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[Liquidus]

Nexus just arrived at my door!

So this is my first smart-phone and experience with Android.
Can someone give me some tips on must have apps or just some general tips about the phone?

Much obliged

Airdroid is great to wirelessly transfer files from your computer.

A file explorer is a must. I use ES File Explorer but there are numerous ones.

Optionally I turned off Location Reporting within Maps, Settings, Location Settings to ease off the constant drain on the battery.

VLC Player plays just about everything.

Configure Google Now so you're not bombarded with 100's of notifications. Same goes for every app.

 

[Yeah_its_Bob]

Just order 2 Nexus 4. My sensation was pissing me off random freezes, battery would die out of nowhere etc... I couldn't wait for Sony Z so I went with the Nexus 4.

 

[rinse82]

My battery life still kinda sucks on 4.2.2 when I'm on 3G/H+ at work - on WiFi its infinitely better but there seems to be some issues with 4.2 and connecting to Enterprise WiFi networks so I can't connect during work.

I don't think I have any apps running that would be causing this, so a bit frustrating. Any one know of a useful app that might tell me what apps might be hogging the battery?

I'm on 4.2.2, with franco's latest kernel, stock rom. Although I did flash the 4.2.1 radio to maintain LTE.

 

[Liquidus]

2 hours of screen time and 67%. So far so good.

 

[KorrZ]

4.5 hours of Screen time, 18 hours total yesterday before I charged it. It had about 23% left.

I'm pretty impressed with the battery life on this phone.

 

[rc213]

4.2.2 really seems to have taken care of the problems draining the battery in standby.

 

[buhdeh]

Yup. Battery life is amazing.

On 3G from 7AM - 5PM = 65ish % left
Wifi from 5PM - 12AM = 40ish % left by bedtime

Gets through my normal day easily.

 

[FallingEdge]

Anyone have the 4.2.1 kernel? Want to flash that so I can finally update.

 

[Yeah_its_Bob]

Nexus just arrived at my door!

So this is my first smart-phone and experience with Android.
Can someone give me some tips on must have apps or just some general tips about the phone?

Much obliged

How long did it take you to receive shipping confirmation?

 

[Reckless Onion]

How long did it take you to receive shipping confirmation?

I ordered from a media markt germany. the whole process took 4 days.

 

[Bboy AJ]

My battery life still kinda sucks on 4.2.2 when I'm on 3G/H+ at work - on WiFi its infinitely better but there seems to be some issues with 4.2 and connecting to Enterprise WiFi networks so I can't connect during work.

I don't think I have any apps running that would be causing this, so a bit frustrating. Any one know of a useful app that might tell me what apps might be hogging the battery?

I'm on 4.2.2, with franco's latest kernel, stock rom. Although I did flash the 4.2.1 radio to maintain LTE.

That's the nature of the beast with 3G. I have the same issue. I come home with 30% but it lasts forever when back on wifi.

 

[Reckless Onion]

so i'm trying to take a picture in the dark but i cant seem to get the flash to be constantly on.. it just flashes when i take the picture.
Any help?

 

[gamma]

That's how flashes usually work.

 

[Reckless Onion]

That's how flashes usually work.

Yea but with a camera you can make the flash work by pressing the button lightly to take pictures in the dark. I thought maybe you could turn it on on the phone

 

[UltraMagnanimous]

You can probably look for a 'flashlight' app on the store which can keep the flash permanently on.

 

[itwasTuesday]

If all you want it constant light, if you put it into camcorder mode, the led stays on.

 

[Reckless Onion]

If all you want it constant light, if you put it into camcorder mode, the led stays on.

Cool, that actually worked. When you are recording an then tap the screen you take pictures

 

[threetri333]

t-mobile is offering Nexus 4 for $0.00 if you get a 2 year contract.

So 1000 Minutes ($60) + Unlimited Plus ($20 x2) = $100 per month

Is this good?

 

[Goldrush]

We need more Daydream apps. It could be a great features, but I can find anything that really worth displaying. Currently switching between Currents and Flipboard, but find that both aren't really effective as a newsreader on Daydream.

 

[Liquidus]

Anyway to leave the phone in vibrate mode but not have incoming text messages vibrate? I checked settings within the messaging app and vibrate is not checked.

 

[BertramCooper]

t-mobile is offering Nexus 4 for $0.00 if you get a 2 year contract.

So 1000 Minutes ($60) + Unlimited Plus ($20 x2) = $100 per month

Is this good?

It's waaaaaaaay cheaper in the long-run to buy it unlocked from Google and go with a monthly prepaid plan from T-Mo instead.

 

[Liquidus]

4:53 with 4% left isn't too shabby. Good job Google.

Edit- 5 hours and 10 minutes. I feel like Kramer!

 

[Marco1]

I am undecided between the N4 and xperia Z.
I know the N4 gets the latest updates but is there a reason why the xperia Z gets the updates later if at all?
Am I missing out on much by not getting the incremental updates between JB and KLP on the xperia Z?
Thanks so much for the help everyone.

 

[TheLaughingStock]

It's waaaaaaaay cheaper in the long-run to buy it unlocked from Google and go with a monthly prepaid plan from T-Mo instead.

Depending on where you live you may want to roam w/ T-Mobile.

 

[L034]

Finally got my Nexus 4, but

it's not recognizing my sim card, which still works (with adapter) in my old phone. Going to test another SIM tomorrow, and if it doesn't work, RMA it

 

[TheLaughingStock]

Finally got my Nexus 4, but

it's not recognizing my sim card, which still works (with adapter) in my old phone. Going to test another SIM tomorrow, and if it doesn't work, RMA it

Call your carrier and give them your sim card # and IMEI. Tell them to activate.

 

[RobotChant]

did you cut the card yourself and how did it turn out? If it's a snug fit you may want to sand the edges a bit with a nail file.

 

[L034]

Pre cut SIM (Free Mobile in France)

We usually don't need to activate anything when changing phones

 

[TheLaughingStock]

We usually don't need to activate anything when changing phones

Your carrier should be able to fix the problem if you give them that information. It's up to you if you'd rather try another sim or RMA it. Probably unnecessary.

 

[L034]

Got another SIM, same carrier, worked fine first on the first try. I'll contact my carrier so they can ship me a new sim

 

[Rengoku]

I am undecided between the N4 and xperia Z.
I know the N4 gets the latest updates but is there a reason why the xperia Z gets the updates later if at all?
Am I missing out on much by not getting the incremental updates between JB and KLP on the xperia Z?
Thanks so much for the help everyone.

Theres always going to be a delay when it comes to updates for a non-nexus phone. How long that delay is depends on the manufacturer and also the carrier. Google develops Android based on a specific reference platform. They develop new versions to match the hardware and software capabilities of their nexus devices.

The hardware vendor (i.e Sony) will then have to take the version update and adjust it to fit the specific hardware implementation of their phones. This can be a pretty lengthy process as it can include fixing drivers, testing on their lineup of phones, making sure that their custom skins work. On top of that your carrier (i.e. AT&T) may need to do further testing on any additional customizations or pre-installed apps they may have implemented.

I believe the Xperia Z has jelly bean 4.1.2. The major features found in the incremental updates (4.2.1 and 4.2.2) are the new camera UI (with Photosphere), lockscreen widgets, gesture swiping keyboard, quicksettings, and daydreams (screensavers). Honestly, these are pretty minor updates, most of these features you can probably find an app equivalent on the Play Store.

I think the main question is how long will it take for the Xperia Z to get Key Lime Pie. It's pretty much guaranteed that KLP will be announced in May at Google I/O. So the Nexus devices will get it a couple weeks after the announcement, but as for everybody else, who knows. Will KLP finally include the much rumored Project Roadrunner that supposedly will overhaul Android's battery life? Will it take another 6-7 months for other hardware vendors to roll it out for their phones?

Do you want to be at the cutting edge for hardware? If so, go with the Xperia Z. If you want to be at the cutting edge for software, then I'd say go with a Nexus phone.

 

[threetri333]

I ordered Nexus 4 last night. How soon does it arrive at SoCal?

 

[Liquidus]

Grrr. Maps is stealing 23% of my battery again. The battery dropped 4% without any use.

 

[Aruarian Reflection]

4:53 with 4% left isn't too shabby. Good job Google.

Edit- 5 hours and 10 minutes. I feel like Kramer!

How do you guys check this? Go to settings then battery then screen? Because if so, I have 20% left after one hour screentime

I really need to get to 4.2.2

 

[PaulLFC]

My Nillkin hard case arrived yesterday, so far I really like it. It fits well and has cutouts for the speaker and buttons. It protects the back and sides of the phone, looks and feels quite nice, and only cost me just over a fiver from eBay.

 

[Liquidus]

How do you guys check this? Go to settings then battery then screen? Because if so, I have 20% left after one hour screentime

I really need to get to 4.2.2

Two finger swipe down on the notification bar and tap the battery icon.

20% left?! Holy shit that's bad. So far down 10% with 15 minutes of screen time. Maps is killing it. Force Closed it.

 

[Bboy AJ]

How do you guys check this? Go to settings then battery then screen? Because if so, I have 20% left after one hour screentime

I really need to get to 4.2.2

Better Battery Stats is the best tool.

 

[PaulLFC]

This is... weird.

I plugged in the phone to charge for a while (from 0% charge), and when I unplugged it it was at 21%. That was a few hours ago now, and so far it hasn't changed from 21% - checking the battery settings screen shows a constant 21% line since I unplugged the phone.

I half want to plug in the phone and charge it properly, and half want to see how long it takes to actually start discharging. I assume it must be losing battery but just not updating the status or something. Really strange.

 

[Husker86]

This is... weird.

I plugged in the phone to charge for a while (from 0% charge), and when I unplugged it it was at 21%. That was a few hours ago now, and so far it hasn't changed from 21% - checking the battery settings screen shows a constant 21% line since I unplugged the phone.

I half want to plug in the phone and charge it properly, and half want to see how long it takes to actually start discharging. I assume it must be losing battery but just not updating the status or something. Really strange.

On one of my previous phones, when the batterystats got messed up, it would stay at a certain percentage even though it was way over. Basically once it figures out that it's lower than the displayed percentage it will start going down and the battery stats should be fixed. This only happened when I manually cleared battery stats file though (before I found out that was unnecessary).

 

[EvilKatarn]

Does anyone's Nexus turn off when on standby at random? It seems to happen once or twice a week. Today was especially weird, it was just sitting on my desk when I slid against it with my finger and it turned on out of nowhere. I mean, it had also turned off randomly in the meantime, but just what?

 

[exYle]

Is it at all possible for the screen to have a "dead zone"? There's a strip, about a couple centimeters tall, around the middle of my screen that is extremely unresponsive. When scrolling, the scrolling speed is dramatically reduced around this area, and when unlocking the phone via a pattern, I have to put a lot of pressure for the phone to register that I didn't actually take my finger off the screen.

For reference, on the NeoGAF mobile website, pressing the Subscribed Threads button takes a few tries to register.

 

[aznpxdd]

Still getting meh battery life after the update. Any tips to get more juice?

 

[PaulLFC]

On one of my previous phones, when the batterystats got messed up, it would stay at a certain percentage even though it was way over. Basically once it figures out that it's lower than the displayed percentage it will start going down and the battery stats should be fixed. This only happened when I manually cleared battery stats file though (before I found out that was unnecessary).

That seems to be exactly what the problem was, thanks. Put Netflix on for a while to drain the battery and it's now showing under 21% and updating as the battery level gets lower.

Still getting meh battery life after the update. Any tips to get more juice?

How long ago did you update? Mine seemed to take a couple of days to settle down after updating but battery life seems good now. Check the battery stats, see what's using the most battery and get rid of anything that you don't want/need that uses a lot of battery (Silencify was using nearly 20% of my battery while doing nothing, for some reason).

 

[RumblingRosco]

So, I'm considering getting my first smartphone, and looking at switching from my shitty/expensive Verizon family plan (just splitting the bill with my immediate family right now) to T-Mobile's $30/30-day unlimited text/data & 100 minutes of talk. I'm also in the market for a smartphone, and I'm strongly leaning towards the Nexus 4.

My two questions that I'm hoping GAF can help me with:

1) 8 GB or 16 GB? I won't have more than maybe 300-600 MB of music on there and don't take a lot of photos... so, I'm thinking the 8 GB should be fine. It looks like a bit under 6 GB of that is usable space. If I take up 1.5 GB at most of that for pictures/videos/music, will the remaining 4.5 GB be plenty for apps? I've literally never downloaded an app in my life having never had a smartphone, so I'm not sure how much space I should expect to need for them.

2) Where the hell do I buy this thing on a no-contract basis? I'm in the US, and it looks like my options are either the Google Play online store or a local T-Mobile location. Is there anywhere else I should be looking? Through the Play store, looks like it'll cost me $300 (phone) + $14 (shipping) + $30 (tax) + another $15-30 for a screen protector and case; so I'm looking at under $400 all said and done, or closer to $450 if I get the 16 GB. Does that sounds about right?

Anyway, any general advice or answers to these questions would be very helpful. As far as why I want a smartphone, mostly just for a few fun apps, checking email, maybe some mild GPS-usage, and a bigger screen. That, and I'll be spending less per month through T-Mobile than with Verizon and the coverage in the areas I live/travel to is just fine from people I've personally spoken with/what I saw online.

 

[Liquidus]

1) 16GB. It's only $50 more for double the space. It's better to have something and not need it than need it but not have it. Or something like that. The 8GB model comes with 5.2GB of space. That's not very much compared to the 12+GB on the 16GB model.

2) Buy it from Google as it is the cheapest directly from them. You said that you're with T-Mobile. It's cheaper with a contract I believe. I bought mine outright from Google to be rid of contracts but it's up to you.

 

[elty]

My Android OS is staying a very high stay awake time. I already update to 4.2.2 and I thought it was fixed?

 

[Liquidus]

My Android OS is staying a very high stay awake time. I already update to 4.2.2 and I thought it was fixed?

Android OS and Android System are a combined 14% of my battery and have been awake a combined total of 28 mins.

Anyways I got my Rearth Rengke Fusion case and I like it. It show of the back nicely and looks good. The buttons are TPU plastic so they aren't the best but for $14 this case was worth it for the protection it provides. The clear plastic is a finger print magnet and so far no scuffs or scratches.

 

[PaulLFC]

Does anyone know how to change the data usage cycle in settings once it's been set? I'd set it to 1st-last of each month, but I've found out today it's counted from 16th-15th each month.

From a quick Google it seems there should be a "change usage cycle" option when clicking the current cycle, but that option isn't there. Any way I can get it back?

 

[tirant]

Does anyone know how can I install the 4.2.2 update while having Franco's kernel? Whenever I try my phone reboots to update, but I get an Error message.

Thanks!

 

[spindoctor]

Does anyone know how to change the data usage cycle in settings once it's been set? I'd set it to 1st-last of each month, but I've found out today it's counted from 16th-15th each month.

From a quick Google it seems there should be a "change usage cycle" option when clicking the current cycle, but that option isn't there. Any way I can get it back?

There's an option under the date.