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Android |OT4| I/O Silver

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N

NotBacon

Member
iavi said:
My next phone has boiled down to either the Z3 or new X. And this decision is hard as hell.

In all ways, the Z3 finally looks like the android kit with no compromise in any area, but Sony frankensteining the inevitable L update with some hodgepodge ui 'enhancements' almost turns me off to it. It's an assumption that they will, but their 4.4.4's got the modifications, so there's precedent.

The X will get a clean L, but that battery; We're going into 2015 with plenty of phones that have been able to have really good batteries at this point. 'Good enough' on the battery isn't enough anymore.
Click to expand...

You can expect 30-40% more battery life once L releases.
 
I

iavi

Member
Groof said:
Wait a bit for the next Nexus to be announced. That might be the best of both worlds.
Click to expand...

Maybe, but the whole Nexus mantra has been making subtle compromises in specs/parts to reach an everyman pricepoint. Not a forefront phone, but a desgin template etc etc.

ie; I love both my N5 to death, but it's battery is garbage. and my Gnex before it had a bigger shit battery and speaker.
 
Bboy AJ

Bboy AJ

My dog was murdered by a 3.5mm audio port and I will not rest until the standard is dead
necrolysis said:
I've been following this thread, and I've likely skimmed past it like an idiot, but how do I get into the hangout, since I see that's a bit more active than even this thread? :)

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
There's been a change in direction of the Hangout after the last incident. A few people split off; everyone is welcome. Just know that conversation usually goes off topic. And I love Apple.
 
W

whatever77

Banned
I am running out of the space on the Google Music 20000 songs limit. Any similar service I can use to store music on the cloud?

How much space you can use on Amazon for free?
 
SolidSnakeUS

SolidSnakeUS

Member
When the next Nexus is announced, anyone else think that means a huge roll out of Android L will be coming out in the next couple months after it? What I mean is, most companies will be going to L then by the beginning of next year or the end of this year?
 
W

w1ck3dn1nj4

Member
Hasney said:
Yeah, wait for the more thorough benchmarks. For all we know, Samsung may have forgotten to turn their benchmark hacks on.
Click to expand...

Uh- oh, looks like we’ve got ourselves a phonearena fan here. I’m joking.
You’re most likely just a cheerleader in favour of another corporate brand ;)
On a more serious note, is Samsung still persisting with such practices? Are they the only culprits? I could have sworn I read somewhere they stopped that a while ago, not that I place much emphasis on benchmarks to be honest. I prefer to evaluate things myself based on what I observe in reality and the type of performance results I get out of tweaks rather than pay attention to any herd type mentality or rallies being perpetuated by fanboys, stakeholders or corporate ballwashers. Very few sites are trustworthy these days.
 
T

Toki767

Member
SolidSnakeUS said:
When the next Nexus is announced, anyone else think that means a huge roll out of Android L will be coming out in the next couple months after it? What I mean is, most companies will be going to L then by the beginning of next year or the end of this year?
Click to expand...

I expect most flagships to have L 2-3 months after launch. I am kind of curious to see how companies update the look of their notification panels to go with L though. I'm scared we might have another Gingerbread situation where companies stick to the look of the previous version.
 
H

Hasney

Member
w1ck3dn1nj4 said:
Uh- oh, looks like we’ve got ourselves a phonearena fan here. I’m joking.
You’re most likely just a cheerleader in favour of another corporate brand ;)
Click to expand...

No, I was under the impression they all had it and they just hadn't turned theirs on yet, while LG did.
 
SolidSnakeUS

SolidSnakeUS

Member
Toki767 said:
I expect most flagships to have L 2-3 months after launch. I am kind of curious to see how companies update the look of their notification panels to go with L though. I'm scared we might have another Gingerbread situation where companies stick to the look of the previous version.
Click to expand...

*cough* Samsung *cough*.
 
L

luso

Member
Hello

Recommended video players? I have 4.4.2 Samsung Galaxy Pro.
Tried VLC as I use it on PC but here it's very bare bones... Is it possible to have saved audio and video playlists?
 
G

Groof

Junior Member
luso said:
Hello

Recommended video players? I have 4.4.2 Samsung Galaxy Pro.
Tried VLC as I use it on PC but here it's very bare bones... Is it possible to have saved audio and video playlists?
Click to expand...

I use MX Player and have for many years. It's so good there's no point in trying anything else.
 
E

EmiPrime

Member
Is there a reason why Android L keeps switching to high accuracy mode in location services? It won't let me use battery saving mode.
 
S

spwolf

Member
iavi said:
My next phone has boiled down to either the Z3 or new X. And this decision is hard as hell.

In all ways, the Z3 finally looks like the android kit with no compromise in any area, but Sony frankensteining the inevitable L update with some hodgepodge ui 'enhancements' almost turns me off to it. It's an assumption that they will, but their 4.4.4's got the modifications, so there's precedent.

The X will get a clean L, but that battery; We're going into 2015 with plenty of phones that have been able to have really good batteries at this point. 'Good enough' on the battery isn't enough anymore.
Click to expand...

Sony has been pretty good with updates lately.

I wanted Z3C but here is the problem - on my carrier, 2yr contract with Z3 is only €22 more expensive than Z3C.

On smaller contracts, difference is much bigger, €261, like the difference in price is.
 
T

Toki767

Member
I don't know that I could ever get a Sony phone. They've literally trained us to think that their next flagship is always going to be 6 months away. At least other companies give you a year.
 
V

Vanillalite

Ask me about the GAF Notebook
Toki767 said:
I don't know that I could ever get a Sony phone. They've literally trained us to think that their next flagship is always going to be 6 months away. At least other companies give you a year.
Click to expand...

Well I mean it's not as if LG, Samsung, HTC ect.. haven't released a ton of phones this year. They just aren't billed the same. I mean their is the Prime version of the G3 in some places. There are multiple versions of the GS5 and one might say their current flagship is actually the Note 4.

I get what you mean though.
 
F

Furyous

Member
Exokell said:
Is this the golden age of android handsets? Every company has stunning phones to offer.
Click to expand...

I agree with you to an extent. Every year there is an awesome super phone on the shelves. The software keeps getting better and better as well. When I mention software, I'm talking about stock android. This is the year where Android's OS should surpass other operating systems (even more some say) people's minds.

This is a complete pipe dream but I hope the big manufacturers, outside of HTC because they do this, include a GPE ROM available in some capacity officially that allows owners to turn their devices into GPE devices. This is a great era for smartphones for sure. With that said, another poster listed quarks with each flagship this year. Those quarks should resolve themselves in the form of new flagships next year.

I'm down to three choices for a smartphone:
LG G3 (what I want but there's time to read more reviews)
The next nexus
OPO because it's $478 from 28mobile.

I want Sony to do something about those bezels.
HTC to do something about their camera.
LG needs to give me an extra 4 percent of screen space because I want it. If they can get to 76.4 then they can get to 80 dammit. Don't skip on the processor.
Samsung needs to change their design somehow.
OPO needs to make phones people can buy from their store instead of going through 28 mobile.
Oppo needs get rid of the hardware buttons and give me a choice between software and hardware buttons.

Toki767 said:
I don't know that I could ever get a Sony phone. They've literally trained us to think that their next flagship is always going to be 6 months away. At least other companies give you a year.
Click to expand...

They're on that HTC pre-One X plan. My android friends were pissed in 2010 with all the HTC devices coming out. They were so annoyed they didn't buy another HTC device until this year.

Hopefully Sony ends this practice by the third quarter of 2016. At that point we should be at the Z7. They can announce their new flagship around the same time as Samsung.
 
R

reKon

Banned
Toki767 said:
I don't know that I could ever get a Sony phone. They've literally trained us to think that their next flagship is always going to be 6 months away. At least other companies give you a year.
Click to expand...

It doesn't matter if you're not a spec whore. Good software can go a long way. I'm still enjoying my Nexus 7 (2013). I'll probably be getting the new Nexus tablet at some point, but the reason isn't mainly about the massive performance increase that I'm going to get. It's more about upgrade in screen size. Battery life will also be key for me along with the storage size. I'm hoping for a 64GB LTE version at least to take advantage of T-Mobile free tablet data.
 
J

jey_16

Banned
If the Nexus 6 is based on the new X then we should have a winner. If they can bump up the battery then i might get it, dont really care about the camera. These days, cant even tell the difference between most phone cameras

I would wait on the reviews of the Z3, Sony phones always tend to be hyped up before release but then there always seems to be issues stopping them from being in the top tier of android phones
 
H

Hasney

Member
jey_16 said:
If the Nexus 6 is based on the new X then we should have a winner. If they can bump up the battery then i might get it, dont really care about the camera. These days, cant even tell the difference between most phone cameras

I would wait on the reviews of the Z3, Sony phones always tend to be hyped up before release but then there always seems to be issues stopping them from being in the top tier of android phones
Click to expand...

What stopped the Z2? When I liked the look of the Z3, I went back and looked at reviews of it and they all seemed pretty stellar.
 
R

reKon

Banned
jey_16 said:
If the Nexus 6 is based on the new X then we should have a winner. If they can bump up the battery then i might get it, dont really care about the camera. These days, cant even tell the difference between most phone cameras

I would wait on the reviews of the Z3, Sony phones always tend to be hyped up before release but then there always seems to be issues stopping them from being in the top tier of android phones
Click to expand...

The Z2 got excellent reviews and seems to offer the most stock-like android skin compared to HTC, LG, and Samsung.

The main issue with Sony has been actually getting their phone out at the right time. The other minor thing has been the size of the phone (which is what I don't like), but now most flagships are not matching it in size. Sony enlarged the screen to 5.2 within the same body. Still wish they got have remove some top and bottom bezel to get the height to Moto X size at least...

kharma45 said:
Overheating camera wasn't great.
Click to expand...

From what I read the other day, that was due to 4K recording? In other modes was it hit/miss for some people?
 
D

DrFunk

not licensed in your state
Uh, the Z2 was pretty much stellar. The camera overheated because of 4k recording - and even then it wasn't commonplace

That's why I find it hard to upgrade to the Z3...that green color tho <3
 
D

DarkFlow

Banned
Volotaire said:
- Resolution (that won't matter)
- Battery Life (good enough in Note 3) and difference is 20mAH ( 3,220mAH vs 3,200mAH) besides optimisation
- S Pen improvements (I guess this won't matter either)
- Aesthetic standpoint i.e. Note 4 has metal and a different back design without faux stitching (I doubt this matters as well)
- More features like the multi window up to 16 windows ( does this even matter?)
- More powerful chipset (again, it doesn't matter to the average consumer).
- Camera (3.7 front 16 back against 2 front 13 back) Again, does this matter at all?
-Dimensions slightly different (153.5 x 78.6 x 8.5mm (note 4) 151.2 x 79.2 x 8.3mm(Note 3))
- Weight 176g (Note 4) vs 168g(Note 3)



At the end of the day, just get the Note 3. It's cheaper, and the differences won't matter enough to the general consumer or even to some avid tech head.
Click to expand...

As a Note 3 owner, I agree with this. There's not really a whole lot of a upgrade going from a 3 to a 4 so just get the cheaper 3.
 
C

ChoklitReign

Member
What's the best phone under $300? The options I've found are the new Moto G, the old Moto X, and the One M7. I'm upgrading from a Verizon Galaxy Nexus and my carrier will be Cricket. The #1 feature I want is all-day battery life, followed by close-to-stock Android (Sense fits the bill), then 4.4 with the likelihood of an upgrade to L, and then the camera (I know 2/3 are poor, but it's mainly for concerts). I like almost everything about the Gnex except for the battery and camera.
 
S

spwolf

Member
DrFunk said:
Uh, the Z2 was pretty much stellar. The camera overheated because of 4k recording - and even then it wasn't commonplace

That's why I find it hard to upgrade to the Z3...that green color tho <3
Click to expand...

4K overheating happened in S5 too... I guess the difference is that Sony showed you an error telling you it overheated while Samsung just bugged out... It is a SoC issue quite likely... few years back, same was happening with 1080p video recording in cameras.
 
vivftp

vivftp

Member
Hmmm, as a Xperia Z Ultra owner with little chances of a true successor on the horizon, I just had an idea but I need confirmation. AFAIK there will be a variant of the Z3 Compact Tablet with cellular capabilities... it'd be SO DAMNED KEWL to upgrade to one of those :) Just gotta find a pocket large enough to hold it all the time... hmmmmm....
 
T

Toki767

Member
ChoklitReign said:
What's the best phone under $300? The options I've found are the new Moto G, the old Moto X, and the One M7. I'm upgrading from a Verizon Galaxy Nexus and my carrier will be Cricket. The #1 feature I want is all-day battery life, followed by close-to-stock Android (Sense fits the bill), then 4.4 with the likelihood of an upgrade to L, and then the camera (I know 2/3 are poor, but it's mainly for concerts). I like almost everything about the Gnex except for the battery and camera.
Click to expand...

The best phone under $300? Probably the LG G2.
 
V

Vanillalite

Ask me about the GAF Notebook
ChoklitReign said:
What's the best phone under $300? The options I've found are the new Moto G, the old Moto X, and the One M7. I'm upgrading from a Verizon Galaxy Nexus and my carrier will be Cricket. The #1 feature I want is all-day battery life, followed by close-to-stock Android (Sense fits the bill), then 4.4 with the likelihood of an upgrade to L, and then the camera (I know 2/3 are poor, but it's mainly for concerts). I like almost everything about the Gnex except for the battery and camera.
Click to expand...

If you can swing $350 or check for sales (was on sale last week) you can grab the Nexus 5. I think it was like $320 on sale.

If not I'd say go new Moto G + SD Card.

PS: This is assuming you don't want to go used.
 
O

osiris3355

Banned
ChoklitReign said:
What's the best phone under $300? The options I've found are the new Moto G, the old Moto X, and the One M7. I'm upgrading from a Verizon Galaxy Nexus and my carrier will be Cricket. The #1 feature I want is all-day battery life, followed by close-to-stock Android (Sense fits the bill), then 4.4 with the likelihood of an upgrade to L, and then the camera (I know 2/3 are poor, but it's mainly for concerts). I like almost everything about the Gnex except for the battery and camera.
Click to expand...

Moto x hands down. Especially considering you can get the unlocked model and get updates way faster than lg g2 and HTC one.

Edit: The new moto g is not LTE and if the camera is anything like the old moto g you will hate it.
 
M

MegalonJJ

Banned
iavi said:
My next phone has boiled down to either the Z3 or new X. And this decision is hard as hell.
Click to expand...

Will you be coming from a previous Android phone?

I'm using a WP Lumia 800, but I've settled on the Z3 (the Sony walkman/music features edged it over the 930 for me) and having never used Android before I'm looking forward to it.
 
R

reKon

Banned
spwolf said:
4K overheating happened in S5 too... I guess the difference is that Sony showed you an error telling you it overheated while Samsung just bugged out... It is a SoC issue quite likely... few years back, same was happening with 1080p video recording in cameras.
Click to expand...

OK I see now. This a similar case to how buggy people said Android was because of the force closes even though iOS crashed more than ICS, but would not notify the user.
 
T

Toki767

Member
ChoklitReign said:
The stock software looks horrifying. Has it gotten any better with KitKat? I'm leaning towards the Moto G, everything sounds great except the battery, which will get better with L.
Click to expand...

It looks the same. And honestly...most of LG's "enhancements" came to Kit Kat and are coming to L.
 
The Faceless Master

The Faceless Master

Member
w1ck3dn1nj4 said:
Uh- oh, looks like we’ve got ourselves a phonearena fan here. I’m joking.
You’re most likely just a cheerleader in favour of another corporate brand ;)
On a more serious note, is Samsung still persisting with such practices? Are they the only culprits? I could have sworn I read somewhere they stopped that a while ago, not that I place much emphasis on benchmarks to be honest. I prefer to evaluate things myself based on what I observe in reality and the type of performance results I get out of tweaks rather than pay attention to any herd type mentality or rallies being perpetuated by fanboys, stakeholders or corporate ballwashers. Very few sites are trustworthy these days.
Click to expand...

they stopped a while ago. some other companies continue.
 
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