Google Android catch-all

Chaz wrote:
Stele wrote:
Kurrelgyre wrote:
Chaz wrote:

I shouldn't be considering the Galaxy Nexus, right?

You should be (at least if you're willing to leave Verizon), since it comes unlocked and without carrier obstructions. Just remember to disable the automatic screen brightness, it never seems to pick something bright enough.

And it's not that far behind the S3 in terms of hardware, but it's way ahead of it in updates. And it's cheaper.

Of course if you're willing to root, then almost any phone can be up to date.

It's not far behind on hardware? I thought I remembered reading that it was kind of a slouch on hardware. I'm willing to root, but I'm also lazy, so if not rooting is an option, I'd rather do that.

http://smartphones.techcrunch.com/co...

It's behind, for sure, but it's not the end of the world. I'd go for the double memory, faster processor and the expandable storage, but others prefer the freedom and ease of use from the Nexus.

Hmm...since I'm kind of locked into whatever device I get for 1.5 to 2 years, I usually tend to lean toward getting the one with the higher-end specs. I also like that the S3 looks to have battery life that's even better than the iphone, while the Nexus looks like it's about average Android battery life, which is kinda blah.

But the appeal of getting stock Android and regular updates is pretty high.

The weaknesses of the Galaxy Nexus v. the S3 as I understand it are screen quality and camera.

I'm under the impression that the appeal of the Nexus was its openness, which the S3 now matches, as the frequent updates aren't so frequent, at least with Verizon's.

LiquidMantis wrote:

I'm under the impression that the appeal of the Nexus was its openness, which the S3 now matches, as the frequent updates aren't so frequent, at least with Verizon's.

The Nexus updates aren't so frequent under Verizon? That's...disconcerting.

I love my Nexus, but then I haven't tried to the S3. It's fast, the hardware seems to be of higher quality than Motorola's (had 2 Droids replaced under the same warranty), and has a big beautiful screen.

The Galaxy Nexus from Google (HSPA+) had Jelly Bean months ago. The Sprint version only got it last week and Verizon is still on ICS. It's up to the carriers to get it. I'd rather switch to the GSM version and grab the Galaxy Nexus for $350 than pay the price of an unlocked S3, but that's just me. I got really tired of have to unlock, root and rom my phone to get the basic functionality I expect (which isn't what most people want or need).

Razr Maxx has a big screen and crazy good battery life!

MannishBoy wrote:

The weaknesses of the Galaxy Nexus v. the S3 as I understand it are screen quality and camera.

The camera, definitely, but I thought the screens were meant to be much the same -- they're both Super AMOLED (pentile), and they're very similar sizes (4.65" vs 4.8").

pneuman wrote:
MannishBoy wrote:

The weaknesses of the Galaxy Nexus v. the S3 as I understand it are screen quality and camera.

The camera, definitely, but I thought the screens were meant to be much the same -- they're both Super AMOLED (pentile), and they're very similar sizes (4.65" vs 4.8").

I might be getting the screen confused with the HTC One X. Came out about the same time, so that's very possible I got them crossed up in my memory of review reading

Yeah the GNex screen is very good.

And I've been happy with the camera and the ICS features. I get 720p video, it looks fantastic on my home TV even, and the tap to take pictures while recording video works great too.

I guess the S3 might be better? 8MP or something? But the GNex is as good or better than anything else that came out in 2011.

It's low light image noise that the Galaxy Nexus got dinged for IIRC. *shrug*

MannishBoy wrote:

It's low light image noise that the Galaxy Nexus got dinged for IIRC. *shrug*

Yeah, it's definitely not a great camera -- it's got nothing on the 4S, that's for sure. If the S III's camera is anything like as good as the 4S, then it's a much better camera than the Nexus. Having said that, the Nexus's camera is mostly perfectly serviceable, especially outdoors (as you mentioned, the low light performance is particularly bad), and it's actually not as bad as I expected given the reviews.

Yeah, it's a so-so camera. It works, but it's unexciting. A few years ago, it would have been considered to be a solid phone camera, but now it's just okay.

The pentile screens have some issues with color accuracy, but you'd never, ever know it just looking at the screen by itself. It's only when it's next to another screen that you notice the colors are a little off. Unless you're in a very color-sensitive environment, I'd say it doesn't matter. The resolution is also lower than what they claim, because the pentile screen shares subpixels, but it still looks very good -- about equivalent to 224 pixels per inch, if I remember correctly.

If you can get a regular LCD screen for a similar price, that would be a little better, but at the $400 price point, with that screen size and pixel density, along with all the other features of the phone, I'd call it quite appealing.

The major downside to the phone is size -- it's just a little too big. I'm okay with it, but if you're a smaller person, it might not fit well in your pocket.

If you're running CM10 nightlies or experimental builds, you might want to give this fix a shot if you've been experiencing lag. Seems to have worked for me.

what is the browser like on the nexus 7 compared to kindle fire silk.

cheesycrouton wrote:

what is the browser like on the nexus 7 compared to kindle fire silk.

The nexus 7 uses Chrome as its stock browser. I have not played with the Kindle Fire, but Chrome is a really nice browser. I love how it syncs bookmarks across all devices using the browser. It loads pages pretty quick and is just like it's desktop counterpart.

blackanchor wrote:

I love how it syncs bookmarks and open tabs or windows across all devices using the browser.

FTFY. It really is awesome starting to read something at home and picking it up later when I'm out.

Stele wrote:
blackanchor wrote:

I love how it syncs bookmarks and open tabs or windows across all devices using the browser.

FTFY. It really is awesome starting to read something at home and picking it up later when I'm out.

I keep so many tabs open at home that actually kind of scares me Are you able to pick and chose?

Yup. Chrome's "Other Devices" lists all the tabs and lets you selectively open. Love it.

I use chrome on my GNex and I have it set to let me open a list of tabs that my other computers have open and I can choose to open the ones I want.

I'm using Firefox and Dolphin on my Nexus 7 since those are the two browsers that have plugins that support LastPass.

Can a nexus 7 show embedded subtitles in an mp4?

I need a solution for mounting my new S3 in my car for GPS'in. I have a beanbag dashboard mount that I use with my Garmin GPS. Ideally, I'd just find the clip part that holds the phone and that I can connect to the beanbag mount. How universal are those ball joint connector dealies?

Chaz wrote:

I need a solution for mounting my new S3 in my car for GPS'in. I have A beanbag dashboard mount that I use with my Garmin GPS. Ideally, I'd just find the clip part that holds the phone and that I can connect to the beanbag mount. How universal are those ball joint connector dealies?

You probably won't find what you're looking for exactly, but proclipusa.com has been my go-to store for vehicle mounts for a while now. You might find something better.

Soft subs? Depends on your video player really.

NSMike wrote:
Chaz wrote:

I need a solution for mounting my new S3 in my car for GPS'in. I have A beanbag dashboard mount that I use with my Garmin GPS. Ideally, I'd just find the clip part that holds the phone and that I can connect to the beanbag mount. How universal are those ball joint connector dealies?

You probably won't find what you're looking for exactly, but proclipusa.com has been my go-to store for vehicle mounts for a while now. You might find something better.

Those look pretty nice, but I'm not sure if I'm sold on the idea of spending $65 on a car mount, especially when I have a beanbag thing that works fine now. It's definitely an option though.

There are universal mounts all over, both suction cup and the type that clip into your vents. Most of the good ones just are a glorified spring clamp.

So what I have is this thing.

What I want is a thing to clip my phone to it. I'm just not sure how universal that ball joint is with the various things that will hold the phone itself.

Here's a beanbag mount that also has a suction cup for the window. Ebay also has a ton of options.