You Guys Are Probably Going To Laugh At Me

[TheAlmightyDrew]

This sucks. The Walmart I was going to buy the phone from doesn't have it anymore. I am desperately trying to find one now.

 

[tdse]

This sucks. The Walmart I was going to buy the phone from doesn't have it anymore. I am desperately trying to find one now.

Looks like Amazon still has them in stock.

 

[TheAlmightyDrew]

I noticed that. I wanted to go in and pick it up though and not have it shipped. I called all the Best Buys within 40 miles of it and had no luck. So I am trying Walmarts now.

 

[TJLeonard]

It's my first android phone and I love it. Don't know if it compares but I had the ipod touch 3g 32gb, and since getting my DX I haven't even looked it's way. (though I do like IOS facebook app better)

The iPhone Facebook app was better but that's it. I use their mobile site.

 

[TheAlmightyDrew]

The iPhone Facebook app was better but that's it. I use their mobile site.

How does the Android's facebook app differ from the iPhone's?

 

[Ninja Monkey]

Don't forget that you have a voice-to-text function for any text entry field. I am extremely impressed at how accurate it is and at how much more quickly I can fire off messages and emails. As expected, voice-to-text does not work well for entering in things like web addresses, words not typically found in dictionaries, and email addresses. This is one feature that I feel many reviewers gloss over without truly considering how significant of a feature leap it really is among competing smart phones.

That feature was one of the things that sold me.

 

[Ninja Monkey]

The iPhone Facebook app was better.

Agreed. At least from what I have seen so far.

 

[TheAlmightyDrew]

Can anyone tell me how the facebook app on the Android differs from the iPhone?

 

[gwlaw99]

Here are some tips for a total newbie.

1. To put an app on the home screen, go into the app drawer and long press it. Whn the home screen appears let it go.
2. To delete anything off the home screen long press it and hover it over the app drawer icon until a trash can appears then let it go.
3. Long press on any empty space on any home screen to add widgets or short cuts. I use direct dial shortcuts for one touch dialing the people I call most. I also have a map shortcut for one touch GPS directions to my house.
4. A good free calendar widget is calendar pad. I also use smooth calendar for a quick glance at my upcomming appointments.
5. The "Gmail Unread Count" widget adds an icon sized widget that shows how many gmail messages you have and launches gmail.
6. Mototorch and Tesla are apps that turn the LCD flash into a flashlight.
7. Advanced Task manager is a task killer for problematic apps or if your pone starts to feel a bit sluggish (should not happen often but good for the rare occasion.
8. Launcher pro looks like the stock android home screen, but is much much faster. It is easy to use. It also has a scrolling dock bar at the bottom for 15 additional apps (long press to adds them). You can also add en extra row of regular apps, but this messes up the landscape homescreen (which I turn off anywa). You will have to dig into some of the advanced options in preferences to get some of these.
9. ADW is just like launcher pro (and just as fast) but has a several more customization options (as many columns and rows of icons as you want on homescreen and in app drawer, for example). The one thing I don't like about it is having to swipe up to get to the app dock bar. Launcherpro is as much as I need so I use that.
10. An app called Bar Control allows you to put app shortcuts on the swipe down notification bar for easy access without having to return to the home screen. I usually put three apps on it. Quick Settings for fast access to all the phone settings. Home Switcher to switch between different home screen replacements and the stock home screen. And Audio Manager for quick access to all volume controls (ring, alerts, music, etc...)
11. If you have Fios, the Verizon DVR manager app is great.
12. Handcent is a good text messaging replacement.
13. Doubletwist works just like iTunes but for android. There is both a desktop app and an app for playback.
14. Rockplayer is a free video player that plays many different formats mp4, avi, etc..
15. Astro File manager is a great free file manager that can also backup your apps to the SD card.
16. Dolphin HD and Xscope are good alternative browsers that have tabs and other features. Skyfire can play some flash video even without flash, but is otherwise not so good.
17. Voice search and voice dictation are really good as long as you do not slur your words. Try them out. I was amazed at how accurate the voice dictation is.
18. Two browser features that I love on android that iPhone doesnt have are: the ability to choose whatever size text you want to be reflowed. On the iphone you can only double tap to get the text to reflow. On android you can zoom into until you get the size text you want and then double tap the text to get it to reflow (android calls it "fit to page"). Android browsers also have kinetic scrolling. If you want to get to the bottom of a long messge board thread, you don't have to scroll one screen at a time like on the iPhone. Just give it fast swipe and an Android browser will scroll all the way to the bottom (or at least 20+ screens)

Thats enough to get you started. Hope that helps.

 

[gwlaw99]

Can anyone tell me how the facebook app on the Android differs from the iPhone?

Never used the iphone app, but I have heard the mobile site is better than the facebook app. Why facebook just doesn't make the same app, I have no idea.

 

[xdroid]

To the OP: if you are a human and have used any computer-like device ever in your life (such as a CALCULATOR) you should be able to use a droid, or any smartphone for that matter. I don't mean to sound rude when I say that either, these devices aren't designed for only the technically knowledgeable to be able to use.

 

[Deathwish238]

Yeah I often just go to the Facebook Mobile site anyways. Also, you don't want to auto end apps but I still use Advanced Task Manager to end apps like ShootMe that I only want open for a short period of time.

 

[TheAlmightyDrew]

I am now a Droid and Verizon customer. After spending about 2 hours calling every Best Buy, Costco, Verizon retailer and Walmart around me I finally found a Walmart that had not one but TWO Droid Xs in stock. Because it was Walmart, I knew the phones would be dummies, not a real live demo. So I went to a Verizon store first to play around with the live demo before I made my final decision. After playing around with it for about 30 minutes, testing out the web browser, keyboard, camera and camcorder, I decided to buy it. So I drove 50 minutes to the only Walmart that had it within 40 miles of me. Unfortunately, the woman that helped me was a total bitch. She barely had any idea what she was doing. She got annoyed that Verizon had put her on hold for so long that she took that anger out of me, and wouldn't let me ask her questions. I wanted to review the contract before finalizing it but she kept shushing me because the person from Verizon was talking to her on the phone. I don't know about you, but as a customer I have never been shushed in my life. When the phone was about to be activated, they gave me a 301 area code. Now 301 is a Maryland area code and I live in Pennsylvania. Why Verizon thought I would even want a Maryland area code...I have no idea. But the woman wouldn't let me ask for a different area code. Because of that, I had to walk over to the Verizon store that was next door after the transaction to change my number. They said that would cost me $15 on my next month's bill. So because I got a rude person, I am out $15. Not a big deal...its only $15. She also wouldn't let me add insurance. She asked me and I said I wasn't sure and I had to call my mom to see if it was okay. She tells the Verizon agent she was on the line with just go ahead and not add it, because she didn't want to wait for me to call my mom to okay the insurance. But I was able to add the insurance when I changed my number.

This woman was such a bitch. The whole time I wanted to reach over the counter and slap her across the face. But I love the phone as of right now. I have honestly spent the last 2 hours customizing my home screens and syncing facebook and email and stuff. I haven't even touched the app market yet. Who knows how long I will be messing with this phone once I start downloading apps. The screen is gorgeous and the web browser is blazing fast. Coming from an iPhone 3G, this is a huge step up. I haven't gotten a chance to take pictures or video and upload them to see how good they look. Hopefully, they look great though.