I bought a new phone

[SeilerBird]

Keep in mind that the apps at the bottom of the page are open and may slow down the phone.

Not on my phone they aren't open. Those are just shortcuts. If I scroll to the next page it shows a list of running apps. I keep that number at zero unless I am using one.

[SeilerBird]

You can change the first 3 apps in the dock (the bottom row of icons) to any apps that are installed on the phone.  They aren't necessarily running, but are available on any home page for convenience.  I have my dialer, Dolphin HD browser and camera down there.  The right most icon is fixed to the all apps display.

At least, this is true on phones running Motoblur, other manufacturer UIs may differ.

My UI differs. I can't move or delete any of the 4 icons on the bottom row. But that is Ok with me since I want them all there.

[Bob Buchanan]

Good for you, Tom!! You are enviably frugal and have found a deal that will work for you. Am sure you are just beginning to find the many ways you will use your new smart phone. I keep finding new ways - both that help me and those that amuse me. For sure can't image running my business now w/o it. And now with tethering, if I can make a phone call, I can connect any of my computers to the web from wherever.

I've got around 600 tracks plus about 50 old music videos that I have downloaded for free over the years. The old stuff is easy to find for free, such as Kenny Rogers and Dolly singing Islands in the Stream the year they won the award. One of my favorites is the Celine Delone singing the sound track to Titanic. And as always, Free is Good. I store my music and videos by having a folder for each artist. I don't care what album the track came from - tho they are displayed. I then can use the player on my phone or computer to select by artist, genre, or whatever. As to randomness, that's an option on all of my players - unless you want fixed randomness. I then do playlists for sequences of tracks I might want - such as when driving in heavy traffic, I have several soothing tracks in a playlist. A mellow Chris Botti trumpet followed by a few Eva Cassidy tracks get me though most tough situations. 

As to the peep hole and Playboy.  I read the forum all the time while out and about, Tom. I just go into landscape, enlarge the text with my thumb and index finder and read away. One of my favorite ways to kill time while waiting on a repair or whatever is to read one of my books from Kindle. I also don't text or even email from the phone unless it's critical - tho I do thumb touch type.

Another thing that works for me that I might mention is the use of the fone for references. I have, e.g., a ToDo List, notes for my photography stuff while out and about, user manuals, coded passwords, et.al, in Word or Excel. I place shortcuts to them on one page of my fone and on the desktops of all computers (3). The physical locations of each I keep in my the Dropbox folder on each device. That way, a mouse click from anywhere on any device let's me read, add, change, or delete content with auto sync to all the other devices.

BTW, does your phone have HDMI output? Connecting that puppy to your HDTV with unlimited web would be a blast . . .

Anyway, enjoy your your new toy, Tom . . .

They will also be on my smartphone as soon as I get my 32 gig microSD card in the mail.

iPhone users love that feature . . .  BTW, I also carry an extra battery - got 2 for my Samsung Charge plus stand alone charger for less than $25.

[Ned]

Bob, if you're trying to thumb type on the onscreen keyboard, you need to get Swype.  Many new phones come with it already installed.  My Bionic and Tom's Exhibit both do.  With just a few minutes practice you'll be typing 10x faster than you can with your thumbs or even with several fingers

[SeilerBird]

BTW, does your phone have HDMI output? Connecting that puppy to your HDTV with unlimited web would be a blast . . .

No, the Exhibit does not come with an HDMI output. Even if it did I wouldn't use it. I could tether it to my laptop and connect the laptop to the TV but I won't be doing that. First off I have been collecting DVD box sets for the last few months and I now have about 100. They average 4 discs a set so I have around 400 DVDs to watch, mostly documentaries. So I don't need content from the Internet. And there is very little free content on the Internet that would impress me. Most of that "free" content comes with ads and to me that means it is not free at all. But I am positive there are other folks who will read this thread and try it.

[SeilerBird]

Bob, if you're trying to thumb type on the onscreen keyboard, you need to get Swype.  Many new phones come with it already installed.  My Bionic and Tom's Exhibit both do.  With just a few minutes practice you'll be typing 10x faster than you can with your thumbs or even with several fingers

Ned is correct, my Exhibit does come with Swype. And Ned is correct, it is considerably faster. In an earlier post I mentioned driving to San Francisco with my niece who was texting the whole time. She was using Swype and was very good at it. I had no clue why she was fingerpainting on her screen, and I did not ask her why. When I got my Exhibit I discovered that Swype was included with the bundle and I found out what it was. I have only had the phone three days so I am still getting used to it. If I start doing a lot of typing I will try it out.

Swype is available for a free download for Android, but it is not available for iPhone.

http://www.swype.com/

[Tom]

I don't attempt to read the forum or write/reply to a message in full browser mode on my smartphone. We have a couple of text modes available, using one or other of these URLs:  here and here. These text views might look ugly on a full PC screen, but they're better than the full browser mode on a small smartphone screen. These views have been available here for the last 7 years.

OTOH I do view the forum in a browser on my Samsung Galaxy 10" tablet. I also write/reply to messages on this device, although an on-screen keyboard isn't my favorite interface, especially for things that I'd normally use a mouse for. But I get by.

[SeilerBird]

I have a ten inch netbook which is my primary computer now a days. I can access the forum on it and I have no problem reading or typing since it does have an almost full sized keyboard. The forum looks good and works fine on a 10" screen. But on my phone it is just too much work for me to make it worth while. Many times when I reply to a post I do some Google searching first and that is a real pain on the phone. Some web sites are accessible but most are not. 

[Tom]

Many times when I reply to a post I do some Google searching first and that is a real pain on the phone.

Ask Google if they have a text view, just like we have here on the forum; It might make it easier to use their site (if they have a text view).

[Wendy]

Swype is available for a free download for Android, but it is not available for iPhone.

Yes, it is.

[SeilerBird]

Ask Google if they have a text view, just like we have here on the forum; It might make it easier to use their site (if they have a text view).

Google is not the problem, I can see it fine. It is the sites that they send me to that are not always phone friendly.

[SeilerBird]

Yes, it is.

You are correct Wendy. Thanks for the correction.

This is confusing. The Swype web site states:

"Currently iOS does not support Swype."

This web site is ran by Nuance. However if you Google "Swype Apple" they have Swype for Apple by a company named Axotic. Wikipedia has this to say about Swype:

"The Swype software was developed by Swype Inc. In October, 2011, Swype Inc was acquired by Nuance Communications."

And they mention nothing about Apple or Axotic. Wikipedia has no entry for Axotic and if you Google Axotic there are no hits. A very strange situation. Can anyone clear this mystery up?

[Bob Buchanan]

Bob, if you're trying to thumb type on the onscreen keyboard, you need to get Swype.  Many new phones come with it already installed.  My Bionic and Tom's Exhibit both do.  With just a few minutes practice you'll be typing 10x faster than you can with your thumbs or even with several fingers

My Samsung Charge has Swype, Ned. Just haven't gotten around to using it -- beyond the first few pages of the tutorial. Can see where it would speed things up. But so far I rarely am in a situation where I need to type more than a few words on my SF. Most can wait until I have my hands in a real keyboard on a real computer.

Am out and about a lot with either my netbook or laptop. And so far cannot see the advantage of a tablet over a net book - especially because I can load programs (such as my own), not just apps. I do all of my client remote desktop now via my laptop and that is working well. My contract w/TeamViewer only allows me to do remote from one machine so the laptop gives me the most mobility - while remoting back to my desktop whenever I need something from there. So again, most of the time I can wait until I am behind a read keyboard.

Again tho, as to "reading" on my Samsung Charge, have no problem with that - and enjoy doing it whenever the need arises. The Charge does have the best screen of any phone so that helps - in direct light or wherever.

[Tom]

Google is not the problem ... It is the sites that they send me to that are not always phone friendly.

Why not contact those web sites and ask if they have a text view?

I tried looking at the forum on the smart phone and that just plain sucks.

We've gone from the forum "sucks" to Google being the problem, to the sites that Google sends you to being the problem. I'm confused. Trying to help with this problem is like trying to put my arms around a cloud.

BTW I rarely need to run a Google search in order to answer a question here on the forum, and it would never be a reason I couldn't access the forum on a smartphone.

[Wendy]

Don't know nothing about who owns Swype or who used to own it but I've got it on my iPhone so I know you can get it for an iPhone.
 
Wendy

[SeilerBird]

And so far cannot see the advantage of a tablet over a net book - especially because I can load programs (such as my own), not just apps.

Bob - I don't own a tablet and I have never used one. This is because the impression that I get from reading about them is that Android tablets are basically a portal to buy things at Amazon like songs and books. The iPad appears to be a portal to iTunes to buy songs and books. Normal applications don't seem to fare very well due to lack of a real keyboard and mouse. I may be wrong about this but I have not heard anything to the contrary.

[SeilerBird]

Why not contact those web sites and ask if they have a text view?

Because every search with Google presents a list of different web sites. Contacting them would not be a worthwhile endeavor.

We've gone from the forum "sucks" to Google being the problem, to the sites that Google sends you to being the problem. I'm confused. Trying to help with this problem is like trying to put my arms around a cloud.

I did not say the forum sucks. I said that for me trying to use the forum on my smartphone sucks. I don't like all the scrolling I have to do to use it and I don't like typing on a tiny keyboard. I appreciate you trying to solve the problem but you can't solve it. I don't want to surf the Internet on my phone. I will do that on my netbook or laptop.
[/quote]

[Tom]

I gave you some alternatives that would/should help in the forum, but you haven't commented on them.

[Bob Buchanan]

Normal applications don't seem to fare very well due to lack of a real keyboard and mouse.

It goes deeper than that - they don't fare well because they can't be loaded in the first place.

It would be nice if I could load the software that I market on a tablet - that would allow park owners to carry it around on their tablet, take reservations while roaming the park or wherever. However, for that to happen I would have to re write a version of the software as an app in the language of a specific tablet. They can load my SW and do that with a netbook or laptop because Windows at any level would be available as an OS.

Fortunately, Remote Desktop SW is available for smartphones and tablets - so a park owner can remote to their office computer - and take reservations and such.

One owner recently told me though - that trying to remote to a Windows application such as mine from a smartphone "sucks" . . .  And I would agree. Even on my laptop, the remote screen can be hard to read at times. The quick zoom feature in Win7 is nice when that happens.

It should look better on a tablet though.

The "only" problem I have with the netbook is the screen res - it's so low that my app will no fit properly. Otherwise with the 7 hour battery it's all I need to do email and such when out an about.
 

[SeilerBird]

I gave you some alternatives that would/should help in the forum, but you haven't commented on them.

I haven't commented on them because I am not interested in surfing the net on my phone. I have a 17" laptop and a 10" netbook. It would be silly for me to whip out my 4" phone to surf the net with. When I am out traveling about on foot and all I have is my phone with me I am not going to be surfing the net. The Internet was built and designed to be viewed on 15" or larger monitors. Android apps were designed to be viewed on a 4" screen so therefore the apps look good on the phone but the net looks horrible to me and it is very hard for me to use so I am not going to do it. It is true there are some sites that have a redesigned version that looks good on a phone, but I don't care, I am not interested in surfing the net on my phone.

[SeilerBird]

It goes deeper than that - they don't fare well because they can't be loaded in the first place.

I didn't know that. I haven't read that much about tablets because I have never been interested in them.

It would be nice if I could load the software that I market on a tablet - that would allow park owners to carry it around on their tablet, take reservations while roaming the park or wherever. However, for that to happen I would have to re write a version of the software as an app in the language of a specific tablet. They can load my SW and do that with a netbook or laptop because Windows at any level would be available as an OS.

I started writing an app for Android. I am making an app that will display photos and info on all the Condors in the Grand Canyon. I have photos of about 73 different Condors from the Grand Canyon. It would help the Condor workers to have all the info about Condors on their phone and it would sure help me. I carry a ragged list around and it would be cooler on my phone. It is easy to write apps for Android that are small, but your reservation software would be a major piece of work.

[SeilerBird]

Well the phone just paid for itself and I am in shock. As I mentioned earlier I spent three years putting together a collection of my 2000 most favorite songs of all time. One of the things I had thought about doing was downloading the lyrics to all the songs and adding the lyrics for each song to the ID3 tag of each mp3. But I never did because that would mean many months of work. I spend at least two hours every night listening to my collection. Tonight as a song was playing I decided to try out Soundhound again. I did not notice LiveLyrics before. As the song plays the lyrics scroll along in perfect sync with the song. This is just like dying and going to heaven for me. The lyrics are not perfect, but they are close enough for me. I even tried searching for a song in the middle of the song and it still finds the right place in the lyrics and just starts scrolling along. This is impossible. How do they do it?

[Tom]

The Internet was built and designed to be viewed on 15" or larger monitors.

The internet was developed as a way for computers aka hosts (mainframes at that time) to communicate with each other, with no concern for "monitor size". See here for one account.

FWIW for the first 12 years of this forum, it (the forum) was little more than text-based content using a HMI (host/micro interface) that allowed the text from the host computer to be communicated to, and understood by, our local/personal computers. Back in the early days of the forum, communications across the internet were so slow that you could watch the text scroll across your screen. For some, a 1-line display would have been all that would have been required to "surf" the forum.

[SeilerBird]

The internet was developed as a way for computers aka hosts (mainframes at that time) to communicate with each other, with no concern for "monitor size".

I know all that Tom. What I am talking about is the modern Internet that you and I both actually use. Tim Berners-Lee proposed the WWW in 1989 the standard sized monitor was 15 inches for most desktops. During the next few years when the WWW was being formed a lot of that was done on monitors around 15 inches. So content fit 15 inch monitors better than it fit smaller or larger monitors. At the time no one was thinking about scaling it down to 4 inch screens.

[Tom]

There was I thinking that the information superhighway was invented by Al Gore 

[SeilerBird]

There was I thinking that the information superhighway was invented by Al Gore 

I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that someone was going to mention this. Yes, Al Gore invented the information superhighway and he did it on a 15" monitor. 

[Tom]

I doubt that TBL or Al Gore gave much thought to 15" monitors.

[Lou Schneider]

TomS -

Congratulations on your smartphone purchase!

One caveat, though ...

I really love the GPS feature. I realized that I have been on hikes on the trail and in a city when I thought I might be lost. Turns out I wasn't lost, but I it did give me bit of a scare. With a GPS in my pocket I will feel a lot more comfortable walking around.

The GPS only works when you're in a data area - if there's no service the GPS becomes a brick.  So don't expect the phone to bail you out while you're walking in the wilderness (unless you're on a mountaintop that sees a TMobile tower).

[Ned]

The latest version of Google maps allows for downloading map data for a local area for offline use.

[SeilerBird]

Ned is correct, Google works offline. It is still in beta but that is one of the features that pushed me over the edge to buy it. I do a lot of hiking. I have never gotten seriously lost while hiking, but as we get older we loose brain cells so I am not confident I will never get lost. Having the GPS in my pocket will really give me a lot of confidence when I am on the trail. I am waiting for my microSD card to arrive so I can start downloading the maps.