Android Phones

[MissBiz]

I went full diva and customized a Moto X with a good deal on Cyber Monday.  I LOVE it.

Already has Lollipop and looks exactly how I imagined it with the colors and bamboo back and whatnot...

I switched from an HTC Rezound and was planning on getting the One (M8) since I have been used to the HTC flavored launcher.

Getting used to "stock" android has been slightly annoying, but not all that bad.

I was worried that the battery life wouldn't be great, but switching from the Rezound that I sometimes had to charge in the middle of the day... So far I plug it in once every 2 days.  I had no idea what I was missing, or I'm just a casual/light user...

[FlyingMongoose]

The battery life isn't the greatest; and due to the MotoX being "just under" the popularity bandwagon, you can't get many good cases for it. Hopefully this new iteration of it will be far better though. Personally I love my Mophie case for my Galaxy S4, I use it in combination with a  10,000 mAh battery pack (which not only completely charges the phone, but will recharge my Mophie case leaving the battery pack with 25% power still in it).

Thing is, all that extra power is pretty much a necessity if you play Ingress (Go Resistance!)

[Evil Cheese]

Motorola phones are supported by the only cases that matter to me: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NVPOSVS .

Light, relatively thin, strong, impact resistant, and inexpensive. I don't like bulky cases on my phones, so a quality TPU case is just fine for my needs.

[at0m]

It's not a phone, but I got sick of waiting on OTA updates to get Android 5 for my Nexus 7 2013 and did an OEM factory image burn update. Was a little scary, but feels good now that it works man.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[MissBiz]

Motorola phones are supported by the only cases that matter to me: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NVPOSVS .

Light, relatively thin, strong, impact resistant, and inexpensive. I don't like bulky cases on my phones, so a quality TPU case is just fine for my needs.

I LOVE TPU CASES

This is the one I have currently for when I take my phone out and about.

I take it off at home to experience the prettiness of the bamboo back and such...

[Eightball]

Forgot to mention that I got my nexus 6 back in November. I really like it; the size is easy to get used to and the only complaint I've had is that it periodically (once every few days) restarts without prompting. Kind of annoying when I hear the AT&T jingle in class, while studying etc.

Also Foodies finally left the dark ages and got a smartphone, I convinced her to get a Moto X. So that's +2 (or 1.5?) to that bandwagon.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

[Mission Difficult]

Forgot to mention that I got my nexus 6 back in November. I really like it; the size is easy to get used to and the only complaint I've had is that it periodically (once every few days) restarts without prompting. Kind of annoying when I hear the AT&T jingle in class, while studying etc.

Also Foodies finally left the dark ages and got a smartphone, I convinced her to get a Moto X. So that's +2 (or 1.5?) to that bandwagon.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

My phone used to randomly restart and it seemed to be related to having the Gmail widget on the desktop or lockscreen. Removed it and haven't had a random restart since.

[Eightball]

[quote author=Eightball link=topic=5240.msg282697#msg282697 date=1419517835]
Forgot to mention that I got my nexus 6 back in November. I really like it; the size is easy to get used to and the only complaint I've had is that it periodically (once every few days) restarts without prompting. Kind of annoying when I hear the AT&T jingle in class, while studying etc.

Also Foodies finally left the dark ages and got a smartphone, I convinced her to get a Moto X. So that's +2 (or 1.5?) to that bandwagon.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

My phone used to randomly restart and it seemed to be related to having the Gmail widget on the desktop or lockscreen. Removed it and haven't had a random restart since.
[/quote]

Don't have the widget at the moment, but I'll play around with my other widgets and see if they're suspect.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

[Didzo]

I'm still on the fence between the Droid Turbo and Moto X.

[Evil Cheese]

I finally got to play around with my Droid Turbo (it was basically a Christmas present I bought for myself) and it's pretty much everything I wanted and more. The screen is a beauty, the camera is great in my opinion, it's fast (general responsiveness and running demanding apps/games), 64 GB version has plenty of storage for my needs, great battery life (I was able to get 15+ hours on my first full charge with over 6 hours of on-screen time, granted I was on WiFi most of the day), and it has all of the features of a modern flagship Android phone minus the Lollipop (5.0.x) update, but it's coming soon and I don't mind waiting for the bugs to get worked out first.

Some of the smaller quality of life things that I now appreciate having are Moto Active Display (the phone will sense when you are looking at it and will activate the screen automatically), Qi wireless charging, and Moto Assist which will listen for voice commands even while the screen is locked/off. I believe Moto Display and Moto Assist are on the Moto X as well. I'll try to post some pics taken from the camera under different conditions later on.

One of the negatives I have noticed is that there seems to be noticeably poorer WiFi reception under certain conditions. For example I was a few rooms away from the wireless AP I was connected to on the same floor, but I was getting poor reception on the Turbo while my mom's Galaxy S5 was indicating a strong signal. You also couldn't make a call and use 4G data simultaneously on the Turbo until the latest OS update which resolved that issue by adding VoLTE. The default camera app is also a bit lacking in features (for example no manually adjustable exposure, white balance, ISO, or scene settings) but you can always install another one.


Basically from what I've gathered from reading online and my own observations, the differences between the Turbo and the Moto X seems to be as follows:

Droid Turbo

• Has slightly better core specs (CPU, memory, GPU, built-in storage).
  
• Higher resolution camera (15 MP widescreen/21 MP standard) with cooler more neutral color.
  
• Higher resolution screen and pixel density (1440p).
  
• Larger battery capacity with Qi wireless charging, but it's non-removable.
  
• Exclusive to Verizon in North America.
  
• Locked bootloader.
  
• Slightly larger/heavier.
  
• Slower OS updates.
  
• Only "splash resistant".
  
• Few body choices, even more so with the 64 GB version.
  

Moto X

• Much more body customization options via Moto Maker.
  
• Faster OS updates.
  
• Available worldwide and has a larger install base.
  
• Unlockable bootloader.
  
• Water resistant.
  
• Slightly smaller/lighter.
  
• Smaller capacity removable battery, however no built-in wireless charging (accessories available).
  
• Slightly lesser core specs.
  
• Lower resolution camera (13 MP) with warmer color.
  
• Lower resolution screen (1080p) with less pixel density.
  

[Didzo]

I ended up pulling the trigger on the 64GB Turbo. It should arrive tomorrow.

[HeK]

Fucking Android 5 and the stupid active volume rocker while the screen is off... Shit won't stay muted.

[Sogo]

I bought a Droid Turbo today

[Didzo]

Do I use Google Hangouts for SMS or not?

[FlyingMongoose]

I don't.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

[Evil Cheese]

I suppose either will do. The included Verizon Messaging+ app works well enough for me and backs up SMS messages to the cloud so you can view them on your computer or another device. Hangouts SMS does not have this feature. Whether or not you want your SMS messages backed up to the cloud is another issue.

[Mission Difficult]

I use Hangouts along with Pushbullet. Great combo.

[Didzo]

RIP Droid Turbo. Length of time before you got fucked up: roughly 24 hours.

I installed the software update overnight,, had the phone restart, and everything was fine until all of the Google apps crashed and would not restart. So I figured I should restart the phone. Stuck on the splash screen on restart, so I start it in the boot mode. Try to restart it from there and nothing happens. Look at the bootloader log and it tells me "Failed to validate system image." Verison tech support says that they can't do shit and it would need to be sent to Motorola to be reflashed, but that I should just go to the store and get it replaced. Turns out that since I had purchased the phone from an "Authorized Retailer" that I couldn't process the exchange at an actual Verison store that had the phone in stock. Since I'm not going to be around town when the shipment with the phone would've come in, I had to pay a $35 restocking fee to the "Authorized Retailer." And now I have to go to the actual Verison store to buy the replacement.

Great experience.

Edit: Turns out the retailer was charging $50 more for the 64GB version than the actual Verison store. :|

[MissBiz]

I NEVER go to "authorized reseller" stores anymore for Verizon.  Both my family and me got burned too many times.  My experience at the real locations has been much, much better and they have the authority to give me discounts and shit right away.

I love my Moto X so far.  Case selection isn't as extensive as other "flagship" phones, but I got a couple TPU cases from amazon for 9 bucks each and a wallet style case for 15 that do what I need them to do.

The Moto app features are cool and stock Lollipop has been awesome so far.  Looks like silent mode will finally be added in the next release: http://www.businessinsider.com/android-l...ate-2015-2

[FlyingMongoose]

I have to point out Best Buy even though they are an "Authorized Reseller" usually I haven't had any issues with. But that's best buy vs. one of those dinky hole in the wall shops.