Android: Phone News and Discussion Thread
10-13-2014, 09:14 AM
Hmm. Thanks for the heads up. Woke up today and had lost my contacts. Luckily everything was backed up to my Google contacts so I had to re-sync which took seconds. However, any numbers that I saved to the Device instead of Google, I had to re-enter into my contacts. I'm thinking TW is crapping out.
10-13-2014, 10:34 AM
Goodbye.
Long story:
Verizon took so long to approve/bloat up the Z2 that when they were ready, the Z3 was released and so they had to still get the Z2 out since they paid for them - REBRANDING TIME! AHAHAHA SILLY AMERICANS WON'T KNOW THE DIFFERENCE
10-13-2014, 10:40 AM
Banned
You will still see the base ROM UI in menus, quick settings, etc. I've used Nova since probably day two of being an Android user. If you have multiple Android devices from different manufacturers, it really helps tie the whole experience together.
I only tried one ROM for the S3, primarily because it was the only one, or one of the few at the time, to retain audio out through the USB port. My complaints were that it ruined the camera quality primarily, and was a bit of a change on stuff like quick settings - the OEMs can on occasion improve the product, and there were a couple things that Samsung did, and HTC really did a damn good job of doing. I find that there are things with Sense 6 in particular that I really miss, that I'm having to find third parties to try and fill in. As you would guess, it's not quite as good.
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TeknoKing (10-13-2014)
10-13-2014, 12:13 PM
Moderator Alumnus
Launchers are different then apps, in many respects.
A launcher is, in general terms, an app that has homescreens for widgets and methods to runs apps, etc. You can have and use multiple launchers, but they don't run "on top" of each other any more than say, angry birds runs "on top" of chrome.
There are aspects of the base UI which remain fixed to the Base OS, i.e. system menus, but that's not interesting.
Launchers radically change how you interact with your phone, and a good launcher makes a big difference. You can have app 'drawers', different home screen transitions, different ways to lay out widgets, different numbers of rows/columns of icons, on-screen gestures (like I have a gesture to launch my favorite music app), etc, etc.
Also, imho, the #1 reason to use a custom launcher is that if I switch phones, I can backup/restore my previous layout without having to learn a new launcher. Makes switching between phones far less painful.
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TeknoKing (10-13-2014)
10-13-2014, 12:18 PM
Moderator Alumnus
That's also really weird you lost all your contacts, although I hear of it happening to iphone people a lot. (which I also don't understand)
10-13-2014, 12:27 PM
Team Owner
Yeah the only contacts I saved to the device were ones I didn't care to keep. It's strange that it's still an option for Android phones with the near-forced Google syncing. What's also weird was that the shortcuts I had for the Phone and Contacts icons were deleted from my launcher. I had to put that back in their respective shortcut spots. All my other data including apps, photos, etc were still there in both the phone memory and SD card.
10-13-2014, 12:58 PM
I am #76,361,211,935
^^ The only time I've seen shortcuts disappear is *sometimes* after an app update but I don't think I've ever seen any of the Samsung pre-loaded apps disappear. By any chance did you receive an OTA update of some kind?
10-13-2014, 02:20 PM
Team Owner
None that I know. Still on 4.4.2
10-14-2014, 09:50 AM
Senior Moderator
10-14-2014, 10:43 AM
Suzuka Master
lol nice. I like those ads haha
10-14-2014, 12:37 PM
Team Owner
Holy specs Batman, this Droid Turbo has teeth.
Motorola Droid Turbo revealed: Snapdragon 805, Quad HD and two-day battery | Android Central
Tomorrow's the Nexus 6 reveal supposedly.
Motorola Droid Turbo revealed: Snapdragon 805, Quad HD and two-day battery | Android Central
Thanks to leaked marketing materials sent our way by an anonymous source, we're able to show you the Droid Turbo in all its glory.
The Droid Turbo's chassis shows some similarities with last year's Droid MAXX, and red and black versions will be available, apparently with 32GB of internal storage. The Turbo's body is said to be furnished in scratch-resistant "metallized glass fiber" with a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 display, and basic splash-repellent properties. The phone can withstand "everyday spills and 20 minutes in a downpour," the marketing docs state. The back panel is reinforced with Kevlar, "offering a smooth finish."
Snapdragon 805, 3GB of RAM, 3,900mAh battery and wireless charging...
On the inside, the Droid Turbo boasts some beastly specs — a 2.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon 805 processor, 3GB of RAM and a 5.2-inch Quad HD (2560x1440) resolution display (that's an insane 565 pixels per inch). Around the back there's a 21-megapixel camera with 4K video recording capabilities and Dual LED flash. That's in addition to Motorola camera features like Quick Capture and video highlights that we've seen on the Moto X.
That's all powered by a 3,900mAh battery, which is claimed will keep the Turbo humming for 48 hours of use. As it's done with the Moto X, Motorola continues to push charging time as a differentiator, and the Droid Turbo will get 8 hours of use from a charge of just 15 minutes from the bundled Motorola Turbo Charger, it's claimed. What's more, a wireless charging back is included for hassle-free charging.
In terms of networking, expect the Turbo to support Verizon's 4G LTE/XLTE network — and within 30-90 days of launch it'll be updated to take advantage of Big Red's Wireless Calling 1.0, the carrier's VoLTE implementation.
New Droid-specific 'Zap' features are coming too.
On the software side, the device appears to be running Android 4.4 KitKat, though no OS version is specifically mentioned in the materials we've seen. In addition to Moto X features like Moto Voice, Moto Actions, Moto Assist and Moto Display, the Turbo sports a handful of new Droid-specific "Zap" features. "Zap Zone" allows Droid Turbo owners to set up their own local sharing group with those around them, and share pictures "with the flick of a finger." Zap to TV uses your Chromecast to set up an instant slideshow of your photos. And "Zap with Voice" lets you share a screenshot to your Zap Zone by saying "OK Droid Turbo, Zap my screen." (If you're so inclined.)
So what we have here is the very highest of high-end phones for Verizon, incorporating some of our favorite bits from earlier Droids (battery life from the MAXX series) as well as a bit of the extraneous fluff ("OK Droid Turbo, Zap my screen").
The Droid Turbo's chassis shows some similarities with last year's Droid MAXX, and red and black versions will be available, apparently with 32GB of internal storage. The Turbo's body is said to be furnished in scratch-resistant "metallized glass fiber" with a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 display, and basic splash-repellent properties. The phone can withstand "everyday spills and 20 minutes in a downpour," the marketing docs state. The back panel is reinforced with Kevlar, "offering a smooth finish."
Snapdragon 805, 3GB of RAM, 3,900mAh battery and wireless charging...
On the inside, the Droid Turbo boasts some beastly specs — a 2.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon 805 processor, 3GB of RAM and a 5.2-inch Quad HD (2560x1440) resolution display (that's an insane 565 pixels per inch). Around the back there's a 21-megapixel camera with 4K video recording capabilities and Dual LED flash. That's in addition to Motorola camera features like Quick Capture and video highlights that we've seen on the Moto X.
That's all powered by a 3,900mAh battery, which is claimed will keep the Turbo humming for 48 hours of use. As it's done with the Moto X, Motorola continues to push charging time as a differentiator, and the Droid Turbo will get 8 hours of use from a charge of just 15 minutes from the bundled Motorola Turbo Charger, it's claimed. What's more, a wireless charging back is included for hassle-free charging.
In terms of networking, expect the Turbo to support Verizon's 4G LTE/XLTE network — and within 30-90 days of launch it'll be updated to take advantage of Big Red's Wireless Calling 1.0, the carrier's VoLTE implementation.
New Droid-specific 'Zap' features are coming too.
On the software side, the device appears to be running Android 4.4 KitKat, though no OS version is specifically mentioned in the materials we've seen. In addition to Moto X features like Moto Voice, Moto Actions, Moto Assist and Moto Display, the Turbo sports a handful of new Droid-specific "Zap" features. "Zap Zone" allows Droid Turbo owners to set up their own local sharing group with those around them, and share pictures "with the flick of a finger." Zap to TV uses your Chromecast to set up an instant slideshow of your photos. And "Zap with Voice" lets you share a screenshot to your Zap Zone by saying "OK Droid Turbo, Zap my screen." (If you're so inclined.)
So what we have here is the very highest of high-end phones for Verizon, incorporating some of our favorite bits from earlier Droids (battery life from the MAXX series) as well as a bit of the extraneous fluff ("OK Droid Turbo, Zap my screen").
10-14-2014, 05:17 PM
Suzuka Master
shit thats intense. I wish the Moto X had a 2500-2700 mAh battery in it.
10-15-2014, 07:29 AM
Team Owner
Likely a placeholder but interesting that ATT might sell the Nexus 6
http://www.androidauthority.com/nexus-6-ad-att-538442/
http://www.androidauthority.com/nexus-6-ad-att-538442/
10-15-2014, 10:13 AM
Senior Moderator
Likely a placeholder but interesting that ATT might sell the Nexus 6
Reference to the Nexus 6 pops up early on AT&T: price to be $49 on contract!
Reference to the Nexus 6 pops up early on AT&T: price to be $49 on contract!
10-15-2014, 10:17 AM
Team Owner
Yeah they used the LG Vigil pic and specs but it's likely a placeholder.
10-15-2014, 11:08 AM
Senior Moderator
Originally Posted by wsj
google inc. Unveiled three new nexus-branded devices wednesday, signaling plans to compete with apple inc. For high-end consumers.
Google’s new nexus 6 smartphone, nexus 9 tablet and nexus player set-top box are priced slightly below, or in line with, competing devices from apple. That’s a departure for google, which in the past has priced new models significantly less than apple products.
Google also said it would introduce a new version of its android operating system, dubbed android l, for lollipop, next month.
Unlike apple, google also licenses its operating system to other phone makers. With the new releases, google is trying both to compete more with apple at the premium end of the mobile-device market and help partners churn out cheap handsets for developing markets.
“we deeply respect what apple is doing, but we take a very different approach,” said sundar pichai, who runs google’s android, chrome and apps businesses. “with android l, we wanted to show the entire spectrum.”
Google said all three new devices can be pre-ordered online later this week. The phone will be sold in 27 countries and in stores in november.
At 5.9 inches diagonally, the nexus 6 is larger than apple’s new iphone 6 plus, which measures 5.5 inches. It will sell for $649, compared with $749 for the iphone 6 plus. Last year, google introduced the nexus 5 at $349.
Mr. Pichai said the goal of nexus products is not to sell lots of devices, but to provide a “roadmap” to help other android device makers, such as samsung electronics co. , develop similar products.
The nexus 6 will be available through the four major u.s. Wireless carriers and sold in their stores, with two-year contracts and monthly installment plans that reduce the up-front cost of the device, mr. Pichai said. Verizon communications inc. Didn’t carry the two most recent nexus phones.
The nexus 6 smartphone is made by motorola mobility, the handset manufacturer that google is selling to china’s lenovo group .
The nexus 9 tablet, made by htc corp. , features an 8.9-inch screen, and starts at $399. An optional keyboard cover costs $129. It will be available in 30 countries and in stores next month.
Google hopes the nexus 9 can substitute for laptops in some work situations. Microsoft corp. Has tried that strategy with its surface tablet, but it has failed to catch on with lots of consumers. Mr. Pichai said many people already use android tablets, which should help get the nexus 9 adopted in the office and on business trips.
The nexus 9’s $399 starting price is also close to what apple charges for its ipads. The 9.7-inch tablets from apple start at $399 and the latest ipad air tablet is starts $499. Apple is expected to unveil new ipads thursday.
The nexus player is a small set-top box shaped like a hockey puck that connects to tvs and uses wi-fi to stream movies and tv shows. It doubles as a gaming console, letting users play android games on a larger screen. Asustek computer inc. Made the gadget.
The set-top box costs $99 and will be sold in the u.s. And canada through google’s play store in early november. That matches apple’s $99 set-top box, apple tv. The nexus player has an optional game controller that costs $39.99.
Google’s new nexus 6 smartphone, nexus 9 tablet and nexus player set-top box are priced slightly below, or in line with, competing devices from apple. That’s a departure for google, which in the past has priced new models significantly less than apple products.
Google also said it would introduce a new version of its android operating system, dubbed android l, for lollipop, next month.
Unlike apple, google also licenses its operating system to other phone makers. With the new releases, google is trying both to compete more with apple at the premium end of the mobile-device market and help partners churn out cheap handsets for developing markets.
“we deeply respect what apple is doing, but we take a very different approach,” said sundar pichai, who runs google’s android, chrome and apps businesses. “with android l, we wanted to show the entire spectrum.”
Google said all three new devices can be pre-ordered online later this week. The phone will be sold in 27 countries and in stores in november.
At 5.9 inches diagonally, the nexus 6 is larger than apple’s new iphone 6 plus, which measures 5.5 inches. It will sell for $649, compared with $749 for the iphone 6 plus. Last year, google introduced the nexus 5 at $349.
Mr. Pichai said the goal of nexus products is not to sell lots of devices, but to provide a “roadmap” to help other android device makers, such as samsung electronics co. , develop similar products.
The nexus 6 will be available through the four major u.s. Wireless carriers and sold in their stores, with two-year contracts and monthly installment plans that reduce the up-front cost of the device, mr. Pichai said. Verizon communications inc. Didn’t carry the two most recent nexus phones.
The nexus 6 smartphone is made by motorola mobility, the handset manufacturer that google is selling to china’s lenovo group .
The nexus 9 tablet, made by htc corp. , features an 8.9-inch screen, and starts at $399. An optional keyboard cover costs $129. It will be available in 30 countries and in stores next month.
Google hopes the nexus 9 can substitute for laptops in some work situations. Microsoft corp. Has tried that strategy with its surface tablet, but it has failed to catch on with lots of consumers. Mr. Pichai said many people already use android tablets, which should help get the nexus 9 adopted in the office and on business trips.
The nexus 9’s $399 starting price is also close to what apple charges for its ipads. The 9.7-inch tablets from apple start at $399 and the latest ipad air tablet is starts $499. Apple is expected to unveil new ipads thursday.
The nexus player is a small set-top box shaped like a hockey puck that connects to tvs and uses wi-fi to stream movies and tv shows. It doubles as a gaming console, letting users play android games on a larger screen. Asustek computer inc. Made the gadget.
The set-top box costs $99 and will be sold in the u.s. And canada through google’s play store in early november. That matches apple’s $99 set-top box, apple tv. The nexus player has an optional game controller that costs $39.99.
10-15-2014, 11:41 AM
Banned
Glad I didn't wait on it. But anyone who gets the 6 should be extremely happy with the design.
10-15-2014, 12:20 PM
Suzuka Master
Yea 6" is just way to big.
10-15-2014, 12:38 PM
Senior Moderator
10-15-2014, 12:54 PM
Goodbye.
10-15-2014, 01:04 PM
Moderator
Regional Coordinator (Southeast)
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I really like everything about the N6 but dang I really don't want that big of a phone. Wish they would make a 5.2 or 5in version with everything else the same.
10-15-2014, 01:09 PM
Banned
10-15-2014, 01:19 PM
Team Owner
Note 2 151.1 x 80.5 x 9.4 mm
Note 4 153.5 x 78.6 x 8.5 mm
N6 82.98mm x 159.26mm x 10.06mm
So about 6mm longer, 4mm wider, and 1.5mm thicker. I wonder what that translates to in holding. I added the Note 2 for myself.
Note 4 153.5 x 78.6 x 8.5 mm
N6 82.98mm x 159.26mm x 10.06mm
So about 6mm longer, 4mm wider, and 1.5mm thicker. I wonder what that translates to in holding. I added the Note 2 for myself.
Last edited by Doom878; 10-15-2014 at 01:21 PM.
10-15-2014, 01:47 PM
How about this alternative?
OnePlus One - OnePlus.net
Everything looks the part...cutting out the middle man sure makes things a lot cheaper especially the 64GB version for $349
.
I'm just curious (or worried) on support and warranty...
OnePlus One - OnePlus.net
Everything looks the part...cutting out the middle man sure makes things a lot cheaper especially the 64GB version for $349
.I'm just curious (or worried) on support and warranty...
10-15-2014, 02:20 PM
Looks like the Nexus 6 will be like the Nexus 9 in that it won't have expandable memory storage.
Pretty nice specs though...
OS - Android™ 5.0, ®
Screen - 5.96” 2560x1440 QHD AMOLED display (493 ppi), 16:9 aspect ratio, Gorilla Glass 3
Rear Camera - 13MP with optical image stabilization, Dual LED ring flash, f/2.0 aperture, 4K video capture at 30fps
Front Camera - 2MP, HD Video Conferencing
Size - 82.98mm x 159.26mm x 10.06mm
Weight - 184g
Color - Midnight Blue, Cloud White
Network
North America:
GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz
CDMA Band Class: 0/1/10
WCDMA Bands: 1/2/4/5/8
LTE Bands: 2/3/4/5/7/12/13/17/25/26/29/41
CA DL Bands: B2-B13, B2-B17, B2-29, B4-B5, B4-B13, B4-B17, B4-B29
Rest of World:
GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz
CDMA: not supported
WCDMA Bands: 1/2/4/5/6/8/9/19
LTE Bands: 1/3/5/7/8/9/19/20/28/41
CA DL: B3-B5, B3-B8Audio Output - Dual front-facing speakers
CPU - Quad core Krait 450 CPU 2.7GHz (Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 SOC)
GPU - Adreno 420
Wireless - 802.11ac 2x2 (MIMO), Bluetooth 4.1, NFC
Memory - 32GB & 64GB
Ports - Micro USB 2.0, Nano SIM, 3.5mm audio
Sensors - GPS, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Magnetometer, Ambient light sensor, Barometer
Battery**
3220mAh
Standby time (Ambient Display on ) up to 250 hours
Standby time (Ambient Display off) up to 330 hours
Internet use time (Wi-Fi) up to 9.5 hours
Internet use time (LTE) up to 10 hours
Talk time up to 24 hours
Video playback up to 10 hours
Pretty nice specs though...
OS - Android™ 5.0, ®
Screen - 5.96” 2560x1440 QHD AMOLED display (493 ppi), 16:9 aspect ratio, Gorilla Glass 3
Rear Camera - 13MP with optical image stabilization, Dual LED ring flash, f/2.0 aperture, 4K video capture at 30fps
Front Camera - 2MP, HD Video Conferencing
Size - 82.98mm x 159.26mm x 10.06mm
Weight - 184g
Color - Midnight Blue, Cloud White
Network
North America:
GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz
CDMA Band Class: 0/1/10
WCDMA Bands: 1/2/4/5/8
LTE Bands: 2/3/4/5/7/12/13/17/25/26/29/41
CA DL Bands: B2-B13, B2-B17, B2-29, B4-B5, B4-B13, B4-B17, B4-B29
Rest of World:
GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz
CDMA: not supported
WCDMA Bands: 1/2/4/5/6/8/9/19
LTE Bands: 1/3/5/7/8/9/19/20/28/41
CA DL: B3-B5, B3-B8
CPU - Quad core Krait 450 CPU 2.7GHz (Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 SOC)
GPU - Adreno 420
Wireless - 802.11ac 2x2 (MIMO), Bluetooth 4.1, NFC
Memory - 32GB & 64GB
Ports - Micro USB 2.0, Nano SIM, 3.5mm audio
Sensors - GPS, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Magnetometer, Ambient light sensor, Barometer
Battery**
3220mAh
Standby time (Ambient Display on ) up to 250 hours
Standby time (Ambient Display off) up to 330 hours
Internet use time (Wi-Fi) up to 9.5 hours
Internet use time (LTE) up to 10 hours
Talk time up to 24 hours
Video playback up to 10 hours
Last edited by AZuser; 10-15-2014 at 02:24 PM.
10-15-2014, 02:48 PM
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10-15-2014, 02:50 PM
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I see some sites mentioning that the Nexus9 does have expandable memory though?
10-15-2014, 03:01 PM
Go Giants
I heard that too.
10-15-2014, 03:03 PM
The Verge: Google announces HTC-made Nexus 9 tablet, coming November 3rd | The Verge
Sadly, you can't expand that storage through microSD, so we'd recommend opting for the 32GB SKU.
Update 07:58 EDT: There will no expandable memory in the Nexus 9, my source just got in contact with me to correct the original claim.
10-15-2014, 03:06 PM
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I am and phonearena and one other site I read today as well but closed the page and can't find it now showed sd support. Didn't expect it to be true but it would have been nice.
Just seems strange the phone will come in 32 and 64gb but the tablet won't and not be expandable as well.
Just seems strange the phone will come in 32 and 64gb but the tablet won't and not be expandable as well.
10-15-2014, 06:51 PM
I shoot people
the Nexus 6 maybe bigger in terms of screen size, but don't forget, part of the screen is used for the home button/back button etc etc... where as with the Note 3/4, it's a physical button, so in other words, I would think the Note 3/4's bezel is bigger at the bottom (and maybe even the top).
10-15-2014, 08:01 PM
Banned
10-15-2014, 08:34 PM
Moderator Alumnus
Length is signifigant for one handability and pocketability.
- Frank
10-15-2014, 08:34 PM
Moderator Alumnus
10-16-2014, 03:35 AM
I struggle with decisions in the 4.6-5.2" screen size range.
The Note is just way too big for me. My former GNex and Moto X are both manageable to use, and not too noticeable in my pocket. I tried using the 6+ and a Note 3 earlier, and it's too unwieldy and uncomfortable to pocket.
Phones need smaller, tapered bezels. Also front facing dual speakers. Just my opinion. Every time someone wants to share a video in a noisy environment, we get the person with the HTC One M8. Can't hear anything otherwise.
The Note is just way too big for me. My former GNex and Moto X are both manageable to use, and not too noticeable in my pocket. I tried using the 6+ and a Note 3 earlier, and it's too unwieldy and uncomfortable to pocket.
Phones need smaller, tapered bezels. Also front facing dual speakers. Just my opinion. Every time someone wants to share a video in a noisy environment, we get the person with the HTC One M8. Can't hear anything otherwise.
10-16-2014, 06:25 AM
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10-16-2014, 09:26 AM
So my Note 4 arrived, what's the best way of transferring everything from my iPhone 5 to Note 4? I know ATT has some mobile transfer app via wifi, is this a safe option? Or should I just let google pull everything from Apple iCloud?
10-16-2014, 09:29 AM
Banned
Can't wait for Lollipop, hopefully I'll get it before the end of the month. Quick Settings changes! 
10-16-2014, 09:29 AM
let google do everything!
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TeknoKing (10-16-2014)
10-16-2014, 09:33 AM
Team Owner
Knowing what I know now, I'd see if my Google account, probably via GMail, can pick up my iPhone contacts. Then on your Note 4 you just sync your contacts from Google and your phone is ready to rock. I did it through ATT last time also. Anyways, fuck contacts!!! How's the phone!!!! Engadget gave it a shiny review.