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Help New to HTC and Android

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element140

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Hi everyone. I've recently got an HTC sensation on the 3 network, after having an iphone 3gs for the past 2 years. So far so good, a much better phone obviously and I think a much better operating system. I've run into a few niggles that I wanted to ask about.

1) With the iphone you could back it up by syncing with itunes. I know about HTC sync (although I haven't used it yet) and was wondering if there was an equivalent way of backing the phone up in case I should need to restore it?


2) Is it possible to remove default apps put on my phone by 3, without rooting (the HTC equivalent of an iphone jailbreak?)

3) it seems that when I get a whatsapp message or an sms message, the screen doesn't come on as I would have expected it to. Its not until I see the flashing LED that I know there is something waiting for me

4) is there a shortcut or something to enable voice dialing for when the phone is in a car holder?

I think thats it for now. Thanks a lot for your help :)
 
Hi Element140 (or is that "Corbomite"?),

I was actually in the same boat as you precisely and had a few of the same concerns.

1. I do have a google account (but not for anything other than emails really) and I did reset my phone back to factory settings....(basically curious) and I was pleasantly surprised that as soon as I logged back into the Google app for emails through the initial setup, all my purchased apps (both free and not) were ready to downloadb again (after re-signing some declarations of course).
In other words, all I had to do was re-connect to my google account (& mail boxes) and the phone was back to square one.

The reset did not delete any SD contents either so all my photos & music was still their too. Just had to resync.

I do recommend the HTC Sync software though (if you use the USBv2.0 post and the original HTC cable - little else works). The best thing with this is that if you have an iTunes playlist set up, HTC Sync will import that playlist directly, album art and all...Well chuffed I was.

2) As for removing default apps, rooting is the way to go apparently. The Sensation will be unlocked or rooted in Sept hopefully according to HTC. Depends though whether the carriers accept it or not. Personally I'm with Vodafone and their opening logo is so amateurish that it is the first and probably only thing I will change. Vodafone only have 3 apps on it and only the music shopping app is embedded into the HTC player. Feels right too.

3) Lots of apps that may help to create that situation, but for me, switching on a power hungry screen is pointless. Don't forget that the phone is so flexible that you can you can always select various notification tones with or without vibrate switched on though...something the iPhone 3GS could never do at the time. You need to delve into the applications themselves.

4) Voice dialling...I haven't sussed that out yet to be honest so I can't answer.

Please update though if you do...
 
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Thanks both for the information. Good to know that all my stuff is backed up through my google account :) I downloaded popup sms which pretty much does the job for turning the screen on when I get a text - not ideal but something I can live with (the only thing I don't like compared to iOS so not bad at all). I was playing angry birds earlier, and did something and voice control came up... not sure what I did though haha
 
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4) Voice dialling...I haven't sussed that out yet to be honest so I can't answer.

Please update though if you do...

Done a bit more playing with the phone, can't put it down! Have found that when the phone is unlocked, holding the search button will bring up voice search, which is the iphone equivalent I was looking for. Such a useful feature, I knew I could just click on the widget to get it, but when driving and the phone is being used as sat nav etc in a holder, i needed button to press rather than flick through screens etc.
 
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I would highly recommend "handcent sms" from the Android Market. That has numerous options for notifications and POP ups to turn the screen on when you get a message and for repeat alerts, should you miss the initial one, and I would be lost without my copy. It also has a pretty good iPhone skin which should make you feel at home. That's the skin I use as it just feels right :)
 
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I would highly recommend "handcent sms" from the Android Market. That has numerous options for notifications and POP ups to turn the screen on when you get a message and for repeat alerts, should you miss the initial one, and I would be lost without my copy. It also has a pretty good iPhone skin which should make you feel at home. That's the skin I use as it just feels right :)

Thanks for the suggestion. Am using it now, and really like it. The screen popup feature is something I couldnt live without, so am pretty much set now :D
 
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