Android Phones

[FlyingMongoose]

[quote author=versus link=topic=5240.msg267571#msg267571 date=1369816054]
yeah but what model iphone does surf have now?

4S. It just started freezing up and shit. This has happened to every iPhone I've had after around 2 years. I think it might be planned obsolescence or something.
[/quote]

I have an iPhone 4 (not S), I got it for free (given, since I share my mobile with my family and my mother is primary account holder she keeps stealing my upgrade and it keeps pissing me off). Anyway, obviously older. Runs just fine but I wiped it entirely before I activated it for myself.

[Eightball]

[quote author=versus link=topic=5240.msg267571#msg267571 date=1369816054]
yeah but what model iphone does surf have now?

4S. It just started freezing up and shit. This has happened to every iPhone I've had after around 2 years. I think it might be planned obsolescence or something.
[/quote]

Interesting, my 3GS began acting completely retardedly just a bit past the 2 year mark. Would crash if its battery ever got below 90%.

[Versus]

my phone crashes regardless of what rom i have if i try to take a picture while the battery is not mostly charged

[zaneyard]

my phone crashes regardless of what rom i have if i try to take a picture while the battery is not mostly charged

Sounds like you got some faulty hardware. I can take pictures all day with my S2.


Also, consider the fact that you can't replace the battery on the iPhone. 35 dollars got me a 4200 maH replacement battery for my SII that's certainly fixed all the problems I was having last week. Sounds like what all of you are having problems with with crashing (although in surf and eightball's case, you can't replace the battery on your own)

[Versus]

yeah but my friend has a case with a battery built in

[zaneyard]

ok

[Versus]

anime

[Surf314]

I will more than likely be buying an HTC One this weekend. Really getting sick of my phone freezing and crashing.

[zaneyard]

The Galaxy SIV rugged edition is coming out soon.

[at0m]

The Galaxy SIV rugged edition is coming out soon.

Color me amused that they put a hardware shutter button on it and an 'aqua' mode on the camera for better focus/clarity, but the thing's only rated to be submersed for 30 minutes.

[zaneyard]

Might be cool for around the beach or the poolside though.

[Surf314]

For anyone thinking of upgrading to an HTC One - Radioshack is having a crazy sale on them through Friday. I got $50 off and $50 google play credit. I also got a good trade in on my old phone. The end result was I walked out of radioshack having spent $15 and getting a 32 gig SD card (also on sale and for my camera), an HTC One, and an otterbox case. I also have $50 in google play credit.

[Evil Cheese]

I had updated the OS on my GSII Skyrocket to stock Jelly Bean TouchWiz (basically what the GSIII runs) and it was dragging ass on my phone. It was super laggy and slow, and a lot of apps that would run fine before I updated crashed all the time (Google Maps, music player app, certain games like Fruit Ninja) especially when I tried to do any sort of multitasking. I finally installed SlimKat on my phone (mostly because Cyanogen Mod doesn't support the Skyrocket past version 10) and holy shit has it made a big difference. I know people lament stock Android variants all the time, but I never realized how much of a difference it really made. SlimKat is basically just vanilla Android KitKat modded to work with various handsets with a few small extras, and it runs so smooth and quickly. It demonstrates just how bloated the manufacturer versions of Android really are. I could probably get another two years at least out of my current phone running like this. The only real feature that makes me eyeball some of the newer models is an HD resolution screen.

Anyway, just thought I'd throw another option out there for people who may be interested in installing a custom ROM.

[at0m]

I love vanilla Android, the Nexus line of devices are great

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[Eightball]

Anyone eyeballing the new Nexus 6? Documentation is suggesting that it will be announced (released?) in either October or November, maybe even as early as a few days from now. It looks like a real beast; my only reservation is the (reported) 5.9" screen. My damn Note 2 is already unwieldy at 5.5"...

[Evil Cheese]

I'm not a big fan of the super big phone/tablet hybrids like the Note 4 and what the Nexus 6 is supposed to be.

Right now I have my eye on the Sony Xperia Z3. It has a lot of the same specs that the Galaxy S V has but far less software bloat and, to me, a nicer design. Plus it also has a supposed 2 day battery life with a 20 MP camera and a relatively good audio system. The only problem is getting one in the US.

Verizon is going to offer a subsidized variant known as the Xperia Z3v which looks very similar to the Z2 (predecessor to the Z3) chassis, with the explanation given that they needed the extra space for a wireless charging enabled battery, but supposedly has the same internals as the Z3. Some are even speculating that it may just be an overclocked Z2 with updated software, so time will tell if it's actually a true Z3 with the Z2 chassis or just an OC Z2.

T-Mobile is suppose to offer a branded, locked down version similar to the international model but I don't really like the way T-Mobile does their billing and they have an inferior network to my current carrier (AT&T). Instead of offering you a subsidized phone price up front and making you sign a contract for 2 years, they essentially ask you to pay the phone off over 24 months along with monthly access charges so you're not technically on a contract. You just have to pay off the remaining balance on your phone if you want out. I guess it probably comes to about the same price at the end of the financing period as it would if you were on a contract, I just don't like the financing model as much.

The third option is Sony is directly selling the unlocked version of the Xperia Z3c which is the compact version that is smaller but has the same specs with the exception of a 720p resolution screen instead of 1080p. The problem there is that it costs $530 which is a hefty price for phone (at least for me) that could easily break or go missing. I would definitely want an insurance plan with that one.

I guess for the plan for now is to wait and see what the reviews are like for the Verizon and T-Mobile variants at the end of October.

EDIT:

Looks like an AT&T variant of the Droid Turbo is making its way though FCC approval. Ladies and gentlemeng, we might have a contender. Those are some purdy specs.

Source: http://www.droid-life.com/2014/10/07/mys...e-nexus-6/

[Evil Cheese]

So my phone has now started to shit itself and randomly do the Android equivalent of blue screening and restarting with no real context that I can see. Whatever good I was doing with SlimKat seems to be curbed by hardware issues as I've tried reinstalling the OS a few times, but it didn't really help any. I'm really starting to think these smart phones aren't designed to last more then two or three years considering how compact they are and the lack of proper heat management.

I've also finally decided on a new one. I'm gonna bite the bullet and switch to Verizon so I can get the Droid Turbo. It'll only be $5 more a month than I'm paying now and it has the same or better coverage in my area. I played around with one in a store and the display was pretty fucking sweet. I also like that Motorola tries to keep things fairly close to stock Android and isn't a huge resource hog (I'm looking at you Samsung).

[FlyingMongoose]

So my phone has now started to shit itself and randomly do the Android equivalent of blue screening and restarting with no real context that I can see. Whatever good I was doing with SlimKat seems to be curbed by hardware issues as I've tried reinstalling the OS a few times, but it didn't really help any. I'm really starting to think these smart phones aren't designed to last more then two or three years considering how compact they are and the lack of proper heat management.

I've also finally decided on a new one. I'm gonna bite the bullet and switch to Verizon so I can get the Droid Turbo. It'll only be $5 more a month than I'm paying now and it has the same or better coverage in my area. I played around with one in a store and the display was pretty fucking sweet. I also like that Motorola tries to keep things fairly close to stock Android and isn't a huge resource hog (I'm looking at you Samsung).

My Galaxy S4 started doing this; I grabbed the tool Samsung provides (Kies), and did a fresh wipe install of my Android OS after backing up my important information and contacts etc. All those restart issues and stuff completely fixed.

[Didzo]

So my phone has now started to shit itself and randomly do the Android equivalent of blue screening and restarting with no real context that I can see. Whatever good I was doing with SlimKat seems to be curbed by hardware issues as I've tried reinstalling the OS a few times, but it didn't really help any. I'm really starting to think these smart phones aren't designed to last more then two or three years considering how compact they are and the lack of proper heat management.

I've also finally decided on a new one. I'm gonna bite the bullet and switch to Verizon so I can get the Droid Turbo. It'll only be $5 more a month than I'm paying now and it has the same or better coverage in my area. I played around with one in a store and the display was pretty fucking sweet. I also like that Motorola tries to keep things fairly close to stock Android and isn't a huge resource hog (I'm looking at you Samsung).

How do you like it? I've been thinking about upgrading for a while and the Droid Turbo looks like a good option for me.

[Evil Cheese]

I don't own it yet, but from what I've seen and read, it looks like the way to go if you're on Verzion and don't want a 5.7"+ phone or a Galaxy. To put things in perspective my current phone is a Galaxy S II Skyrocket with a sub HD screen that's going on 4 years old. A lot the new features I saw on the Turbo are more commonplace these days with most of the flagship phones from the big vendors (such as quad core processors, 3 GB of RAM, HD screens), but to me there are a few features that make the Turbo stand out.

First is the gorgeous screen, an AMOLED Quad HD sub 5.5" that has about a 565 ppi pixel density. When I was looking at it everything seemed so vibrant, smooth and clear. Just navigating the menus seemed buttery smooth. There are only a few QHD phones on the market right now, most of them are larger than 5.5" and the Turbo is the only one of it's size and resolution that can run longer than a day on a full charge (the marketing materials say 2 days, but obviously that's under very specific conditions).

I also like that the UI is very close to stock Android, which I'm a big proponent of after dealing with TouchWiz for so long and it was one of the big things that turned me off of the Galaxy S5.

I was a fan of the 21 MP camera on it. I know the number of megapixels doesn't make a camera good, but I was happy with the still pictures I took under florescent, daylight, and low light conditions. The flash is also better than most phone cameras. That being said, the camera and/or the camera software is one of the weaknesses people seem to be talking about with the Turbo. A lot of people claim that the shutter speed is too slow compared to most other flagships out there and that capturing moving subjects can be tricky.

The battery life was the other big thing that stands out to me. While I haven't tested that out myself, getting more than 12 hours of moderate use on a full charge sounds awesome to me since my current phone can barely limp through a 12 hour day on a full charge with minimal use.