Help just got phone. help needed please

[mollythecat]

hi all,
does anyone have a samsung galaxy s2?

myself and the other half have both decided to take the plunge and get smartphones. unfortunately, neither of them have smart users :lol::lol:
if anyone can help with any of the following, that would be sooooooooo good. we were told that it is currently the most popular phone on the market so hopefully a few fellow duckies have them.
on phones i have had before, when i want to go on the internet, i click the icon and it says "connect to the internet? yes or no"
however on this phone, i dont know if im connected or not. it seems as if its always connected and as im on a contract that doesnt have unlimited internet, it worries me. there is a 3g sign on the screen and the letter h appears now and again and an orange and green arrow appears too. god its confusing to a thickie like myself. i did ask in the shop i got it from but the lad knew less than me. one thing he did say was that i would have to disable the packet data feature everytime i finish on the internet and then every time i want to go back on it, i would have to go through 4 pages to turn it back on. surely there is an easier way??
then there is the emails. my email account is with ntlworld (virgin) and i set it up but when i go on it, it doesnt add new messages. i know i have new messages because i get loads throught the day but when i check it during the day, the last message thats on there is always the last message i read on my home computer before i left for work no matter how many times i refresh. i had to get a googlemail account to use the phone so is there a way i can divert all of my ntlworld email to my googlemail account as i think they do refresh on there.
do video calls cost any extra or are they classed as normal calls?
since i got it a week ago, ive had to charge it up every night. is that normal? my last phone would last twice, sometimes three times as long.
hopefully some brainbox out there who has one of these can help as im regretting not sticking with my old (although pretty basic) phone.

mollythecat

 

[alpha0990]

Hey molls how yer diddling?
Yep the batteries need to be recharged often.
If you aren't connected to the net, you will get a message like network error.

With my phone, not as good as yours, I can press the on off switch, get a menu, and disable data network mode there.

You can get an app to monitor data usage, Watchdog 3G is one I like. It might not be accurate though. You might be able to get an app for your mobile provider that will let you monitor usage and they mite even exclude it from your data allowance lol.


Use Opera Mini and Opera Mobile instead of the standard browser. They are quicker and reportedly use less data by compressing the data.


You should be able to see new emails when you use the phone, you can redirect email from one account to another if you like.

 

[ajmount88]

Search on the android market for a widget called "Data Enabler Widget" by a developer called farproc. I've tried a few and some seem to stop working occasionally, but this one has worked perfectly from the start. Just place it on your homescreen and simply tap it when you want to toggle the network on or off. There's also one included with the Juicedefender app, which can improve your battery life if set up correctly (i found that turning things on and off manually and setting the phone up how I wanted Worked just as well.

Hope this helps

 

[Russell Ng]

Just to clarify the icons

1) 3G icon means you are on 3G which is the data line.
2) H is HSPDA which is basically 3.5G
3) The up and down arrow indicates upload and download. When those icons appear, it means you are actively uploading and downloading.
4) The H icon comes with the up and down arrow. Otherwise it will be on 3G or E which means Edge (2G). The up and down arrow can appear with 3G or E icons. That means H is the fastest speed but only activates when you have signal and is downloading and uploading.

To clarify data control
1) You can long press on the power button. Shortcuts should appear and one of them will allow you to on/off the data line.
2) To check your data usage, you should get network monitoring app from the market. There are many, but I am using 3G watchdog pro.
3) I have also set up a toggle on the homescreen itself to on/off the data bypassing step 1. I use widgetsoid which can do a lot more stuff, but there are other apps that are simpler that can do the same.

For emails
I am not sure what you are doing wrong since I have 4 emails on my phone and they all get emails just fine. Maybe you can explain what you did step by step and posters can see if there is anything wrong. I just go to the app and set up a premium account. Enter the username and password and the rest is automatic. There are other settings like period to sync email which means showing emails from how far back, and sync schedule which sets the app to check for mails how far apart.


Cheers

 

[jeremy_inc]

I noticed the same when I changed from my Nokia n85 to the HTC Desire, that it no longer asks if I want to connect, and just always is. This was awesome.
You should get a plan with a certain amount of data per month and use one of the apps mentioned above to make sure you stay within that. Or go unlimited but I'm assuming you are looking to not spend too much on your phone bill.

You can redirect mail to gmail pretty easy, and in gmail you can set it to send "from" your other email address, so if you reply people arent confused.