Google Android catch-all

jowner wrote:

Puce how do you find the typing on it. I need something to take notes on and the size might be perfect.

The typing seems fine and responsive to me. The only thing I don't like is the position of the home button under the space bar; I tend to hit the home button on a not-too-irregular basis when I'm typing fairly quickly.

Has any one in the U.S. bought the international Galaxy SIII? I'm thinking of getting one but I don't know where to buy one or if it's even possible to use one in the U.S.. I've looked on Amazon but the ones that I found on there that say "international" have the specs for a U.S. version SIII and none of them say they can run on verizon. It would be nice if I could use my upgrade to get a discount on one but I have a feeling that's not possible.

Bill_Lewis wrote:

Has any one in the U.S. bought the international Galaxy SIII? I'm thinking of getting one but I don't know where to buy one or if it's even possible to use one in the U.S.. I've looked on Amazon but the ones that I found on there that say "international" have the specs for a U.S. version SIII and none of them say they can run on verizon. It would be nice if I could use my upgrade to get a discount on one but I have a feeling that's not possible.

Verizon sells one. And Samsung will soon (or already is) be selling a "developer" version of the same phone, but with an unlocked bootloader. Verizon is the only carrier in the US that required Samsung to lock the bootloaders.

MannishBoy wrote:
Bill_Lewis wrote:

Has any one in the U.S. bought the international Galaxy SIII? I'm thinking of getting one but I don't know where to buy one or if it's even possible to use one in the U.S.. I've looked on Amazon but the ones that I found on there that say "international" have the specs for a U.S. version SIII and none of them say they can run on verizon. It would be nice if I could use my upgrade to get a discount on one but I have a feeling that's not possible.

Verizon sells one. And Samsung will soon (or already is) be selling a "developer" version of the same phone, but with an unlocked bootloader. Verizon is the only carrier in the US that required Samsung to lock the bootloaders.

I just found where to buy it on Amazon. What if I buy it "unlocked", will the bootloader still be locked? If so I'll get over it. I owned a Droid X on verizon for the last few years so I'm use to it.

Bill_Lewis wrote:

Has any one in the U.S. bought the international Galaxy SIII? I'm thinking of getting one but I don't know where to buy one or if it's even possible to use one in the U.S.. I've looked on Amazon but the ones that I found on there that say "international" have the specs for a U.S. version SIII and none of them say they can run on verizon. It would be nice if I could use my upgrade to get a discount on one but I have a feeling that's not possible.

The international GSM version is only really going to work on AT&T, isn't it? It doesn't support any 4G bands, and the 3G bands it supports don't include T-Mobile's 1700Mhz (though it looks like T-Mobile runs some services on 2100Mhz, too).

pneuman wrote:
Bill_Lewis wrote:

Has any one in the U.S. bought the international Galaxy SIII? I'm thinking of getting one but I don't know where to buy one or if it's even possible to use one in the U.S.. I've looked on Amazon but the ones that I found on there that say "international" have the specs for a U.S. version SIII and none of them say they can run on verizon. It would be nice if I could use my upgrade to get a discount on one but I have a feeling that's not possible.

The international GSM version is only really going to work on AT&T, isn't it? It doesn't support any 4G bands, and the 3G bands it supports don't include T-Mobile's 1700Mhz (though it looks like T-Mobile runs some services on 2100Mhz, too).

I thought it worked on every network.

Bill_Lewis wrote:

I thought it worked on every network.

Different radios. Verizon is even CDMA, which is a different cell tech than GSM. GSM is used more internationally.

Well I glad I looked on here before buying it.

Bill_Lewis wrote:
pneuman wrote:
Bill_Lewis wrote:

Has any one in the U.S. bought the international Galaxy SIII? I'm thinking of getting one but I don't know where to buy one or if it's even possible to use one in the U.S.. I've looked on Amazon but the ones that I found on there that say "international" have the specs for a U.S. version SIII and none of them say they can run on verizon. It would be nice if I could use my upgrade to get a discount on one but I have a feeling that's not possible.

The international GSM version is only really going to work on AT&T, isn't it? It doesn't support any 4G bands, and the 3G bands it supports don't include T-Mobile's 1700Mhz (though it looks like T-Mobile runs some services on 2100Mhz, too).

I thought it worked on every network.

It works on most networks worldwide, but your country is weird I'm not sure if there's such a thing as an LTE phone that also works well on a bunch of GSM networks around the world -- if someone knows of one, please let us know. These issues are part of the reason I ended up going with the HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus, which works on just about every 3G network in the world, at the expense of not having any LTE support at all.

Just picked up a pack of NFC tags to play with on my One X... hope it doesn't use much battery.

In other news, I'm very torn between running the stock Sense 4.0 (still stuck in Ice Cream Sandwich land) and running a custom Jelly Bean ROM. Jelly Bean's got some nice features and a very nice lock screen, but I'm somewhat fond of some of the little aesthetic touches that Sense 4.0 has, not to mention that Jelly Bean's going to be a while until it will be packaged from HTC.

If your phone has ClockworkMod or some similar recovery, it should pretty easy to back up your entire phone, flash a new ROM, and if you don't like it just restore your backup and it'll be like nothing changed.

See, I do have CWM installed, but swapping between backups has been very hit-and-miss for me. Even if I do a full wipe of dalvik cache/system/user settings, the majority of the time I'm still stuck on the boot logo screen.

That sucks. :\ I've done it hundreds (yeeeeeeah maaaaaaybe I have a problem) of times on my Doid Incredible without issues.

What about a different recovery? I use Amon_RA on my EVO. A lot of people claim it's more reliable on the EVOs, and Amon_RA was the first one that allowed for backup of the key for 4G access.

MannishBoy wrote:

What about a different recovery? I use Amon_RA on my EVO. A lot of people claim it's more reliable on the EVOs, and Amon_RA was the first one that allowed for backup of the key for 4G access.

Is this (or any other recovery for that matter) device specific? I can only find threads on xda for other HTC hardware, not mine.

I don't know if I'm missing a step or what... because it eventually does flash, but does take a few tries.

With CWM, is it wipe data/factory settings, flash rom, flash gapps, then reboot? Is there a step to run fix permissions in there?

jollyeskimo wrote:
MannishBoy wrote:

What about a different recovery? I use Amon_RA on my EVO. A lot of people claim it's more reliable on the EVOs, and Amon_RA was the first one that allowed for backup of the key for 4G access.

Is this (or any other recovery for that matter) device specific? I can only find threads on xda for other HTC hardware, not mine.

Possible, that's why I was asking. There are several options on EVOs. Not sure about other phones.

That's pretty much the order I do it in.

I believe Titanium Backup has an option for fixing permissions.

In this stickied thread there's nothing for Amon RA's recovery, so you may very well be SOL. :\

My Nexus 7 arrived today... I have to say, Google Currents is my favorite thing right now.

Only thing that's odd is that the Galaxy Nexus and the Nexus 7 NFC don't seem to want to talk to each other.

My coworker got a Nexus 7 today too and I'm playing with it. It's really nice. Weighs more than it looks too.

Hey, fellow Nexus 7 owners, have you noticed that the Nexus 7 is particularly picky about what USB cables will give it a charge? My Monoprice USB cables don't seem to work. A Seidio charging cable, a charger meant for my Galaxy Nexus, and the included cable are the only ones that seem to give it a charge for me.

just got JB on my Nexus S... it's nice.

NSMike, are you using the included wall adapter? I think on TWiT or TWiG they mentioned it really draws a lot of juice.

It's not the adapter, the Monprice cables apparently have a slightly shorter connector, not allowing it to form a proper connection. I found a few other cables in my arsenal that work. And I use 2.1 amp chargers, and I think the included one is only 2.0 amp. It still draws power from a standard USB connection, but it looks like it's just Monoprice's inexpensive cables, which work with everything else, are inadequate for this design.

Mike: My coworker had to shave a little but of the plastic around the connector to get it to plug into the tablet.

NFC could be exploited to allow hackers access to your phone

Don't let Charlie Miller stand too close to you. The former NSA analyst turned freelance hacker could be trying to seize control of your phone.

Miller set the Black Hat cybersecurity conference buzzing on Wednesday with a presentation showing off newly discovered vulnerabilities in "near field communications" features on Samsung and Nokia devices. NFC is a short-range wireless technology that's coming soon to all major smartphones. It's intended to let you beam content to nearby devices and use your phone as a mobile wallet, but it could also be a flashing neon target for hackers.

Miller's most startling demo involved completely taking over an Android phone by merely brushing a tag with an embedded NFC chip against it.

Edit: Apparently this is just a warning as the actual security holes seem to have been patched (I hadn't read the entire article).

The scenarios Miller showed off are spooky, but they're also far-fetched -- something even he admits. The Android attack exploited a bug that Google has already patched. Nokia's N9 sold poorly and runs an operating system that is being phased out.
NSMike wrote:

Hey, fellow Nexus 7 owners, have you noticed that the Nexus 7 is particularly picky about what USB cables will give it a charge? My Monoprice USB cables don't seem to work. A Seidio charging cable, a charger meant for my Galaxy Nexus, and the included cable are the only ones that seem to give it a charge for me.

I don't have one that won't, but like the iPad 3 it takes longer and acts like it's not charging on supplies that deliver a lower amperage.

NSMike wrote:

It's not the adapter, the Monprice cables apparently have a slightly shorter connector, not allowing it to form a proper connection. I found a few other cables in my arsenal that work. And I use 2.1 amp chargers, and I think the included one is only 2.0 amp. It still draws power from a standard USB connection, but it looks like it's just Monoprice's inexpensive cables, which work with everything else, are inadequate for this design.

Good to know.

General Crespin wrote:
NSMike wrote:

It's not the adapter, the Monprice cables apparently have a slightly shorter connector, not allowing it to form a proper connection. I found a few other cables in my arsenal that work. And I use 2.1 amp chargers, and I think the included one is only 2.0 amp. It still draws power from a standard USB connection, but it looks like it's just Monoprice's inexpensive cables, which work with everything else, are inadequate for this design.

Good to know. :)

Yeah, further testing proves this to be not 100% accurate. The Monoprice cables work on the correct type of power supply. I just happen to have an odd collection of power supplies, some that work, some that don't.

Kurrelgyre wrote:
NSMike wrote:

Hey, fellow Nexus 7 owners, have you noticed that the Nexus 7 is particularly picky about what USB cables will give it a charge? My Monoprice USB cables don't seem to work. A Seidio charging cable, a charger meant for my Galaxy Nexus, and the included cable are the only ones that seem to give it a charge for me.

I don't have one that won't, but like the iPad 3 it takes longer and acts like it's not charging on supplies that deliver a lower amperage.

That's what I've found, too. Even my 1A external phone battery/recharger thingy* charges it slowly, but the Nexus 7 gets all uppity and refuses to admit it's being charged. The official wall charger juices it up really fast.

[size=2]*That someone very nice gave me. (Nods toward Kurrelgyre.)[/size]

I'm having a great time with my 8GB Nexus 7. A few observations:

1) If you're looking for a puzzle/RPG, Puzzle Quest 2 is available. It's not as good as the first one, but it's still fun and has some impressive artwork (except for the cheesy character portraits). It looks nice on the Nexus 7. If you stick with one character class (I'm always a mage-type) you can save some scratch and only unlock one class for $1.99, which will still let you play through the entire game.
2) Do you need a cheap case for your Nexus 7, and are dizzied by the dozens of available cases? Check your local discount store. I found a case for $7.50 (made by icon) at Roses (kind of a poor-man's K-Mart) that looks decent and holds my 7 incher in a number of engaging positions. It will do until I find something I like better.
3) It's light enough to be comfortably used on a treadmill; while not as one-hand-friendly as my ipod touch it's still a great compromise.

Question: I don't understand the big deal about the voice assistant thing. It just seems to do a speech-to-text and plug it into a google search. The only mildly amusing thing I've seen it do is speak a weather forecast when asking for a temperature (out of curiosity, ask it "what's the temperature in wirtz, virginia?" - it never did understand the town name. I had to use a nearby town.) Does it do other cool stuff that isn't readily apparent?