Saxman gots an android...

[Saxito Pau]

Yes, guys, I finally gots me an Android phone 

Given it is my first plunge, so far, so good. it's a Samsung Galaxy Y Pro. I really couldn't give up a physical keyboard.

I only have these shorcomings (so far):
- no support for voice dialing via bluetooth
- it'd be nice to have about 4 physical keys dedicated to functions of your choosing (phone does have two such buttons though)
- how to keep battery from draining overnight (went from full to 22% in 6 hours of sleep)

I have already put on a few apps, I'd like you to recommend a few as well

[TriniXaeno]

strange on the battery life as I've read good things of it in that regard.

http://www.itweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=51171

Specs a bit tepid but since this comes in under the us$200 price point, that is to be expected

Pros: Affordably priced, great battery life, intuitive OS, crisp display
Cons: Camera is a tad disappointing; display is a bit small for a user-friendly touch-screen
Rating: 7/10
Software platform: Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)
Dimensions: 110.8 x 63.5 x 11.5mm
Connectivity: Bluetooth, USB 2.0, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Display: 2.6-inch
Sensor: Accelerometer, Digital Compass, Proximity
Weight: 108.6g
Camera: Rear-facing 3MP
Processor: 832MHz
Battery: Standard battery, Li-on 1 200 mAh, talk time: 460 minutes (3G), standby time: 363 hours (3G)
Storage and memory: 160MB internal memory ＋ 2GB inbox ＋ microSD (up to 32GB)

Not bad for the money at all.

Odd that there were not any user reviews on Amazon. Would have thought this to be mildly popular there given specs and price.

[Arcmanov]

Using a custom ROM will improve the battery life, but I know you're not quite ready for that one yet. 



SwiftKeyed from my Samsung Galaxy S2 with Tapatalk

[captainchris]

[Redfish]

Try reducing the screen brightness that should help a lol and make sure you don't have apps running in the background. Might need to get a task killer for that...

From my Sensation, oh and BlackBerry Sucks!!

[woodyear99]

This tip sound counterintuitive but may help as well...I use it with an app called llama to auto disconnect my wifi when I leave home or office (uses cell tower ids)

 http://www.androidcentral.com/android-101-save-battery-keeping-wifi-alive?style_mobile=0

This tip is one that seems counter-intuitive, but you can save a lot of wear and tear on your Android phone's battery if you tell it to keep the Wifi radio turned on and connected while the phone is sleeping.  Your phone needs a lot of juice to keep pinging those cell towers, and even more to transmit data to and from them.  Wifi radios use much less power because of their design, and they don't have to keep searching for a better access point.  It's the way cellular data communication was designed, and it's a necessary evil.But what if you're spending all day (or all evening) in one place, connected to Wifi?  If you tell your phone to shut off Wifi when idle, it bounces back to cellular data (be it 2G, 3G, or 4G) and starts sucking down the electrons again when the screen shuts off.  That's no good, and easy to fix:Open the advanced Wifi settings by pressing the menu button, then Settings, Wireless & networks, Wi-Fi settings, and tapping the menu button again.  You'll have a choice to either Scan, or go Advanced -- go Advanced.Tap the Wi-Fi sleep policy entry, and you'll get a pop up dialog with the choices you see in the picture above.  Choose Never.

Now even when your phone goes into standby mode, you'll stay connected to Wifi and be able to get mail and messages without turning the cell radio back on and trouncing your battery life.  And for the times when you're not in an area with a Wifi connection, just shut Wifi off, either through the menu or with a handy toggle widget.  Your battery will thank you for it.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note

[captainchris]

Using a custom ROM will improve the battery life, but I know you're not quite ready for that one yet. 



SwiftKeyed from my Samsung Galaxy S2 with Tapatalk

A few hours spent on xda forums and he would be running like oil. As for apps. I recommend you find apps based on your style bro.

Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using Tapatalk

[woodyear99]

Xda forums, definitely required reading.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note

[Saxito Pau]

Thanks for the feedback so far. I liking it. Found some appps that have certainly suited my needs.

Try reducing the screen brightness that should help a lol and make sure you don't have apps running in the background. Might need to get a task killer for that...

Reducing screen brightness was one of the first things I did.

Xda forums, definitely required reading.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note

Will do. I think Arc had spoken to me about it once

This tip sound counterintuitive but may help as well...I use it with an app called llama to auto disconnect my wifi when I leave home or office (uses cell tower ids)

 http://www.androidcentral.com/android-101-save-battery-keeping-wifi-alive?style_mobile=0

Done! we'll see how battery life is tomorrow morning...

Using a custom ROM will improve the battery life, but I know you're not quite ready for that one yet. 

I've only a month warranty, so check me back end of April and see if I get brave enough

[woodyear99]

These tips will help

http://m.wikihow.com/Save-Battery-Power-on-an-Android

Save Battery Power on an Android

The Android operating system is turning the mobile communications and PDA world on its head by offering features, functionality and an open architecture that threatens to blow away everything else on the market.

However, many of the features available on Android devices can cause batteries to become drained very quickly. Because of this, users of Android devices must intelligently and proactively manage the energy in their batteries. The power-saving options presented here can be used as you wish; all at the same time, individually or in any desired combination.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note

[Preston786]

You should have Voice Dialing through bluetooth as standard Sax try changing the headset if possible or dig deep in the settings

or if they using google voice the only time it will work is if you're connected to the internet... so when u press the button check the screen and

see if google voice comes up hope this helps

[Arcmanov]

Woodyear...would you believe i did the opposite of what was suggested, and set my wi-fi to turn off while idle, and that actually improved my runtime?

Strange, but true.



SwiftKeyed from my Samsung Galaxy S2 with Tapatalk

[woodyear99]

Yeah not sure nah. Tried it both ways, did not see much difference.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note

[Saxito Pau]

Woodyear, your battery tips worked.

battery only went down 6% from full overnight.

But moving my contacts from Symbian to Android is akin to the building of hell. Try being forced to import contacts one by one when you have over 700 of them to copy... after researching various methods and ALL fail.

More on that later.. about 40 copied so far...

[Arcmanov]

I think the best way is via SIM card yes.  Have you tried that?  You can only do 200 at a time but it shouldn't take too long.



SwiftKeyed from my Samsung Galaxy S2 with Tapatalk

[W1nTry]

I've had no complaints about the battery life on my  Atrix 2... also did you check the ICS rollout regarding that handset? my take on this since I also just RECENTLY joined the android fold is that it didn't make sense to get something that couldn't be 'officially' upgraded later on. I had bought a MB Backflip for the gf and that didn't work out. Bought her a Samsung G Ace (which i believe will also be upgraded to ics later on) and eventually due to a mix of circumstances bit the bullet and get the Atrix 2. The battery life is better than my metoo bb and I use it on WiFi only atm.

[TriniXaeno]

Sax, this one is kind of obvious but did you try importing contacts from the old phone to Microsoft Outlook and then exporting them from Microsoft Outlook to the new phone??

[W1nTry]

Wyatt as I mentioned in the wp7 thread moving contacts on a WHOLE is hell. And as messiaah pointed out the first and hardest is moving it to the cloud. The way I did it, export to csv, modify csv to match either outlook OR gmail format (recommend gmail though I ended up using outlook cause imagine gmail format didn't work??? WTH even though it worked previously for when I did it for the gf EVEN MORE WTF??? moment). Best to use gmail cause even windows phones can sync to the contact list. And since he's on android it's a no brainer. Upload CSV to gmail and import directly through adding the gmail acct to the Galaxy Y.

[woodyear99]

Do most phones allow you to export in vcf format?

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note

[woodyear99]

We often discuss roms but trying different kernels can improve battery as well....

 http://m.lifehacker.com/5881842/how-to-get-better-battery-life-and-performance-on-your-android-phone-with-a-new-kernel


 

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note