First Post...Hi. Impressions and a few Q's

[JCUMV]

Hello all,
You have a great Forum here and I've learned so much over the past couple weeks hovering around here. I got a Moto Droid for Xmas and gave it back to Verizon for an Eris about 3 days ago. Been playing with Eris for these past 3 days and I can't believe how much better this device is! Let me first say that my perspective is that of one who's primary use for either of these devices is for business. I had a bb pearl for 4 years. Wanted to get into the 21 century with my new device and though the Moto Droid would be it. What a boat anchor that thing was - lol. GoogleNav and the huge screen were the only two things I liked about it. Yes it had the dual processor, but I'm not a guy who streams pandora, while updating my Facebook, while txting 10 different people... all at the same time. I realize those folks are out there, but it's not how I use my device. So in know particular order, here were the thing that drove me crazy about the Moto Droid, and why I feel the Eris is so much better.

* Size and weight
Droid - Gigantic, heavy, clunky (I found that I never used the slide out keyboard.)
Eris - Sleek, light, very "palmable" if that's indeed a word.

* Outlook Meeting Requests
Droid - couldn't do anything with them.
Eris - Can Accept or Decline. Even make notes in the Acceptance, or choose to Accept but not send response. Behaves just like your in Outlook.

* Global Email List
Droid and Eris currently have no link to this. It's my only gripe with the Eris.

* Waking up the phone
Droid - Had to clumsily find the small power button on top of the phone. And if you had a cover on the device, it was really hard to press it.
Eris - Has the End button right on the front of the phone which wakes it up. So much easier.

* The Main Screen.
Droid - Has 3 screens
Eris - Has 7 screens and much more customization capabilities.

* The track ball
Droid - Need to slide out the keyboard to use it. Major pain unless you actually use the tactile keyboard and it's already open (my understanding is most people don't).
Eris - Trackball is right on the front of the phone. And you can set it to flash for email, vm, txt ,etc. Very nice.

There are so much more, but I'll stop at 6. I think you all get the idea



So... I do have a couple questions that I couldn't find answers to here on the Forum.

1. Can you actually "close" a webpage? Every time I open the Browser it goes to the last sight I was on. Would love to set Google as default.

2. Opening an email attachment. When I open a docx or xlsx file, it prompts me to save to SD card. I've now downloaded Docs To Go and have to log into that, reference the card, and then can open the attachment. Isn't there a way to just open and view right from the email?

3. I'd love to know of an app that would allow me to set the number of pulses for email, txt, vm, etc. And if you could make the vibration last longer would be good. I miss this on my bb. I see a lot of people use Handcent, but I don't necessarily need a new SMS just want to be able to adjust and control the vibs. Anybody know of anything?

4. Global Email List for exchange email. Any body know what Android will get this capability? iPhone has it, so I know it's not patented by BB.

5. GoogleNav on 1.6 is due out real soon. But I'm seeing posts on the board here which say 1.6 won't have the Sense UI, which would be a major bummer. Can anybody confirm this or not?

Thank you all. Looking forward to learning and sharing a lot more with you.

Jeff

 

[erisuser1]

1. Can you actually "close" a webpage? Every time I open the Browser it goes to the last sight I was on. Would love to set Google as default.

What you describes only happens if the Browser is still running - if you kill it off with a task manager, it will start up on wherever the home page is set.

Also, have a look at

Menu -> Windows (from within the web browser)

The little "+" sign in the UL corner creates a new browser instance (or "window", if you prefer) wherever your home page is set (Google is the default)

One you have more than one window, and you re-visit Menu -> Windows, you can kill off an instance by pressing on the little "X" on the upper right corner of each window thumbnail. That makes sure that you will return to whatever home page, but is a bit of work; perhaps it would be easier to just kill the browser with a task manager.

2. Opening an email attachment. When I open a docx or xlsx file, it prompts me to save to SD card. I've now downloaded Docs To Go and have to log into that, reference the card, and then can open the attachment. Isn't there a way to just open and view right from the email?

Without adding any 3rd party apps, Gmail seems to directly launch QuickOffice - as a matter of fact, it seems entirely opposite - you can't "save to SD" in Gmail.

[Edit]
I recall that the HTC E-mail app should give you an option to either Save to SD or "Open", so long as an app has registered that it can open a given file (Mime) type.

Here's an example of an e-mail with an Excel spreadsheet attached:

If you click on the little "paperclip" hotspot, you should get something like this, right?

5. GoogleNav on 1.6 is due out real soon. But I'm seeing posts on the board here which say 1.6 won't have the Sense UI, which would be a major bummer. Can anybody confirm this or not?

There has been no indication from either Verizon or HTC that 1.6 will ever be put on the Eris - publicly, HTC has said "Android 2.x in Q1". My guess is that the delay in shipping Eris handsets on 2.x (either 2.0.x or 2.1.x) has entirely to do with integration and testing of HTC value-added software on whatever Android release is chosen.

So, if I were to bet, I'd bet that Sense will be there - but it will be different from the current version of Sense.

HTH

eu1

 

[erisuser1]

Added edits - see prior post.

 

[JCUMV]

Thanks for the quick reply. Looks like some kind of Task Manager App Killer is what I want for the browser shutdown. I didn't know about the Menu > Window > + function though... thanks!

The email attachment still has me a bit confused. Unlike you're screen cap above, I only have the Save to SD Card option. I do not have an "Open" option. The only thing I can see that's different is that I'm trying to open MS Office 2007 attachments... so they show as .docx and/or .xlsx. But I would still think that Docs To Go should enable the "Open" option. Maybe someone here knows for sure. It certainly is a hassle to toggle over to Docs To Go on my desktop to open it. One other thing I should note is that I'm not using GMail for this. I have the regular Mail set to my corp exchange server. Not sure if this matters, but I thought I'd throw it out there.

Thanks!

 

[erisuser1]

The email attachment still has me a bit confused. Unlike you're screen cap above, I only have the Save to SD Card option. I do not have an "Open" option. The only thing I can see that's different is that I'm trying to open MS Office 2007 attachments... so they show as .docx and/or .xlsx. But I would still think that Docs To Go should enable the "Open" option. Maybe someone here knows for sure. It certainly is a hassle to toggle over to Docs To Go on my desktop to open it.

I guess there is some sort of mechanism where apps can register their ability to open given file types, and the HTC Mail app is aware of that - when I had both QuickOffice and Docs to Go (free ver.) installed, hitting the "Open" selection would pop up yet another dialog, and I could choose either one of them for handling .xls or .doc files (for PDF files, I get a different set of choices).

Note that my example shown is an .xls file, so your suspicions about the ".docx" or ".xlsx" file extensions are probably correct.

I'm not sure if there is a means to manually indicate that an App can handle a certain file type, the way you can in desktop versions of browsers - perhaps the best thing to do is get in touch with the Docs To Go developers and ask them if they can add those file type registration(s) in a future product update.

HTH


eu1

 

[40_LTDShooter]

Android 2.0 and above has Global Email lists. My Droid had it. I had 3 different mailboxes all with their own color tab beside the email in list mode, so I instantly knew which account was which.

Eris should be getting that feature when they upgrade from 1.5 to 2.0/2.1

 

[Slugdoc]

If you are talking about being able to access a "Global Address List" i.e. the list stored on the exchange server, the Exchange app "Touchdown" can do this.

If you mean a global mail box that brings all the mail to one place, Android 2.x can do it.

 

[karib]

I've been considering making the switch from moto droid to the eris too. Do you have any regerets? Is the browser noticeably slower? It's so hard to tell from the in-store model because they always seemed messed up due to all the people playing with them! I'm just a mom and don't use the phone for business at all, just like to have the ability to browse on the web and love the gps navigation. My chief complaint of the droid is the weight of the thing, it's like a brick! I would miss the bigger screen and navigation... I would be really mad if I made the switch to find out that eris will never get the navigation!

 

[Solitary]

What you describes only happens if the Browser is still running - if you kill it off with a task manager, it will start up on wherever the home page is set.

Also, have a look at

Menu -> Windows (from within the web browser)

The little "+" sign in the UL corner creates a new browser instance (or "window", if you prefer) wherever your home page is set (Google is the default)

One you have more than one window, and you re-visit Menu -> Windows, you can kill off an instance by pressing on the little "X" on the upper right corner of each window thumbnail. That makes sure that you will return to whatever home page, but is a bit of work; perhaps it would be easier to just kill the browser with a task manager.




Without adding any 3rd party apps, Gmail seems to directly launch QuickOffice - as a matter of fact, it seems entirely opposite - you can't "save to SD" in Gmail.

[Edit]
I recall that the HTC E-mail app should give you an option to either Save to SD or "Open", so long as an app has registered that it can open a given file (Mime) type.

Here's an example of an e-mail with an Excel spreadsheet attached:

If you click on the little "paperclip" hotspot, you should get something like this, right?

There has been no indication from either Verizon or HTC that 1.6 will ever be put on the Eris - publicly, HTC has said "Android 2.x in Q1". My guess is that the delay in shipping Eris handsets on 2.x (either 2.0.x or 2.1.x) has entirely to do with integration and testing of HTC value-added software on whatever Android release is chosen.

So, if I were to bet, I'd bet that Sense will be there - but it will be different from the current version of Sense.

HTH

eu1

What is that blue icon in the top left corner? I saw it several times now.

 

[JCUMV]

If you are talking about being able to access a "Global Address List" i.e. the list stored on the exchange server, the Exchange app "Touchdown" can do this.

If you mean a global mail box that brings all the mail to one place, Android 2.x can do it.

Your first point is correct. We have 3000 employees at our company, but I probably only have 150 of them in the Outlook Contacts list (vcf card). On my bb, i could put the first couple of letters of an employee's name into the To field and it would bring back all the people in the corp email directory and let me pick the one I want. Moto Droid does not have this either. Can you tell me a bit more about "Touchdown"? I'm not familiar with it.

 

[Caddyman]

What is that blue icon in the top left corner? I saw it several times now.

advanced task manager icon.

 

[JCUMV]

I've been considering making the switch from moto droid to the eris too. Do you have any regerets? Is the browser noticeably slower? It's so hard to tell from the in-store model because they always seemed messed up due to all the people playing with them! I'm just a mom and don't use the phone for business at all, just like to have the ability to browse on the web and love the gps navigation. My chief complaint of the droid is the weight of the thing, it's like a brick! I would miss the bigger screen and navigation... I would be really mad if I made the switch to find out that eris will never get the navigation!

I don't regret it one bit. I just learned of something else Eris can do that Moto couldn't... set up speed dials on the call screen! Very nice. I see things daily that this does that moto didn't. To answer your question, I do not notice a lag in the browser. There are a lot of tips and tricks in this forum for optomizing performance and I've adopted most of them... and seen a great improvment in performance. I do miss the Nav feature, but 2.0 is due out in the next few months so I'm okay to wait. You won't miss the large screen. Once you've had the Eris in your hands, you'll be fine with trading screen size for it.

Hope this helps.

 

[phonesex]

* Global Email List
Droid and Eris currently have no link to this. It's my only gripe with the Eris.


The Eris CAN lookup the Exchange GAL. We are running Exchange Server 2007 and I am able to lookup the GAL by doing the following.

1. Open Exchange email client
2. Select Menu>>Compose
3. Select Menu>>Add Recipient
4. Select To
5. Select Company Directory
6. Begin typing in a name or distribution list that lives on the server Global Address List
7. Select the name
8. Compose your email

I was surprised that this functionality was built in because I too read it was not available. Works great for me. Thanks HTC

 

[JCUMV]

* Global Email List
Droid and Eris currently have no link to this. It's my only gripe with the Eris.


The Eris CAN lookup the Exchange GAL. We are running Exchange Server 2007 and I am able to lookup the GAL by doing the following.

1. Open Exchange email client
2. Select Menu>>Compose
3. Select Menu>>Add Recipient
4. Select To
5. Select Company Directory
6. Begin typing in a name or distribution list that lives on the server Global Address List
7. Select the name
8. Compose your email

I was surprised that this functionality was built in because I too read it was not available. Works great for me. Thanks HTC

You are the man! I'm now the hero of so many people at our company who are using the Droid!

Thank you, thank you.

 

[karib]

I don't regret it one bit. I just learned of something else Eris can do that Moto couldn't... set up speed dials on the call screen! Very nice. I see things daily that this does that moto didn't. To answer your question, I do not notice a lag in the browser. There are a lot of tips and tricks in this forum for optomizing performance and I've adopted most of them... and seen a great improvment in performance. I do miss the Nav feature, but 2.0 is due out in the next few months so I'm okay to wait. You won't miss the large screen. Once you've had the Eris in your hands, you'll be fine with trading screen size for it.

Hope this helps.

Well, I did it... I made the switch and I'm very pleased! The only draw back at this point is that I am unable to use the swype keyboard on the eris and that is a major bummar. BUT, I'm hopeful that one day very soon, there will something comparable to buy from the market! What a great phone though! No regrets here

 

[AwesomeIT]

1. Can you actually "close" a webpage? Every time I open the Browser it goes to the last sight I was on. Would love to set Google as default.

What I recommend is using one of the 7 screens and adding a shortcut to your bookmarks. Make sure you bookmark sites first, like Google. Do this by going to a blank screen and pressing and holding until the menu pops up. Select add shortcut --> bookmarks. When you want to go to a webpage like Google, simply go to that screen and just tap the bookmark picture and BLAM! instant Google page loaded.

2. Opening an email attachment. When I open a docx or xlsx file, it prompts me to save to SD card. I've now downloaded Docs To Go and have to log into that, reference the card, and then can open the attachment. Isn't there a way to just open and view right from the email?

Answered already.

3. I'd love to know of an app that would allow me to set the number of pulses for email, txt, vm, etc. And if you could make the vibration last longer would be good. I miss this on my bb. I see a lot of people use Handcent, but I don't necessarily need a new SMS just want to be able to adjust and control the vibs. Anybody know of anything?

I''m not sure about this, I don't have any reason to change whatever the default is.

4. Global Email List for exchange email. Any body know what Android will get this capability? iPhone has it, so I know it's not patented by BB.

Answered.

5. GoogleNav on 1.6 is due out real soon. But I'm seeing posts on the board here which say 1.6 won't have the Sense UI, which would be a major bummer. Can anybody confirm this or not?

The Eris isn't getting an update to 1.6, but rather the latest 2.x iteration whenever it's released for the Eris. This will have Google Nav.