New Owner, 1st Smartphone

[byteware]

WELCOME! We are like a family and will definately help you out!

A very dysfunctional family, but a family none the less..

 

[cmajpwc]

I would go with ChompSMS over Handcent, but that's just me.

 

[a7xnocturnal]

I would go with ChompSMS over Handcent, but that's just me.

reasons?

 

[cmajpwc]

Well, it all matters on what you're looking for. Handcent has WAY more features than Chomp, but Chomp is more stable IMO, it has regular updates (I got 3 or 4 in the last two or so weeks), and it's a bit cleaner I think (certain things are smoother/faded graphics make it look better). Yeah, you should pay the three bucks to get rid of the ads, but it's worth it because the developer does a decent job on it. Handcent has ads in the menus, and you can't get rid of them.

When I had Handcent it also started to keep my phone awake. I'm not sure if they fixed that bug, but a lot of people started having their phone kept awake and Handcent crashing. But Handcent does have a lot more features (like pop ups for messages). The only thing I think Chomp has that Handcent doesn't is a widget... BUT I could be wrong. I'm not sure.

I just like Chomp better. If you try out both, keep in mind that Chomp will be a bit slower because the ads are there. If you pay the three dollars it's just as fast if not faster than Handcent. So it really comes down to which you like using better.

 

[petch]

Welcome to the forum, Android and smartphones in general.

As already stated, the update should already be loaded or prompt you to install shortly after you boot up the phone the first time.

Here are a few threads to look at to get you started on the path of Android enlightenment:

http://androidforums.com/htc-droid-eris/53708-everything-you-need-know-about-your-htc-eris.html

http://androidforums.com/htc-droid-eris/68845-must-have-apps.html

Also, not to contradict surgeon0214 in any way (I also think ADW is pretty nice), but I would suggest running your phone stock for a little bit before you start changing things. This is good for finding bugs as well as just getting a good overall feel for the phone. Once you start to find things that you don't like or wish to improve upon, then you can start tweaking the phone as much as you want. That doesn't mean avoid installing apps of any kind, I would just avoid the things that will replace stock items for the time being.

Not to hijack your thread but I am in the same boat (first smart phone getting my Eris tomorrow) in the post above titled Must have apps it shows the title of the app then a box called show.. it opens a black and white box what the heck is that? (please forgive my ignorance)

 

[cmajpwc]

Not to hijack your thread but I am in the same boat (first smart phone getting my Eris tomorrow) in the post above titled Must have apps it shows the title of the app then a box called show.. it opens a black and white box what the heck is that? (please forgive my ignorance)

You download a bar code scanner app to your phone, and you use that to read the code in the box. It will read it, and give you a link to the market or internet. You click on the market link, and then it takes you to the page where it is in the market so you can learn more about it or download it. It's really quite cool.

By the way, congrats on getting your Eris and welcome to the forums =]

 

[MrDangerous]

I tried ADW yesterday for the first time and thought it was pretty nice, but I really missed the stock clock/weather that sense provides.

 

[petch]

You download a bar code scanner app to your phone, and you use that to read the code in the box. It will read it, and give you a link to the market or internet. You click on the market link, and then it takes you to the page where it is in the market so you can learn more about it or download it. It's really quite cool.

By the way, congrats on getting your Eris and welcome to the forums =]

Thank you Thank you Thank you.

 

[surgeon0214]

K thanks, ill be updating my post above to check back when im ready to do all this.


Should i stick with the stock browser for now as well? And everything i read on ADW it gets better and better

Stick with the stock browser, I have tried all the free browsers and some of the paid and none were as good as the stock, its very simple and I like that.

 

[jreed2560]

I tried ADW yesterday for the first time and thought it was pretty nice, but I really missed the stock clock/weather that sense provides.

beautiful widgets. Its not free, but its definitely better than the stock sense clocks.

 

[cmajpwc]

beautiful widgets. Its not free, but its definitely better than the stock sense clocks.

Does this include the weather/clock widget with the animations of what the weather is doing? Part of the reason I haven't replaced Sense is because I love that widget, and I love how if it's raining or something it shows rain falling on my screen or clouds floating across or lightning bolts flashing on my screen. If there is that widget and it does do those animations, I may start to look at other launchers and buy Beautiful Widgets.

 

[jreed2560]

when you download it, it says it needs to connect to the network to download weather animations, but I've never seen them. But for me the customizations and the skins you can download far far outweigh the fancy weather animation.

 

[nomarsgirl]

Does this include the weather/clock widget with the animations of what the weather is doing? Part of the reason I haven't replaced Sense is because I love that widget, and I love how if it's raining or something it shows rain falling on my screen or clouds floating across or lightning bolts flashing on my screen. If there is that widget and it does do those animations, I may start to look at other launchers and buy Beautiful Widgets.

We lost power once during a thunderstorm. My husband picked up my phone to see what time it was. He was a little surprised by that animation. Ever since, he has hated his blackberry and really wants an Eris. His upgrade doesn't come for another year. I'm sure he will have lots of other android options by then and the Eris will have gone the way of the dinosaurs.

 

[a7xnocturnal]

Well Charged my new Eris up last night, and played with it a bit. I have not been promted to update to 2.1 so im assuming it was already on there which is nice. Im liking the stock browser and weather/clock, as its my 1st smartphone, its superfast and awesome IMO being i have not had anythign close. So i think ill stick with it for a bit. As far as apps go, i have DL'd Pandora and B of A. Gonna get some MLb today and shopsavvy or Barcode scanner. Maybe backup assistant and a few others. The texting is not bad, so i may pick up hancent or something, if i dont like it, how would i go about removing it?

I need to go through some stuff on here today and clear some stuff for my battery life. I get Wifi in my Apt. and i read if you use that as default it may save your batt a bit. Seems a bit faster than the 3G. not by much though

 

[OfTheDamned]

If you decide you don't like an app you can simply go into the market hit Menu and then downloads. This will bring up a list of all your downloaded apps. Press on the one you wish to uninstall and it will walk you through it.

If you like the popup feature of Handcent, but don't care for anything else you could try SMS Popup.

Also, if you want to look at the market from your computer you can try Androlib or the new one here on Android Forums

 

[a7xnocturnal]

Awesome. Thank you