Android Thread V4 - Got money? Samsung Galaxy S II. No money? ZTE Blade. - Hardware & Software

[QUOTE=faze;31268861]I didn't get a keyboard with mine. But right now, the Iconia does. Rooting is easy as hell to do. Also, instead of CWM you can download Acer Recovery from the Market. Much more streamlined.[/QUOTE] So Acer even facilitates rooting? Damn, that's nice. I'll probabky print the Staples coupon and use OfficeDepot to honor their competitor coupon match. No Staples nearby. :v:

[QUOTE=aridpheonix;31262363]I don't get it, did the SGS2 release in the US or something? I don't see it on sprint.com, and I'm about to make a purchase of the EVO 3D. Just wondering, what do you guys think, EVO 3D or SGS2. I know the SGS2 is a tad faster, but I quite like the refined sense 3.0 on htc, and I've heard Samsung isn't very good with getting timely updates out.[/QUOTE] Samsung gets updates out faster than any other manufacturer. The SGS is the only non nexus device running official 2.3.4. Your carriers are the ones that hold back updates, I fail to understand how such a large majority of Americans don't get this. Not that I think you're stupid or something, but I hear so many times how Samsung never updates and it's always an all caps post with bad spelling from people residing in the US who don't use their brains. To answer your comparison. It's a hell of a lot more than a tad faster. Sense 3.0 isn't refined, it's unpolished and resource hogging. If the EVO 3D didn't have Sense then yah, it would only be a tad slower than the SGS II. But as it stands the UI takes a large amount of cpu and gpu power to render, and uses a ton of ram to run.

[QUOTE=Protocol7;31268931]So Acer even facilitates rooting? Damn, that's nice. I'll probabky print the Staples coupon and use OfficeDepot to honor their competitor coupon match. No Staples nearby. :v:[/QUOTE]It's not an Acer app. You need to use this to root (after you do the system update to Honeycomb 3.1) [url]http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1138228[/url] Also, scan the QR code with your phone, and get the URL that way. Enter the URL into your PC browser and download it. Copy it to the device via USB cable. My SD card was kind of fucked up from this process though. All I can see is a 200 meg partition, not the other 7 gigs. Kinda pissed about that.

Aridpheonix, Now you're a sprint user yes? For the record we already have leaked pics of the SGS II on sprint, no other carrier has that. I wouldn't be surprised if sprint got the phone before other carriers do and so it could be worth you waiting for another month. The boss of Samsung mobile confirmed the US SGS II for August.

[QUOTE=faze;31268974]It's not an Acer app. You need to use this to root (after you do the system update to Honeycomb 3.1) [url]http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1138228[/url] Also, scan the QR code with your phone, and get the URL that way. Enter the URL into your PC browser and download it. Copy it to the device via USB cable. My SD card was kind of fucked up from this process though. All I can see is a 200 meg partition, not the other 7 gigs. Kinda pissed about that.[/QUOTE] So let's say I have a 32GB iPod touch - 4th gen - what would be the advantages of having a tablet?

[QUOTE=Protocol7;31269036]So let's say I have a 32GB iPod touch - 4th gen - what would be the advantages of having a tablet?[/QUOTE]Actually I just fixed the SD card thing. Nevermind. Well, iPod touch has a tiny ass screen, and it's Apple. This is Android.

[QUOTE=faze;31269046]Actually I just fixed the SD card thing. Nevermind. Well, iPod touch has a tiny ass screen, and it's Apple. This is Android.[/QUOTE] True. And Flash. But I can't help but feel like I won't use a tablet for anything more than web browsing and Hulu, which I have a laptop and iPod that can do both.

[QUOTE=Protocol7;31269098]True. And Flash. But I can't help but feel like I won't use a tablet for anything more than web browsing and Hulu, which I have a laptop and iPod that can do both.[/QUOTE]And Netflix once they update their app for Honeycomb. Honestly, tablets are much nicer than an iPod. And for $299? Who can beat that. If you don't like it, root it and eBay it for $400-$450.

[QUOTE=faze;31269126]And Netflix once they update their app for Honeycomb. Honestly, tablets are much nicer than an iPod. And for $299? Who can beat that. If you don't like it, root it and eBay it for $400-$450.[/QUOTE] Well, another thing is last I checked the app store on Android was fucking terrible, as in, the selection sucks. Is that any different now?

[QUOTE=Protocol7;31269176]Well, another thing is last I checked the app store on Android was fucking terrible, as in, the selection sucks. Is that any different now?[/QUOTE]Well for one, it's called the Android Market. What did you see that made you think it sucked? The Apple Store is shitty, you can't filter for shit. You can't just "browse" free apps like you can with Android. You have pay-apps forced onto your screen, mixed in with the free ones. Android does not do that. Plus, with Android, you can rent movies.

[QUOTE=faze;31269214]Well for one, it's called the Android Market. What did you see that made you think it sucked? The Apple Store is shitty, you can't filter for shit. You can't just "browse" free apps like you can with Android. You have pay-apps forced onto your screen, mixed in with the free ones. Android does not do that. Plus, with Android, you can rent movies.[/QUOTE] You can sort by top free apps, not but to the degree the Market can. And you can rent on the iPod I believe as well, but I'm probably wrong. It can be achieved with iTunes for sure though.

[QUOTE=Protocol7;31269230]You can sort by top free apps, but to the degree the Market can.[/QUOTE]Android Market is much better, bottom line. What did you see that made you think otherwise?

[QUOTE=faze;31269243]Android Market is much better, bottom line. What did you see that made you think otherwise?[/QUOTE] The overall app quality pales in comparison to the App Store.

[QUOTE=Protocol7;31269265]The overall app quality pales in comparison to the App Store.[/QUOTE]I disagree. I have an iPad and an Android tablet. Android wins.

The App Store has a way better interface, and actually shows whatever you are searching for, instead of some nippon crazy GPS-app. I also found much better free apps on the App Store in the top 25 list. However, I'm new to Android and we'll see if I change my mind..

[QUOTE=faze;31268832]Get the Iconia. I love it.[/QUOTE] I have an EEE Pad and love it Main differences I'm aware of between the two are: EEE Pad is apparently lighter, longer battery life, has the full-featured keyboard dock option (which comes with 2xUSB Ports and an additional battery), has a better screen Iconia has a USB port on the tablet itself, and more variety of custom roms at this point in time

[QUOTE=psychomidget;31269307]I have an EEE Pad and love it Main differences I'm aware of between the two are: EEE Pad is apparently lighter, longer battery life, has the full-featured keyboard dock option (which comes with 2xUSB Ports and an additional battery), has a better screen Iconia has a USB port on the tablet itself, and more variety of custom roms at this point in time[/QUOTE]I can plug a USB keyboard into my Iconia too. USB flash drives too.

I like android's web market better than going through itunes, but the on device apple app store wins man.

[QUOTE=DSG;31264148]Got the HTC Sensation today, and I'm loving it (upgraded from the piece of shit Gravity 2). I'd like to know what the "best way" to take care of the battery and dealing with data usage and the such would be. For example, is it best to charge the phone while it's completely off, or does it matter if it's just not in use while being charged but still on? As for data usage, is 5GB/month considered a lot or am I going to have to manually change when and when not to use data?[/QUOTE] If the phone is completely charged, no reason to keep it plugged in I'd say. Don't know if the phone has a function to cut charging when full. I would hope it does. You should run down the battery to dead atleast once a month from what I read. 5GB a month is a lot. I went with it because I'm on youtube and doing so much mobile internet usage that I figured I might as well. Using my phone pretty averagely I got up to 800mb used within a week with streaming music, youtube, browsing porn, and downloading updates and apps. But my point is I'm a power user. If you're not planning on using data all day long the 2gb plan would probably be fine. Keep in mind it IS unlimited, but it throttles down after your threshold. I already get shit speeds around here compared to most people so I went ahead and spend 50% more and got 2.5x the threshold. I use 200gb a month on my home machine, so that translates easily to my habits on my phone I think. As for when to use data you can change a lot of settings about how often the phone pings FB, Twitter, Gmail, et cetera for new messages or updates. I set twitter to 30 minutes, email to every hour, FB to every 3 hours. Depends how quick you want to know about something. Do some google searches for some full fledged tweak guides. I spend an hour or so going through my phone customizing a lot of options and my battery life increased quite a lot from before. I also re-calibrated my phone, it's a weird sequence, but apparently HTC sent out a step by step method for having the phone refind 100% mark on your battery so your battery life doesn't drop to 70% from 100% just by checking email.

I really feel like an EEE Pad Transformer would be awesome. It's a total fit for netbook/tablet hybrids.

[QUOTE=Brt5470;31269423]If the phone is completely charge, no reason to keep it plugged in I'd say. Don't know if the phone has a function to cut charging when full. I would hope it does. You should run down the battery to dead atleast once a month from what I read. 5GB a month is a lot. I went with it because I'm on youtube and doing so much mobile internet usage that I figured I might as well. Using my phone pretty averagely I got up to 800mb used within a week with streaming music, youtube, browsing porn, and downloading updates and apps. As for when to use data you can change a lot of settings about how often the phone pings FB, Twitter, Gmail, et cetera for new messages or updates. I set twitter to 30 minutes, email to every hour, FB to every 3 hours. Depends how quick you want to know about something. Do some google searches for some full fledged tweak guides. I spend an hour or so going through my phone customizing a lot of options and my battery life increased quite a lot from before. I also re-calibrated my phone, it's a weird sequence, but apparently HTC sent out a step by step method for having the phone refind 100% mark on your battery so your battery life doesn't drop to 70% from 100% just by checking email.[/QUOTE] "Tip #2: Avoid allowing your device to discharge completely Every wondered why your modern phone, PDA or iPod is able to cheerfully tell you that “Your battery is now exhausted” for several seconds on its brightly-lid LCD screen before switching off? The reason is simple; there is an artificial circuit that shuts off the device when the charge in the battery is too low. This extraneous circuit is built to protect from the damage that could result if the charge of your lithium ion battery falls too low. If you still don’t get it: if the charge of your lithium ion battery falls too low, the battery can get irreversibly and permanently damaged. So since Lithium Ion has no “memory effect”, it is better to simply charge your portable device as and when you can or remember. To set your mind at ease, a “charge cycle” means a single iteration of depleting followed by a re-charge until 100% of battery charge. If you consume 50% of your iPod’s battery on day 1, recharge to 100% at night, and do the same thing on day 2, then you would have just finished up one charge cycle of its battery life. Constantly recharging a lithium ion battery does not shorten the battery life more than normal usage would Hence constantly recharging a lithium ion battery does not shorten the battery life more than normal usage would. Avoid letting it sit on empty for too long; instead, keep it charged-up if you can." Source : [url]http://www.articlesbase.com/laptops-articles/3-things-you-should-already-know-about-your-lithium-ion-battery-4346670.html[/url]

[QUOTE=faze;31269339]I can plug a USB keyboard into my Iconia too. USB flash drives too.[/QUOTE] That was implied with the on-tablet USB Port, but the Asus keyboard comes with a lot of convenient shortcut buttons for setting and home/menu/search back, as well as a trackpad with left-click corresponding to a screen tap, and right-click corresponding to pressing 'back' Obviously with the dock you can plug in USB Drives (I have an external HDD with all my reencoded 720p movies/tv shows) as well as mice/game controllers, since USB OTG is incorporated into Android 3.1+

[QUOTE=Protocol7;31269445]I really feel like an EEE Pad Transformer would be awesome. It's a total fit for netbook/tablet hybrids.[/QUOTE]Same thing as the Acer, just less dev support.

Why does my GSII die so fast? It only lives for a full day or more with 50% and below if I turn on flight mode. Is anyone having trouble with the battery life as well?

[QUOTE=faze;31269518]Same thing as the Acer, just less dev support.[/QUOTE] But the EEE Pad comes with a keyboard/touchpad dock.

[QUOTE=Ignhelper;31269525]Why does my GSII die so fast? It only lives for a full day or more with 50% and below if I turn on flight mode. Is anyone having trouble with the battery life as well?[/QUOTE] I do, and I did some stuff to minimize the drain. Turn off: Use packet data Automatic screen brightness Background data Motion activation GPS Turn on: Power saving mode and set it to a suitable threshold (30% for me) Try to have a low screen brightness (<50%), turn off WiFi when leaving the home or when locking the phone. Download JuiceDefender Pro and some of these steps will be hassle-free. Backing up your data automatically will also drain some battery, try turning that off. If you are adventurous, try rooting and undervolting your CPU.

[QUOTE=faze;31269518]Same thing as the Acer, just less dev support.[/QUOTE] With the keyboard dock, it really is a very different device I had to wait a week or two after getting my pad before getting the keyboard dock, and when I did I was surprised at the difference it made for typing related tasks (even for simple browsing) and how convenient having the option for a netbook setup was, with trackpad too if I didn't feel like leaning over to touch the screen Plus there are a few custom roms laying around, all of which improve speed and allow overclocking mostly, plus supercurio tailored his voodoo sound kernel for the transformer. Also of note is that there is a bounty lying around for someone to port TouchWiz UX, so it is reasonably likely that something will emerge soon

[QUOTE=psychomidget;31269599]With the keyboard dock, it really is a very different device I had to wait a week or two after getting my pad before getting the keyboard dock, and when I did I was surprised at the difference it made for typing related tasks (even for simple browsing) and how convenient having the option for a netbook setup was, with trackpad too if I didn't feel like leaning over to touch the screen Plus there are a few custom roms laying around, all of which improve speed and allow overclocking mostly, plus supercurio tailored his voodoo sound kernel for the transformer. Also of note is that there is a bounty lying around for someone to port TouchWiz UX, so it is reasonably likely that something will emerge soon[/QUOTE] I also like the look of the EEE Pad UI OOB. It's not great, but it's not bad enough to warrant replacing.

[QUOTE=Thund3rdome;31269583]I do, and I did some stuff to minimize the drain. Turn off: Use packet data Automatic screen brightness Background data Motion activation GPS Turn on: Power saving mode and set it to a suitable threshold (30% for me) Try to have a low screen brightness (<50%), turn off WiFi when leaving the home or when locking the phone. Download JuiceDefender Pro and some of these steps will be hassle-free. Backing up your data automatically will also drain some battery, try turning that off. If you are adventurous, try rooting and undervolting your CPU.[/QUOTE] Off all my power control functions, and still drop quite fast. Also on juicedefender. And same. Set all my bightness to zero, still quite fast. Also, I always browse shit in the morning, and it drops by 2% in just 5 mins. WTF?

[QUOTE=Ignhelper;31269696]Off all my power control functions, and still drop quite fast. Also on juicedefender. And same. Set all my bightness to zero, still quite fast. [b]Also, I always browse shit in the morning, and it drops by 2% in just 5 mins. WTF?[/b][/QUOTE] Built-in safety feature. The battery doesn't actually charge to 100%, it ranges around 95-98%.