Google Android catch-all

Malor wrote:

Maybe a network problem? What carrier are you on?

AT&T with 4/5 bars at work. I thought that at first, but the apps are stopping, not just the stream.

Anybody know if the Galaxy Nexus works well w/ AT&T? I've been thinking of getting one since my Atrix bit the dust.

jonfentyler wrote:

AT&T with 4/5 bars at work.

Were you on AT&T with the iPhone, too? Same network?

I've had kind of intermittent luck with TuneIn, especially when I put it in Car Mode. (which I do a lot, because it's sort of my car stereo now, a lot of the time.) It seems to lose sync between the Car Mode UI and the decoding thread... it will go all bizarre and refuse to tune in any station at all until I leave Car Mode and tune in with the regular UI. But I haven't had much issue with dropouts. If anything, it's been better than the satellite radio it replaced.

Maybe try a firmware update? I don't know what the S3 firmware is like.

Radical Ans wrote:

Anybody know if the Galaxy Nexus works well w/ AT&T?

If you're far enough south that you're in the area that used to be served by Cingular Wireless (which AT&T bought), then it works fabulously well. Cingular knew what the heck they were doing, and AT&T's network in the South is awesome. Out West, especially in Las Vegas, their network was horrible, at least seven or eight years ago. In Pennsylvania, it could be either way -- Cingular's excellence, or AT&T's ineptitude.

It will work as well as any phone will on that network, and almost uniquely among phones, it will also work in 3G mode with T-Mobile.

Malor wrote:
Radical Ans wrote:

Anybody know if the Galaxy Nexus works well w/ AT&T?

If you're far enough south that you're in the area that used to be served by Cingular Wireless (which AT&T bought), then it works fabulously well. Cingular knew what the heck they were doing, and AT&T's network in the South is awesome. Out West, especially in Las Vegas, their network was horrible, at least seven or eight years ago. In Pennsylvania, it could be either way -- Cingular's excellence, or AT&T's ineptitude.

It will work as well as any phone will on that network, and almost uniquely among phones, it will also work in 3G mode with T-Mobile.

Ahh good. Originally my plan was w/ Cingular waaaayy back in the day so I'm pretty sure I'm in one of the good areas.

I have very few problems with my Galaxy Nexus on AT&T's south-eastern network, but I do frequently see the issues jonfentyler mentioned when streaming audio, even on wifi, that don't seem to happen with my iPhone.

I had same reception with the iphone in the office. I'll search for firmware updates and try other apps, maybe stitcher?

The newest Play Store update, among other things, allows you to go into your All Apps list and remove apps from the list. Long-press to select multiple apps to remove.

General Crespin wrote:

The newest Play Store update, among other things, allows you to go into your All Apps list and remove apps from the list. Long-press to select multiple apps to remove.

YES!

This post on placebo operations that we perform when flashing ROMs is pretty interesting. I've been using the CM Updater without error for a week or two now.

General Crespin wrote:

This post on placebo operations that we perform when flashing ROMs is pretty interesting. I've been using the CM Updater without error for a week or two now.

What placebo operations? Wiping caches?

SixteenBlue wrote:
General Crespin wrote:

The newest Play Store update, among other things, allows you to go into your All Apps list and remove apps from the list. Long-press to select multiple apps to remove.

YES!

Oh my god. Thank you. I was trying to remove apps one by one.

jonfentyler wrote:

I had same reception with the iphone in the office. I'll search for firmware updates and try other apps, maybe stitcher?

I had some issues with reception in some areas that were vastly improved when I flashed a different radio. When I'm on my computer I'll dig up some links, alternatively just google for s3 radio. You may need to be rooted though, which is safe and easy.

Word is that there's a 32GB Nexus 7 being released for the same price as the old 16GB. While I'd still like a microSD, 32GB gets up into workable space for me.

I assume this is to compete with the ipad mini.

SixteenBlue wrote:
General Crespin wrote:

This post on placebo operations that we perform when flashing ROMs is pretty interesting. I've been using the CM Updater without error for a week or two now.

What placebo operations? Wiping caches?

From what he said, I'm guessing that CyanogenMod builds those things into their ROM updates, and perhaps other ROMs don't.

I just discovered that I can tap the time and date in the notification tray and they will bring up the alarms and calendar respectively. <3

MannishBoy wrote:

Word is that there's a 32GB Nexus 7 being released for the same price as the old 16GB. While I'd still like a microSD, 32GB gets up into workable space for me.

I assume this is to compete with the ipad mini.

I'm waiting for a GSM version. I will be that so quickly so I can ditch my cellphone.

Seems like Samsung is finally pushing Jelly Bean OTA in our part of the world. Have to wait in line though.

*keeps smashing the update button*

Crap. I just bought a 8GB Nexus 7 from Staples on a whim 9 days ago. Considering whether I should return it (they said I could return it for any reason for 14 days) and get either a 32GB version or a cell network enabled one when they come out.... I really love the device, it's the perfect size for me and it works really well. So hard to decide...

For battery improvement, I've been using Screen Filter which reduces the brightness even more.
There is some improvement, but I'm also looking forward to 4.2 for my SIII.
Battery on a full day of work will last me about 14 hours, which means that by the end of the day (8ish, 9ish) my SIII is ready for some juice.

I know it's early but anyone have any impressions of the Samsung Note 2? My old Milestone (International version of the Droid) is just about to give up the ghost, and my contract fortunately just expired.

My provider is Telus, so I think it's down to the Note 2 (releases next week) or the Galaxy S3. People seem to like their S3s plenty a lot, but I haven't heard much about the new Note. Any early adopters?

So I downloaded a few free ePub books to see how I would like reading on the Nexus 7. I'm particularly interested in the Kindle reader app in the case I get a dedicated eReader in the future. Doing a little googling, I saw there is a program called Calibre to convert them. What would I do after converting them? Is it as simple as copying them to a directory?

<-Ebook noob

MannishBoy wrote:

Yea me! Last night I knocked a travel cup off the top shelf of a cabinet, which fell and nailed my wife's Nexus S on the counter, which fell into the dishwasher. Didn't even know I'd hit the phone until she saw it in the dishwasher 30 minutes later. Luckily the dishwasher hadn't been run, we just had it open to load it.

So it seems the screen and digitizer are gone. Not sure what to do at this point. I have an upgrade on my line, but the rest of our upgrades aren't until June. She really doesn't want a new phone. Might try to buy and replace the screen myself, as I'm not sure Sprint will still even service it.

First time I've ever broken a phone. I wish it had been mine and not hers.

I was putting the stroller in the car a week ago, took out my wife's Iphone 4 and put it on the car, but in a very silly spot. Right where the trunk closes. I forgot it was there, tried to close the trunk and *CRUNCH*. Screen is very smashed, there is actually some glass coming off of it.

She was on Cricket without 3G, so I bought her an HTC One V from Virgin Mobile. $35 a month with data and messaging works for her. The phones pretty nice as well, it's similar to my Incredible I was using, except it runs ICS.

------- Different subject ---------- Cell Reception Subject -------------

Not sure if anyone here is in the San Diego area, but we just moved into an apartment here. We're on the 2nd of 3 floors. I have AT&T, but reception is horrid in the apartment, and somewhat works if I go out onto the balcony. However, Cricket and Virgin Mobile (or, rather, Sprint) gives perfect reception indoors.

I'd like to get off AT&T, I wonder if T-Mobile will work alright, or if I should just stick with one of the companies that uses Sprint's towers, possibly Sprint itself. If my dad has an old Blackberry that's unlocked I might be able to try a T-Mobile sim card.

I'd like to go with T-Mobile just because their no-contract plans are decent and I would love to pick up the Galaxy Nexus, of course I'm going to see what Monday brings us.

So I downloaded a few free ePub books to see how I would like reading on the Nexus 7. I'm particularly interested in the Kindle reader app in the case I get a dedicated eReader in the future. Doing a little googling, I saw there is a program called Calibre to convert them. What would I do after converting them? Is it as simple as copying them to a directory?

It really depends on your reader software. Basically, you can use Calibre to generate the format your reader wants, if you don't already have it, and you can probably configure where it should deliver the files. It knows about a lot of dedicated readers, but I'm not sure if it will have any built-in configs for software readers on iDevices and Android. You can explore the settings, dunno what you'll find in there.

It's been wonderful to use with a Kindle -- whatever format comes in, it converts to .mobi for me, and the conversions have been steadily getting better over the last year. At one time they weren't all that hot, but they've improved a bunch. And it puts them in the right spot when I right click a book and choose Send To Device/Send To Main Memory (the only option on a Kindle.)

Ultimately, the goal is to end up with the correct format of files in the correct spot in the filesystem.... but what format and what spot are defined by each reader program, individually. You can always manually copy files, if Calibre isn't smart enough to do it for you. I would expect any reader software to come with a basic README of some kind to tell you where to put them.

EvilDead wrote:

So I downloaded a few free ePub books to see how I would like reading on the Nexus 7. I'm particularly interested in the Kindle reader app in the case I get a dedicated eReader in the future. Doing a little googling, I saw there is a program called Calibre to convert them. What would I do after converting them? Is it as simple as copying them to a directory?

<-Ebook noob

If you use one of the more popular apps, like Aldiko, then yes. You can just copy your Calibre Library to your device via USB. Most eReader apps have an option to either import from a directory or specify where your eBooks are.

If you don't mind dropping a few dollars, you can set up Calibre to host your eBooks remotely, and use an Android program like Calibre Companion to access and download them. Personally, I just sync the folders on my device with my Calibre library every now and then.

The Kindle app is pretty much useless if you're not buying Amazon books. And dedicated Kindle devices don't support ePub. So Calibre is handy to convert to mobi or azw.

I tend to use Calibre to rip the DRM from my Amazon books and convert them to ePub so I'll always have a backup (if one more person says Amazon "reaches into" your Kindle and deletes stuff, I'll f*cking scream). It's apparently a secret that with most digital purchases from any company, you're purchasing a license. One that can be revoked.

If Amazon removes a title from their catalog, the next time you sync, POOF! Not the same thing as an Orwellian big brother agency, or them powering on your device and erasing stuff while you're not paying attention, but whatever.

Also, you can connect a Kindle to your tablet. It'll show up as a USB device, and you can simply copy files into the book directory. I forget what it's called, but it's pretty obvious.

So if you use Calibre to make sure all your books are in both ePub and .mobi, it'll be easy to transfer stuff to and from your Kindle. I don't even bother removing the ePub files. My Kindle just ignores them, and I've never come close to using up all the space.

I'm using an Asus TF300 and a Kindle 2, so your mileage may vary. If there was a Calibre equivalent for Android, I think I could actually ditch my laptop.

Not the same thing as an Orwellian big brother agency, or them powering on your device and erasing stuff while you're not paying attention, but whatever.

Well, remember that they just accused some woman in Norway of 'being associated with' someone they had deemed as Bad, and they suspended her account and deleted all her books off her Kindle. And she didn't have to actively do anything for this to happen, she just left her wireless on, and her Kindle automatically synced and then wiped out her local library. Having the wireless on is the default configuration, and you know how people are about changing defaults.

I'd say the characterization of 'reaches into and deletes' is pretty fair. That's how it worked for this lady, and how it works for most folks that rely on Amazon as their source for books.

Note that, after there was enough worldwide anger, she got her books back, but if there hadn't been a whole lot of angry people, Amazon would have screwed her over and given her the finger when she complained.

Lots of interesting stuff in Google's Nexus announcements today: a 32GB 3G version of the Nexus 7, a new 10" Nexus 10 tablet from Samsung, and the widely-rumoured 4.7" Nexus 4 phone from LG. The most impressive thing in all this is the aggressive pricing -- the Nexus 10 undercuts the Retina iPad by a good US$100 despite having an even sharper screen, and the 16GB Nexus 4 directly replaces the Galaxy Nexus at $349, with an 8GB model available for just $299. The new devices ship with Android 4.2, which among other things adds a Swype-style keyboard, and multi-user features for tablet users

As always, The Verge has the goods:

http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/29/3...
http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/29/3...
http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/29/3...

The pricing on the Nexus 4 in particular seems like a very careful play on Google's part -- selling phones direct to consumers avoids the whole issue of carrier-delayed OS updates. Selling direct would just be a nice idea in theory if you were looking at $600 up-front for the device, but at $300-350, the idea of buying a phone outright and then saving long-term with a cheaper phone service becomes much more appealing. The Galaxy Nexus was already a great deal despite its age, so being able to buy what appears to be a far more powerful device for the same price is very cool.

The Nexus 4 not having LTE seems to make it nearly DOA if you're not on Tmobile where you don't care about it, and no CDMA version to get on Verizon and Sprint is also not helping.

The Nexus 10 is currently now my go-to device ousting the Surface or windows 8 devices.
I don't care about it not having a full sized USB or the expandable storage.
I'll get myself a big USB stick and I already have the MicroUSB to USB adapter on the way for my S3.

I already have an Acer Iconia 10 inch that will go to my son so I already have an idea how it will fit into my little ecosystem. It will fit perfectly. I don't need to re-invest in more apps. I will store all my media on a stick or portable drive, heck i already have all my movies on a portable drive!

The 300ppi dislplay is glorious. the thinness and tactile back is perfect.

That Verge video sold it for me (i came here to post it). I'll be pre-ordering and hopefully taking delivery on the 13th.
I just hope the accessories will be plentiful I was looking forward to a nifty keyboard/cover like the RT has but alas I'll settle for just a nice cover. The one they feature in the Verge video looked awkward. I hope other designs will be available.

It will be my first Nexus device so I am quite excited.

WOOT

MannishBoy wrote:

The Nexus 4 not having LTE seems to make it nearly DOA if you're not on Tmobile where you don't care about it, and no CDMA version to get on Verizon and Sprint is also not helping.

The lack of LTE is annoying, but in return, you get a single device that can work at 3G or HSPA+ speeds on just about any network in the world with absolutely zero hassle. The big issue with LTE seems to be carrier control in the US: LTE on Verizon or Sprint means having to deal with CDMA, and neither network would allow Google to keep free reign over the firmware of a CDMA device. You can see that in action today, with the LTE Galaxy Nexus devices on Sprint and Verizon getting their 4.1 updates months after unlocked GSM devices received it. There's some discussion of all that here:

http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/29/3...

Android Police has some further speculation on this, focused on the Nexus 4's most competitive feature -- its price:

http://www.androidpolice.com/2012/10...

If you really want LTE, then you'll have to skip the Nexus, but if you just want a great phone with 3G service at a bargain price, it's a great option. With an unlocked phone you're not tied to one network -- you can go with a cheap prepaid service on whatever carrier offers the best service in your area, and if you're interstate or overseas and want to swap to a different carrier, it's trivial to do. That's the market that Google seems to be chasing with this, and I guess we'll just have to wait and see how big that market ends up being.