Using my Lumia 640 more like a boss.

[rhapdog]

I've always preferred to use my 640 for my emails so that I can get them while on the go. However, it is such a pain composing emails on a small touch keyboard. So I decided to use my laptop also. That meant that now I have to mark emails as read twice and delete unnecessary emails twice, and if I send an email from the laptop, I don't have a record of it on my phone, and if I send an email from my phone, I don't have a record of it on my laptop. What to do?

I decided to invest in a Bluetooth keyboard. I picked up the ZaggKeys Universal Bluetooth keyboard, paired it, and fell in love with the way it all came together. Except...

This was a big except. Except, now I have to take my fingers off the keyboard and touch the screen to submit, or to open menus, or place the cursor, and oh how irritating it is to try to get the cursor in the proper position!

So I bought a Bluetooth Mouse. Picked up the Logitech M557, and wow! I also adjusted the display scaling down so that the 640 works like partial tablet mode, and working with this thing is a joy.

No, I don't carry the keyboard and mouse everywhere with me. I generally know I want to get more productive at home. Or if I'm going to the Library, or if I'm at the hotel on a vacation.

I've even set it up to plug in a USB cable and Project My Screen to my 2-in-1 so that I can use my mouse/keyboard with a larger display. No, it isn't continuum. It's just the screen mirroring, so it isn't as cool or as good as continuum, but when I'm working on balancing the checkbook, it comes in handy having a larger screen. So does working with the emails that I no longer want to keep on the 2-in-1 or laptop. I'll enjoy using MiraCast when that starts working a bit better. It's not very reliable in the build I'm currently on.

It really makes me appreciate what Continuum would be able to do for me. However, there are still a small handful of apps that I must have on my computer that Continuum wouldn't be able to help me with. Like when I've made a video of my daughter's school play, and I want to burn it to DVD, complete with DVD Menus and all. Or Blu-Ray, or whatever. And, let's face it, I'm not ready to use Edge full-time without the ad blocker plug-in.

I figure in another year or so, it should be ready, and I may go for a Continuum based phone at that time. I can always pull out the laptop for DVD authoring in the future.

For now, I'm enjoying being able to get a little more productivity out of my aging phone.

 

[RumoredNow]

...now I have to mark emails as read twice and delete unnecessary emails twice, and if I send an email from the laptop, I don't have a record of it on my phone, and if I send an email from my phone, I don't have a record of it on my laptop...

Isn't that just a matter of actively syncing?

But yeah. BT keyboard/mouse FTW.

Got links?

I'm also looking at the BT version of this, which looks sweet and portable. Rii i8+ Mini Wireless review: a tiny keyboard for Continuum or Compute Sticks? | Windows Central

When I'm in practice, I can thumb type like a mugwump.

 

[ananve]

Thanks for sharing.
I'm having the same devices as you (L640+ surface) running production build of win 10. My emails synced across devices after I pressed sync button (after i finish all activities on that device). It's can work real time but if I put the sync on real time mode, the battery wouldn't last. But hey just to tell to that the syncing across devices work perfectly for me.

Posted from Lumia 640 W10M.

 

[rhapdog]

Yeah, I guess that works if you're using the Mail app built into Windows 10, but I'm using Outlook 365 (2016), and basically I'm downloading everything twice, marking everything read twice, sorting things to folders twice, etc. Needs to be fixed. Still, even with syncing, it's an issue with my limited bandwidth.

Liking the new setup, though. Here's a pic of how I'm currently using my 640 to do stuff at Windows Central.


I've got to admit, it's a lot easier to post in WC and Facebook using my phone with a keyboard and mouse (and bigger screen for my poor old eyes.)

I've used the laptop (to the right) as a "pass-through" to get to the larger monitor. Laptop is displaying its screen to the larger monitor, and the phone is being run through the Project My Screen App. It's not perfect, but gives better quality than Miracast, and charges the phone at the same time.

 

[rider2040]

What email provide are you using? I am using Outlook 2016 on my laptop and the Outlook Mail app on my phone and they both sync folders and rad status with my work Exchange email and my personal Outlook.com email

 

[avengerxp]

very interesting.. how do you project the screen via USB cable?? I tried to connect my 640 via USB and share screen on to the PC & that didn't work..

 

[Saijin_Naib]

very interesting.. how do you project the screen via USB cable?? I tried to connect my 640 via USB and share screen on to the PC & that didn't work..

Download Project My Screen App for Windows Phone from Official Microsoft Download Center
This. Works great, especially when used in conjuction with something like Open Broadcaster Software Studio to record what you're doing on the phone.

 

[rhapdog]

What email provide are you using? I am using Outlook 2016 on my laptop and the Outlook Mail app on my phone and they both sync folders and rad status with my work Exchange email and my personal Outlook.com email

I am also using Outlook 2016 on the laptop, and the Outlook Mail app on the latest version of the production build of Windows 10 Mobile. Mail syncs, as far as downloading. However, mail that is read on one device or deleted on one device is still there and unread on the other device. Not sure what I'm doing wrong. It's the "I've already read this and deleted it on my phone, but I just turned on my laptop and it's downloaded it all again, and it's marked unread on the laptop." That's what I've got to get around.

I don't have an exchange server email, except for my outlook.com Microsoft Account, which I don't use for my email. I only use it for managing my Microsoft Account. I have my own domain name and I also have a web server that houses the email server. My email addresses are from my own private domain name. No, I'm not pulling a Hillary Clinton. I'm not in politics, and I'm retired. I just like the domain matching my name, and I'm going to hold onto it so no one else can have it.

When you say it all syncs, does it actually mark messages read across devices like what I am looking for? Does mail sent from one device (outgoing) get copied to another device?

 

[Elitewolf]

Download Project My Screen App for Windows Phone from Official Microsoft Download Center
This. Works great, especially when used in conjuction with something like Open Broadcaster Software Studio to record what you're doing on the phone.

Thanks for posting I never knew this was easily possible. It's a PIA on Android.

 

[wgs84]

I don't know how many of you have touchscreen laptops or AIOs, but if you do, you can also use your computer's touchscreen exactly like a giant Windows phone when it's projected on your screen. It's really cool. You can also use your computer's mouse, which has the almost same effect (you can do multitouch gestures with a touchscreen PC), but it kind of takes away from the experience.

Now I'm hoping that Microsoft one day implements a landscape mode for the homescreen.

 

[Chintan Gohel]

I am also using Outlook 2016 on the laptop, and the Outlook Mail app on the latest version of the production build of Windows 10 Mobile. Mail syncs, as far as downloading. However, mail that is read on one device or deleted on one device is still there and unread on the other device. Not sure what I'm doing wrong. It's the "I've already read this and deleted it on my phone, but I just turned on my laptop and it's downloaded it all again, and it's marked unread on the laptop." That's what I've got to get around.

I don't have an exchange server email, except for my outlook.com Microsoft Account, which I don't use for my email. I only use it for managing my Microsoft Account. I have my own domain name and I also have a web server that houses the email server. My email addresses are from my own private domain name. No, I'm not pulling a Hillary Clinton. I'm not in politics, and I'm retired. I just like the domain matching my name, and I'm going to hold onto it so no one else can have it.

When you say it all syncs, does it actually mark messages read across devices like what I am looking for? Does mail sent from one device (outgoing) get copied to another device?

when you read an email on the phone, and you perform other actions such as deleting, moving etc, you have to sync again on the phone after making those changes. Then check on your pc, you'll see the changes have been reflected.

 

[Axeelant]

I like to be productive and love syncing everything between my L930 and SP4, but there are just a few things bothering me. For example, when U get some emails FB notifications and messenger messages, then you check them all out on one device, it still starts beeping all the same notifications on the other device. This should be synced between all W10 devices. Phone should also stop beeping when FB chat is open and running on one device, not sending a 100 notifications to the other... If they could solve this i would be happy