Android does not have simple Calendar app?

[lumix]

Surprise number one when I got my Android phone, Android does not have a built-in Calendar!

Surprise number two, Android market does not have a simple Calendar app.

How do I qualify simple? What am I looking for when I say simple Calendar app?

Requirements of a Simple Calendar App:

1. The Calendar needs to be an app and not widget. Pardon my Android ignorance, a widget runs continuously in the background and thus uses memory, OS cache whatsoever, and more importantly battery power. An app however runs only when I open the app, and stop running when I close the app. In the context of a Calendar, I only need to use the Calendar when I want to find out about a certain day so I don't need the Calendar to be running continuously in the background as a widget. Thus the Calendar needs to be an app and not a widget.

2. The Calendar needs to show dates in a single month and possibly 2 months on a page or all 12 months on a page. The day view is not needed, this is a Calendar, not a day timer, the week view is not needed, this is a calendar and not a week planner. The ability to set up appointments, reminders are all bonuses which are not needed for a *simple* calendar app.

3. The only permission the app can have is Modify/Delete USB storage for writing user notes on certain dates, where applicable. No other permission should be a given, particularly internet access. In fact, I don't have a data plan so I have no internet access. And if I have internet access, why do I need to install a Calendar app from the Android Market which takes up memory, storage cache, battery juice when I can simply just use Google Calendar? I'm looking for a Calendar app because I do not have internet access.

4. Where possible, the Calendar apps should have no ads. If not, a no Ads version for a dollar would be acceptable.

Is there such a Calendar app that meets the above 4 requirements?

 

[ricnar456]

I don't move my car the reason, always consume gas.
The drain of battery is inevitable, but try put the widget one day, the next day look in the percents of program battery comsuptions, the percent of this widget, you see 0.001 is insignificant against the screen 99% consumption.
You can use the phone without widgets (unconfortable) and the 99% of the screen consumption stay the same, for this reason, use widgets, not animated widgets, only put few and simple, and the battery don be affected at all.

ricnar

 

[lumix]

Also, the simple calendar needs to have a simple clean interface.

This screenshot below is clean and simple. No cluttered information, fancy fonts, colors etc. The calendar tells me what is the date of the third Saturday in May 2011, what day is May 26, etc. That is what I want a Calendar to do.

 

[tcat007]

That looks like a widget. A calendar widget shouldn't use any more juice than a calendar app, if you don't sync either. I use "Business calendar" with "Smooth calendar" widget. This may be closer to what you want:
Calendar One - Simple Calendar for Android | AppBrain.com

 

[lumix]

Why move car when there is free transit? It is a waste of gas. Only move your car when there is no other free alternative.

The screenshot came from a widget from the following:
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.gau.go.launcherex.gowidget.calendarwidget

I meant to illustrate the user interface which looks clean and simple. The only problem with this Calendar is a widget and likely has ads.

This is a thread about the requirements for a *simple* calendar app.

A simple calendar would tell me what date is the third Monday in September, what day is June 21 etc. These functions do not need timely information, don't need to be continuously updated. As such, there is no real reason for making it a widget.

As opposed to this an advanced Calendar with appointment reminder would likely need to be a widget because it needs to be running in the backkground to activate the vibrator to remind the person of an appointment.

No matter how it is put, a widget running continuously in the background will still use battery power, memory and storage disc cache. If I can minimize this resources, why not?

Performance Considerations:
Designing for Performance | Android Developers

Good to know a Calendar widget don't use any more juice than a calendar app.

 

[TheHoodedClaw]

So you want an actual calendar that just shows what day of the week various dates are, similar to what a paper calendar would do if you didn't mark it up. Whereas most calendar apps are written as ways to keep track of appointments, critical days, and such. Android is all about being able to customize things so each user is happy, so you're certainly entitled to want this.

How about taking a screen shot of this page:

Year 2011 Calendar – United States

And put it up as wallpaper. You'd have to do it once a year, but that shouldn't be a great bother. Here's a screenshot you are welcome to use (you can probably do a better job of centering, getting the alignment right, etc. Or use an online picture editor to clean it up and just put in the calendar to make it more attractive.)

If you don't want it to be wallpaper (and leave one home screen clear to view it), you should be able to display it with a picture viewer widget on one page.

You can go to the same website and take shots of calendars one month at a time if you prefer. A bookmark of the page in the web browser would work and would avoid the need to update, though would mean accessing the internet each time you wanted to view it.

 

[tcat007]

I don't believe GO Calendar Widget has ads, but it is a much larger app than you need. But if it's what you want, why not use it. I have about 20 widgets on 6 screens which basically use no juice since they are not auto syncing. I lose 1% juice (at most) in 12 hours if I am in airplane mode. Now auto updating weather widgets, or messaging widgets, or news feed widgets, will use some juice. A calendar widget only updates once in 24 hours, if you lose 1 minute of juice a day because that widget was running I'd be surprised (as long as all auto-syncing to Google calendar was off).

But yeah, lots of calendars that you can use as wallpaper out there, but as soon as you turn on your screen to see what day it is, the battery will start draining.

 

[ricnar456]

Why you use a smartphone?, there is free or more cheap alternatives for you, use common cellphone and paper agenda and your battery don't drain at all. If you buy a smartphone is for use , i have 8 widgets and my battery remains charged from 6 am to 22 pm, when is reaching the limit, plug and recharge for the next day, is not necesary have a blank desktop for not drain the battery, try one only widget and go to the battery use, and you see, the static widgets don't drain so much battery, and you see always in the desktop the calendar info, you drain more battery, executing and starting the calendar app to see the events several times in a day.

ricnar
its like i bought a ferrari and travel 40km maximum, why spend so much money in a ferrari, buy cheap fiat hehe.

Why move car when there is free transit? It is a waste of gas. Only move your car when there is no other free alternative.

The screenshot came from a widget from the following:
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.gau.go.launcherex.gowidget.calendarwidget

I meant to illustrate the user interface which looks clean and simple. The only problem with this Calendar is a widget and likely has ads.

This is a thread about the requirements for a *simple* calendar app.

A simple calendar would tell me what date is the third Monday in September, what day is June 21 etc. These functions do not need timely information, don't need to be continuously updated. As such, there is no real reason for making it a widget.

As opposed to this an advanced Calendar with appointment reminder would likely need to be a widget because it needs to be running in the backkground to activate the vibrator to remind the person of an appointment.

No matter how it is put, a widget running continuously in the background will still use battery power, memory and storage disc cache. If I can minimize this resources, why not?

Performance Considerations:
Designing for Performance | Android Developers

Good to know a Calendar widget don't use any more juice than a calendar app.

 

[lumix]

You can go to the same website and take shots of calendars one month at a time if you prefer. A bookmark of the page in the web browser would work and would avoid the need to update, though would mean accessing the internet each time you wanted to view it.

Ha ha.. that's a cool idea. I'll check around for a simple calendar apps first. There may be rookie developers who want to put up a simple app before going to the advanced stuff.

 

[lumix]

..

 

[lumix]

I don't believe GO Calendar Widget has ads, but it is a much larger app than you need. But if it's what you want, why not use it. I have about 20 widgets on 6 screens which basically use no juice since they are not auto syncing.....

Thanks for the info on Go Calendar Widget with no ads. I think I will go for Go Calendar. Also, thanks for the info on how 20 widgets on 6 screens don't use too much juice. I will give widget a try based on your experiences.

I have my Android 2.3 for less than a week and the battery go down to 50% after 22 hours with practically nothing on it and no activity other than some phone calls. "Nothing on it" because I am still researching on what apps to install etc etc.

 

[cds0699]

If you have some time to do some reading, this thread would be a good one to look over, just to make sure you're good to go

http://androidforums.com/android-ap...ps-avoid-viruses-guide-those-new-android.html

 

[chanchan05]

I have my Android 2.3 for less than a week and the battery go down to 50% after 22 hours with practically nothing on it and no activity other than some phone calls. "Nothing on it" because I am still researching on what apps to install etc etc.

That's already excellent battery life for a smartphone in real world usage. A fully set up smartphone (taking advantage of autosync, pushmail and stuff like that) wont even last 20hrs. It doesnt matter if its Android or Nokia (not sure about Apple's battery life, but I'll doubt they'd last longer with my setup).

The only way you'd get better battery life is to not even buy a smartphone at all and stick to feature phones.

 

[Motorhomer]

Orange Diary Pro is a nice app. It has a simple calendar, a good task list facility and of course it's a diary with text, video or audio entries.

You can also enter notes with different tags or categories.

The calendar seems to be what I think the OP wants. The free version is limited to 16 notes but, if he only wants it for the diary, that shouldn't be a problem.

I have the Pro version. I can't remember the cost but, like most Android apps, its peanuts.

 

[substring]

I use Jorte and it is the best calendar app for Android devices (both smart phones and tablets). It sync perfectly with Google Calendar. And it is FREE.

 

[lumix]

I don't believe GO Calendar Widget has ads, but it is a much larger app than you need.

Thought this is the most suitable Calendar widget that I could get from Android Market because it is free and has no ads, now I notice some reviews said some portions of the app has chinese in it. It would have been the right one if it is English only.

 

[lumix]

If you have some time to do some reading, this thread would be a good one to look over

The explanation on Permissions is very useful. Now I understand better.

 

[lumix]

So you want an actual calendar that just shows what day of the week various dates are, similar to what a paper calendar would do if you didn't mark it up.

How about taking a screen shot of this page:

Year 2011 Calendar

 

[Darkseas]

Surprise number one when I got my Android phone, Android does not have a built-in Calendar!

Except you say that you have the Google Calendar (criterion #3 on your list). Why don't you just use that? As I read your list, that calendar largely does what you want.

The Google calendar is free with no ads.

It is fine with showing you the whole month at a time. You can also see a week or a day, but that's really only helpful if you're putting in your appointments.

It does want internet access to sync with the Google calendar in the cloud. But you can control that by not allowing your Google account to sync at all -- meaning you can't sync other things like contacts. Some of us find that useful, but if you don't, you don't ever need to sync.

You say you don't have a data plan, but you do have WiFi, and you can use that to sync when you want to sync. For example, you could set up a Google calendar on your desktop, select the holiday calendar, sync it once, and your phone calendar will have all your holidays for the year.

Are you someplace in the world where there are no free WiFi hotspots at all?

 

[lumix]

To access Google Calendar, I need internet access. To have internet access, I need data plan and I don't have data plan. I think you understand all that.

Without internet access, there is absolutely no way to open Google Calendar. At home, it is not an issue, I can access internet by using wifi from my high speed internet. But then again, if I'm at home, I have a paper calendar handy so I don't need to open Google Calendar. Or I simply click the clock on my Windows's system tray to look at the calendar.

The problem is when I'm outside my house. Sure there plenty of Wifi hotspots in the mall, fast food restaurants or Starbucks. But what if you are in somewhere with no Wifi? Not all malls or restaurants have Wifi. The bus stop or downtown streets will not have Wifi. The stretch of road by the industrial area will not have Wifi. And some Wifi are password protected which takes up time to find out what the password is. Most of the time, I would need to find out about a certain date quickly is when the situation does not give me the luxury of time to look for paper calendar, find Wifi etc.

 

[Tre Lawrence]

Why you use a smartphone?, there is free or more cheap alternatives for you, use common cellphone and paper agenda and your battery don't drain at all. If you buy a smartphone is for use , i have 8 widgets and my battery remains charged from 6 am to 22 pm, when is reaching the limit, plug and recharge for the next day, is not necesary have a blank desktop for not drain the battery, try one only widget and go to the battery use, and you see, the static widgets don't drain so much battery, and you see always in the desktop the calendar info, you drain more battery, executing and starting the calendar app to see the events several times in a day.

ricnar
its like i bought a ferrari and travel 40km maximum, why spend so much money in a ferrari, buy cheap fiat hehe.

If OP wants to buy a Ferrari and jog beside it, that is truly his/her prerogative. There is nothing wrong with OP trying to customize the device to OP's needs.

 

[Darkseas]

To access Google Calendar, I need internet access. To have internet access, I need data plan and I don't have data plan. I think you understand all that.

Without internet access, there is absolutely no way to open Google Calendar.

Sorry, I must be really stupid, because I don't get that at all.

To test, I turned off mobile data and WiFi. Then I opened the calendar on my phone. It opened just fine, and every appointment that was on the phone from the last sync was still there. I can add (or delete) appointments to the calendar on the phone. They just won't sync with the calendar in the cloud until I get internet access back.

So what I hear you saying is that you can't sync if you don't have WiFi, and I'd agree with that. But so what? The calendar on the phone works just fine and will sync whenever you get WiFi access. And especially if all you want is a paper calendar equivalent, how does this not work?

 

[chanchan05]

After reading the entire thread I can conclude that the OP does not need a calendar app at all. Go get a paper calendar, take a picture of the 12 month views and put it in the gallery in an album labeled "calendar". All the OP's wants solved

1. Simple and only shows what day is what - solved
2. No ads - solved
3. Does not use juice when closed - solved


In all seriousness though, I didnt catch if the OP mentioned his phone?

1. Yes Android phones have an inbuilt calendar app, at least Samsung phones does (and I can imagine HTC, Sony and LG as well). Its called "calendar", and sits in the app drawer. You open it, and it shows a month view. There are tabs for week, day and agenda list view, but if you wont use it, why let it bother you? Just dont open them.

2. It doesnt need internet access. It can be used completely offline. Any calendar app can be used completely offline. Just go to Settings>Calendars>and uncheck everything except "My Calendar". My Calendar stands for the onboard calendar of the phone which doesnt sync to anything (except via Kies/HTC Sync/PC Companion/USB). It is a separate calendar from Google Calendar.

3. Google Calendar does not need internet access to be opened on your phone. If you have the data synced to your phone, it will always be there, even if the phone is in total offline mode, you can still see the data from Google Calendar there. The only thing different would be that you cant see the changes you made on the calendar on your phone on your online calendar, not until you connect your phone and sync it.

 

[Mutton]

I use Jorte and it is the best calendar app for Android devices (both smart phones and tablets). It sync perfectly with Google Calendar. And it is FREE.

Does Jorte sync with Outlook?
Thanks
Mutton
South Africa

 

[flogix]

Surprise number one when I got my Android phone, Android does not have a built-in Calendar!

Surprise number two, Android market does not have a simple Calendar app.

How do I qualify simple? What am I looking for when I say simple Calendar app?

Requirements of a Simple Calendar App:

1. The Calendar needs to be an app and not widget. Pardon my Android ignorance, a widget runs continuously in the background and thus uses memory, OS cache whatsoever, and more importantly battery power. An app however runs only when I open the app, and stop running when I close the app. In the context of a Calendar, I only need to use the Calendar when I want to find out about a certain day so I don't need the Calendar to be running continuously in the background as a widget. Thus the Calendar needs to be an app and not a widget.

2. The Calendar needs to show dates in a single month and possibly 2 months on a page or all 12 months on a page. The day view is not needed, this is a Calendar, not a day timer, the week view is not needed, this is a calendar and not a week planner. The ability to set up appointments, reminders are all bonuses which are not needed for a *simple* calendar app.

3. The only permission the app can have is Modify/Delete USB storage for writing user notes on certain dates, where applicable. No other permission should be a given, particularly internet access. In fact, I don't have a data plan so I have no internet access. And if I have internet access, why do I need to install a Calendar app from the Android Market which takes up memory, storage cache, battery juice when I can simply just use Google Calendar? I'm looking for a Calendar app because I do not have internet access.

4. Where possible, the Calendar apps should have no ads. If not, a no Ads version for a dollar would be acceptable.

Is there such a Calendar app that meets the above 4 requirements?

I think there is no application that meats these 4 requirements ;-(
If you need then give project to Android developers. ;-)