Ex iPhone users support, tips, and overall new experience thread

[steenface]

Hello! I just received my Skyrocket today. I upgraded from an iPhone 4. The husband went the iPhone 4S route and, while it is a nicer phone than the iPhone 4, I am loving the Skyrocket so far. I primarily use my phone for taking photos, playing games and looking stuff up so I've been enjoying it so far. I might actually use the Netflix app now!

Quick question - any way I can stop the gmail updates? I disabled push mail on my iPhone and prefer to manually update my inbox. I've searched around but I'm not finding an answer. Help?

 

[Trena]

Alright guys.I think I have the screenshot for u.let's see if this works!

Mobile Photobucket

Sorry, couldn't get hyperlink to work using phone...pita.

It's definitely an ATT thing, but can't figure it out, as the number is always changing, anywhere from 1-15 or so.

 

[MakAttak]

Hate to say it.

I had the iPhone 4s since its launch. Yesterday I bought the skyrocket. I already returned the skyrocket. The original gs2 is much better than the skyrocket.

On the skyrocket the screen looks terrible. Brightness always changes even with auto off. Phone is laggy.

Camera is terrible compared to iPhone.

My experience: YMMV
Picked up the Samsung GS2 and did not get a case (dumb).. I went back a few days later and it just happened to be the very day AT&T was starting to let 4s out the door. All the little girls buying the electric pink rhinestone cases and Hello Kitty crap.
I wondered at that time if I didn't want to give the i4s a try. A week later I said heck lets see what the buzz is all about. Did a trade.

1. 4s to Skyrocket is the most incredibly smart tech decision I EVER made. I even BEGGED AT&T to take the 4s back because I was 37 days into contract. I owe them BIG-TIME!
2. If phone is laggy, I never noticed it and I am punching the CPU in the a$$ right now, Neutron MP3s rocking, wireless hotspot running, and, looking at a word doc I just got in email. Smooth as butter.
3. Blew the phone up with an unstable mod, knew it going in, but had to try.
4. Was able to completely recover to stock and get right back in the game thanks to the AMAZING community support. Those folks ROCK!
5. The camera is as good as any phone camera I have used, but who cares, my Nikon SLR digital takes my real pics.
6. Brightness? The 4s is vague and dull compared. I set to static full bright and it never went back to auto..
7. No, the G2S has all kinds of different issues. Believe me, I am a crackberry convert of some 4 years, and I was ill prepared for the Android arena. The DIFFERENCE is the G2S has been out long enough for the community to come up with amazing solutions. Give the Skyrocket a month and the folks out here will have any quirk ironed out.
8. Open systems RULES PERIOD! No, jailbreak is not even close - total lack of support, wait days for any reply from some Dr.Pepper drinking pop tart eating snot nosed punk to tell you too bad they never thought of that...

And LASTLY, If you traded it back in, WHY are you still here?? Just to rag on it?

 

[ADRz]

My experience: YMMV
Picked up the Samsung GS2 and did not get a case (dumb).. I went back a few days later and it just happened to be the very day AT&T was starting to let 4s out the door. All the little girls buying the electric pink rhinestone cases and Hello Kitty crap.
I wondered at that time if I didn't want to give the i4s a try. A week later I said heck lets see what the buzz is all about. Did a trade.

1. 4s to Skyrocket is the most incredibly smart tech decision I EVER made. I even BEGGED AT&T to take the 4s back because I was 37 days into contract. I owe them BIG-TIME!
2. If phone is laggy, I never noticed it and I am punching the CPU in the a$$ right now, Neutron MP3s rocking, wireless hotspot running, and, looking at a word doc I just got in email. Smooth as butter.
3. Blew the phone up with an unstable mod, knew it going in, but had to try.
4. Was able to completely recover to stock and get right back in the game thanks to the AMAZING community support. Those folks ROCK!
5. The camera is as good as any phone camera I have used, but who cares, my Nikon SLR digital takes my real pics.
6. Brightness? The 4s is vague and dull compared. I set to static full bright and it never went back to auto..
7. No, the G2S has all kinds of different issues. Believe me, I am a crackberry convert of some 4 years, and I was ill prepared for the Android arena. The DIFFERENCE is the G2S has been out long enough for the community to come up with amazing solutions. Give the Skyrocket a month and the folks out here will have any quirk ironed out.
8. Open systems RULES PERIOD! No, jailbreak is not even close - total lack of support, wait days for any reply from some Dr.Pepper drinking pop tart eating snot nosed punk to tell you too bad they never thought of that...

And LASTLY, If you traded it back in, WHY are you still here?? Just to rag on it?

I second all this. The GSII Skyrocket is an excellent phone and as problems are removed, it would become an even better one. I would think that ICS would become available for the phone within 4 - 5 months, which would further increase utility.

Now, I still do not understand the screen brightness issue that some users have. Automatic brightness can be switched off and the phone does actually provide another setting in which a standard brightness level can be set. All that is easily discoverable, even by unsophisticated users. It seems to me that too many consumers want to be force-fed, and this department Apple does an admirable job I must say.

At the end, many consumers prefer closed systems because they do not require too much thought on choices and settings. The endless customizability of Android is simply confusing too many users. For these users, the iPhone or even WP phones will do the work very well.

In the issue of camera: Come on, these are camera phones. They are not intended for serious photography. Those who think otherwise must inhabit some other world. Phones, especially with 8 mpx camera provide a nice way to take a shot when no camera is available but they are not camera substitutes, not even close. Having said this, the camera in the Skyrocket is excellent. One can add certain camera utilities that assist the user with HDR photography and night shots, which is really fine for an unsophisticated photographer.

 

[steenface]

In regards to the camera (and with anything else, to be honest) you really need to learn your device. My husband has the iPhone 4S and we were side-by-side tonight taking pictures of the Thanksgiving table. I was frustrated because the photo looked beautiful in the viewfinder but in the gallery, it looked horrible; it took me a little bit to realize something in my settings was dimming the screen for photo viewing. Once I fixed it, our photos were comparable. I do think the Skyrocket has better photo editing options --- and I delight in Adobe Photoshop Express.

I've owned an iPhone since they first came out. The only models I haven't owned are the 3GS and the 4S. I loved them and they were fantastic phones but so many phones out there now are truly competitive. However, I also know the issues I personally had with the iPhone (and with Apple) and the Skyrocket has been awesome so far. (Although I miss the longer battery life buuuuut I'm getting used to it!)

 

[jdizzy8]

Checking back in, have had the phone since it's come out, and I'm still super happy. I can honestly say this battery out performs my iPhone 4s. Not only my previous 4S, but my brothers, best friends, and another friends phone doesn't hold a candle to the battery performance.

Regarding the phone, still love, love, love the screen and size. I love that I get the reaction from my friends and relatives who are like "man, that screen is huge!", and then I show them the speed, even just on faux 4G.

I hope that Google continues to enhance Android, and I also hope that developers continue to dedicate to the Android OS. I'm very happy with my change.

I will be getting the new ipad in March though, because I have a lot of money tied in apps that fortunately my wife and son continue to enjoy.

 

[keliuc]

I've been using the Swype keyboard and it is super fast!

 

[JrFreak]

Hi all,

I've have my 3GS since a few days after it came out. It's time for a change and I want to pick up an S2 SR.

Anyone here on AT&T and had an iphone 3G/3GS and can switch back and forth between the iphone and the S2?

I talked to different AT&T sales reps and got two different answers. One said I could do it, but would have to log on to AT&T website and change my data plans for it to work. Another rep said I could do it as long as I had the S2 activated and it's SIM card programmed for 4G LTE. He said that SIM would work in my iphone, but of course I wouldn't get 4G on my iphone.

 

[Thiat302]

I know that they are listed as two different data plans- when I went from an iphone to an android it worked without calling right away- idk how long it will work thou-

 

[spikeithard]

I've been using the Swype keyboard and it is super fast!

swype is da BOMB

 

[Firedown31]

Swype produces some interesting words often.. I got ai type keyboard as suggested in this thread and it is amazing. Feels just like texting with my 3gs again.

 

[propsizzle]

i have a 3GS, and was able to swap the SIM with no issue.

 

[BlackZenith]

I've been using the Swype keyboard and it is super fast!

++

 

[hillucla]

I am a long-time iPhone, iTunes, and Mac user. Just switched to Skyrocket three weeks ago (ok - actually GSII then traded in for Skyrocket). Big learning curve but I am enjoying the large screen and flexibility of the Android platform. I am an engineer and a geek and have played a lot with this phone and with the available apps. Also done a lot of reading up on the platform.
Here are some tips I hope might help out a few of you:

For the music lovers - this is what I did that worked well for me. My entire 2000 song library is all in iTunes (and I wanted to keep it that way). I used a program called iSyncr (its an app in the android market) which allowed me to download my entire iTunes library including playlists, star ratings, etc to my SD card. It also downloads the album art. It does it all automagically - no need to drag/drop your song files anywhere!
FYI - it will not transfer over a music file type called "protected AAC file" These are files from a couple of years ago when Apple copy-protected the songs if you purchased on iTunes. The way around that I found was to burn them (10 at a time) onto CD using iTunes, then re-import the CD into iTunes. Now they will come back in unprotected and they will be able to be moved to your Skyrocket. (I have 300 songs I did this with - took a while -- whew! I am sure there is some program that may do it for you but I found this was cheapest way)

I also downloaded an app called PlayerPro to play my music. PlayerPro is great - it has several widget options and also it has a lock screen option that does work with the security lock (including pattern lock) It has a free trial then you do have to pay for it - but I think its worth it.

For movies - I coded my videos using a free program I downloaded to my mac called HandBrake (I think there is a PC version as well). HandBrake has handy presets - I use the one called "universal" and then I just make sure my file name has the .mp4 extension. When the movie is done - I simply drag and drop it onto my SD card and I use the stock Samsung video player it works great.

For connecting to your Mac/PC - I personally don't bother with Keis - I found it to be a big pain. What I did was go into my phone Settings > Applications > Development > USB Debugging -- check that box. This will now allow your phone to talk to your computer when you connect it via USB. So then when you connect your phone to your computer, pull down the notification menu on your phone and click on the USB one. It will pull up a window with a box at the bottom asking if you want to connect to your PC (or something like that) click it and then your phone's memory will become visible on your computer and you can access your phone's hard drive and SD card by using Finder on a Mac or Windows Explorer on PC. Then just drag and drop whatever files you like!! Don't forget to "unmount" the drives from your computer before going back to your phone and deselecting the USB box.

One final thing - did you know you have 15 minutes to try out any paid app in the android market? If you download the app, try it out and don't like it, go back into the market and on the page for that app at the top should be a "refund" button. Click it and presto - the app is deleted from your phone and you are not charged for the app!


Sorry if this is all newby stuff that most of you may know already - these are just some of the major items I discovered while switching from iPhone. Hoping it helps!

 

[JrFreak]

i have a 3GS, and was able to swap the SIM with no issue.

Cool. No issues with data?

 

[ADRz]

Cool. No issues with data?

Unless you make a change in your data plan, an extension of your contract does not affect your existing data plan.

However, existing data on the phone is another matter. If you want to get your contacts from one phone to the other, open a gmail account and transfer your contacts to the gmail account. When you are prompted to enter your google account, your contacts will appear automatically. If you have photograhs, post these photographs on a Picassa album and they would also appear automatically.

The great thing about Android is that you have access to the file structure. Thus, if you have saved all your photos in your PC, you can place them in the Skyrocket after you establish a connection with USB (you will be asked if you want to connect your storage).

The change in operating systems requires some ground work.

 

[SuperAkuma]

I don't have the SR but I wasn't able to just switch my Samsung Captivate to the 3gs without calling att. When I swapped the card, I was able to make call, but can't use the data.
But a month later when I traded my 3gs for the Infused, I was able to swap chip without calling att.

Same thing happened with the guy I traded the phone with. He had to call att to get data to work on his 3gs that I gave him.

 

[jeremylub]

Also an Iphone 3GS convert... 1wk with my Skyrocket. Overall like it a lot. Nothing against IOS but I just wanted full google maps and a bigger screen. Would have been happy with the Atrix 2 if it has a little more features... 4.3" I think is a little better size. This one is a little hard to use one handed for some things. A few issues I still need to work out. Help welcome!
1) I used the notes app to sync with gmail notes, since mail is always up on my mac. Several apps sync to google tasks or their own private web sync (most with desktop apps) but I dont want another app on my mac... I just want to sync with gmail notes. gnote claims to do it but the formatting is wrong and even if I fixed it, it wouldnt work with IOS devices if I used my ipad to update the note. I use notes a LOT so this is big issue for me to fix.

2) gmail app - I dont want to use it... just want to use one unified mail app, but so far I have not figured out how to turn it off. I would also like a better mail app... the one that came with the phone is a little weak... would like to be able to swipe left to go back to pref sreen, and easy way to get back to list of mailboxes. Also dont want to confirm to delete, and would like to report spam.

3) The music player is OK I guess, but when I quit it doesnt remember where I was. I use doubletwist to sync to my itunes but dont use the app on the phone. Maybe its good... just using the one that came with the phone for now.

4) Contacts sort by first name... I am sure this is simple (syncing with google account) - prob because thats the way it is in google... hmm...

Honestly thats about it. Battery is ok although sometimes something seems to run away. I had a full charge and it ran down to zero when I wasnt doing anything 2 days ago. Just left it sitting in the car. Sometimes it is very impressive but there is a bug or rouge app in there somewhere.

 

[hillucla]

Also an Iphone 3GS convert... 1wk with my Skyrocket. Overall like it a lot. Nothing against IOS but I just wanted full google maps and a bigger screen. Would have been happy with the Atrix 2 if it has a little more features... 4.3" I think is a little better size. This one is a little hard to use one handed for some things. A few issues I still need to work out. Help welcome!
1) I used the notes app to sync with gmail notes, since mail is always up on my mac. Several apps sync to google tasks or their own private web sync (most with desktop apps) but I dont want another app on my mac... I just want to sync with gmail notes. gnote claims to do it but the formatting is wrong and even if I fixed it, it wouldnt work with IOS devices if I used my ipad to update the note. I use notes a LOT so this is big issue for me to fix.

2) gmail app - I dont want to use it... just want to use one unified mail app, but so far I have not figured out how to turn it off. I would also like a better mail app... the one that came with the phone is a little weak... would like to be able to swipe left to go back to pref sreen, and easy way to get back to list of mailboxes. Also dont want to confirm to delete, and would like to report spam.

3) The music player is OK I guess, but when I quit it doesnt remember where I was. I use doubletwist to sync to my itunes but dont use the app on the phone. Maybe its good... just using the one that came with the phone for now.

4) Contacts sort by first name... I am sure this is simple (syncing with google account) - prob because thats the way it is in google... hmm...

Honestly thats about it. Battery is ok although sometimes something seems to run away. I had a full charge and it ran down to zero when I wasnt doing anything 2 days ago. Just left it sitting in the car. Sometimes it is very impressive but there is a bug or rouge app in there somewhere.

#2 - try K-9 email app. I think it will do some of what you want.

#3 - Try PlayerPro. Works great with your iTunes stuff - even displays star ratings etc. Will remember where you last played. Also has a nice widget and also a nice lock screen.

#4 - to list by last name go to "More" settings within Contacts > then Display Options > Display Contacts by "Family Name First"

 

[AdamdangA]

I will be an ex-iphone user as of tomorrow, can't wait for my skyrocket

 

[vracer]

I have been reading info on the Skyrocket for a lot of the last two days. Even though this thread is a week old, it is the one that pushes me over the edge. I just called the only salesman at AT&T who seems to know the phone. (Now I better stop reading or I'll chicken out.)

 

[jeremylub]

Thanks for that... helped a lot. I'll try K9 but I am working on just moving to gmail for all my emails, so I will just use the gmail app.

So how do I know what running services should be running and what I can kill? I dont like the idea of stuff running in the background without my approval Mainly for battery management. I have downloaded some apps that I dont even use yet and I see them running services. Also some of the ATT installed ones run - like socialhub - which I dont use.

I suspect some runaway processes, but twice I have had serious battery drains. First was a FULL charge - left it sitting in my car. Came back 3hrs later and it was dead. Second time went from 50% to dead in a couple hours. All in perfect service areas with good bars. Might be a bad handset, but I want to understand whats going on behind the scenes better.

 

[kimalgebra]

About 5 times this week, I swore I'd never leave Apple for any other phone. When my iPhone 4 was lost/stolen last weekend, I was relieved to learn I could upgrade on December 1. I was going to get the $199 4s, but they were out of stock and I HAD to have a phone. I was looking at going back to another 4 for $99. The cashier had it halfway rung up when I picked up the demo Skyrocket and said, "What's the big deal with these things anyway?" 20 minutes later I walked out with a Skyrocket. I work in a school district that is totally Mac and I feel like I'm cheating on my spouse by not carrying an Apple product!

I'm very interested in many of the tips you guys have posted. Some of what you're talking about is above what I'm worried about at this point. I see there's a tutorial video in my materials that I'll go through tonight. I'm typically not one to read manuals, but I'm in over my head here. I've killed plenty of battery life in the past 24 hours playing with it, and now I have some questions to ask.

This is pretty basic, but pretty irritating: How can I configure my notification sounds for email? I see sounds under settings, but it just allows me to choose the tone. I don't want to be notified every time another piece of spam hits my Yahoo account and it's driving me crazy!

If someone could answer that for me, and maybe direct me to any "ground-level" tutorials, I'd appreciate it!

 

[hillucla]

About 5 times this week, I swore I'd never leave Apple for any other phone. When my iPhone 4 was lost/stolen last weekend, I was relieved to learn I could upgrade on December 1. I was going to get the $199 4s, but they were out of stock and I HAD to have a phone. I was looking at going back to another 4 for $99. The cashier had it halfway rung up when I picked up the demo Skyrocket and said, "What's the big deal with these things anyway?" 20 minutes later I walked out with a Skyrocket. I work in a school district that is totally Mac and I feel like I'm cheating on my spouse by not carrying an Apple product!

I'm very interested in many of the tips you guys have posted. Some of what you're talking about is above what I'm worried about at this point. I see there's a tutorial video in my materials that I'll go through tonight. I'm typically not one to read manuals, but I'm in over my head here. I've killed plenty of battery life in the past 24 hours playing with it, and now I have some questions to ask.

This is pretty basic, but pretty irritating: How can I configure my notification sounds for email? I see sounds under settings, but it just allows me to choose the tone. I don't want to be notified every time another piece of spam hits my Yahoo account and it's driving me crazy!

If someone could answer that for me, and maybe direct me to any "ground-level" tutorials, I'd appreciate it!

Welcome to the SR! I felt the same way you did - like I was cheating on Apple. Now - I'm just enjoying my freedom.
To answer your question about the mail tone. If you are using the stock app that came with the phone - while you are in the app press the menu button. Select More, Account Settings, then scroll down to the notifications area. There is a section for tones. You should be able to turn it off from there.
FYI if you are a Yahoo email user (like me) there is a free yahoo app that works pretty well.
Good luck!

 

[raskal311]

Hi All, I just picked up a skyrocket and switch the micro sim from my Iphone 4s. I dont have a micro sim adapter but I positioned the sim so that all the points connects. I am able to make calls and receive text however I an not getting any data connection. Can someone tell me if its simply because the sim is not in the right position and I need to get an adapter or does the LTE/4G connection require a different sim?