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Total noob question...

I apologize in advanced, but I'm at a loss. I just got my Hero (European unlocked version) in the mail yesterday. I powered it up, and wanted to get my contacts in it before I switched my SIM card.

But the only app market I could find on the phone was SlideME, and it didn't have Funambol. But on Funambol's site says they do have an android app.

Are there other markets? How do I get access to them?

Is there a website or tutorial I can read to figure this stuff out? It seems like everything out there is for developers. I just want to mod my phone.

I'm coming from the iPhone 3G, so I've been spoon fed for the past year. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Yea, it came with a UK plug. Thankfully it's USB and I got a million of those floating around.

I'm going to root it tonight, and maybe the default market will be on there when that's finished. It's somewhat maddening to google "how do I get to the marketplace on android handset" and pull up nothing useful.

Your information is greatly appreciated.
 
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rooting it won't give you access to the default marketplace, it'll just give you access to the file system other than on the SD card. Installing a different ROM might give this, but even then I couldn't say for sure.

Also note that if your Hero is currently on the latest ROM (2.73), it's going to be hard to root at the moment.
 
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A good website to use for finding apps is
Cyrket - Android Market Browser

First thing to do is search Market for an app called Barcode Scanner.

Then search Cyrket for the app you want and you should see a barcode on teh page of the app you like. Just scan the barcode with the barcode scanner app and your phone will take you to the Market page for that app where you can download.
 
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I'm not sure it will - as it will link to a market that isn't available. If I went to the SlideMe website, I can't get apps from there.

If you're not sure it will then you should at least try. I was trying to help you out.

Just so you know, I have a locked Hero and I'm based in the UK. Using the advice I offered above I was able to find "Funambol COntacts Sync" on the Android Market on my Hero in a matter of seconds.

Also if you tried to do some work yourself and search the Cyrtek website yourself you'd of seen that a lof of reviewers have complained about this app as it hasn't been updated in over a year.
http://www.cyrket.com/package/com.funambol.android
 
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I have the barcode scanner program. I'll try that.

I know Funambol sucks on Android, but if it will sync just once, then I'll use something else. I'm done with the iPhone.

I just wish there was more info for noobs who are not all that interested in developing, just modding. I usually use the forums as a last resort, and there's just not a lot of info out there that's easy to find.

For instance, I'm not really clear on the difference between rooting and flashing with a new ROM. Is there any website at all that walks noobs through all this kind of stuff?

Also, if anyone knows a good link to get me up to date on a full (not lite) skype client, I'd like to be more current on that too. (This is the only reason I'm keeping my iPhone... so I can use it as a wi-fi skype phone when I travel.)
 
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Hi,
I too am a newbie at this and so I may have missed the point of your requirement, so I apologise in advance if I am preaching to the converted. When I took delivery of my new unlocked Hero, I made sure that I had transferred my previous contacts to my old SIM and then placed my old SIM into my Hero to import my contacts to "Phone". Other than adding piccies etc it was a piece of cake.....
 
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A lot of the apps in the SlideMe market place cost money. And I'm somewhat surprised at the price points from what I'm used to.

HTC could be partnering with SlideMe, making money together AND making it somewhat difficult to get to a different marketplace. Like the official one.

I think it's funny I gotta hack the phone to get to Google's market place.

Does anyone know if this is unusual? Or is this the usual noob experience?
 
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Sailbad, I don't want to do that because this is a work SIM chip. It gives me free calling, but I don't get data, and I certainly don't want to mingle my numbers with theirs on a SIM chip that will live on when I leave.

I'm trying to sync my iPhone contacts with my Google account through iTunes. If that works, I may make the switch tonight.
 
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I'm in Italy right now. If I took the morning flight to the U.S. and I turned the phone on when I landed, there would still not be the Google market place.

I bought this phone from the States. It was mailed to me from California. I'm not sure why but there was an English plug (from U.K.) in the box. So maybe it was supposed to be sold in England.

The point is, I don't have Google's marketplace now on my phone. I want it. What do I have to do to get it?
 
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I'm in Italy right now. If I took the morning flight to the U.S. and I turned the phone on when I landed, there would still not be the Google market place.

I bought this phone from the States. It was mailed to me from California. I'm not sure why but there was an English plug (from U.K.) in the box. So maybe it was supposed to be sold in England.

The point is, I don't have Google's marketplace now on my phone. I want it. What do I have to do to get it?

If there's no Market app on the phone (at all) then it's NOT a UK Hero. Either it was intended originally for another market, such as SE Asia, where there's no Market availability, or somehow the relevant APK has been removed which requires root.

Go into Menu - Settings - About phone and tell me what build number is listed, please? That may give a clue as to what's going on.
 
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Either it was intended originally for another market, such as SE Asia, where there's no Market availability...

You're exactly right. In Locale & text, within Select locale, there are three types of English. Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia. Nothing else. So, this phone was probably intended to be sold in Asia.

There is the SlideMe marketplace but it sucks. Doesn't even have a search function.

I'm very content reading up on this myself, but I'm having a hard time pinning down what I need to do exactly.

So, assuming this phone was intended for Asia, what do I need to do to make it "intended" for some place with Google's Marketplace.

Can I just put a European or American ROM on it? If so, where can I find that ROM and how do I learn more on how to do that? Do I need to root first?
 
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You're exactly right.

So, assuming this phone was intended for Asia, what do I need to do to make it "intended" for some place with Google's Marketplace.

Can I just put a European or American ROM on it?

That's the easiest option, but may not work depending on your current build number. Post that (as described previously) and we can advise better.
 
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