All Things Android - Apps, Phones, Tablets - Discussion

I quite like Thumb Keyboard for my Galaxy Tab, so when I get a handset with an HD screen, I'm going to give that a go.

On my Ray, I'm actually using SE's own keyboard with the alpha-numeric keypad in portrait mode, the only thing that's lacking is the auto-correct is pretty poor.

 

I actually have a pretty positive opinion of Pantech. My little brother had a Pantech c300....jeeze that was a tiny phone. Loved the loudspeaker and the camera flash that doubled as a flashlight.

I wish they brought their highend stuff here, all we get are midrange offerings at best.

In other news, the stratosphere comes out next week, ill try one in the store to be sure but im considering it partly because it's likely that more devs will buy on account of unlocked bootloader...plus it has touchwiz....although i wish it was tw4

edit: 480p video capture? thats gotta be a typo on verizons spec sheet....that might be a deal breaker...not gonna lie

 

Nope. Not a typo. The Stratosphere isn't considered a high-end device. The Charge fills that position. Otherwise, for a keyboard, you have the D3.

Just so you know, I don't hate keyboard devices... they just add more complexity to the physical design and they're a durability nightmare. Something like the Samsung Sidekick would be the only way I'd go back to a keyboard.

 

How could the Charge be high end if the internals are pretty much the same though? (correct me if I'm wrong...which i likely am )

As far as 480p goes, I thought it was less than my D1 which is why I was like ....gahhh....but then I Googled and found that it was the same...no big deal.

The D3's camera is pretty poor...everything's bluish apparently. Pass.

I know, yeah they're complex I'm sure. The samsung Sidekick looks compelling but I'm not a fan of the keys.

 

Oddly enough, carriers don't base their tiers on SoC's alone... because the Charge and Stratosphere are both 1GHz Hummingbird SoC's. Plus, the Stratosphere is basically a disabled Epic 4G. It not being able to record 720p is something Verizon has requested. It has the exact same camera module that was in the GS1 series, which is 4.9MP.

And yea, the bluish camera tint is something that has seriously plagued Motorola lately. The Atrix has that EXACT problem... made the camera next to useless, IMO.

 

officially ordered my Galaxy S II on AT&T. Should be getting it Tuesday or Wednesday! Then I might actually be able to add something to the android discussions...

 

Congrats!

 

I'm so tempted to do the same. But my mind keeps telling me to wait for the nexus haha. I am on AT&T as well.

 

Yeah, I know. I wish they did though, I can sense that Stratosphere won't get the love it deserves in terms of sales and mods and such due to the "mid-range" positioning

Awesome!

 

I want to get the S2 or Nexus (I think I like the S2 more) but I pay like $30 a month for my N900 because I dont pay for internet fee. Getting the S2 its not the upfront cost its the monthly fee for a smartphone plan that is really keeping me from upgrading my phone.

A huge bill for no reason because I am always in a wifi zone and honestly do not use my phone for much more than music player, calender, alarm clock, and phone calls. None of these need 24/7 internet access.

 

If you buy it outright, you cannot be forced into any data plan. They can only mandate a data plan if you're under contract.

 

Really I heard otherwise, that they will make you get a plan when you go to get service for the phone. Maybe its changed since the iphone came out and they were doing that.

But without any plan the phone is uber expensive, like more than a good laptop. I would sign up for a 2 year contract of service for a discount just want to be able to opt out of data plans. I would understand if the discount is lessened as an effect.

Alas I think it will never happen like that though.

 

Yeah, the thought crossed my mind to wait, but I have been eligible for two months already for an upgrade, and the rumored specs for the nexus aren't THAT much better. I figured I can't spend my life waiting for the next thing or I'd always be waiting.

 

Are you sure about that? Because I looked into a Droid for use on the Verizon plan and they said they would have to charge the $30/mo for data even if I bought an unlocked phone.

 

I'm not sure about CDMA, but on GSM networks they _do not_ force you to get a data plan.

 

If you buy the phone off-contract at full price (or from a third party), then you don't have to do anything to your plan. You should be able to activate it yourself online or over the air. Of course, the downside is that unsubsidized phones are generally hilariously expensive.

If you get a new phone for cheap with a contract extension, that's when they get to interfere with your plans, force you into a data plan, etc. The price you pay for not paying such a high price.

 

Buying phones used but in mint/excellent condition on eBay gets around this

 

Hahaha .

 

Well, for a subsidy, it's either 2years and $15/month data plan or nothing... I hate it, but that's the only way they do it now.

Quite. See below...

Exactly. No GSM network I know of will force you into any kind of data plan if you're not under contract, or under the terms of a hardware subsidy. Verizon is the only one in the US that I know of that actually makes you get a data plan, because their phones can't be used with other carriers, and they kind of have you in a lock if all you have is one of their devices.

 

Anyone here ever used Tegrak Overclock ?
(very limited free version here)

It can overclock & undervolt your phone regardless of your kernel (meaning it can OC Stock kernels too), AND overclock, undervolt, and change the speed steps of your Graphics chip!

Pretty amazing, never seen anything like it. Beats the hell out of SetCPU Just wish it had Profiles like SetCPU does.

 

Bah great. Well since I'm on my sister's phone plan and only paying $10/mo as it is, I guess I'll keep my LG slide phone (can't even remember name) and use the Galaxy Player 5 as a separate device.

 

That's impressive, I cant wait to get the new phone to try this out.

 

Is there a reason to overclock your phone? Other than because you can?

 

Well, it makes an already fast phone FLY. I overclock for N64oid.

 

Well for older phones, it really can make a speed increase

Now for my GSII... that's more just because I can and to get crazy benchmark scores I really see no performace difference between stock 1.2Ghz and 1.6Ghz

The nice part about the app though is i can undervolt for better battery life. And also, lower the minimum GPU clock speed (for 2D), since the Mali-400 is so powerful, I'm sure I could lower the minimum clock for better battery and see no difference in performace

On what phone? I cant see any difference in N64oid between 1.2Ghz and 1.6Ghz on mine

 

Stratosphere has a 720p camera. I think I'll shut up now, just get it...then when the next big thing comes, flip it on ebay...i'll make sure to get a case so it won't turn into a worthless proposition like all of my prior phones.

 

Resist Ricky! Resist!

*shakes*

 

*Helps shake*

Nooooooooo.....

 

I'm finally about to install CM7.1 thanks to HAL... I'm so happy

 

Soft brick... Not good

 

I want to but it's hard. I'll probably wait until after the Motorola conference just to rule out the D4 coming sooner than expected.

 

And ladies and gentlemen, thanks to Mr. HAL 9000, I now am using Cyanogen Mod 7.1 flawlessly

 

Hoping some of you folks are still awake.

I'm rooting my Evo 4G finally, and I went through the root process with success. Got to the flashing of my ROM (chose CM7), and keep getting stuck in boot loops. Any reason for this? Using CWM to flash it.

 

Fixed.

Ended up using Amon RA instead of CWM and started over.
Flashed and running CM7. Yay!

 

Sorry, I was watching a movie...

Amon's recovery is a better recovery for certain devices. Much less issues than with official CWM.

How are you liking CM7?

 

No worries. It's fulfilling to figure it out sometimes.

Being that this is my first ROM since way back in 1.6 on a Samsung Moment, I'm much more impressed than with the Sense UI. So far so good. I'll give it a few days and keep my eyes peeled for anything else.

Any favorites?

 

CM7 is what I run on all my Android devices. I have to compile my own for some of my devices because it's not available yet..lol. AOSP with the CyanogenMod changes is just the best thing ever... lightweight, fast, and extremely function packed. Plus it's compatible with everything, since it's how Google intended it to be. The Wiimotes even work flawlessly with emulators, where on most OEM ROM's they don't.

If you decide to go back to HTC I'd go:
[ROM]!!!!!(10-7-11) SNS Gingerbread v1.7,OTA 4.53 Sense, CIQ removed, Quick Settings - xda-developers

 

What browser do you guys suggest using?

 

If you're talking about for the GS2, the stock is pretty much amazing... You can play 1080p flash INSIDE the browser. Not bad, IMO.

 

There it is Booboo... Your dual-core, 1GB of RAM toting, keyboard packing, S-AMOLED device with Gingerbread and a FFC. On AT&T. LOL.

 

I've been using Dolphin HD, quite happy with it. Firefox isn't bad, but it seems a bit heavy, although that may be because my phone is far from high end.

 

Off Topic Prelude: So I've complained about my hate for Verizon Fios, and infact spent about 5 hours with them on the phone just this weekend trying to get my billing straight. They have decided twice, that I need to pay for phone service I don't have. Yup, twice threw it on my bill, never notified me, never sent an email. Not to mention the havn't sent me a bill in the the two months I've had the service, Changed my 12 month discounts to 3 months thinking I wouldnt notice, calls in get passed from one person to another without answers. I may have finally got it all straight this weekend, but it took way to much effort. Coming from a former Broadband Tech, this company has terrible customer service.


So there is a little background,

On topic part of my rant: I was setting up my Samsung Captivate to control my Blu-Ray Home Theatre. It's pretty sweet and now when I do youtube searches I can use my phone and not the BD remote. I hate typing with that thing because you have to select each letter, scroll to the next, yada yada yada.

After doing that and see how schweeet it was, I searched Fios in the App Market. Low and behold, Verizon has a Fios remote app! Sweet right! You bet it is. I promtly downloaded, and set it up. It allows me to decide which Set Top Box I control. The one in the bedroom or the one in the living room. I can "Flick" photos from my phone onto my T.V.

Now on to the really sweet part! I can play with my wife from anywhere in the apartment. When I want her to listen to me, I pause her T.V. show, and tell her to grab me a soda. When I want to show her what stupid thing I'm doing, I take a photo, and flick it onto her t.v. This thing is PURE AWESOME!


The only thing fios has going for it in my mind. Well that and internet speeds through fiber. Gotta love 25mb/sec upload speeds. Just gotta be connected to my wifi for the thing to work


Needless to say, my wife things I'm a dork and hates it hahahaha

 

You post on NBR... you ARE a dork!

 

Touché lol

 

I use Dolphin HD. It runs off the Stock browser and adds some good functionality






In other news... WHAT is THIS doing above my GS2?!?!?

 

There's some comments in there that explain why.

 

Ah ok theyre not verified by Anandtech. And "ICS" will help with Android scores.

I've heard alot about ICS, but i actually dont know what it is and google's not helping anyone care to explain it to me?

 

Well it's the same Cortex A9 cores as the Galaxy S2, just clocked a bit slower and with a GPU that would seem to have proven itself to be far better than Mali 400.


ICS is Ice Cream Sandwich, the next version of Android.
Basically it combines the features of Gingerbread and Honeycomb, so unlike Gingerbread it will be optimised for dual-core CPUs.

 

That is true, I'm surprised the extra CPU didnt help it, though it probably will in some tests and not others as with other things.

Ah Ice Cream Sandwich That i do know, had a brain fart about the acronym though.