Technology Android

dilla

Trumpfan17 aka Coonie aka Dilla aka Tennis Dog
Any suggestions on cases? I had a random brand I found on Amazon called Luvitt and it was pretty good. It was a simple, thin case that protected everything but the screen, and it was good enough for me until I went naked the past few months out of preference.

I do want one with a kickstand (lol) because I stream a ton of media and hate having to prop my phone up on a table or in bed. Spigen makes one with a stand and they're also a reputable company. And the case is like $10-14 on Amazon, so it's not $60 like an OtterBox.
 

dilla

Trumpfan17 aka Coonie aka Dilla aka Tennis Dog
This thread is about to be ten years old in a month lol

Anyone have experience with Microsoft Office Lens? I had no idea it existed and it's been out for almost five years now.

I downloaded it tonight but I'll have to try it out in the morning. We get so many promotional materials for companies and my dad always asked if we could scan it into and editable form and just take out copyrighted stuff or just add stuff of our own to it and distribute it. I felt that tech was shaky at best and depended on how good your scanner was and then required an expensive software to get it done accurately. Turns out there was an app for that.

I was aware of scanner apps that did a good job making pictures of documents look like a scan. But editable?

We'll see how it goes. But I'm shocked if it ends up being so good that it cuts work by like 90% if only some small changes need to be made to a doc.

I found out about because recently there was an article on Office now being able to scan tables with data into an Excel formatted table. That seemed pretty cool but this has got to be better.
 

masta247

Well-Known Member
Staff member
I didn't read too much into it but wasn't this big push to ban Huawei because of security issues? Or is it the result of Trump's pissing contest with China over tariffs? Is it affecting the world because Google is an American company? China has already gone for so long without giving citizens access to Google search and, I think, Facebook? Among many other things.

What wireless charging pad do you use? The official Samsung one or are there reputable third party ones these days? I still have the one I got with my S7 three-plus years ago. I think it was around from the S6 era. Non-Fast Charging. I think a FCing one came out a few months after the S7 release.

I was just looking for reputable cable-makers to replace the OEM cables that came with our cars to connect to them or charge them.
It was aimed at Huaweii because it's Chinese and because of the spying part, but I'm not aware of there ever being proof. Huawei at this point is a global smartphone powerhouse, but this entirely kills their plans to dominate the markets outside of China.
It's annoying when you think about the double standards, because we know that American companies work with the NSA and other western intelligence agencies to provide backdoors into their products, yet it's not fine when China does it (which as far as I'm concerned is less of an issue since China is further and we're largely out of their reach). People in China are still buying American-backdoored Microsoft products or Google phones, yet at the tiniest suspicion that a Chinese product in America is doing the same thing people lose their shit and go nuclear.

I have several wireless charging pads. I use the official fast charging Samsung one, a tiny non-fast charging Samsung one of the S7 era (I like this one the least unless I'm traveling, since it's the smallest) and.. several Ikea ones, which were like $15 each. They aren't fast charging but I don't need that considering one is by my desk, one is next to the sofa in my living room, an additional one is in the bedroom etc, so my phone is almost always on one of the pads when at home. They work perfectly well and blend in well with the furniture, and they come with their own power adapter, which makes them an incredible deal imho:
https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90381986/
 
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dilla

Trumpfan17 aka Coonie aka Dilla aka Tennis Dog
It was aimed at Huaweii because it's Chinese and because of the spying part, but I'm not aware of there ever being proof. Huawei at this point is a global smartphone powerhouse, but this entirely kills their plans to dominate the markets outside of China.
It's annoying when you think about the double standards, because we know that American companies work with the NSA and other western intelligence agencies to provide backdoors into their products, yet it's not fine when China does it (which as far as I'm concerned is less of an issue since China is further and we're largely out of their reach). People in China are still buying American-backdoored Microsoft products or Google phones, yet at the tiniest suspicion that a Chinese product in America is doing the same thing people lose their shit and go nuclear.

I have several wireless charging pads. I use the official fast charging Samsung one, a tiny non-fast charging Samsung one of the S7 era (I like this one the least unless I'm traveling, since it's the smallest) and.. several Ikea ones, which were like $15 each. They aren't fast charging but I don't need that considering one is by my desk, one is next to the sofa in my living room, an additional one is in the bedroom etc, so my phone is almost always on one of the pads when at home. They work perfectly well and blend in well with the furniture, and they come with their own power adapter, which makes them an incredible deal imho:
https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90381986/

There is a double standard but I think there was a story recently about curbing back the NSA's power and presence in tech. I could be wrong and I'd need to look it up but it was on rAndroid I believe. Or rTech.

I think the whole world distrusts the Chinese. lol I know Indians do, but it goes beyond just tech. The US seems to be lukewarm and distant towards the Chinese despite abusing them for the manufacturing. I'm sure Europe is the same.

I know their tech is everywhere and was flourishing but now people seem to have palpable concerns about spying. It seems we're OK with our government doing it but draw the line at others doing it. And while the US isn't innocent, there doesn't seem to have been a unique scandal involving US companies. Although Facebook and other social media are American companies and have been catching a ton of shit since 2016. I think it just comes down the US being seen as the lesser of the two evils between the US and China. People probably get suspicious because the Chinese are so secluded in their other affairs except for their tech.

But I think this is a retaliatory slap to China for their decades of stealing IPs from other countries' companies. This probably has nothing to do with spying but more just to yank the leash on them for their past actions.

I had one poor experience with wireless charging on my S7 where I had put it on the charger overnight within the first month of owning it and in the morning it was burning hot and barely charged from when I had put it on. I think it went from 20-60% in those eight hours. I think that might have fucked with my battery too since just a few months later, within one year of ownership, I was at 67 or 63% total battery capacity. I blamed fast charging, wireless charging, etc. But I think it was that event where it was on a wireless charger all night and probably wasn't hitting all the sensors properly and would connect-disconnect during that whole time. So just eight hours of charging for a few seconds and then not, alternating for that time.

So I've been wary but the S10 subreddit has been big on wireless charging pads, as is my friend who has an S9, and one of the big reasons they state is that they don't want to wear out the charger port. They said the newer phones have them "integrated" or something, and are not easily replaceable, if at all. So I may look to that. I'll try the wireless pad I got from a Samsung Pay giveaway, the very same one I suspect dicked my S7 battery, and I'll probably stick to that. I don't think I need a FC wireless as I've disabled fast charge on my phone for wired charging. It's an irrational fear/paranoia from my S7 days, I know, but I'd be pissed if I got fucked again.

Been getting 7+ hours of SOT on LTE now and probably charge my phone every other day. Once it hits 20%ish, I'll charge it back up to 70 or 80, just not 100%. I think there's science behind that lol. Many articles state that so I'll do it. I seriously can't drain this battery if I tried and I didn't even go disable-happy with the apps this time. I think I have 3 or 4 battery cycles in 10 days of owning it, which is huge. If I didn't stream video as much, I could do probably almost three days.

Still waiting on the case from Spigen. Amazon fucked up the delivery so it might be a few more days despite the one day delivery from Prime. Same with the Anker car charger I got.

My S7 plug was Fast Charge cable too, obviously, but is it supposed to be the same as the S10's? I think they both have 2.0A output, which I'm assuming is the Fast Charge speed. The speeds haven't increased in three-plus years?
 

dilla

Trumpfan17 aka Coonie aka Dilla aka Tennis Dog
The new Mac Pros are ridiculously priced. If I remember correctly, it starts at $6K? I get that high-end work machines can get pricey but I think it's agreed that the Pro doesn't offer $6K worth of performance. Apple must be banking on people in the Apple ecosystem to shell out for it lest they have to look to a Windows alternative and break functionality with all their other Apple devices. Or something like that.

And that 32" display that's also like $5K? No stand? That's just silly.

Waiting on the iOS 13 beta to drop. People are downloading the IPSW to flash via iTunes on their computers but I'd rather just download the tiny dev profile and update straight on my iPad. I'm glad the iPad gets its own OS now. Hopefully that means apps gain functionality and look better on iPad instead of just being stretched-out versions of iPhone apps.

Biggest buzz from WWDC, it seems to me so far, is that PS4 and Xbox One controllers are now compatible with Apple TV and iPads. That must be important to gamers because I can't think of how I'd use it quite yet since I don't really play mobile games.

Got my Spigen case in a few days back. I love that little kickstand on the back. I don't know how I went so many years of watching my shows before going to bed on my phone while just holding it up with my hand. Now I can just set it down and chill.

One thing I need to figure out is the optimal settings for bluetooth codecs and such on my XM3s with my S10. I heard that using the most current version of bluetooth (1.6?) can lead to some issues with audio cutting out. And same with the codec, which I think is AptX or something like that, and whether I use that or set it to "auto" and let the headphones and/or phone decide which is best.
 

dilla

Trumpfan17 aka Coonie aka Dilla aka Tennis Dog
Google is ending support for Trips. I think I used it once or twice prior to a trip in 2013 or so. Maybe a little afterwards but never used it again. But seeing some people upset about it seems like it got better since that time.

Google has to stop just killing services like this. I get this particular one may not have been hugely popular but this just shakes people's confidence in using Google services.


@masta247 is probably excited for this news about AMD/Samsung teaming up: https://www.theverge.com/circuitbre...msung-graphics-soc-chipset-exynos-smartphones

But it looks like it will be for Exynos variants most likely. I understand why there are different chipsets based on region but it's so silly how variable a Samsung phone's performance can be. Like the S10 variants, the SD seems to be the one with the better camera and battery life and some Exynos users are lamenting their poor SOT. Like 3-4 hours compared to the 5+ most of us SD users are getting. Kind of the opposite of what the S7 situation was like with the SD having the shit battery life.

I was thinking about flashing the XDA GCam port for the Night Sight feature from the Pixels but then I read Samsung was releasing their own version of it. I think it was only for the Exynos variants though so I may go ahead with flashing this one.

I didn't read a whole lot of reviews for the S10 prior to getting it but one negative thing I can agree with is the placement of the power button. Opening the phone is fine since I just double tap the screen or simply guess where the FP reader is while the screen is off and just hold it there to turn on, but shutting it off almost tears the ligament in my thumb when stretching for it. Several times, I've ended up taking a screen shot because I also inadvertently push the volume button as well while reaching for the power. Minor quip but it is still annoying. What makes it worse is I realize I do it and just do it again but then the image gets saved as a screenshot and gets auto-uploaded to Photos as a backup lol.
 

dilla

Trumpfan17 aka Coonie aka Dilla aka Tennis Dog
I'll respond in a while, but in the meantime I'll just leave this here:

One attempt at a "justification" that I've read on Reddit is that creators change their monitors to the latest and greatest but keep the stand. Sounds like a pretty weak argument but I do also understand that people whose careers and lives are dependent on their hardware working well and also invest a good portion of their income on said hardware may see the benefit of this. The benefit of either getting just a monitor with no stand because they already have a stand that they like or buying the Apple display along with the $1000 stand because it's by Apple and they trust Apple's workmanship. But this is highly dependent on Apple making their stand worth $1K to their consumers. No stand is worth that much but if it's a highly durable and reliable and well-built stand, customers may still see the value in the aesthetic of the stand. Maybe. I don't agree 100% with what I'm saying but I am playing devil's advocate here because I understand there are people who work on expensive machines like this daily and know tons more than us regular folks ever would. As silly as Apple has been with some things it has done in the past decade, or more, they're building it because someone is buying it. And continues to buy these glorified accessories from Apple for some reason. So whether it's worth it or not is one argument, but Apple making them in the first place is another.

If I'm not mistaken, this is a 6K display, right? Meant to be used with their obnoxious "Pro" machine, the Mac Pro. The one that rings in at $35K when maxed out. $1K stand and a $5/$6K display is sort of a drop in the bucket to people like that.

I don't know anything about hardware but is there something special about this display that warrants this price? The $6K option has "nano textured" glass, but I'm sure the main features of the display are in the panel. 6K certainly isn't commonplace; hell, 4K isn't either for computer monitors. They're boasting all the color replication features and gamuts and palettes and all that stuff that I don't care about. But is there a 6K display that offers the same, or more, for the same price or less? Apple may be pushing these numbers hard, even if they're negligible in real world usage, even to the most pro of the pros. But Apple also caters to people that get caught up and impressed with the spec sheets, so perhaps that's what they're banking on.
 

masta247

Well-Known Member
Staff member
The best stands on the market are in the $100-$200 range, and I mean super high end. The best Vesa arms are around $100-150 and they allow you to tilt and position the monitor in literally any possible way.
A regular Vesa stand that people would use at the studios is probably a dual or quad-monitor one and costs maybe $150 if they ever needed one as well.
I don't think anyone at Apple can even explain their price tag - they probably did their calculations and decided that the 100 die-hard Apple collectors (mixed with the occasional reviewer or insane person) buying their $50 stand for $999 will make them more money than pricing it reasonably would in such a small market, and this is how they ended up with that price.

There is nothing in the monitors that justifies the price as well. I believe the best Eizo studio monitor costs around $3000, and that's absolute best of the best for content creators.
Hell, if you want the absolute best in existence in display technology, the 30-inch fucking OLED monitor from Dell is $3500.
Don't get me wrong, Apple displays are good, especially on mobile devices, but in desktop the prices are absolutely not in the realm of what they are competing against in terms of quality and the $999 stand is an indicator of that. You can get a better monitor than what Apple offers for $999, and it likely comes with a better stand as well.
 
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dilla

Trumpfan17 aka Coonie aka Dilla aka Tennis Dog
The best stands on the market are in the $100-$200 range, and I mean super high end. The best Vesa arms are around $100-150 and they allow you to tilt and position the monitor in literally any possible way.
A regular Vesa stand that people would use at the studios is probably a dual or quad-monitor one and costs maybe $150 if they ever needed one as well.
I don't think anyone at Apple can even explain their price tag - they probably did their calculations and decided that the 100 die-hard Apple collectors (mixed with the occasional reviewer or insane person) buying their $50 stand for $999 will make them more money than pricing it reasonably would in such a small market, and this is how they ended up with that price.

There is nothing in the monitors that justifies the price as well. I believe the best Eizo studio monitor costs around $3000, and that's absolute best of the best for content creators.
Hell, if you want the absolute best in existence in display technology, the 30-inch fucking OLED monitor from Dell is $3500.
Don't get me wrong, Apple displays are good, especially on mobile devices, but in desktop the prices are absolutely not in the realm of what they are competing against in terms of quality and the $999 stand is an indicator of that. You can get a better monitor than what Apple offers for $999, and it likely comes with a better stand as well.

Yeah it just sounds more insane as time goes on. Is the material any different? Something obnoxious but rare and expensive or is it just the same material as other metal stands? I know the stand on my monitor is a dinky plastic one lol. But it was also. a. 29" for $180 flat, no tax or shipping fees. So I knew what I was getting.
 

dilla

Trumpfan17 aka Coonie aka Dilla aka Tennis Dog
Looks like Android is pulling out the tablet game again lol. Slates being discontinued and two future projects scrapped.

Poor planning or maybe Google is too big for its own good. All these US lawmakers looking in to breaking up big tech and I think Google will probably benefit from it. Or Alphabet. Or Android. Or whatever the hell they call themselves these days.

Also, this thread on Reddit probably explains a lot of what we've been saying the past few years about upgrading phones and the smaller increments in improvements in Android updates. Be it hardware or software: https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/c2yf0d
The comments are spot on.
 
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masta247

Well-Known Member
Staff member
https://www.theverge.com/2019/6/26/18759870/sony-1000x-m3-headphones-free-deal-preorder-xperia-1

Sony pulling out the big guns lol

I thought Sony was shuttering its phone division? Maybe I'm remembering incorrectly. But I thought I had read that despite their beautiful designs, which were some of the best in the world, they were discontinuing making phones.
Nah Sony are killing it. They sold their notebook division, but their phones are my second favorite to Samsungs. They don't seem to be marketed well in North America and their mobile division did cut their costs (which included layoffs), but they are still large in Europe and Asia. It makes me wonder why they aren't popular in western countries, considering their phones are amongst the most premium, and the brand is well-recognized. They sell them here in Canada but I'm yet to see someone using one, which is weird. Maybe I shouldn't be that surprised as the variety is much smaller here - everyone has either an iPhone or a Galaxy flagship, with the occasional Huawei or other Chinese phone.

Sony's biggest drawback with Xperia series was that they were late to use AMOLED, and are late with some features like wireless charging, despite being amongst the first ones to ditch the headphone jack. It's funny because at the same time their designs are the only ones that are actually really unique in the smartphone world. They had 4K displays on their flagships, and now they are pushing the cinematic aspect ratios - with their latest flagship having a 21:9 OLED display. Their compact phones are second to none as well with their Xperia Compact series - you won't find anything close to these, as they are full-fledged flagships with sub-5" bodies and incredible battery lives at that. Their quality and software are generally rock-solid as well, and most of their critical components apart from chips are Japan-made, including displays.

If I was in the market for a premium flagship right now and didn't care about wireless charging I'd probably get the Xperia 1 - apart from the lack of wireless charging and headphone jack, it's amongst the best smartphones at the moment, well designed, and definitely the most unique one at that.
 
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dilla

Trumpfan17 aka Coonie aka Dilla aka Tennis Dog
Nah Sony are killing it. They sold their notebook division, but their phones are my second favorite to Samsungs. They don't seem to be marketed well in North America and their mobile division did cut their costs (which included layoffs), but they are still large in Europe and Asia. It makes me wonder why they aren't popular in western countries, considering their phones are amongst the most premium, and the brand is well-recognized. They sell them here in Canada but I'm yet to see someone using one, which is weird. Maybe I shouldn't be that surprised as the variety is much smaller here - everyone has either an iPhone or a Galaxy flagship, with the occasional Huawei or other Chinese phone.

Sony's biggest drawback with Xperia series was that they were late to use AMOLED, and are late with some features like wireless charging, despite being amongst the first ones to ditch the headphone jack. It's funny because at the same time their designs are the only ones that are actually really unique in the smartphone world. They had 4K displays on their flagships, and now they are pushing the cinematic aspect ratios - with their latest flagship having a 21:9 OLED display. Their compact phones are second to none as well with their Xperia Compact series - you won't find anything close to these, as they are full-fledged flagships with sub-5" bodies and incredible battery lives at that. Their quality and software are generally rock-solid as well, and most of their critical components apart from chips are Japan-made, including displays.

If I was in the market for a premium flagship right now and didn't care about wireless charging I'd probably get the Xperia 1 - apart from the lack of wireless charging and headphone jack, it's amongst the best smartphones at the moment, well designed, and definitely the most unique one at that.

I see. I just don't hear people talk about Sony at all in the US. I only know one person who had a Sony phone. I'm sure people have Sony TVs (I know the Bravia is actually pretty big on quality, along with LG), but it kind of ends there. The most I've heard Sony products hyped in recent years, on a large scale, are the wireless headphones (the XM3s). Which isn't to say anything about Sony's quality or reputation, it just doesn't seem to have the hype of Samsung or even the Pixels or LG phones.

Maybe they'll go all out in a few years and release desirable products across the full range. But for now, their phones are probably one of the least known appliances they make, I feel. I think if you asked most Americans to name a Sony phone model, they'd be stumped
 

dilla

Trumpfan17 aka Coonie aka Dilla aka Tennis Dog
You should be running Pie on your S9, right Masta? Have you fiddled with the DNS settings or just use the default one?

I use the AdGuard app for system-wide blocking, a habit since my S7 days. But with the S10 and Pie, you can modify that. I'm not sure how well it works on its own but if I can ditch the app from running all the time monitoring my network, then it'll be something to look in to. I'm speaking specifically about switching from the AG app to the AG DNS. I know CloudFlare is a more popular option, but I don't think it blocks ads but is more privacy oriented, as well as speed-oriented.

Also, looks like it was a Trump pissing contest about letting the Chinese sell their phones here. Looks like that ban on Huawei is gone.

Also, I just learned there's only one "I" and not two at the end of Huawei lol. Been spelling it like an idiot all that time. I don't know how I came to think there were two at the end.

Not Android related but it's interesting to see the media's portrayal of Jony Ives' departure from Apple. Even though he'll be working close to Apple at the new company, there's some reports of a rift or difference between Tim and Jony. Which Tim refutes.
 

masta247

Well-Known Member
Staff member
You should be running Pie on your S9, right Masta? Have you fiddled with the DNS settings or just use the default one?
I haven't ever seen the need for it, so I just use the default one.

Not Android related but it's interesting to see the media's portrayal of Jony Ives' departure from Apple. Even though he'll be working close to Apple at the new company, there's some reports of a rift or difference between Tim and Jony. Which Tim refutes.
His legacy is that of irreparable devices with locked batteries and essential ports removed. Some of which were pretty.

So I succumbed and got myself the Galaxy Buds to my headphone collection. They are probably the most reasonable wireless earbuds, and the most comfortable earbuds I have, which says a lot.
They are well balanced and sound above average in all respects, which combined with the tiny case and the fact they stay firmly in your ears no matter how hard you try makes them the perfect outdoor/bus buds.
I was confused with the comparisons against the Airpods - I think some reviewers didn't use the right sized tips - especially those that said they are missing bass? They are actually more bassy than anything I have other than the Momentums which are the most dynamic sounding headphones I have. They aren't perfect, but they represent probably the most complete package as far as wireless buds go at the moment (Sennheiser has the best sounding ones with the Momentum True Wireless buds, that also cost three times as much, but Samsung nailed it with convenience and comfort).
 
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dilla

Trumpfan17 aka Coonie aka Dilla aka Tennis Dog
Nokia sold their 7.1 phone on the cheap for Prime Day.

Is it still a viable phone in today's market? I feel like it's a few yearstoo old to be considered a buy right now. Even at $250.
 

dilla

Trumpfan17 aka Coonie aka Dilla aka Tennis Dog
Sometimes I hate the phone community. It was an issue with the S7 sub I visited and it’s begun again with the S10 sub.

People whining daily about not getting the latest security patch for their phones. People are upset at being on the May or June updates and denouncing Samsung for it. One dude might’ve actually sold his S10+ over it this past weekend.

That’s pretty ridiculous.
 

masta247

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Sometimes I hate the phone community. It was an issue with the S7 sub I visited and it’s begun again with the S10 sub.

People whining daily about not getting the latest security patch for their phones. People are upset at being on the May or June updates and denouncing Samsung for it. One dude might’ve actually sold his S10+ over it this past weekend.

That’s pretty ridiculous.
I'm not sure where you find these! If I ever saw such comments I'd laugh and ignore them. There is literally no value in them.

That said, GSMAreana turned into a sports arena where people fight for which of their favorite brands is the greatest as if getting the best product almost didn't matter. The reviews are still valid, but you can tell that the level of professionalism has dropped to accommodate the influx of people from countries like Bangladesh or India claiming their low-end Oppo is the best phone in the world that shits on "Shitsung's lagdroids" and "garbage piece of shit iPhones".

I used to read XDA and I still sometimes do, but they go way too deep into issues to the point they are spoiling my fun with the devices. They make 100+ page threads about issues no normal human would notice without looking for them really hard. The pinnacle of this is people write essays about returning phones that perform essentially the same because they got a Samsung camera sensor instead of Sony. Or people hacking their OLED screened-devices to be always on and depriving them of their largest strength of infinite contrast to combat black crush.
 
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