Smartphones

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BrutulTM

BrutulTM

Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun.
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Yeah, I get the impression that after getting burned by Verizon on the Galaxy Nexus the Google Phones purpose is more to express Google's ideals than to move a ton of units. Hopefully the fact that they are constantly sold out will inspire other phone manufacturers to emulate it a bit more.
 
Mageling

Mageling

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I'd like to find a ~4-4.2" GSM Android device, but haven't really seen anything on the market currently. It looks like theRAZR M XT905is about the only option on the market currently, but I can't seem to find a reasonable price on one in the US.

What resellers are people using to buy unlocked phones? It's been so long since I've even searched, and Amazon has absolutely nothing right now.
 
Eomer

Eomer

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Nexus 4 finally arrived. There was much rejoicing. Debating whether I burn, smash or launch the Torch in to orbit.
 
Alkorin

Chancellor Alkorin

Part-Time Sith
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Eomer_sl said:
Nexus 4 finally arrived. There was much rejoicing. Debating whether I burn, smash or launch the Torch in to orbit.
Click to expand...
You could have a Curve. Don't feel so bad. At least I'm not paying for mine -- it's from work.
 
Z

Zombie Thorne_sl

shitlord
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Wife shattered her iPhone 4. We have an upgrade available through verizon. So, IPhone 5, 4s, Samsung Galaxy S3 or Note 2? She is not heavily invested in iTunes and pretty much users her phone as a tablet which I why I mention a note 2. She is not technologically retarded, but would have no interest in rooting etc.

Thanks in advance
 
Ameraves

Ameraves

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Well if she uses it mostly as a tablet, the Note 2 would be the obvious choice.
 
Z

Zombie Thorne_sl

shitlord
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That's what I'm thinking. Better for browsing/Facebook/shopping I would assume. Anyone had wives/family switch from an ios device to android? Did they do ok with it?
 
BrutulTM

BrutulTM

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Do you use Android? Does she play with your phone? I really think that Android is more intuitive than IOS now so I wouldn't anticipate a problem.
 
D

Devlin

Golden Squire
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I would go for a note 2, much more tablet shaped.

Was a very close choice for me between the Note 2 and the nexus 4 but I already have a tablet so wanted a phone sized option.
 
T

The Ancient_sl

shitlord
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As someone who just switched from iOS to Android I can tell you that Android is in no way un-intuitive, but it is less out of the box user friendly than iOS. Any hesitation you might have about this is quickly dissipated when you realize just how much more customizable(without doing anything like rooting) the OS is.
 
Joeboo

Joeboo

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The only hangup I could see would be based on how attached your wife is to iTunes, as syncing/accessing your iTunes stuff on an Android phone isn't quite as seamless as an iOS device
 
Eomer

Eomer

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After a couple days with my Nexus 4 I'm quite liking Android. I didn't have a lot of experience with iOS, about 6 months or so back in 2010/11 with a 3GS. Otherwise I've been on a Blackberry most of the past 5 years.

However one thing I'm finding so far is that the battery life of the phone is really, really short. Even with moderate use I doubt I could get a full day out of the phone. That said, I haven't had much of a chance to configure things, and that may make a difference. A couple questions:

-Does having Bluetooth on make a significant difference in battery life? The only use I have for BT is in my car. I'd rather not have to toggle it on and off all the time, and didn't have to with my Torch. I'd rather just forget about it and leave it on.

-What's the difference between the Gmail and Email apps? Which is the best to use? I have one @gmail.com address, another that's a different domain but through Google Apps, and a third that is my address with my ISP that can be set up as an exchange account. What is the best method of setting them all up? Right now the two Google addresses are coming in through both the Gmail and Email apps, and the double notifications is a bit annoying.

-Any other battery saving tips?
 
The Dauntless One

The Dauntless One

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Eomer_sl said:
After a couple days with my Nexus 4 I'm quite liking Android. I didn't have a lot of experience with iOS, about 6 months or so back in 2010/11 with a 3GS. Otherwise I've been on a Blackberry most of the past 5 years.

However one thing I'm finding so far is that the battery life of the phone is really, really short. Even with moderate use I doubt I could get a full day out of the phone. That said, I haven't had much of a chance to configure things, and that may make a difference. A couple questions:

-Does having Bluetooth on make a significant difference in battery life? The only use I have for BT is in my car. I'd rather not have to toggle it on and off all the time, and didn't have to with my Torch. I'd rather just forget about it and leave it on.

-What's the difference between the Gmail and Email apps? Which is the best to use? I have one @gmail.com address, another that's a different domain but through Google Apps, and a third that is my address with my ISP that can be set up as an exchange account. What is the best method of setting them all up? Right now the two Google addresses are coming in through both the Gmail and Email apps, and the double notifications is a bit annoying.

-Any other battery saving tips?
Click to expand...
1) No, just leave bluetooth on. I really doubt turning off BT would save more than 1% or 2% more battery drainage over the course of 1 full discharge. Shorter for moderate to heavy usage. Screen, radio and CPU drains like 90+% of battery. I haven't tried, but Cor swears that custom kernel will increase battery. Try installing a custom rom and/or kernel. I suggestRasbeanjellyand Trinity kernel. Don't kill me if your phone explodes though >_>.

2) Gmail app has all the native features as web gmail. Email is used for other email accounts.
 
C

Cor_sl

shitlord
487
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The Dauntless One_sl said:
1) No, just leave bluetooth on. I really doubt turning off BT would save more than 1% or 2% more battery drainage over the course of 1 full discharge. Shorter for moderate to heavy usage. Screen, radio and CPU drains like 90+% of battery. I haven't tried, but Cor swears that custom kernel will increase battery. Try installing a custom rom and/or kernel. I suggestRasbeanjellyand Trinity kernel. Don't kill me if your phone explodes though >_>.

2) Gmail app has all the native features as web gmail. Email is used for other email accounts.
Click to expand...
Yeah, installing a custom kernel improved my battery life by nearly 60%. Pretty insane. Other people have managed a lot more with some tweaking, too (http://www.abload.de/img/uploadfromtaptalk1355c3jb7.jpg). Apparently certain drivers and what not are poorly optimised in the standard kernel which causes excessive battery drain which is why custom kernels can have such a dramatic effect.

Give this a read -http://www.reddit.com/r/nexus4/comme..._need_to_know/

Gives a rundown of the most popular custom kernels.
 
Deathwing

Deathwing

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Install this:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=1179809

See what's eating your battery under partial(usually here) and kernel wakelock categories.

One thing you have to get used to as an Android user is that the operating system is incredibly trusting of the app developers to do stuff the right way. So if you install the weather.com app that keeps your gps active for 9 fucking hours over a 24 hour period, Android is going to let you do that.

The app I linked and just the battery usage chart will help you determine what's draining your power and if you can fix it. If you're a heavy user, just not much you can do about the screen eating your battery.
 
Eomer

Eomer

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Ugh, I kind of wanted to avoid any of that junk. I just want a phone that works, and works well. Not a PC that I have to continually fuck with to keep running.
 
C

Cor_sl

shitlord
487
0
Eomer_sl said:
Ugh, I kind of wanted to avoid any of that junk. I just want a phone that works, and works well. Not a PC that I have to continually fuck with to keep running.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I know. I was hoping I wouldn't have to fuck around with this shit, either. That's one of the things Apple does right - the iPhone is well optimised and runs perfectly out of the box. The Nexus 4, instead, is poorly optimised and the screen is uncalibrated. It's quite annoying.

Still, it's not too difficult to install a kernel and stuff. I rooted my phone and installed a kernel a few weeks back and haven't messed around with things since. It's worth spending that hour or two of fucking around to get that stuff done.
 
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