Atrix new user questions

[olly]

I'm sure you see these all the time so I'll try to keep this as concise as I can... I just bought myself an Atrix after growing tired of waiting on Apple to update the iPhone. I used to have the original Droid phone on VZW.

Had a few hours to play with my Atrix and already have some questions.

- I can make a shortcut to Gmail and to my corporate mail, but how do I create a shortcut to other accounts I have on my phone (e.g. AOL)?

- 2gb isn't a whole lot of data. I use Slacker a lot. Just want to make sure the Atrix has the same "rules" as the iPhone in that if I'm connected to a working wi-fi network, it will not use carrier data.

- Don't know much about Android security - any pointers? Little afraid to do any mobile banking or anything on here after hearing about various security scares with Android. Your thoughts?

- What are the pre-installed apps you recommend getting rid of? What apps do you recommend I check out?

Thanks!

 

[itsallgood]

Welcome to Android and the Atrix. I will try and answer your questions as best I can.

1) I’m not sure if you can create a shortcut for the other e-mail accounts. If you use the “messaging” app as a shortcut, it should list all of you e-mail accounts and you can just select it from there. Or you can create a widget for that e-mail account only.

2) yes, if you are connected to Wifi, you don’t use mobile data. I use an app called “Data Widget” it is very accurate in keeping up with tethering, data and Wifi data used. Just make sure it is running in the back ground all the time, or else it won’t be recording data usage.

3) For the most part, it is pretty secure. I do however have “Lookout Premium” installed for internet, antivirus, malware and spyware. What it does is scan all apps installed from the market and rescans them on a schedule. I’ve been using it for over a year now and it works great. I do a lot of banking from my phone and have had no problems. Just make sure to do all personal stuff on 3 G, 4G or secure Wifi only.

4) I haven’t removed any of the pre-installed apps. I use an “apps organizer” app that lets me create folders to group related apps, like the iphone, and place on my home screens.

 

[olly]

Welcome to Android and the Atrix. I will try and answer your questions as best I can.

1) I

 

[olly]

Oh and another question... I figured out how to use my Gmail contact list as my phone contacts (as I did with my Droid) - only for some reason it's listing everyone I've ever written to on Gmail, instead of just my official contacts. How can I fix that? Irk!

 

[itsallgood]

Thanks for your helpful response! What's the name of the "apps organizer" you use - or is that the name lol?

That's the name of the app.

 

[itsallgood]

Oh and another question... I figured out how to use my Gmail contact list as my phone contacts (as I did with my Droid) - only for some reason it's listing everyone I've ever written to on Gmail, instead of just my official contacts. How can I fix that? Irk!

Not sure on this one. Maybe someone else will chime in with an answer.

 

[the.timmer]

Oh and another question... I figured out how to use my Gmail contact list as my phone contacts (as I did with my Droid) - only for some reason it's listing everyone I've ever written to on Gmail, instead of just my official contacts. How can I fix that? Irk!

Does the same thing for Exchange email as well. The best thing I found to do is to utilize the Favorites setting for each person you want on your regular contacts list, and just use that for everything.

 

[Phalanx7621]

Oh and another question... I figured out how to use my Gmail contact list as my phone contacts (as I did with my Droid) - only for some reason it's listing everyone I've ever written to on Gmail, instead of just my official contacts. How can I fix that? Irk!

this is an option in gmail settings. go on computer, log into gmail. I'm not 100% where it's found, but I did it on my account cause i was getting the same thing. It has something to do with a setting remembering everyone you write an email to and then saving that person as a contact. disable that in gmail settings and yer good to go =D

 

[ForSpareParts]

I've found the built in messaging application to be very awkward for email. K-9 Mail is great, very slick and supports PGP encryption, if you're into that sort of thing.

I wouldn't bother getting rid of the preinstalled apps unless they really bother you. You'll need to hack your phone to really clean it out, and I don't know if you're up for that.

General new user tips: I'd recommend trying a couple custom shells, like LauncherPro and ADW. The customization benefits can be huge, and they're really easy to install. Also, experimenting with new keyboards can be really cool. You have the standard Android keyboard on the phone already, and Swype, but you can get others from the market. I'm using SwiftKey and love it, but there's other interesting options, like ThickButtons and 8pen. Finding a keyboard that fits you can be a huge productivity boost.