1594 replies to this topic

[PortlandSoxFan]

I don't know if these are Google Maps widgets or Motorola widgets; but the Traffic widgets are awesome, especially for those of us that have a long commute.

[Seven Costanza]

I don't know if these are Google Maps widgets or Motorola widgets; but the Traffic widgets are awesome, especially for those of us that have a long commute.

The navigation in Google Maps is beyond awesome, especially given the various 'layers' you can put on the map. No need to ever have a Garmin or Tom Tom again.

[PortlandSoxFan]

The navigation in Google Maps is beyond awesome, especially given the various 'layers' you can put on the map. No need to ever have a Garmin or Tom Tom again.

Totally agree...I haven't used our Magellan since I got my first Droid in 09.

Evidently the traffic widget has been around for a couple of months; it is a Maps thing not a Moto thing.

http://www.droid-lif...e-serious-time/

[The Napkin]

The navigation in Google Maps is beyond awesome, especially given the various 'layers' you can put on the map. No need to ever have a Garmin or Tom Tom again.

This is frankly the biggest reason why when my 2 years are up in Jan I'm 99% sure I'll go with another droid over switching to the iphone 5. I freaking love the maps/layers integration. (look at me using buzz words.)

[PortlandSoxFan]

Battery life has been very good...but I'm not in 4g enough to see how much of a drain that is going to be. Left the phone unplugged from about 6pm until the battery died at 8am this morning. Turned off GPS and Bluetooth around 9 last night.

Conditioning the extended battery now, as I assume Sunday at Foxborogh (where they have 4g), this thing is going to bleed battery life.

[PortlandSoxFan]

Extended battery report....installed Juice Defender, and let it run until it was dead, using it as I would normally use it. 21 hours before I turned it off at 5%. Still not much 4g; I'm connected to 4g for about 20 minutes of my commute; but since I'm driving I'm not hammering it.

[NortheasternPJ]

How much battery life is wasted searching for a 4g signal? 21 hrs is pretty bad IMO. I thought they were supposed to have solved some of the low battery life issues with the Bionic?

[PortlandSoxFan]

21 hours for a smartphone is BAD? Really? 21 hours for a smartphone is OUTSTANDING.

No problems yesterday; although it didn't always hold on to the 4g signal at the game. By the time we got back to the car, the extended battery was at maybe 70%.

[teddykgb]

real life battery reports are the best, but also kind of useless. I trust your figures far more than what a promotional site would tell me, but in these smartphone days the usage profile is so much more important. It's not really possible to standardize, as one person's "light" use may be what another person would call "heavy" and vice versa, but battery life in the smartphone game seems to be really dependent on how much the device is being used, I wish there were a standard test on all 3 platforms that really told the story

Was in Portugal for the last week and I have to say that Samsung Galaxy IIS is a great looking phone. If it weren't so damn expensive I may have picked one up just to play with it unlocked.

[FL4WL3SS]

Went and checked out the Samsung Galaxy SII yesterday at a Sprint store and I'm pretty smitten. I'm waiting for the new iteration of the iPhone to come out before I make a decision, but I was really pretty impressed. The size of the Sprint version is too large (4.5") and the AT&T version will be a bit smaller (4.3"), though still pretty big for me which is the only downfall. I played around with the phone for almost a half hour in the store and really couldn't find anything I didn't like. The screen itself is amazing and the phone is blazing fast. The one thing I really like for the Android OS over iOS are the widgets. There was a task manager widget on the homescreen that made it extremely easy to manage open applications. It's right in your face every time you go to the homescreen telling you how many apps are running and you can kill apps with two touches - it was pretty slick.

Anyone that thinks Android devices aren't polished and unintuitive should go check out this phone and give it an honest shake.

[NortheasternPJ]

21 hours for a smartphone is BAD? Really? 21 hours for a smartphone is OUTSTANDING.

Really? I fully charged my iPhone 3GS 26 hours ago, used it for 3 hrs and 49 minutes and its at 37%. Granted I haven't used it a ton today but I still expect it to go another 8 hours or so based on current usage for a total of 34 hours or so. This is 2 years old too. That's with WIFI on and bluetooth off.

[PortlandSoxFan]

Oh, I see. This is one of those 'my iPhone is better than Android' things. Thanks for your input.

[johnmd20]

Oh, I see. This is one of those 'my iPhone is better than Android' things. Thanks for your input.

Seriously. If you don't have an iPhone, you don't have an iPhone. I know *plenty* of iPhone people who are at 24% by 2pm in the afternoon after starting the day at 100%. I agree that 21 hours is outstanding!

Speaking of awful 4G battery, I have the Novatel MiFi LTE and I was at a bar yesterday watching the NFL games and streaming the Sox on my iPad. The battery died after being used from 1pm to 4pm. I don't care if I was streaming a HD baseball game, that is a pathetic job by the battery.

[NortheasternPJ]

Oh, I see. This is one of those 'my iPhone is better than Android' things. Thanks for your input.

Not that at all actually. As my early post in this thread, a more efficient battery life on a 4G phone is good for everyone.

I was just surprised to see people raving over 15-21 hours of battery life. As JohnMD pointed out, I've killed my iPhone battery in 4-5 hours before, its all on what you use it for.

I've read other articles like: http://www.talkandro...-is-impressive/

That point to 25+ hours of battery life based on normal use to get to 15%, that's why I was surprised by the elation at 21 hours with little to no use of 4G before the thing shuts off.

Android fanboys are just as bad as the Apple/iPhone fanboys these days.

Edited by NortheasternPJ, 19 September 2011 - 03:50 PM.

[OCD SS]

Oh, I see. This is one of those 'my iPhone is better than Android' things. Thanks for your input.

There's a thread for that.

[Caspir]

So I just had my Incredible on vibrate, and it fell off the table during a call, hitting the only spot in the area that wasn't carpeted. Screen shattered, so I'm going to be moving up my upgrade date to asap. On the fence between Verizon and Sprint. I love HTC, but I want no part of the Thunderbolt. OTOH, the Galaxy II looks great, but does it run Google Maps for navigation, or something else (Bing?)? The Photon (or is it the Atrix) looks nice too, but I'm meh on Motorola. I wish I could like any of the Evo line, but I;m just not impressed with the 3D or the Shift. I will say, getting a Nexus S for $30 online and just using it for now is tempting. I could wait a few weeks to see if anything new comes out, then return it and make a decision then.

Edit- Rooting is pretty important to me.

Edited by Caspir, 19 September 2011 - 08:11 PM.

[Fratboy]

Droid Bionic, or, if you can wait a few weeks or play the return game, the Nexus DROID Prime will have ICS on it.

[deconstruction]

Or the HTC Vigor/Incredible HD, which is rumored to be released next month.

[PortlandSoxFan]

Not that at all actually. As my early post in this thread, a more efficient battery life on a 4G phone is good for everyone.

I was just surprised to see people raving over 15-21 hours of battery life. As JohnMD pointed out, I've killed my iPhone battery in 4-5 hours before, its all on what you use it for.

I've read other articles like: http://www.talkandro...-is-impressive/

That point to 25+ hours of battery life based on normal use to get to 15%, that's why I was surprised by the elation at 21 hours with little to no use of 4G before the thing shuts off.

Android fanboys are just as bad as the Apple/iPhone fanboys these days.

That isn't an article you linked to; it is speculation.

This is my 4th Android phone in the past 2 years; I'm a moderately heavy user so I'm impressed with 21 hours even without 4g. In 6 years of having smartphones, this is the first time I don't feel like I HAVE to plug it in each night as my 45-60 minute commute gives it plenty of charging time in the car.

And my only experience with extended 4g connection, Sunday in Foxboro, seemed fine...didn't kill the battery as much as I expected it to.

As for the phone itself, I have no real issues with it so far. Main issues I've read about before and after I got it:

• Screen: I don't see the issue. I think it looks great; and it is the best phone I've ever had in direct sunlight.
• Data connection: Every once in a while when switching from 4g/3g/wifi, it seems to lose its data connection. It happened to me a couple times, and was pretty annoying. I read that there is a software update in the next couple of weeks that is supposed to address this.

The phone has frozen on me once, but I'm pretty sure that was a software issue. I was trying a different launcher, it hasn't frozen since I uninstalled it. One thing that has annoyed me is that the car dock software (updated since the X) seems buggy. It force closes when I make a call (call goes through, but the dock app restarts), and they removed the button that allowed you to close out of the app and into your regular launcher. Also, Swiftkey transcribes my talk-to-text fine, but for some reason doesn't insert what I say into the app I'm using (so far tried it with gmail and google voice). I'm going to switch back to swype and see if it still happens. But those issues seem to be software, not really phone issues.

So far, after a week of use, I'm happy with it. Is it a HUGE jump up from the Droid X? Not really; although I haven't been able to take full advantage of 4g.

[Caspir]

I wish I could wait a month. It looks like Sprint is going to beat out Verizon, the price difference is just too much. Leaves me with the Galaxy S II, Evo 3D (yea, yea I'm a Sense whore), or the Photon. I'm leaning towards the S II because I know the 3D will have horrible battery life. The Photon is cool, but I would have to buy the dock to maximize it's use, and I don't know if I'm willing to buy a bunch of accessories today. That, and the rooting/dev community is miniscule. I just don't know if I can go from Sense to TouchWiz, which keeps the EVO 3D in the running. I just know the battery life will suck, and the 3D camera is just a gimmick to me, but I'm much more familiar with Sense, and the dev community is much more active. Leaning towards S II figuring if it sucks I can just trade it in for something else next month.

[deconstruction]

I wish I could wait a month. It looks like Sprint is going to beat out Verizon, the price difference is just too much. Leaves me with the Galaxy S II, Evo 3D (yea, yea I'm a Sense whore), or the Photon. I'm leaning towards the S II because I know the 3D will have horrible battery life. The Photon is cool, but I would have to buy the dock to maximize it's use, and I don't know if I'm willing to buy a bunch of accessories today. That, and the rooting/dev community is miniscule. I just don't know if I can go from Sense to TouchWiz, which keeps the EVO 3D in the running. I just know the battery life will suck, and the 3D camera is just a gimmick to me, but I'm much more familiar with Sense, and the dev community is much more active. Leaning towards S II figuring if it sucks I can just trade it in for something else next month.

Go with the S2. It won't suck. The screen size is a huge leap from the Incredible, but the overall size isn't a huge difference. And, amazingly, it's the same weight. Battery life reports are great.

Of course, you don't need to use Touchwiz, and if any phone will help you overcome your Sense addiction, this is it.

[Trautwein's Degree]

I just opted for the Galaxy S2 on Sprint. The reviews of the phone have been outstanding. Ultimately, it was between this and the iPhone 5 but in the end the larger screen, google maps, and google voice integration won out. Whatever the iPhone 5 has in terms of specs, it's hard to imagine it topping this phone. Plus, I got it for $149.99 which is good.

I was given an EVO 3D to play around with for a few weeks. I liked it a lot. I thought HTC Sense was awesome (I had just come from playing with a Nexus S 4G). Last week, I was helping my boss set up his iPhone and after using the EVO 3D, I found the iPhone screen to be tiny.

Suffice to say, I'm excited for the Epic Touch 4g.

Edited by Trautwein's Degree, 20 September 2011 - 11:40 AM.

[FL4WL3SS]

How are you liking it so far?

[Trautwein's Degree]

How are you liking it so far?

I just ordered it online.

[Caspir]

Go with the S2. It won't suck. The screen size is a huge leap from the Incredible, but the overall size isn't a huge difference. And, amazingly, it's the same weight. Battery life reports are great.

Of course, you don't need to use Touchwiz, and if any phone will help you overcome your Sense addiction, this is it.

So far so good. First impression was this phone is way bigger than my Incredible, also, so far I kind of like Touchwiz. It's different, but not too different. The screen is fantastic, phone absolutely flies even compared to the most optimal kernel/under-over clocking the Inc was capable of. Kies Air seems like it will be really interesting, but I've only started messing around with it so I can't say for sure yet. I read somehwere that it's not compatible with American evrsions of the phone, but I only just discovered it. I don't think I'll be sending this thing back, because it definitely does not suck.

Edited by Caspir, 20 September 2011 - 12:47 PM.

[Trautwein's Degree]

I've had the Galaxy S2 for 24 hours and it is awesome. I've had the EVO 3D and Nexus S in the past few months. Samsung knocked it out of the park on this both on the hardware and the software. For example the video editing feature is amazing. I can cut, crop, add music to a video very easily all on the phone. Vlingo is cool and I have yet to try the Kies air function. This is a gorgeous device. Yes the build is plastic but I have a rubber cover on it anyway. The extra real estate on the screen is very useful as is having Swype pre installed.

[Caspir]

I've had the Galaxy S2 for 24 hours and it is awesome. I've had the EVO 3D and Nexus S in the past few months. Samsung knocked it out of the park on this both on the hardware and the software. For example the video editing feature is amazing. I can cut, crop, add music to a video very easily all on the phone. Vlingo is cool and I have yet to try the Kies air function. This is a gorgeous device. Yes the build is plastic but I have a rubber cover on it anyway. The extra real estate on the screen is very useful as is having Swype pre installed.

This is by far the best phone I have ever seen our used in my life. Just an all around fantastic device, and battery life has been spectacular so far.I unplugged it at 630 yesterday morning, checked and sent around ten emails, streamed music and podcasts for about an hour and a half, checked SoSH and other sites for about a half hour, took five pics to test the camera, sent and received about eighty texts, talked for about two hours total, used 4G for a little bit, wifi for the four hours, 3G for the remainder of the day, phone still had 19% left on the battery....the next morning at 6 a.m. when I woke up. I could not be happier with this thing, and I haven't even rooted yet. (that's tonight's project)

Edit: Also, changing fonts and lock screens without rooting first is really cool. It's also lightning fast.

Edited by Caspir, 23 September 2011 - 02:22 PM.

[FL4WL3SS]

I've been waiting for the SII since late last year and was still pretty blown away when I saw it in the Sprint store. I promised myself that I would wait to see what Apple comes out with before making a decision, but I've been dreaming of that phone since I put my hands on it.

Luckily AT&T isn't releasing the phone until 10/2 and Apple has an announcement on 10/4, so by 10/5 I should know if I'm going to wait for the iPhone or go straight out and buy the SII.

[FL4WL3SS]

Traut and Caspir, how's the battery life on the SII?

[Caspir]

Traut and Caspir, how's the battery life on the SII?

I'm just over a week in, and I'm consistently getting 15 hours with heavy use before I hit 5% and plug in. It's like clockwork, I unplug at 6:30 am every day, plug in a bit before 10 pm, and this includes riding the T where there's a 15 minute period where I'm underground "searching for signal" which accounts for 3-5% of the battery drain since I usually have my display on during this time queuing up downloaded podcasts, or messing around with my home screen configuration to kill time before I get a signal back.

Every day I use Pandora, Google Music, Dolphin browser, Google Listen, Facebook, setting my DVR on the Directv app, using B of A's app for checking account stuff, and then having between 60-80 texts sent/received, an hour or two of phone calls, a couple dozen emails received/sent, synching weather/Gmail/Calendar/Facebook/Twitter, downloading/updating apps, screens full of widgets etc. On the days where I keep the use to a moderate level I can unplug at 6:30, and get through the next morning to around 9:30-10 o'clock before I reach the critical point and have to plug in. Using an alternative launcher with no widgets, I'm almost sure I could go two full days, but I really like Touch Wiz, so I haven't pushed the envelope there and am only projecting based on what I've seen in limited use. I have been blown away by this phone, and haven't had a single issue yet. Coming from an Incredible, which required me to carry my charger with me at all times and plug in at least once or twice p/day, I keep really close track of how many hours I can go between charges. If it's battery life that's keeping you from taking the plunge, then don't worry about it, because you can definitely go through an entire day/night without worrying about your phone dying. I even canceled an order for a second battery from Amazon after playing with the phone all week because for me personally, it would be a waste of money. By far the best Android phone as far as that goes.

The one thing I will say if you do get it is get a case. The phone is light as a feather, and I felt like if I pulled it out of my pocket to fast it's going to go about fifteen feet and smash into the ground. I got a high gloss smoke (and black matte) TPU case off Amazon that added almost nothing as far as weight or thickness, but offers good protection against the usual mishaps, and they both look good to boot.

Edited by Caspir, 27 September 2011 - 07:15 PM.

[FL4WL3SS]

Battery life wasn't really a concern for me, just was curious to hear from someone with real world experience. I'm pretty confident I would absolutely love this phone, thanks for the update.

[Trautwein's Degree]

Traut and Caspir, how's the battery life on the SII?

Same as Capir. The battery life is great. This phone is great. It is the best phone that I have used.

[smastroyin]

So glad VZW elected to go Bionic instead.

[PortlandSoxFan]

why, smas? They are supposedly going to have the better Samsung phone before the end of the year...

[smastroyin]

I just need something to whine about, really.

Also odd that they waited until, what, two weeks before it released to say "no, we aren't going to carry it."

[NDBoston]

The Droid Prime or IPhone 5 will be my next phone. Is anyone else in the same situation as I? (Verizon)

[Zomp]

I am, ND.

For me it comes down to turn by turn navigation and maps. If Iphone 5 has it, I may go for it. If it doesn't, I'm staying with DROID and going with the Prime.

[Barbara]

I had pretty much decided to go with the Bionic (Verizon is actually going to let me change my plan keep my unlimited data) but now am reading about the HTC Vigor coming out mid-October?

Any comments on the Vigor?

[JerBear]

I had pretty much decided to go with the Bionic (Verizon is actually going to let me change my plan keep my unlimited data) but now am reading about the HTC Vigor coming out mid-October?

Any comments on the Vigor?

If you like the Bionic, get it. If you wait on the Vigor, something else will be "just about to come out" when it finally releases (Droid Prime?). That is the other "downside" to Android when compared to iOS; there's always a new phone coming out with Android, Apple keeps their releases at least a year apart.

[FL4WL3SS]

If you like the Bionic, get it. If you wait on the Vigor, something else will be "just about to come out" when it finally releases (Droid Prime?). That is the other "downside" to Android when compared to iOS; there's always a new phone coming out with Android, Apple keeps their releases at least a year apart.

How is that downside?

Man, it really sucks that new and better phones keep coming out each month.

[JerBear]

How is that downside?

Man, it really sucks that new and better phones keep coming out each month.

That's why I put it in quotes. Pretend that they were sarcastic air quotes.

[The Napkin]

I am, ND.

For me it comes down to turn by turn navigation and maps. If Iphone 5 has it, I may go for it. If it doesn't, I'm staying with DROID and going with the Prime.

This is exactly my situation. You're obviously a handsome and intelligent man.

[Zomp]

I AM handsome.

[Marbleheader]

HTC's Thunderbolt replacement, the HTC Vigor, looks to be coming out early October to challenge the Bionic.

1.5 Ghz dual-core CPU
Verizon 4G LTE
4.3″ 720p HD display
2 megapixel front-facing camera
8 megapixel back-facing camera
HTC Sense 3.5 running on top of Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread


I have a Droid Incredible and love it. Between all the delays with the Bionic and the unimpressive Thunderbolt, I may just wait and see which to upgrade to this fall.

Timetable for the Incredible HD/Vigor/Rezound is October 13.

[PortlandSoxFan]

I'm not going to go piss in the corn flakes of the Apple fanboys; but they are all fired up about revolutionary voice recognition? Really?

[JerBear]

I'm not going to go piss in the corn flakes of the Apple fanboys; but they are all fired up about revolutionary voice recognition? Really?

And pull-down notifications! Don't forget those!

[jayhoz]

I'm not going to go piss in the corn flakes of the Apple fanboys; but they are all fired up about revolutionary voice recognition? Really?

mt8thsw9th is going to kick your ass when he sees this.

[FL4WL3SS]

Nexus Prime to be curved?

http://www.webpronew...trailer-2011-10

I'm waiting for 2 things before pulling the trigger on a phone - to get my hands on an iPhone 4S and to see what the big deal about the Nexus Prime is. I'm pretty confident at this point that I'll be switching to an Android phone at this point, but I like keeping my options open.

[OCD SS]

Nexus Prime to be curved?

I think that the curve you're seeing is just the result of an unclear graphic. If you look carefully you can see indications of the flat plane of the phone away from the curved highlight.

[FL4WL3SS]

I don't think the curve is as drastic as the graphic makes it look, but I def think they're insinuating that it has a curved display.