The Android Thread - He;pl - The Something Awful Forums

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Inspect Your Gadgets > The Android Thread - He;pl

b0nes: Sep 11, 2001

My friend bought an N6 and holy crap it's huge. But it isn't unwieldy. Definitely a 2 handed phone.

# ¿ Dec 22, 2014 04:18

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# ¿ Apr 27, 2024 02:34

b0nes: Sep 11, 2001

I remember in Andoid there used to be a feature that would alert you on what time to leave to get to a location on time. Like if you had a meeting 30 minutes away it would scan the traffic and tell you to leave at 2:30 to get there before 3.

# ¿ Dec 24, 2014 10:48

b0nes: Sep 11, 2001

cuedotcom posted:

I use auto billing for nothing.

Seconding this. Autopay is an invitation for them to screw you somehow.

# ¿ Dec 30, 2014 02:33

b0nes: Sep 11, 2001

Ochowie posted:

Hey Android thread. I'm considering switching from an iPhone 6+ to either an N6 or a Moto X. I have the N6 on order but I'm not sure about a phone bigger than the 6+. Also, I kind of like the Moto Maker option with the Moto X. What are the general thoughts on which of the two phones to get?

N6 and the 6+ are the same size. The screen is bigger on the Nexus though because it almost has no bezel.

# ¿ Dec 31, 2014 04:30

b0nes: Sep 11, 2001

Allaniis posted:

M7 is $200 at Best Buy right now.

Worth?

On or off contract?

# ¿ Jan 21, 2015 02:49

b0nes: Sep 11, 2001

I have an original moto x and suddenly Google wallet won't work. I get a message that another app is blocking Google Wallet. I'm on Tmobile

# ¿ Jan 22, 2015 19:53

b0nes: Sep 11, 2001

Kaiju Cage Match posted:

- Animated. Wallpapers.

Animated wallpapers have been around since android 2.1

# ¿ Jan 31, 2015 17:45

b0nes: Sep 11, 2001

Vykk.Draygo posted:

He was coming from an iPhone. Not sure why you had to address this two days and two pages later.

Get over it. Not all of us view the forums the same way.

# ¿ Feb 2, 2015 08:14

b0nes: Sep 11, 2001

stickyfngrdboy posted:

The HTC one M8 is a great phone, but for some reason is not included in the op. I'd recommend it to anyone. The camera could maybe be improved upon but even thats got some great features for idiots like me to play with.

Does it have the purple fringing issue like on the M7?

# ¿ Feb 5, 2015 00:03

b0nes: Sep 11, 2001

I'm having issues with my 2013 Moto X. Sometimes the entire thing stops responding to touch, or it slows down to a crawl, or it freezes for a few seconds. Last time i slowed down I rebooted it and still had slowdown. The touch thing happens more frequently, usually with the virtual buttons.

# ¿ Feb 12, 2015 01:37

b0nes: Sep 11, 2001

ruby idiot railed posted:

If anyone's curious the Moto Maxx and the Moto E are receiving Lollipop soak tests in (variously) Brazil/Mexico/India now. I "imported" a Moto Maxx so hopefully I'll be able to snag an update file sometime soon.

How did you import it, if you don't mind sharing?

# ¿ Feb 12, 2015 19:23

b0nes: Sep 11, 2001

"d[-.- posted:

b" post="441722972"]
People with a Moto Keylink: how has it been working for you? My Cobra Tag finally died.

I guess i'm in the minority because mine works fine. I wish it could be a little louder, and make noise when it gets separated from my keys.

# ¿ Feb 19, 2015 08:24

b0nes: Sep 11, 2001

LastInLine posted:

I had a bunch of stuff typed out but I deleted it because maybe this will explain the bolded part and why you won't get this on Android.

When I bought my MacBook Air in 2011 I had never used a Mac. I'd always build my own desktops and could flatten and reinstall Windows on my laptops. I could fix other people's computers and I knew how to troubleshoot and fix my own too. Why would I buy a MacBook Air then?

Because I had a Dell for 7 years that didn't really die it just got old and slow. Then I bought a new Dell and the screen was worse, the trackpad was horrible, and the build quality was atrocious. I had the motherboard replaced under warranty once because the power plug hole broke. Then, after thirteen months of ownership it just died and Dell said it would be $470 to look at it (not fix it, look at it). The laptop was about $1000 so I wasn't going to pay that for what wasn't a great laptop to begin with.

I went out and got an Air. You know what? The trackpad is amazing, better than any mouse I've ever used. The build quality is phenomenal. It's beautiful, lightweight, and a genuine pleasure to use in every way. Turns out the software was excellent too. Sure, some things were kind of weird and made for use in a way I wasn't used to but you know what? The more I used it the more I liked using it. It's easily the best experience I've had not just with computers, but with any kind of technology ever.

Over time I've found that I love it more. Sure, sometimes Apple pushes out an update that's less than great (10.10.1 was terrible) but here it is 3 years later and it's running better than the day I bought it. It's genuinely the best $1300 I've ever spent on anything. Since then I've convinced three other people to buy one, including my wife's grandmother. She's not exactly a computer expert but in 18 months she hasn't had a single issue at all with it. Every single person I've convinced to buy one likes it a lot and has zero complaints.

But that's how you get a fan, and by that I mean a fanatic: You make a product that people love. It's isn't something you generate, it's something you naturally get when you make something that is truly great. And it's not like this is something unique to Apple either. Think about other truly special things that have rapid fans like the Miata or the Mustang or certain artists/movies/TV, all of these things are special first, then comes the fanaticism. You can't just create it around something you've made, you have to make something out of a pursuit of excellence and hope your audience is there.

Sorry, that was much longer than the thing I had originally typed but I think it conveys what I mean. I want to re-emphasize that I don't think you're wrong about wanting enthusiasm at all, I just wanted to hopefully show why fanatics are, well, fanatical.

Did Google even have commercials for Wallet? I see a commercial for Apple Pay every day.

# ¿ Feb 24, 2015 13:51

b0nes: Sep 11, 2001

zenintrude posted:

Why do Android phone manufacturers refuse to make phones worth owning smaller than 5"? The M7 at 4.7 is already almost too large for a pocket once it's in a decent case, but these 5" and up phones are just too much. The Evo at 4.3 was a great size and (for the time) quite a powerful device... why are we not seeing more manageable-sized phones with flagship specs? Do they simply need more space for the components and screen size is simply a byproduct?

Because you are in a tiny minority. People want big phones and that's what the companies are giving them.

# ¿ Mar 2, 2015 14:00

b0nes: Sep 11, 2001

# ¿ Mar 25, 2015 16:55

b0nes: Sep 11, 2001

Anyone here happy with their Verizon S5? Cause mines a massive piece of poo poo. It lags a lot, my Nexus 5 never lagged a bit. Then theres all the lovely verizon apps you can't get rid of. Touchwiz is a mess. I thought I could get used to it but I can't. That dialer is crap, and all the replacements i've tried are crap. Then there is the issue with the dialer not sending out dtmf tones.I will dial my voicemail and the buttons won't work. Well the work the first 10 seconds but if you need to press buttons to transfer to an extension the won't work. I've tried a few dialers and they are acting the same. I'm guessing my battery only lasting 4 hours on T-Mobile is because the native chipset is optomised for Verizon towers?

# ¿ Apr 10, 2015 02:51

b0nes: Sep 11, 2001

Mnemosyne posted:

I don't think it's so much that people want 24-48 hours of idle time, it's just that they know that if it can last 48 hours on idle, it can probably last through a full 8 hours of me watching videos or playing games when I've been called for jury duty. And still have enough power left that I can get home without it dying. (Living in Baltimore means that you WILL get called for jury duty every 18 months.)

This exactly. I'm pretty hard on my phone. I haven't found a phone yet that will get me through an entire work day.

# ¿ Apr 13, 2015 07:34

b0nes: Sep 11, 2001

Pyroxene Stigma posted:

Everyone realized we already have Bluetooth headsets and you can play on your phone while talking. HTC was just REALLY slow on the uptake.

Or now people have smart watches.

# ¿ Apr 16, 2015 02:43

b0nes: Sep 11, 2001

Stupid question: Do android phones need special cables like Apple to charge fast?

# ¿ Apr 16, 2015 02:44

b0nes: Sep 11, 2001

The thing I don't like about removable storage is that Android doesn't automatically transfer programs into the removable storage, you have to do it manually and even then not all of the data transfers. I had a 16GB S5 for a while, with a 64GB MicroSD card in it. Phone became full within a few weeks, even when transferring all the programs I could to the SD card. So I wont buy any phones with atleast 32 to 64gb of storage.

# ¿ May 7, 2015 07:54

b0nes: Sep 11, 2001

Any of you planning to get the LG G4? Right now im torn between waiting for the next Nexuses (Nexi?), The G4 and the 2015 Moto X.

# ¿ May 20, 2015 04:39

b0nes: Sep 11, 2001

ThermoPhysical posted:

Still not sure why people are claiming two Nexus phones again...but anyway..

I'm torn between the Moto X (2015) and maybe the next Nexus. If Google's talk of future Google devices after the new Chromebook Pixel having USB Type-C actually happens, that could be interesting to see.

I'm reporting what the sites are saying. But it doesn't matter.

# ¿ May 20, 2015 06:41

b0nes: Sep 11, 2001

nerve posted:

Just the nerd plan I guess. That's cool. $100 family plan is the best though

Can that plan be used with strangers or friends?

# ¿ May 27, 2015 00:52

b0nes: Sep 11, 2001

Melmac posted:

Wow that's great, thanks. I'd really prefer a screen 4.5" or smaller but I'm sure I'm in the minority and that those days are over. The 2013 Moto X is CONSTANTLY slipping out of my hand because it's slightly too big for my girly hands, and the backing appears to have been made out of butter. Before someone calls me a klutz, know that I never even once dropped my RAZR MAXX HD (due to the awesome rubbery back material and the fact that it's flat and not curved). 4" to 4.5" screens with a 3000mAh battery I assume are a pipe dream?

Try griptape. Or Sugru

# ¿ May 29, 2015 01:46

b0nes: Sep 11, 2001

BigBoss posted:

My Moto G went belly up and they were out of stock so they just sent me a dev edition Moto X.

My friend got a Nexus 6 when he sent in his Moto X.

# ¿ Jun 4, 2015 02:02

b0nes: Sep 11, 2001

I just purchased an LG G4 and I think my NFC chip is not working. Anyone here bought one? Does yours work?

# ¿ Jun 6, 2015 00:21

b0nes: Sep 11, 2001

YggiDee posted:

So, I've got a Nexus 5 (still on 4.4.4, Lollipop poo poo up my N7 so I've been wary of the update)
But have Chrome and Swiftkey poo poo the bed for anyone else? I switched back to the stock keyboard because Swiftkey has maybe a 1 in 4 chance of opening when I touch a text field and lags like hell.
Now Chrome drops tabs at random, hitting the "back" button doesn't take me back, and it arbitrarily decides to not acknowledge whatever I've just typed in the address bar. What the goddamn is happening? I haven't rooted or unlocked or anything.

I think that's just Chrome in general.

# ¿ Jun 26, 2015 01:05

b0nes: Sep 11, 2001

DemonMage posted:

Never had any of that happen with Chrome. Or Swiftkey actually. Nexus 6 and 7 on 5.1.1.

I have had that happen all the time with Chrome.

# ¿ Jun 26, 2015 01:41

b0nes: Sep 11, 2001

I have a question about hangouts: When you want to start a conversation with someone, how do you tell if you are sending them a Google Talk message or a regular text message? I was sure the last 2 conversations I started were with people via their text message numbers but the conversations both ended up in Google Talk.

# ¿ Jul 2, 2015 03:02

b0nes: Sep 11, 2001

i was reloading posted:

It should say "Send an SMS message" in the text box before you type, like so:

OK. Now what if I have the persons actual cell number but it comes up as a hangouts message? How do you switch it from hangouts to text messaging? Several ties I have tried sending someone a message and it says "Invite xxx to Hangouts" when I just want to send a text message. Sorry I just decided to try Hangouts for the first time ever and i'm so confused.

# ¿ Jul 2, 2015 03:13

b0nes: Sep 11, 2001

Stumpalitious posted:

How's the LG G4? I can get a pretty good deal on one at T Mobile (which I'm already on) and I like the idea of having a good smartphone camera for once.

I like mine. It does have touch sensitivity issues though from time to time.

# ¿ Aug 4, 2015 18:14

b0nes: Sep 11, 2001

Jacobus Spades posted:

A couple things you can try: Replace the LG Keyboard with a 3rd party one (you should do this anyway, the stock keyboard sucks), and enable GPU rendering in the Developer Options (Instructions Here, then go to Settings > Developer Options > Force GPU Rendering). It might be a placebo, but I haven't noticed any touchscreen issues after doing this.

The force GPU rendering eliminated 99% of my touchsceen issues. Thanks!

# ¿ Aug 5, 2015 15:10

b0nes: Sep 11, 2001

Syrinxx posted:

There's a new kickstarter for an interesting phone that seamlessly moves your apps and data to/from a 100GB cloud drive, based on age and usage. It leaves behind a small thumbnail or placeholder so you can fetch stuff back easily. It seems like a cool idea, has good specs and a nice design aesthetic.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nextbit/robin-the-smarter-smartphone

With the exception of apps, I can upload all of my data automatically to the cloud.

# ¿ Sep 2, 2015 10:02

b0nes: Sep 11, 2001

hotsauce posted:

Not to launch into an SD fiasco, but I'd be willing to bet many will opt for the 16gig banking on the Marshmallow feature that marries the SD to the phone memory.

I know, OMG GONNA FAIL ISSUES but it's going that direction. Buy the cheapest onboard version, add a $30 huge microSD and call it a day. Hope Google knows what it's doing with this new feature. Grandma's gonna be confused when poo poo breaks.

How long till it gets Marshmallow? I waited a long time to get Lollipop on my original Moto X

# ¿ Sep 14, 2015 03:27

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# ¿ Apr 27, 2024 02:34

b0nes: Sep 11, 2001

I've been having problems with my LG G4. I was using it and it froze and started boot looping. I tried to put it into download mode to factory reset it and was successful, but after confirming twice that I want to factory reset it, it goes to the splash screen and still bootloops. later on I was able to get into the android system and get all of my text messages and most of my files and photos backed up, but then maybe 10 minutes later the phone starts boot looping again. This is the T-Mobile variant, 5.1.1 stock not Xpozed or rooted. All stock. I did notice a few weeks prior that the system would freeze up for about 15 seconds time to time. Anyone else seen this before?

# ¿ Oct 15, 2015 09:09

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