*Well, I keep it in my front pocket, so technically it wasn't my /ass/ unlocking the phone....

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