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Thursday, January 6, 2011

24 hours with the Google Nexus S: part two

Mark Bridge writes:

So there I was with my Nexus S, a cup of tea and the challenge of synchronising calendar, contacts, tasks and notes from Microsoft Outlook. I’d found Syncdroid.net and its list of suggestions… and then an email arrived on my phone from the ‘Android Team’

“Welcome to Nexus S” it said.

Nice work, I thought. You’ve noticed that I’ve set up my phone with my Google account and sent me a message. Could this be serendipitous?

Google and Samsung have partnered to bring you Nexus S, a pure Google experience phone. Learn more:

Register your Nexus S for access to premium support from Samsung
Visit our
Nexus S Help page for a full list of help resources
Watch Nexus S on our
YouTube channel

Once registered, you can contact Samsung directly at +1 855-EZ2NEXUSS (+1 855-392-6398) for support.

Sign up to to receive updates and promotions about Nexus S.

Enjoy!

A shame it’s so obviously aimed at the US market but, what the heck, let’s give it a go. Tap the help link and… see a page that invites me to visit the Nexus S Help site. Okay, try again. Tap the link… and, no, that’s not very helpful. An on-screen circular device with Call Us, Email Us, Twitter, Hot Deals, Videos and Mobile Pulse options. Doesn’t seem very mobile-friendly. Still, let’s try Mobile Pulse.

Good guess. “Google and Samsung Nexus S Resource Center”. Hit Nexus S FAQs and…

Oh, dear me.

How Do I Charge The Battery On My Generic GSM GT-i9020T (Nexus S) Phone?

What Items Come With My Generic GSM GT-i9020T (Nexus S) Phone?

How Do I Insert Or Remove The Battery Cover, Battery, Or SIM Card From My Generic GSM GT-i9020T (Nexus S) Phone?

What Do The Different Icons Mean On My Generic GSM GT-i9020T (Nexus S) Phone?

Where & How Do I Obtain A Copy Of Samsung Kies For My Generic GSM GT-i9020T (Nexus S) Phone?

…and many more in a similar vein.

Horribly depressing. You’d think someone could have done better. In fact, I know someone could have done better. Even the person who did it could have done better.

Let’s pop back to Syncdroid.net and continue with my Outlook challenge. Companionlink.com looks like the best bet for what I’m after – but its nothing like as straightforward as my old Windows Mobile device. That’s a shame.

As a quick fix, I’ve synchronised my Outlook calendar with the Google calendar – and I’ve imported my Outlook contacts into Gmail. (Selecting the CSV DOS export option from Outlook works nicely). That’ll do for now.

And I’ve added a few more apps: well, I had to see what all the Angry Birds fuss was about, plus there’s Foursquare, Friendroid (a FriendFeed client), Gowalla, Kitchen Timer, Last.fm, the LinkedIn beta, OI Safe for a few passwords, TweetDeck and my first paid app: HiFiCorder.

I appreciate the warning with every app that explains which services and features it’s able to access

In fact, I’m enjoying most aspects of the phone. I’m even inclined to offer that much-abused description: ‘intuitive’.

But I really should have thought more about the Microsoft Outlook issues. As someone who tends to rely on Outlook for email, contacts, calendar, tasks and notes, I’m struggling to find a sync solution I’m happy with. Mind you, I’ve only been using the phone for a day. I’ll let you know how my searching goes!

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Opinion Articles

Is Android losing its impact for Google?

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Recent figures released by ABI Research have prompted the market intelligence company to ask whether Google is losing control of the Android ecosystem.

At first glance, Android dominated smartphone shipments for the final quarter of 2013. ABI Research says 77% of the 287 million smartphones shipped in Q4 2013 were running Android.

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It’s time to prepare for the upcoming surge in signaling traffic

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After initially suffering from slow pick up by consumers, 4G has begun to accelerate, and is now well on the way to the forecasted one billion subscribers by 2017. In fact EE, owner of T-Mobile and Orange, recently announced the addition of 493,000 new 4G customers to its existing base of 1.2 million.

Author: The Fonecast
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Mobile phone coverage: is this as good as it gets?

Mark Bridge writes:

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Here’s what I would have liked to have said if I’d been given a disproportionate amount of time to talk.

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Last week at The Fonecast: 27th January 2014

Expecting the unexpected

Mark Bridge writes:

Great news for mobile phone users. Ofcom’s new rules preventing unexpected mid-contract price rises came into force last week, which means UK consumers can no longer be surprised by their subscription charge increasing while they’re still locked into a minimum-term deal.

Author: The Fonecast
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Ofcom changes the rules for mobile phone contracts... and so does O2

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