Author Topic: Android Thread  (Read 43804 times)

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Offline PowerBoater69

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #150: May 08, 2012, 06:33:50 PM »
Got a Galaxy Nexus, they're $199 now btw.  What are some must have apps for Android?


Theres an old thread with app suggestions.  Try searching on Tricorder.

Offline Nathan

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #151: May 09, 2012, 12:56:42 AM »
Chrome on android is pretty neat

Offline JMW IV

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #152: May 09, 2012, 07:41:14 AM »
Chrome on android is pretty neat

No flash support.

That's why the stock browser is my browser of choice.

Offline PowerBoater69

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #153: May 09, 2012, 08:05:38 AM »
Got a Galaxy Nexus, they're $199 now btw.  What are some must have apps for Android?

Found the old thread, sad to read this now since I just put my old dog down a few weeks back.  Many of the apps I listed are now obsolete and the others got old.


My Droid X is better than my dog.  Best toy I've bought in more than a decade.  Here are some of my favorite apps and accessories:

Apps:
  • -Guns- - fun times to be had, but I wish the speaker was louder
--- got dull after a few uses
  • 8pen - I'm still getting used to this QWERTY replacement, but I do make fewer typos than with Swype
--- Swype is much better, there is another very popular keyboard app, can't remember the name, starts with S.
  • Abduction - fun game
--- got old after a ton of uses, simple but entertaining enough
  • Android Lightsaber - no Droid should be without one
--- got old quick
  • Angry Birds - best game
--- still the best game but it certainly seems dated now
  • Beautiful Widgets - one of two apps that I paid for, nicer widgets than what came stock
--- not needed with ICS
  • Dolphin Browser - the best internet browser
--- Still very good but I switched to Opera
  • Droid Life - the best droid blog for news about cool apps and how to hack the droids
--- I still check DL a couple times a week
  • DroidLight - surprisingly handy flashlight
--- must have
  • Drudge Easy - better way to read Drudge than the actual site
--- must read
  • Eastbound and Down, Full Metal Jacket, and The Hangover soundboards - must have inappropriate sound bytes
--- got old
  • Launcher Pro - nothing too special, but I like the home page navigation better than Motorola blur
--- obsolete with ICS
  • Lookout - I have the free version for virus control, backups, and locating a lost droid
--- Still using in case of scary malware, not sure if really necessary
  • Navigation - best GPS
--- still the best
  • Pandora - of course
--- tons of other options now, but I'm still using this
  • Paper Toss - cool timekiller game
--- got dull real quick
  • SportsTap - better than ESPN app
--- Nice as a widget, nothing special as an app
  • TalkingTom Free - hand this to a kid and say goodbye to your phone for the rest of the day
--- still true
  • Tricorder - get this, trust me, even if you don't like Star Trek get this
--- still true
  • Yelp - if only to show the Monocle feature to your friends
--- almost never use this
[/list]

Accessories:
  • Rechargers - I got a three pack for cheap on eBay, one for the car, one data link, and one with a long cord
- must have
  • Cover - I got one cheap on eBay and it lasted two weeks, now I've got one with a leather finish and a kick-stand
--- Otter box covers are must have
  • Headphones - Also got cheap ones on eBay that didn't last, now I use Woodees
--- Still looking for the perfect pair
  • Car Holder - TETRAX XWAY X-WAY MAGNETIC CAR VENT MOUNT - real nice
--- highly recommend
  • Extra Batteries - haven't bought one yet but I have learned that the DX will suck up a battery in four hours of heavy use (Pandora)
--- highly recommend - with a separate wall charger
[/list]

Apps I've added since then:
--MLB - very nice
--Seesmic - my choice of the many apps for Twitter
--TMZ - like Drudge the app is better than the website for navigation
--StubHub - must have if you are selling
--eBay - must have if you are selling or buying
--cNet - news app for android and other tech news
--CSN Local Sports - useful on occasion
--ESPN - good for checking out of town scores
--Bank of America - very useful, although I know I should switch to a credit union
--Photobucket - posting kids pictures
--Shazam -  don't use it often but great when I feel the need to identify a song
--PDANet - don't need it often but free laptop tethering is great
--FM radio - I need to find out if there is an AM radio
--American Airlines - works great for boarding passes

Offline Lintyfresh85

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #154: May 09, 2012, 08:09:21 AM »
Nothing replaces the love of a dog.

Condolences.

Offline PowerBoater69

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #155: May 09, 2012, 08:20:19 AM »
Nothing replaces the love of a dog.

Condolences.

Thanks, he was very old and had a hard time getting around so I had known that the end was coming for a couple years.  The worst was being in Florida when his heart started giving out so that I had to come home a day early to take him to the vet.  They recommended that I take him home for a couple days to say goodbye but he could barely eat or move around and knowing that at 11:40 on Tuesday was the end was just miserable.  Best dog I'll ever have.

Offline The Chief

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #156: May 09, 2012, 09:37:11 AM »
No flash support.

That's why the stock browser is my browser of choice.

Not a big loss, IMO.  I'm not sold on Chrome yet, but it's certainly not for the lack of flash.  I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've actually used flash on Android.  Adobe has given up on mobile flash anyway, so it won't ever be made for future browsers or Android iterations.  Apps and/or HTML5 have already replaced flash on most larger sites anyway.

To each their own, of course.

Offline Nathan

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #157: May 09, 2012, 04:55:56 PM »
So preliminary review time.  I've had the Galaxy Nexus for a night of play time and my first impressions are that this is one of the best phones out there and almost definitely the best android phone you can get.



Pros
  • Screen size
  • Un-touched ICS experience
  • TEH SPEEEEEEED of the device
  • TEH SPEEEEEEED of 4G LTE (Which I was surprised was in my area already

Cons
  • Battery life
  • Volume


So with the pros.  The screen is very big and VERY pretty.  Super AMOLED is beautiful.  Blacks are black, colors pop.  And despite that, it doesn't feel too big in my pocket.  Coming from an iPhone 4, this thing is way lighter, so that may be part of it.

You also get a nice ICS experience without MFG or carrier bloatware.  And it's very polished.  I remarked to Chief in an IM that it has that "iOS-ish" level of polish.  Subtle effects like apps fading in from the background when scrolling through the pages of apps in the.... app... area thingy.  Doesn't do anything to the actual usefulness, but it looks and "feels" nice, without being over the top and excessive as "OMG LOOK AT THIS EFFECT" like how some linux distros like to do.

Speed is great.  Everything is smooth, app switching is better than on the iPhone, nary a hiccup yet.  And 4G is amazing.  I get 2 bars of reception in my area (out of 4 bars, so say 50%).  Speedtest.net results were 16MBPS down and 8MBPS up.  Down speeds matched or exceeded comcast on wifi at home and upload speeds were vastly superior to comcast.  Ping was 48 ms compared to 29 ms on wifi.  The only thing I hate is losing "unlimited" data at AT&T and going to a 4GB per month plan at Verizon.  We'll see how that plays out and if 4GB is enough (I suspect it's plenty since I use wifi a majority of the time).

So now the bad.  I have 2 main gripes so far.  The volume is too damn low!  On headphones maxed is merely adequate.  Chief directed me to a setting that I bumped up from ~80% to 100%, I haven't been able to test that yet.  If not, there is an app called volume+ that apparently can further tweak things to amplify the volume.  So that is something that should be able to be fixed in one way or another.

The second gripe is battery life.  I'm coming from an iPhone and got very good battery life.  This phone is decidedly less impressive in that regard.  On a full charge I got a bit over 6 hours out of the battery, with about 5+ hours "screen on" time, so 5+ hours of actual use, doing things like IM, web browsing, YouTube, and benchmarking. 

More normal usage would probably net 6+ hours of use.  I know 4G is a battery killer, and with such a huge screen, I guess you would expect shorter battery life.  There is an extended battery that just barely makes the phone thicker, so little in fact that most cases still fit fine.  I'll probably get it, it's $30, and people are claiming an extra hour+ of usage.  7-8 hours of use (not standby mind you, use) would be perfectly fine to me.  Even what I have is OK, I can always charge at work if needed.

So, at least so far, my 2 biggest gripes seem to be things easily remedied.  I'm going to probably order the extended battery, a case, and an extra charger for work from amazon tonight.

Offline JMW IV

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #158: June 01, 2012, 10:15:26 AM »
I need suggestions for a good note-taking app for my tablet.

Starting training for a new job on monday, and i dont feel like carrying a bunch of notebooks and crap if i dont have to.

So i wanna just get a stylus and an app for taking notes.

Thoughts?

Offline PowerBoater69

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #159: June 03, 2012, 11:45:44 AM »
After two years my Droid X is still a great phone but I'm going to be awful tempted to pick up either the Galaxy III or RAZR HD when they are released in a few weeks.

Offline PowerBoater69

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #160: June 06, 2012, 10:44:31 AM »
Pre ordering the SGIII now.

Offline Slateman

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #161: June 06, 2012, 11:02:27 AM »
If you preorder the SGIII and re up your contract, you can keep unlimited data for 2 more years (Verizon)

Offline UMDNats

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #162: June 06, 2012, 11:05:18 AM »
Pre ordering the SGIII now.

i really want to get it and i'd love a new phone (plus i can keep my unlimited data according to reddit)....my droid 2 still is fine, it has its problems and glitches  but its OK...SGIII looks sick though

Offline GburgNatsFan

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #163: June 06, 2012, 01:12:06 PM »
If you have an unlimited data plan, you can keep your unlimited data plan, period. At least, that's what they told me.

If you preorder the SGIII and re up your contract, you can keep unlimited data for 2 more years (Verizon)


Offline The Chief

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #164: June 06, 2012, 01:27:53 PM »
Pre ordering the SGIII now.

No matter how great the hardware is, I don't think I can do another vendorized skinned Android device.  My update eligibility comes at the end of July, but I may just wait until the end of the year to see what the next Nexus device looks like.

Offline HalfSmokes

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #165: June 06, 2012, 01:45:04 PM »
Thete's always iPhone or the windows phone

Offline The Chief

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #166: June 06, 2012, 01:49:23 PM »
I think the next iPhone will be solid HW wise but iOS feels dated to me now and frankly I use Google apps extensively.  Gmail, Talk, and Navigation are all miles ahead of the nearest iPhone equivalents.  Windows Phone is interesting but I don't think the apps are there.

All of that said, there should be a lot of new things to consider by the holidays, hence my hesitation to jump on my upgrade next month.

Offline Slateman

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #167: June 06, 2012, 02:01:07 PM »
If you have an unlimited data plan, you can keep your unlimited data plan, period. At least, that's what they told me.



They lied. Effective this summer, anyone who gets a new contract or re-ups their contract will be on a non-unlimited data plan

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/story/2012-05-16/verizon-wireless-unlimited-data/55028254/1

Offline GburgNatsFan

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #168: June 06, 2012, 02:16:06 PM »
Well, it was four months ago. Maybe they weren't lying. Too bad, though.

I really meant the phone though. I don't think it's particular to any phone.
They lied. Effective this summer, anyone who gets a new contract or re-ups their contract will be on a non-unlimited data plan

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/story/2012-05-16/verizon-wireless-unlimited-data/55028254/1


Offline Slateman

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #169: June 06, 2012, 03:04:43 PM »
No matter how great the hardware is, I don't think I can do another vendorized skinned Android device.  My update eligibility comes at the end of July, but I may just wait until the end of the year to see what the next Nexus device looks like.

And you think the iPhone will be better because ...?

Offline HalfSmokes

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #170: June 06, 2012, 03:11:10 PM »
And you think the iPhone will be better because ...?

iphone junk ware


compass
stocks
weather
newsstand
ibooks
voice memos
calculator

this list is from a droid forum of bloatware on the Droid 4

AdService
Amazon Kindle
Android Live Wallpapers
Apps
Backup Assistant Plus
Backup Assistant+
Backup Assistant+ Contacts
Backup Assistant+ Media
Car Dock
Facebook Authenticator (required for Facebook contact sync; not required for Facebook app)
Flickr Authenticator
Help Center
Home screen tips
IM
IM Presence
LastFM Authenticator
LinkedIn Authenticator
Live Wallpaper Picker
Magic Smoke Wallpapers
Mobile Hotspot
MOG Music
MOTOACTV
MotoCast (required for MotoCast, obviously)
MotoCast ID (required for MotoCast)
MOTOPRINT
My Music (Google Play Music app still works)
My Uploads
My Verizon Mobile
Netflix
NFL Mobile
Orkut Authenticator
Photobucket Authenticator
Picasa Authenticator
Skyrock Authenticator
Slacker
Slingbox
Social Messaging
Social Messaging Service
Social Networking
Social Sharing
Social Status
Talk
Twitter Authenticator
V CAST Tones
Verizon Location Agent
Verizon Video
VideoSurf
VZ Navigator
Yahoo Calendar Service
Yahoo Contacts
YouTube Authenticator (YouTube app still works)
ZumoService (required for MotoCast; freeze only if you freeze MotoCast and MotoCast ID as well)
Blockbuster
GoToMeeting
Let's Golf
Madden NFL

Offline Slateman

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #171: June 06, 2012, 03:56:44 PM »
But you're going to root it and dump all that anyway ...

Offline The Chief

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #172: June 06, 2012, 03:58:31 PM »
Huh?  Where did I say I thought the iPhone would be better?  I said I was considering waiting for the next Nexus device (aka Googlephone)


Offline Slateman

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #174: June 06, 2012, 05:05:45 PM »
Doesn't bother me. I don't use Apple :D