Help I really want to like my DroidX, but it doesn't do what I need so far

[GregTard]

I want to start this post by saying I am no fanboi and have no loyalty to any technology company. I believe people should use what works best for them because everybody is different. I have worked in IT for the past 10 years and have used/still use a wide variety of Linux/Windows/Apple machines and use whatever works best for the job to be done.

Now maybe the trolls will stay away.

I was an iPhone user since the initial release. I thought it was a very nice device and I used and I was going to purchase an iPod for my music so I just combined the 2. I like the iTunes interface, it has always handled my music needs well, so I preferred that. I have never like BBs and their physical keyboards. Prior to the iPhone, I really was not a smart phone person due to my hatred for typing on the physical keyboards on most phones. It must be my hands, but I just don't like them.

My most recent phone was the iPhone 3GS. My company has Verizon, but I used AT&T and my company would purchase the phone and pay half my bill. With the iPhone 4 release, I decided to save a little money I would change to the company account so my phone was completely paid for and to get an Android device. I tried the BB Storm but could not stand the way it felt. The CEO of my company bought one when it cam out and when he gave it to me to setup, I thought it was broken because of the way the screen is.

So I decided on the DroidX and I have had it for a few weeks. I like the phone physically and really want to like everything about it. The phone definitely has promise, however there are certain things missing that I am very annoyed with and some I can live with. Bottom line is there are a lot of disappointments. I still have time to return the phone if it will not do what I need so I would like to know if anyone can point me to what I need to accomplish my goals without loosing functionality. It can either be another phone or an app. Everything listed below I could do on my iPhone, but now I can't. I would prefer to keep the DroidX and have it do what I need.

1. I prefer to view ALL of my email in one box with the ability to view them independently if I need to. The DroidX comes close with t he Universal Inbox except for it doesn't include your main Gmail account. It has it's own box which is completely ridiculous in my opinion.

2. I want the same thing in my calendar that I want in my mail. I have a personal calendar, business calendar, and calendars of friends and family that I want to view in a single calendar and have the ability to view them separately as well.

3. Again, I want the same multiple account contact sync, "all in one" view, and separate view for each account contact set.

4. I need a music/video/data management app that will sync everything to my phone, help me mass-edit my music file tags, correct tags automatically, and managing phone apps would be nice as well but not necessary.

5. I want more battery life out of my phone. I would like to be able to heavily use my phone for at least 4 hours continuously. Currently, I only get 1-2 hours. I also would like to be able to get 24 hours of light use without making the phone useless.

6. I want email/phone/text notifications without unlocking my phone.

7. I want my videos on my phone including my downloaded digital copies of movies I have purchased. I tried doubletwist but it will not even give me the option to sync video and manually moving them would not work either.

8. I want to know the date when I look at my homescreen without installing software that drains my battery.

9. I want to know my battery level in increments of 1.

10. I want to sync my corporate Domino email to my phone (IBM is in the process of developing an update to their ActiveSync support but wondering if anyone was able to find another way).

11. I want scientific calculator with buttons that are not for blind people. Other text is annoyingly large as well.

12. I want ot set network settings independently for each wireless network remebered.

13. I want OpenVPN support (OK, I couldn't do this one on my iPhone, but I would love ot know if there is anything for Android).

14. I want to sync my bookmarks from at least 1 location.

15. I want better copy and paste. More place ot copy text from and easier selection. It may be me, but I have trouble getting the context menu to poop up. Sometimes I can select text and then the it gets deselcteed because I don't hold it down long enough to get the menu again to select copy. Adjustments would be nice, but if I just have ot get used to it I can live with that. Has anyone else found it to be kind of hit or miss.

16. A better keyboard. I hat the DroidX default keyboard. Any suggestions on some?

I really appreciate any info anyone can give me. I really want to find solutions for my problems so I can stay on the DroidX or at least stay on Android. I would prefer no to do anything to the phone that is not supported, but if it comes down to an item that I NEED, but can't do it without rooting or some other unsupported method, I may have to do it.

Again, I am not an Apple fanboi, but I like their products and my iPhone 3GS did everything I needed out of the box. Of course I didn't like some things about it, but the things I didn't like were not as important.

Thanks

 

[turnerw]

He seems to be making this same post on numerous Droid sites. Just saying....

 

[FoxtrotUniform]

I want

And people in Hell want ice water.

...And I wouldn't drop that line, in all joking manner, without providing a few answers.



Welcome to the Android world, it's got a little catching up to do since Apple had such a head start, but we're getting there quickly with user-friendliness.

2. I'm in the same boat with the calendars unfortunately, sorry.

4. I didn't like DoubleTwist at all, so I started using Windows Media Player and setting my usb connection on the X to that setting as well when plugging it into the PC. I think it does a good job of syncing music/video/pictures better than anything else I've tried. To manage apps I suggest AppBrain, Fast Web Installer, and AppBrain.com.

5. I have to be honest and say I don't think I could drain my X in 1-2 hours if I tried so I think you're doing it wrong. I suggest turning off GPS and lowering the screen brightness. Those will be your two biggest killers. Other than that you must be trying to jump start your vehicle with it. For the "24 hours" part, try JuiceDefender. Great for saving power if you're not on it constantly.

6. Best app for this hands down is Widget Locker. Very popular and works like a champ for this.

7. Windows Media Player, but for this I would manually move them over. If you're having problems with that, set your USB connection mode to USB Mass Storage. Don't forget to change it off of that setting before trying to access your SD card.

8. Tons of apps for this. From full on Calendars to very simple date widgets. I think even the stock clock will show you the date on your homescreen...

9. I use BatteryLeft Widget. Shows in increments of 1% along with other goodies. Might help you discover what's draining your battery so fast as well.

11. Tons here. Take your pick.

13. I don't use OpenVPN on my phone, but it is possible, with some monkeywrenching. See this thread.

14. Firefox's mobile browser is very near to an alpha stage and I know it supports bookmark syncing between PC/Phone/Everything. Couple weeks away I think. Other than that I'm not sure if the current ones do.

16. SwiftKey, or use Swype that's included with the X. Find it in Settings. i've been testing SwiftKey but after getting used to Swype over the last month I still like it best (when it's not humid as hell to where my finger sticks on the screen, then Swype is horrible )

Good luck, follow some threads here. Especially ones like "What do your X Screens Look Like?" for what good apps others are using.

 

[sund0wn]

...providing a few answers....

while i think i have my phone pretty dialed in, i think the time you took to address this deserves a thanks.

 

[Paycer]

And people in Hell want ice water.

Now I need a Coke. THANKS!

Good post btw.

 

[dahacker]

I really like the original post. Lots of good points and a willingness to look for solutions. Most acknowledge the shortcomings and I think the Android platform will solve most in a year or two. Some things you mention are just things you'll have to get used to. Kind of like getting used to a new car.

I can't agree with you more on your battery life issues. It took me a while to get it to more than 24 hours for my use.

Media management is a huge issue also as you indicate. itunes is jinky, but Doubletwist is 4 years behind that. I can deal with it though, because my libraries are already folder organized by artist/album and drag and drop nicely. But I think this is going to be a MAJOR sticking point moving forward for Android.

I heavily use an iPod Touch and could make a much longer list of annoying things about Apple IOS. Right now I actually carry around both devices and use the best things on both.

I really hope the Android App market will continue to improve in overall App quality as compared to the Apple App store. Yeah, there are several killer Android Apps, but the Apple App store has many more really decent apps.

I do love the Droid X though, despite some of its shortcomings. There are lots of killer things in Android and the actual hardware that I'm not sure I could give up.

 

[darreno1]

For syncing there is the Vcast media manager from Verizon and Motorola Media Link available on Motorola's website. I'd give those a try.

 

[dylo22]

OP - I have a solution that will solve all your problems - GET AN IPHONE! Seriously...if the 3GS did everything you wanted, why did you switch to android? Wouldn't the Iphone4 be a logical replacement? I really don't understand your decision making process.

 

[Steven58]

here we gooooooooooooo!

 

[FoxtrotUniform]

while i think i have my phone pretty dialed in, i think the time you took to address this deserves a thanks.

Now I need a Coke. THANKS!

Good post btw.

Thanks guys

 

[longdong22]

dude.. Just carry around a tampad...er ipad

 

[hahaha what]

buy an iphone 4 its the best phone

 

[Paycer]

I think we need a universal thumbs down button. It seems to be missing everywhere these days.

 

[JrzDroid]

i can see this topic getting out of hand real quick

@hahaha what - the iPhone 4 is not the best phone
the Motorola StarTAC is

The 50 Greatest Gadgets of the Past 50 Years - PCWorld

 

[Stealthman]

i can see this topic getting out of hand real quick

@hahaha what - the iPhone 4 is not the best phone
the Motorola StarTAC is

The 50 Greatest Gadgets of the Past 50 Years - PCWorld

The StarTac was the sh** back in the day, great phone

 

[dirkbonn]

OP - I have a solution that will solve all your problems - GET AN IPHONE! Seriously...if the 3GS did everything you wanted, why did you switch to android? Wouldn't the Iphone4 be a logical replacement? I really don't understand your decision making process.

I gotto go with dylo on this.....

It's the old "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

 

[carmendiva]

lolzzz

Word of advice:
Never mention an iphone when seeking helping(fan boy/girl or not)
the android fanboys/girls will perceive you that way and you will get
some of the unneeded posts you have gotten....

Idk if you are within your thirty days or not but i recommend if you are, to trade for an incredible....

the calendars and overall UI is kind of better than Blur on the X

 

[SonicBoom]

dude just learn to use your phone, i can guarantee when you got your iphone it didnt do everything you wanted right out of the box, you had to move items to this screen and that screen, adjust some settings and download some apps to fit your needs, then when you finally get everything just the way you like it, you get a new phone. Guess what, you need to start over, almost everything you mentioned can be obtained by either a setting or an app with the exception of the VPN which i am waiting for myself but that is up to the my VPN vendor which is Juniper, try appbrain.com, browse, search, learn.

 

[GregTard]

FoxtrotUniform;1410375]

Welcome to the Android world, it's got a little catching up to do since Apple had such a head start, but we're getting there quickly with user-friendliness.

I appreciate the honest opinion, I hope Froyo will take care of some of the interface issues, but I don't like the MotoBlur too much. I trid LauncherPro but it kept crashing my phone.

2. I'm in the same boat with the calendars unfortunately, sorry.

The thing I can't figure out witht he calendar is why so many people says theirs does but then again, they are never able to tell how. Maybe in Froyo.

4. I didn't like DoubleTwist at all, so I started using Windows Media Player and setting my usb connection on the X to that setting as well when plugging it into the PC. I think it does a good job of syncing music/video/pictures better than anything else I've tried. To manage apps I suggest AppBrain, Fast Web Installer, and AppBrain.com.

I may try Windows Media Player. I have not tried it in a while, but remeber it to be horrible. That was years ago though. The version on Windows 7 definitely looks like an improvement from older versions.

5. I have to be honest and say I don't think I could drain my X in 1-2 hours if I tried so I think you're doing it wrong. I suggest turning off GPS and lowering the screen brightness. Those will be your two biggest killers. Other than that you must be trying to jump start your vehicle with it. For the "24 hours" part, try JuiceDefender. Great for saving power if you're not on it constantly.

I tried JuiceDefender, but had trouble using data services when I needed to. I always had to reset the network connection. Maybe the ultimate version works better. I use remote access applications that seem to drain the battery. When I say 1-2 hours, I mean constant use actively accessing servers through remote access. I have killed it in 2 hours like that which I consider heavy use. For medium use (ocassionally looking something up or brief remote access) I was getting 8 hours or so and that averages to about 2-3 hours of continuous use and the phone sleeping the rest of the time. Light use, I can go 24 hours, but it is rare for me to use it that little. I know the specs say 8 hours continuous use (Insert disclaimer about data services shotrtening life more), but I thought it would be a little better.

I found that the phone was not sleeping most of the time because of a problem with the GPS releasing or something because of partial wake calls. So now I make sure to shut the GPS off after using it. There is a thread in the droidxforums about it whith a survey to see how many are affected. The issue was finally picked up by Motorola support on their forums so maybe it will be fixed with Froyo. I hope they do fix it where it can be left on as intended because I like not having to disable it. Now that I have been cycling it, I can make it through the day with more than light use, but still not quite medium use. I unplug at around 5AM and get home around 6PM. I do have a new battery coming to see if it is in fact a bad battery draining too quickly. I tried to pick one up at the local Verizon store, but they said there was no problem and it would never get better than 1 hour of continuous data use but I know that isn't right. Our corporate sales rep had one shipped to me though.

6. Best app for this hands down is Widget Locker. Very popular and works like a champ for this.

I have seen a lot about Widget Locker but I wasn't sure if it would do exactly what I needed. I wanted to find out for sure before purchasing it. I am definitely going to get it.

7. Windows Media Player, but for this I would manually move them over. If you're having problems with that, set your USB connection mode to USB Mass Storage. Don't forget to change it off of that setting before trying to access your SD card.

I have done all of this, but some work and others don't. I have home movies that were taken with the same camera and similar in size but one wil play and the other will not. I have only seen 2 similare complaints about this so it has to be something rare. I may try just converting them to another format and see if that takes care of it.

8. Tons of apps for this. From full on Calendars to very simple date widgets. I think even the stock clock will show you the date on your homescreen...

I tried the included widget, but thought it was ugly. I am going to try beautiful widgets but heard it drains the battery. I wish the default calendar app would show the current day of the moth on it's icon, but maybe another calendar app will.

9. I use BatteryLeft Widget. Shows in increments of 1% along with other goodies. Might help you discover what's draining your battery so fast as well.

I heard it drained the battery bad, how has it been for you? I know most of the info is actually the Android system menu from dialing *#*#4636#*#*, but did not know it showed the increments. I use Spare Parts to roubleshoot my power issues which pulls the same Android system menu so maybe I will try this one as well.

11. Tons here. Take your pick.

Didn't want to spend a lot of time downloading and testing for problems, but I guess no one else has the same need as me in this aspect. I did see some nice graphing calculator apps as well so I will just have to try them until I find one. Usually the better stuff is not free and I always try to not waste money, even $1-$2.

13. I don't use OpenVPN on my phone, but it is possible, with some monkeywrenching. See this thread.

I had a post in another forum where they said I could install it if I rooted the phone. This would be great, but no phone supports it my default I know of. I try not to do anything contractually questionable with company phones so I know there will not be any legal issues down the line. I may look into rooting it though for this functionality.

14. Firefox's mobile browser is very near to an alpha stage and I know it supports bookmark syncing between PC/Phone/Everything. Couple weeks away I think. Other than that I'm not sure if the current ones do.

I saw this as well as rumors of Chrome supporting it soon since they recently added the sync bookmarks to your Google account to share across computers. Maybe this will be available in Froyo but have not seend anything about it being able to yet, they have everything else syncing with your Google account so it should just be adding a checkbox in the interface once the backend code is there.

16. SwiftKey, or use Swype that's included with the X. Find it in Settings. i've been testing SwiftKey but after getting used to Swype over the last month I still like it best (when it's not humid as hell to where my finger sticks on the screen, then Swype is horrible )

I didn't like Swype either. I tried a downloaded keyboard and had to reset my phone so I have been looking for some reviews from DroidX specifically.

Good luck, follow some threads here. Especially ones like "What do your X Screens Look Like?" for what good apps others are using./COLOR]

Thanks. It is nice to have a response that isn't "You're too dumb for the phone, send it back" like I got in the other forum. Except they spelled everything wrong "Your to dum for the fone". Make no mistake, I went through every setting and tested a lot of apps. It was wither not possible with stock setup or the free apps could not/would do it either. Figured some paid apps would be the best but didn't want to dump cash for a bunch of apps that didn't work. I will try your suggestions though and I appreciate it.

 

[GregTard]

I really like the original post. Lots of good points and a willingness to look for solutions. Most acknowledge the shortcomings and I think the Android platform will solve most in a year or two. Some things you mention are just things you'll have to get used to. Kind of like getting used to a new car.

I can't agree with you more on your battery life issues. It took me a while to get it to more than 24 hours for my use.

Media management is a huge issue also as you indicate. itunes is jinky, but Doubletwist is 4 years behind that. I can deal with it though, because my libraries are already folder organized by artist/album and drag and drop nicely. But I think this is going to be a MAJOR sticking point moving forward for Android.

I heavily use an iPod Touch and could make a much longer list of annoying things about Apple IOS. Right now I actually carry around both devices and use the best things on both.

I really hope the Android App market will continue to improve in overall App quality as compared to the Apple App store. Yeah, there are several killer Android Apps, but the Apple App store has many more really decent apps.

I do love the Droid X though, despite some of its shortcomings. There are lots of killer things in Android and the actual hardware that I'm not sure I could give up.

Thanks for the info. I had decided to manage my media in iTUnes and sync it with doubletwist, but when I got my phone doubletwist would not sync video for some reason. I will have torubleshoot that on their forum, but good to know the users in this forum are not so harsh. I got some angry posts the droidxforums. Some of those people claim to be able to do everything with the default setup and no apps, but of course can't tell anyone how.

 

[GregTard]

For syncing there is the Vcast media manager from Verizon and Motorola Media Link available on Motorola's website. I'd give those a try.

I had some issues with it and others I saw did as well. Seems to have problems on 64 bit OS. How bout yours?

 

[GregTard]

OP - I have a solution that will solve all your problems - GET AN IPHONE! Seriously...if the 3GS did everything you wanted, why did you switch to android? Wouldn't the Iphone4 be a logical replacement? I really don't understand your decision making process.

As my original post said, my company has Verizon and I was trying to save some money by getting on their account because they only paid half of the AT&T bill. I have had to cut back a lot because my house recently burned down and I was royally screwed over by the insurance company. Until that get's settled, money is extremely tight.

I figured Android would meet my needs which I am sure it will with some apps and tweaking. Just asking for some assistance from those who have already done it to eliminate some the wasted attempts.

Besides, with the iPhone4 antenna issue, I would never get it. I would stay with the 3GS because the iPhone 4 doesn't do anything I couldn't that I cared about.

 

[GregTard]

here we gooooooooooooo!

This is no where what I got on Droid X Forum. They tried to crucify me.

 

[GregTard]

lolzzz

Word of advice:
Never mention an iphone when seeking helping(fan boy/girl or not)
the android fanboys/girls will perceive you that way and you will get
some of the unneeded posts you have gotten....

Idk if you are within your thirty days or not but i recommend if you are, to trade for an incredible....

the calendars and overall UI is kind of better than Blur on the X

Well I tried, but I know the word alone brings out the savages carnal instinct to criticize so they feel better about themselves. I might as well go post a Windows comparison in a Linux forum so the same zealots can jump me there as well.

Thanks, I will check out the Incredible.

 

[RichSz]

Good questions and good answers. One thing I must say is to use an Android device when coming from iOS, you have to change the way you think. You mentioned not wanting to download a bunch of calculators to try out. Well I believe that's part of the Android experience. It's more of a tweaker's OS than Apple's. With choice comes a boatload of testing.

If you aren't comfortable with trying different apps to solve your problems, I honestly suggest going back to an iPhone where those choices are made by their design team.

I'm not being crappy at all. Some people are better suited for one or the other, that's all.