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I love the EVO BUT 10 % awful (Calendar, Skype).

David737

Newbie
Jun 7, 2010
13
0
I just switched from HTC Touch Pro 2 (WM6.5) to HTC 4G EVO. It follows the 90/10 rule. 90% is great and 10% is awful. We all know about the great items, open platform, wonderful apps & very flexible. I will concentrate on the 10% awful. The biggest weakness is the PIM (Personal Information Management) Section is very weak and not flexible. The second weakness which is easy to discuss, is Skype does not seem to be available for the EVO. I will discuss the PIM weakness details. The Calendar is the most disappointing tool missing many desirable features. I loved being able to copy an appointment and paste it on multiple days in a random pattern and at different times. The Repetition option is not flexible. I want to enter an end date to a repetitive event. I miss having status field (Like Microsoft Outlook) with Free, Tentative, Busy & Out of office as choices. Fixing the Calendar in an APP would be great. The other desirable PIM would be adding a Task (or TO DO) feature like Microsoft & iPhone has that syncs with Outlook on my desktop computer using Exchange server. If anyone has an APP for Skype on the EVO for a $20 or less APP that just adds Copy & Paste to the Calendar in the EVO I would be very happy. I would also pay $50 for an APP that gives the Calendar all the tools that the iPhone or Windows Mobile has in the Calendar or other PIM (Outlook features). Thanks for letting me vent my frustration with a great phone and wonderful OS.
 
Still isn't a great answer. This is a smartphone, not a feature phone. Google had a ton of predecessors to look at as well as excellent 3rd party apps on the predecessors that did the calendars justice. Agendus and Datebk were excellent add ons to PalmOS, BB and winmob and the PIM's on them were pretty good to begin with. Google took quite a few steps back in their "smartphone" OS.

I'm all for 3rd party adding extra functionality, but he's really looking at the basics of how a smartphone calendar should be.

You can throw email into that as well (and don't mention K9 as it has its own issues, and someone shouldn't need it for the basics). Every email type should have the same functionality. Gmail, AOL, Yahoo, MSN, Hotmail, Exchange and other web based mail should have full folder support and syncing of contacts, calendar and tasks (if offered). I should be able to report spam, move emails to folders and so on out of the box without 3rd party help.

Ever since the iphone came out all the new OS's have dumbed down the smartphone. woopedee doo we have apps and gps and blah blah blah. Bring back a solid core smartphone, then give me all the fluff.

Sense helps vanilla android, but it's still far from perfect. Unfortunately none of the newer OS's are perfect, and when it comes to core smartphone functionality, WP7 might just end up being the best of the bunch unfortunately since it has many other limitations to go along with it. I just wish someone would get it completely right for a change. I look back at PalmOS and look a the things I could do with ease that are now a chore or just simply unavailable. Quite sad.


FYI there are tons of calendar apps in the market that will do what you want.
 
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I have an idea, if you can find a device that is 100% to your liking, then go get it and get out of here! If you can't find that device, then move the hell on and stop complaining.

If you want to complain about Android in general, then go do it in the general Android section. There is no need to bring this into the EVO area! You complaints have nothing to do with the EVO. And we do have skype, so that isn't even a valid complaint........

On top of that, you want to talk about WM. I have a used a WM device for the past 10 years, and without 3rd party apps, WM would have been useless!
 
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LOL really? So since a perfect device does not exist we just have to shut up and take what we can get?

Dude, it's a phone, not a religion. Settle down.
The OP has 2 gripes. 1st has nothing to do with the EVO but with Google's OS and 2nd, his complaint about not having Skype.

A little research would have brought him the answer regarding Skype, and exepecting to have an OS that covers everything for everyone is kind of asking a little to much. Everyone has different needs so we shall all be happy that we have 3rd party software to give everyone what they want!

A better way would have been to ask if there are options for what he was looking to do. Not title your thread 10% awful....

So, I guess the device i now 100% perfect for him so he can change his thread title!
 
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Everyone has different needs so we shall all be happy that we have 3rd party software to give everyone what they want!

Look I came over from the Pre mainly due to the lack of app development, so I get this, and I did not agree with that point in the OP.

I was simply pointing out how ludicrous your initial statement was.

And, for the record, since the Evo runs "Google's OS" any complaints about the OS are perfectly valid complaints about the phone that runs it.
 
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Look I came over from the Pre mainly due to the lack of app development, so I get this, and I did not agree with that point in the OP.

I was simply pointing out how ludicrous your initial statement was.

And, for the record, since the Evo runs "Google's OS" any complaints about the OS are perfectly valid complaints about the phone that runs it.
Think I was confusing dbpaddler's response with the OP in there as well as he was saying what an OS should consist of......Sorry, OP, not all meant for you!
 
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Thanks for the suggestion to use Fring for Skype. Again, this is my first Android phone. I had over 10 new Windows Mobile phones and one used iPhone to help friends with usage. Since this is my first Android phone, I do not know what is an EVO problem and what is an Android specific problem. Yes, this is the best phone I have ever had, but I am looking for a better calendar option. I greatly miss copy/cut/paste of a complete appointment in the calendar and also setting a reminder to zero minutes before the appointment. I really liked the Calendar in Windows Mobile and wanted something more like Outlook in Windows Mobile. Life is full of compromises and this is the best smartphone, but I wanted a more powerful Calendar in the APP Market Place. I was hoping someone knew of a Calendar APP similar to Mobile Outlook in Windows Mobile. Thanks for all the good suggestions and I am sorry if I offended anyone with my weakly worded questions to try to learn more. Thanks..
 
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