Android Thread: Phones / Apps / Mods

[ampere]

Originally Posted by fiat_tarun

+1 Ampere. The Atrix 2 is awesome value for money. Add to it, the good battery life as well. The phone though will really open up once the ICS update comes through. If you have not realised as yet, its running on 1 core 99% of the time.

True about the core usage. I am just using it out of the box and battery life is at least one and half days with gmail and office mail on all the time, max half an hour of wifi and many apps over gprs/wifi. Over the weekend when I rarely use the wifi it comes for about 2.5 days.

[S_U_N]

Originally Posted by noopster

*Urgent help needed*
I stupidly managed to delete most of my photographs accidentally on my Galaxy Note. ...
How can I recover them?

Originally Posted by noopster

I downloaded Recuva on my home laptop

@noopster: Read this today, else I would have suggested Stellar Photo Recovery

I have tried Recuva and several other tools on an Xperia Ray where photos went missing after an accidental delete all operation. In that case, the phone was used quite a bit before recovery was attempted.
Stellar was the only one which got everything back.

Originally Posted by Raccoon

Finally bought an Xperia Ray last week.
...
Other than the screen size, its amazing what'll is packed into this really small form factor. Upper end features, a wow cam (for a mobile) and the pocket- ability is really a boon.

Good phone in a small size with an awesome camera (typical of Sony).
But the phone gets hot (not warm) due to the slim size. That's even without data enabled.
What's your experience so far?

[Raccoon]

Originally Posted by S_U_N

@noopster: Read this today, else I would have suggested Stellar Photo Recovery

I have tried Recuva and several other tools on an Xperia Ray where photos went missing after an accidental delete all operation. In that case, the phone was used quite a bit before recovery was attempted.
Stellar was the only one which got everything back.





Good phone in a small size with an awesome camera (typical of Sony).
But the phone gets hot (not warm) due to the slim size. That's even without data enabled.
What's your experience so far?

Thats true, it does seem to get warmer than other phones. That seems to be happening more when playing games or HD vids. I wonder if it will affect its life, esp. for people who use it a lot of these purposes.

Well, as for my experience, as mentioned earlier, texting on stock keypad is madness. With Swiftkey, its livable. For browsing too, the screen feels a tad small despite the resolution, as even though very small text is quite sharp, its not comfortable to read such small text, and you will end up using pinch-to-zoom all the time, and hence scrolling more. Note that since resolution is same as say Neo V (3.7") on the smaller (3.3") screen, technically, the same amount of info should be displayed on the screen. Problem is just that its a tad too small to read comfortably. As for games, they get more difficult to control on the small screen, so its not the best experience. However the phone plays everything without lag, including flash heavy pages and flash vids in webpages. HD vids are very nice to watch on the near-retina display and here you'll probably just forget about the screen size. Battery back up seems above average for an Android (I'm still on GB). Touch response leaves a bit to be desired though. It seems to not register touches often. Wonder if that thats a software issue (I have reason to suspect that). The phone just screams for a slightly larger screen... at least 3.5", if not 3'7". If it had that, I'd call it the best option at its price.

Originally Posted by chevelle

I am sure there are many other better alternatives but we were handicapped by just the Samsung name. I haven't followed recent mid-budget phone attack in India so i am unaware of what's going on. But since its done and dusted, i am looking at bigger picture some 6 months down the lane.

BTW, do enlighten me what other good options are there in rs. 12500 range. i am sure many of my friends and relatives would be searching for one in this range. I can guide them accordingly. thanks

Around that range, ie. a bit above and below it, you could consider the Xperia Neo V, Xperia Ray, HTC Desire S, Moto Defy plus (worst cam in its range), LG Optimus Net, Optimus Hub, HTC Explorer. Each have their strong and weak points, but all offer better value for your money than Samsung's offerings. Couple new offerings are also out from SE and LG and maybe others too... not taken a look at those yet. And its not like Samsung's phones are any more reliable or durable than these options. Despite this Samsung is able to overprice its poor under-specced handsets at least in India. Brand perception, I guess.

[chevelle]

Originally Posted by Raccoon

Around that range, ie. a bit above and below it, you could consider the Xperia Neo V, Xperia Ray, HTC Desire S, Moto Defy plus (worst cam in its range), LG Optimus Net, Optimus Hub, HTC Explorer. And its not like Samsung's phones are any more reliable or durable than these options. Despite this Samsung is able to overprice its poor under-specced handsets at least in India. Brand perception, I guess.

I had suggested one of my friend Neo V. Guess what! he also ended up buying a Samsung galaxy S. I don't know what it is with people going after Samsung. May be the sales person convince them to go for this or something. But he is a happy camper for now with his Galaxy. The scenario is almost the same world over. No wonder it beat Nokia and other companies in smartphones shipment recently.

[joslicx]

Originally Posted by chevelle

I had suggested one of my friend Neo V. Guess what! he also ended up buying a Samsung galaxy S. I don't know what it is with people going after Samsung. May be the sales person convince them to go for this or something. But he is a happy camper for now with his Galaxy. The scenario is almost the same world over. No wonder it beat Nokia and other companies in smartphones shipment recently.

well it can be argued that Samsung have EARNED their reputation. They were the first ones to provide a very competent ANdroid phone (read phone with best hardware) at reasonable price. Both Galaxies were exactly what people wanted at that time, and at the right price. HTC had the opportunity but they were always the opportunists and so they priced their devices much higher (almost in Apple domain) and lost it there. HTC thought it could take on Apple but did not have tools for it, unlike Samsung!!! Samsung is a very innovative company in its own right. They developed their own chipset (Exynos) while others had to depend on Qualcomm's inferior solutions. They also developed the AMOLED tech which, at least initially, blew away the competition. All this helped develop their reputation. At the lower end HTC and Sony are non-existent. So its pretty much Samsung competing with chinese phones!

But now on it wont be so easy for anyone. Others have caught up with Samsung! S3 hasnt been the device it was hyped to be. Pretty soon competition will have flagships even better than it. This would be an interesting year.

[offroad_maniac]

OT: just to share.
Recently I lost my MicroSD card so ordered a new one from flipkart. It is a Sandisk 16gb class 6 card for 800rs. Arrived in 5days (including weekend). Thing to mention is that I also got the MMC adapter with this. This thing was not mentioned at all on site and other cards with card + adapter combo were priced higher than usual. In all a goo deal I can say.

However still there is lag in HD videos. I guess it depends on proper player with codecs rather than card read speed. I use rock player universal which plays almost all format, but lags in case of HD videos. Any Defy user with solution to this? I am on miui GB ROM.

[chevelle]

Originally Posted by joslicx

well it can be argued that Samsung have EARNED their reputation. They were the first ones to provide a very competent ANdroid phone (read phone with best hardware) at reasonable price. Both Galaxies were exactly what people wanted at that time, and at the right price. HTC had the opportunity but they were always the opportunists and so they priced their devices much higher (almost in Apple domain) and lost it there. HTC thought it could take on Apple but did not have tools for it, unlike Samsung!!! Samsung is a very innovative company in its own right. They developed their own chipset (Exynos) while others had to depend on Qualcomm's inferior solutions. They also developed the AMOLED tech which, at least initially, blew away the competition. All this helped develop their reputation. At the lower end HTC and Sony are non-existent. So its pretty much Samsung competing with chinese phones!

But now on it wont be so easy for anyone. Others have caught up with Samsung! S3 hasnt been the device it was hyped to be. Pretty soon competition will have flagships even better than it. This would be an interesting year.

Agreed. Competition will make it good for consumers. As for S3. It is still top of most my list to consider when it launches next month. Its performance benchmarks are still awesome even though its an initial demo unit. I am sure Samsung won't be sitting on it either. I am expecting a Galaxy Nexus 2 version soon with Google.

I have a Samsung Galaxy S for 1.5 years and i have been very happy with it. A very competent phone when it was launched it still is quite fast, good battery life and no major issue. My next phone could be a One X or S III. Would love to try a HTC to see what they have on offer. With Sony, its been a pain. No timely upgrades of software, degrades the usage experience. Don't want to be in that boat. That way Samsung has been pretty active and has great XDA support too.

[joslicx]

Originally Posted by chevelle

With Sony, its been a pain. No timely upgrades of software, degrades the usage experience. Don't want to be in that boat. That way Samsung has been pretty active and has great XDA support too.

Well experience is anything to go by, dont say that for any tech company! Samsung themselves were quite bad with updates as recently as last year! They were quite notorious for forgetting existing customers in a haste to launch new devices all the time! I think they decided not to upgrade Galaxy S to ICS isint it?

Sony has commited to upgrade all its existing Xperia phones to ICS which is good commitment. I think they have learnt their lesson. I am in Sweden right now and my office is in the same campus as Sony's biggest development center for mobiles. I see people use some brilliant phones here (maybe they are testers for upcoming phones). Also my colleagues Xperia S feels much much more premium than my Sensation (and you cant even compare S2 which feels so cheap)

Just dont go after benchmarks. After a point they mean nothing!

[chevelle]

Originally Posted by joslicx

Well experience is anything to go by, dont say that for any tech company! Samsung themselves were quite bad with updates as recently as last year! They were quite notorious for forgetting existing customers in a haste to launch new devices all the time! I think they decided not to upgrade Galaxy S to ICS isint it?

Sony has commited to upgrade all its existing Xperia phones to ICS which is good commitment. I think they have learnt their lesson. I am in Sweden right now and my office is in the same campus as Sony's biggest development center for mobiles. I see people use some brilliant phones here (maybe they are testers for upcoming phones). Also my colleagues Xperia S feels much much more premium than my Sensation (and you cant even compare S2 which feels so cheap)

Just dont go after benchmarks. After a point they mean nothing!

I am not aware if Galaxy S will be updated or not. But atleast XDA is working on ICS versions. That will keep me interested.

Hope sony does bring it soon. I have xperia x10 and it has got late treatment to everything. When i was on official froyo on S, i was stuck with 2.1 on X10 and same happened for GB when i was stuck with 2.2 when others already had 2.3.3 version. After long time they upgraded those phones, so i don't know when they will upgrade to ICS. Probably by end of the year by then i am sure i would have got rid of X10.

I like Xperia's design. They are good in quality but a little heavier and bulkier than Sammy's devices.

As for benchmarks, its just a pointer on what to expect from a phone. Its not like we use those as The ultimate de facto standard. But it does say a lot about a phone otherwise most users and online reviewers won't be doing it and developers won't be developing those benchmark applications. Since i haven't hold the S III in hand, i have to go by benchmarks and photos. Once i have it in hand, i will compare the build, fit and finish and other stuff with other phones and decide. Another example is the Intel's phone. Its a little above mid budget phone but its performance is very good. Who would have considered that phone if one doesn't know what it is capable of? Consumers need something to compare it to.
Benchmarks works everywhere. Be it auto industry, mobile or TV. It is needed as a boost and to see what progress we have made which sometimes is not visible externally.

[Gandhi]

Originally Posted by chevelle

With Sony, its been a pain. No timely upgrades of software, degrades the usage experience. Don't want to be in that boat. That way Samsung has been pretty active and has great XDA support too.

Just to clarify this point. My Neo V got ICS update 2 weeks back. I don't think any phone in India has got ICS update yet, not even SII. So in that front, Sony has improved a lot from X10 days.

[KRN]

Originally Posted by Gandhi

Just to clarify this point. My Neo V got ICS update 2 weeks back. I don't think any phone in India has got ICS update yet, not even SII. So in that front, Sony has improved a lot from X10 days.

I second Gandhi here. I chose Sony for my second android primarily based on their commitment for ICS updates. I got ICS for Neo V (which is a mid range phone) 2 weeks back. My colleagues who bought flagship phones such as the Galaxy S2 are still waiting for the update.

Sony is the only Android manufacturer that is upgrading ALL their 2011 phones to ICS.

They also don't seem to delay updates to Indian customers. My Neo V got the update the same time as most other countries.

[sajo]

Android experts, can anyone help me with this battery issue? (The Quintessential Tablet PC Thread (Android, Apple, BB et al))

[anmolbedi]

Originally Posted by offroad_maniac

OT: just to share.
Recently I lost my MicroSD card so ordered a new one from flipkart. It is a Sandisk 16gb class 6 card for 800rs. Arrived in 5days (including weekend). Thing to mention is that I also got the MMC adapter with this. This thing was not mentioned at all on site and other cards with card + adapter combo were priced higher than usual. In all a goo deal I can say.

However still there is lag in HD videos.....

What is the class of card? The class of card also is a major factor in data accessing speed. I have a class 10 card and never faced any lags. Used to see lags when using class 4 card.

[chevelle]

Originally Posted by Gandhi

Just to clarify this point. My Neo V got ICS update 2 weeks back. I don't think any phone in India has got ICS update yet, not even SII. So in that front, Sony has improved a lot from X10 days.

That is good to know. But in USA, the scenario is still the same from those days. Still no update on ICS on most devices be it Sony or Samsung.

Its good you got the update soon. Hope they implement this everywhere so all users can take advantage of same.

[offroad_maniac]

Originally Posted by anmolbedi

What is the class of card? The class of card also is a major factor in data accessing speed. I have a class 10 card and never faced any lags. Used to see lags when using class 4 card.

As per class rating I should be getting at least 6 mbps r/w speed, but still the videos lag like before. Its a .flv file from you tube.
BTW, what video player do you use? What phone?
On my Defy officially HD playback is not supported.