[Q] Maybe Going from Windows Mobile to Android (Captivate Glide) - Newbie Questions

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All of my past devices (Siemens SX56 & SX66; HTC Kaiser; and presently HTC Rhodium - see ROM below) have been Windows Mobile, so I'm hoping to appeal to those of you who made the leap to Android from WM to answer several newbie questions...

A Little Background History About Me & My Mobile World
As device technologies are steadily and rapidly advancing faster than they ever have before, I am finding myself wishing that my current device was capable of many of the tasks/speed that the newer devices are. Unfortunately, my lack of knowledge of other OSes are keeping me from making an informed decision that I will be able to confidently live with.

Coming from Windows Mobile, I bought a used LG Quantum (Windows 7 Phone) cheap from Ebay hoping to play with it for a bit to help me understand the new Windows OS and enable me to transition more easily to it's newer technology and features. Unfortunately, the most critical aspect of transitioning to Windows Phone is the ability to seamlessly and accurately transfer my data (calendar, contacts, tasks, etc.) from Microsoft Outlook to the new device. I was appalled to learn that Microsoft has completely removed the ability to sync via USB as I have always done with ActiveSync all these years!

Sure for many, this isn't a major problem, but for me it is an absolute deal breaker! My data is tied to my work PC and my company (being a very large global company) is very serious about it's data security, so they have blocked access to all third-party email and file storage options, therefore syncing my data to the Quantum in the conventional manner is impossible. I've tried extracting/importing the various Outlook data files with Google, Hotmail, etc., but the data's integrity proved to be worthless, as many contacts were missing their contact names and all of my recurring appointments were broken out into separate events making future rescheduling a complete and utter nightmare. So, needless to say, I ran screaming back to my Rhodium in less than 2 days!

I am an AT&T customer and an avid fan of a 'real' hard keyboard (an absolute MUST for my next device!), so I am considering the Samsung Captivate Glide as an upgrade option, hence why I am posing my questions in this subforum.

My Questions/Concerns to Users Who Made the Transition from Windows Mobile to Android:
I've been searching the web looking for newbie guides to Android and am finding that many of them are tailored to those users who have no prior experience with smart phones at all, as it basically describes what a smart phone can do and what 'apps' can be found for various simple tasks. What I need to know from you all is:

• What obstacles have you encountered switching from WM to Android and how did you overcome them?
  
• What are the biggest pro/cons that you have come across and how have you managed them?
  
• How are you managing your data? It appears to me that Android also utilizes OTA syncing, however, I have read that there are programs out there that will allow you to work around this and sync via USB. Is this correct and which applications do you find work the best?

My Device Needs:
I am not a 'gamer' by any sense of the word, so I have no use or interest of what Android is capable of in that aspect. My interests clearly lie in contact, calendar, notes, & task data management; email (multiple AOL accounts); GPS-guided navigation; Internet access; photo/video capturing capabilities; and, of course, as a reliable phone.

I do not typically listen to music on my Rhodium, as I have a 60GB Zen which can store far more music than my phone can, but I do enjoy the ability to listen to FM radio or whatever MP3s that I do choose to store on my Rhodium. I don't usually watch videos/movies on my current device, but may choose to more often, as I expect the experience to be much more pleasant on the newer technology anyway.

In Conclusion
First and foremost, I appreciate you reading my post, as I am sorry it has gotten so long, but I wanted those responding to know what my experience has been, what my needs are... Basically, where I'm coming from. If there are other scenarios that any of you have encountered in your transition from WM to Android that I haven't addressed, I would be most grateful if you would care to share them with me.

Given all of the above, is the Captivate Glide a smart choice? I understand that the Android 'Ice Cream Sandwich' update is expected later this year, as well, and that the Captivate Glide is rumored to be among the devices slated to receive the update. Is the SCG a solid device that will be able to make good use of this anticipated update? Are there rumors of any new Android devices coming to AT&T (with a hard keyboard) that I should look out for before I consider my transition?

Thank you all again for the time that you have taken out of your busy lives to read my post and for your consideration in taking even more time to respond to my questions. I've been a member of this community for a few years now and have the utmost respect for the collective knowledge and selfless assistance that I've received thus far, so please feel free to direct me to any outside forums/sites, which are better suited to my needs as I may have missed them in my initial searches on the subject. Of course, I am open to conducting my research/questions via private messages, if forum administrators think that my inquiry is too elementary for the forum.

Debbie

I have not own a Win Mobile before so I can't answer most of your questions. But I can tell you what my android device(s) do for me.

-It performs well and can do almost anything you need while you're mobile
-SMS, MMS, email, calls, calendar, etc are most (let's say 90%) used functionality for me, and my Glide (and previous android devices) never failed me on those. So pretty much, telephony and PDA features are awesome.
-Android supports auto sync, so your apps (like Calendar and contacts) will push all changes as long as you have data active. This feature can be disabled.
-Email: the stock Samsung Email app does the job for me and can hold about 10 emails or so.
-Contacts, is very rich, from first name to nickname, to organization , you can add many details in one. Contacts merging is also available.
-Virtual Keyboard, just make sure you turn off some features like "Quick Fixes" and XT9 if you don't want your Android to mess up you're text. Many 3rd party Virtual Keyboards are available, for different styles, functionality, and looks. For a hardware Keyboard of the glide, it's not that great, but not bad as hell for the reason that the keys are almost flat that there is a little to no tactile feedback on some keys.
-Web Browsing, I am having a very good experience in terms of web. Renders pages in reasonable speed, supports flash, and there are third party WEb browsers that supports HTML5 as well.
-Wireless tethering (Rogers), I use this quite a lot too, and connection is solid and pleasant. (You may need to Root to activate tethering on ATT ROMs/Versions)
-APPLICATIONS all-in-all, a ton of apps are available
-Battery life: in my case, battery is about 50% from the morning I wake up til the night I am about to sleep. This is fine with me.

If you're gonna ask me about the 10% of my usage:
-7% goes to hacking: I am no developer, but I do learn a lot of tweaks (like Rooting) to make the fast device faster. I admit, it's was not easy for me at first, screwed up my androids(s) lots but everything paid up. Learn from mistakes i guess.
-3% goes to games....

Thanks!

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Your post is very much appreciated, gabby131!

I just revisited the local AT&T store and they indicate that this device is the only Android model offered by them that has a hard keyboard, with no ETA on when other keyboard/Android devices will appear on the horizon. Therefore, it's very good to know that you are having pleasant experiences with your SCG. I have a few more months before I am eligible for an upgrade, so I have that much more time to conduct my research.

I will continue to keep an eye on the forum for other members' experiences with the ICS OS update when it comes out. 'Til then, I will continue to read this and other devices' forums for additional information.

All the best,
Debbie

I had windows Mobile 6.1 for many years. I went from a Dell axim X51V to a Samsung Omnia and now to the Samsung Glide.

Windows mobile had many downfalls but for the people who got used to it, we were able to use it quite well. Web browsing was always a pain on Windows Mobile. Android does fix this and I find I surf on my phone quite well ,especially using the Dolphin browser with the gestures that I have created.

I love the Glide for its ease of use with Excel and word files. The ability to open those and modify them on the fly with a hardware keyboard is great I just wish the hardware keyboard had a dedicated Number row.

Active sync had its benefits and its downfall. I loved that I could sync my phone with outlook and do miss that. I have come to move all my information in my outlook contacts to Google contacts and I just sync in the cloud. I also switched to using Google Calendar instead of the Outlook Calendar. This way I can access my calendar anywhere from any computer or my phone.

The touch display is 1 million times better on my glide then my Omnia as now we are talking capacitive over resistive. I will never go back to resistive!

Funny thing is that on My Windows Mobile device the voice command I find was better than on my Android. I used to tell Windows mobile to play a song and it would with no issues. With Android I am still learning how to do this, and if the screen is locked Bluetooth can not be used for voice commands.

The Glide is a better phone then many out there and the Hardware keyboard is what drew me to it, I just hope you will as happy as I am with mine.

Thanks, dudejb!

Did you load Microsoft Office onto your Glide, or does it already come equipped with an application that will allow you to work with those files? I haven't had to use my device for MS Office files (outside of Outlook, Notes, Tasks, of course), but I really liked that I was able to, if the need ever arose.

Unfortunately, as all of my calendar/contact data is tied to my work PC, setting up this data on Google, etc. is really useless to me. Direct USB syncing is an absolute MUST for me, due to my company blocking other email services, so I have no choice. I'm hoping someone else who also syncs via USB on Android will chime in with suggestions on the best application to use.

I'll need to get used to the screen more. Looks fantastic, but I'm used to using my fingernails a lot and I noticed that the screen doesn't respond quite like my Rhodium does... Hey, I'll adjust! LOL

I used Voice Command a lot with my Kaiser and when I first got my Rhodium, but I've stopped using it after loading Jacko's ROMs, because his ROMs don't recognize/make use of the PTT button, which I always assigned to VC. Sure, I know that I could have used a 3rd-party software to assign the PTT button to that command, but I've just been too damned lazy.

I'm not totally sold on the keyboard, but even the Rhodium took some getting used to after coming from a Kaiser, as my fingers were used to the Kaiser's key layout. I gotta admit though, once I got accustomed to the layout, I determined that my Rhodium has one of the best keyboards out there and I will truly miss it. I played with the Glide on display at the AT&T store for quite some time the other day. To me, it felt that the keys on the Glide are spaced too far apart and didn't have a great feel to them. Shame it's the only keyboard Android model for AT&T right now. What I will truly miss that I never thought I would is the tilt screen of my Rhodium (and Kaiser)... I can't tell you how many times that thing came in handy and it would totally mesmerize my friends when they saw it in action! LMAO!

Again, thanks so much to the both of you for responding. I do believe that I may be taking the 'Android' plunge soon. I just gotta have a plan in place for USB syncing before I actually commit though.

Debbie

I had WinMo 5.x then 6.x devices for many years as well, still have the last one though (Touch Pro 2, runs great !).

But, I decided to move to Android because it had some great capabilities that WiMo 6.x didn't have:
- Managing Outlook sync OTA with more than one Exchange Server
- Managing / Merging Calendar Display (from different accounts : outlook, gmail, ...)
- Managing / Merging multiple contact lists (from different accounts : outlook, gmail, ...)
- User friendly Web browsing
- ...

Of course, I had to save some SMS/MMS and call logs in order to get exactly what I had when leaving WiMo world.

So over a year ago, I used (payed) for one of these migration apps from SPB (or any other) to migrate all my data. (https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...=search_result).

Migration worked great. All data were restored on the Android device.

My first WiMo device replacement was a HTC Desire Z .. with a keyboard. No the same keyboard experience than the touch Pro 2, but it worked.

I then switched to a far more powerful device : the Glide.

I rely mainly on OTA sync : Outlook, hotmail, gmail, yahoo mail.
No USB sync at all (used to do that with Desire Z, but IMO OTA is better).

The Glide lacks a few things (FM tuner, ...) but it has a great processor, a great display ... and huge software library ! (TomTom is still missing !)
Keyboard is nowhere near the Touch Pro 2 experience, but it does the trick and you get used to it.

So Glide (and Android) is my day to day phone. It runs great and is reliable.
I kept the Touch Pro 2 just in case ...

Originally Posted by frav

I had WinMo 5.x then 6.x devices for many years as well, still have the last one though (Touch Pro 2, runs great !).

That's what I am currently using on AT&T... OMG, I *so* love that device!

Originally Posted by frav

But, I decided to move to Android because it had some great capabilities that WiMo 6.x didn't have:
- Managing Outlook sync OTA with more than one Exchange Server
- Managing / Merging Calendar Display (from different accounts : outlook, gmail, ...)
- Managing / Merging multiple contact lists (from different accounts : outlook, gmail, ...)
- User friendly Web browsing

I'm becoming more and more aware of how ancient my Tilt 2 is getting, although it's still an impressively performing phone with Jackos ROM below. The biggest reminder is when I use it's camera at only 3.2MP, no flash/zoom, and poor video quality. The SCG's camera doesn't zoom, from what I can tell either, does it?

Originally Posted by frav

So over a year ago, I used (payed) for one of these migration apps from SPB (or any other) to migrate all my data. (https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...=search_result).

Migration worked great. All data were restored on the Android device.

I'll look into that to see if it would help me out as well, thanks!

Originally Posted by frav

My first WiMo device replacement was a HTC Desire Z .. with a keyboard. No the same keyboard experience than the touch Pro 2, but it worked.

I was initially looking at the Desire Z as well, but it never came to AT&T and I don't want to sacrifice my data speed or call quality by not being able to utilize all the bands that I should have access to on the AT&T network, so I thought it best to wait a bit for something else to pop up.

Originally Posted by frav

I rely mainly on OTA sync : Outlook, hotmail, gmail, yahoo mail.
No USB sync at all (used to do that with Desire Z, but IMO OTA is better).

I wish that I could use OTA syncing (because that would make my life SO much easier & open up a whole ****load of options to me), but my company will not allow me to upload my Outlook data to any 3rd-party email/file storage repositories, so I am left with no choice but to find a suitable USB-syncing method.

Originally Posted by frav

The Glide lacks a few things (FM tuner, ...) but it has a great processor, a great display ... and huge software library ! (TomTom is still missing !)
Keyboard is nowhere near the Touch Pro 2 experience, but it does the trick and you get used to it.

I will actually miss the FM Tuner on my device, and I never thought that I would, because it sure came in handy sometimes! LOL Yeah, I adore the keyboard on my Tilt 2 and it will really suck to have to give it up, but as you say I'll adjust.

Originally Posted by frav

So Glide (and Android) is my day to day phone. It runs great and is reliable.
I kept the Touch Pro 2 just in case ...

Oh, make no mistake... I will never totally give up my Rhodium! As a matter of fact, I've already got another one in reserve (but it's got an effed up USB port) in case I ever need it. Hell, I won't even give up my Kaiser (original AT&T Tilt), because that thing rocked, too!

Thanks so much for your feedback on the Captivate Glide... I'm feeling more and more confident that this is the device for me (until something better comes out, that is), so you may be seeing me around this forum more often.

Thanks again!

Debbie

@Debbie

i believe that if you set up your Office Email on the Glide, you will also get the events, tasks, appointments, etc. You can use the stock Samsung email or any 3rd party apps that support outlook and/or exchange servers. (Please disregard if this is not allowed by your company you're working). As in my case, I need to download TouchDown app, and because I am happy with it, i purchased the license (yes it's kinda pricy, about $20). It does the job very well.

Originally Posted by gabby131

i believe that if you set up your Office Email on the Glide, you will also get the events, tasks, appointments, etc. You can use the stock Samsung email or any 3rd party apps that support outlook and/or exchange servers. (Please disregard if this is not allowed by your company you're working).

Unfortunately, they got that locked up tight, too. There is no way that they will give me the Exchange server credentials to allow me to do that unless I am using a company-provided device, which would be a Blackberry... Yuk!

Originally Posted by gabby131

As in my case, I need to download TouchDown app, and because I am happy with it, i purchased the license (yes it's kinda pricy, about $20). It does the job very well.

I'll look into that, but I suspect that it may not help me much, so I'll be researching USB-sync software. If I poke around here enough, I might find someone who can recommend a reliable one.

Thanks for responding again!

Debbie

I believe the Samsung synch application for windows will allow you to synch with outlook and your android/Samsung Phone. I just found the application to be buggy and a pain to install. I tried at work and it did not communicate with my glide, but at home it worked but I did not attempt on connecting with outlook so I can not tell you how well that works but have heard others mention that it works.