4G Android phone megathread
- Thread starter Foulkey Reese
- Start date
Trautwein's Degree said:
The one downside is that the camera doesn't retain the "mode" between uses. So if I throw it in Best Shot or HDR, if I close the camera app and reopen even 10 seconds later, I need to do it again. Not the hugest nuisance, but an annoyance nonetheless.
My kid is a lifeguard at a waterpark, checking out girls in bikinis takes precedent to paying attention to his backpack which fell off his chair and into the pool, and he's 11 months from an upgrade. So we have a water damaged paperweight and he's activated an old phone while we look for a new one.
Two questions:
1. Any advice as to buying a used phone online. I'm checking out Swappa.com, but I'm still leary of an ESN that is clean for activation but gets reported and banned in a month.
2. Anyone on here got a good condition Android phone that they would sell, his waterlogged phone is a Motorola Razr (Verizon), so he'd want something at that level or above?
Any help would be appreciated.
Two questions:
1. Any advice as to buying a used phone online. I'm checking out Swappa.com, but I'm still leary of an ESN that is clean for activation but gets reported and banned in a month.
2. Anyone on here got a good condition Android phone that they would sell, his waterlogged phone is a Motorola Razr (Verizon), so he'd want something at that level or above?
Any help would be appreciated.
I have used Swappa to sell phones a bunch of times and never had a problem, and while i have no first hand experience on the buy side, friends of mine use it frequently and havent had any issues. Most used phone sellers (outside of stores, obviously) present the same problem if you're really worried about someone reporting the phone stolen after a sale. Swappa does have Paypal verification of sellers, and if you use Paypal to buy the device, you are pretty well protected.
Trautwein's Degree said:
Coming from a Droid X and then the Galaxy Nexus, I've never really had a good mobile camera before. So far I'm really impressed by the picture quality, and quality of the camera app and gallery.
The app it's self is way better than the stock camera app I came from.
Glad I picked the S4 over the HTC1.
I know this is a super dumb question considering that I've answered it (sort of) before, but because i just use drag and drop to move music from my computer to my phone, is there a way to make playlists somehow? Can i just make a folder and call it something and just move certain songs in, or is there an easier way? I don't think I have anything special on my phone, I'm using the stock Samsung Music Player on my SG3. Thanks.
I would download a better music app that lets you make your own playlists. Poweramp is fantastic and worth the $1-2.Orange Julia said:
Well i actually looked at the app i have and it allows me to quite easily make playlists right from my phone so I'll stick with it for now, but if it doesn't work out i'll try your suggestion. Thank you!
Out of curiosity, is anyone here considering any of the new phones that Motorola introduced today?
http://www.droid-life.com/2013/07/23/verizon-and-motorola-announce-the-droid-ultra-maxx-and-mini/
I'm not super-knowledgeable about phone specs, but everything I read suggests that the Moto X in particular has an outdated processor. Knowing that I'll be locked into it for two years, and seeing how much my Galaxy Nexus has slowed recently, I'm not inclined to want to purchase it, even if it is optimized out the ass to be more efficient with lesser hardware.
I'm due for an upgrade in mid-August (Verizon), and right now I'm leaning toward the HTC One (fingers crossed is released for VZW in the near future), unless they announce the Note 3 in the meantime. My phone is both cracked and now really laggy, and I don't know how much longer I can really hold out.
I don't think I've ever had a phone actually make it to the end of its two year run since the candy bar Nokias, but that's a different topic altogether...
http://www.droid-life.com/2013/07/23/verizon-and-motorola-announce-the-droid-ultra-maxx-and-mini/
I'm not super-knowledgeable about phone specs, but everything I read suggests that the Moto X in particular has an outdated processor. Knowing that I'll be locked into it for two years, and seeing how much my Galaxy Nexus has slowed recently, I'm not inclined to want to purchase it, even if it is optimized out the ass to be more efficient with lesser hardware.
I'm due for an upgrade in mid-August (Verizon), and right now I'm leaning toward the HTC One (fingers crossed is released for VZW in the near future), unless they announce the Note 3 in the meantime. My phone is both cracked and now really laggy, and I don't know how much longer I can really hold out.
I don't think I've ever had a phone actually make it to the end of its two year run since the candy bar Nokias, but that's a different topic altogether...
The attraction to the Moto X is that its likely retail, off contract price is going to be around the subsidized, contract price for the new Droid Maxx.
The attraction to the Moto X is that its likely retail, off contract price is going to be around the subsidized, contract price for the new Droid Maxx.
My upgrade date is January, but it's very tempting to pick up a Moto X and go month to month for a while and retain my unlimited data, if I can even do that. The announcement is August 1, I believe, but has anyone heard anything yet about whether or not this phone has an SD card slot?
My upgrade date is January, but it's very tempting to pick up a Moto X and go month to month for a while and retain my unlimited data, if I can even do that. The announcement is August 1, I believe, but has anyone heard anything yet about whether or not this phone has an SD card slot?
EddieYost said:
When i got mine I bought:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009X25Z10/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i02?ie=UTF8&psc=1
and
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0098QJM56/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Couldn't be happier with both for that cheap, even though I don't use the case much anymore. It's kinda hard to get a ding on this unless you're afraid of flat out dropping it.
jayhoz said:
You may have tried this, but if not, this method has worked for me in the past to get an update when I knew it was available on my Galaxy Nexus. Apparently by clearing the data out of this Google Services Framework, you can force the update through. No clue if it will work for you or not, but probably worth a shot:
http://www.howtogeek.com/138200/how-to-force-an-android-device-to-find-a-system-update/
No luck so far on my nexus 10
edit: tried the steps in the link also, got the 1969 date, still no dice
edit: tried the steps in the link also, got the 1969 date, still no dice
Wonder if I'm going to have to manually do it on my N4 since I'm rooted. No custom rom, just stock rooted.
I think you will.PortlandSoxFan said:
I'll just wait for whatever rom my N7 is on to update.
Happened to be in Best Buy earlier and they had the display model out for the new Nexus 7. Aside from continuing to have a goofy oversized bezel, it's a very nice device. I had purchased the older one for my mother as an ereader, but this new one feels phenomenal in hand and much more premium. Will probably entice a lot of people.
I just bought the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 when the price hit 169 with generally awesome reviews on Amazon. I couldn't get over how shitty the text and resolution looked. Had to send it back.
edit: Screw it, just ordered the Nexus 7
edit: Screw it, just ordered the Nexus 7
Lots of reports on the blogs that 4.3 gives the Gen 1 Nexus 7 a new lease on life.Fratboy said:
For example: http://gigaom.com/2013/07/30/got-a-laggy-old-nexus-7-heres-why-android-4-3-will-restore-its-performance/
That is very encouraging news as my 7 (like everyone else) has gotten real laggy.
Still waiting for the OTA as of 7 this morning. Hope it comes soon.
Still waiting for the OTA as of 7 this morning. Hope it comes soon.
Tried the clear data trick again on my N10 and it worked. Seems much smoother, though I don't do much in terms of gaming on it so can't confirm that part.
Any good new tablet apps people have noticed lately?
Any good new tablet apps people have noticed lately?
Anyone interested in Moto X announcement tomorrow? Hoping for an subsidized price of $350 for this phone. Wonder how Google / Motorola will make this phone standout from others. Also, hope Verizon does not bog down the phone with their stupid bloatware.
The Moto X will have a 1280x720 4.7" screen, with the lower part of the screen occupied by the buttons, so realistically, it's a 4.3" screen except when you're watching video, etc. No SD card, and middling specs, so on the surface, it doesn't appear to be anything more than a Nexus 4 with a Motorola logo slapped on it. But my understanding is this is more optimized in some fashion than other phones, so despite the mediocre specs, its performance will be good.
I'm skeptical. I'm a Motorola guy, but no SD card pretty much kills it for me. That price point is really sweet, though.
I'm skeptical. I'm a Motorola guy, but no SD card pretty much kills it for me. That price point is really sweet, though.
Fratboy said:
Android 4.3 is supposed to be be a similar level of performance improvement that "buttery" JB had over ICS, with better caching (I think) so it doesn't slow as much over time. It's quite possible that the middling specs are good enough for a couple years. I see this as very nearly the phone my wife wanted but wasn't out at the right time - reasonable specs at a decent price. Not sure if, hand-feel-wise, it is too big for her, though. She's still a bit frustrated at how big her HTC One is.
This is definitely going to be a smaller phone than the HTC One, and would be a much better physical fit for women. Verizon's RAZR M would have worked well too for women. Maybe that's who the Mini HTC One and Samsung S4 Mini serve?
As an aside, you make a really good point: Android phones seem physically designed for men. And let's not talk about the HTC Rhyme. Good lord, what an awful phone that was. Is this a potential reason why the iPhone is a little behind in the display wars? Does their research indicate huge phones don't appeal to women? I've never really thought about cell phone design that way, but using "frustrated" really brings it home.
As an aside, you make a really good point: Android phones seem physically designed for men. And let's not talk about the HTC Rhyme. Good lord, what an awful phone that was. Is this a potential reason why the iPhone is a little behind in the display wars? Does their research indicate huge phones don't appeal to women? I've never really thought about cell phone design that way, but using "frustrated" really brings it home.
My cellphone literally vanished off of my bed this weekend. One minute it was there and the next totally gone. I have to assume the 3 year old took it but he usually just plays with it so I can't imagine why he would hide it. I have the Best Buy insurance which is fabulous except for that it doesn't cover lost or stolen phones and of course I am not due for an upgrade yet.
I found a S3 for 200 on Ebay and my question is how trustworthy is the description of it having a clean ESN? I figure worst case scenario I can bring it back to Best Buy as being damaged and they can swap it out for me.
I found a S3 for 200 on Ebay and my question is how trustworthy is the description of it having a clean ESN? I figure worst case scenario I can bring it back to Best Buy as being damaged and they can swap it out for me.
The cheapest phone I found on Swappa was $275 and that one was not in top condition. I am picky about ebay sellers too, I won't use someone who has less then 99% favorable rating, this one was 99.7.
Since my most recent update on my S3 (non-rooted, stock everything), it isn't able to get a GPS lock at all. Google maps, waze, nothing works.
Is this common? Is there a quick fix? I couldn't find anything much on the internet.
Is this common? Is there a quick fix? I couldn't find anything much on the internet.
Well, it appears Motorola is doing its best to shoot itself in the foot.
$200 bucks ON contract. I don't understand how they are going to charge 2 bills for a phone that (if it follows the trend of all previous Android devices) will be obsolete and unusable in a year.
$200 bucks ON contract. I don't understand how they are going to charge 2 bills for a phone that (if it follows the trend of all previous Android devices) will be obsolete and unusable in a year.
Only available on AT&T you mean??? :blink:
Man, this thing isn't even shipping with 4.3, nor is it available yet directly from Google. Astounding move- I think at $300-350 unsubsidized this could have been something to take note of.
Man, this thing isn't even shipping with 4.3, nor is it available yet directly from Google. Astounding move- I think at $300-350 unsubsidized this could have been something to take note of.