Google Android catch-all

garion333 wrote:
Stele wrote:

I feel like my Nexus battery got worse with 4.2 OTA, but I'm not sure why. Only been a couple weeks.

Dammit, we've had complaints of this, hope it's not true for everyone.

So, everyone excited for the Facebook phone?

Did I see that the HTC First is a stock android phone with just the FB launcher and suite of apps? If so, that's pretty close to a Nexus phone. Just get it and slap on one of the near stock holo style launchers.

Specs are middlin', but I actually like that it's not huge in size.

spider_j wrote:

Can someone enable me on rooting a Nexus 7, please? I have read numerous articles and threads, and they all seem to boil down to "because you can!" Granted, that may be reason enough for me if not for the fact that the process wipes the tablet, but, as it stands, why do it?

I have happily jailbroken iOS many times, but the advantages are very plain there. Aside from Titanium Backup and mods that may provide a slightly smoother and faster performance, what else is there?

My #1 reason at the moment is to bypass MLB blackouts. I'm a MLB premium member, but the blackout policies are archaic. Instead, I use Fake GPS + a VPN to appear somewhere else. If I don't root my device, I can't fake my location in a way that fools the application.

Other reasons include moving my Google music to my sd card on my Nexus 4, application backups and freezing, CPU control for smooth video playback, and recently Greenify, which has turned out to be a terrific battery saver.

It's really such a joy to have so much control over my devices. It's the main reason I jumped from an iPhone/iPad to a Nexus 4/Nexus 10 ecosystem.

Is their an app that can send SMS and MMS from Android to Iphones and vice versa?

EverythingsTentative wrote:

Is their an app that can send SMS and MMS from Android to Iphones and vice versa?

Huh? That should just work. Unless you are talking about outside the carrier network and those charges?

MannishBoy wrote:
EverythingsTentative wrote:

Is their an app that can send SMS and MMS from Android to Iphones and vice versa?

Huh? That should just work. Unless you are talking about outside the carrier network and those charges?

Yeah, I've got family that's out of the country and are not going to have coverage from the cell network. I need am app that can send messages back and forth over wifi. Sorry, shouldn't have been so vague.

Any instant messaging app that's on both platforms, I imagine. Heck, Facebook messages will work.

I've tried a couple but they require you to verify the account using an SMS over a cell network. I haven't tried FBM.

Do you want actual SMS/MMS or just IM capability? Viber will handle SMS/MMS or their integrated IM and they allow you to verify with a Google Voice number.

Kik Messenger works too for me, without having to send or receive an SMS before using it.

My mother-in-law would like her next phone to be at least of average intelligence. I know there are a swath of mediocre cheap Android phones out there, but are there any you would recommend?

Something in the 100-150 USD/EUR range would be nice.

Samsung Galaxy S3 is down to $99 for a new Verizon customer, just glancing at their web site.

Might be even cheaper on other mobile ordering sites (Amazon, newegg, etc)

Stele wrote:

Samsung Galaxy S3 is down to $99 for a new Verizon customer, just glancing at their web site.

Might be even cheaper on other mobile ordering sites (Amazon, newegg, etc)

Sprint has had it that cheap and cheaper for quite awhile. I think that's why they have been saying they're selling more S3's than anybody else.

I wish they'd all start firming up ship dates for the S4. My EVO 4G is dying more every day. I think any time the 3G radio works for more than a minute or two it overheats and reboots. So no Navigation use, no downloading podcasts off Wifi, etc.

Oh well I was sort of answering dejanze's question, but didn't pay attention to the Europe location. So not sure what carriers are over there, but it would appear that the S3 may be in reasonably cheap prices by now, and it is, by most accounts, one of the best phones out there.

Stele wrote:

Oh well I was sort of answering dejanze's question, but didn't pay attention to the Europe location. So not sure what carriers are over there, but it would appear that the S3 may be in reasonably cheap prices by now, and it is, by most accounts, one of the best phones out there.

I wasn't meaning to diminish what you were saying, BTW.

And I hadn't answered because I have no idea what would be a good idea in Europe for that money. A bit more would get you a Nexus 4.

So with the S4 on the way, I'm starting to think about a new phone. I have the Galaxy Nexus. I hate custom GUIs that a lot of the manufacturers put on their phones, so I'm kind of thinking of holding out for the next Google phone. Does anyone know when that might be coming out?

Nevin73 wrote:

So with the S4 on the way, I'm starting to think about a new phone. I have the Galaxy Nexus. I hate custom GUIs that a lot of the manufacturers put on their phones, so I'm kind of thinking of holding out for the next Google phone. Does anyone know when that might be coming out?

Google I/O is soon. Three weeks or so? If they're going to announce something, it should be then.

garion333 wrote:
Stele wrote:

I feel like my Nexus battery got worse with 4.2 OTA, but I'm not sure why. Only been a couple weeks.

Dammit, we've had complaints of this, hope it's not true for everyone.

My Galaxy Nexus has been gobbling battery at an insane rate for a few weeks, and today it's actually felt hot for the past hour or so despite not being in use.

I'm on Android Revolution HD ... maybe the January or February release..... and it WAS running fine, battery-wise, for quite a while. I'm trying to decide if it's a problem with the phone, or a recent update to one of my apps that has a bug. The potential culprits I have in mind are Feedly, ScoreMobile (which got a complete overhaul), and The Weather Network.

Edit: The battery widget claims that the OS is using 70% of the power, for whatever that's worth.

I got a really good deal on a Note 2 today. Can anyone point me in the direction of the best tool to root? I checked XDA, and there are a few to choose from.

AndrewA wrote:
garion333 wrote:
Stele wrote:

I feel like my Nexus battery got worse with 4.2 OTA, but I'm not sure why. Only been a couple weeks.

Dammit, we've had complaints of this, hope it's not true for everyone.

My Galaxy Nexus has been gobbling battery at an insane rate for a few weeks, and today it's actually felt hot for the past hour or so despite not being in use.

I'm on Android Revolution HD ... maybe the January or February release..... and it WAS running fine, battery-wise, for quite a while. I'm trying to decide if it's a problem with the phone, or a recent update to one of my apps that has a bug. The potential culprits I have in mind are Feedly, ScoreMobile (which got a complete overhaul), and The Weather Network.

Edit: The battery widget claims that the OS is using 70% of the power, for whatever that's worth.

Pull the battery and hope the update has something running in the background still. Hopefully the battery pull fixes that.

At the end of the day a full wipe of the phone is the best 'fix'.

Anyone tried out the Samsung s4 or the HTC One yet? I'm strongly considering getting the s4 today. Apparently the HTC One uses a bit nicer body, where the s4 has a little more powerful innards (which may or may not matter).

Fedaykin98 wrote:

Anyone tried out the Samsung s4 or the HTC One yet? I'm strongly considering getting the s4 today. Apparently the HTC One uses a bit nicer body, where the s4 has a little more powerful innards (which may or may not matter).

My wife has an HTC One coming in tomorrow. I think the hardware on the One is nicer aesthetically, but I still like swappable batteries and expandable memory, so I'm waiting to get my hands on the S4 before making up my mind.

I don't think you could go wrong either way. Both sound like great phones. Just wish you could get them out of the box with the ability to flip them to pretty much ASOP status like you can reportedly do with the HTC First. You can cut the Facebook stuff off, and that phone's pretty stock Google.

The only software feature that Samsung has added to the S4 that I think I might like is the split screen stuff they've brought over from the Notes.

One reviewer suggested that the plastic body of the s4 would handle drops better, which is good since I drop my phones on the daily.

That's not really influencing my decision; I've been waiting for months for the s4, and I don't think the HTC One is better in any significant way that would derail my plan.

dejanzie wrote:

My mother-in-law would like her next phone to be at least of average intelligence. I know there are a swath of mediocre cheap Android phones out there, but are there any you would recommend?

Something in the 100-150 USD/EUR range would be nice.

Off contract, you should be able to get a SGS2 for pretty cheap and that's more than enough smartphone for a normal person.

I'm using a Droid Incredible currently and she'd probably be okay with that, that phone is even older. Not sure if there's a GSM version though. The Nexus One is pretty equivalent hardware-wise, and that definitely exists in GSM.

Not sure what new options are decent at that price range, but I'm interested to see what you find.

General Crespin wrote:
dejanzie wrote:

My mother-in-law would like her next phone to be at least of average intelligence. I know there are a swath of mediocre cheap Android phones out there, but are there any you would recommend?

Something in the 100-150 USD/EUR range would be nice.

Off contract, you should be able to get a SGS2 for pretty cheap and that's more than enough smartphone for a normal person.

I'm using a Droid Incredible currently and she'd probably be okay with that, that phone is even older. Not sure if there's a GSM version though. The Nexus One is pretty equivalent hardware-wise, and that definitely exists in GSM.

Not sure what new options are decent at that price range, but I'm interested to see what you find.

I'm currently looking at the HTC Desire X (250 euro), but the Galaxy S2 might be a nice option too.

Fedaykin98 wrote:

One reviewer suggested that the plastic body of the s4 would handle drops better, which is good since I drop my phones on the daily.

What? This boggles my mind. Can you find that review perchance?

garion333 wrote:
Fedaykin98 wrote:

One reviewer suggested that the plastic body of the s4 would handle drops better, which is good since I drop my phones on the daily.

What? This boggles my mind. Can you find that review perchance?

I'm more intrigued by how Fed drops his phone daily. Does he perspire olive oil?

spider_j wrote:
garion333 wrote:
Fedaykin98 wrote:

One reviewer suggested that the plastic body of the s4 would handle drops better, which is good since I drop my phones on the daily.

What? This boggles my mind. Can you find that review perchance?

I'm more intrigued by how Fed drops his phone daily. Does he perspire olive oil?

I'm very dry, thank you, nary a clammy hand - just a klutz.

I went to the AT&T store today an tried both phones. Pros and cons:

One feels more solid.
s4 is amazingly light.

s4 screen is more impressive, but scrolling text on some websites (yahoo, ESPN) causes the text to blur significantly while scrolling. One didn't have this issue.

Pinch to zoom worked better on the One for some reason, but double-tap to zoom worked better on the s4.

I really left more impressed with the smoothness and intuitiveness of my iPhone. I still like the idea of a larger screen and more functionality, but right now I don't know.

Oh, and neither phone triggered the GWJ mobile site. Anyone know a way to force that?

I see. I really like the layout on my iPhone for easy one-handed surfing.

Fedaykin98 wrote:

I see. I really like the layout on my iPhone for easy one-handed surfing.

And we're back to the olive oil fumbling theory.