Anyone else not thrilled with giving google your database?

[MKeditor]

I am really surprised there no one care that they are giving google their whole database of contacts including notes and comments. Am I the only guy that feels like this is big brother big time?

For years all I have had to do is plug my phone into my computer to syc contacts and calendar. This new wiz bang OS that is supposed to be so advanced needs to have it be done by a website?

This is called progress?

 

[kabbie_mcfeely]

Don't you have an e-mail account ? Checking account ? Home internet service ? Medical insurance ?

There are many other places I would worry about big brother. I however doubt that goole or the goverment has people going through your e-mail or phone contacts.

If it realy bothers you that much why did you buy the phone ?

 

[MKeditor]

Don't you have an e-mail account ? Checking account ? Home internet service ? Medical insurance ?

There are many other places I would worry about big brother. I however doubt that goole or the goverment has people going through your e-mail or phone contacts.

If it realy bothers you that much why did you buy the phone ?

Medical records are protected legally....which isn't iron clad. My checking accounts is protected through FDIC.

I am not sure what you are getting at. If you ask my doctor or my bank manager where I will be next week or what my notes say about our clients....they wouldn't have a clue.

As for why I bought the phone....I had no idea yesterday when I bought this gizmo that it had these limitations. I was very excited about an open source OS where the free market could create apps for a wide range of customers.

I was taken back about at T-Mobile when I was buying when the salesman told me I have to have a gmail e-mail account for the phone to work. If I wanted an iphone I would have gone to AT&T.

There is no reason anyone should have give Google a run down on mu itinerary and known associates just to sync.

I am still trying to figure out why no one has created an app like Activesync that makes syncing easy and secure.

 

[Swizz]

You're not required, if you were willing to put in some extra leg work or pay a little extra money. Dev phones have the ability to skip the registration process so there is no gmail account associated with your phone. You can also cancel any syncing that is done with Google.

OR. You can skip getting an Android phone if you're so worried about "big brother" and the rest of the conspiracy theories.

Google allows you to do it, as a free service to the end user. Not to farm information and sell to the highest bidder. Not only that, but they allow for multiple ways for the user to forgo any information being uploaded to any sort of server.

I suggest researching before accusing someone of something of this caliber.

 

[cdmackay]

I believe there are concerns over what Google might do with the data.

I don't like it much either, but I'm putting up with it for the convenience.

"plug my phone into my computer to syc contacts and calendar." - yes, that's the point exactly: you no longer have to do this. This is a big win, if you have lots of computers, spread out in various locations, and you want them all to be able to see the latest synced data. And if your computers aren't running Windows/Mac, again, normally you're left out in the cold.

I'd *rather* the ability to sync over the internet to a server of my choosing, and under my control, that would be very good. But until that's available, the Google sync is good enough.

and I'll just be careful about what data I allow to be synced.

 

[MKeditor]

My original post probably reads as bitter, but actually it is just frustration. I have been following websites daily watching the various android phones in process of being released. I have been waiting for a long time to find a phone that will suite my needs. I thought the Android OS was the most exciting thing to come along in years. Unfortunately you can't really get to know a piece of gear like this until you spend time working with it in the real world. It all looks amazing on the websites and you can fiddle with it in the store...but until you do a real field test, it is all speculation.

I am going to follow this carrot a bit further. The free enterprise system is something I have faith in. My hope is that developers will produce the apps needed soon.

I am astonished there are no folders for bookmarks. It dumped all 1500 from Firefox into one big list. These kind of sort comings is what I expect from Apple....not a cutting edge new OS trying to blaze a trail.

We will see.

If someone wants to sync via google...more power to them. It just shouldn't be the only way....in my opinion.

 

[punkzanyj]

I call B*llsh!t

why?

Because this statement(bold is mine)...

"As for why I bought the phone....I had no idea yesterday when I bought this gizmo that it had these limitations. I was very excited about an open source OS where the free market could create apps for a wide range of customers.

I was taken back about at T-Mobile when I was buying when the salesman told me I have to have a gmail e-mail account for the phone to work. If I wanted an iphone I would have gone to AT&T.

There is no reason anyone should have give Google a run down on mu itinerary and known associates just to sync."

...followed by this statement(bold is mine)....

"My original post probably reads as bitter, but actually it is just frustration. I have been following websites daily watching the various android phones in process of being released. I have been waiting for a long time to find a phone that will suite my needs."

...is a contradiction. The fact that Android devices are cloud devices that require a gmail/google account is neither a secret, nor an oft ignored or minimized fact. It has been front and center since at least a year ago when the launch date for the G1 was fast approaching.

Either you did not actually do your homework, or you're faking shock because your tinfoil hat is on too tight.

I consider it progress that my information isn't locked down in one device, a device that if stolen or destroyed would also take my information with it. That I can access this information anywhere I have a web connection, on a PC, a Mac, a laptop, netbook, tablet pc, or even someone else's phone.

PC Syncing is nice, but if you ever used WinMo there are plenty of problems with that. Every 3-6 months the sync would fail repeatedly and I would have to spend half a day dealing with it, eventually just deciding to end the "relationship" between PC and device, uninstall all software, reinstall, and deal with WinMo deciding to randomly duplicate contacts, events, notes at it's own discretion. A job I worked at until last year, I was in the president's office for an hour every two weeks convincing her blackberry and Laptop to play nice.

I have not had a sync issue since getting android almost a year ago, and I don't have to worry about hardware issues with cables, or if I entered changes into a contact and losing them before I get a chance to head home to sync. It's done automatically, round the clock, so yes, that IS progress. No cables, no troubleshooting problems between PC and device, no duplicates, no updates to one or the other that interferes with sync, and no waiting until you get home/work to sync.

 

[MKeditor]

You are happy. Good for you.

All my dreams didn't come true. I will live.


I have been following Phone Arena and Engadget Mobile daily for many months. I never ran across a review that discussed these limitations.

fyi: I have been on Windows Mobile since 2004. It is not perfect. They are behind on a number of things that they shouldn't. I will agree the Active Sync would go sideways once a year or so.

It still doesn't make sense why Android is narrow in scope for some very basic things.

P.S.

I didn't come here to debate. I have no horse in this race. I am a complete newbie to Android.....who is trying make this situation work. Obviously I hit a little too close to the mark. Didn't mean to ruffle your feathers.

I am going to go back and keep trying to discover work-arounds for all the things I used to be able to do....so that I can enjoy the powerful advantages this thing has. I really don't want to return the thing. I am not ready to throw in the towel yet.

 

[cdmackay]

Well, debate is generally a fine thing, no? As long as we all remain calm

For me, I find the Android phone light-years better than the Nokias I've sworn by for many years; an entirely new experience.

It's not without its faults (some serious), and there *are* privacy issues, but on the whole it seems like a big step in the right direction, at least to me.

I can see that some of the default apps are a little under-featured, but that's to be expected: it is still a relatively new OS. And there are lots - or going to be - of Market apps that should fill the gaps here.

good that you're not throwing in the towel, and hopefully you can find workarounds for some of your other issues...

 

[GODMODE]

The history of OTA Sync:

Sidekick - since 2002

Ms Exchange (web2mail service) - since 2005

Iphone (mobile me) - since 2008

Gmail (!!!) Has been caching your data for years - since 200?

Android.... 2008

You're now concerned?

 

[MKeditor]

Thanks for the kind word, cdmckay. I really do want this to work.

I was just thinking this morning about the whole contacts issue. I just figured out that there is another big problem with it for me. It appears that what is being suggested is that you export your contacts from Outlook....jump through some hoops to separate the info...then upload it to Google...then download it to the gizmo.

So....I have to do this every time a make a change to Outlook?! What they really want is for me to not use a contact manager of my own at all and just keep it all on Google's servers. I am have no interest what so ever in doing that. I don't like Outlook. I only switched to it because it synced to Windows Mobile,... but I will keep my own records. If the mothership looses it, they will just shrug their shoulders and if they feeling in a good mood, they might say they are sorry. You can't hold a company responsible for a free service.

I need an app that will sync to a program on my PC. Am I asking for too much? Is it that hard? Am I the only one?

 

[MKeditor]

Gmail (!!!) Has been caching your data for years - since 200?

Not my data.

 

[cdmackay]

...
Gmail (!!!) Has been caching your data for years - since 200?
...
You're now concerned?

you seem to be confusing "some people's" and "your", in the above.

 

[cdmackay]

So....I have to do this every time a make a change to Outlook?! What they really want is for me to not use a contact manager of my own at all and just keep it all on Google's servers. I am have no interest what so ever in doing that. I don't like Outlook. I only switched to it because it synced to Windows Mobile,... but I will keep my own records. If the mothership looses it, they will just shrug their shoulders and if they feeling in a good mood, they might say they are sorry. You can't hold a company responsible for a free service.

That's the idea. Of course, you can easily take a backup copy of your data from Google, and I'd encourage you to do that. There are also a number of Android apps that take a backup of your phone data to the SD card (or to another email).

But if you really want to use a different master source for the data, then you're going to struggle a little, as you're fighting the basic design, which is for Google to be the master source (or the phone, come to that).

 

[GODMODE]

I worked in a hospital for 10 years - if you think the legal system is protecting your medical records, you are out-of-your-mind. With volunteers, underpaid MR employees, maintenance workers coming in and out of MR facilities, nothing is safe, I will guarantee you that.

Medical records are protected legally....which isn't iron clad. My checking accounts is protected through FDIC.

I am not sure what you are getting at. If you ask my doctor or my bank manager where I will be next week or what my notes say about our clients....they wouldn't have a clue.

As for why I bought the phone....I had no idea yesterday when I bought this gizmo that it had these limitations. I was very excited about an open source OS where the free market could create apps for a wide range of customers.

I was taken back about at T-Mobile when I was buying when the salesman told me I have to have a gmail e-mail account for the phone to work. If I wanted an iphone I would have gone to AT&T.

There is no reason anyone should have give Google a run down on mu itinerary and known associates just to sync.

I am still trying to figure out why no one has created an app like Activesync that makes syncing easy and secure.

 

[GODMODE]

Not my data.

Oh yes they have.

 

[GODMODE]

you seem to be confusing "some people's" and "your", in the above.

if you have a gmail account, and use google - you are being cached pal. Live and in your face.

 

[MKeditor]

if you have a gmail account, and use google - you are being cached pal. Live and in your face.

I only got a google account when I bought the phone. I have no need for a free e-mail account.

 

[cdmackay]

if you have a gmail account, and use google - you are being cached pal. Live and in your face.

sigh, yes, that's completely obvious. which is why those concerned about the privacy of their mail don't have gmail accounts.

 

[MKeditor]

Not just privacy. Accountability is a big reason for me too. As I stated above, any company that is providing a free service to you, owes you nothing. There is no grounds for liability.

On another note, I am loving the power of all those apps so much there is no turning back. I will just have to find a way to live with the the attributes that I don't care for. I am biting down on the hook.

 

[cdmackay]

 

[MKeditor]

I worked in a hospital for 10 years - if you think the legal system is protecting your medical records, you are out-of-your-mind. With volunteers, underpaid MR employees, maintenance workers coming in and out of MR facilities, nothing is safe, I will guarantee you that.

Point taken.

How plausible is it that these volunteers are selling my info on the side? I am sure that these individuals wouldn't be very interested in my blood pressure or aches and pains. It only has meaning to people I know, do business with or companies that want to market to my demographic. How likely would someone approach a person in the medical field? Would one of these employees try to find companies to sell info to? I think this is all very unlikely...but you worked in the field.

On the other hand, I think it is much more plausible for Google to sell lists. There are already scores of companies that will sell your info to anyone. In less than a hour, you could find out where I live, where I work, my annual income, who I voted for, etc.

The companies that sell this info would profit from the kind of information we all keep on our calendars and contact notes. So would marketing companies.

I have the personal cell phone number of a few famous people. If I were to upload my contacts to google, it could be obtained without my permission. Information can never be taken back.

I could be wrong.

 

[cyberbob25]

Just to add a little information.

As was mentioned in an earlier post, dev phones have the ability to bypass the gmail authentication process. You can also get this benefit from rooting your phone using one of the many ROM's that are available (I can't recommend cyanogenmod enough!). This also gives you the benefit of being able to use the very powerful apps out there(such as task killer and wifi tethering), not to mention actually making the system perform much faster.

Also, as mentioned in an earlier post, android does possess the ability to turn off syncing with google altogether. This is especially easy to perform with one of the many toggle apps out there, especially with the donut widgit that is built into the cyanogen ROM.

As for syncing your contacts from Outlook, I have not tried it (I don't use Windows), but there is supposedly a PC Suite available from HTC (says that it's for the Magic, but I believe it would work for most of the currently available Android devices...ymmv) that looks like it should work: HTC Sync Upgrade for HTC Magic

As you mention, there are other shortcomings (lack of folders in bookmarks is a big one), but overall, this is a great phone, and it can be completely severed from our Google overlords with a little bit of work and research.

 

[trick202]

Set up your phone with google, then switch the syncing off in settings. Manually sync with outlook. Nobody held a gun to your head when you were buying the device, and if you did your homework right you'd know it was just a "vessel" for cloud-based living.

Love the comment about the tinfoil hat earlier in the thread!

As for my privacy, I couldn't care less. I live in the UK. It's got more CCTV cameras per head of population than anywhere else. I have nothing hide really (not suggesting you do) and so I don't really bother about what google decide to do.
Identity theft is a very organic business - the perpetrators are usually very creative.

I think google have better things to do than see when your next dental appointment might be, or whether Gerry from Accounts has bad breath.

Seems a bit like buying a hummer then complaining that it's not great on the freeway.

 

[sun]

That's the idea. Of course, you can easily take a backup copy of your data from Google, and I'd encourage you to do that. There are also a number of Android apps that take a backup of your phone data to the SD card (or to another email).

But if you really want to use a different master source for the data, then you're going to struggle a little, as you're fighting the basic design, which is for Google to be the master source (or the phone, come to that).

Fighting the Basic Design? HTC provides a sync program with the HTC magic in canada and other places ... tmobile in agreement with google cut this feature ... so i don't think he is fighting the design. Just trying to remove this stupid restriction.

And for the life of me I cannot understand why so many people on this forum are so unkind to people who have needs or desires different from their own. I for one would like outlook sync via usb because i do not want my info on Google .. regardless of the argument regarding other information that can be found online. There is absolutely no need to require this functionality. if it is so great then allow it as an option and people will CHOOSE it. I've been struggling with this phone for weeks trying to find a solution to this sync problem. And LIke others I will return this phone if i can't find a solution. That is my choice and if you don't understand or don't care then please don't respond negatively.

-sun