Author Topic: Android Thread  (Read 43737 times)

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Offline JMW IV

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Android Thread
« Topic Start: November 27, 2011, 01:06:41 PM »
Hmmmmm?

I am looking at Skyfire, Opera Mobile, and xScope Browser.

I tried Dolphin HD but I dont like theirr tab interface.

Offline The Chief

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #1: November 27, 2011, 01:14:22 PM »
Hmmmmm?

I am looking at Skyfire, Opera Mobile, and xScope Browser.

I tried Skyfire once, didn't like.  Never tried xScope.

Opera Mobile has GPU acceleration, which makes scrolling and zooming MUCH smoother than other browsers, especially on desktop formatted pages (which is primarily what I use it for).  The interface is okay.  I prefer Dolphin HD but Opera's UI doesn't get in the way too much.

Quote
I tried Dolphin HD but I dont like theirr tab interface.

Really?  That and the menu pullout gestures are some of the best things about it for me.

Offline CALSGR8

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #2: November 27, 2011, 01:14:31 PM »
My cousin said Dolphin is the best, but yeah, a new tab for everything is tiring.

Offline JMW IV

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #3: November 27, 2011, 01:16:16 PM »
Big thumbs makes it hard to close a tab in dolphin.

I would go with opera if it played nice with my bookmarks widget but it doesnt.

Offline The Chief

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #4: November 27, 2011, 01:17:03 PM »
My cousin said Dolphin is the best, but yeah, a new tab for everything is tiring.

I don't think it makes new tabs unless you set it up that way or explicitly tell it to load a page in a new tab.  I find it easier to use than the stock browsers new window interface.  Fewer, at least.

Offline The Chief

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #5: November 27, 2011, 01:18:22 PM »
Big thumbs makes it hard to close a tab in dolphin.

I would go with opera if it played nice with my bookmarks widget but it doesnt.

You should just be able to tap anywhere on a tab if it's already active and it will close (so double-tap for non-active tabs).  If you're still having trouble like that though then yeah, I'm out of suggestions.

You could try Firefox Mobile.  I haven't looked at it lately but they seemed to be making nice steady progress with it last time I tried it.

Offline JMW IV

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #6: November 27, 2011, 01:21:14 PM »
Opera seems to be pretty smooth. Just need to figure out the bookmarks widget. Bookmarks in Opera do not show up in the bookmarks widgets.

Maybe I can import my opera bookmarks into the stock browser, then they will appear in the widget.

Offline comish4lif

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #7: November 28, 2011, 12:15:45 PM »
Has anyone had any experience with the $35/mo Android phones from Virgin Mobile and Radio Shack?

Offline PowerBoater69

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #8: November 28, 2011, 06:24:00 PM »
Opera seems to be pretty smooth. Just need to figure out the bookmarks widget. Bookmarks in Opera do not show up in the bookmarks widgets.

Maybe I can import my opera bookmarks into the stock browser, then they will appear in the widget.

I was a Dolphin user until it got buggy on my DX so I switched to Opera, Dolphin is fixed now but I deleted it and went with Opera as my browser of choice.  Dolphin has more options but I've found that I like the simpler Opera layout with the nine item Start menu better.  Dolphin also kept opening too many windows on me.  Both loaded web pages at about the same pace.

Offline The Chief

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #9: November 28, 2011, 06:31:54 PM »
Yeah, Opera's JS engine is right up there with the stock browser's (which Dolphin utilizes), but the GPU-accelerated panning and zooming feel so much better on heavy pages.

Offline PowerBoater69

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #10: November 29, 2011, 07:39:57 PM »
Can't freaking wait.


Offline JMW IV

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #11: December 03, 2011, 10:41:51 PM »
Transformers 4?

Offline PowerBoater69

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #12: December 04, 2011, 07:35:48 AM »
Transformers 4?



On the Kindle thread I just recommended that you read a bunch of reviews before buying the Fire, well with the Transformer Prime I failed to follow my own advice, the specs were so damn sexy I just hit the Buy button.  Quad core processor with Ice Cream Sandwich coming this month sounds too good to pass up.  One downside is that there are almost no apps or games that have been optimized to take advantage of the quad code, but the three games available now are supposed to be amazing.  Of course I hardly ever play video games, so that doesn't do much for me.  Another downside is that it doesn't have a 4G connection, which is limiting for certain uses, but I don't really want to pay another monthly bill and I can always tether it to my phone if I really need an internet connection when I'm away from wifi.

I was tempted to buy the Galaxy Nexus phone that is coming out this month with specs that are just as awesome, but they have quad core phones coming out early next year and so I'm holding out.  Why I need a phone that is more powerful than most home computers I don't know, but it just seems like the thing to have.

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9222380/Asus_Eee_Pad_Transformer_Prime_The_Rolls_Royce_of_Android_tablets?taxonomyId=15

Offline The Chief

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #13: December 28, 2011, 03:15:49 PM »
Am I incredibly out of the loop or is the fact that the Android market now sells music news to anyone else?

https://market.android.com/music

Offline UMDNats

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #14: December 28, 2011, 03:17:45 PM »
Am I incredibly out of the loop or is the fact that the Android market now sells music news to anyone else?

https://market.android.com/music

It's Google Music, which was announced a month or so ago? I've used the Beta but stopped because I prefer Amazon's MP3 cloud service for my phone.

Offline The Chief

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #15: December 28, 2011, 03:19:54 PM »
Google Music is quite a bit older than that, but it was previously just cloud storage, not a merchant.  Apparently that has changed.

Offline Nathan

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #16: December 28, 2011, 05:58:49 PM »
I thought google music always had music?  At least when I got it in closed beta, it let me download songs I didn't have (or copy to my cloud storage).  Also I've been getting emails lately about sales and such from them.

Offline The Chief

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #17: December 28, 2011, 06:04:54 PM »
Perhaps my tiny T-Rex brain is simply confused.

Offline Obed_Marsh

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #18: December 28, 2011, 07:00:35 PM »
When I joined Google music, it was simply storage.

Offline Ali the Baseball Cat

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #19: December 30, 2011, 11:43:48 AM »
Bump:

Well, has anyone?  I'm retiring the dumb phones today but cannot bring myself to sign into a 2 yr plan with the Axis of Evil.  I see they have some LG Optimus V thingie for like $80 at Best Buy that one can use on the $35/mo Virgin Mobile plan (unlimited data and 300 minutes of voice).  Considering that I only retired my $5 white clamshell phone (the kind one sees a lot of in Home Depot parking lots) a year or two ago, suffice it to say that I am NOT a gearhead, but being able to play on the interwebz while Clint makes an ass of himself on the jumbotron has become necessary.     

Has anyone had any experience with the $35/mo Android phones from Virgin Mobile and Radio Shack?


Offline Nathan

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #20: December 30, 2011, 02:35:31 PM »
The Motorola Triumph seems pretty decent specs wise.  Try searching YouTube for review videos of the LG, there might be some out there.

Offline HalfSmokes

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #21: December 30, 2011, 03:15:37 PM »
Cnet usually has good video reviews

Offline UMDNats

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #22: December 30, 2011, 06:28:09 PM »
Google Music is quite a bit older than that, but it was previously just cloud storage, not a merchant.  Apparently that has changed.

if i remember correctly google announced it was making google music a merchant service in addition to cloud storage around a month ago. that's what i meant.

Offline MarquisDeSade

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #23: December 30, 2011, 08:13:51 PM »
Nobody beats Amazon for cheap MP3 albums.  You have to game it but the $1.99 albums are pretty awesome.

Offline PANatsFan

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Re: Android Thread
« Reply #24: December 30, 2011, 08:58:49 PM »
Bump:
/
Well, has anyone?  I'm retiring the dumb phones today but cannot bring myself to sign into a 2 yr plan with the Axis of Evil.  I see they have some LG Optimus V thingie for like $80 at Best Buy that one can use on the $35/mo Virgin Mobile plan (unlimited data and 300 minutes of voice).  Considering that I only retired my $5 white clamshell phone (the kind one sees a lot of in Home Depot parking lots) a year or two ago, suffice it to say that I am NOT a gearhead, but being able to play on the interwebz while Clint makes an ass of himself on the jumbotron has become necessary.     



I have a boost sjndroid and I like it a Loy. Its all sprint in the.l end.