First Things First for new DI Owners

[Kushtronics]

I finally pulled the trigger on the Incredible this past weekend, and while I understand I won't be getting my phone for some time due to supply issues, I thought it would be best to get my preliminary questions out of the way before it arrives. I think this could also be useful for all new users, especially those who have little to no experience with Android (such as myself). So, onto the bulk and basis of this thread:


In your opinion, what are the most important first steps a new HTC Incredible owner should perform when they receive their new phone. Activation is the obvious first step, but if I'm off base with that, please let me know. Include settings which you believe should be altered, applications included or excluded, aesthetic preferences which have increased your overall phone experience, etc...

As I said above, I have no experience with the Android OS (besides playing with a friends for all of two minutes and the in-store phone), so please be sure to include anything you think I might need to know when setting up my new HTC.

As a side note, the in-store Incredibles had limited accelerometer capabilities - meaning they could only switch to landscape in one direction. The Verizon rep told me this was just how the phone worked, but I was somewhat skeptical as to whether that was true or not. It's not a deal breaker by any means, but I was wondering if this is actually the case?

Thank you in advance for anyone who takes the time to respond to this thread - even if it's just a reference to another thread where I would find all of the information I seek.

-Kushtronics

 

[mrjinglesusa]

As a side note, the in-store Incredibles had limited accelerometer capabilities - meaning they could only switch to landscape in one direction. The Verizon rep told me this was just how the phone worked, but I was somewhat skeptical as to whether that was true or not. It's not a deal breaker by any means, but I was wondering if this is actually the case?

True. Can only switch to landscape by tilting to the left (speaker on left, buttons on right).

 

[contagous]

True. Can only switch to landscape by tilting to the left (speaker on left, buttons on right).

wow really? does this mean the accelerometer is worse then others?

weird...

 

[Rubik76]

The accelerometer is fully capable - but the software will only pick up rotation in one direction, in terms of reorienting the phone from portrait to landscape.

In terms of the rest of it... The main advice I can give is to not let yourself get intimidated or frustrated. Android is a lot more wide-open than a lot of smartphone platforms. That means there are almost limitless capabilities for implementation, governed by a limited number of rules and standards, and that just about anyone with a sliver of know-how can publish apps to the Market.

This, combined with the fact that Android is still being aggresively developed by Google at a core level (this is supposed to change somewhat with 2.2), means there is a lot of potential for buggy software, a lack of cohesion between various apps, and that work may be required on your part to "build the perfect device".

While this can be frustrating, it's also the main strength of the platform. Always remember that. You are passing on the "everything works pretty well out of the box but my options are limited" security of the iPhone for the "I can make this thing do whatever I want as long as I am willing to deal with some bumps along the way" freedom of Android.

If you don't like the way one piece of software behaves, chances are there is another that will suit your needs. Most problems can be fixed - one way or another. So... before blowing a gasket when something goes wrong, search these forums. If you can't find a solution - ask. There are a lot of knowledgable people here who can help. I find that my satisfaction with my Incredible is directly related to my involvement with this forum. I've traded a lot of good advice with other members.

Celebrate the power of the platform and this device, and accept the tradeoff that you are sacrificing some simplicity.

Other than that, I'd recommend planning to install a screen protector (I love Ghost Armor but there are a lot of options discussed here for your to research), picking up a case if you are concerned about dropping the device, and reading up on battery conditioning threads to decide whether or not to condition your battery (I don't think it's necesary, personally). You might also visit Androlib or AppBrain to get a feel for some apps that you might want to install once you get your Incredible.

 

[Kushtronics]

True. Can only switch to landscape by tilting to the left (speaker on left, buttons on right).

Thanks for the response and information. That's a little curious - I wonder why they did that? Anyone have any idea what the possible reasons for them including a one-way-only accelerometer would be?

Thanks again, mrjinglesusa!

-Kushtronics

 

[contagous]

The accelerometer is fully capable - but the software will only pick up rotation in one direction, in terms of reorienting the phone from portrait to landscape.

In terms of the rest of it... The main advice I can give is to not let yourself get intimidated or frustrated. Android is a lot more wide-open than a lot of smartphone platforms. That means there are almost limitless capabilities for implementation, governed by a limited number of rules and standards, and that just about anyone with a sliver of know-how can publish apps to the Market.

This, combined with the fact that Android is still being aggresively developed by Google at a core level (this is supposed to change somewhat with 2.2), means there is a lot of potential for buggy software, a lack of cohesion between various apps, and that work may be required on your part to "build the perfect device".

While this can be frustrating, it's also the main strength of the platform. Always remember that. You are passing on the "everything works pretty well out of the box but my options are limited" security of the iPhone for the "I can make this thing do whatever I want as long as I am willing to deal with some bumps along the way" freedom of Android.

If you don't like the way one piece of software behaves, chances are there is another that will suit your needs. Most problems can be fixed - one way or another. So... before blowing a gasket when something goes wrong, search these forums. If you can't find a solution - ask. There are a lot of knowledgable people here who can help. I find that my satisfaction with my Incredible is directly related to my involvement with this forum. I've traded a lot of good advice with other members.

Celebrate the power of the platform and this device, and accept the tradeoff that you are sacrificing some simplicity.

Other than that, I'd recommend planning to install a screen protector (I love Ghost Armor but there are a lot of options discussed here for your to research), picking up a case if you are concerned about dropping the device, and reading up on battery conditioning threads to decide whether or not to condition your battery (I don't think it's necesary, personally). You might also visit Androlib or AppBrain to get a feel for some apps that you might want to install once you get your Incredible.

So the hardware for the accelerometer is still there, it just wont tilt right in certain apps? is that what your saying?

Im right handed tilting left will be fun lol

 

[Rubik76]

So the hardware for the accelerometer is still there, it just wont tilt right in certain apps? is that what your saying?

Im right handed tilting left will be fun lol

Correct. The accelerometer works perfectly in any direction (check out the pre-installed Teeter app to verify), but from a landscape/portrait mode perspective, apps only shift when the device is rotated counter-clockwise (from portrait to landscape).

 

[contagous]

Correct. The accelerometer works perfectly in any direction (check out the pre-installed Teeter app to verify), but from a landscape/portrait mode perspective, apps only shift when the device is rotated counter-clockwise (from portrait to landscape).

OK thanks for clarifying that for me

 

[jamor]

Try not to post duplicate threads.

Use the Incredible Forum search tool to see if you can get answers.

Also, try and avoid 'My battery sucks' threads. There is enough information on how to optimize battery life throughout the forum to sink an aircraft carrier.

 

[Kushtronics]

Rubik76,

Thank you so much for your lengthy and informative reply. It really means a lot to me that you took the time to type that out and explain the learning curve of the Android OS - as I would have probably had to find that out for myself if I hadn't posted this thread.
I'm actually switching from a BlackBerry Storm 1, so I assume the performance to be drastically improved considering my Storm experience was essentially a long string of software bugs, hardware malfunctions, and returns. Even from my limited time on the in-store Incredible, I noticed how smooth everything ran compared to Blackberry's first touch-screen attempt.
In regard to protection - I ordered the red/black gradient snap-on case when I ordered my HTC. I also ordered the Verizon anti-glare screen protectors, but after researching them a bit, I think I will probably be returning them in lieu of a better screen guard. These will probably be temporary solutions until a more stylish and rugged product surfaces (something like the Speck "fitted" or "candyshell" line).

With all that said, what were the first applications you personally installed on your Incredible? I've heard the native HTC Mail application is a serious memory and battery drain - should I exclude this during my initial setup?

Again, thanks so much for all the information regarding the OS - I will definitely approach the process with patience.

-Kushtronics

 

[Contempt]

Personally if it were me. The absolute 1st thing I would do is give the battery a very good charge before I even turned it on.

You will want a nice full charge when you start playing with it, because you are not going to put it down for hours once you start.

The phone is amazing.

 

[Kushtronics]

Try not to post duplicate threads.

Use the Incredible Forum search tool to see if you can get answers.

Also, try and avoid 'My battery sucks' threads. There is enough information on how to optimize battery life throughout the forum to sink an aircraft carrier.

Is this a duplicate thread? I apologize if I inadvertently created a thread which was already floating around out there. I did try searching "first steps", "Incredible setup", and "initial settings", but was given so many different results. I sifted through those results, but could not find a thread which addressed information new HTC Incredible should know before engaging in the intial setup.

-Kushtronics

 

[lexluthor]

True. Can only switch to landscape by tilting to the left (speaker on left, buttons on right).

Didn't I see that's changed in 2.2 Froyo?

 

[Kushtronics]

Personally if it were me. The absolute 1st thing I would do is give the battery a very good charge before I even turned it on.

You will want a nice full charge when you start playing with it, because you are not going to put it down for hours once you start.

The phone is amazing.

Should I resist the temptation of playing with/setting up the phone while it is charging? Will that affect how well it initially charges, or does it not matter if the phone is on or off during the first charge?

Thanks for the information, Contempt. I appreciate you taking the time to respond to my thread.

-Kushtronics

 

[contagous]

Is this a duplicate thread? I apologize if I inadvertently created a thread which was already floating around out there. I did try searching "first steps", "Incredible setup", and "initial settings", but was given so many different results. I sifted through those results, but could not find a thread which addressed information new HTC Incredible should know before engaging in the intial setup.

-Kushtronics

I wonder why they limited it to only go from portrait/landscape via left tilt? is this something so one could make an app for? so that no matter what way we tilt the phone the screen rotates? My omnia used to tilt left, right, upspide down. i know its different, and not really a big thing, but I'm just wondering if its even possible to make an app to do it...

 

[jamor]

Another important thing to do to make life easier is to immediately put your toggles on one of your home screens.

What are toggles? On off switches - Wifi, 3g, gps, auto-sync (weather, e-mail, fb, etc.), brightness, airplane mode, and blue tooth.

This way if you don't always need all of these services 'On', then it takes just a couple seconds to turn on/off a service you need to use.

This saves battery life, time, and stress.

 

[Kushtronics]

Another important thing to do to make life easier is to immediately put your toggles on one of your home screens.

What are toggles? On off switches - Wifi, 3g, gps, auto-sync (weather, e-mail, fb, etc.), brightness, airplane mode, and blue tooth.

This way if you don't always need all of these services 'On', then it takes just a couple seconds to turn on/off a service you need to use.

This saves battery life, time, and stress.

Are the toggles available in the Marketplace, or are they something which comes stock on the phone?

Thanks, jamor. This is exactly the kind of information I was looking for (along with the other replies in this thread), and it sounds like something I will definitely setup once my phone arrives.

-Kushtronics

 

[jamor]

Are the toggles available in the Marketplace, or are they something which comes stock on the phone?

Thanks, jamor. This is exactly the kind of information I was looking for (along with the other replies in this thread), and it sounds like something I will definitely setup once my phone arrives.

-Kushtronics

Most are available stock.

1. hit '+'
2. hit 'widget'
3. hit 'power control' - this has toggle for wifi, bluetooth, gps, autosync, and brightness.

1. same
2. same
3. hit 'settings'
4. hit 'airplane mode'
5. repeat 1-3
6. hit 'mobile network' (3g)

That will get you started. You can also buy an app called beautiful widgets and add toggles such as vibrate and silent.

 

[Contempt]

Well I subscribe to the notion that you should fully charge any battery prior to using the device and doing at least 4 or 5 full charges and discharges during the first few days of use.

I have always conditioned phones like that and always had good results. It always seems to me I get much more battery time than other people I see on the forums for any given phone.

I'm sure the eggheads will chime in stating that it is not helpful or even harmful to train a Li-ion battery like this, but I have always had good results and I stick to what I know. It may also calibrate the settings in the phone battery indicator to better represent the amount of power you have.

Someone with more technical expertise might be better able to answer your question and when they do, someone else will be sure to argue the opposite (see Task Killer threads as an example).

In the mean time, I suggest you refer to the manual which states "It's important to fully charge your battery before turning on your device."

If you charge it overnight, it will be like Christmas morning the next day!

 

[Kushtronics]

Thanks so much, jamor!

I will be copying these instructions to use when my phone arrives via snail-mail (actually, snails could probably make it here a little sooner).

 

[BradGfromBoo]

Are the toggles available in the Marketplace, or are they something which comes stock on the phone?

Thanks, jamor. This is exactly the kind of information I was looking for (along with the other replies in this thread), and it sounds like something I will definitely setup once my phone arrives.

-Kushtronics

The toggles are in the widget menu. To get there you can simply press and hold down on any area of the wallpaper from any of your home screens and a menu will come up where you can add widgets.

That being said I think some people missed a necessary step to get the most out of your new Dinc. OPEN A GMAIL ACCOUNT. This will become necessary to get everything out of your phone, and makes life a lot easier when you replace/upgrade your phone (assuming you stick with android, which im sure you will ). All of your contacts will be Sync'd with your google account, which you can even set up ahead of time if you want. Once you turn on your phone for the first time, it will pull all your contacts from your google account.... its magic!

Also, by holding the magnifying glass in the bottom left you can do a voice search. This is a nice feature and will perform a google search of what you said. ie. "starbucks san jose california" will show the starbucks near san jose, then you can simply click show map->navigate and it takes you there...

There is tons of crap these can do and as you play you will learn...Enjoy

 

[Kushtronics]

Contempt,

Haha, I've already witnessed the in-fighting you're talking about. I noticed this especially in the battery and task-killer threads - where everyone and their donkey seems to be an expert on everything Android/cellular, and every expert seems to contradict the next.

Funny stuff, but on a serious note I will probably follow your advice and charge my phone for the night before diving into it.

Thanks man.
-Kushtronics

 

[Rubik76]

I've been very happy with the built-in apps. I am using the HTC Mail app with ActiveSync in an Exchange 2007 environment and have zero performance/battery complaints.

The only things I wish the HTC Mail client offered are support for tasks and synchronization of inbox subfolders. In fact, these items present a great opportunity to describe what I was talking about previously in regard to the Android platform.

The subfolders aren't a huge deal for me, since I don't have any email rules set up in Exchange to move any of the emails I care about anyway. I do manually move items to subfolders, but it's easy to manually sync the subfolders via the HTC client.

Where tasks are concerned, I have installed an app called Astrid on my phone. Astrid syncs with rememberthemilk.com to pull down and displays tasks. To get my tasks out of Exchange and onto rememberthemilk.com, I use a desktop agent from a company called SprinxCRM.

If I really cared, I could spend $20 (way more than most Android apps cost - they are typically free or cost around $1) for an app called Touchdown, that offers top-to-bottom Exchange support. It natively handles both situations mentioned above.

The applications I installed fall into these categories (I bolded my must-haves):

Enhancing the default behavior of the phone
Swype: Replaces the good stock keyboard with a far better input system.
Handcent: an extremely customizable SMS/MMS application (see also: Chomp)
Documents2Go: Adds edit capability to MS Office (The preinstalled QuickOffice app is read-only)
DolphinHD: A solid replacement for the stock web browser
GMail Unread Count: Adds an unread messages count to the GMail icon
MixZing: A solid replacement for the default media player
SystemPanel: An advanced task manager/monitoring tool (not used as a task killer!)
Mobile Defense: Allows me to track and interact with my phone if it's lost/stolen.
3Banana: A notes application that is superior to the HTC one, and syncs online.
Google Voice: I mainly use this for Visual Voicemail, rather than pay Verizon.
Weatherbug: This is pretty much just installed to add the temperature to the notification bar.
AudioManager: Control panel for system sounds
Auto Ring: Bypasses silent mode for critical phone numbers
Astro File Manager: File management app

PC Interaction
Subsonic: Media Streamer - lets me stream all my music from my WHS to the Incredible
SugarSync: Syncs all desired files between my PC's and Incredible
Xtralogic Remote Desktop Client: RDP goodness to home PC
EasyTether: Allows phone to tether to PC (technically a VZW TOS violation)

Reference
Assistant Free (PageOnce): Consolidates all my bills/finances
Car Locator: Helps me find my car (or other reference point)
Dictionary.com: Self-explanatory
Wapedia: Wiki meta-tool
Tapatalk Pro: Message board app, for sites that support it.

I have lots of others installed, but those are the ones worth special mention.

You can see a full list of my apps here, if you're interested: Rubik76's Apps on the ADR6300

 

[jamor]

Thanks so much, jamor!

I will be copying these instructions to use when my phone arrives via snail-mail (actually, snails could probably make it here a little sooner).

You are welcome! It's nice being able to help.

Don't forget the 'Thanking' system. Goes a long way in here

 

[Kushtronics]

Wow, Rubik76!

That is an awesome list of applications, and was pretty much precisely what I was looking for in terms of essential applications to install once I get my phone. Some of those I probably won't need, but most I probably will.

How much better is the DolphinHD browser than the one that comes stock? I've heard good things about the stock browser, and am curious as to whether 3rd party ones are really worth the installation.

Also, I've heard Astro File Manager thrown around a lot on this forum. What exactly is the purpose of it, and is it as essential as everyone makes it out to be?

Thanks again, Rubik.


jamor,

Is the "thank" feature simply for the sake of statistics/reputation, or does it serve another purpose I'm unaware of?

-Kushtronics