Android to WP8 switching for office and travel needs

searchit

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Hi
I have never used a windwos phone device before but I wanna try one now. None of the people I know use a wp8. I just wanna know answers to some of the questions I have before I buy a new phone.

Q1. In an android phone all my contacts are backed up on my Gmail ID which are automatically downloaded to any android phone I use.

Will t happen the same way with wp8 or not?

Q2. I use MS office outlook on my laptop and save all my contacts in there first. Then I use, e.g., samsung kies to sync my outlook contacts.

Will I be able to sync my office outlook contacts the same way with wp8 as well?


Will it be as easy to sync as an android phone?


Q3. I read all of my emails on my phone because mostly I am out of the office. Now I am already used to galaxy s3 email client. That client shows me embedded excel sheets perfectly which i can also scroll & zoom in/out easily.

will I have same experience in wp8 too?


Q4. I travel frequently and I am in love with Google maps. I read somewhere that google maps dont work in wp8. Is it true?


Q5. I have my own 16GB micro sd card and on that I ahev my fav audio and video music. Will it be easy to just attach a wp8 to my laptop and transfer files via browser without the need of any intermediary app...?

Q6. Will I have to create a new MSN ID to be able to use a wp8 device?


I don't really care about other apps and games as everything is pretty much useless for me. I use skype/viber/whatsapp when I am abroad and that's pretty much it.

Please help!
:smile:
 

Vaibhav Chauhan

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1 & 2. Your contacts on outlook/hotmail/live account will be synchronised and automatically backed up once you log in with your account in the device.
3. I haven't used android/other mobile email clients but my WP8 experience is great, i use my laptop only when i need to take printouts of attachments.
4. gmaps pro app will do it, otherwise Nokia maps(with offline navigation) are simply too good, i never use google maps.
5. It is supposed to work plug and play, but i think it doesn't in all cases. There is a 2-3MB application you might need to install on your computer.
6. No, your existing outlook/hotmail ID will work fine.

Hi
I have never used a windwos phone device before but I wanna try one now. None of the people I know use a wp8. I just wanna know answers to some of the questions I have before I buy a new phone.

Q1. In an android phone all my contacts are backed up on my Gmail ID which are automatically downloaded to any android phone I use.

Will t happen the same way with wp8 or not?

Q2. I use MS office outlook on my laptop and save all my contacts in there first. Then I use, e.g., samsung kies to sync my outlook contacts.

Will I be able to sync my office outlook contacts the same way with wp8 as well?


Will it be as easy to sync as an android phone?


Q3. I read all of my emails on my phone because mostly I am out of the office. Now I am already used to galaxy s3 email client. That client shows me embedded excel sheets perfectly which i can also scroll & zoom in/out easily.

will I have same experience in wp8 too?


Q4. I travel frequently and I am in love with Google maps. I read somewhere that google maps dont work in wp8. Is it true?


Q5. I have my own 16GB micro sd card and on that I ahev my fav audio and video music. Will it be easy to just attach a wp8 to my laptop and transfer files via browser without the need of any intermediary app...?

Q6. Will I have to create a new MSN ID to be able to use a wp8 device?


I don't really care about other apps and games as everything is pretty much useless for me. I use skype/viber/whatsapp when I am abroad and that's pretty much it.

Please help!
:smile:
 

manicottiK

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Q1. In my existing phone all my contacts are backed up on my cloud-based account which are automatically downloaded to any other phone I use.Will it happen the same way with wp8 or not? [question edited to make it generic with respect to platforms and service providers]
Yes, but the type of phone and type of cloud-based account may vary. Just as Google's Android prefers Google-based services and provides native Android apps for their cloud services, Microsoft's Windows Phone prefers Microsoft-based services and MS provides native apps for their services. Still, your Windows Phone can sync with your Google accounts for email, calendar, and contacts.

The two firms are having a minor spat about the proper protocols for syncing, but MS is enhancing WP to includes Google's preferred methods and Google is giving MS a bit of time to do so before cutting users off completely. It is possible that some users in some locations may already be cut off, but synchronization with Google-based services will return for them when the WP update is available (timeframe unknown).

Q3. I read all of my emails on my phone...[Can WP] show me embedded excel sheets perfectly which i can also scroll & zoom in/out easily.
Do you mean "embedded" or "attached"? (I suspect the latter.) WP comes with a copy of Office for your phone. You can view and edit Excel and Word documents.

Q4. I travel frequently and I am in love with Google maps. I read somewhere that google maps dont work in wp8. Is it true?
Close, but not exactly. Just as with Q1, Google itself will not provide you with a WP native app. As mentioned by Vaibhav, a third party has done a very nice job with the gMaps Pro app.

Nokia also has a number of map-related apps and provides them free on their handsets (and on competing handsets in some countries, I think). Nokia's Drive+ app has one really cool advantage: offline maps and navigation. You can download maps for selected U.S. states or whole countries and do your navigation without being online. If you travel, this means that you can find your way around without paying for a foreign data plan.

Q5. I have my own 16GB micro sd card and on that I have my fav audio and video music. Will it be easy to just attach a wp8 to my laptop and transfer files via browser without the need of any intermediary app...?
Copying music was for me; I have a Windows 8 laptop and I don't know if that's a significant factor. I simply open My Computer, open the Windows Phone that I see, open the Music folder, and copy files. I have the Nokia Lumia 920, which has 32GB built-in but no microSD slot, so I can't address the card.

Q6. Will I have to create a new MSN ID to be able to use a wp8 device?
Just as you had to create a Google account (or an Apple one for the iPhone), you will need a Microsoft account of some kind, but it doesn't need to be a new one. An old Hotmail or Xbox account will work. However, you might want to get a free Outlook.com account just to have it.

Good luck!
 

searchit

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Thanks for the replies. But I am still confused...

i did alot of googling toda and apparently a windows phone does nothing that I demand.

I cant believe that MS' own product dont sync among themselves. There is no way to sync office outlook contacts with a windwos phone. wth!

@ manicottiK

I was talking about embedded excel sheets in an email not attached. I know attachments should work easily but my co workers only send me emails with excel sheets embedded and that is actually quite helpful, that way we an read the email contents quickly.

I do have an msn ID but I was just curious whether a windows phone requires strictly an msn email ID or any would do?

One more important I googled is that there is no "easy" way to cop music aaudio and videos to a WP just like I can do in any android phone. :/

Lastly, I have used many navigation softwares but nothing comes close to google maps. Google maps is just so easy to use and the way it sync maps and routes easily and quickly between devices is simply a game winner for me.


again @manicottiK
I wasnt talking about outlook.com "cloud-based" account, I was talking about microsoft desktop office outlook software.


Anyways thanks for replies, I guess I'll stick with android phones for now, maybe in the future when MS decides to make its OS more user friendly then I would love to use a windows phone.
I guess I'll just look for a windows tab with complete desktop OS.

=]
 

manicottiK

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When you say "embedded" spreadsheets, do you effectively mean tables that look like spreadsheets, but lack formulas or something more?

I think that any MS id will work.

Microsoft has been phasing out desktop Outlook sync for years, preferring users to sync with the server. (The tools to do desktop sync disappeared back in the late Windows Mobile days, I think.)

From the wording of your initial question, I was pretty sure that you will need to stay an Android user. Windows Phone is deliberately taking a development path between Apple's full lock-down walled garden and Google's Android free-for-all. If you want to be able to configure, tweak, manage your phone like you do a computer, Android is your best bet. If you want to be a user of your phone instead of its system administrator, Windows Phone is an excellent choice. I've grown tired of flashing ROMs and am willing to be a user, hence I'm here.
 

searchit

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thanks Microsoftjunkie, I'll look into it.

@manicottiK
When I say embedded I eman the whole body of the email is a un-editable excel sheet. Maybe I am using the wrong word here. MS excel has a specialized button to do this.

Here couple of screen shots below to make it more clear. As you would notice that I can esily scroll through an entire excel sheet sicne its posted in the email as a 'picture'.

358bg94.png


4gkdpw.jpg
 

Andr3sfc

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Hi
Q4. I travel frequently and I am in love with Google maps. I read somewhere that google maps dont work in wp8. Is it true?

Lastly, I have used many navigation softwares but nothing comes close to google maps. Google maps is just so easy to use and the way it sync maps and routes easily and quickly between devices is simply a game winner for me.

gMaps (or its Pro version) is perfect.
 

WhippedKream

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I tried something that I would never do for any work, but to each their own. I copied an excel file with colors and everything into word, formatted a bit and copy pasted it into my outlook email and sent it to myself. Here is the outcome:

WP_20130428.png

So I guess the answer is yes, yes you can. And you can zoom as much as you want and it is smooth.

Edit: To see the WHOLE chart though you have to press download message which isn't that big of a deal, but still nice.

Edit 2: First time I ever try using an Excel file to view my lab data for engineering labs and I have got to say, it is pretty functional and beautiful! Way nicer than just copy pasting into email, but if it is what your colleague does then you can have it both ways! :)
 
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eric12341

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OP from your original post it does seem that WP is capable of doing everything you requested except for the USB sync with outlook which is being phased out in favor of cloud /server syncing. No Google search will provide you with better information than what all of us here on WPCentral can provide. For the best results you do need an existing or new MS account to sign into on initial setup of the phone and then add Gmail and everything else later.
 

Huime

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outlook contacts sync can be done when you activate the web outlook account for your outlook email and everything will be sync accordingly.
 

Bora777

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I don't mean to sound condescending, but relying on a locally-stored addressbook in Outlook is a rather old-fashioned way of doing things that Windows Phone has never supported since WP7. The simplest solution I can think of would be to export your contacts data into your Hotmail/Outlook.com or Gmail account and then sync the phone with that account. However, this isn't a permanent solution if you continue to frequently add new contacts to your offline addressbook in Outlook on the desktop.

Regarding maps, beware that if you plan on switching over to Nokia Maps, the experience on a non-Nokia Windows Phone is far inferior to a Lumia. The app by Microsoft may use Nokia's data but has fewer features, and the version of Nokia Drive available to other brands only supports offline navigation in your home country, not abroad.
 
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searchit

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Any chance the OP is trolling? This link was the first result when I googled "sync contacts between desktop outlook and windows phone":

Sync contacts and calendars from Outlook on my PC to my
phone | Windows Phone How-to (United States)

Why would you say that? Did you even read your own link? it shows two ways of syncing 1) MS sxchange 2) Outlook 2013. And I have none of those.

Besides if you read properly, I was looking for way to sync contacts just like the way I sync via samsung kies or itunes desktop software.

I know its ol fashioned but I find it much more convenient . I dont have internet access all the time or even on all my devices. Even though I have all my contacts stored on my Gmail ID automatically I still like to maintain a desktop office outlook copy in-case I even lost my phone, i wont have to worry about internet to setup my new phone. Contacts are one ofthe most important things for me because of the job.

I think I'll just try to buy a cheaper second-hand windows phone and try to learn these things with experience. Anyone wanna suggest which model should I buy which will give me maximum WP8 experience but is still cheaper than the rest?
 

12Danny123

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Why would you say that? Did you even read your own link? it shows two ways of syncing 1) MS sxchange 2) Outlook 2013. And I have none of those.

Besides if you read properly, I was looking for way to sync contacts just like the way I sync via samsung kies or itunes desktop software.

I know its ol fashioned but I find it much more convenient . I dont have internet access all the time or even on all my devices. Even though I have all my contacts stored on my Gmail ID automatically I still like to maintain a desktop office outlook copy in-case I even lost my phone, i wont have to worry about internet to setup my new phone. Contacts are one ofthe most important things for me because of the job.

I think I'll just try to buy a cheaper second-hand windows phone and try to learn these things with experience. Anyone wanna suggest which model should I buy which will give me maximum WP8 experience but is still cheaper than the rest?
try to get a Nokia Lumia 920 or 820 :) or a WP 8X
 

12Danny123

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nice I'll look for them.

I just googled a bit and a brand new Lumia 520 costs a little under $200 which I think is pretty affordable. Will it be good enough for a starter?

the 520 lacks flash, NFC and clear black display. but it does have a sensitive screen which you can use with gloves so yea I think the 520 is a good alternative. and yes I will NOT lag at all. Like every other WP is will always be buttery smooth :) and you get a nice package for such a cheap phone. you can also get Nokia's exclusive apps :D
 

WhippedKream

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the 520 lacks flash, NFC and clear black display. but it does have a sensitive screen which you can use with gloves so yea I think the 520 is a good alternative. and yes I will NOT lag at all. Like every other WP is will always be buttery smooth :) and you get a nice package for such a cheap phone. you can also get Nokia's exclusive apps :D

I would also like to add if you are a heavy gaming user, 512 MB ain't really gonna happen for some of the games aren't compatible with that yet :(. However, it is still great! 620 isn't bad too and has a few more features but no super sensitive support I believe? Also, if you are interested in the 8X, 8GB of storage on my 8X REALLY isn't that bad, especially if you want it for work purposes solely (although i suggest making it your MP3 cuz the music quality is AWESOME), it will be MORE than enough. I have 1.2 GB of songs (about 200?) with 50 apps and games together and I take a lot of photos and upload them to skydrive manually (to reduce the "others" space issue) and I have 1.3 GB still free :).

Hope this helps a bit :p I love the email client on WP8 the best, and I'm sure you will too. Far more superior in my opinion, with only select all lacking at the moment :).
 

nessinhaw

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nice I'll look for them.

I just googled a bit and a brand new Lumia 520 costs a little under $200 which I think is pretty affordable. Will it be good enough for a starter?


520 has the same SoC as both 620 and 720, so it will deliver the same smooth experience! but if you don't mind the LACK of features like:

ClearBlack Display
Led Flash
NFC
Dolby Headphones
HAAC mic
Front-facing camera

then yeah, go for it lol 520 delivers a pretty basic package but will work! if you CARE about those features, then go 620 or even 720 OR if you're willing to spend a lot of money, 820 or 920 xD

it rly depends on how much you want to pay and what features you care the most about!
 

Chris_Kez

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Why would you say that? Did you even read your own link? it shows two ways of syncing 1) MS sxchange 2) Outlook 2013. And I have none of those.
My apologies about the "trolling" comment. I just wondered given how easy it was to find the information I shared, how narrowly you defined your range of acceptable syncing options, your rush to judgement that windows phone does "nothing" that you demand, and then your last zinger about waiting until microsoft makes its OS more "user friendly". That all fits the classic troll profile. New member with no posts? Check. Tentative interest in product/service if only it can do a few very specific things? Check. Immediate dismissal of alternative options/approaches? Check. Total surprise at how completely limited and utterly lacking this product is compared to user's preferred product? Check. Sudden and final summary dismissal? Check. It seems that your subsequent posts make it clear that you are not trolling.

As far as the link I posted, it quite clearly says that it covers both Exchange and Desktop versions of Outlook, and the page has sections for both Outlook 2013 and Outlook 2010 or 2007. Incidentally, the Microsoft Office Outlook Hotmail Connector program is also compatible with Outlook 2003.

I haven't used the program but it doesn't seem like you'd need to make any significant change to the way you're currently working. You could still maintain your master contact list on your laptop. You would then use this connector program to sync those contacts with a microsoft account, and those contacts would show up on your phone. How would this impact any other devices? Are you then using your phone to directly feed contacts via USB to other non-connected devices?
As far as setting up your new phone without internet, what good is an updated contact list if your phone can't connect to anything? Or are you setting up and immediately using the phone in places where the only connection is to a non-data voice network?
And as far as losing your phone, you mention in your original post that you like that you can "download" contacts using your Gmail ID. This suggests the use of an internet connection.

It just seems like you're unnecessarily ruling out cloud-based syncing.
 
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