Technology Android

[ARon]

That does suck. For some reason I've always used Pulse so it won't be that much of a bother for me

 

[dilla]

It's not the app. It's the service. Does Pulse have its own service?

And when I used it, it would only allow like 10 feeds to be shown as a widget or something. I can't remember what exactly it was, but it was something screwy. This was in 2010, I believe.

I tried Newsrob, sucked. I don't think anything came recommended after that. The official app was perfect for me.

Oh well. Google's reasoning was to shrink the product line and allow for more resources allocated to these services to make the experience better. OK. Whatever. I'm not buying that faggot Google Glasses shit, so hopefully it's not for that. I don't use G+, so hopefully the geniuses there aren't gaining some more geniuses.

 

[Pittsey]

But it'll actually work well and be useful.


I just read Google is ending Google Reader on July 1. Why? So many people use it. I've used it about four years now. This is the first time Google has killed of something I actually used. It wasn't even as bad as Google Wave being shut down.

Fuck Google. I hope the Reeder for Mac app I use will just simply take the feeds I have and add those with no hassle.

I was gutted when they announced the death of igoogle. But Google Now for web, looks much better.

 

[dilla]

For web? I dunno, I can't imagine myself using Now on desktop, but we'll see. It's great on my phone.

People are petitioning to keep Reader. Google says numbers have dropped, but last I checked, there were 50,000 signatures on said petition. I haven't signed it yet, nad I'm sure countless of other casual Reader users haven't either. Stop updating it, fine, but let the service stand as it is. Reader doesn't need anymore brilliant minds behind it, like Google is saying it's reallocating from Reader to other services.

Feedly sucks ass. No way I use that. I just want to be able to use my Reeder app for Mac, that's all. I like the way that's set up.

 

[ARon]

I still don't use Now. I'll check it out when it comes to Chrome but doubt I'll use it

 

[ARon]

I'm watching the S IV unveiling. Its corny as hell but the first feature for the camera is cool as hell, dual camera. Record front and rear facing video at the same time

 

[masta247]

http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s_iv_goes_official_with_new_screen_and_cpu-news-5702.php

This is basically raping the whole smartphone market. Slimmer,lighter, at the same time with much bigger battery, the processor that rapes averything and is also the most power efficient. The camera from Sony (probably the same sensor as Xperia Z), 5 inch full hd Super AMOLED that doesn't make the device itself bigger because of smaller bezels and thanks to that also better design. Thank you, I rest my case. From all the Galaxy smartphones in history this one will be the hardest to compete against for a longer while now.

 

[Pittsey]

Not enough for me to get rid of the nexus 4. I prefer the experience phones for the updates. And I prefer the solidness of it compared to the S3.

 

[masta247]

Yeah, I wouldn't switch from the S3 or the Nexus 4, but if I were buying a phone now or switching from anything pre-S3, just nothing beats this. Every single feature is hands down the best on the market.

Sure, the design could be better, at least it's better than the S3 because of smaller bezels though. At first I was disappointed by no design change (because I thought the S3 looked bad), but everything that came after that was just perfection.

I think the S3 was more solid than the Nexus. Perhaps the Nexus can feel/look more solid, I guess. It's hit or miss because I know people who dropped it and it survived and I know people who just accidentally hit something with it and it was ruined.
With the S3 I've only heard of one story of broken back cover. I have a friend who drops hers at least once a week and it only looks a little scratched.

I guess Samsung's choice of materials is basically functionality above looks. HTC phones use metal unibodies, they look solid but have to be serviced more often. They are heavier and take more internal damage on impact because of hard covers.
Samsung's plastic is more flexible and has smartly engineered impact zones. Sony Xperia Z is drop-resistant barely because of well engineered impact zones, cover design and flexible plastic.

 

[Pittsey]

Yeah, I wouldn't switch from the S3 or the Nexus 4, but if I were buying a phone now or switching from anything pre-S3, just nothing beats this. Every single feature is hands down the best on the market.

Sure, the design could be better, at least it's better than the S3 because of smaller bezels though. At first I was disappointed by no design change (because I thought the S3 looked bad), but everything that came after that was just perfection.

I think the S3 was more solid than the Nexus. Perhaps the Nexus can feel/look more solid, I guess. It's hit or miss because I know people who dropped it and it survived and I know people who just accidentally hit something with it and it was ruined.
With the S3 I've only heard of one story of broken back cover. I have a friend who drops hers at least once a week and it only looks a little scratched.

I guess Samsung's choice of materials is basically functionality above looks. HTC phones use metal unibodies, they look solid but have to be serviced more often. They are heavier and take more internal damage on impact because of hard covers.
Samsung's plastic is more flexible and has smartly engineered impact zones. Sony Xperia Z is drop-resistant barely because of well engineered impact zones, cover design and flexible plastic.

The N4 is far more solid.

 

[masta247]

The N4 is far more solid.

I still stand by my initial point. I can see how it might feel more solid having a hardened glass on the back (and sealed cover) instead of flexible plastic and being overall heavier.. but the components used, the way it was put together are definitely lower quality than the SGS3. I bet the overall durability is also not as good as the SGS3.
Even at the very beginning when the discussions related to low build quality of the Nexus 4 began on XDA and pictures of parts glued together emerged and were posted here I defended the N4, but in comparison to the SGS3 it's not as good.

I know you had both of them, but most users of both usually also say that the N4 is more fragile:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=37357838
and here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2021559

There are also drop tests, the Galaxy S3 usually passes those with flying colors most of the times, the N4 has about 50% risk of cracking either front or back when hitting the pavement. The problem with the S3 seems to be that the plastic feels like it's not durable. And sometimes the back cover could break under certain circumstances because it was thin and coated with some easy-to-break crap. I believe the coating of the S4 is a little different.

 

[Pittsey]

Yeah. It's the plastic. The build of the N4 feels so much better. Even if the S3 is more durable.

 

[ARon]

I've been saying it forever. The plastic feels cheap. Everyone knows it's not going to break as much as glass but the feeling of it is horrible. I want me cell phone to look nice and sleek and feel like it costs as much as they do. I don't like the cheap plastic feel

 

[masta247]

To be honest I don't mind the plastic. I always have that realization that it's not a fragile phone, I had plastic phones and metal ones as well and frankly it doesn't really make that much of a difference to me, I think I even prefer the plastic for its features like weight and temperature. I think there are some plastics that look better than others though. I don't usually like the glossy ones.

 

[THEV1LL4N]

I don't think the design of the S3/S4 is that bad. It looks good for a plastic phone and it's very durable so I'd be more than happy with that.

On the other hand, I once fell asleep with my N4 and when I woke up I found it on the floor - I panicked when I saw it because I expected it to have a crack of some sort. I was lucky, I couldn't see any signs of the glass being shattered. Maybe the case I have it in acts as a shock absorber to some extent. With an S3, I wouldn't expect it to be broken or shattered from the drop.

 

[Pittsey]

I don't think the design of the S3/S4 is that bad. It looks good for a plastic phone and it's very durable so I'd be more than happy with that.

On the other hand, I once fell asleep with my N4 and when I woke up I found it on the floor - I panicked when I saw it because I expected it to have a crack of some sort. I was lucky, I couldn't see any signs of the glass being shattered. Maybe the case I have it in acts as a shock absorber to some extent. With an S3, I wouldn't expect it to be broken or shattered from the drop.

I have dropped both. Neither shattered. Both have little dings. I don't use cases as previous to these 2 phones, I hadn't dropped one in 17 years of owning a mobile.

 

[masta247]

I often drop my phone from my bed in the morning, it's not really too dangerous because it's a really small drop. Although a friend of mine had the HTC Wildfire and dropped it that way and shattered the Gorilla glass display. It wasn't even worth getting it repaired.


Funny thing. I did some research on Galaxy S' "plastic" and found out that it's actually a very durable polycarbonate. It's also shatterproof and temperature resistant. Of course it's very thin but it's the same polycarbonate that the f22 Raptor fighter jet's canopy is made of, it's 300x more shatter-resistant than average plastic. Paradoxically it looks cheaper than average plastic and I think the "hyperglazed coating" doesn't help its case.
I'm pretty sure it's the no.1 issue most people don't like about the Galaxy series, but I'm also sure Samsung use those materials because they know they're the best choice. They used to make metal phones as well, they were good too, I had one (the S8500 Wave) but I'm confident that they know what they're doing, and it's functionality and durability over looks, I guess.

 

[masta247]

While I don't think the SGS4 design is perfect, it makes the Iphone 5 look like a 5 year old phone.

 

[ARon]

that photo just makes me go wow. The iPhone used to look really good. Now it is a joke, no lie

 

[masta247]

Yeah, I had a 'wow' feeling as well.

Now it's a little bit funny because it seems like everyone has forgotten about Apple. First the Xperia Z was in the spotlight , then the HTC One and now the S4 stole the show. This year nobody compares it to the latest Iphone, it gets compared to Sony's and HTC's latest phones. I Googled for the Iphone comparison out of curiosity and was stunned at that picture.

Today Apple released a scream of sorrow, North Korea style propaganda presenting photoshopped Iphones with lots of eye candy, a couple paragraphs of reassuring text repeating in a creepy fashion why people like their Iphones and of course also taking shots at "other phones". Oh, and they also emailed it to their customers. Even Apple fans find it disturbing and yet even this went unnoticed:
http://9to5mac.com/2013/03/16/follo...-to-tout-why-people-love-iphone-slam-android/