Technology Android

[dilla]

I see. I guess the pros of this are we don't have to wait for stuff to be released on one day a year, like Christmas. And I can see how that takes some of the air out of Google I/O since all the announcements don't fall on one day.



I have been on 4.4.2 on my S3 for about nine months now. I think I'm about to miss out on Lollipop as a whole because I like stock so much. I see comparison charts

like this http://www.androidpit.com/android-kitkat-vs-android-m-comparison

and I realize that Lollipop and Android M are both equally foreign to me. There is a 5.0 ROM from CM, but TW's signal/radio optimizer isn't available on CM, so my data reception is almost non-existent when I am in my house. And I've harped enough on that in the past, but then my unlimited data goes to waste since I spend most of my time at home but with no data. WiFi is obviously faster, but...again...the wasting part.

Outside of my house, it's great. So maybe once I'm out, I can make the switch.

But I may end up missing out on Lollipop as a whole since I imagine M will make its way to the S3 in CM-form by the end of this year.

 

[dilla]

I like Spotify and I thought Apple Music was just another Apple flop on the music front, but this has me thinking a bit http://www.theverge.com/2015/6/8/8743035/apple-music-hands-on-wwdc-streaming

I don't really like The Verge either, so we'll see how this all plays out, but I haven't heard of anyone with any major quips with the service so far.

 

[dilla]

Conversely, this was said about Apples' service. Seems like I jumped the gun a bit.

http://mashable.com/2015/06/09/apple-music-mess/

 

[dilla]

OK, and this is pretty cool too. I'll need to leave my house to try this though, haha

https://twitter.com/dannysullivan/status/608302290638893056/video/1

 

[Casey]

Spotify has a five year head start on Apple Music, and they're not even the main rival....... YouTube is. Remember, all music on YouTube is properly licensed now, which makes it the number one streaming site.

 

[dilla]

Anyone use FDroid? Was just suggested to install it, but I'm not sure what to look for. Any top recommendations?

 

[dilla]

The new Moto X nomenclature is a little confusing. But if I'm understanding it correctly, we get the "flagship" version here in the US, but not the Play. It looks like a good phone. I could use a change from Samsung since the 6 a bit outdated and the Note 5 is probably too big for me anyway.

Can't look at the OnePlus Two since it's GSM only and I'm on Sprint. The only two phones I'm waiting on are the Note 5 and whatever the next Nexus device is. I think there's rumored to be two of those, one of which will be Huawei.

I switched from stock TW 4.4.1 or whatever Sprint had on my S3 and flashed CM 12.1. First custom ROM in about 10 months. I've spent about a week with it and my signal is actually pretty good and I'm enjoying Lollipop's features. Makes me feel like I don't need to upgrade my S3 anymore, but I do want a better camera and screen.

 

[Casey]

I'm hoping Moto's pricing for the new Moto X stays similar when it translates. $399 is roughly £250, which is literally HALF the price of your average flagship phone over here. I suspect it will launch at £299 here though, which is still damn good pricing and I think pretty much what I paid for the N4 and N5.

I probably won't be upgrading this year unless the Huawei Nexus launches at a really good price point. I'm still really happy with the N6.

 

[dilla]

Yeah I really like the Moto X. And seeing as how Samsung is starting to follow Apple's plan of non removable battery, no SD storage (I don't really use it, but I'd like the option) and just the overall shape and design of the phone, I think the Moto X is good on paper and I'll just have to hold it at the store or something to see if it's too big.

I'm still rocking my S3, and I find the screen size to be just fine. But a better display can't hurt and I know HD displays now basically have eclipsed the 5" mark. I still would like something that slips into my pocket and not jammed in and bulging.

Still considering the next iteration of the iPhone (6S, 7, whatever) but that's if nothing else is looking good.

I read that Samsung was planning on supplying Huawei with its displays. Does that mean the rumored Huawei Nexus uses those displays or is that just further down the road, maybe devices next year?

Also, what's with this huge surge in Android malware and exploits? One involving an MMS message, another about stealing fingerprints remotely. Even OSX has some horrible trojan that rewrites code in the CPU or something like that, making it a nightmare to treat.

And it got me wondering if custom ROMs made it safer or easier for these things? Obviously Samsung is releasing patches as we speak for their high end phones and I'm sure they'll get incorporated into newer ROMs too, but could custom ROMs get to a point where they're just immune to these attacks because devs find these loopholes first or patch them up to begin with?

 

[dilla]

So how are we justifying Samsungs decision for non-removable battery and no expandable memory? Whatever the S5 and 6 were, the Note 5 was really anticipated to come with at least a microSD slot.

Now Android forums are saying Samsung is giving in to consumers by modeling their phones after the iPhone.

 

[dilla]

http://www.droid-life.com/2015/08/17/here-is-the-new-android-6-0-marshmallow-boot-animation/

 

[Casey]

£279 for the Moto X Play in the UK. Good pricing, but I was hoping for the Style at that price point.

http://www.androidcentral.com/moto-x-play-now-available-moto-maker-uk

 

[dilla]

http://www.droid-life.com/2015/08/20/its-2015-why-do-all-android-phones-still-include-a-but/


I always felt this way about Android phones. Always some key feature missing. Still, the lesser of the evils is still Samsung for me. I love the screen and I value the camera. Battery life is key too, but I've found ways to extend it a good bit using "freelunch" governors on kernels and blocking alarms and wakelocks using Amplify (donate version). I think I could do it for the S6/Note 5, etc.

They said LG's UI is even worse than TouchWiz? I've never used it but I thought TW was considered to be just the worst.

 

[THEV1LL4N]

http://www.droid-life.com/2015/08/20/its-2015-why-do-all-android-phones-still-include-a-but/


I always felt this way about Android phones. Always some key feature missing. Still, the lesser of the evils is still Samsung for me. I love the screen and I value the camera. Battery life is key too, but I've found ways to extend it a good bit using "freelunch" governors on kernels and blocking alarms and wakelocks using Amplify (donate version). I think I could do it for the S6/Note 5, etc.

They said LG's UI is even worse than TouchWiz? I've never used it but I thought TW was considered to be just the worst.

I think LG's UI is pretty nice and for a manufacturer UI it is quite light. I mean, it's not Google's UI but it's nothing that frustrates me when using it. I would prefer to have a Nexus-like vanilla experience but I still like LG's UI. I would make a few changes to it if I could such as replacing the LG Smart homescreen with the Google Now homepage.

 

[dilla]

Samsung lived long enough to become the bad guy it seems http://bgr.com/2015/08/25/galaxy-note-5-vs-iphone-6-speed-test/

Between shitting on consumers by deleting features they valued and more recently the S Pen fiasco, this is just shitty to see.

 

[Casey]

Here's the Blackberry Venice. Finally they have seen sense and are making an Android phone.

I actually think this looks pretty great!

 

[Pittsey]

It's not for me.

 

[dilla]

Yeah. BlackBerry and physical keyboards need to go back to 2009 and die.

This sounds exciting: http://www.androidpolice.com/2015/0...splay-3gb-ram-2700mah-battery-usb-c-and-more/

When it comes to the Nexus 5 and 6, which one has the best customer satisfaction? I know they're very different devices, but in my head I don't even distinguish between the two when I see either N5 or N6 mentioned on a forum. People seem to have issues with both of them and I'm not sure which one had a poor camera or a poor screen or a shit battery life. Or if it was both of them.

I ask because as many sites have said recently, 2015 has been the year of the drawbacks for Android phones. Between screens, removable battery and storage, camera, OS, etc., no Android phone has been perfect. And I'm wondering between getting the Moto X, the Nexus 2015, and the Note5, which one is the lesser of the evils. Because since the Note 5's release, people have been firm in saying "I'm fine with my Nexus 5/6. I can wait to upgrade."

 

[Casey]

Yeah. BlackBerry and physical keyboards need to go back to 2009 and die.

This sounds exciting: http://www.androidpolice.com/2015/0...splay-3gb-ram-2700mah-battery-usb-c-and-more/

When it comes to the Nexus 5 and 6, which one has the best customer satisfaction? I know they're very different devices, but in my head I don't even distinguish between the two when I see either N5 or N6 mentioned on a forum. People seem to have issues with both of them and I'm not sure which one had a poor camera or a poor screen or a shit battery life. Or if it was both of them.

I ask because as many sites have said recently, 2015 has been the year of the drawbacks for Android phones. Between screens, removable battery and storage, camera, OS, etc., no Android phone has been perfect. And I'm wondering between getting the Moto X, the Nexus 2015, and the Note5, which one is the lesser of the evils. Because since the Note 5's release, people have been firm in saying "I'm fine with my Nexus 5/6. I can wait to upgrade."

I had the N5 for about 13 months. During that time, I had to RMA twice. Once for a glitching screen, and then another time the microphone went.

I've had the N6 now for 10 months. No problems whatsoever. I prefer the build quality, the screen size, the screen panel. Camera is way better, and no problems with battery life (I'm running Marshmallow Preview 3 and extremely happy with the battery life, it's improved over Lollipop, but even on Lollipop it was better than the N5).

But this should be expected. After all, the Nexus 5 was something like £279 at launch. The Nexus 6 was £499 at launch.

 

[dilla]

So the value factor wasn't quite there with the N6. If I remember correctly, people didn't feel it was priced proportionately to it's lacking camera and screen. The N5 had the battery life and screen issue then?