After a lifetime with Windows Mobile (WM) devices and phones, I took the decision today to finally ‘jump ship’ and move to the Android operating system. It’s a decision that has tested my decision-making skills for some time now! Should I… shouldn’t I…?, Yes… No… Wait… etc.
Why jump? Well, there’s just not that many apps for WM devices being developed and if I’d upgraded my phone and stayed loyal to Windows Mobile, it would have had the newish ‘WM7’ operating system installed on it, and to me, it sports possibly the ugliest user interface on the planet.
Additionally, the new WM device would still have a number of limitations for what I need my phone to do, over and above phoning – Mozy, Skype, DropBox, Flickr, Picasa etc – where are the apps from WM for these programs?
So, step forward the HTC Sensation, and bye-bye HTC HD2 (well, at least I’m loyal to a brand!) It seems only yesterday – actually November 2009 – that I was irritating everyone around me about the virtues of the best phone ever – the new HD2. Now, its place is taken by HTC Sensation, currently one of the fastest phones on the planet, sporting amongst many other features, a dual core processor which basically means it’ll handle more stuff, faster!
The only downside is that I still haven’t completely worked out how to solve the LACK of good diary functionality available under Android, especially TASKS (and with my poor memory, this is an absolute MUST!). Even if I’d stayed with WM – version WM7 doesn’t support tasks anymore (Windows, what were you thinking? You’ve convinced me that you don’t understand what a business person needs on their phone!!!). So, with my dependency on a good diary/time management system, it’s a good time to shift allegiances and explore some options courtesy of the Android Marketplace. I think I might go for the Android version of Pocket Informant and also ToodleDo (A cloud-based task management program).
In the long run, I’m sure this is the right decision, but in the short term, I know there’s a powerful learning curve in front of me. In truth, I’ll probably use both phones in parallel until I’ve got the Sensation completely worked out. One of things I am looking forward to is a better battery life – currently the HD2 lasts barely a day.
First Impressions
OK, I’ve had it a day now and I’m gradually learning about the differences between WinMo and Android. Certainly the whole user experience is a lot slicker, screens scroll smoothly, apps launch immediately and everything seems to be very, very intuitive. It’s too early to check out the battery-life, but it certainly looks as if it’s going to last longer than the HD2 day-to-day. Niggles? One so far – I simply can’t work out how to extract an attachment from an email sent to me via my google-mail account. I can see the paper-clip, but no matter what I do, I can’t seem to view it/open it/save it.
I’m going to install Pocket Informant and see how that works out as my main diary.
More news to follow…
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I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!
I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!
I suggest 2 things:
1) Android Agenda Widget
– This widgets displays reminders, tasks and calender events. Everything syncs to your Google Calender that is linked to your Google Account. It also supports syncing with GTask, which brings me to
2) GTask
– Task manager that syncs to Google Tasks. You can add tasks on GTask via Agenda Widget and it syncs to your online Google Task (some setting up required). It works vice versa too.