Technology Android

[dilla]

Yeah. I wasn't 100% sure. I was basing it on my actual kindle.

But I want the app to remember my spot where I left off in each book. I was under the impression it had to be in .mobi format in order for that to happen. Because I downloaded a few, free, random books and I'm assuming they're in .mobi format since it was from the Kindle store.

Either way, I'll try converting it. If I put it on the root of my SD card, will the Kindle app know to save it in its library? Another thing I feel a file in the mobi format would be required for.

 

[THEV1LL4N]

Also, I forget if I mentioned this, but Jelly Bean has a new feature in the Play Store, so that when you download app updates, instead of redownloading the entire app as it works currently, it will only download the new parts. This reduces the amount of data you have to download quite significantly. I'm pleased about this.

VLC beta is out for Android as of today:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.videolan.vlc.betav7neon

Now that is something more along the lines of revolutionary for a mobile device. cuts data usage, cpu usage, battery usage and thus costs of electricity and mobile bills.

 

[THEV1LL4N]

I have The Tao of Jeet Kune Do in a perfect quality/formatted PDF (seems to be Dutch), and a poorly photocopied version of the same book in English.

Anyone who can find the English one in better quality? It's just so much more easier on the eyes.

 

[Flipmo]

Nokia should have gone Android and Elop should be fired, says former Apple exec​

By Daniel Bader on July 4, 2012 at 5:01pm in Mobile News​

If Nokia could do it all over again, would they have chosen Android? When the company partnered with Microsoft to abrogate the fast decline of Symbian in early 2011, did they have the foresight to see how successful Google’s OS would be by mid-2012? That it would be the number one smartphone OS in the world, with a million new devices activated every day?​

This was a recommendation made by former HP and Apple exec Jean-Louis Gassée, who advised Nokia to take this route two years ago. In an interview with Computing.co.uk, he said that Elop, along with the whole Nokia board, should be fired for not being able to see the forest from the trees, especially since Windows Phone 7, touted as the company’s saving grace, is a dead-end product.Windows Phone 8 was announced two weeks ago and confirmed the deprecation of WP7 as a future product, not only for Nokia but the industry in general. Sure, Windows Phone 8 has a lot of potential to fix many of the issues its predecessor never could, but Gassée says that they never should have launched the Lumia line of devices with such a short period of market time between versions.​

The Lumia 610, 710, 800 and 900 will be updated to Windows Phone 7.8, but that will be little consolation for thousands of customers who signed two- and three-year contracts for the device. Gassée says that Elop’s “burning platform” memo that was leaked to the ‘net weeks before the Windows Phone announcement was short-sighted and naive. While Windows Phone has found modest success, Nokia’s market share continues to drop as few former Symbian users are moving to Nokia’s new smartphones. Instead they are opting for Android or iPhone.​

He continues by saying that Nokia could have designed some of the nicest Android devices on the market, outshining Samsung just as the company was starting to dominate the Android market. Instead, by getting into bed with Microsoft they risk a co-dependant relationship that may end in a buyout or partial merger.​

Nokia’s last quarterly earnings were about as poor as could be, and they have announced layoffs of 10,000 and strict cost-cutting in order to stay competitive. But whether Nokia could have made money on Android is unknown — Samsung seems to be the only one capable of doing it. HTC, Sony, LG and the rest are struggling to find traction in the extremely competitive smartphone marketplace. Considering Nokia has managed to bring some pretty great pieces of software to their Lumia devices, and secure a number of exclusive apps from partner brands, they’d have as good a chance as any at succeeding.​

Instead, Elop and Co. chose their route, for better or worse. Gassée’s advice went unheeded two years ago, and it may take another two years to see whether Nokia survives its difficult decision.​

Via: TheNextWeb​

---​

Would have been interesting to see what Nokia & Android could have done together. I always thought that Nokia had solid builds, and the Lumia is a pretty nice phone, minus the fact that WP7 is on it.​

 

[S O F I]

the lumia is one of the sexiest phones, no doubt. shame about the OS.

 

[Casey]

Totally agree. They could have been profitable quickly with Android on their hardware, I think. Windows Phone is a bust and not going anywhere. I don't think it's ever going to be more than a niche product.

 

[ARon]

I can see WP8 gaining a little ground but not from Android. It seems like it will be a good OS and Nokia has made some good phones lately. I think they have a future, just not nearly as good as it would have been had they went the Android route.

Samsung has the world fooled by the way. They're shit is cheap, no different way to say it. You like cheap plastic or you don't the shit is cheap. Every major blog from The Verge to Engadget to Giz or bgr has said it before and it still rings true, if you argue t yu're just in denial. Nokia + Android would have been better. So glad that this next line of Nexus phones will be built by many different manufacturers and not just one

 

[masta247]

the lumia is one of the sexiest phones, no doubt. shame about the OS.

I don't see how it's sexy. It's fat, bulky, has relatively small screen and is extremely expensive for its rather mediocre hardware. BUT I wish Nokia the best, because they know how to come up with things that just work well. The Pureview camera is certainly amazing but.. what the fuck about packing Symbian on that phone? It's like they are the rather good company that's capable of releasing a rather cool phone and then they fail in a spectacular fashion with a really stupid decision. Today Nokia could've been a trend setter amongst Android manufacturers, with techs like pureview and their great Amoled screens. They also manufacture their own processors. Their decisions are just so wrong.

 

[S O F I]

It's just sexy, man. I'm not going to try and explain it to you if you don't see it.

 

[Casey]

Samsung has the world fooled by the way. They're shit is cheap, no different way to say it. You like cheap plastic or you don't the shit is cheap. Every major blog from The Verge to Engadget to Giz or bgr has said it before and it still rings true, if you argue t yu're just in denial.

No, that is your opinion.

I like that it is nice and thin and light. Also, the cost price of manufacturing is the same (if not slightly more expensive) as other premium smartphones. Regardless, plastic aside, the inner components are what counts and Samsung have very high quality processors, RAM and screens.

I much prefer the build quality of the GS2 compared to the previous two HTC devices I owned.

They don't have the world "fooled". That is a very lame way of trying to make a point. Samsung is the current king of smartphones, therefore the consensus does not rest with you. That doesn't make you wrong, but more people would disagree with you than would agree and that clearly frustrates you into believing that the wool has been pulled over your eyes because for some reason you've decided you are an authority on the build quality and durability of smartphones. However, I would surmise that that is not the case, and you are just another person with an opinion who deems it to be valid.

Also, it's their, not they're

 

[masta247]

Samsung's build quality is one of the best. Look at the quality issues that phones have. Samsung devices usually have the least of them.

Like Casey said, their plastic might feel less premium than aluminum or other materials but it's by no means of inferior quality. I doubt it's cheaper than aluminum too. Samsung Wave smartphones that have aluminum unibodies are actually cheaper than similar Galaxy smartphones.
I don't own a Samsung device now, I own a Sony phone, I used to own one HTC phone, a Motorola phone and a few Nokias and I've never had a device more durable than my 2 ex smartphones from Samsung, even though one of them was plasticky.
Aluminum covers usually suffer from chipping issues, are heavier and look worse after a drop or two, so you actually take sacrifices for a more premium look.

Not to mention that Samsung pack the best internals in their phones in any price range because they can, because they're manufacturing 90% of their phones by themselves. So they're not fooling anyone by any means - they simply offer the best products.

It's just sexy, man. I'm not going to try and explain it to you if you don't see it.

To me it looks very average. I don't know anyone with a Lumia phone so I googled for images and checked review scores and some people say that it looks very good, while others say that its design is rather poor but the phone doesn't win design awards by any means so I'd say it's a matter of preference here.

 

[Flipmo]

My G1 is still the sturdiest phone I've ever had. Makes me all emotional and shit talking about it.

 

[ARon]

http://www.theverge.com/2012/5/18/3030012/galaxy-nexus-has-the-build-quality-of-a-samsung-tv-remote

http://www.theverge.com/2012/6/23/3111210/samsung-galaxy-s-iii-t-mobile-impressions-benchmarks
"despite somewhat lackluster build quality it's an excellent handset"

http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/21/t-mobile-galaxy-s-iii-hands-on/
"The plasticky build quality does leave something to be desired, but it's something we've become accustomed with Samsung devices"

This isn't some omg see i told you so shit. It's just simple material showing that it is not just my opinion. You live and die by the verge, I can go to that site and see a new article and expect something about it to be said on sh from you within the hour lol. So yeah, major blogs think that build quality is not the best, polycarbonate and all. And you can easily find articles on those same sites saying different things but that's that writer's opinion. Again, just showing you many people think it, not just me

 

[masta247]

Those are 2 websites that I never read. Theverge know nothing of hardware. "plasticky" doesn't necessarily mean that the quality is bad.

I'm aware of some American tech sites complaining about the fact that Samsung Galaxy phones are made of thin plastic. Some people dislike that, especially if it's a "cheap looking" glossy one. My theory is that some people grew up playing with toys made of cheap plastic and back then "metal" toys were the shit because it was harder to get them destroyed so that thinking stuck with them. The plastic on Samsung phones is an entirely different thing though.
The fact remains that the quality is still great and all Galaxy S phones are simply top notch, long lasting all-around phones. At least that was the case with the first two Galaxy S phones, and odds are in favor of the SGS3 too. Almost all HTC phones have their quality issues, most Apple and other manufacturers' products too. Despite the fact that Samsung ships more units than any other company there are never serious issues with their phones, other than single units experiencing extremely rare problems. And 90% of their phones are mostly made of plastic.

Anyway, now even HTC use plastic on their flagship - the One X. As a matter of fact the One S is their only "aluminum" phone in this year's line.

 

[masta247]

http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_starts_manufacturing_28nm_qualcomm_snapdragon_chips-news-4479.php

It's great to hear that they're capable of manufacturing those 28nm chips. I wonder why they didn't go with 28nm with their latest Exynos chips, at least I hope their next line will be 28nm. Perhaps they'll also learn a thing or two from qualcomm ;-)

 

[Casey]

Those are 2 websites that I never read. Theverge know nothing of hardware. "plasticky" doesn't necessarily mean that the quality is bad.

I'm aware of some American tech sites complaining about the fact that Samsung Galaxy phones are made of thin plastic. Some people dislike that, especially if it's a "cheap looking" glossy one. My theory is that some people grew up playing with toys made of cheap plastic and back then "metal" toys were the shit because it was harder to get them destroyed so that thinking stuck with them. The plastic on Samsung phones is an entirely different thing though.
The fact remains that the quality is still great and all Galaxy S phones are simply top notch, long lasting all-around phones. At least that was the case with the first two Galaxy S phones, and odds are in favor of the SGS3 too. Almost all HTC phones have their quality issues, most Apple and other manufacturers' products too. Despite the fact that Samsung ships more units than any other company there are never serious issues with their phones, other than single units experiencing extremely rare problems. And 90% of their phones are mostly made of plastic.

Anyway, now even HTC use plastic on their flagship - the One X. As a matter of fact the One S is their only "aluminum" phone in this year's line.

This. And fuck a review. Everyone in my family that has Android phones all started off with HTC phones (Hero, Desire, Magic, G1) and now all have Samsung's (GS1, GS2, GS3, GNex). Everyone prefers the Samsung devices. Including the build quality.

Also, I like The Verge because they are quick to post news. I don't read their site for their opinion pieces so much.

 

[Pittsey]

It's preference I guess. I have no problem with Samsung phones. I don't think they are poorly built. But.... They are plasticy.

 

[ARon]

Early HTC phones were pretty crap.

Would you not agree that the one x has a better build than the gs3?

 

[masta247]

Early HTC phones were pretty crap.

Would you not agree that the one x has a better build than the gs3?

Both are made of similar plastic. Hard to tell I guess. Both are great phones and I'm sure the quality on both is very good. BUT the One X suffers from minor quality issues while the SGS3 does not, none of those issues concern the quality of materials used though. I'd say the design on One X is better. It's made to look more sturdy. Actually all HTC phones are designed to look kind of "rugged", even if materials used aren't the best.

 

[Pittsey]

A guy at work has the one x. But he has a rugged case, so I haven't really got a good look. I don't use cases or screen protectors, and my phones are always mint.