OSF Android newbie with a sh**load of questions

[Guest Dark Horse]

Howdy all, thinking of buying one of these babies and had some questions. Would be grateful if anyone could help:

1. Can you use the radio without having to plug in any headphones? Some moby's require the headphones to be always plugged in for the aerial.

2. Are there any freebie programs available that will reliably sync contacts and calendar with Outlook on a desktop PC? (no interest in using the Google cloud). Being able to backup SMS to a PC would also be useful.

3. Does the OSF support DivX/XvId/MPG out of the box or do you need to install a thrid party player? (like CorePlayer on Windows smartphones).

4. Is there a flight mode to prevent the handset using data whilst abroad? This would also be used to force it to use Wifi where I don't want to incur any charges with Orange's rubbish data "packages".

5. I've read many threads about AMOLED vs. TFT screens and it seems only TFT handsets are being produced now. It seems the only difference is colour and possibly battery life. Is the TFT any less responsive than the OLED version? (not that it matters since scamming Orange have switched to cheaper TFT displays). Do the TFT displays run down the battery quicker?

6. When typing an SMS in landscape, can you see the full body of at least one full SMS? On a lot of moby's (iPhone included) when typing an SMS, you can see just two or three lines and have to scroll.

7. Does the keypad have haptic feedback? (especially when typing SMS)

8. How many clicks/actions are required from the home screen to start typing and composing a new SMS?

9. Is Arabic language support enabled? (older 1.x Android versions never supported Arabic properly if at all)

10. Can you install apps from a PC or is it OTA only? Do you need any kind of Goggle account to use Marketplace?

11. Are there any plans for a proper Android ROM upgrade to 2.2+? (no interest in custom ROMs)

12. Currently have a Blackberry and Windows Smartphone and don't generally like touchscreen phones. Am interested in the OSF purely because it's cheap and to mess around with Android. Coming from a hardware keyboard to a software one will be the trickiest part. Anyone else in a similar boat who can advise how they found the transition? Typing messages/SMS/email will be the main use for the OSF.

Thanks in advance for any help :(

[Guest Lew247]

1: try it and see?

2: Google calender sync (for pc)

3:no idea but its played everything for me so far

4:press the power button and see what happens

5:you wont notice the difference

6:try it and see?

7: again try it and see or try going through the settings options?

8:try it and see?

9:no idea but I would imagine Arabic language addon is available somewhere, in fact I think I saw it here, try the saerch button on the forum

10:Yes you can

11: read the posts to get the answer its been mentioned MANY times

12:pass - I had a Nokia N900 and it was pure cr@p, dont miss the keyboard at all, but its down to personal preference

[Guest Len Ash]

Some of these questions are answered in the manual/spec

I would suggest you simply buy one, for what they cost. All you will get on here will be a million individual opnions that will serve only to confuse...

For instance, 50% will say a touch KB is ace, 50% will say it is sh1t.

You get my drift.

Most things are possible with Android, and if you don't like it, sell it on.

Edited December 27, 2010 by Len Ash

[Guest msater]

You need a Google account to use the Marketplace.

[Guest Phoenix Silver]

Howdy all, thinking of buying one of these babies and had some questions. Would be grateful if anyone could help:

1. Can you use the radio without having to plug in any headphones? Some moby's require the headphones to be always plugged in for the aerial.

2. Are there any freebie programs available that will reliably sync contacts and calendar with Outlook on a desktop PC? (no interest in using the Google cloud). Being able to backup SMS to a PC would also be useful.

3. Does the OSF support DivX/XvId/MPG out of the box or do you need to install a thrid party player? (like CorePlayer on Windows smartphones).

4. Is there a flight mode to prevent the handset using data whilst abroad? This would also be used to force it to use Wifi where I don't want to incur any charges with Orange's rubbish data "packages".

5. I've read many threads about AMOLED vs. TFT screens and it seems only TFT handsets are being produced now. It seems the only difference is colour and possibly battery life. Is the TFT any less responsive than the OLED version? (not that it matters since scamming Orange have switched to cheaper TFT displays). Do the TFT displays run down the battery quicker?

6. When typing an SMS in landscape, can you see the full body of at least one full SMS? On a lot of moby's (iPhone included) when typing an SMS, you can see just two or three lines and have to scroll.

7. Does the keypad have haptic feedback? (especially when typing SMS)

8. How many clicks/actions are required from the home screen to start typing and composing a new SMS?

9. Is Arabic language support enabled? (older 1.x Android versions never supported Arabic properly if at all)

10. Can you install apps from a PC or is it OTA only? Do you need any kind of Goggle account to use Marketplace?

11. Are there any plans for a proper Android ROM upgrade to 2.2+? (no interest in custom ROMs)

12. Currently have a Blackberry and Windows Smartphone and don't generally like touchscreen phones. Am interested in the OSF purely because it's cheap and to mess around with Android. Coming from a hardware keyboard to a software one will be the trickiest part. Anyone else in a similar boat who can advise how they found the transition? Typing messages/SMS/email will be the main use for the OSF.

Thanks in advance for any help :(

1 : no

2 : yes

3 : yes

4 : yes

5 : don't know

6 : yes

7 : tastes and colours ;)

8 : one click

9 : yes

10 : you can at www.androlib.com for an ex

11 : yes one is already out in japan

12 : i prefer touchscreen of the sf (faster)

[Guest Dark Horse]

Thanks for all the replies folks :(