Verizon finally got the 32gb S4 I want. They had to go and make it $50 more than what AT&T is charging though so it is $299.99. Guess I will have to pony up and go get it finally.

 

So I dont think I'll be rooting my GS3 this time around, but I'll admit there are certain things I like from touchwiz. I'm happy with it for now though. Gonna take advantage and figure out all of samsung's features that it can do with a samsung tv since we have that

 

Picked up a Note 2 last night. Loving it so far, definitely different from the galaxy nexus!

 

Any thoughts on S4 Active? Is the TFT vs OLED display will be very noticeable?

 

Engadget just did a very good review on the S4 Active. Check it out. If I recall they said that the screen is pretty good and overall they liked it better than the normal S4.

 

The recent Google Now update is pretty cool:

lZzzZcI.png

It detected the TV without me setting anything up.


Still messing with the Google Edition ROM. Still undecided on which I like more, Sense or AOSP. Both have their pros and cons but I'm leaning more towards Sense at the moment. Battery wise, they're similar with a small edge to the Sense builds probably because of the Power Saver Mode which underclocks the CPU a little. Otherwise its a toss up between the two.

 

Can you guys explain more about Google Now. It sounds like it consolidates a bunch of apps. Like a better Flipboard? Is that right? Speaking of Flipboard, I always hesitated to installing it because I figure it might not have the original features as the respective apps (Instagram, Facebook, etc) and that I would be better of using their apps. Any explanation is appreciated.

 

Buy HTC One because of aluminum build and feel. Puts case to cover it up lol.

 

Lol. Hey now! I'm using a seethrough case at the moment which shows the whole phone. The ones I bought that are coming in are clear matte based cases which are also see through. The reason I bought them is because the one I have right now covers the volume buttons and its pretty difficult to press them with the case on.

In other news, I just received my $25 HTC One Google Play credit! I didn't even purchase the phone in the timeframe they mentioned. Thanks HTC!

 

Google Now basically aggregates all of Google's services (GMail, Google+, Maps, etc.) into one big app and it tries to predict whatever useful info might be relevant to you "now" without having to query it yourself. It also does Voice actions which Android has had since the Froyo days but more advanced now. So it isn't anything like Flipboard because it doesn't update you on your social network like a news feed of sort. You can, however, use it to update your status through the voice actions. If you want to see a complete list of what Google Now currently tracks/assist in, you can take a look at Droid-Life's list:

http://www.droid-life.com/2012/12/05...gle-now-cards/

Basically, the app is awesome the more you use it and use Google apps as it ties them all together. It'll try to figure out where you live and where you work based on where you spend your time and then it'll pop up each day the minutes it will take to get to your destination based on the schedule it tracked on you if that makes sense. The good thing about it is that Google Now is constantly being updated so what it does now is just for now and it gets better each update.

 

My bad. Here is my corrected statement:

Buy HTC One because of aluminum build and feel. Buys multiple cases to cover it up with see-through matte plastic lol.

 

Lol. When I'm at home the case comes off. When I show off my phone to my friends the case also comes off. With that said, the case already saved my butt twice. I dropped my phone from my lap when stepping out of my car to the concrete and had it not been in a case it would've been scratched up.

 

To elaborate more on flipboard, I dont really connect instagram and fb to it cause I prefer using those apps more for my social purposes.

I use flipboard to follow a variety of news. I usually learn all the tech stuff from flipboard as the tech section pulls from endgadet, tech crunch, the verge, and so on. ANd the animation is just nice haha

 

I like your idea speedemon. I do tend to read engadget a lot and their app is kind of lacking. And thx CGFebTSX04 regarding Google Now. I love Android. I was talking to my friend who has an iPhone 5 and can't jb obviously. She wants to add a ringtone but she can't without going home and connecting to her iTunes. Meanwhile with Zedge or Ringtone Maker my other friend added one in seconds.

 

Yea I was so surprised when I found out the zedge app on the apple store doesnt have ringtones! Wtf haha I didnt realize they can't even do that!

 

anyone have any suggestions in a car mount??

I'm gonna put it over my gps in my tl since it doesnt even work.

Looking at this one

 

Leveled up to 8 today

 

So they got the Sense Camera working on the Google Edition with Zoe capability:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=2351965

Haven't tried it cause I'm back on stock Sense. Was really missing the IR blaster and the camera which they got working above. Stock Android Gallery isn't refreshing the Zoe properly but it does seem to work according to the people in the thread.


Oh and the video recording on the One is amazing with the noise cancellation. We were at a karaoke room (tiny room with full volume blasting) the other day and it recorded the conversation of a friend a few feet way from me clearly along with the song being sung by my girlfriend without any clipping. I couldn't even hear that conversation when we were there because of the song but its so clear on the video.

 

I checked out Google Now. For now I'm rolling with the weather. The touch hour thingy slider is fucking nuts. I'll experiment with some other stuff but since I'm not a big transit guy nor travel much lately, there's a lot of stuff I don't use.

Also I updated my widgets. God I love these things. I found a nice Wikipedia one, Breaking News, Google search, MOG and Google music. What about you guys?

 

Have you looked at this one? Just make sure you have enough free space around your cd-player.

 

what's the best way to download YouTube videos to an Android device? I know there are several ways, but you have to get the app through Amazon, I'm trying to avoid that. The thing is, a couple months ago, I came across a bunch of photography tutorial videos on YouTube, someone had posted all 14 hours of a particular series, and I knew that in a matter of days (or hours), they would be taken down, it's a $300 video tutorial. And sure enough, they were all taken down a few days later. So, at the time, I Google'd it, and found a way to download all 14 hours of the videos, and I must have uninstalled whatever app I used. Now I can't figure out how I did it. I'm pretty sure I didn't have to go through Amazon to get the app, I would remember.

Anyway, if you guys have any advice, that would be great.

 

never mind, disregard my above post

 

Just got my invite to the LG event in NYC on August 7.
I won't be in the city that day, but if anyone wants to go, I could forward you the rsvp? Must be before the 10th.

And in case there is any doubt, it is for the LG (Optimus) G2 phone announcement lol.


huh? Did you figure it out? Mind sharing with us (the method and the photog vids)?

 

I would guess he looked in Google play store on the all apps tab to see the apps he previously downloaded.

 

I really would have liked this one, but I believe A/C controls are above CD disc so it wouldnt have worked :/

I'm hoping that the one I got doesn't stick out so much. Since it can be on the windshield it may, hoping it does though

 

Also wtf happened to any google products this summer!!!!
Theres an event this or next week right?

And what happened to game center???? Did they not release that? Or is it coming some time soon?

 

So, Engadget + gdgt Live event is coming to the West Coast next Friday:

http://www.engadget.com/2013/07/09/e...dgt-san-diego/

http://events.gdgt.com/engadgetgdgt-...-to-san-diego/

Sadly, all "tickets" even though the event is free, are sold out already lol.

 

I couldn't find the same app that I used before, and I know there are some in the Play Store, but they seem to have mixed reviews. I ended up going with www.jetvd.com and it works fine (but I've only downloaded one video)

 

Looks like they released a whole bunch of tickets so if you better go get your free tickets before they run out again.

 

I regularly use an app called Tubemate.

 

I have this and it's quite nice.
It can barely handle my note 2. In fact, I have the seido active case now, and it doesn't fit (due to the kickstand bulge) unless I put the phone in upsidedown. ( Using omega rom / ultimate rotate to allow 180 degree rotation).

And of course if I have the monster zerolemon 9300 mah battery on, then it doesn't fit at all. But that combo is heavy enough that it'd probably rip off most mounts I think.

 

I don't use google now for much at all, but it has some cute things.
Auto weather warnings is nice. The other day it informed me that if I wanted to get to an event on time I better start driving NOW. (I was an hour's drive away at the time).

I have loads of widgets mostly for toggling stuff.
Wifi widget, last caller pro, widgetzoid for a 'keep screen on' toggle, Roundr isn't technically a widget but it's always on. (it rounds the corners, try it).

'Tasks' by team tasks for my to do list, business calendar is my full screen calendar, battery monitor widget pro is great. 'Gentle Alarm' widget (still maybe my favorite app of all time). Fancy widgets still has my favorite weather widget - lots of info packed into it.

 

I love my note 2 and all, but if it's just an overgrown S4, that's not enough for me to upgrade. The S4 was a bit of a dissapointment, imho. I hope Samsung's not getting lazy - the competition is kicking up.

And I can't imagine the Iphone getting much bigger unless they sell two separate sizes. A phone has to be pocketable, including for kids/women with small pockets/etc.

- Frank

 

MUST need? Nothing, of course.
But what I have that requires root priv:

AFWall+ - an android firewall.
Catlog -
directory bind - almost a must have, if you play lots of games. It lets you redirect directories onto your SD card. This is a big deal now that 'apps2SD doesn't work on JB anymore'.

LBE security master - deny permissions to apps. So you can prevent app X from reading your contact list, for example.
Market Helper - Temp spoof your device model - nice for getting/buying apps that google play says doesn't work on your device.
Multi window manager - change the 'dual window' app list.
quick boot - shortcut for boot/boot to recovery/power off/etc.
titanium backup - 'nuff said
xposed installer - adjust DPI per app. Sweet. I only tweak apps slightly (280 DPI) but it's still nice to see more per screen. It uses your screen space a lot more efficiently.


Oh and a quick non root plug:
lightflow for setting custom notification light colors.

 

Thanks for the info Frank. Same phone and same guitar. I still got my Squier

 

Google maps is starting to roll out


I also tried waze for the first time, since I got dock for my car, which is way more convenient btw when using your phone for music and navi (my navi doesnt work)

Waze is cool, I hope google adds crowd sourcing into their maps app eventually, i know it does it automatically, but traffic updates can be quicker this way. And knowing where cops are

 

Well finally ordered my white 32gb S4 last night. I just couldn't take carrying two extra batteries just to make it through the day with my Galaxy Nexus anymore. Hopefully I won't hate touchwiz too bad as I love plain android.

 

I think I'm going to abandon Android and move to WP8.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/07/11/n...020-confirmed/

Plus, Nokia Here Maps has better offline capabilities 0.o

 

Anyone know when Note 3 is going to be announced?

 

September 4th

http://www.techradar.com/us/news/pho...umours-1138556