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Help Which to go for.

Simon Hart

Simon Hart

Newbie
In the past I had a Nokia C5. I then got an iPhone 4S. I now want to move on to something that is actually GOOD! And that implies an Android phone. So here I am. :D
I've spent ages looking at all the phones and picking the right one isn't that easy although I suspect I'll go for a Samsung or Sony. I'm open to suggestions though.

My phone will spend most of its life connect to my PC (either by bluetooth or USB). When it's connected to the PC, I need to be able to do everything (well nearly) from my PC screen and keyboard, particularly this functionality:

Manage contacts - view the list of contacts. Add, amend or delete a contact. Download the list to the PC, preferably in comma delimited format.
  • SMS messages - view them, hopefully threaded, write a message and send it. Download a conversation to the PC.
  • GPS navigation - preferably with the map on the phone so that mobile data use is minimised.
  • Calendar - View appointments. Add, amend or delete appointments. Preferably, synchronise the calendar with the lightening extension of Thunderbird.
I don't expect that to all be built-in but what Apps would be the ones to use and what is currently considered the best phone with a price similar to Sony Xperia Z3.
Thanks for your help. :)
 
Yes but I want to do it using my phone. For example I want to send an SMS via my mobile connection and, therefore, mobile number but using, in effect my PC's keyboard and screen. I LOATHE touch screens (I have sensation issues with my fingers) so I want to manage my phone's address book using my PC's screen and keyboard.
See what I mean?
 
AMOCO said:
Well to control your phone via your pc,You can use this software:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.teamviewer.quicksupport.market&hl=en
https://www.teamviewer.com/en/index.aspx
I use this software to work on my friends phone and pc's,Very easy to use too.
Click to expand...
So, using teamviewer, I'd be able to, for example, click on Add Contact, type in the name and number, click save and it'll be saved on both my PC and the phone? My memory of teamviewer is that it's a remote control app, typically used to access a device remotely and is very divorced from the environment of the local machine.
 
If any of you remember Nokia Suite then I'm looking for something similar to that. Maybe spread over several apps but the end result amounting to much the same thing.
 
1. Using Samsung Sidesync or Mobizen for other phone brands, you can have your phone connected to your PC and actually control the phone with a mouse and keyboard (screen of phone pops up on PC screen as another window).

2. So yes you basically can see the sms messages on your phone screen as viewed on your PC. Saving the conversation to a PC may be different.

3. For contacts management, you have always been able to do that using Gmail contacts.

4. Same for calendar. Whatever you do on Gmail contacts and Google calendar reflects on your phone.

All the things you mentioned could be done even on a cheap unknown brand Android with 3 year old specs provided it has access to Google Play Store.

Samsung used to have a PC Suite called Kies but they've phased that out.
 
chanchan05 said:
1. Using Samsung Sidesync or Mobizen for other phone brands, you can have your phone connected to your PC and actually control the phone with a mouse and keyboard (screen of phone pops up on PC screen as another window).

2. So yes you basically can see the sms messages on your phone screen as viewed on your PC. Saving the conversation to a PC may be different.

3. For contacts management, you have always been able to do that using Gmail contacts.

4. Same for calendar. Whatever you do on Gmail contacts and Google calendar reflects on your phone.

All the things you mentioned could be done even on a cheap unknown brand Android with 3 year old specs provided it has access to Google Play Store.

Samsung used to have a PC Suite called Kies but they've phased that out.
Click to expand...

Thank you, that makes sense. Sadly, the gmail idea won't work for me as I don't use gmail or google calendar. Thunderbird for my email and Lightning (a Thunderbird add-on) for my calendar.

Nevertheless, the other functionality is there, which is great. Thank you. :)
 
Simon Hart said:
Thank you, that makes sense. Sadly, the gmail idea won't work for me as I don't use gmail or google calendar. Thunderbird for my email and Lightning (a Thunderbird add-on) for my calendar.

Nevertheless, the other functionality is there, which is great. Thank you. :)
Click to expand...
Yeah now you don't have gmail, but you're going to make one anyway, since you'll be asked to make a google account to have access to the play store, just like apple asked you to sign up for an apple account. Just so happened that your google account would also be your gmail account. So you may still use it just for contact and calendar management.

Also isn't thunderbird and lightning not actual email service but a PC program email client just like Outlook? That means you can sync your Gmail contacts and Google calendar to it and manage it from there.
 
Oh well, I'll have a gmail account, brown stuff occurs. I'll not be using it for contacts or calendar though, calendar is Lightning and will be staying that way and my phone book isn't in anything other than my phone and phone related apps. Yes, Thunderbird is an e-mail client and I own the email server, it's just behind my right shoulder. I'll never use a gmail account. :D
 
chanchan05 said:
Also isn't thunderbird and lightning not actual email service but a PC program email client just like Outlook? That means you can sync your Gmail contacts and Google calendar to it and manage it from there.
Click to expand...
Correct. Thunderbird is an email client, which can be used with many different email services (and cross-platform, not just PC). And there are plenty of email apps on Android which can also be used with many different services.

The easiest way of synching calendars is via Google calendar, but there are other options.
 
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