Smartphones

Malkav_sl said:

Well, with Windows Phone 10 almost allowing apks outright (takes a bit of work to sideload atm though), I'm thinking it's starting to look less and less shitty.

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To be fair, BB10 had this from the start, and was even more "consumer friendly" with the amazon store preloaded- but people still didn't attach to it as a real "app gap" fix - so the same thing for WP10 and tis APK support... does WP10 have full google services?

As it is a hack at the moment, it's not working with Google Services.

The goal is not to allow sideloading, it's to allow very easy porting of the apps via Project Astoria.

The devs just have to insert their Android source code, Astoria replaces call to Google Services by something compatible, and all in all almost no work to do to make the app work. And then they can just publish it on the Windows Store.

Windows Bridge for Android - Windows app development

Microsoft wants devs to be able to port android apps with almost zero input, let's just hope devs use it now...

opiate82_sl said:

Here are two shots, one where OIS would have possibly helped, and the next one that showsI got the shot anyways.Again, significant noise but that is not related to a lack of OIS.

Finally one more where my shutter speed was slower than normal.You can see motion blur on my daughters left hand, but the rest of the shot is sharp and in focus, OIS was not needed.

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Those two quotes highlight my problem with no OIS.

Sure, you caneventuallyget the shot anyways. However, nearly every shot looks worse, has minor flaws (like the blur on your daughter's hand), or takes multiple shots to get the same/similar results. Every single shot from my 920 looked crisp and true to color/life (I wish I still had the comparison shots, but I deleted them from my Moto X months after I sold my 920 and moved everything over to my PC). I didn't have to reshoot the same shot 40 times to get the desired result, I didn't have to play with shutter speeds, focus, any of it. It all just "worked" and it did it on technology that was 2 years older than my Moto X. Now, maybe that isn't related to OIS, but when I see shot comparisons from other OIS vs. non-OIS devices, most of the evidence seems to point to there being a significant difference between the two. Sure, inmostsituations it may not matter or make a difference, but nearly every camera shot with my Moto X is something I had to shoot 4+ times just to get a "good" result. Some situations were bad enough that it didn't matter how many times I shot the thing, they all looked like shit. And if there isn't absoluteperfectlighting? Fucking forget it.

Video is an area where I think OIS makes amassivedifference, but I don't really ever shoot video with my phone, so it isn't really a concern to me from that standpoint. I'm also not trying to say that OIS automatically makes the image better in every way. Obviously, it's fairly situational. However, OIS seemingly makes a significant enough difference in the situations whereIuse a phone to take photos, that I notice it enough to know that I don't want a phone without it.

Kirun_sl said:

Those two quotes highlight my problem with no OIS.

However, nearly every shot looks worse, has minor flaws (like the blur on your daughter's hand), or takes multiple shots to get the same/similar results.

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OIS will not help with minor flaws like that. When a lack of OIS is a problem your entire photograph is going to be blurry, not just one part of it. I think your problem is your are comparing the 920, which is one of the best camera-phones out there to date, to your Moto-X (which is pretty well known as a sub-par performer in low light) and falsely attributing the difference in performance to the lack of OIS.

You are right that all things being equal there isn't a reason to not include OIS. But I have a feeling it is being left of to keep costs down and/or to help keep the phones thinner. Specifically related to the 6P/5X, the laser-autofocus and the new sensor with the larger pixels should more than make-up for the lack of OIS, and with DxOMark calling the 6P the best low-light performing camera they've tested to date, I really think you and other consumers don't need to worry about no OIS with that particular camera phone.

opiate82_sl said:

I think your problem is your are comparing the 920, which is one of the best camera-phones out there to date, to your Moto-X (which is pretty well known as a sub-par performer in low light) and falsely attributing the difference in performance to the lack of OIS.

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Yeah, that's also very likely. A lot of it could just be me being buttmad that a year old device performs significantly worse than a 3 year old device in the camera department. Hell, even some recent phone models don't perform as well as the 920. I don't know if that's a testament to Nokia and their hardware or an indictment on everyone else.

Sorry, hard to read through this entire thread.

Can anyone give me an invitation to buy the OnePlus 2? I want the unlocked dual-sim version, not sure if that matters.

Rangoth_sl said:

Sorry, hard to read through this entire thread.

Can anyone give me an invitation to buy the OnePlus 2? I want the unlocked dual-sim version, not sure if that matters.

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If people have invites for a OnePlus 2, I'd be interested as well. I signed up for their mailing list and haven't heard anything since. Although I'm still somewhat hesitant to buy from a company that deliberately creates shortages to get a buzz. At least that's the only explanation I have for their shortage... can't take that long to ramp up production.

Seriously, fuck them and their Oneplus two. Plenty of other, better options available or will be soon. Nexus P, Moto Pure, Note 5 920i for 579 on ebay, the S6 Edge also on discount now on ebay etc.

[Update: Back Again] Deal Alert: Grab A Brand New, Unlocked 32GB Nexus 6 For Just $299 On eBay Before Theyre All Gone

I refuse to support their shitty company and their shitty invite system.

Yes, but I need a dual-sim phone that can handle 4G on both sims. I have much more limited options

Many phones only support 2G in the second SIM slot, that won't cut it for me. In a perfect world 4G/3G would be active on both SIM all the time, but sadly that technology does not exist yet, so I must settle for a phone with dual-sim that can at least support 4G in either SIM via software.

My contract with Verizon runs out in May of 2017, so I have at least until then with the unlimited data. At that point, I'll probably jump to fi. The only time the unlimited data really matters is when I'm in Maine and I stream netflix.

BrutulTM_sl said:

I've been saying for years that as soon as the "grandfathered" unlimited plans have few enough people that they don't care about them anymore, they're going to take it away from you anyway. Forgoing things like phone subsidies to keep your unlimited plan is silly, especially if you are just doing it because you think you might need more data in the future. THERE IS NO FUTURE.

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They've all done away with subsidized phones, in favor of the pay monthly model. I was able to get my nexus 6 subsidized by switching out the sim card of my old phone, same with my mom who has unlimited still. When I'm in Maine, on a capped plan, it would probably cost me an extra $20 or $30 for the week I'm up there. My mom in on the same unlimited data plan and she spends 6 to 7 weeks up in Maine during the summer. I calculated it out and she would have spent $800 on overages fees this past summer. An extra $20 a month in a couple of years when her contract is up, doesn't seem like that big of deal. I'll probably switch to fi when my contract is up, just because I'm almost always on wifi.

For anyone interested in the OnePlus 2, you can buy it without an invite on 10/12 from 12pm to 1pm:Never Settle - OnePlus.net

Yeah, a shitty and absurd system, but it looks like a good phone.

Alas, I wiped my Nexus 5 and flashed Marshmallow and the performance issues I had disappeared. Looks like I can get another year out of this phone. Maybe next year's Nexus lineup will be more exciting.

meStevo_sl said:

Lumia 950 / 950 XL appear to be ATT exclusive.
-If Microsoft builds it, will carriers come? Not for the Lumia 950 and 950 XL | ZDNet
-John Legere on Twitter: To be clear: We did not turn down the new Windows devices. MSFT gave to AT&T. If @microsoft wakes up, we'll talk about @TMobile carrying

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That makes no sense to me... Microsoft has an unlocked version of the phone in the store:Buy Microsoft Lumia 950 XL - Unlocked - Microsoft Store

Why wouldn't this work on TMobile?

Soriak_sl said:

For anyone interested in the OnePlus 2, you can buy it without an invite on 10/12 from 12pm to 1pm:Never Settle - OnePlus.net

Yeah, a shitty and absurd system, but it looks like a good phone.

Alas, I wiped my Nexus 5 and flashed Marshmallow and the performance issues I had disappeared. Looks like I can get another year out of this phone. Maybe next year's Nexus lineup will be more exciting.

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Thanks for this! Before I give in and bite the bullet does anyone know of a better andriod phone(sorry don't really like the windows ones) that has full 4G for both SIM slots?

Pretty much my requirements:

-DUAL SIM, both 4g capable
-Andriod

....that's it lol. I could give a fuck about the camera or whatever, obviously I'd like it to be a modern phone, decent speeds and interface, etc, but I am NOT a "power user" nor am I a snaptext photographer. I almost never take pictures with my phone. Literally maybe 50 a year.

I've done a ton of google research but I suck at internet sleuthing to be honest. I was into the Galaxy/Edge but then found out it's second SIM slot is only 2g. In fact it's hard to even find accurate specs on the dual SIM specifications.

EDIT: I am now learning about "phablet", I would prefer a smaller phone. I already have laptops and tablets. I want something easy to get in and out of pockets.

Anyone following the Iphone 6S chip deal? Apparently Apple sourced two different chips for it and one has a battery life of about 2 hours less and some other not so great performance compared to the other chip.

Chipgate: How to tell if your iPhone 6s has a crappy A9 chip | Cult of Mac

Not all iPhones 6s units are created equal, and yours just might have a weaker processor thanks to Samsung. Chipgate rocked the Internet with the revelation that Apple used two different suppliers for the A9 chips in its latest iPhones and one processor looks like a serious under-performer.

Even though Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company?s 14-nanometer A9 chips are bigger than Samsung?s 12-nanometer A9 chips, if you have an iPhone 6s with a TSMC chip, you might get an extra two hours of battery life on your device.

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