[Raccoon]

^^^Won't get into whether 3G is a "failure" in India or not, but cloud storage is just not practical for most. Besides the effeciency and delay factor mentioned by Netfreak, mobile internet is expensive in India. Thats esp. if you are thinking of uploading or downloading multimedia. Besides the cost, there are other factors. 3G is a HUGE battery drain (also heats up the phone). 3G being higher frequency, does not penetrate well indoors. Many may have issues with privacy when uploading to online storage. Etc., etc. Whichever way I look at it, I don't see cloud storage as a substitute for local storage even if we have reliable 3/4.

Further, we have games that are huge. Some like Horn, Batman, etc., are nearly 2 GB each. Not tell me, if someone is even moderately into gaming, what will he do with a handset with say 4GB local storage? USB on the go won't be a substitute in this scenario, and its not very convenient either. At least I don't have time to sit around shifting data in and out all the time. Batteries won't like it either.

Originally Posted by joslicx

Like it or not, it is the trend and it is how it is going to be. Even in laptops (in ultrabooks and all) they are coming with faster ssd storage. I think Apple's laptops come with flash storage only (I might be wrong though).

Whether manufacturers like it or not, we can still vote with our wallets and buy devices that suit us. Customer preference should dictate such things; not manufacturer's vested interests/whims/control preferences or whatever. I don't buy into trends that easily. Who is supposed to set these "trends" anyway?

[joslicx]

Originally Posted by Raccoon

Further, we have games that are huge. Some like Horn, Batman, etc., are nearly 2 GB each. Not tell me, if someone is even moderately into gaming, what will he do with a handset with say 4GB local storage? USB on the go won't be a substitute in this scenario, and its not very convenient either. At least I don't have time to sit around shifting data in and out all the time. Batteries won't like it either.

for those requirements there are choices from hundreds of other sets in the market. or wait for google/LG to release a 32/64GB model if you want this particular set only.

There is nothing like a perfect thing. Every user can evaluate his or her needs and then see if nexus4 can satisfy. I would buy some other handset if my requirement is huge space. but at $299 it is still a compelling buy for lot of people. Not everyone is a heavy gamer. Besides, people are using cloud for some time now (arent we using emails for long time now?)

Whether manufacturers like it or not, we can still vote with our wallets and buy devices that suit us. Customer preference should dictate such things; not manufacturer's vested interests/whims/control preferences or whatever. I don't buy into trends that easily. Who is supposed to set these "trends" anyway?

Apple started that. "Others" are following suit.

[amitk26]

Originally Posted by joslicx

and that is the whole point! performance systems are moving away from external storage! On board flash is much faster and makes performance more sleek

Be assured this is totally false and not the reason and don't fall for marketing trap. The real reason is that consumer is willing to pay a lot more for 16/32GB if it is internal ( as proven by iPhone) where as if you give a SD card slot it is cost overhead.
Secondly it works for Google because they need to push more data to Google Cloud and Gdrive , Gdrive 2.0 API set was released sometime back so for an ecosystem of 3ed party Apps using these APIs to emerge it is necessary that userbase is created.

Originally Posted by lazy

mayankk....thanks !!
lancerlover & amitk26,
Do I need to backup stuff (contacts, sms, photos, videos, calendar events etc) somewhere before I do the backup?
Fear of losing data is the primary reason I have left the OS as it is.

Thanks all for your inputs.

cheers
lazy

Yes you should copy the data . Atleast Contacts , Calanders should be either copied or Synced to gmail. The latest version of Note will have Samsung's Backup and Restore solution and that will take care but for now backup.

[lancerlover]

Originally Posted by lazy

lancerlover & amitk26,
Do I need to backup stuff (contacts, sms, photos, videos, calendar events etc) somewhere before I do the backup?
Fear of losing data is the primary reason I have left the OS as it is.

Thanks all for your inputs.

cheers
lazy

Personally, I have never lost any data while upgrading but it is still a safer option to back it up or save it in the phone memory card before a upgrade.Install sms back up and restore, go contacts and back up your sms and contacts, you can copy the files to your pc or you can save the backup files in your phone memory card.Any data on the memory card is rarely affected during the OTA upgrade.And do make sure you have at least 60-70% battery left or have a charger handy before you start the process

[joslicx]

Originally Posted by amitk26

Be assured this is totally false and not the reason and don't fall for marketing trap. The real reason is that consumer is willing to pay a lot more for 16/32GB if it is internal ( as proven by iPhone) where as if you give a SD card slot it is cost overhead.
Secondly it works for Google because they need to push more data to Google Cloud and Gdrive , Gdrive 2.0 API set was released sometime back so for an ecosystem of 3ed party Apps using these APIs to emerge it is necessary that userbase is created.

I kind of partially agree to what you're saying. For really heavy games still flash should be preferred rather than SD storage. The gaming experience would be much better. SD is good for storing videos and pics and your usual apps data. Also for the best gaming experience you'd anyway need faster networks as well if you want the real thing and play online.

Just think about it. If networks were fast and reliable enough, why would we need to install whole applications with entire databases etc? Its absolute waste of space replicating it on thousands or millions of stations. Its always better to have just a UI to access everything you want and let the database be anywhere on the cloud. Its more logical really. In future your apps are gonna be much more intelligent, they will learn to predict what you want and pre-fetch everything from database so there are no lags etc also do that intelligently so that not too much of data transfer is needed. Its evolution for the better I guess.

For now I am just happy with the Nexus4 pricing (if they maintain it in India too as and when they launch it here) I am not into gaming at all so dont need much storage space. I always wanted a Google phone (have a thing for having the latest updates as soon as they are available - something I miss on my present phone) and no bloatware or vendor UI (dont like any of them - stock Android, esp v4.xx is so beautiful itself and I dont think any of the vendors really match upto it). I couldnt really have asked for anything more for $299 really!

[hrishig]

Any note 2 user present ? What to know comments about S3 vs note 2 from usage perspective.. as the % difference is comparatively less now

[arup.misra]

Assuming Nexus 4 gets launched in India on similar pricing points, would be a good buy compared to a Note II or perhaps an i-phone.

For some one not into gaming and minimal music would the Nexus be a good fit. Out of curiosity from the 16GB approx how much is space is available for user post OS.

[Apple]

Originally Posted by arup.misra

Assuming Nexus 4 gets launched in India on similar pricing points, would be a good buy compared to a Note II or perhaps an i-phone.

For some one not into gaming and minimal music would the Nexus be a good fit. Out of curiosity from the 16GB approx how much is space is available for user post OS.

I got my Galaxy Nexus 16 GB recently and I was left with 13.3 GB. For me it is more than enough

[clevermax]

Originally Posted by Apple

I got my Galaxy Nexus 16 GB recently and I was left with 13.3 GB. For me it is more than enough

Same here. I don't have any reason to think about having external sd card slot.

[amitk26]

Originally Posted by joslicx

I kind of partially agree to what you're saying. For !

Jose I am speaking from technical point of view you have necessarily assumed that an MTD device ( external SD/CF/MMC card) needs to be slower then a files system on an internal flash memory. In fact SD card is also a flash memory with a firmware for the SD inteface specification.

In fact on many Samsung phones with 32GB memory 16GB is the flash on which boot image and factory FS resides and 16 is internal SD ( using the SD interface).

Coming back to SD performance a 30 Mbps read/write 32 GB card available today meets the performance requirement for any game application today.

[kap04]

Originally Posted by joslicx

nexus4 is excellent value for money irrespective. you are getting a phone more powerful than the SGS3 for almost half the price! what else do you want??????

Here is what Matias Duarte, Director of Android operating system User Experience shared on his Google+ page , about why Nexus devices dont have SD cards?

"Everybody likes the idea of having an SD card, but in reality it’s just confusing for users. If you’re saving photos, videos or music, where does it go? Is it on your phone? Or on your card? Should there be a setting? Prompt everytime? What happens to the experience when you swap out the card? It’s just too complicated. We take a different approach. Your Nexus has a fixed amount of space and your apps just seamlessly use it for you without you ever having to worry about files or volumes or any of that techy nonsense left over from the paleolithic era of computing. With a Nexus you know exactly how much storage you get upfront and you can decide what’s the right size for you. That’s simple and good for users."

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by amitk26

Be assured this is totally false and not the reason and don't fall for marketing trap. The real reason is that consumer is willing to pay a lot more for 16/32GB if it is internal ( as proven by iPhone) where as if you give a SD card slot it is cost overhead.

Ditto. There are so many opinions/articles available on the Iphone series since ages on how Apple nearly makes double the profit on a 32/64GB phone as compared to the base versions. The price increase for the additional memory is just a marketing gimmick. Kind of what Hyundai also excels in

Originally Posted by amitk26

Jose I am speaking from technical point of view you have necessarily assumed that an MTD device ( external SD/CF/MMC card) needs to be slower then a files system on an internal flash memory. In fact SD card is also a flash memory with a firmware for the SD inteface specification.

Is that really true? Anyway a class 10 memory card is more than sufficient to ward of any access worries, but just to understand the basics - how fast/slow is an external memory card as compared to internal memory?

[joslicx]

Originally Posted by amitk26

Jose I am speaking from technical point of view you have necessarily assumed that an MTD device ( external SD/CF/MMC card) needs to be slower then a files system on an internal flash memory. In fact SD card is also a flash memory with a firmware for the SD inteface specification.

In fact on many Samsung phones with 32GB memory 16GB is the flash on which boot image and factory FS resides and 16 is internal SD ( using the SD interface).

Coming back to SD performance a 30 Mbps read/write 32 GB card available today meets the performance requirement for any game application today.

Agree, but:
1. How much do performance SD cards cost? 32GB of 30Mpbs one will cost you about $30-40. Its not really ultra-cheap.
2. There will be a connector on the motherboard for this card. I am not sure it is same as having on-board flash memory as this connector should work with all sorts of cards. Not everyone will be using class 10 or UHS cards (maybe ignorance or price reasons)
3. If anything the Apple iphone experiment teaches us, its the fact that the lesser the variables are, more the system can be optimized!
4. And this matters the most - There is no quad core, 2GB RAM, 320ppi, 2100mAH Li-Poly device out there today for this kind of price. This can force your Apples and Samsungs to climb down from their pedestals (they are making ridiculous profits on the iphones/SGSs) and maybe we can see significant price corrections. I think as customers we should welcome this phone. It can really change the market dynamics.

[naveenroy]

Originally Posted by naveenroy

Yes, it seemed to be out of stock at many sites but Flipkart had stocks today so I placed an order there. A little pricier (around 400 or so) but can trust Flipkart.

Looks like I will be getting the phone only after the 6th. Can expect it around the 8th.

[mempheS.D]

Really confused between the Note 2 and Moto Razr Maxx HD (an unlocked Verizon that I need to source from the USA).

Can someone help me decide please?

Note 2:
- I like, because it's available locally and warranty won't be an issue.
- I like, because it would serve as a mini tablet that I need to read.
- I like, because it's got a huge battery pack that's replacable during those 2 day trips.
- I dont like, because it's Korean. Personal mindset. No offence.
- I dont like, because I may get taunted by a few for the size.

Razr Maxx HD
- I like, because it's exactly what a smartphone should be as per my defn.
- I like, because it's got the most juice to keep going.
- I dont like, because warranty would be USA warranty only.
- I dont like, because of the Verizon branding all over the phone.

I am upgrading from an HTC Radar / Nokia E63 pair that I use and would prefer to upgrade to one single device instead of carrying both around.