The Faceless Master
Member
I get the best product. That's why I own a Surface Pro and not a Samsung ATIV Smart PC Pro 700t.
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Android |OT4| I/O Silver
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GamerKingFaiz
Member
Anyone?
WhiskerFrisker
Member
You can hate on Faceless but if he likes the Surface Pro, he has good tastes. Surface Pro 3 is awesome.
The Faceless Master
Member
The Note 10.1 2014 Edition is pretty awesomeHahahahaha. I think if you're not on Nexus you should be okay with waiting 4-8 months for any update
I am thinking of buying a Galaxy Note Tab 2014 (and keeping my GNex) since the Galaxy Note 4 has went the way of the dinosaur. Surely the stylus makes it superior to any iPad.
Yeah, I wish they updated that too, bet they do now that I jumped.
-Pyromaniac-
Member
I have a surface pro 2...but I don't like it much
Bboy AJ
My dog was murdered by a 3.5mm audio port and I will not rest until the standard is dead
Yes. You can use the Google voice app. I think.
WhiskerFrisker
Member
I have a surface pro 2...but I don't like it much
Surface Pro 3 is the best. Only gripe is the apps selection isn't as robust as Android and iOS but that's the Windows platform fault.
Battersea Power Station
Member
You have to use Hangouts or the Google Voice app to receive texts to your Google Voice number. Actually you can use any messaging app (you have to turn on SMS forwarding) but they'll come from non-familiar phone numbers (which you can add to your contacts' info, of course).
I can't tell if that's all you're asking. Feel free to ask anything else. I've been using Google Voice as my primary phone number for years now and I recommend it.
GamerKingFaiz
Member
I have been using Google Voice with my Sprint dumb phone for years now too. I have the Sprint integration turned on so my phone number is the same as my GV number.
I pretty much want to make sure that with the new phone/number I'll be getting I can add the new number to GV and still use my old number to send and receive calls/texts on the new phone.
What you said about numbers being non-familiar concerns me though or does that only matter with the other 3rd party messaging apps?
And as far as apps do go, will I be using the Hangouts app or the GV app? I know Hangouts had some integration recently.
Exactly. I have no use for a restricted little tablet, but something that runs full windows and I can pick up slightly easier than my laptop? I'm. Down for that.
Battersea Power Station
Member
Yes, you will. Just make sure to confirm before you cancel your Sprint plan. Or go on the voice.google.com website now and see if you can forward calls from your "old number" to your work phone number. If you can, you're all set to go!
That's only if you don't use Hangouts or the Google Voice app.
The Hangouts app is much better. The GV one is slow and hasn't seen any major design updates for a while. Hangouts is also smart enough so you can reply to a message using the number it was sent to. Like if it was sent to your work number, you'll reply from your work number. If it was sent to your personal number, you'll reply from your personal number.
-Pyromaniac-
Member
I think this is why I dislike my Surface Pro 2 like I do. The vast majority of the time I just want something to browse the web on and random apps and videos and things like that. The Surface Pro 2 is just bulky and heavy and just not very good at those things. When I need full windows it's still not even THAT GREAT. It's just solid.
Then there's endless glitches, weird responsiveness at times, weird type cover glitches, etc... Sometimes I regret getting it. Which is why I'm still in the market for a cheap tablet running stock. Whenever that chooses to appear (no nexus 7).
GamerKingFaiz
Member
Sounds great. I just tested adding my home phone to my GV account and had someone call my cell phone number and it rang my home phone so I believe I'm good to go.
I'm not going to cancel my Sprint plan just yet because I'm on a family plan with my Dad and it's a $80 termination fee so I'll just cancel when the contract ends. I'm glad to see I can maintain my same number thanks to GV!
Thanks for the help!
Wait, it's easier to ask siri "What's the weather?" than it is to just swipe to the left and see the Google Now Weather card? Same goes for sports scores actually. Set your favorite teams and it will automatically give you a card for the games.
And how exactly is it easier to say "Remind me to..." on Siri vs Google Now?
osiris3355
Banned
I'm confused where you are getting your information... Do you currently use an android device?
There are some things google voice search does worse than siri but simple tasks like weather and scores is not one of them.
In regards to hangouts not doing group messaging that is bullshit. I sent group texts today and have been for almost a year now.
My upgrade is finally coming around next month so I will finally be able to get rid of my Samsung S3. It's been a decent phone but for at least a year it has been slow as hell and frustrating to use, I cannot wait to be rid. I'm on contract and will continue to be..
The current phones I'm eyeing up are:
The current phones I'm eyeing up are:
- Sony Xperia Z3
- Sony Xperia Z2
- HTC One M8
- LG G3
- Samsung S5 (Don't really want another Samsung)
-Pyromaniac-
Member
LG G3 probably fits your criteria of good camera, fast phone and good battery life. If you're willing to put up with a phone that doesn't have as good battery as most of those listed then I recommend the Moto X (2014) over any of them. Otherwise you don't want an S5, and I wouldn't recommend it anyway. M8 is big and doesn't have that good a camera, Z3 and Z2....eh not bad though the Z4 is gonna come out soon. Thus, the G3.
Jazzy Network
Member
The Z3 or G3. The One M8 doesn't have a good camera.
WhiskerFrisker
Member
Xperia Z3 is the right answer. It's snappy, has a GREAT camera, AWESOME battery life, and it looks classy. It's the right phone.
Thanks for the replies. I heard that about the M8 a few times and noticed it in comparison vids so I think it's a toss up between the Z3 and G3.. possibly the Z3C too idk.
I think I'll go to a phone shop at some point and try them out to see how they feel in the hand and stuff.. any other pointers I should consider between them?
Jazzy Network
Member
The G3 is probably more durable (the glass in the Z3 has been known to shatter easily) and also has removable battery. The Z3 has a longer lasting battery and is water resistant.
Vanillalite
Ask me about the GAF Notebook
If your not getting a phone tilk next year it might be worth it to wait for the 2015 phones. YMMV
The Faceless Master
Member
i wish i could have gotten this in black... but that price.
I can hold my home button even if the phone is locked and get results in less than 2 seconds. Google Now/voice can't touch that, especially given the layers of translation even a screen-off hands free device like a Moto has to go through.
Looks like I was wrong about groups, last time I used Hangouts that was the case. I swap between iOS and Android every 6 months or so, and I'm coming up on the time to switch back to Android.
The Faceless Master
Member
hrm... yep, just got results in 3 seconds saying "ok, google" *beep* "weather" and i didn't even touch a button.
and that's with a Samsung, it's gotta be faster on stock, right?
and that's with a Samsung, it's gotta be faster on stock, right?
You were already at your home screen, no?
Well you can tell you haven't used one in a while... Id avoid giving incorrect advice on 6 month old experience though.
Layers of translation from screen off? "OK Google. What's the score of the x game". No button push, no unlock, no screen on. Siri can give you cheeky answers to dumb questions and can do a bit more interaction on some things, but it can't touch Google Now for any kind of information. Nor is it even remotely as fast from any screen.
Anyway... A big complaint for lollipop... The volume controls are absolutely terrible. If I want to switch to priority or silent I have to leave any app and go back to the home screen to do it. That's just awful.
You can do it from any screen. Any time. Without have to hold any buttons down.
Dat Nexus 6
master race of using Google Now from my couch while my phone is on the table with the screen off.
And yes Google Now does weather, scores, reminders effortlessly. Puts Siri to shame in speed and recognition tests too.
and Moto X (even though it goes through a couple app layers)
And yes Google Now does weather, scores, reminders effortlessly. Puts Siri to shame in speed and recognition tests too.
I meant pro. I have a surface pro and its terrible as a tablet and not so great as a laptoppy.
Surface pro 2 is the same but with a different cpu, similar speeds.
Surface pro 3 is bigger, a bit thinner, with not as good pen input, a better cpu but also similar speeds, and gets downclocked to hell while on battery.
Also dont expect Microsoft to wait for a new cpu to release a new surface. They released the 3 like a month before a much better intel revision with much better battery life hit the market. They dont make good decisions.
That's only if the app has audio, so I don't see how that's terrible. Sure it's something I'd like to see changed. They could definitely change it so pressing the icon opens up more volume options. However I guess they assume you don't need to switch to silent when you're listening to something. Have you considered an app like settings extended to fix this?
Dat battery life
osiris3355
Banned
OK google works from screen off in lollipop as long as the hardware supports it.
I can say OK google what's the weather to my nexus 9 faster than you could ever pick up an iPhone and do it. And no, there are no layers like moto. In fact its sad how fast vanilla android smokes moto when doing this now.
And hangouts has always had group texting since it integrated SMS as far as I can remember. You are inaccurate and out of date man.
I get a hangouts beep and realize I don't want to hear them anymore. I have to exit everything to be able to silence them. Most apps have notification sounds so most apps are affected. Removing the option from the power menu and then making the control worse is terrible.
The size of the battery in the X is irrelevant to the functionality.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but having it listen for "OK Google" in all screens is a hit on battery life, isn't it? I don't use it, just what I've heard.
But if your battery has run out how will you use said functionality
I never heard of it, and couldn't find anything related to it from a quick search
Well... In that case it is no worse then Siri as you will have to be plugged in to use it from screen off.
It is if your phone doesn't have a sub processor like the Motos do.
Ah gotchya. So if I was to enable this on my Galaxy S4 it would take a hit but not on that. Still, I bet that sub-processor isn't helping the battery in general, but I guess it's needed for that other stuff Moto does too.
Not sure about the X, but on my G2 it drains an extra 2-3% over a whole day. Considering I can make it back at night with 20-30% left, it's immaterial.
Now I just want to get some Lollipop on the G2 because it is fantastic from a battery perspective on my Nexus 10.
Volume down > None setting. Or go to Sounds & Notifications > App Notifications > Make sure nothing is priority > then volume down > priority setting. That way alarms still go through.
I still want notification sounds. Just not vibrations.
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