WP8.1 functionality in Android - A journey to the dark side...
I had to put a little Star Wars reference in the title...
My current Lumia 1520 has started acting up and I?m not sure it will last much longer, so I?ve had to walk the path to the dark side. Canadian carriers aren?t carrying the 950 or 950XL at this point, so I?ve gone to the dark side by acquiring a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. It?s a really nicely built phone with a fantastic screen however? I can?t figure out if there are still some really big gaps in Android (for my use) or if I just haven?t figured it out yet.
I?ve spent a couple days Googling everything however either a) I?m not asking the question correctly for ?Android speak? or b) the correct answer is buried in the 5,000-10,000 articles on the topic. Since many here seem to understand both sides of the equation; I figured I would ask the questions here. With my carrier I only get 30 minutes talk time or 15 days until I can no longer return the phone, so the clock is ticking?
? Email Notifications ? Coming from Windows, I naturally loaded the Outlook app for my work mail. Using Outlook, I can?t figure out?
o How to light up the lock screen with the incoming email notification (as 8.1 did with the banner/toast)
o How to get an unread message count on the Outlook icon
o How to see a detailed list of unread mail in the pull-down notifications
? Contacts ? I have a couple of Outlook.com/Live/Hotmail accounts? one of them will not bring in the contacts, which has left a huge hole in my contact list. Everything looks good in the settings when comparing the working account to the one that?s not bringing contacts.
? Using the Google Now assistant ? when connected to the car, the phone does respond to ?OK Google? command, which Cortana did. Even if I manually engage it, it doesn?t hear the command.
? Google Now vs. Cortana ? The arrival of incoming texts were announced with WP 8.1, with options to ?Read or Ignore? initially and then dictate a response if needed. The S6 has my car?s system read the text to me (or display it on the screen, which is something I?ve never had before) and my response options are pre-packaged messages from the car?s system. Can you configure Google Now to interact through the car as Cortana does? Given how long my commute is, this is a much-needed feature.
? Google Maps & Turn by turn ? Using 8.1 and HERE Maps & HERE Drive in the car (while connected to Bluetooth), the turn by turn was provided through the cars audio system, regardless of what the source was (radio, SAT, CD or phone media), it would cut in. The S6 can only be heard calling out the navigational info when on Media > Bluetooth source and is silent on any other source. If this is a phone setting, I can?t locate anything to adjust it.
I really like the S6 form, build quality and camera. It?s nice to have access to new apps and more robust versions of apps I?ve had in the past however? I need to sort these features out. The S6 battery is just sad, so I?ll need to ensure I always have a charger on me now.
Any insight the group could provide would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
I had to put a little Star Wars reference in the title...
My current Lumia 1520 has started acting up and I?m not sure it will last much longer, so I?ve had to walk the path to the dark side. Canadian carriers aren?t carrying the 950 or 950XL at this point, so I?ve gone to the dark side by acquiring a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. It?s a really nicely built phone with a fantastic screen however? I can?t figure out if there are still some really big gaps in Android (for my use) or if I just haven?t figured it out yet.
I?ve spent a couple days Googling everything however either a) I?m not asking the question correctly for ?Android speak? or b) the correct answer is buried in the 5,000-10,000 articles on the topic. Since many here seem to understand both sides of the equation; I figured I would ask the questions here. With my carrier I only get 30 minutes talk time or 15 days until I can no longer return the phone, so the clock is ticking?
? Email Notifications ? Coming from Windows, I naturally loaded the Outlook app for my work mail. Using Outlook, I can?t figure out?
o How to light up the lock screen with the incoming email notification (as 8.1 did with the banner/toast)
o How to get an unread message count on the Outlook icon
o How to see a detailed list of unread mail in the pull-down notifications
? Contacts ? I have a couple of Outlook.com/Live/Hotmail accounts? one of them will not bring in the contacts, which has left a huge hole in my contact list. Everything looks good in the settings when comparing the working account to the one that?s not bringing contacts.
? Using the Google Now assistant ? when connected to the car, the phone does respond to ?OK Google? command, which Cortana did. Even if I manually engage it, it doesn?t hear the command.
? Google Now vs. Cortana ? The arrival of incoming texts were announced with WP 8.1, with options to ?Read or Ignore? initially and then dictate a response if needed. The S6 has my car?s system read the text to me (or display it on the screen, which is something I?ve never had before) and my response options are pre-packaged messages from the car?s system. Can you configure Google Now to interact through the car as Cortana does? Given how long my commute is, this is a much-needed feature.
? Google Maps & Turn by turn ? Using 8.1 and HERE Maps & HERE Drive in the car (while connected to Bluetooth), the turn by turn was provided through the cars audio system, regardless of what the source was (radio, SAT, CD or phone media), it would cut in. The S6 can only be heard calling out the navigational info when on Media > Bluetooth source and is silent on any other source. If this is a phone setting, I can?t locate anything to adjust it.
I really like the S6 form, build quality and camera. It?s nice to have access to new apps and more robust versions of apps I?ve had in the past however? I need to sort these features out. The S6 battery is just sad, so I?ll need to ensure I always have a charger on me now.
Any insight the group could provide would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
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