|
Shooting Blanks posted:Do Google phones ever go on sale, unless brand new models are about to come out? I bought a factory refurb Nexus 6 64GB on Swappa for $270. If you don't really need a brand new phone, I'd check them out.
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2016 19:58
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 12, 2024 19:30 |
|
|
I prefer hangouts. I just keep hearing rumors that SMS support in hangouts may soon be dropped so I tried messenger. My wife (ATT) has no issues with messenger on her N5. I just can't seem to switch when even the phone defaults back when I have told it not to.
|
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2016 21:04
|
|
|
Mercury Ballistic posted:I prefer hangouts. I just keep hearing rumors that SMS support in hangouts may soon be dropped so I tried messenger. My wife (ATT) has no issues with messenger on her N5. I just can't seem to switch when even the phone defaults back when I have told it not to. In the Hangouts app, be sure to turn off Project Fi SMS. I think its account settings. I've switched back and forth a few times so far, since I can't decide which one is better.
|
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2016 22:22
|
|
|
As always, google was very responsive, and it fixed the issue.Google posted:You will need to go into your Hangouts app to be able to change the default as well as the steps you have already done. Here are the steps to do so:
|
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2016 23:16
|
|
|
Google sent a replacement for wife's phone, but it still has the same issue- if you're perfectly centered in the picture it's not noticeable, but close-up stuff stretches out near the edges. It's not too big a deal- I should be able to sell the device for around $350 which is about what I owe on it, and I'll still have her $50 play credit to use.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2016 04:17
|
|
|
Glass of Milk posted:Google sent a replacement for wife's phone, but it still has the same issue- if you're perfectly centered in the picture it's not noticeable, but close-up stuff stretches out near the edges. I had that exact issue on a Note 4 and a gs6. I think everyone is starting to switch to fisheye lenses or something now.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2016 04:38
|
|
|
McPhearson posted:I had that exact issue on a Note 4 and a gs6. I think everyone is starting to switch to fisheye lenses or something now. Yep, I think it's even on the 6p, but I don't care about it. I guess it's intended to allow groups to take selfies.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2016 05:04
|
|
|
Hey folks.. don't put someone else's sim card into your nexus... a buddy at work wanted me to activate his sim card in my nexus.. 1) it didn't work and 2) I had to reset a bunch of poo poo on my phone to start getting phone calls again,.
|
|
#
?
Mar 5, 2016 05:30
|
|
|
Darkpriest667 posted:Hey folks.. don't put someone else's sim card into your nexus... a buddy at work wanted me to activate his sim card in my nexus.. 1) it didn't work and 2) I had to reset a bunch of poo poo on my phone to start getting phone calls again,. Wait, then what happens if I want to travel to another country and use their sim card?
|
|
#
?
Mar 5, 2016 07:13
|
|
|
Project Fi, from what I hear, works awesome all over the globe, and data costs the same flat $10/gb.
|
|
#
?
Mar 5, 2016 13:58
|
|
|
I've been to, at last count, 11 countries in Europe and Asia (from the US) as well as Mexico since getting Fi and I would never think of buying a local sim to put in it, because there is no point. While it's perfectly true that you can sometimes get a local sim that will get you faster network speeds (though that varies a great deal) Fi "just works" almost everywhere and is cheap as poo poo. You don't need to do anything, just go there. I mean, I'm not going to be torrenting movies or watching Netflix for 5 hours on it, but for vacation or business travelers who want to use their phone wherever it's perfect.
|
|
#
?
Mar 5, 2016 16:57
|
|
|
Ixian posted:I've been to, at last count, 11 countries in Europe and Asia (from the US) as well as Mexico since getting Fi and I would never think of buying a local sim to put in it, because there is no point. Ditto for most of Tmobile's plans, as well.
|
|
#
?
Mar 5, 2016 17:10
|
|
|
The only drawback is it's slow 3G even in major European cities. Using Google Maps is 'OK' on foot but if you're in a vehicle it's pretty useless. Referring to t-mobile here. I don't know if overseas data is 4G where available on Fi.
Bald Stalin fucked around with this message at 17:27 on Mar 5, 2016 |
|
#
?
Mar 5, 2016 17:24
|
|
|
Ranter posted:The only drawback is it's slow 3G even in major European cities. Using Google Maps is 'OK' on foot but if you're in a vehicle it's pretty useless. Referring to t-mobile here. I don't know if overseas data is 4G where available on Fi. Speaking just for US here, but I usually download maps for offline use before going on any longish road trip, then signal doesn't matter.
|
|
#
?
Mar 5, 2016 17:50
|
|
|
Would that prevent the blue dot (you) from suddenly jumping ahead causing you to miss a turnoff in a strange European city?
|
|
#
?
Mar 5, 2016 17:51
|
|
|
The blue dot is your GPS position overlaid on the map, so yes. E: this probably will only work in top-down maps mode, not first-ish person nav mode, as I don't think that gets pre-cached. SuperiorColliculus fucked around with this message at 18:24 on Mar 5, 2016 |
|
#
?
Mar 5, 2016 18:21
|
|
|
I always pre-cache in the hotel or office overseas even if going on foot. For that matter even if I do get 4g. It's much nicer and the GPS stays accurate.
|
|
#
?
Mar 5, 2016 18:26
|
|
|
This is good information to have. The GPS was all over the place on our last trip and it was a pain in the rear end.
|
|
#
?
Mar 5, 2016 18:56
|
|
|
Ranter posted:This is good information to have. The GPS was all over the place on our last trip and it was a pain in the rear end. Offline is much nicer in the new Google Maps for Android and you can cache much more. I can get all of Tokyo, which is enormous, as well as London. It's really handy in the latter because it's a good city for walking around.
|
|
#
?
Mar 5, 2016 19:06
|
|
|
Maps navigation in car works fine on 2G/Edge connections, ask me how I know 
|
|
#
?
Mar 5, 2016 19:21
|
|
|
Here maps with downloaded maps is #1 for offline caching in Europe IMO. You can search, navigate, etc all offline. Even has public transit directions included. Edit: also the blue dot jumping around, as far as I know, shouldn't be impacted by how fast your cell network is given that it's just GPS data overlaid on top of a map. I guess if you didn't have a GPS lock it could jump around to different towers or whatever, but still probably irrelevant to speed.
|
|
#
?
Mar 5, 2016 20:37
|
|
|
Blue dot doesn't jump around where I live, but we ran into this issue in Germany and Italy with t-mobile. I don't know why, if its not tied to your network speed.
|
|
#
?
Mar 5, 2016 21:46
|
|
|
How long does it take to get the invite? I'm at 4 days or so now.
|
|
#
?
Mar 6, 2016 15:54
|
|
|
Relentlessboredomm posted:How long does it take to get the invite? I'm at 4 days or so now. Took 5 days for me when I requested it two weeks ago.
|
|
#
?
Mar 6, 2016 16:09
|
|
|
two_beer_bishes posted:Took 5 days for me when I requested it two weeks ago. Ok great, thanks.
|
|
#
?
Mar 6, 2016 16:23
|
|
|
Ixian posted:Offline is much nicer in the new Google Maps for Android and you can cache much more. I can get all of Tokyo, which is enormous, as well as London. It's really handy in the latter because it's a good city for walking around. I'm moving to Tokyo soon and tried to cache Tokyo, but it won't let me. Apparently some countries don't have that option available for legal reasons. Can you please specify the app version you're using? Thanks!
|
|
#
?
Mar 6, 2016 16:46
|
|
|
SpiderLink posted:I'm moving to Tokyo soon and tried to cache Tokyo, but it won't let me. Apparently some countries don't have that option available for legal reasons. Can you please specify the app version you're using? Thanks! You know, I forgot, you are right. I have MapsWithMe, which is a paid app that uses Google Maps. It gets the offline maps from that not through the native offline feature I am sure. Edit: Should clarify that I am being specific about Tokyo in this case. I bought MapsWithMe a couple-three years ago on a trip there because it was one of the better options. There are a few other places in Asia (Thailand and mainland China come to mind) that also don't allow offline maps in Google maps presumably because they charge for them somehow. I'll be in Tokyo again on Wednesday so I'll check for sure to see what's going on. Ixian fucked around with this message at 17:59 on Mar 6, 2016 |
|
#
?
Mar 6, 2016 17:53
|
|
|
Ixian posted:You know, I forgot, you are right. I have MapsWithMe, which is a paid app that uses Google Maps. It gets the offline maps from that not through the native offline feature I am sure. Please do, some friends and I are going to Japan next summer and I'd like to know because I don't want to be without maps. Question. When I ask for directions somewhere, do I have to give the kanji in text or is there some other way?
|
|
#
?
Mar 7, 2016 01:02
|
|
|
Darkpriest667 posted:Please do, some friends and I are going to Japan next summer and I'd like to know because I don't want to be without maps. Question. When I ask for directions somewhere, do I have to give the kanji in text or is there some other way? Depends on where you are. If you are in Tokyo (and by that, I mean the metro area, which is huge, Tokyo is more than a city), no, you don't really have to speak a lick of Japanese to get around Tokyo (though it's polite if you know the basic greetings and such). Same for the more touristy areas like Kyoto. Anywhere else, you might want to have a translator app handy, sure. If you are going to some off the road fishing village you read about on Lonely Planet or whatever it helps. Japan is pretty awesome, and one of the reasons is even the areas that are used to Westerners still don't feel Westernized, if that makes sense. You will definitely know you are in a different part of the planet if you are used to the US or Europe. Edit: Not to turn this in to an Ask/Tell thread about some idiot businessman's experiences in Japan over the last 20 years but: A) Fi works pretty well there - though it is one of the countries where if you go local, you will get much faster speeds, their LTE is insane in most metro areas. You can rent portable wifi hotspots in most airports fairly cheaply (even cheaper if you book ahead) if you are really in to internet on the go. B) The Subway system in Tokyo is one of the best in the world, and also one of the most confusing to non-Japanese speakers, until you figure it out (all maps have English translations) at which point it is dead simple and you can literally get anywhere you want to go for cheap and C) Japanese people love chicken more than most Western people who haven't been to Japan realize. This isn't a universal rule, but seriously, they eat fried and grilled chicken over there like they grew up in Alabama, I am not kidding. First time I went I thought it would be all Sushi and rice (and you can get a lot of that if you want) but the chicken is great. Which has nothing to do with Fi I know but thought I would bring it up. Ixian fucked around with this message at 04:45 on Mar 7, 2016 |
|
#
?
Mar 7, 2016 04:13
|
|
|
Ixian posted:Depends on where you are. If you are in Tokyo (and by that, I mean the metro area, which is huge, Tokyo is more than a city), no, you don't really have to speak a lick of Japanese to get around Tokyo (though it's polite if you know the basic greetings and such). Same for the more touristy areas like Kyoto. Anywhere else, you might want to have a translator app handy, sure. If you are going to some off the road fishing village you read about on Lonely Planet or whatever it helps. I am actually thinking of finally switching to Fi, because I'm going to Tokyo in June, so this is interesting to me.
|
|
#
?
Mar 7, 2016 06:40
|
|
|
nocal posted:I am actually thinking of finally switching to Fi, because I'm going to Tokyo in June, so this is interesting to me. You'll get 2g, sometimes 3g, speeds on Fi there. It's decent enough for texting and occasionally looking stuff up, though as mentioned if you have a way to cache maps you'll be much better off. And Japan is one of those places where offline maps aren't free, as we've established, so look at MapsWithMe or an app like it where you can buy them. Before Fi I used to rent little mifi hotspots - about $45 USD for a week, you get pretty fast to very fast LTE speeds depending on where you are, and you can share 3-4 devices via wireless. No real download cap that I remember though I wouldn't try running Netflix all day on one. The battery in them will generally last you most of the day, depending on how much you use it and how many devices are connected - they charge over usb, so I used to hook mine up to a portable battery charger and carry everything around in a little backpack when I was being a tourist. Even with Fi it's worth considering because it is faster and much more so if you plan on having more devices hooked up (such as a travelling companions/etc). I've even done Skype video live from Shibuya crossing with one. At Narita and Haneda airports the kiosks to rent them are right before you exit the terminals (all of them). You can also pre-book them online; they will deliver them via mail to your hotel with a pre-paid shipping envelope, when you are done just drop it in to a mailbox (or ask your hotel to). This way is a little cheaper and you're guaranteed to get the model you want (they have different speed devices with smaller/larger battery combos, etc.). I'll see if I can dig up the site I used before.
|
|
#
?
Mar 7, 2016 13:10
|
|
|
Ixian posted:Japanese people love chicken more than most Western people who haven't been to Japan realize. This isn't a universal rule, but seriously, they eat fried and grilled chicken over there like they grew up in Alabama, I am not kidding. First time I went I thought it would be all Sushi and rice (and you can get a lot of that if you want) but the chicken is great. Which has nothing to do with Fi I know but thought I would bring it up. rear end in a top hat, I want yakitori now.
|
|
#
?
Mar 7, 2016 19:25
|
|
|
The Electronaut posted:rear end in a top hat, I want yakitori now. I'll eat some for you Thursday. The 6p takes great pics and I should be able to post with Fi right off the street, just to keep it on topic.
|
|
#
?
Mar 7, 2016 19:28
|
|
|
There's an update on the Project Fi blog: http://officialandroid.blogspot.com/2016/03/from-hi-to-fi-to-goodbye-to-invites.html List of 7 things Google learned about people using Fi. Who cares. Except for #7. Project Fi blog posted:7) We all want to skip the line
|
|
#
?
Mar 7, 2016 19:36
|
|
|
$199 is a fantastic price for the 5X.
|
|
#
?
Mar 7, 2016 20:56
|
|
|
Woooo all signed up and the 6p will be here Wednesday. Thank god.
|
|
#
?
Mar 7, 2016 22:03
|
|
|
 Yeah, I think I might get in on that $199 5X action after my next paycheck. It's either that, or fix my Nexus 5's cracked screen and camera lens and stay on T-Mobile.
|
|
#
?
Mar 7, 2016 22:09
|
|
|
I'm hitting this deal when I get home. This is great for me as a I'm under wifi a lot, off-contract and the incentive on the phone is perfect. I've had android tablets but never a phone... should be interesting. I've had WebOS, WP, iOS and now Android.
|
|
#
?
Mar 7, 2016 22:41
|
|
|
That 199 deal is good enough that I convinced a few other people to get on this.
|
|
#
?
Mar 7, 2016 23:53
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 12, 2024 19:30 |
|
|
I don't even like the 5X that much, only because the 6p is a better phone, but 199 USD free and clear plus Fi is the best deal in cell phones + service you can get in the US right now, in my opinion.
|
|
#
?
Mar 8, 2016 03:16
|
|