Google Android catch-all

Some more info on Android 4.2 features here:

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

It's a shame they don't have a screenshot of the new quick settings panel, because it look like a great addition; you can see it in action if you watch The Verge's behind-the-scenes video. You open it by doing a two-finger swipe down from the top of the screen.

I want, nay, I desire that Nexus 4. Just a few years ago, I thought 800x480 was incredible. Now we're up to 1280x768. I love the direction that screens are going. Higher resolutions are wonderful. So much detail... so much that can be seen in so little space...

Anyways, I'm tired of my Iphone 4, so hopefully I'll pick this up in a few months. Best part is, doesn't matter if I'm on contract or not, I can use it without worrying.

Yeah, probably going to sell off my OneX and pick up the Nexus 4...

Malor wrote:

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.

I was actually alluding to that case.

It's fair if you don't care about accuracy.

The average user's ignorance, dumb automated systems, and poor customer service are not the same as someone remotely browsing your device and removing files, which is the picture that characterization paints.

There's a new Padfone 2 coming out. http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/25/asus-padfone-2-review/

I'm interested because I'm beginning to acquire a laughable number of gadgets in my backpack. With the Padfone 2 I think I could replace my point-and-shoot camera, iPod, mobile phone, and laptop.

I've been experimenting with transitioning to a tablet from my netbook, and for the most part I can pull it off. And if Microsoft releases Word for Android, my prayers will be answered. Kingsoft is good, but I miss a few key features.

Malor wrote:
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.

That's not exactly what happened -- she lost access to her content because her Kindle broke, not because Amazon deleted the content. Of course, with her account suspended, and no local copy of the content on a working device, she wasn't able to access the content any more. That's almost as bad (or even arguably as bad) as deleting her content, but I think it's important to get all the details right when discussing these things.

EDIT: here's the source on that: http://blogs.computerworlduk.com/sim...

Hmmm.... I'm due for a new phone, but I'm torn between the Nexus 4 and Samsung Galaxy Note II. On one hand I really like the idea of a straight up Google phone, but the Note II looks like it has a lot of cool features (mostly to do w/ the stylus). Also the Note has a much larger screen, but I'm not sure if that's a plus or a minus at this point. I'll have to go find one of the original Galaxy Note phones at a store and see if I like the bigness.

That being said, I should be getting a nice work bonus for going in the field for a month over thanksgiving and I think the first thing I'm doing when I get back is ordering a Nexus 10. I've got a crap ton of RPG PDFs and I'm betting they will look glorious on that screen.

Sad to see the Nexus 4 is not using Super AMOLED. I love the near total blacks the Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus can do.

on another note, what's the point of putting anything higher than a 720p display on a phone? I hear talk of manufacturers working on 1080p displays now, but 300dpi is pretty much the limit of human vision, so why bother? You get dimmer pixels, lower battery life, and need more power to achieve usable framerates.

Radical Ans wrote:

Also the Note has a much larger screen, but I'm not sure if that's a plus or a minus at this point. I'll have to go find one of the original Galaxy Note phones at a store and see if I like the bigness.

Tell me about it. As someone who had an HTC Incredible, 3.7", and then an Iphone which was smaller at 3.5", if I end up going to a 4.6" screen, it's going to feel enormous. Going over 5" and I think I will feel silly holding that up to my face trying to talk on it. It's getting near tablet sized.

That said, the Note does look wicked awesome.

Chairman_Mao wrote:

on another note, what's the point of putting anything higher than a 720p display on a phone? I hear talk of manufacturers working on 1080p displays now, but 300dpi is pretty much the limit of human vision, so why bother? You get dimmer pixels, lower battery life, and need more power to achieve usable framerates.

I don't remember seeing any tests on what human vision is limited to, but to me, higher resolution just means more detail. Of course, you will need higher-resolution images and programs, but it's always nice to have the option.

As for games, I'm sure if FPS is a problem, resolution should eventually be able to be scaled, just like on a monitor and PC.

I could also be mistaken, but I don't know if a higher resolution would actually lower the battery power, unless it is taking more processing power to display constantly. But isn't the power draw on screens because of the backlight?

So I now live and work where there is no cell phone reception and want to reevaluate my t-mobile plan to get something cheaper. I have been looking at Ting.com and think I am going to give it a try. Does anyone have any experience with them?

I am looking for a phone to use when I am not at the castle. In the last month I used about 30 min of talk and about 150mb of data across my wife and I. With ting it looks like I can get a cheap/simple android phone that would allow tethering for about $60 for the phone and then $12 for our current data usage. For now we would continue using our old phones on wifi here at the castle for e-mail, calendars, etc and just take the other one when we go out. In time I would look to getting a new nice phone for myself but my wife doesn't really need/want a high end phone. They are talking like they will allow devices not purchased from them over the next few months. If this works the first months savings would cover the cost of the new phone.

Citizen86 wrote:

I could also be mistaken, but I don't know if a higher resolution would actually lower the battery power, unless it is taking more processing power to display constantly. But isn't the power draw on screens because of the backlight?

More power because smaller pixels = less light getting through, so a brighter backlight is required to achieve the same brightness. But also just to make sure animations remain smooth when you swipe, more pixels to manage means more processor power is needed. Even as processors become more efficient a 720p screen will always be 1/2 as many pixels to push as a 1080p screen. I'd rather have longer battery life than any resolution above 300ppi, which I'm pretty sure most people can't distinguish without putting their faces right up to it..

MonoCheli wrote:

ting.com

I haven't heard of them until now. Seems like the most customizable plans though, which can be great for some, like yourself. They really get you on data though. I just got my wife a Virgin Mobile HTC One V and a $35 a month plan. 300 minutes, but she probably won't go over that, with unlimited texting and 2.5g uncapped data.

Best part is she gets great reception in our new apartment, while my AT&T phone cuts in and out, people can barely hear me. If I wasn't on contract, I'd switch to VM with her.

If you didn't use much data, I'd say ting might be a pretty decent buy. The hotspot and tethering options included are pretty cool though.

Chairman_Mao wrote:

I'd rather have longer battery life than any resolution above 300ppi, which I'm pretty sure most people can't distinguish without putting their faces right up to it..

Is this not how people use their phones? AM I DOING IT WRONG?!

@ Malor & unntrlaffinity

Thanks for the eBook guidance guys. I didn't realize Calibre would also transfer them to the Nexus. Now I just need my power to come back so I can boot up the PC and do the transfer.

farley3k wrote:

Spec comparison for the new 10" Nexus, iPad, Galaxy Note, and Kindle Fire HD

The Nexus 10 is looking better and better.

Got myself a Nexus 7 and I love it. Now that I'm reading about the Nexus 10, I need to find a way to stop any impulse purchase for a few months until a 3G/LTE version is announced.

Can't wait for the N7 to get 4.2.

unntrlaffinity wrote:

There's a new Padfone 2 coming out. http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/25/asus-padfone-2-review/

I'm interested because I'm beginning to acquire a laughable number of gadgets in my backpack. With the Padfone 2 I think I could replace my point-and-shoot camera, iPod, mobile phone, and laptop.

I've been experimenting with transitioning to a tablet from my netbook, and for the most part I can pull it off. And if Microsoft releases Word for Android, my prayers will be answered. Kingsoft is good, but I miss a few key features.

I too want one sooooo bad. Now if they could just get it released here in the States; I blame the cellphone carriers on this. I don't have need for a tablet except for when I travel for work, it would be nice on the plane. Never having to transfer/sync/update stuff on two devices would be awesome.

I am holding off on upgrading my cell phone/changing carriers until I here who gets it in the states. So help me if it is a VZW exclusive; I don't know what I would do then?

I sold my Nexus 7 wifi for $190 today and hope to pickup a Nexus 7 32 GB with 3G.

Edwin wrote:

I sold my Nexus 7 wifi for $190 today and hope to pickup a Nexus 7 32 GB with 3G.

Was that the 16gb version? If it was an 8gb, you got a real good deal on that sale!

Yeah, 16 GB.

RolandofGilead wrote:

The programmer in me is happy it has 2 GB of RAM but is bummed it's dual core and not quad core.

FWIW, that dual-core is gonna be a lot faster than the quad-core in the Nexus 7. Not yet sure how it'll compare to the quad-core Snapdragon in the Nexus 4, though -- it may turn out to be the faster device overall, at least for things that can use all four cores.

TigerBill wrote:
unntrlaffinity wrote:

There's a new Padfone 2 coming out. http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/25/asus-padfone-2-review/

I'm interested because I'm beginning to acquire a laughable number of gadgets in my backpack. With the Padfone 2 I think I could replace my point-and-shoot camera, iPod, mobile phone, and laptop.

I've been experimenting with transitioning to a tablet from my netbook, and for the most part I can pull it off. And if Microsoft releases Word for Android, my prayers will be answered. Kingsoft is good, but I miss a few key features.

I too want one sooooo bad. Now if they could just get it released here in the States; I blame the cellphone carriers on this. I don't have need for a tablet except for when I travel for work, it would be nice on the plane. Never having to transfer/sync/update stuff on two devices would be awesome.

I am holding off on upgrading my cell phone/changing carriers until I here who gets it in the states. So help me if it is a VZW exclusive; I don't know what I would do then? :)

You could just order the worldwide version from Taiwan. I've got my eye on the 64gb version (no expansion slot, alas), which looks like it'll cost around $1100.

I think at this point I am past the tipping point on the idea of owning a tablet, and I really like the Android ecosystem, so unless reviews declare it a piece of garbage, I think the Nexus 10 is going to be the one I go for. Was thinking about the Surface, but the mixed reviews combined with Microsoft's history of quickly abandoning things that aren't massive hits right out of the gate has kind of given me pause.

farley3k wrote:

Spec comparison for the new 10" Nexus, iPad, Galaxy Note, and Kindle Fire HD

The Nexus 10 is looking better and better.

Pricing looks great.

Not sure if Apple has the lure to convince neutral people their product is worth $100 more.

Google already has their hooks in me between mail, calendar, drive. Not minding it at all either.

edit: I already have a Nexus 7 and although it hasn't been revolutionary for me I've never felt ripped off. Not paying an arm and a leg helps with that.

Holy crap, that Nexus 10 is sexy. I was all set to get the Nexus 7 but I went to a store to see what a 7" tablet is like.
No thank you, way too small, especially if they think I'm going to watch movies or read. I like my Vita a lot too, but I laugh when I look at the Playstation Store and see tv episodes I can buy (I know I can probably buy them there and watch them on the PS3).
Obviously haven't used one, but I have yet to see why I wouldn't take photos or video with a tablet and I don't have a video camera anyway.
Now that they're pushing 300 ppi, it makes me want to get one cause they can't really go much higher and still improve the experience, therefore, if I buy one now, I won't be missing out on anything. Also, comics should be freaking awesome on this thing.
The programmer in me is happy it has 2 GB of RAM but is bummed it's dual core and not quad core.
Why I don't care about the SD slot: NAS.

Also, the NEXUS 10 HAS A BAROMETER!

Engadget's Nexus 10 and Nexus 4 reviews.

What I'm really wondering about is whether the Nexus 10 will be easily rooted. I haven't bothered, yet, with my Galaxy Nexus, because the stock firmware does what I need, but I've been starting to think about putting CyanogenMod on it. I don't like Google's new privacy policies and their total integration of user data, so my maps application has stopped being able to use my GPS, because I refuse to grant Google blanket permission to extract my location at any time it wants. When they didn't keep and correlate that data, I didn't mind, but now that they do, well, I do too. So a phone that's completely Google-free is looking a lot more interesting. I could put JUST Maps on it, and make a fake G+ account, and they shouldn't be able to tie that data into anything else.

So, likewise, I'm going to want the ability to opt out of the Google ecosystem on a tablet, because the kind of tracking they do is weird and creepy. Knowing that I'll be able to do that would make it much more interesting to me.

Someone got Ubuntu running on a Nexus 7, so it shouldn't be that far out.

Hmm, based on those reviews I'm now wondering if maybe I should get the TF700 instead of the Nexus 10.

Is there a trick to copying files to an Android Tablet? I've got the Samsung Note, and while I can open it up on my desktop, every file I try to move gives an error. Is there a thing I've got to do or install? I'm running Ubuntu, if that makes a difference.

Miashara wrote:

Is there a trick to copying files to an Android Tablet? I've got the Samsung Note, and while I can open it up on my desktop, every file I try to move gives an error. Is there a thing I've got to do or install? I'm running Ubuntu, if that makes a difference.

What's the error?