I'm considering buying an Android phone (probably the Samsung i7500), but before I do, there's one thing I need to be sure I could do:
For my work, I'm on call. So I need to have some way of being audibly alerted when someone at work needs me, while at the same time disabling all other audible network event alerts, such as SMS, calls, or email to my primary Gmail account. Basically, when I'm sleeping I want to put my phone into a mode where the only sounds it would make would be a special work alert, or the alarm clock.
Work alerts could be in the form of email is sent to a certain email forwarding address or to a secondary email box.
I do use Gmail as my primary email, so I'd like to take advantage of Android's prefered method for accesing Gmail, whatever that is. Though I probably don't want to be alerted each time I receive a new message there.
For reference, I achieve this on my Windows Mobile phone (which I am about ready to throw into a river) by setting the WM email app to fetch via POP3 from a secondary Gmail account used just for alerts. I configure an alert song for email. SMS and MMS are configured to vibrate - which doesn't wake me while i'm sleeping. (though sometimes I don't notice it when I'm awake. Ideally I'd make SMSs sound a tone when I'm awake, and not when I'm asleep, but it's more trouble than it's worth to change this setting all the time) I check Gmail using the Java midlet. When I'm sleeping I turn down the call ringer volume, and leave the app/alert volume up. That way the only things that can wake me are an email to the special account, and a WM alert sound, such as the alarm clock or calendar. Ideally i could silence the calendar also, but I work around that by just not scheduling any calendar items during my sleeping hours. Other applications could possibly make sounds too, but I don't leave any running.
Thanks.
For my work, I'm on call. So I need to have some way of being audibly alerted when someone at work needs me, while at the same time disabling all other audible network event alerts, such as SMS, calls, or email to my primary Gmail account. Basically, when I'm sleeping I want to put my phone into a mode where the only sounds it would make would be a special work alert, or the alarm clock.
Work alerts could be in the form of email is sent to a certain email forwarding address or to a secondary email box.
I do use Gmail as my primary email, so I'd like to take advantage of Android's prefered method for accesing Gmail, whatever that is. Though I probably don't want to be alerted each time I receive a new message there.
For reference, I achieve this on my Windows Mobile phone (which I am about ready to throw into a river) by setting the WM email app to fetch via POP3 from a secondary Gmail account used just for alerts. I configure an alert song for email. SMS and MMS are configured to vibrate - which doesn't wake me while i'm sleeping. (though sometimes I don't notice it when I'm awake. Ideally I'd make SMSs sound a tone when I'm awake, and not when I'm asleep, but it's more trouble than it's worth to change this setting all the time) I check Gmail using the Java midlet. When I'm sleeping I turn down the call ringer volume, and leave the app/alert volume up. That way the only things that can wake me are an email to the special account, and a WM alert sound, such as the alarm clock or calendar. Ideally i could silence the calendar also, but I work around that by just not scheduling any calendar items during my sleeping hours. Other applications could possibly make sounds too, but I don't leave any running.
Thanks.