All Things Android - Apps, Phones, Tablets - Discussion

I much prefer the dotted pattern to the fake-brushed-metal look of the S3. Better to be proud about being plastic (which is actually a great substance engineering-wise) than pretend to be something you're not.

 

You know, there's one thing I've never reckoned. With my old Samsung Epic, when I plugged it into mass storage mode, the SD storage would show up just like any other memory card in Windows explorer. But with the SGS3, the mass storage mode on either phone or card only shows the default file icons. No details, no thumbnails. Is this just a firmware limitation or is there something in the firmware's mass storage controller that needs to be flashed so it works more like it did with my Epic 4G?

 

Every manufacturer has practically ditched UMS for MTP at this point, but if you're rooted, there is a way to bring it back.

How To Enable Mass Storage / UMS Mode on Samsung Galaxy S3

 

I hate this UMS is so much better.

 

I'm getting easy to deploy overseas. While I won't have my phone with me, I will have my tablet. My tablet operates solely on wifi. Actually I will have my phone(Captivate) , but no phone service. Phone can be connected to wifi.

Anyway, is there an app that would allow me to text my wife on her phone from the tablet? I'll have email and a phone but not sure how often I'll be able to call. Email is always easier, but thinking once in a whole it may be nice to send a text. Any options out there? Maybe something like Kik messenger? Voxer? Anything better?



Set from my Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7"

 

I know Sprint has a text-2-web portal. Not sure about the other major carriers (whichever one you've got)...

Sprint Web Texter

 

For now my wife is on Sprint and I'm on AT&T. I'll have to look into it.

Sent from my Samsung Captivate/JB CM 10.1 via Tapatalk.

 

AT&T offers a similar service.

Send a text message from myAT&T website - AT&T Customer Support

...I'm going to have to give this to the One, I've not heard audio output (Via speaker and headphone port) this clean and strong from any other phone. This is the only phone thus far that has been able to drive my MDRX10 well and it's only at half volume.

 

Giveaway: Galaxy S4 SPIGEN SGP Ultra Fit ← Android Fan Network

 

I had to give back my S4

 

Why????????

 

Admin balls-up.

They were marketing sample units, not intended for training purposes.
So now we're getting LDUs (fully-functional units that don't take SIMs) later this week and proper handsets next month.

 

I'll have to disagree with you there. UMS is nice, but it unmounts the filesystem from Android and mounts it to the PC. MTP is live, so I could LISTEN to music while loading more over USB. Also, none of the apps that rely on the SD for their app data (Music players, etc...) have to close or crash when MTP is enabled.

Via speaker, I can understand. The One has the speakers I've always dreamed about on a phone. But headphone output... really? Louder than properly boosted Wolfson? I'm going to go out on a limb here and postulate that with the speaker setup the One has, they have an integrated AMP that handles speakers and headphone output. If that's the case, the Snapdragon DAC might finally shine. All the S4 SoC's have had very clear and crisp audio, but power has been extremely lacking. The Nexus 4 can't even drive a pair of Earpods to a decent level... meanwhile, my Note II has busted my Earpods. :/ I had my AE2's plugged in before and I forgot to turn the volume down when I plugged in the Earpods. Luckily, they weren't in my ears when I hit play.

 

If I'm not too lazy, I will look up some in-depth reviews of the One and see if this is true. It wouldn't surprise me if HTC is using some sort of amplifier, because it literally drove these headphones without much effort, whereas every phone I've had prior needed the volume to be raised to 75% to 90% to get the same volume the One provides at half. I can't keep the volume level past 60% because it's simply deafening.

 

Andrew Luck Signed for $22 Million But Still Uses a Flip Phone (Photo) | NFL | NESN.com

 

The only amp mentioned by iFixit when dismantling the One is to do with the network connectivity.

 

Yea, there's a bit TriQuint baseband amp.

EDIT: I can see the WCD9310 DAC on the iFixit teardown. That's the same one from the S4/Pro.

EDIT: iFixit really needs to take their board macros with the 808 PureView. I want 41MP of board reading resolution. GigaPan it! WITHOUT THE DAMN COLORED SQUARES.

 

The GT-I9500 is still available from the same seller, this time around with a slight price bump and no Black Mist colour option. In addition, the model Expansys USA is offering is the GT-I9500 sourced from South America. Those waiting for an S4 that houses both the Exynos SoC and an LTE modem will seemingly have to wait quite a bit longer, even in the Asian markets.

Overview of the smartphone Samsung Galaxy S4 - the flagship

 

wait, a third party site that wants you to log into your sprint account?

 

Inside the HTC One | Recent Teardowns

NXP TFA9887 for each speaker and a Texas Instruments TPA2011D1 for the headphone jack.

Samsung Galaxy S 4 review

Uh oh, and this is the AT&T model.

 

I wouldn't believe a word that moron writes.
He apparently successfully tested a feature that doesn't exist, claiming that Smart Scroll tracks the movement of the user's head while looking at the handset but that it hurts your neck after a while. Smart Scroll works by tilting the handset, you don't move your head at all.

Also, it's the T-Mobile version they were testing, at least they make mention of a T-Mobile logo on the battery cover.



In unrelated news, I found this a little strange:

A custom kernel lets you turn the HTC One logo into a third capacitive button - GSMArena Blog​

So HTC did indeed make the logo on the front of the One a functional capacitive button and then didn't bother using it?

 

That's my derp there, but IMO that's probably worse if it's the T-Mobile version, as they are the most lenient when it comes to software changes on the devices.

Probably an accidental byproduct of having a large digitizer for the two buttons and the logo just happens to be right in the middle of it. Whatever it may be, it's yet another design deficiency on HTC's behalf that is worked around by XDA folks. HTC should have followed the One X's design in this regard and put a small centralized HTC logo on the top bezel, and leave the three capacitive buttons as is.

 

Either way, I wouldn't take his word on it.

 

Samsung Stumbles With Galaxy S4 Phone: Rich Jaroslovsky - Bloomberg

Samsung Galaxy S4 review: A powerful, giant, confusing smartphone: http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/04...ful-giant-confusing-smartphone/#ixzz2ROSyqBHS

Galaxy S4’s U.S. Debut Pushed Back Because of Shipment Delay: Galaxy S4

 

Really?
The feature that doesn't exist works better one way than another?

And people wonder why I put so much stead in GSMArena, at least they know what features a phone actually has.

 

HOT. DAMN. Hmmm... I might try me a One Dev Ed. Sounds interesting now.

BTW, if you guys haven't caught on, I make my phone purchases by the headphone output quality. Mainly why I've stuck with Samsung, because they usually have much better audio hardware. HTC has officially stepped up their game.

The whole front glass is probably active, unlike the usual where it's only the part where the LCD/AMOLED is that's active. It probably didn't take 5 minutes to edit the source and compile a new kernel with that feature.

 

What I gather from this: "We didn't understand how some of the features work cause I didn't bother to read the instructions."

and the last one suggests what I plan on doing, turning off all the features that allow you to control the phone without touching the screen. I see where samsung is going, testing out other things, working on how things will work in the future, but I just want a smartphone that works like normal.

going in to at&t for a side by side comparison between this and the HTC One. I want to see if it's as difficult to use as these reviewers claim it is.

 

What kind of stupid opening is "this phone is missing a soul" for a review? That doesn't even make any sense. How does a phone have personality? What "personality" does the iPhone, with its grids upon grids of icons, have?

How do these people get jobs reviewing gadgets for well-respected publications?

 

I'm surprised how many reviews are preferring the One over the GSIV. I'll be up for a new phone in July and as nice as the One looks it has no removable battery or SD card slot, two things that are enough for me to not want it regardless of any positive things it might have.

 

I would definitely recommend at least walking into an AT&T store with your head phone and try it out. Audio prowess was not at the top of my list for cell phone shopping, but I've got to admit it's a significant edge the One's got over its competitors. The stereo front facing speakers makes you wonder why more manufacturers don't setup their phones this way.

 

You know you're doing well when you are having Apple-like supply problems:

Galaxy S4 faces supply issue due to 'overwhelming demand' | Mobile - CNET News

Next will start seeing lines outside carrier stores and then LG will start mocking those lines in commercials.

 

Somebody over at XDA got their AT&T model early and pulled this from Download Mode:

I'm wondering what is going on here...

 

What you see here is AT&T pulling a Verizon. And you can pretty much bet that since AT&T's is locked, so will Verizon's S4.

That is why i9500 > i9505.

 

2013 has not been good for high end Android products thus far, way too many blotches.

Xperia Z/ZL: Terrible screen, expensive, poor software optimization, overrated camera.
Oppo Find 5: Late launch, poor availability, poor software optimization.
HTC One: Camera sensor supply issue, inconsistent build quality, multiple launch delays.
Samsung Galaxy S 4: Limited availability of i9500 models, locked bootloaders in U.S. market.

Alright LG, let's see this Optimus G Pro of yours.

 

can't decide between HTC one and S4...

 

I could find one or two things to criticize about every single phone on the market. The S3, which dominated during the previous 12 months? Some internet critics have called its Pentile display as equivalent to sticking a fork in your eye, and others complained that the US didn't get the quad-core processor of the international version. The Nexus 4 has had numerous complaints about the back cracking. And so on. I think the current flock of Android flagships is pretty awesome, even if each one has one achilles heel or another.

 

So glad I got my note 2 after reading some reviews and seeing this thread. After the first day im more then impressed.

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 2

 

I wonder if the Sprint GS4 will be locked... They dont have a past history of locking their devices so I hope they wont start now.

 

Yeah, just like Sprint had no idea what Carrier IQ was at first.

WTH? Doesn't anyone customize their notification icons and such anymore?!

S4! S4! S4! S4! S4! S4!

 

According to kernel source code, the Octa LTE model of the S4 (SHV-E300) relies on Yamaha instead of Wolfson for audio output.

 

Honestly... It's a tough one, everything points to the S4 being the king in all aspects but... The design and material usage is top notch.

If you want a good in-hand feeeling = HT Cone
If you want the best hardware in the market in ALL aspects = S4.

 

Optimus G Pro for AT&T leaks out ahead of LG's US press event

 

> Same pattern as S4
> Same color as S4

Holy crap, LG's designers are rampant copycats.

 

Are there any other OEMs besides Samsung (and now LG) that use a physical home button in the center, a capacitive menu button on the left, and a capacitive back button on the right?

I'm NOT saying that anyone should sue over this, but it does indeed seem very derivative.

 

HTC used to, but still wasn't the same.

LG is copying every little tiny thing Samsung has made. Even on the software side of things.

I wanted to get the next Nexus, but if it's made by LG, I'm boycotting. I want an HTC Nexus!

 

I'm probably not going to get either phone, but I'd choose the S4 because it has the latest software. The One is still on 4.1.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

 

Yeah I think i'm going to go with s4. All I care about is rooting to get rid of bloatware (and there's a lot of it on the s4). custom roms can come later.

 

Now, now, Gnusmas likes to copy some things from others too you know.

 

Can't argue there, it's rather difficult to look at this phone without seeing some Samsung influence in the hardware and software. I was hoping AT&T would get the same 5" model that NTT Docomo sells, but this is good enough.



I would definitely give it a shot regardless. I haven't had any bad experience with LG phones, but then again I started with the post-Optimus 2X devices.

 

You should give the new features a shot, despite what some reviews would have you believe, they work really well.