Android: Phone News and Discussion Thread
#8841
Goodbye.
Based on past timetables, the Nexus 5 will be out this November, so this could be Google trying to get rid of excess stock of the Nexus 4 before then, or it could be a refreshed N4 coming out soon, but this is very unlikely. Don't know if these will disappear quick because I do not know Google's exact warehouse numbers.
Play with your Nexus 7 and see if you like the stock Android UI and then decide on your own time. Don't rush and end up cheating yourself. If you like it enough, you could then wait a few months for the Nexus 5 for your next phone.
The N4s still have resale value, though with this lower price point, the estimated average resale price of $300 for 16gb N4 up till now would most likely drop by $100.
The following users liked this post:
MR1 (08-28-2013)
#8842
05/5AT/Navi/ABP/Quartz
Because Google is awesome and trying to change the world, especially the way phone carriers destroy smartphones for everyone in the USA?
Based on past timetables, the Nexus 5 will be out this November, so this could be Google trying to get rid of excess stock of the Nexus 4 before then, or it could be a refreshed N4 coming out soon, but this is very unlikely. Don't know if these will disappear quick because I do not know Google's exact warehouse numbers.
Play with your Nexus 7 and see if you like the stock Android UI and then decide on your own time. Don't rush and end up cheating yourself. If you like it enough, you could then wait a few months for the Nexus 5 for your next phone.
The N4s still have resale value, though with this lower price point, the estimated average resale price of $300 for 16gb N4 up till now would most likely drop by $100.
Based on past timetables, the Nexus 5 will be out this November, so this could be Google trying to get rid of excess stock of the Nexus 4 before then, or it could be a refreshed N4 coming out soon, but this is very unlikely. Don't know if these will disappear quick because I do not know Google's exact warehouse numbers.
Play with your Nexus 7 and see if you like the stock Android UI and then decide on your own time. Don't rush and end up cheating yourself. If you like it enough, you could then wait a few months for the Nexus 5 for your next phone.
The N4s still have resale value, though with this lower price point, the estimated average resale price of $300 for 16gb N4 up till now would most likely drop by $100.
#8843
Moderator Alumnus
The one thing I want in 4.3 is the apps controlling other notifications - it'll make apps like mightytext and full screen caller a lot less annoying.
Curious to see what the Note 3/galaxy gear is all about next week, although my eye is on the HTC one max. 5.9" is totally doable with a reasonable vertical bezel.
#8844
Suzuka Master
iTrader: (8)
i need new phone guys 3GS is taking crap on me battery is terrible i have spare battery and both of them wont last me a day... i cracked the screen and display has a line in the center of it from the top to the bottom... bottom connection for the battery charger there is something wrong with it, its difficult to connect it and with any slight move it will stop charging. i think i have another 10-12 months before i can upgrade and unfortunately i dont have insurance on the phone... i doubt the phone is worth fixing at this point
any recommendations ?
AT&T changed their policy now you cant do early upgrades after 18 months i got my GS3 when it first came out
any recommendations ?
AT&T changed their policy now you cant do early upgrades after 18 months i got my GS3 when it first came out
#8845
05/5AT/Navi/ABP/Quartz
i need new phone guys 3GS is taking crap on me battery is terrible i have spare battery and both of them wont last me a day... i cracked the screen and display has a line in the center of it from the top to the bottom... bottom connection for the battery charger there is something wrong with it, its difficult to connect it and with any slight move it will stop charging. i think i have another 10-12 months before i can upgrade and unfortunately i dont have insurance on the phone... i doubt the phone is worth fixing at this point
any recommendations ?
AT&T changed their policy now you cant do early upgrades after 18 months i got my GS3 when it first came out
any recommendations ?
AT&T changed their policy now you cant do early upgrades after 18 months i got my GS3 when it first came out
Why not just buy something like the Nexus 4? All you have to do is pop in the AT&T sim or get one the correct size for free or really cheap. Bite the bullet, pay the $199 and experience freedom next year. You will really get to save money when contract is over.
#8847
05/5AT/Navi/ABP/Quartz
#8849
05/5AT/Navi/ABP/Quartz
Called jump, day 319 of 730 on YouTube. Easy to find if interested. Mirrors your first post in this thread and funny I thought.
Really, there are good alternatives to the contract phones. G/L.
Really, there are good alternatives to the contract phones. G/L.
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StreetKA (08-28-2013)
#8851
Suzuka Master
Yea my GS3's battery is shit. I'm thinking about rooting it again to get better battery life because I did have decent battery life.
#8852
takin care of Business in
iTrader: (5)
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Kansas City, MO
Age: 40
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so am back to using an iphone....
the front glass on my note was cracked, ordered a new front glass (was like 10 bucks shipped) and it arrived yesterday.....started to take that thing apart and everything was going well....I was aiming for the glass itself to come out and not the LCD screen....
about 50% done and I heard a crack....I cracked the LCD
put everything side and picked up the wifey's old PINK Iphone4 my fingers feel giant-ish on this tiny phone....
now am very very eager for the note 3 to come out....
the front glass on my note was cracked, ordered a new front glass (was like 10 bucks shipped) and it arrived yesterday.....started to take that thing apart and everything was going well....I was aiming for the glass itself to come out and not the LCD screen....
about 50% done and I heard a crack....I cracked the LCD
put everything side and picked up the wifey's old PINK Iphone4 my fingers feel giant-ish on this tiny phone....
now am very very eager for the note 3 to come out....
#8854
Go Giants
so am back to using an iphone....
the front glass on my note was cracked, ordered a new front glass (was like 10 bucks shipped) and it arrived yesterday.....started to take that thing apart and everything was going well....I was aiming for the glass itself to come out and not the LCD screen....
about 50% done and I heard a crack....I cracked the LCD
put everything side and picked up the wifey's old PINK Iphone4 my fingers feel giant-ish on this tiny phone....
now am very very eager for the note 3 to come out....
the front glass on my note was cracked, ordered a new front glass (was like 10 bucks shipped) and it arrived yesterday.....started to take that thing apart and everything was going well....I was aiming for the glass itself to come out and not the LCD screen....
about 50% done and I heard a crack....I cracked the LCD
put everything side and picked up the wifey's old PINK Iphone4 my fingers feel giant-ish on this tiny phone....
now am very very eager for the note 3 to come out....
#8855
Goodbye.
A good read:
https://plus.google.com/116086720751...ts/3ZK5aDgEYdr
https://plus.google.com/116086720751...ts/3ZK5aDgEYdr
A Day With the Moto X
Yesterday, I received my customized Moto X. Nothing fancy. Woven black with a blue accent. Nothing so ostentatious that I'd regret it in a year, but just different enough to know that it was mine. I'm coming from a Galaxy Nexus on Sprint, which means that in every possible way, I was getting an upgrade. Better hardware, better network, better software. In all measurable ways, I should expect the experience to be exemplary compared to what I'm used to.
I still think that the Moto X is one of, if not the best phone on the market right now.
We've reached a point where the major flagships from the big manufacturers are, by all rights, adequate devices. If anyone were to order a Galaxy S4, an HTC One, or a Moto X today, they should expect a decent life out of it. What the criteria comes down to now is not whether you're getting a good device. It's how the phone you choose augments your life. Which one provides the most value over the competition? Which one is the best suited to both your needs and pleasures?
For me, the Moto X has been that for me. I've been used to stock Android for a while, and while it is not 100% pure (for some reason, Google's audio equalizer has been replaced with a different, more sucky version), it is virtually indistinguishable from a Nexus device.
Virtually, but not completely. Motorola has subtracted nothing (again, except the equalizer...why.), and added very little. What they have added, though, is pure gain. Motorola Assist is a neat app. It automatically detects when you're driving and offers to read text messages aloud, or silences your phone except for select people during evening hours you set. Nothing fancy, but the accuracy with which it detects when I'm driving is impressive.
Then there's the Touchless Controls. You've seen it. You can speak to the phone without touching it. It doesn't work flawlessly, but it works as well as you could expect the first device of its kind to work. It's a fantastic trick and more useful than it sounds. Particularly while driving or cooking, the ability to send messages, set alarms or reminders, get answers to questions, or play music without even touching the phone is brilliant. I love the feature and use it regularly, though it is a little awkward (and that alone is something I could write plenty about later). I thought this would be my favorite feature. I was wrong.
Active Notifications takes an entirely new approach to notifications. Ever since I had my G1, I loved my colored LED. I would expend great effort to tweak settings so that I could know by color and vibrate pattern which app was trying to get my attention and how important it was that I check it, all without touching my phone.
Active Notifications makes that entirely pointless.
The Moto X doesn't have a notification LED. Instead, it uses the AMOLED panel to light up only a few pixels to show your notifications, with the most recent at the top. Without touching the phone, I can see not just whether I have something that needs my attention, but what app is trying to alert me. Touch the screen in the center and I can even see the message itself. The entire system is elegant, subtle, and useful enough to, for the first time ever, make me okay with not having a notification LED. The same could not be said of the original Nexus 7.
It doesn't end there, though. The Active Notifications app is also designed to know when you're about to use your phone. When you pull it out of your pocket, the time and notification icon lights up. It also pulsates if you have an important message. It knows when you want to see it and adapts accordingly. Even just picking the device up from off my desk prompts the display to come on. With rare exception, I haven't pressed the power button to turn my phone on at all. It's a very small thing. It wouldn't even be a dealbreaker if I didn't have it. But since I do, it's delightful. It shifts the usage of the phone.
The biggest complaints I've seen—by people who neither own nor want to own the phone—are that it's expensive and that the specs are not satisfactory. Both of these complaints are silly.
For starters, the Moto X is cheaper than its flagship counterparts. On AT&T, the Galaxy S4 is $639 off contract. The HTC One is $599 off contract. Even the iPhone 5, with its year old hardware, is $649 off contract. The Moto X launched for $579. Cheaper than any other major phone from a competing manufacturer. The complaints that it is egregiously expensive do not stem from comparisons to any normal phone. The comparisons come from the Nexus 4. Google released a manufacturer-partnered device for $300 off contract and suddenly everyone decided that the entire smartphone industry needs to stop making profits, yet continue innovating at a demanding and impossible rate with hundreds of dollars per device cut from their bottom lines.
These are fanboy ramblings and idiotic demands.
Of course, the single justification for why the Moto X should magically be cheaper than any other phone from a manufacturer that has to make a profit, is because it has "mid-range" specs. This, too, is a crappy argument.
Here are the parts of the Moto X that are deemed "sub par":
-- It only has a dual-core processor. This a misleading argument. While the two extra specialized processing cores do not make this a quad core phone, they still do things. They perform central functions that add value to the phone. While it would be great to have a couple extra multi-function cores (and software that's written to take advantage of it, which is not entirely a given at this point), it borders on greedy. Yes it's possible and yes it will be common, but just because "quad-core" is a buzzword doesn't mean that the engineering required to make this phone as it is was cheating. Which is better? A phone optimized for useful tasks, or a phone that tacks on specs for specs' sake?
-- It only has a 720p screen. This is perhaps one of the worst arguments because it ask—demands, even!—that a phone suck down tons of extra battery life in exchange for a barely-discernible quality improvement. Remember, high resolution displays require processing and battery power to run. You could maybe make the argument that 316ppi isn't enough, but when weighed against the extra power draw, it just doesn't seem worth it.
-- Um...that's about it. Exactly. It has 2GB of RAM (plenty to keep up with other phones), an impressive GPU, a 10MP camera, and fantastic battery life. And when I say "fantastic" I mean, it's lasted all day with GPS on. Maybe it's not important to you, but my personal dream since I had the G1 was to have a phone that could last all day with GPS on. My Evo couldn't do it. My E4GT couldn't do it. My Galaxy Nexus couldn't do it. My Moto X has, so far.
If the "mid-range" specs mean that I get a device that is always listening to me, can run all day without disabling or moderating critical services like GPS, and with a screen so crisp that I have to stare intently to see the intense alleged "low-quality", I'll gladly take "mid-range" over so-called high-end phones.
So, here's the tl;dr: I like this phone. I like it a lot. It adds plenty to the stock Android experience without taking anything away. It makes the right choices when it comes to choosing battery life and efficiency over the pointless specs war. The Moto X is the best phone for me on the market. I would wager there are plenty more of you would share my opinion.
Yesterday, I received my customized Moto X. Nothing fancy. Woven black with a blue accent. Nothing so ostentatious that I'd regret it in a year, but just different enough to know that it was mine. I'm coming from a Galaxy Nexus on Sprint, which means that in every possible way, I was getting an upgrade. Better hardware, better network, better software. In all measurable ways, I should expect the experience to be exemplary compared to what I'm used to.
I still think that the Moto X is one of, if not the best phone on the market right now.
We've reached a point where the major flagships from the big manufacturers are, by all rights, adequate devices. If anyone were to order a Galaxy S4, an HTC One, or a Moto X today, they should expect a decent life out of it. What the criteria comes down to now is not whether you're getting a good device. It's how the phone you choose augments your life. Which one provides the most value over the competition? Which one is the best suited to both your needs and pleasures?
For me, the Moto X has been that for me. I've been used to stock Android for a while, and while it is not 100% pure (for some reason, Google's audio equalizer has been replaced with a different, more sucky version), it is virtually indistinguishable from a Nexus device.
Virtually, but not completely. Motorola has subtracted nothing (again, except the equalizer...why.), and added very little. What they have added, though, is pure gain. Motorola Assist is a neat app. It automatically detects when you're driving and offers to read text messages aloud, or silences your phone except for select people during evening hours you set. Nothing fancy, but the accuracy with which it detects when I'm driving is impressive.
Then there's the Touchless Controls. You've seen it. You can speak to the phone without touching it. It doesn't work flawlessly, but it works as well as you could expect the first device of its kind to work. It's a fantastic trick and more useful than it sounds. Particularly while driving or cooking, the ability to send messages, set alarms or reminders, get answers to questions, or play music without even touching the phone is brilliant. I love the feature and use it regularly, though it is a little awkward (and that alone is something I could write plenty about later). I thought this would be my favorite feature. I was wrong.
Active Notifications takes an entirely new approach to notifications. Ever since I had my G1, I loved my colored LED. I would expend great effort to tweak settings so that I could know by color and vibrate pattern which app was trying to get my attention and how important it was that I check it, all without touching my phone.
Active Notifications makes that entirely pointless.
The Moto X doesn't have a notification LED. Instead, it uses the AMOLED panel to light up only a few pixels to show your notifications, with the most recent at the top. Without touching the phone, I can see not just whether I have something that needs my attention, but what app is trying to alert me. Touch the screen in the center and I can even see the message itself. The entire system is elegant, subtle, and useful enough to, for the first time ever, make me okay with not having a notification LED. The same could not be said of the original Nexus 7.
It doesn't end there, though. The Active Notifications app is also designed to know when you're about to use your phone. When you pull it out of your pocket, the time and notification icon lights up. It also pulsates if you have an important message. It knows when you want to see it and adapts accordingly. Even just picking the device up from off my desk prompts the display to come on. With rare exception, I haven't pressed the power button to turn my phone on at all. It's a very small thing. It wouldn't even be a dealbreaker if I didn't have it. But since I do, it's delightful. It shifts the usage of the phone.
The biggest complaints I've seen—by people who neither own nor want to own the phone—are that it's expensive and that the specs are not satisfactory. Both of these complaints are silly.
For starters, the Moto X is cheaper than its flagship counterparts. On AT&T, the Galaxy S4 is $639 off contract. The HTC One is $599 off contract. Even the iPhone 5, with its year old hardware, is $649 off contract. The Moto X launched for $579. Cheaper than any other major phone from a competing manufacturer. The complaints that it is egregiously expensive do not stem from comparisons to any normal phone. The comparisons come from the Nexus 4. Google released a manufacturer-partnered device for $300 off contract and suddenly everyone decided that the entire smartphone industry needs to stop making profits, yet continue innovating at a demanding and impossible rate with hundreds of dollars per device cut from their bottom lines.
These are fanboy ramblings and idiotic demands.
Of course, the single justification for why the Moto X should magically be cheaper than any other phone from a manufacturer that has to make a profit, is because it has "mid-range" specs. This, too, is a crappy argument.
Here are the parts of the Moto X that are deemed "sub par":
-- It only has a dual-core processor. This a misleading argument. While the two extra specialized processing cores do not make this a quad core phone, they still do things. They perform central functions that add value to the phone. While it would be great to have a couple extra multi-function cores (and software that's written to take advantage of it, which is not entirely a given at this point), it borders on greedy. Yes it's possible and yes it will be common, but just because "quad-core" is a buzzword doesn't mean that the engineering required to make this phone as it is was cheating. Which is better? A phone optimized for useful tasks, or a phone that tacks on specs for specs' sake?
-- It only has a 720p screen. This is perhaps one of the worst arguments because it ask—demands, even!—that a phone suck down tons of extra battery life in exchange for a barely-discernible quality improvement. Remember, high resolution displays require processing and battery power to run. You could maybe make the argument that 316ppi isn't enough, but when weighed against the extra power draw, it just doesn't seem worth it.
-- Um...that's about it. Exactly. It has 2GB of RAM (plenty to keep up with other phones), an impressive GPU, a 10MP camera, and fantastic battery life. And when I say "fantastic" I mean, it's lasted all day with GPS on. Maybe it's not important to you, but my personal dream since I had the G1 was to have a phone that could last all day with GPS on. My Evo couldn't do it. My E4GT couldn't do it. My Galaxy Nexus couldn't do it. My Moto X has, so far.
If the "mid-range" specs mean that I get a device that is always listening to me, can run all day without disabling or moderating critical services like GPS, and with a screen so crisp that I have to stare intently to see the intense alleged "low-quality", I'll gladly take "mid-range" over so-called high-end phones.
So, here's the tl;dr: I like this phone. I like it a lot. It adds plenty to the stock Android experience without taking anything away. It makes the right choices when it comes to choosing battery life and efficiency over the pointless specs war. The Moto X is the best phone for me on the market. I would wager there are plenty more of you would share my opinion.
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speedemon90 (08-29-2013)
#8858
Drifting
Do you guys have any issues using Spotify? I really love the service but the app KILLS my battery life like no other. I have my playlists saved onto my phone but even still, the back (cell radio/chip area) gets almost burning hot when playing music. It does this too even if I turn off the Facebook sharing crap and it's in offline mode. I swear it's like using 100% CPU the entire time it's running, and it gets stuck like that until I force quit the app.
I have the LTE EVO btw. Between this and the new Maps (which also seems to be a battery drain) my battery life hasn't been great lately.
I have the LTE EVO btw. Between this and the new Maps (which also seems to be a battery drain) my battery life hasn't been great lately.
#8859
Suzuka Master
My friend just bought a Moto X, can't wait to play with it! I helped push him towards that over the HTC one
#8860
Goodbye.
Do you guys have any issues using Spotify? I really love the service but the app KILLS my battery life like no other. I have my playlists saved onto my phone but even still, the back (cell radio/chip area) gets almost burning hot when playing music. It does this too even if I turn off the Facebook sharing crap and it's in offline mode. I swear it's like using 100% CPU the entire time it's running, and it gets stuck like that until I force quit the app.
I have the LTE EVO btw. Between this and the new Maps (which also seems to be a battery drain) my battery life hasn't been great lately.
I have the LTE EVO btw. Between this and the new Maps (which also seems to be a battery drain) my battery life hasn't been great lately.
What was his previous phone? And you should post your review of it lol.
#8861
Team Owner
When you mean Spotify playlists saved to the phone, do you mean you actually have songs saved to play offline? Like I "downloaded" songs from MOG to my Note 2 so that I didn't kill my data and can keep replaying without burning data and have instant playback. I don't see that if it's offline playing it would still require the data to be used but then again who knows what's going on in the background. FYI, MOG does not heat up my phone regardless of online/offline use.
#8862
takin care of Business in
iTrader: (5)
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Kansas City, MO
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Posts: 30,994
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#8863
Suzuka Master
Might have more to do with your phone trying to get cell service more than anything. Since you have to stream and get service for location, if you are in a bad to low coverage area, the phone is forced to work overtime just to get a working signal and thus drains your processor and consequently, battery. Switch carriers or stay on wifi?
What was his previous phone? And you should post your review of it lol.
What was his previous phone? And you should post your review of it lol.
#8864
Drifting
When you mean Spotify playlists saved to the phone, do you mean you actually have songs saved to play offline? Like I "downloaded" songs from MOG to my Note 2 so that I didn't kill my data and can keep replaying without burning data and have instant playback. I don't see that if it's offline playing it would still require the data to be used but then again who knows what's going on in the background. FYI, MOG does not heat up my phone regardless of online/offline use.
#8865
Goodbye.
#8866
Suzuka Master
Yea forsure haha.
I've been influencing him towards android for a while :P
He does say the biggest thing that will be missed is iMessage. THats understandable, iMessage is a great service.
I've been influencing him towards android for a while :P
He does say the biggest thing that will be missed is iMessage. THats understandable, iMessage is a great service.
#8867
Goodbye.
True.
I'm so tempted to try WindowsPhone. I think once the Lumia 1020 drops to homelesssheltergiveaway price, I'll nab one along with that camera grip attachment. Might actually make me take more pictures with my phone.
I'm so tempted to try WindowsPhone. I think once the Lumia 1020 drops to homelesssheltergiveaway price, I'll nab one along with that camera grip attachment. Might actually make me take more pictures with my phone.
#8868
Suzuka Master
Windows phone actually does seem pretty good. The main thing is, I'm heavily invested in google and windows is bad at handling that. You'd have to switch to MS everything.
So I'm going to post here about my N7. You know the update that was received to fix the GPS/touch issues (i never had those) I installed that update and now my N7 restarts at least 50 times a day or so it would seem like it. Its weird, if I'm using it or not it will restart. And the restarts are quick. Like I'll see the nexus boot up screen and within 5 seconds I'm at the unlock screen. I dunno whats going on.
So I'm going to post here about my N7. You know the update that was received to fix the GPS/touch issues (i never had those) I installed that update and now my N7 restarts at least 50 times a day or so it would seem like it. Its weird, if I'm using it or not it will restart. And the restarts are quick. Like I'll see the nexus boot up screen and within 5 seconds I'm at the unlock screen. I dunno whats going on.
#8870
Drifting
I should send them an email though.
#8871
Suzuka Master
My take on the Moto X
First a disclaimer: I'm a sucker for stock android.
So the Moto X, from a design point its pretty good. It doesn't feel cheap at all. It doesn't feel as expensive as a HTC One or Iphone, but def not cheap like an S3/S4. Holding it in your hand feels better than any other phone I've held IMO. The curved back and the pinching towards the edges where its thin is nice. Compared to my S3 this thing looks so much smaller and yet it has a .1" less of a screen size. And the screen is good too. My S3 is on the cool side and the X is on the warmer side. Other than that it looked like an HD screen. I've seen an S4 display shortly and that screen pops out at you with bright vivid colors. This didn't have that affect on me, but it was still a good display and you won't have any complaints.
I've also become a sucker for on screen buttons after owning my N7. And glad its there on the moto x.
To me it seems like Motorola took stock Android and put in things to make it better. They didnt' jam pack it with features. I mean if you compare it with an S4 it probably has a fifth of the total number of features. But, its features actually make stock android better.
To cover the features, I'll start with the camera. Bringing up the camera by doing that shake thing is pretty neat. I didn't get it right the first time, but after my friend told me pretend you're twisting a screwdriver and it worked. It opens quickly and just tap anywhere on the screen and it takes the pic. Thats really all I played with it. On the phone the pictures looked good enough to me, but i'm no camera guy so I won't comment on that front.
The active notifications were cool on this phone. I've got that app that tries to mimic it but its not even close. Whenever you pick up the phone, the active notification screen turns on, and if theres no notifications it will just show the time and unlock button. It didnt always turn on when I picked it up, but most of the time. So theoretically if it did get it right each time I picked it up, you would never even have to press the power button on this phone.
The "ok google now" feature is cool and I'd say useful if you're hands are dirty or you want a quick answer if your phone isn't within hands reach. Its not something you use in public other than to show off. I could see myself using it in my own home occasionally.
Motorola Assist was one of my favorite features. We drove to get food, and when I started driving he looked at his notification tray and a driving notification is there just letting you know its in driving mode. He sent a text through my phone and the phone said incoming text from "my name" and asked "if you would like to listen, say listen" (this gets rid of the worry when your a passenger about your phone speaking your texts if you dont want it too) Even when we were at red lights the driving mode was still on. Pretty much as soon as we were out of the car and walking in the parking lot it went away.
Overall I think this is easily the best phone on the market now. It also makes me wish I never got handed down this S3. I can honestly say, unless samsung changes some things, I wont go with them. They kind of overkill their phones with features and specs you dont need and use. It looks good on paper but I dont think in the real world its even usable to a certain point.
Ohh and my friend loves this phone too. He's happy he switched from an iphone. He def loves the bigger screen.
So the Moto X, from a design point its pretty good. It doesn't feel cheap at all. It doesn't feel as expensive as a HTC One or Iphone, but def not cheap like an S3/S4. Holding it in your hand feels better than any other phone I've held IMO. The curved back and the pinching towards the edges where its thin is nice. Compared to my S3 this thing looks so much smaller and yet it has a .1" less of a screen size. And the screen is good too. My S3 is on the cool side and the X is on the warmer side. Other than that it looked like an HD screen. I've seen an S4 display shortly and that screen pops out at you with bright vivid colors. This didn't have that affect on me, but it was still a good display and you won't have any complaints.
I've also become a sucker for on screen buttons after owning my N7. And glad its there on the moto x.
To me it seems like Motorola took stock Android and put in things to make it better. They didnt' jam pack it with features. I mean if you compare it with an S4 it probably has a fifth of the total number of features. But, its features actually make stock android better.
To cover the features, I'll start with the camera. Bringing up the camera by doing that shake thing is pretty neat. I didn't get it right the first time, but after my friend told me pretend you're twisting a screwdriver and it worked. It opens quickly and just tap anywhere on the screen and it takes the pic. Thats really all I played with it. On the phone the pictures looked good enough to me, but i'm no camera guy so I won't comment on that front.
The active notifications were cool on this phone. I've got that app that tries to mimic it but its not even close. Whenever you pick up the phone, the active notification screen turns on, and if theres no notifications it will just show the time and unlock button. It didnt always turn on when I picked it up, but most of the time. So theoretically if it did get it right each time I picked it up, you would never even have to press the power button on this phone.
The "ok google now" feature is cool and I'd say useful if you're hands are dirty or you want a quick answer if your phone isn't within hands reach. Its not something you use in public other than to show off. I could see myself using it in my own home occasionally.
Motorola Assist was one of my favorite features. We drove to get food, and when I started driving he looked at his notification tray and a driving notification is there just letting you know its in driving mode. He sent a text through my phone and the phone said incoming text from "my name" and asked "if you would like to listen, say listen" (this gets rid of the worry when your a passenger about your phone speaking your texts if you dont want it too) Even when we were at red lights the driving mode was still on. Pretty much as soon as we were out of the car and walking in the parking lot it went away.
Overall I think this is easily the best phone on the market now. It also makes me wish I never got handed down this S3. I can honestly say, unless samsung changes some things, I wont go with them. They kind of overkill their phones with features and specs you dont need and use. It looks good on paper but I dont think in the real world its even usable to a certain point.
Ohh and my friend loves this phone too. He's happy he switched from an iphone. He def loves the bigger screen.
#8874
Suzuka Master
But things may have changed so just look at the different touchwiz ROMs
#8875
Suzuka Master
Is there such an app that exists where you can use the keyboard on your phone to type on your tablet?
#8876
takin care of Business in
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my wife made me the happiest man today....
am using her pink iphone (waiting for the note3) and she is using the S4....so when she was messing with the iphone she said "WTF, the Android system is sooo much better and easier to use"
I went and gave her a big huggg LOL...
am using her pink iphone (waiting for the note3) and she is using the S4....so when she was messing with the iphone she said "WTF, the Android system is sooo much better and easier to use"
I went and gave her a big huggg LOL...
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is300eater (09-02-2013),
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#8877
I shoot people
I was at a Future Shop yesterday (same company as Best Buy) and played with the Moto X for a little bit.. the one thing I notice compared to my N4 is the screen's color seems to be more vibrant, pops out more... however, the color of the N4 seems to be closer to the actual picture.
not sure if you guys can tell the difference looking at these
this is a picture that I took last week (on flickr)
my N4 on the left, Moto X on the right
here's the picture in Flickr and I didn't do any post processing
http://www.flickr.com/photos/63271580@N00/9630508689/http://www.flickr.com/photos/63271580@N00/9630508689/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/63271580@N00/, on Flickr
not sure if you guys can tell the difference looking at these
this is a picture that I took last week (on flickr)
my N4 on the left, Moto X on the right
here's the picture in Flickr and I didn't do any post processing
http://www.flickr.com/photos/63271580@N00/9630508689/http://www.flickr.com/photos/63271580@N00/9630508689/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/63271580@N00/, on Flickr
#8878
takin care of Business in
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Join Date: Jan 2008
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the bear on the chics tshirt is going for the iphone
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