[GTO]

Originally Posted by Swapnil_Alto

Samsung has it's own extended warranty for Smartphones. It extends your warranty for one more year, I took up the extended warranty program while some discount was going on and paid Rs.1.2k for my Samsung Galaxy S4.

Originally Posted by landcruiser123

Congrats on the S6! I wouldn't recommend extended warranty as modern Phones are extremely reliable hardware wise.

I second LC on that. I personally don't feel extended warranty is all that necessary. High end Samsung's do age well, and another thing is, as long as you're under warranty, you're stuck with Touchwiz.

I'm the kind of guy who would get the max extended warranty even on a Toyota Innova (if they offered one) .

Originally Posted by seafalkon

Friends,, my Sony xperia M is showing the following message on the screen-

Type password to decrypt storage.

To a phone noob like me, sounds like you had encrypted the data on your phone?

Originally Posted by mukul32

First of all, GTO congrats on the S6! It's a great device, and may god bless you with minimal lag over the years (yeah, minimal; Samsung's can't have nil! Am typing this on a Samsung, so I know).

Thanks! Also for all the advice. I remembered your Hyundai / Honda analogy when checking out the S6 & Z5. But hey, I'd pick an Elite i20 over the Jazz any day!

Wait. Isn't that a bit serious? It's an erstwhile flagship, and within 2 years you've got critical parts of the phone going kaput.

Seriously disappointing. It was working fine till 3 months back. All problems came up only since September. I'm locking it up in the cupboard and going to keep it as a spare phone if & when required.

High end Samsung's, if they don't have any real issues in the beginning, tend to age very well. There are all kinds of high end Sammy's in my family, and there have been no complaints from anyone.

Good to hear.

From around a thousand votes, over 70% said just for the cool looks. Less than 20% cared for any little utility that the edge may provide.

Why has the Swift continuously outsold the more practical Ritz ? Of course, the looks!

Originally Posted by PPS

Have been using Samsung S3 for the past almost 3 yrs now. The phone has remained largely trouble free except that its gotten a bit slow & lethargic, apps like Instagram, Twitter take more than 5 seconds to open!

If you're not into custom ROMs and all, just do a factory reset. Should be back to its fast days.

[ajay_satpute]

Originally Posted by GTO

Couldn't wait. My stupid HTC's WiFi radio stopped working.

Within 2 minutes of playing with the S6 Edge, I was in love . Thanks to all who recommended it.

-

Welcome to stunningly beautiful curved world of Samsung! When I got my S6 Edge, I had gone to the showroom with the iPhone 6 in mind. But the S6 Edge standing next to the iPhone was just too beautiful in all aspects. I got a good offer too on my Note 2 and was out of the showroom in like 15 minutes with the 64 gigs S6 Edge in Safire Blue shade.

So far, I think its totally worth the investment considering the specs on offer.

Enjoy the 'beauty with the beast' S6 Edge.

Just make sure to get a good case, as the rear camera protrudes out and if you keep the phone down on a surface, the camera will be the first point of contact.

[pixantz]

Any Lenovo Vibe P1 users online please? Some good reports eagerly awaited. Going to get one soon.... Expecting rave battery reviews.

[seafalkon]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Apple allows you to download the oldest version of the app compatible with your device. To the best of my knowledge, you can't do that on Android - you can only download the current version. But you MUST NOT update iOS beyond 8 or worst case, 9!

.

Thanks,, didn't know that about iOS. Anyways feeling tempted to go for apple for the sole quality and style quotient.☺

[GTO]

Originally Posted by ajay_satpute

I had gone to the showroom with the iPhone 6 in mind. But the S6 Edge standing next to the iPhone was just too beautiful in all aspects. I got a good offer too on my Note 2 and was out of the showroom in like 15 minutes with the 64 gigs S6 Edge in Safire Blue shade.

Yeah, it's hard to resist in person!

So far, I think its totally worth the investment considering the specs on offer.

Personally, I think all of these phones are grossly overpriced (especially the iPhone 6, but that's a discussion for another day). Not a trend of today either - I remember buying an Ericsson GH337 for 40k back in 1996 . A good business to be in for sure.

Just make sure to get a good case, as the rear camera protrudes out and if you keep the phone down on a surface, the camera will be the first point of contact.

Thanks! Done.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by GTO

Personally, I think all of these phones are grossly overpriced (especially the iPhone 6, but that's a discussion for another day). Not a trend of today either - I remember buying an Ericsson GH337 for 40k back in 1996 . A good business to be in for sure.

ne.

Well I'm not so sure. Many once very reputable companies have lost a lot of money making mobile phones. Quite a few big brands have disappeared all together in the last decade. There are only a few who actually, consistently make good money out of this business. Hard core retail business where volumes make or break profitability. To get the volumes you need to get every new model spot on in terms of appeal. Sounds easy, many tried, only a few get it right consistently over a period of time.

Jeroen

[sukhoi]

Originally Posted by sukhoi

Folks, need your help and inputs in helping me finalize a phone for myself.

Originally Posted by createrkid

looking at the emphasis you're putting on the camera, the LG g4 wins hands down. Battery life for me has been around a little more than 4 hours screen on time. For everything else, I suggest you pick up the Nexus 6P

Originally Posted by mukul32

In the end, the Moto stays a pure Android device, but also delivers where it matters in real life use, eg, faster charging than anything else out there, the Moto X software tricks, IP52 rating, SD card slot, etc. It does not have any major shortcomings, is an unbeatable package for the price, and would easily be my pick and suggestion to you.

Originally Posted by Marauder

Since this is your 1st Android phone, your options should be narrowed down to stock Android phone i.e. Moto X Style and Nexus 6P.
These are the advantages of each phone over the other:

Originally Posted by sgiitk

Uber smooth and nice. I will say highly satisfied.

Originally Posted by Marauder

If you want the best camera in a phone above everything else, then you should go for the G4. Otherwise, in almost all other aspects Moto X is the better bet.

Thank you all for your inputs and suggestions. After watching the reviews by MKBHD and geekyranjit and reading various online reviews, zeroed down on the Moto X Style over the Nexus 6P (dual sim benefit, expandable storage and cheaper by 11K odd). The phone arrived yesterday night and have not had a chance to explore much except to start it once and configure it. Would be getting the replacement nano sim tomorrow and phone would be functional post that. Immediately got the update to Marshmallow 6.0. Initial observations:
1) Phone charges pretty fast. Came in with battery @ 27% (odd is it??) and charged to 80%+ within an hour while marshmallow update was being applied.
2) While it has a 5.7" screen, it does not seem to be too big. Outer dimension wise it seems to be more or less same as a Samsung A7 in the family (visual comparison)
3) Feels nice in the hand and the slight curve makes it nice to hold
4) Front facing dual speakers offer good sound output, have not tried with headphones though

Few more follow up questions now:
1) Suggestions for a tempered glass protector? Quick online search showed stuff from 149 odd to INR 1176 (IQ Shield). I am inclined to get one since it would protect the screen but would it impact the touch user interface much? Are these DIY or we need to visit the friendly neighborhood store for this? Also case/cover and SD card inputs please.
2) While discussing the phone during office, some folks mentioned that they have not used their primary gmail id to configure the account on the phone (which has social media, financial and other such information associated with it) but instead created a new gmail account and used that. Benefit they claim is that should the phone get compromised the data that would be compromised would be only the contacts etc. Is that a practice which should be followed? What do most folks here do?

Other observations:
1) Life was indeed simpler when apple and blackberry were just fruits
2) Should have written this post the day had ordered the phone instead of after getting the phone

Cheers,
S

[mukul32]

Originally Posted by GTO

Thanks! Also for all the advice. I remembered your Hyundai / Honda analogy when checking out the S6 & Z5.

My pleasure. Don't worry; I'll only torture you with my own questions when I start earning and I buy my own Mahindra Classic one day!!

Seriously disappointing. It was working fine till 3 months back. All problems came up only since September. I'm locking it up in the cupboard and going to keep it as a spare phone if & when required.

Another idea: the phone is quite compact, has Beats audio built in, those awesome BoomSound speakers, and runs Android. May not be an iPod replacement, but still could be a decent secondary music device.

If you're not into custom ROMs and all, just do a factory reset. Should be back to its fast days.

Well, just see an S3 running Resurrection Remix official. It's way better than anything an S3 will have ever seen.

Originally Posted by GTO

Personally, I think all of these phones are grossly overpriced (especially the iPhone 6, but that's a discussion for another day). Not a trend of today either - I remember buying an Ericsson GH337 for 40k back in 1996 . A good business to be in for sure.

A lot of the money goes into development and marketing too. In fact way more than we could imagine. Smartphone ads are becoming some of the coolest ads we see around. And clever promotion in many other places too- should cost a hell lot.
Plus, I totally second Jeroen in that companies have to cover up the losses in low-selling devices. Work really hard on building something wonderful, and watch it absolutely fail in the market. Ask Sony.

However, one thing that still beats me is that is it really that difficult to make a potential bestseller? It's simple, really. Great build, stock Android, good camera and reliable battery life. That's pretty much it. (Alright, my wishlist would add waterproofing and amazing custom support too.)
Look at Motorola. They have won over both the public and the media recently, with a simple formula to focus on a neat user experience over one-upmanship over 'innovation' claims. (And they still had a waterproof Defy and fingerprint-equipped Atrix ages ago!) If not for the size, we would have seen everyone around carrying a Moto X. I only wish the next year's Moto X gets a bit smaller (5.5" would do just fine), adds a fingerprint scanner, a better IP rating, and keeps the SD card slot. It'll be my dream phone!

Thanks! Done.

You put a case on the S6 so soon?! All the wonderful feel in the hand and slimness goes right into the bin then!!
Actually, that's what happens with most premium phones. They are too delicate to handle bare, and after putting on a case, the very premiumness is all gone and the phone starts feeling like a bar of soap.
Marques Brownlee, one of THE guys when it comes to smartphone reviews, had made a really interesting video about phone cases. Must watch for all:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Btr8uOU0BkI

Also GTO, he had made another video about a very stock-like Material Design theme for the S6. Is a straightforward install from the themes store. Might wanna check it out. Does look way less kiddish and cleaner. No picture of flower for gallery or pink musical note for music player or awkward green and orange colours and other cartoonish stuff. Gets far better and more mature. Highly recommended:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkqI_2Fp9ok

Also, if you're fine with just the icons, there's the brilliant Google Now launcher too. Removes those silly transition animations of the stock launcher, gets a Google Now panel on the leftmost homescreen (=awesome) and the best part, enables the "Okay Google!" hotword on all the homescreens too. The Now launcher coupled with the Material theme would make the experience much better, I feel.

Originally Posted by sukhoi

Thank you all for your inputs and suggestions. After watching the reviews by MKBHD and geekyranjit and reading various online reviews, zeroed down on the Moto X Style over the Nexus 6P (dual sim benefit, expandable storage and cheaper by 11K odd).

Congrats! Hope Marshmallow is going well. The stereo speakers, Moto software features, and feel in hand are very well worth adjusting to the size of that thing. And then, latest software to go with it too. It is possibly THE best Android experience of 2015.

Suggestions for a tempered glass protector?

The phone comes with Gorilla glass 3, so it is protected against regular use. My Note 8.0 with Gorilla glass 2 hasn't worn a screen guard in over 2.5 years, and hasn't seen one scratch. But for the safer side, protection is alright. I'd say just don't go for the extremely thick ones.

Also case/cover and SD card inputs please.

Anything SanDisk is great. Prefer Class 10 ones, as they're remarkably faster than say, class 4. A 32 GB and above card and you're free from any storage worries.

While discussing the phone during office, some folks mentioned that they have not used their primary gmail id to configure the account on the phone (which has social media, financial and other such information associated with it) but instead created a new gmail account and used that. Benefit they claim is that should the phone get compromised the data that would be compromised would be only the contacts etc. Is that a practice which should be followed? What do most folks here do?

A new account is always a safe option, but I'd personally go with my regular Gmail account itself. A big part of the 'smart'ness of a smartphone is in that it can handle your stuff. So why not let it? Only, if you do use your official account, do not forget to turn off Google's web history, YouTube watch history, contact info access and all of that, so that personal data doesn't get mixed with the official account.
However, if you do intend to use a lot of third party apps that need signing in, it's best to make a new account, keep the same account for all current and future devices, and all third party apps etc. Your primary account can be added to the mail app only for mail notifications and stuff.

Speaking of Google account, let me remind you; DO NOT forget to use Google Now. It's one of the best things to ever happen to smartphones, arguably THE best thing to happen to Androids, and yet, there are a huge lot of people who just don't use it at all, or worse, don't even know what Google Now is!
Marshmallow actually brings in Now on Tap, (which I could argue till eternity is practically more useful than either of force touch and continuum, but that's for later) which literally revolutionises the way you access information on your smartphone. A smartphone today is way way more than merely a means to chat on WhatsApp, but sadly, very few actually care about that.

Life was indeed simpler when apple and blackberry were just fruits

Very true, that.
Today, you go out in public and, for instance, suddenly start talking stuff with your phone, and people would actually go "Wow! How cool!" instead of "What is that guy upto?!" No one would have imagined something like this a decade or two ago.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Quite a few big brands have disappeared all together in the last decade.

And an equal number of large new players have come up in the last decade (iPhone being one). Even home grown Micromax is now a multi-billion dollar company. The sales haven't gone anywhere. The players have changed.

I still think the 45k - 80k smartphones are grossly overpriced, but hey, as long as there is a market for them, why wouldn't anyone sell them!

Originally Posted by mukul32

My pleasure. Don't worry; I'll only torture you with my own questions when I start earning and I buy my own Mahindra Classic one day!!

Hahaha, anytime!

You put a case on the S6 so soon?! All the wonderful feel in the hand and slimness goes right into the bin then!!

Got a really simple + thin case. Not that bad. Just got it for protection from falls etc.

Also GTO, he had made another video about a very stock-like Material Design theme for the S6.

Thanks! Will check.

[mayankk]

I had to replace the missus' Z1, and we went to pick up the Z2, which would have come to about 25k. While there, the sales-guy showed us the C5.
With that screen size, and the properly snappy processor, it was a little foregone. However, the design philosophy of the Zs and the rest is quite different. The Z2 definitely felt more premium, but the 13 mp front camera with the flash sealed the deal.
The plastic backing is not quite as tacky as the under 20k sonys, and is slightly rubbery. On went the tempered glass, and the clear silicone case, and we were offered 6k in exchange for the Z1.
Pretty nifty deal for 26k, without exchange.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by GTO

And an equal number of large new players have come up in the last decade (iPhone being one). Even home grown Micromax is now a multi-billion dollar company. The sales haven't gone anywhere. The players have changed.

I still think the 45k - 80k smartphones are grossly overpriced, but hey, as long as there is a market for them, why wouldn't anyone sell them!
.

Too true, that is actually true for the Forbes top500 companies as well. Last decade has seen a huge influx of new companies and exit of many old established names.

In terms of sales, the total volume has dramatically increased over the last decade. But to your point, a number of new players.

As in many industries or segments, to be succesful you need to be one of the top 3 global player, otherwise its unlikely you will be able to make consistent profitable business out of it. A lot of business tends to be measured against units sold over a certain period of time. e.g. Audi or Mercedes sold x number of cars last year.

Mobile phone market is very volatile. It's not relevant at all what you did last week or last month, it's more or less only about how many units you manage to shift today. Its very short cyclic as a market, whereas development cycles tend to be much, much longer.

I used to have some degree of insights into it up till a few years ago. Its probably only become more hectic since. The cost of a unit produced is much, much more then the cost of the individual components and its manufacturing. At the end of the day its really the volume that will determine whether you can recouperate on your R&D and marketing, and have a very efficient logist, distribution and sales channels in place. Its all down to volume.

I know this is an Android thread, but I'm an Apple fan. I need to carry multiple devices on me, becaue of my line of work, so I have a few Androids as well, but all my preferrred devices are Apple. Not much rational other then I just like it better.

Jeroen

[saadat1992]

Moto X play has quite a cam!
The color perception is brilliant in this 21mpx rear shooter.
Here's a sample picture that I took this morning.

Here's an unedited macroshot


Both the images are raw, straight from my gallery. No edits done!

[VW2010]

I still think the 45k - 80k smartphones are grossly overpriced, but hey, as long as there is a market for them, why wouldn't anyone sell them

GTO. I think its simply the demand vs supply market. As long as there are buyers for these devices the market will continue to help manufacturers over price and mint. A report i read stated the operating margin for iphone 6 was around 69 percent. Even if they give a 20% cut in price they make close to 50% margin on sales. Thats insanely high considering these phones are very short lived and hardly has over 1 year life in the hands of new generation.

Anyway - I got my Note 4 for free with my office carrier. So i dont regret a phone whose battery lasts two days . I am super excited with the Nova Launcher prime(Get this over the stupid touchwiz) and you are good to go. I recommend the Nova Launcher for all android phones over stock.

My Note 4 fails to unimpress me. Solid 2 days battery (Wifi, BT on all the time with the smartwatch notification being pushed every second), super speed and overall brilliant utility for various activities. But catch is it was free and i paid nothing

[PPS]

I seem to have an issue with my 2yr old Samsung S3 !
Now I would like to ask should i get the battery changed i.e. if its a battery issue? Or maybe its due to some faulty app.
Has anybody faced this issue on their S3 ?

The problem re-occurred while using another app, the screen started to flicker & the battery nosedived. I guess i'll just buy a new battery tomorrow. Thanks guys.

Had put a new battery in my Samsung S3 in the month of May. Now after 8 months, again the battery seems to drain more than usual. App usage has been pretty much the same all these years. Had bought original battery back then & my memory tells its warranty is only for 6 months.
The shopkeeper the last time offered me 2 options- original samsung battery & a cheaper non-original battery with no warranty. Has anyone here used the non-original battery?
I usually charge my phone early morning & late afternoon in the office! I don't wait for the phone to drop to about 15% battery!

[VW2010]

The shopkeeper the last time offered me 2 options- original samsung battery & a cheaper non-original battery with no warranty. Has anyone here used the non-original battery?

Yes. I buy only those knock offs. Including for my old canon 5D which does take more pictures out of chinese knock offs than the originals.

As long as the power output is not different and overall feedback been good, i usually pick alternatives to original battery. One can buy few over 1 original battery.

What an irony over the post above you. I am starting to forget to charge. 2 days is easy with the note 4. And i am sure i will end up with only 1 day and even that is HUGE considering that charge twice habit with S5 earlier.

If the cost difference is very high i would ask you to take a risk with non EOM. I would definitely do that.