[VW2010]

I'm inclined towards Note 5 only because of the stylus.

If its only stylus you can save a lot by going for the Note 4. Note 5 is purely for the super speed camera. Otherwise as a utility phone the note 4 with SD card support and enormous speed makes more sense.

Note 5 is partly a failure for not having the SD card in. 32GIG is hardly enough these days with 16 and 20 mp cameras.

Z5 has everything else but not the stylus.

Note 5 to me is a beast, no second thought but from a price and VFM point with respect to phablet usage(including stylus) Note 4 edges out as a winner.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Wait-a-minute, doesn't MI4I have OTA (over the air) updates? My tech-barely-literate cousins update their Redmi 1s and Note that way. You shouldn't have to do ANYTHING. If not, backup your data, take it to the service center and have them do it - unless you're excited by DIY again

Yes, it does have OTA, and I let it do one just after getting it.

Then I rooted. I heard tell that, post rooting, OTA upgrade, even if unrooted in SuperUser App, could well lead to boot failure. When I was in London, where the phone mattered to me vastly more than it does at home, I saw a message on the screen that MIUI update had been downloaded and would be loaded at next boot. Could not take any risks. I deleted the downloaded ROM and froze the MIUI update app.

Here, of course, I have more time and freedom to mess around, and the phone is far from being my only contact to the internet and the world (Hmmm... still have the Defy+ on the shelf). I could mess around. I could try...

1. Reflash stock recovery
2. Unroot MIUI
3. Unfreeze MIUI update and run it...

Phone works? fine! Phone does not work? well, as long as I can get into fastboot, then all is not lost.

Originally Posted by civic-sense

Yes. System + recovery + boot.

OTA gets flashed via recovery. When you root, the recovery is modified. So no OTA after root.

... So step 1 might not even be necessary. But might be safer.

[djpeesh]

Originally Posted by 14000rpm

I have a different opinion on Sony now. let me explain :

I have used a Z2 in the past. regardless of the sub-par call audio quality issue I always had, I loved it for the rock solid build quality. Drops on the floor, rinsing in water was all ok. However, around the area where the Power Button is as well as the MicroSD slot is, I started to see discolouration on the screen. it went from Ignorable to bothersome very quickly and Sony took it as Warranty repair. 5 wks later, status was the same - issue not resolved, parts awaited. I demanded a replacement and promptly got a Z3.

The call quality on the Z3 was way better and I was happy only to realize - the build quality deteriorated dramatically. 1 small fall and the rear glass is fully shattered. after a few days, the front glass started to peel off leading to malfunction of Proximity sensor. Sony recommended a a desi option - Quick fix. No stock of rear glass so I had to put some skin. didn't like it but no option. the quick fix solution made my front glass look horrible.

even if I accept these, now that the rear glass was fixed by a local repair shop, the screen discolouration in the same spot as the Z2 was spotted. now it is bothersome but I'm still tolerating it.
Clearly, Sony Quality is dropping.

Sony Z5 - no thank you.

Jan is when I replace the phone with a Samsung S6 Edge+. that's the better of many options that I can take in my contract from my phone service provider.

Second your opinion on Sony, despite me finally getting back my phone after 5 months. The only reason I'm still using it is because it has Android 6 vs 5 on my s5. And the battery life is better. I know that when the warranty expires on Nov 11, I'm on my own. Wasted 43k in my opinion. My LG g2 which the Sony replaced is still handling the daily abuse that my better half puts it through (mainly dropping it on the road and on the floor).

Not even a scratch on the screen. The s5 is good too, but the battery sucks without the extended battery pack.

[sgiitk]

Activated and migrated. Yesterday, at ab0out 2:30 I got two smses (ols phone) informing about the SIM change, and giving me half an hour to negate it. Then the new SIM came on, what was surprising was the old SIM was still showing some signal strength. Only when I switched if off and switched on it again, it showed zero signal and did not recognise the SIM. Now I realise the technology changes from the old htc One m7 to the Moto X Style. Now I will wait for the Marshmallow upgrade!

[sansvk]

With Android 6, beware of a slow clock while phone is inactive. So at nights your clock could slow down by 3 or 4 hours and your alarm might never ring. I experienced and learnt it the hard way.

[TheTeacher]

Re. OnePlus X:

It seems to have a pop-out tray for the SIM. I'm a bit leery of this; had a bad experience with the Huawei Ascend P1 which also had a pop-out SIM tray. This phone was highly rated, but exactly 13 months into ownership, the tray started popping out by itself initially, then refused to stay pushed in. Warranty expired in 12 months. Authorized repair shop said this was a common problem with the model, and only fix was to replace the motherboard on which the SIM tray holder is fixed. Cost: Rs. 9.5k. Threw the phone away and bought another one.

I realize the OnePlus X may not have this problem, but it is worrying nevertheless. Would appreciate guidance on this. Thanks.

[djpeesh]

Originally Posted by sansvk

With Android 6, beware of a slow clock while phone is inactive. So at nights your clock could slow down by 3 or 4 hours and your alarm might never ring. I experienced and learnt it the hard way.

The trick is to exclude clock from doze. I learnt the hard way when I woke up 3 hours late for work.

[SchumiFan]

Originally Posted by sansvk

With Android 6, beware of a slow clock while phone is inactive. So at nights your clock could slow down by 3 or 4 hours and your alarm might never ring. I experienced and learnt it the hard way.

This! I had this experience as well. Luckily I live very nearby my office and was able to rush despite being betrayed by my phone.

Also the charging (wireless) doesn't happen some times even though it is placed in the mat.

[createrkid]

LG G4 Review: After one week.

I had to let go off my moto g(first gen), mainly because of lack of memory. I loved how snappy it was even after 1.5 years. So, I decided to settle(pun aimed toward OnePlus ) for something I'd love to keep for a long time.

The options considered and why I didn't buy them:

• Moto X Style - Loved everything about it! Almost pre-booked it on flipkart but...but... Read on to find out why I didn't.
• Samsung Note 4 - Horrendous TouchWiz and RAM management.
• OnePlus 2 - Shame on you Oneplus *Ring-Ding* for that ridiculous invite system.
• OnePlus 1 - Brilliant specs but pathetic software optimization. Friends complained of bad mic pieces and reception issues.
• Nexus 6 - Flipkart's BBDS and other offers almost tempted me to buy this but use of previous gen AMOLED resulted in screen burn-in issues and the size was a tad big for my liking.
• Asus Zenfone 2 - bloatware machine!

Anyway, coming back to the G4. The shift from a low/mid range device to a performance beast has certainly been a pleasant experience.

The phone shares the same internals as the Moto X Style(Snapdragon 808, adreno 418, 3 gigs of ram etc). There is one thing that truly sets it apart i.e The camera! This is the reason why I chose to buy the G4 instead and I got a splendid deal thanks to it being Diwali season and all.

What I love!

->Amazing performance and multitasking abilities.( Apps stay in background and remain open unlike Samsung -.-)
->Removable battery( got an extra battery and a charging cradle too!)
->Camera quality is drop dead gorgeous( f/1.8 aperture yo!)
->Battery is better than my moto g, I get about 4.5 hours of Screen on time. Moto quality deteriorated after multiple updates.
->Got 2 updates in a week fixing bugs and battery drain issues.
->Beautiful QuadHD screen.
->Minimal bloatware( does not affect the performance at all)
->IR blaster.
->1W speaker , although mono, sounds amazing and is crisply loud.

What I don't love

->LG's optimus UI doesn't appeal to me at all coming from bone stock android.
->Placement of power button and volume rockers at the back.
->Lockscreen visuals look crappy, pattern unlock looks and feels like a third party app.

Attaching a camera sample

[sansvk]

Originally Posted by djpeesh

The trick is to exclude clock from doze. I learnt the hard way when I woke up 3 hours late for work.

Attachment 1433428

Did exactly that last week, still find the clock slightly slow by a few minutes. On restart its back to normal.

Originally Posted by SchumiFan

This! I had this experience as well. Luckily I live very nearby my office and was able to rush despite being betrayed by my phone.

Also the charging (wireless) doesn't happen some times even though it is placed in the mat.

Google usually rolls out another smaller update after a big one to cover these bugs. Hope they do it at the earliest.

[mukul32]

Originally Posted by createrkid

LG G4 Review: After one week.[*]Moto X Style - Loved everything about it! Almost pre-booked it on flipkart but...but... Read on to find out why I didn't.[*]Samsung Note 4 - Horrendous TouchWiz and RAM management.[*]OnePlus 2 - Shame on you Oneplus *Ring-Ding* for that ridiculous invite system.[*]OnePlus 1 - Brilliant specs but pathetic software optimization. Friends complained of bad mic pieces and reception issues.[*]Nexus 6 - Flipkart's BBDS and other offers almost tempted me to buy this but use of previous gen AMOLED resulted in screen burn-in issues and the size was a tad big for my liking.[*]Asus Zenfone 2 - bloatware machine!

Couldn't agree more. You have defined every single phone in a nutshell here.
Unfortunately, the harsh reality of our market is that people are nowhere near as careful buying a phone as they are buying their car. Most people buy a particular phone because:
a] Read/watched some ad, and the design or price/specs ratio on paper seemed awesome
b] Some friend/relative told them that the phone is great
c] The phone was available for a huge discount online
d] The shopkeeper from the nearby shop convinced them about it

And an informed, tested choice is something a rare few make. And then once they find the phone isn't suitable to their usage pattern due to size/battery life/lag or something else, they feel free to curse 'Android' and praise how 'premium' iPhones are very high quality. (yeah 'premium' works here too )

Some of these same people may get an iPhone later, and forcefully adapt themselves and their usage to Apple's strict and locked down hardware and software limitations. And once they find themselves in sync with the phone (and not the other way round), they become free to tell everyone how iPhone is vastly different from 'Android' (or what they think is Android).

Anyway, coming back to the G4.

Yeah really.......

->Amazing performance and multitasking abilities.( Apps stay in background and remain open unlike Samsung -.-)
->Removable battery( got an extra battery and a charging cradle too!)
->Camera quality is drop dead gorgeous( f/1.8 aperture yo!)
->LG's optimus UI doesn't appeal to me at all coming from bone stock android.
->Placement of power button and volume rockers at the back.
->Lockscreen visuals look crappy, pattern unlock looks and feels like a third party app.

Exactly. The LG G4 is a fantastic piece of hardware and brilliant as a powerful media device, and an exceptional camera; but an equally hopeless piece of software and overall Android experience.
The LG UI is simply not befitting a 2015 phone, let alone one of the very best of 2015, and the flagship of a mainstream global manufacturer. I have always maintained across XDA and G+ communities that LG should just ship phones with bootloaders unlocked and custom ROM's installed, because that's how they end up soon anyway!

However, speaking of custom software, that's proved to be one very bad, and perhaps even heartbreaking side of the LG G4. It doesn't have a SINGLE working custom ROM built for it yet, even after a full five months of launch! (and remember, it's a mainstream globally available flagship, with latest Qualcomm hardware.)

And that news becomes even worse if we consider the horrible software LG bundles into their devices. The last year's G3 has had awesome developer support in comparison.

The only bright side is that LG is reportedly updating the G4 to Marshmallow in some countries already, and should provide the update inside this year globally.

One can disable all the LG bloatware from settings, install Google now launcher, the whole Google play apps package, and at least get an experience somehow reminiscent to that of stock Android.
From a hardware point of view, it is big and not as well packed as the G3 (or for that matter, as a Honda), but apart from that it's an extremely solid package, especially for power users. The screen is amazing for whatever one would want to do on it, and the camera is one of the best this year. A very solid device for heavy social media, browsing and media use. The SD card slot and removable battery has actually become its USP, as the original 'inspiration' of LG since forever, Samsung, have suddenly started hating SD cards for some reason.

Lastly, congrats on your purchase, and wish you good luck with custom support in the future! (dude you'll really need it after a while!)

[createrkid]

Originally Posted by mukul32

Couldn't agree more. You have defined every single phone in a nutshell here.
Unfortunately, the harsh reality of our market is that people are nowhere near as careful buying a phone as they are buying their car. Most people buy a particular
....

Oh man! It feels good to interact with someone quite knowledgeable in the tech department. I agree on the iPhone statement, most people I know bought it because "understanding" android was apparently quite a task. I like to think of Android as a Fiat, if something breaks down, you fix 10 different parts, and then it runs like the best thing ever. IPhone is like your humble & reliable Toyota, buy it and forget about it.

I completely forgot to mention about the removable sd card! The note 5 has been a huge disappointment.

I didn't quite understand by what you meant when you said the g4 isn't as well equipped as the g3 hardware wise? You mean to say it isn't much of an upgrade for someone coming from a g3?

And yes, I installed Google now launcher and Nova but I went back to stock because I got used to some of the features ( smart bulletin, qslide etc). It isn't that bad actually, to a normal user, it isn't going to make much of a difference anyway.

I've installed a bunch of games including GTA SA, runs quite well, as I had expected. No hiccups so far, everything runs pretty slick, it has to!

And yes, I agree, people must do research before plonking a good amount of money before blaming certain manufacturers. "Why did I buy this stupid galaxy s6 edge! It has slowed down so much". Awww, you should've done your research! XD. I honestly can't imagine how people would've reacted back in 2004-2005 about spending half a lakh on a mobile phone and upgrading later by parting with their kidney. It baffles me to be honest lol.

And lastly, thanks for the reply! May we both have clutter free performanes in our phones.

[SunnyBoi]

I had a Samsung Clamshell phone for a secondary phone, lately the battery has been going downhill so decided to change phones.

Dad had a first gen Moto E, he got a LG G2 and moved on to it. So I decided to use the Moto E! Turned on the phone (after 6 months) reset, updated to Lollipop and 5.1, phone felt a bit sluggish. Installed 3 apps. PayTM, Uber and Ola. Still running fine.

Couple of days later, I get an error message saying Uber cannot be updated because there is no space!?? I check and there is hardly 250MB free space on a phone, with only 3 additional apps installed! That was the last straw.

Unlocked the phone, installed TWRP and then Minimal OS. Together with minimal Gapps, I only had play store in the apps section along with a couple of built in + essential apps (Phone, Contacts, etc). Installed GMail, Messenger (For SMS) Google Camera, Maps, Chrome, Ola, Uber and PayTM. Now I have over 1.3GB left!

Phone is super fast with minimal lag. Battery life increased tremendously. This is a screenshot from the battery page :



All in all, very happy and would recommend if anyone feels their Moto E has slowed down!

[mukul32]

Originally Posted by createrkid

Oh man! It feels good to interact with someone quite knowledgeable in the tech department. I agree on the iPhone statement, most people I know bought it because "understanding" android was apparently quite a task. I like to think of Android as a Fiat, if something breaks down, you fix 10 different parts, and then it runs like the best thing ever. IPhone is like your humble & reliable Toyota, buy it and forget about it.

Ah, thanks for the reply. and you said rightly as well. However, I would like to compare Android overall to Ford rather than Fiat. Both are American, for Americans, take a bit of effort to keep running well, are often ridiculed by others. Both are not as bad as they are often made out to be. Also, how much ever may you hate them, you can't run too far away from one, as there are just too many of 'em around!

As for Fiat, HTC would be the Fiat of tech world. Rely on style, build quality, feel, and raw heart appeal rather than regular stuff like performance, efficiency, technology, practicality, etc. Also have the wrong products in the wrong places. Have their die hard fans who swear by them may whatever come.

Apple, you nailed it. They are just like Toyota- reliable, quality but boring, commonplace in the West, exclusive and prestigious here. Also both love to rob Indians (case in point iP6s 68k+, LC Prado 1Cr+, etc.)

Similarly, Samsung would be Hyundai naturally. Korean, rather boring, banked on sheer practicality and an overload of features for a long time. In India, sold second best behind the locals, globally behind the Americans. Competition caught up, and both suddenly found their mojo in styling and premium quality.

I didn't quite understand by what you meant when you said the g4 isn't as well equipped as the g3 hardware wise? You mean to say it isn't much of an upgrade for someone coming from a g3?

I meant to say 'packaging' as in referring to the size, screen to body ratio and overall ergonomics of the device. The G3 packed a 5.5" screen in a body almost equal to 5" phones. The G4 is bigger and taller in comparison while having the same display diagonal, and reminds the user that it is ultimately a big phone. However, the G3 is very hard to beat in packaging, and for big enough hands, the G4 should do just fine too.

And lastly, thanks for the reply! May we both have clutter free performanes in our phones.

Well, as of now, my phone is a Nokia 206 dumbphone, thanks to 12th studies. It gets Whatsapp bundled and a decent music player, but nothing apart from that. Speak of clutter-free performance now!

After the boards and entrance exams get done with, am planning to upgrade to a Z3 . Will be a bit old by then, so hopefully will be quite cheap, but it is still powerful enough, and there is no other phone as brilliantly well-rounded as the Z3, especially if it comes to around 25k by May.
For that money, the phone gives water and dust proofing, a well designed and built body, an extremely bright and thankfully accurate display, a clean and fluid UI (apart from a couple of intrusive apps which can be disabled), SD card slot, front facing stereo speakers, a 21 MP camera, 3 gigs of RAM, Marshmallow confirmed, record battery life, and doesn't need invites/ waiting periods for online availability. Also has fantastic custom ROM support like all Sony flagships. And has a service centre less than 1 km from my house.
I have had a great experience with a budget Xperia E1 for over a year, and I would like to commit to Sony after that.

[dark.knight]

Originally Posted by mukul32

After the boards and entrance exams get done with, am planning to upgrade to a Z3 . Will be a bit old by then, so hopefully will be quite cheap, but it is still powerful enough, and there is no other phone as brilliantly well-rounded as the Z3, especially if it comes to around 25k by May.

Once a Sony, always a Sony is what I feel.. even with all its minor flaws. Instead of Z3, M5 is the far better phone in almost every way be it weight, durability, cameras or processor (atleast on paper). It might come to that price in a couple of months or so. Always buying the latest model is preferable as the company would iron out the problems of the previous generation.