[Bhupesh_2628]

Originally Posted by pandey.jai

What PDF readers do you folks use to read PDFs on android devices?
I’ve tried ReadEra and it’s pretty decent but I want to know if there are any better ones out there. I just want to be able to read PDFs from my downloads folder.

I use Adobe Acrobat Reader app to read PDF documents.

[amol4184]

Originally Posted by pandey.jai

What PDF readers do you folks use to read PDFs on android devices?
I’ve tried ReadEra and it’s pretty decent but I want to know if there are any better ones out there. I just want to be able to read PDFs from my downloads folder.

I simply use Google Drive.
If document is important, I just click on upload button at the top and it gets saved on the cloud in my Google drive account. Pretty neat. The integration is seamless.
A very simple app but your requirement is also simple. You might need to install Google PDF reader separately (its a PDF plug-in for Google Drive) but I don't specifically remember installing it ever on any of my phones.

[PapaBravo]

Originally Posted by deep_bang

What's the deal with Oppo/Vivo/OnePlus/realme and now Iqoo? What's the idea in having so many brands but owned by the same company (BBK Electronics).

I can understand one premium brand and one 'normal' brand but in this case every company is playing in the same market isnt it? I just don't understand the concept...

In Marketing lingo, We call is 'House of Brands'. The other architecture is called Branded house. This is more common than one would think. You can google to learn more about it.

Think Unilever & Dove, Lux, Lifebuoy, Pears as their different soap brands.

Cheers,
Pawan

[vb-saan]

Due to the mediocre battery life of iPhone 12 Mini, I have been toying the idea of changing to a new phone in April. The usual pathway will be to stay in iOS but because iPhones are like VAG cars (wherein new models look like a mere facelift rather than a brand new generation), I switch to Android world once in a while. My last Android was the brilliant Google Pixel XL 2, which stayed with me for more than 2 years, and because the subsequent iterations were not that exciting, I switched back to iPhone (11 Pro, and then 12 mini). I also had a Samsung S10 as my work phone, which again was a wonderful device.

With the Android itch ignited again, earlier this week I had a good look at the new Samsung S22 range. The S22 Ultra looked really good, but effectively a new renamed Note that follows the S series release cycle. Since I have an affinity towards smaller and a bit more pocketable devices, I turned my attention to the standard S22 (not the Plus).

Positives:

• Brilliant camera setup - the photos looked vibrant yet natural, very close to iPhone and Pixel levels> The over-processed pictures associated with Samsung looks to be a thing of the past.
• No curved edges - Samsung ditched the curved display for the S22 (and S22+) which is a welcome change.
• Compact size - The S22 got same screen size as the iPhone 13/13 pro, but felt really compact and nice to hold.

Negatives:

• Though the S22 Ultra looked/felt as a flagship model, the regular S22/S22 Plus lacked the pizzazz – felt a bit too generic in design.
• In the initial reviews on battery life are quite average.
• The UI is much improved, but still lacks the clean feel of Pixel/iPhone

I will wait for a couple of weeks to see more reviews, feedback (especially on the battery backup), and then decide accordingly. The alternate option will be to continue with iOS (13 Pro) for another year at least.

[civic-sense]

Any thoughts from anybody on the iQOO 9 SE? There are certain launch offers which brings the asking price to 28K. That's really good for a SD888 phone. Not for my use but for my kid for his games. He is currently struggling with a MI 11 Lite (SD732).

Another thought is to get a Motorola Egde 30 pro and hand down my Edge 20 to the kid. Here, the outflow is higher, and I am generally averse to heavy phones.

[dragonfire]

Originally Posted by vb-san

With the Android itch ignited again, earlier this week I had a good look at the new Samsung S22 range.

From the way they are downgrading the S series phones and killing the Note series, it is evident that Samsung is not being able to sell premium phones. The BBK and Xiaomi duo is being able to sell high speced phones at price points that Samsung is not able to match. I think Samsung's focus has already shifted to the A, M and F series.

Nokia recently announced that they are exiting the premium phone business (their last one was the 9 Pureview).

LG ran away altogether. They anyway didn't have a proper midrange lineup.

Bottom line is, only Apple is being able to sell premium phones. I think you should stick to iPhones. If you can push the 12 mini for 6 more months, you can get the 14 (Pro) when it arrives.

[AnandB]

Actually Samsung has been able to sell their Ultra more (compared to previous year models) than the base S and S+ models because of price positioning. They have also correctly consolidated note with ultra because the fold & flip have taken the mid-year launch positions.

[dragonfire]

The highest selling Android is a Samsung A12, followed by a Redmi both lower midrange phones. The premium Androids do not appear anywhere. Samsung may end up losing money on developing premium phones what they make by selling midrange phones. So it is wise on their part to consolidate and concentrate on a couple of models.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by dragonfire

Bottom line is, only Apple is being able to sell premium phones. I think you should stick to iPhones. If you can push the 12 mini for 6 more months, you can get the 14 (Pro) when it arrives.

April is normally my phone refresh month, and especially with iPhones here some mid-lifecycle offers kicks in during this time. And hearing that Apple is going to do a full re-work with iPhone 14, I will rather wait and see how the new one pan in. Last time when they did this kind of radical change, I absolutely hated it (the iPhone X). Moved back to iOS only when 11 Pro came out

Originally Posted by AnandB

Actually Samsung has been able to sell their Ultra more (compared to previous year models) than the base S and S+ models because of price positioning. They have also correctly consolidated note with ultra because the fold & flip have taken the mid-year launch positions.

Consolidating Note and the S looks to be the right way forward, but they would have kept uniform aesthetics across the range. Something like how Apple have done with the regular iPhones and Pro range – same but different.

[tbppjpr]

Originally Posted by vb-san

I switch to Android world once in a while. My last Android was the brilliant Google Pixel XL 2, which stayed with me for more than 2 years, and because the subsequent iterations were not that exciting
...
earlier this week I had a good look at the new Samsung S22 range. The S22 Ultra looked really good, but effectively a new renamed Note that follows the S series release cycle. Since I have an affinity towards smaller and a bit more pocketable devices, I turned my attention to the standard S22 (not the Plus).

If you are looking for fuss free Android experience for long duration then get only the pure Android, not those heavily bloated and over skinned variants of the Android which will later make you curse the Android while comparing it against the past experience with iOS.

I prefer to avoid any Android where secondary account needs to be setup to use the duplicate apps preinstalled by the OEM which keep running in the background and every successive update contributes in degrading the performance of the phone over the years.

Currently you can get Google Pixel 6 on Amazon India, probably an imported device but will be good enough for few years with assured updates. Photography on smartphone mostly depends on the software processing, and nothing beats Google camera app in this department.

You can also consider the Motorola Edge series (only Qualcomm variants, avoid Mediatek variants) as an alternative of Google's pure Android if the local support for hardware is crucial for you. Recently a new Edge 30 was launched with the latest flagship SOC 8 Gen 1. If top specs are not important then Edge 20 and Edge 20 pro are still relevant at the price point they are being offered. Motorola comes with only one app which packs tons of gesture based Motorola features which are very handy.

[civic-sense]

Originally Posted by tbppjpr

You can also consider the Motorola Edge series (only Qualcomm variants, avoid Mediatek variants) as an alternative of Google's pure Android if the local support for hardware is crucial for you. Recently a new Edge 30 was launched with the latest flagship SOC 8 Gen 1. If top specs are not important then Edge 20 and Edge 20 pro are still relevant at the price point they are being offered. Motorola comes with only one app which packs tons of gesture based Motorola features which are very handy.

Motorola is the only way to go if you want the new pixel features that were introduced in Android 12. I am waiting for the 12 update in my Edge 20 and despite promising a Feb release, the update is nowhere in sight. Yet I'd rather wait rather than getting another buggy update. The phone came with severe touch screen issues that got fixed after the Dec update. Post update the phone is doing well - very fast and fluid despite the midrange chipset.

I was in half mind to get the Edge 30 pro only for an early access to Android 12, but Flipkart increased the price in the name of Holi sales.

[AnandB]

Originally Posted by dragonfire

The highest selling Android is a Samsung A12, followed by a Redmi both lower midrange phones. The premium Androids do not appear anywhere. Samsung may end up losing money on developing premium phones what they make by selling midrange phones. So it is wise on their part to consolidate and concentrate on a couple of models.
Attachment 2283357

It would be stupid for me and hopefully Samsung to think about achieving sales or profits that Apple gets. I am talking about Android only and for that if you want best overall experience with the best screen/camera Samsung is the only option. And my comparison was with other premium Android phones. I have tried many different brands (Asus, Oppo, Oneplus, Realme) over the years and now i completely shifted back to Samsung. Specs and high benchmark numbers is one thing but after sales experience matters more to me now. As these are incredibly complex devices, my phones have had issues sometimes mechanical fault, sometimes my own like dropping it and just being able to go to a Samsung authorized centre and get it fixed is a boon for me. Also the Chinese ones are full of ads, many times unavoidable. Samsung is loaded with needless apps too but not like the Chinese junk.

[dragonfire]

Originally Posted by AnandB

It would be stupid for me and hopefully Samsung to think about achieving sales or profits that Apple gets. I am talking about Android only and for that if you want best overall experience with the best screen/camera Samsung is the only option. And my comparison was with other premium Android phones. I have tried many different brands (Asus, Oppo, Oneplus, Realme) over the years and now i completely shifted back to Samsung. Specs and high benchmark numbers is one thing but after sales experience matters more to me now. As these are incredibly complex devices, my phones have had issues sometimes mechanical fault, sometimes my own like dropping it and just being able to go to a Samsung authorized centre and get it fixed is a boon for me. Also the Chinese ones are full of ads, many times unavoidable. Samsung is loaded with needless apps too but not like the Chinese junk.

Oops! I think you misunderstood what I wrote. I was not even remotely implying that the Chinese premium phones are better than the Samsung S series. Am simply saying that because the premium market is hogged by Apple phones, it only makes sense for Samsung to consolidate their premium lineup and concentrate on a few premium phones. Who else would understand that better than Samsung themselves?

[joslicx]

Originally Posted by dragonfire

Oops! I think you misunderstood what I wrote. I was not even remotely implying that the Chinese premium phones are better than the Samsung S series. Am simply saying that because the premium market is hogged by Apple phones, it only makes sense for Samsung to consolidate their premium lineup and concentrate on a few premium phones. Who else would understand that better than Samsung themselves?

Well Apple has a very different philosophy that works for them and the likes of Samsung has a very different philosophy (different from apple) that works for them.
With Samsung you are spoilt for choice with multiple products ( some even overlapping). With Apple, Apple chooses what's for you and you only have to factor weight of your wallet. So it's a different world altogether and both have their merits.

[dragonfire]

Originally Posted by joslicx

Well Apple has a very different philosophy that works for them and the likes of Samsung has a very different philosophy (different from apple) that works for them.
With Samsung you are spoilt for choice with multiple products ( some even overlapping). With Apple, Apple chooses what's for you and you only have to factor weight of your wallet. So it's a different world altogether and both have their merits.

Yes, I agree. Yet, this is not about Apple. Samsung might not have the sales numbers to keep such an extensive lineup of premium phones alive. A couple of years ago they had the S, S+, S Ultra, S FE, S e, Note, Note +, Note lite, Note ultra. With the 22 series they have reduced it to just 3 phones plus the S21 FE - which in all probability will get killed next year.

In a typical product lifecycle, when popularity is at the highest (S10, 20) there would be the highest number of variants. In the decline stage, variants will be rationalized where only a few would be retained and the rest gets killed off. I think that is what is happening to Samsung's premium range now.