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Moving from Win Mobile 6.1 to Desire with Froyo

Hello everyone,

I am new to Android, so new that I don't have it yet. Telus wants to give me a phone and when I tried the Desire in the store I fell in love with it.

My current phone is an HTC Touch Pro 2 running Windows Mobile 6.1. I have disabled TouchFlo 3D and installed SPB Mobile Shell 3.5.5 which I have customized to my liking. The Desire interface was so similar and easy to use I want to move over "to the dark side" :)

Here is my issue:
I am a very heavy Outlook 2010 user. I run my business on MS Business Contact Manager 2010 in Outlook and all of my appointments and contacts (447 of them) are very important to me. Each contact has multiple addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses.

I have been reading about the Desire for 2 days and I can live with a weak battery since I would have a car charger for the road and keep it plugged in when at my desk, similar to what I do with my TP2.

What I can't live without is seemless sync'ing of all contact and calendar information. Tasks are important, but could be lived without. Some of the threads I have read say they can sync everything, others say they can sync nothing.

I need another Outlook user to let me know if the Desire can sync all contact and calendar data seemlessly. If so, what is used to do it?

I have read that the Froyo release with HTC Sync will work, but nothing about the details I mentioned above.

Please help me convert!
 
Pretty sure you just use HTC Sync, I stopped using Outlook 2010 to sync contacts after the phone once deleted all contacts off my PC and then off itself. I now sync with my Gmail account and that's multiple numbers, email addresses for contacts
How did you get all of your info into your phone?

Also, I need PC sync because I update my PC database all of the time. New clients, new suppliers, etc. My PC is my company and I need a portable version in my phone, just like my WinMo phone.
 
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How did you get all of your info into your phone?

Also, I need PC sync because I update my PC database all of the time. New clients, new suppliers, etc. My PC is my company and I need a portable version in my phone, just like my WinMo phone.

you can use microsoft myphone (google it) to sync contacts with your hotmail/live account. in this way you can store these contacts on ur email account and then export them to a google compatible format and import them to google which you can further use to sync into your android..

although i must admit that i haven't tried this yet but i am exactly in the same situ that you are and will be getting my desire in a day or two.. so i'l keep u posted! :)

cheers!
 
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you can use microsoft myphone (google it) to sync contacts with your hotmail/live account. in this way you can store these contacts on ur email account and then export them to a google compatible format and import them to google which you can further use to sync into your android..

although i must admit that i haven't tried this yet but i am exactly in the same situ that you are and will be getting my desire in a day or two.. so i'l keep u posted! :)

cheers!

extremely sorry for the post above.. that's a very tedious method.. found a much simpler way and it works!

just install the app here Thunderbird Contacts Export download at Freeware Pocket PC
on ur wm 6.1 and export your contacts to a csv format.

then using google contacts just import the same file in2 gmail (be sure to create a new group for your mobile sync else sorting the contacts will be a task). and thats it! once you setup your android, google contacts will be synced automatically! enjoy and have fun wid ur droid! :)
 
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also it might happen that you may have duplicated contacts imported if you are syncing through more than 1 sources (a problem i faced quite a bit when i backed up and restored contacts on my HTC Touch WM 6.1 earlier for OS upgrade purpose) so this vid might come real handy for you

(its a video meant for htc desire HD users but will obviously work the same 4 u 2..)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=055wnhTF7CQ

do let me know if the info helped.. m a first time android user as well as a first time poster here.. a little encouragement would go a long way! ;)

cheers!
 
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Thanks for the replies, but those are not the solutions I require. I think you have misunderstood my requirement, let me re-explain...

The data on my current phone is simply an image of what is on my PC since WinMo and Windows Mobile Device Centre (like ActiveSync, but for Windows 7) sync both ways all of the time. Getting the data off of my phone is not important, I can wipe it clean since the data is all on my PC.

I need to know if the Desire will sync via USB (or cloud) to my PC in an simply way and sync all of the data: multiple addresses, phone numbers (mobile, home, business1, business2, etc) and multiple e-mail addresses.

My PC Outlook contacts and calendar are critical and change on a regular basis. New contacts and appointments are added daily to my PC because that is where my business runs.

My current WinMo phone is USB sync'd via Windows Mobile Device Centre. It is plugged into my PC the whole time I am at my office because new appointments and contacts are added regularly.

The WinMo phone and Windows Mobile Device Centre will automatically sync up whenever a change is detected by either the PC or the phone. This way, when I unplug my phone from the PC I always have an updated version of my appoinments and calendar.

I need to know if the same can be accomplished with Android on the Desire. Can I plug it via USB and know that all appointments and contact data will be sync'd 100%. If it has to be done in the cloud via Google, then I guess that would be OK as well, but I have to know that I can do it perfectly.
 
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Thanks to everyone who replied, but those are not the solutions I require. I think you have misunderstood my requirement, let me re-explain...

The data on my current phone is simply an image of what is on my PC since WinMo and Windows Mobile Device Centre (like ActiveSync, but for Windows 7) sync both ways all of the time. Getting the data off of my phone is not important, I can wipe it clean since the data is all on my PC.

I need to know if the Desire will sync via USB to my PC in an simply way and sync all of the data (multiple addresses, phone numbers (mobile, home, business1, business2, etc) and multiple e-mail addresses.

My PC Outlook contact and calendar are critical and change on a regular basis. New contacts and appointments are added almost daily to my PC because that is where my business runs.

My current WinMo phone is USB sync'd via Windows Mobile Device Centre. It is plugged into my PC the whole time I am at my office because new appointments and contacts are added regularly.

The WinMo phone and Windows Mobile Device Centre will automatically sync up whenever a change is detected by either the PC or the phone. This way, when I unplug my phone from the PC I always have an updated version of my appoinments and calendar.

I need to know if the same can be accomplished with Android on the Desire. Can I plug it via USB and know that all appointments and contact data will be sync'd 100%. If it has to be done in the cloud via Google, then I guess that would be OK as well, but I have to know that I can do it perfectly.

d htc sync that comes along with ur android phone will serve the same purpose that windows mobile device center did.. since u keep ur cell always plugged in to the pc, it will surely update the same on to your computer as new contacts are added.

and if aren't satisfied with that then you can use a 3rd party application like companionlink to keep ur outlook and phone synced both ways

hope this clears it!

Companionlink: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl7HkRSQbgg&feature=related
 
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If you have your Desire linked to your Gmail account then so long as you have it syncing regularly then it will have all data sync'd...tbh I don't think the Desire, or Android for that matter, is best suited for your needs but all you can do is try it and see how you get on. Perhaps see someone who has one and see how it works for you
 
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Thanks to both of you. I have certain doubts about my requirements and the Desire, but since I tried Windows Phone 7 and saw how poorly it is designed regarding business use versus Windows Mobile 6.1 and 6.5 I am stuck. It is iPhone or Android. I think iPhone is nice, but it is so limited that I am afraid that I will hate it after using it. I also don't like being a Me Too person who has one because everyone else has one (iPhone that is).

I dislike Blackberry because of the interface and keyboard.

So with that being said, I will try and test it in the store with my notebook which is also a copy of my main PC. As you can tell, I like copies of my data. Can never be to safe, lose or break one and you can still operate on another. This is why my phone sync to Outlook is so important.

Thanks again.
 
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No worries, but tbh unless Google goes down I'll never lose my data as it's on my Gmail account...if something was mission-critical I'd have a BlackBerry because as much as I hate them they do one thing better than anyone - business

yep i agree bb is prolly d best option if ur cell phone is ur mini business station.
but being an ardent bb hater (esp in india where you hafta pay a hefty amount 2 1st buy d bbs n den a decent amount 4 monthly subscriptions 2) i'd say i'd still go 4 an android over d wm (wm is in fact the main reason m switchin over 2 android!)
 
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I do pretty much what you describe. The difference is, I use the cloud (Google) as the sync medium.

The Desire syncs live over-the-air with Google. I've got Outlook syncing with Google also, problem solved. There's a variety of apps to do the Outlook <-> Google step; I'm using one called GSyncIt - http://www.daveswebsite.com/software/gsync/ - which was most appropriate for my needs (it's not free, but it's reasonably priced and worth it).

I came from a WinMo background also. With this setup, you'll never have to plug the phone into the PC and everything will stay synced - you can set GSyncIt to sync as often as you need on a schedule. Forget needing data that's a day old, you can have data that's minutes old if you want. It's like magic compared to WinMo.

Where it -might- fall down for you is in terms of the exact data it syncs. Android <-> Outlook isn't an exact 1:1 mapping, but it's close and GSyncIt handles translations gracefully (and can be customised).

Sorry if this sounds like a sales pitch, it's not, it's just that this is the solution I know most about. Either way, point is that syncing via Google makes like a lot easier, IMHO.
 
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I do pretty much what you describe. The difference is, I use the cloud (Google) as the sync medium.

The Desire syncs live over-the-air with Google. I've got Outlook syncing with Google also, problem solved. There's a variety of apps to do the Outlook <-> Google step; I'm using one called GSyncIt - http://www.daveswebsite.com/software/gsync/ - which was most appropriate for my needs (it's not free, but it's reasonably priced and worth it).

I came from a WinMo background also. With this setup, you'll never have to plug the phone into the PC and everything will stay synced - you can set GSyncIt to sync as often as you need on a schedule. Forget needing data that's a day old, you can have data that's minutes old if you want. It's like magic compared to WinMo.

Where it -might- fall down for you is in terms of the exact data it syncs. Android <-> Outlook isn't an exact 1:1 mapping, but it's close and GSyncIt handles translations gracefully (and can be customised).

Sorry if this sounds like a sales pitch, it's not, it's just that this is the solution I know most about. Either way, point is that syncing via Google makes like a lot easier, IMHO.
Thanks for the info, that is what I had concluded after reading for the last few days.

My problem now is that Telus sent me an 8x14 sheet offering me all sorts of phones for free, or 3 year contract price, but when I went to look at the phones and finally said yes to the Desire they tell me I have to pay a 200$ fee!!! WTF. My Touch Pro 2 is a CDMA World phone and they won't switch me over unless I fork out cash. Why the hell did they send me a letter saying I was such a "valued" customer.

I have decided that I will make them want me off of my 15$ unlimited Internet package. Downloads like you won't believe. Maybe after 10 or 20GB per month of Internet, they will beg me to get rid of my old plan.
 
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I am an ex- WM6 user and used MS ActiveSync to keep my contacts and calendar at home and at work in Sync.
HTC Sync did not perform reliably for me- it wasn't supported on more than one PC (think the very latest version fixed that but not sure) and I got email corruption and phone number corruption issues - all documented here.

What I am currently doing...

Calendar is synced via the cloud using Google Calendar Sync 0.9.3.6 installed on my work and home PC - this just works in the background and was easy to install and set up.

Contact sync proved very problematic but eventually found that MyPhoneExplorer does the job for me. I have it installed at home and at work. The ony nigggle is that colour categories are not supported but the good thing is that the category data is not overwritten.

Both solutions are free!
 
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I am an ex- WM6 user and used MS ActiveSync to keep my contacts and calendar at home and at work in Sync.
HTC Sync did not perform reliably for me- it wasn't supported on more than one PC (think the very latest version fixed that but not sure) and I got email corruption and phone number corruption issues - all documented here.

What I am currently doing...

Calendar is synced via the cloud using Google Calendar Sync 0.9.3.6 installed on my work and home PC - this just works in the background and was easy to install and set up.

Contact sync proved very problematic but eventually found that MyPhoneExplorer does the job for me. I have it installed at home and at work. The ony nigggle is that colour categories are not supported but the good thing is that the category data is not overwritten.

Both solutions are free!
Sorry for the long delay in responding. Since Telus was playing marketing games with me I kind of gave up on the switch to Android, but the recent news of the Desire HD coming to Telus has made me interested again.

You solution sounds like what I need. Thank you!
 
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