Okay guys, I tried to come up with an idea for Android and I finally came up with one and I'd like to ask what you think of it before I publish to the public. So, I've had a lot of files on my computer in a folder called "Copy later" and I haven't had the time to sit down, connect my phone, and wait for it to sync all the files. I also am aware of many different apps which sync through WiFi but if I travel to places, I don't have the time to wait for it to copy. So, I decided to come up with a solution...Basically, you would turn on your computer, run this super lightweight app which takes your files in a specific folder (or a system folder like "My Documents of My Music") and send it to a remote server. Now, the remote server would wait for your phone to be available (like connected to the internet and to the server) and it will negotiate a connection with it. Once the connection has been built, the remote server will start transferring the files to the phone. When the files have been processed to the phone, the server will delete its "Temp container" and will wait for the computer to tell it to copy more files.
Now, people will also want to backup the contents of their phone and sync up their files. The same process also applies for the phone's data but slightly more efficient. Essentially, you can setup (optionally) some "zones" at which you can sync the corresponding data. For example, when you are at work, you can sync up your contacts and your "Work" folder. When you're at home, it can sync up your music files and maybe your Facebook updates. This is great because it takes in your GPS location and you can set a radius so that if you are within that radius, you can be syncing up some specific folder(s) with your computer. Also, in the event you lose your phone, you would still have the last synced files. This makes your syncing much more efficient.
If you like this idea, I have already started working on it so please tell me if you want to be a beta for it. Right now, it's invite only so post in this thread if you want me to send you a link. I personally think it is useful for me because switching from school to home, to friends' house, it is handy to sync only the stuff I change. Also, Im looking for a name for this app (still haven't thought of one). A good name will get a prize....
UPDATES
-Removed the middle server - Direct pc to android connection
-Encrypted transfers
-Connects through port 4000 so if you have port forwarding done for this, you can connect from anywhere in the world!
-Sends the data encrypted now
Alpha Program 1:
-This simply transfers data from pc to android and establishes a secure connection.
Alpha program 2:
-After long hours of work, I finally got it to transfer the data safely through the web.
-It doesn't send ANY data without encypting it first and this took a while to make but it finally does conversion without much lag.
-Basically, you choose an mp3 from your computer and send it over. Once it completes, it will play on device. Check out the quality...its equal to that on the computer...
Sign me up for the beta.
I don't quite understand.
What files would you be syncing?
How is this different than using DropBox, where I already have 2GB of space?
Who controls this 'remote server'?
dropbox is different because the files "stay" in the server, but in this the server is only a middle means for data transport. The files are deleted from server once the sync is performed. You can sync whatever you want, like music/videos/data/whatever other folder you choose.
Also, dropbox is basically a "file storage"/backup solution. This just transfers the files from desktop to device and back.
Alright. I have begun work on this project. Firstly, I have now eliminated the idea of needing a 3rd party remote server. Now, it will connect directly to the phone using wifi networks and direct tcp/ip protocol. However, the difference is that data will be transfered in ssl. This way, it will be very secure.
rkrishnan2012 said:
... I have now eliminated the idea of needing a 3rd party remote server. Now, it will connect directly to the phone using wifi networks and direct tcp/ip protocol. However, the difference is that data will be transfered in ssl. This way, it will be very secure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My interest is piqued now I'm liking this alot! Would come in very handy.
im down for this!
Okay. Firstly, I would like to get a beta out today. This beta will simply send a file to and from your device and tell you if it was successful. There is a windows app and an android app which runs on your phone. Both are light but the point is to encrypt/decrypt the data sent.
I Like The Idea.... Also, If Your Open To Suggestions, I Think A Few Useful Features Would Be:
If You Had A Optional Folder On Both Your Sdcard, And Also Your Desktop, That Can Be Set To AutoMatically Send From Either End (Sdcard Or Desktop) Or Even Send To Email, Or Wherever Else When Files Are Dropped Into Either Optional Folder!!
Sent from my HERO200 using XDA App
Ok so you're saying it should automatically sync whenever things have been updated right? I think that would be easy enough. Problem now is that the computer has to stay on when you want to sync. Is that okay?
rkrishnan2012 said:
Ok so you're saying it should automatically sync whenever things have been updated right? I think that would be easy enough. Problem now is that the computer has to stay on when you want to sync. Is that okay?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes That Would Be Ok, But....
What Do You Think Of A Feature (If Possible?) That Can Detect If Its First Destination (Computer) Is Off, & If So More Or Less Have A Secondary Destination, (Email) Maybe?
Sent from my HERO200 using XDA App
Thats great. When it does a handshake, if it fails, it can resort to a secondary target....email? Isn't that too small of a space to store large files?
rkrishnan2012 said:
dropbox is different because the files "stay" in the server, but in this the server is only a middle means for data transport. The files are deleted from server once the sync is performed. You can sync whatever you want, like music/videos/data/whatever other folder you choose.
Also, dropbox is basically a "file storage"/backup solution. This just transfers the files from desktop to device and back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you're trying to compete with dropbox by offering a service that doesn't require users to trust dropbox's security. I've looked at what they say about security here:
dropbox.com/help/27 (sorry, forum doesn't let me post actual links)
Reading that makes me feel safe about storing my files there. Then again, if I had data that would put millions of dollars or lives in risk if it got in the wrong hands, I'd want more security.
If you want a successful product, I think you should target it to this latter crowd -- users who take the security of their data very seriously.
right. Which is why i decided to eliminate the idea of needing a middle server.
Great idea. I was ( just like many others) have been looking for way to sync files over the net with no server in between.
It would be even better if the app in the Phone would auto detect any file chnage and sync with the computer.
Gud luk and let me know u need another tester.
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA App
ok. an aplha has been posted and this is merely a test to see if my method of transfer works. Please try it and reply here if it works properly. It seriously takes only 60 seconds to test it out.
This app looks great! If you need some servers for temp. file storage hit me up via PM.
Keep up the great work
Thanks, but I think I am going to not do the temp file storage thing, as some people are concerned with the security of it. Anyway, I may however make a web based login thing where you can access the files in the computer remotely. This web client will act as if it were mimicking a device. Also, how did the app go? Did the transfer work?
Wow...this actually works...
vision
Great then. I will now make one which transfers a sound file (mp3 of your choice), transfers it, then plays it on the phone.
-Another alpha may come out tomorrow or tonight....
Related
The question is not how to sync SnapVue with Vista (because it is possible getting full WM), the question is another.
I think that all of us have a Pc or "big" laptop and the Shift, and in my case I have several emails account configured in Outlook (Desktop PC). Now, it will be useful if I could access the "same" Outlook on Vista side (Shift), but the only way is to configure Outlook on the same way that my Pc, leaving all the emails on the server, deleting theme when I check my email from my Desktop Pc. But doing so I do not have all my emails with me on my Shift. There is a way to sync Outlook on Shift with Outlook on my Desktop Pc without Exchange server? I do not have any access to any Exchange server, furthermore even if I had, I do not think it will be very fast to access all my 800mb of emails using outlook as a client of Exchange server, isn't it?!
How do you are working about this?
And what about files? Do you sync files or some folders from your Desktop Pc and Vista's Shift? If yes how? Some times ago Novell made iFolder (http://www.ifolder.com/index.php/Main_Page), an interesting client that syncs files and folders with a remote server on the web, and you can install many clients as you need on different machines, so when you create a new file or modify an old one, iFolder client send the differences to the server on Internet, and every time that the other Pcs goes on line it sync theme as well. The problem is that iFolder is not working and that project seems that has been left alone. Do you know if there is something similar?
Thanks
I'm currently using many ways to do the things you ask for.
I bought an exchange server space from an italian provider (don't know if I can post its name), and through that exchange I sync my contacts, calendars, to do's etc.
As far as files are concerned, I'm using at present Humyo, that gives you 1 Gb of free space for free, even if I use it in a 100 Gb - payed version. As I have a flat rate data plan with vodafone, I can easily have my files always under control. Of course I do the "big job" (heavy uploads etc) at home with an ordinary ADSL.
If you need a freeware solution and own a web space, you could try and install Relay, an open source project that does more or less the thins Humyo does. Of course the problem here could be web space. (HINT: I tried to "install" Relay on my Aruba server, but because of security reasons - I upload work files - I preferred to use Humyo).
Of course, if you need more infos, feel free to post on this thread
Ciao
ADDED: as far as 800 Mb of e-mail, you can always ask your Outlook to download headers (and not the whole message) and include or exclude attachments. And if you really need you 800 Mb always with you, you can always do the first sync from an ADSL...
Hileotech said:
I'm currently using many ways to do the things you ask for.
I bought an exchange server space from an italian provider (don't know if I can post its name), and through that exchange I sync my contacts, calendars, to do's etc.
As far as files are concerned, I'm using at present Humyo, that gives you 1 Gb of free space for free, even if I use it in a 100 Gb - payed version. As I have a flat rate data plan with vodafone, I can easily have my files always under control. Of course I do the "big job" (heavy uploads etc) at home with an ordinary ADSL.
If you need a freeware solution and own a web space, you could try and install Relay, an open source project that does more or less the thins Humyo does. Of course the problem here could be web space. (HINT: I tried to "install" Relay on my Aruba server, but because of security reasons - I upload work files - I preferred to use Humyo).
Of course, if you need more infos, feel free to post on this thread
Ciao
ADDED: as far as 800 Mb of e-mail, you can always ask your Outlook to download headers (and not the whole message) and include or exclude attachments. And if you really need you 800 Mb always with you, you can always do the first sync from an ADSL...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you tell me the address of relay project? Thanks
relay
here it is: http://ecosmear.com/relay/
should you succeed in setting it up, please let me know. I didn't spend much time with it, but I was initially stucked by some "cgi-bin" directory path.
Ciao
Hileotech said:
here it is: http://ecosmear.com/relay/
should you succeed in setting it up, please let me know. I didn't spend much time with it, but I was initially stucked by some "cgi-bin" directory path.
Ciao
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks..it is interesting but I cannot automatically sync files from Desktop-Shift-WebServer...I am looking at something like Live Mesh, but unfortunnately it cannot be tested from Italy yet.
alex_time said:
Thanks..it is interesting but I cannot automatically sync files from Desktop-Shift-WebServer...I am looking at something like Live Mesh, but unfortunnately it cannot be tested from Italy yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see--- but what about considering your web space as your HDD? I mean: you don't have to take all files with you and then sync them each day... You simply open the file from your space and work from there. That's the way I'm working with Humyo, and that's the best use for my Voda+Shift device.
Anyway I don't think it would be so difficult to find some script (or even "Sync folder" in Windows) to do the things you want.
Hileotech said:
I see--- but what about considering your web space as your HDD? I mean: you don't have to take all files with you and then sync them each day... You simply open the file from your space and work from there. That's the way I'm working with Humyo, and that's the best use for my Voda+Shift device.
Anyway I don't think it would be so difficult to find some script (or even "Sync folder" in Windows) to do the things you want.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sync files is usefull because I do not have a flat internet connection, so in this way I can access all file on the hard drive and sometimes sync with my Desktop.
Sync folder in Windows works only when I am on the same network, but not when I have outside with my shift.
Finally, FolderShare is ok, but I have to leave my Desktop alway on! This is why I am looking about something like ifolder or Live Mesh.
Concernig exchange...I thinnk mail2web is the only provider that provide free Exchange access only from PocketPC, I cannot find any provider that let use their Exchange Server for free like mail2web but allowing connection from Outlook...so...no email and no automatic file sync for now. Anyway thanks for your help
I know I'm late, but you could be interested with Syncing.Net.
It's working via the net, and you've not to have the computers on at the same time.
The "bad" thing is you need an internet connection to synchronize, even if it will not use it.
Idoine said:
I know I'm late, but you could be interested with Syncing.Net.
It's working via the net, and you've not to have the computers on at the same time.
The "bad" thing is you need an internet connection to synchronize, even if it will not use it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Am I wrong or this system is just for PC's? I mean: is there a WM version of this software? (Sorry, but I didn't get this info from website...)
Hileotech said:
Am I wrong or this system is just for PC's? I mean: is there a WM version of this software? (Sorry, but I didn't get this info from website...)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See FAQ :
Does SYNCING.NET also work with Windows Mobile devices?
Not yet! A Windows Mobile Edition is planned for the future, but I can’t say when it’s available. At the moment SYNCING.NET synchronize only outlook data stored in a local pst file at a Desktop or Laptop PC.
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Click to collapse
I synchronize my Htc Touch Elf with my laptop (Snapvue with Shift), and Syncing.net synchronizes laptop with Shift.
But I agree, I'd like not to turn on my Laptop to sync my Touch !
Idoine said:
See FAQ :
I synchronize my Htc Touch Elf with my laptop (Snapvue with Shift), and Syncing.net synchronizes laptop with Shift.
But I agree, I'd like not to turn on my Laptop to sync my Touch !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's why I prefer to use a (not so cheap but very stable) exchange account for my outlook-related stuff and a humyo account for files (they are both OS independent...). I recently met a nice virus in one of my desktop and had to low-level format all HDD. I didn't lose a single bit of my data (mail, calendar, tasks, docs etc): I just had to sign in again to my exchange provider and to humyo and everything was still there. As I told a few posts ago in this thread, I forgot what an HDD is (internal or external): I usually travel with a portable HDD, but I could even burn it and I would still be sure not to lose anything.
The point, IMHO, is: how valuable are the data you need to store? The more valuable they are, the more you are willing to pay for their security. If I lost my HDD and my contacts the damage would be much more chan a couple of 100 Euros to buy another HDD...
Well, I had to format my DD only 1 time in 18 years of computing, and it was because of the DD itself (because it became very slow in writing, due to hardware failure). I had the time to save my datas before that, so no damage. My antivirus and antispywares were always capable of getting rid of attacks.
Since August, we had an Exchange Server, so Outlook sync wasn't a problem, but now we haven't any server, so we're searching for alternatives. I tried some, and for me they have to be Internet-free (or almost !) because I don't always have access to a connection.
Syncing.net seems to be a good (if not perfect !) answer to my problematic.
Idoine said:
Well, I had to format my DD only 1 time in 18 years of computing, and it was because of the DD itself (because it became very slow in writing, due to hardware failure). I had the time to save my datas before that, so no damage. My antivirus and antispywares were always capable of getting rid of attacks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What can I say? You lucky man!!!! I don't think there are meny of you in the world
Idoine said:
Since August, we had an Exchange Server, so Outlook sync wasn't a problem, but now we haven't any server, so we're searching for alternatives. I tried some, and for me they have to be Internet-free (or almost !) because I don't always have access to a connection.
Syncing.net seems to be a good (if not perfect !) answer to my problematic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My situation is exactly the opposite, and that's why I bought the Shift: I need to be "always-on" and I accordingl prefer a "totally online" solution. "De gustibus non disputandum est".
Have a nice day
Anybody tried this app?
I installed it fine on my home laptop and the client on my Desire.
Now I can sync folders with the so-called cloud online but only independently.
That is, I do not seem to be able to sync two folders between my laptop and desire directly.
This is so awkward.
All i want is whenever a file is changed on one side it is synced automatically on the other side. But it does not work like that .
any ideas ?
I use this app and I like it a lot since the new GUI update.
I think that for the sake of mobile traffic, there is no option to automatically sync a folder to the mobile device. You would always have to download the file, edit it and then upload it again. Have you tried putting a file in the "Magic Briefcase"? Maybe that would be a workaround. If I find some time, I'll try it out myself later and report back.
Other than that, you could maybe try another couldstorage service (e.g. Dropbox), but I'm not sure how it works there.
ps. sorry, since I'm a new user, I cannot post links to other sites, so just google for "dropbox android"
thx for your help but i tried the magic stuff but it is not that magic at all. Also tried several other clouds (zumo, dropbox, etc) as well but they all seem to miss what a user is really looking for = conveniently = automatically sync my device with my home PC (thru the cloud if need be).
It is all too complicated now.
All i want is to be always in sync between my home laptop and mobile device.
That should not be too difficult to do?
they do allow to sync between computers and to share folders with other PCs but why not sync the "same" folder between a mobile device and my home PC?
I'm in the same boat
I can't believe that sugarsync or dropbox just don't do it. I only want to keep synced 1 excel file.
Well, like I said, maybe because this would generate more mobile traffic. You could send a message to the devs and ask them, maybe such a feature is planned. SugarSync just recently updated their GUI. Before that it was really, really bad!
I always inform the supplier in these cases and i received a ticket but i still wait for their reply ....
and this is what they replied:
//////////////
Hello .....,
You will not be able to add your HTC desire as a computer to sync data to. You can download files you need from your SugarSync account to your HTC mobile device and sync data from the HTC Desire mobile phone to the account but cannot setup syncing between the 2 device because not everyone have unlimited data plan.
Regards,
SugarSync Customer Care
///////////////
Well i think this answer is just rubbish ....
Why not offer it as an option, btw many apps warn about the cost of data transfer ....
pitty, i have removed it ....
Sjengie said:
and this is what they replied:
//////////////
Hello .....,
You will not be able to add your HTC desire as a computer to sync data to. You can download files you need from your SugarSync account to your HTC mobile device and sync data from the HTC Desire mobile phone to the account but cannot setup syncing between the 2 device because not everyone have unlimited data plan.
Regards,
SugarSync Customer Care
///////////////
Well i think this answer is just rubbish ....
Why not offer it as an option, btw many apps warn about the cost of data transfer ....
pitty, i have removed it ....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not suprised. I AM doing what you are looking to do using Sugarsync and [ViceVersa Pro VV Engine combination]. This combination costs about $60 but I already had it.
If you use the not so Magic Briefcase that sugarsync supply and add files/folders from your PC/laptop through that what happens is that those files/folders are duplicated in USER/USER_NAME/MYDOCUMENTS/MAGIC BRIEFCASE on your PC.
Those files will be available on your Desire through magic briefcase. When you edit a file on your Desire, after you close that file you will told to upload it as it has changed.
On your PC, the relevant file in USER/USER_NAME/MYDOCUMENTS/MAGIC BRIEFCASE will have been updated.
I now use ViceVersa Pro to ensure that the 2 versions of the file on my PC are kept in sync, and VV engine does the task every 20 mins.
Hopefully I have explained how I do this in a straight foward fashion beacuse it seems to work flawlessly. Sugarsync does 75% of the job but just does not sync the 2 versions on your PC.
The key is to examine USER/USER_NAME/MYDOCUMENTS/MAGIC BRIEFCASE
Hope this helps.
@lyrrad
thx, nice idea, but bit complicated though, with a risk of duplicates.
nevertheless i will give it a try as i already use goodsync to sync my home network
I will now add these two folders and see how it goes.
cheerio
Sjengie said:
@lyrrad
thx, nice idea, but bit complicated though, with a risk of duplicates.
nevertheless i will give it a try as i already use goodsync to sync my home network
I will now add these two folders and see how it goes.
cheerio
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For me the only complication was the setup, and that was far less painful than tring dropbox/sugarsync and zumo and finding out that things just don't work as advertised.. My way seems to be 100% okay, and I have not experienced any duplicates YET. The only thing I now have to do is to upload the file from my Desire when asked. It just works. Let me know how you get on, just in case I'm overlooking something.
I tried bluetoothing an mp3 over to my phone to set as a ringtone, that doesn't want to work, so I thought no problem, I can just email it.
The only option I have is to open the mp3, no option to save it.
Earlier a friend sent me an email with jpgs in it, couldn't open them or even see them as attachments.
So please, all I want is a decent mail client like the WinMo one, but with the ability to connect to two exchange accounts.
Does one exist?
I can't offer any real help with the email client as I'm very happy with the native Android one. You can try K9, available free on the Market, but I can't say whether it will resolve your problem or not.
However, if you want a simple way to copy files over to your phone, without going down the USB route, try Dropbox. It's free to open an account and get the software running on your PC (you get 250MB with a free account - I think. Could be more.) There's also an Android client - again free.
Here's the order of things I do to get a file on my phone if I can't be arsed going getting a USB cable.
I copy the file on my PC into the folder "\My Dropbox\Android" ("My Dropbox" is the Dropbox folder that you can have anywhere you like on your PC. Android is a sub-folder so I know what's in there.)
Open Dropbox on my phone and navigate to the file
Long-hold on the file and select "Download"
It's that easy. The file is now in the folder \sdcard\Dropbox\Android on my phone.
Incidentally, if you do go for Dropbox, every time you refer someone to it and they sign up using a link created for you (with a referrer ID in it), you get an extra 250MB of space free. It goes up to 10GB, which I'm happy to say I have
I hope this helps mate.
Thanks for replying John
Managed to get the file rebooting into WM and saving it from there, but I wouldn't be able to do that for my work account (WM is only set up for my exchange server at home) under android, and drop box isn't an option as I can't ask my boss/colleagues/clients to use it just so I can view a file they've already emailed out.
something that i was searching for a while now and i think might be useful for others too
Sweet Home WiFi
wht it does:
http://www.addictivetips.com/mobile/auto-upload-sync-android-camera-photos-and-videos-to-computer/
little info from that site:
"Users who frequently use their Android device’s camera, transferring or backing up photos and videos to a computer becomes a regular hassle that they would rather avoid. Sweet Home! for Android (2.1 and higher) is a handy application that automatically connects to a user-specified Wi-Fi network when it is in range and starts uploading pictures and videos taken using the camera to the network drive, media center, or home computer. Suppose every time you return home with new photos or videos in your Android phone, this app will start uploading them to a shared directory as soon as it is connected to your local Wi-Fi network."
P.S.:
this is not made by me... i just found this info and shared it as i thought it might be useful to others... any apps as alternatives that u guys have tried?
I have to try this out after trip uploads his latest masterpiece. I don't know how many times I have forgot to backup drunking pictures of the mates. Plus I'm on my 3rd sd card, the others just stopped working.
I will give feedback later
Sent from my X10 TripNMiUI using Tapatalk
My phone explorer is also good....
this software had been developed for SE phones for many years now and is an excellent alternative to pc companion.
You can get it to connect to your home network via wifi and automatically sync contacts, messages, photos etc....
I have been using this for a couple of days on android now....seems very good.
EDIT: This is also very good to use a multi mount option on the SD card. It lets you browse the internal (If rooted) and external memories of the phone whilst still having the SD card mounted on the phone....
the whole point is that i dont want to manually connect my phone/sdcard everytime... want it to sync over home wifi... i dont want to use dropbox its unnecessary waste of internet bandwidth from phone to dropbox server then back from dropbox server to my desktop....
................................
FANTASTIC! love this app. Had to use ip address and drop workgroup name. Uploading 176 photos now. I always forget to dump the phone when I do my regular digital camera. Shame it doesn't create folders by date or upload into some date parameter named folder.
Sent from my X10a using XDA Premium App
Are there any apps that do the same, but to for example dropbox over the mobile internet instead of Wifi?
gosa said:
Are there any apps that do the same, but to for example dropbox over the mobile internet instead of Wifi?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can configure Titanium Media Sync; lets you backup to the cloud or your own servers via FTP, SFTP,FTPS. It also supports dropbox too.
I have been trying to figure out email as it runs on Honeycomb (prior to purchase, but this is an interesting question I hope). What I want to do is ditch my computer running windows Live Mail, where all the emails are saved to my computer, and replace with a slinky new tranformer. I realise that a tablet is mostly an online tool, but it has heaps of memory, and I travel too much and still need to access old emails.
But, I cant seem to locate good information regards how the email app operates. Or how others such as K-9 work. So the question is; Do the emails reside on the tablet, can I place into folders, backup locally etc more or less as I do on my PC?
To my knowledge the stock app stores them as entries in an SQL database. You can backup the whole lot, but probably not individually.
sassafras
Having set up my personal e-mail on my TF I've not been able to setup new folders with the default client, I can't find any option to do this. Also it appears as though a copy of your e-mails is downloaded onto the TF and stays on the server unless you enable the option to delete a message only when you delete it from the Inbox. It'll also only download the first 25 messages the first time round, you'll need to hit the 'load more conversations' button if you want to get more to display.
As for your existing e-mails I'm guessing that they are stored locally on your computer and are no longer available 'in the cloud', is that right? If so that will be a bit tricky to get them transferred over to your TF. If those messages are still in the cloud however you shouldn't run into any problems setting up your account on your TF.
By default POP3 email servers should keep the emails on the server (until it is too old by server's auto-delete definition) and you should be able to download your old emails on your transformer (unless you deleted them from your email app on PC, which will cause it to tell the server to delete it too). There's a reason why I started using Exchange instead of POP3.
So am I alone in wanting offline email, archiving etc? Really the only person desperate to replace notebook with tablet, but needing solid productivity from email?
alhart345 said:
So am I alone in wanting offline email, archiving etc? Really the only person desperate to replace notebook with tablet, but needing solid productivity from email?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why do you need to archive your emails? If you need to back the lot of them up, you can. Using a root explorer, you can browse to the /data/data folder on the device and copy the email client folders located within (I believe com.android.email and com.google.android.gmail) to whichever storage medium you like.
Unfortunately you cannot back up or copy individual emails.
sassafras
I run a business, when visiting customers, vendors or travelling I am often without internet access or it is too slow to be good for much. But I need to access old emails regularly, and email is the central tool for managing my workload. So I sort my old emails by activity in folders locally on my notebook and often refer in meetings to past actions, prices etc. Pretty typical business/corporate action. I may be asking too much of a tablet at this stage, seems most people use it to augment their PC, not replace.
I think storing much locally goes against how Google and Apple view tablet devices. They view storage as a cloud based resource. So emails and documents are stored on their (or your ISPs) servers and accessed from the mobile device. This ensures that your data is constantly backed up and accessible from any device you have, phone, tablet, netbook, etc.
The downside is that this data is in the cloud so access assumes that you have a connection.
alhart345 said:
I run a business, when visiting customers, vendors or travelling I am often without internet access or it is too slow to be good for much. But I need to access old emails regularly, and email is the central tool for managing my workload. So I sort my old emails by activity in folders locally on my notebook and often refer in meetings to past actions, prices etc. Pretty typical business/corporate action. I may be asking too much of a tablet at this stage, seems most people use it to augment their PC, not replace.
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I suspect that part of your problem is that you are using your email folders as a "CRM" database, whereas you'd probably be better off if you could actually move to a true CRM solution. This may be easier said than done if the data volumes (i.e. your email "database" is large) but will probably provide a much better solution in the long run.
Regards,
Dave
I haven't used the stock Android email app since Android 2.0 and my OG Droid, but I'm rather sure that the GMail app will only locally store the most recent emails, either by date or by number, not sure which. My personal email only goes up until the 23rd before it has to 'load conversations', which I believe is grabbing them from the network.
There is a degree of offline email with these recent conversations, as I've typed up emails off-network and they send as soon as I hit Wifi (or 3G in the phone's case). But nothing like the Outlook-level of Offline email. There is GMail offline for PC, so it is possible Google will bring it to tabs eventually...who knows.
alhart345 said:
I run a business, when visiting customers, vendors or travelling I am often without internet access or it is too slow to be good for much. But I need to access old emails regularly, and email is the central tool for managing my workload. So I sort my old emails by activity in folders locally on my notebook and often refer in meetings to past actions, prices etc. Pretty typical business/corporate action. I may be asking too much of a tablet at this stage, seems most people use it to augment their PC, not replace.
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I don't use the tablet for work that much, but I understand your situation. eMail is actually a pretty lousy tool for what you're doing. A good practice is to just delete mails as soon as they get to you, get read and the information is used. But, of course, there are times when you will need to keep some of the information a mail came with, but not the email itself. The reason is that email *is not always available*. You either store it on the servers or you store it locally. Being on the servers makes you dependant on an internet connection. Having them locally makes it more prone to database corruption, and simple things such as search, backup and restore are more complex (before I get bashed, I didn't say difficult or impossible, just complex).
I'm used to a Microsoft ecosystem for personal productivity which means that I have outlook and onenote. What I do is:
emails with attachments, where I need to keep the attachment for future reference: I save the attachment and delete the email
emails with information: I drag the email to Onenote and delete the email.
In a PC/Tablet environment there is no reason why you can't do something similar, although it might not be as streamlined as how Microsoft designed their own products.
But, what I picture you being able to use is:
- Mails with attachments - save them to dropbox or get some other PC-Android folder syncing solution. Get rid of the email.
- Mails with information - Save them to evernote or catchnotes and they automatically get synced to your tablet. I think the premium version of Evernote has offline access (i.e. local storage of notes) and Catch does it anyway.
Evernote has a nice feature where you can mail stuff to your evernote account and it will show up.
As you can see it involves that you change a bit how you work and manage information, but if you make this step you can be more productive.
Hi Ferparedes, thanks for the response, took me a while to get back to it. It may be possible to use a notetaker to do this, but I am pondering the steps needed to integrate as you suggest. I take about 100 emails a day, covering say 50 customers and 1-5 new projects per customer, plus ongoing business - folder structure is 3 and 4 deep. I guess, suck it and see is the final result. If working on the TF is so satisfying for everything else, then a way will be found...
Thanks again for the input.
Well, then again it could be that a tablet is not the best tool for your needs, right?
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
For everything else, it is just right. But the email thing is a show stopper for me. I shall have to curb enthusiasm and wait for the software to come up. Or a windows tab
alhart345 said:
For everything else, it is just right. But the email thing is a show stopper for me. I shall have to curb enthusiasm and wait for the software to come up. Or a windows tab
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Windows tablets have been around for ages, no?
alhart345 said:
For everything else, it is just right. But the email thing is a show stopper for me. I shall have to curb enthusiasm and wait for the software to come up. Or a windows tab
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Windows 8 tablets should appear in spring 2012.
alhart345 said:
For everything else, it is just right. But the email thing is a show stopper for me. I shall have to curb enthusiasm and wait for the software to come up. Or a windows tab
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems like the easy solution is to get internet access on the go. Why not just get a 3g hotspot from your provider? Or, if you have an android phone, set up the mobile access point?
if my experience can help...
Avoiding complex configuration setting up a mail server at home, I've the following config:
- the home pc access my accounts (isp, yahoo, gmail) through pop protocol, with accounts configured to leave messages on the server 15 days
- tablet has same accounts configured with imap access
This way all mails are anyway downloaded and backedup on my local pc, while still being accessible from the tablet.
Of course some diligence is required: if erasing a mail from the tablet while having the pc in standby, the mail will never be available on the pc (but I suppose this is not a big deal: mail has been read and judged to be erased).
My 2 cents