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ShowTime posted:I mean, how powerful of a phone do you need? One viewpoint is that, as Android increasingly establishes itself as a gaming platforms, games will exercise phones to the extent of their power. Just like PCs. Whether that's relevant to you depends on how much of a gamer you are, how much you care to game on your phone, and whether you're happy with simple causal stuff or must need 3D powerhouse. The other viewpoint is that smartphones have been historically underpowered for what we've wanted to use them up until very recently. That is, even web browsing on a first-gen Android device was a bit sluggish and suboptimal. However with the last generation of 1 GHz 800x480 screen phones, I finally find the web browsing experience to be perfectly adequate and not painful. Flash is a bit slow, but I don't really care about that. Given that these phones do everything else I've ever wanted them to rather adequately, I'm totally happy. For once, I feel like I won't upgrade until either my phone dies or there's no more updates available for it. But I don't feel compelled to just because other faster devices are out. Or at least, for me I'm far more concerned about other factors of a phone (unlocked, timely upgrades, minimized bugs, etc.) than I am about raw performance and would easily trade it for the others if needed. ShowTime posted:Having to code the programs to utilize the dual core snapdragon processor is a good point. Conversely, there will never be an app that won't run because you don't have dual cores. I suppose some might not perform as well on a single core device, but it's not the type of thing that an app can require. Actually I'm not even sure apps can tell if they're running on a dual core device. ExcessBLarg! fucked around with this message at 02:27 on May 3, 2011 |
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May 3, 2011 02:17
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Alman posted:Wow, I'm dumb. I was really In general though it wouldn't surprise me if Sprint eventually moves to a tiered model. With spectrum there's finite capacity. You can only split a cell so many times before the noise level gets too high. This is fundamental to RF. The only way you can have "truly unlimited" plans is to have an overabundance of spectrum relative to customers who actually use it. Between Verzion, AT&T, and Sprint, Sprint is the most likely to be in this category. But eventually if they get enough subscribers they will run into capacity issues in certain markets. Once that happens, they'll have to choose one of the not so great options: soft-caps/QoS, hard-caps, or usage disincentives (tiered pricing).
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May 3, 2011 16:26
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there for a moment.
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atomicvocabulary posted:I would hate for those prices to go up like that. I have used 2.5 gb and still have like five days to go in my billing cycle.
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May 3, 2011 16:28
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heat posted:I seem to remember something about the upside to Sprint's lovely building penetrating spectrum was more bandwidth, but I could be completely imagining this.  Seriously though, you're right, and Alman's post does a great job of explaining why. Sprint's CDMA services historically and at present have only been deployed in a single band, 1900 MHz, which for Sprint has a lot of voice capacity but doesn't handle building penetration as well. In contrast, Verizon has spectrum in both 850 & 1900, and so has both capacity with 1900 and penetration & distance with 850. Verizon's deployment of LTE in 700 is again great for penetration & distance, less so for capacity. WiMAX in 2.5 GHz is the oppposite. And yes, dumping iDEN, and unifying service deployments in 850/1900/2500 is the best way for Sprint to optimize both its capacity and coverage. I'm not sure it's strictly better than Verizon, who has spectrum in 700/850/1700/1900, or AT&T who has (less) in 700/850/1900 as well. But it's far better than T-Mobile, and will make Sprint a strong technical competitor.
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May 3, 2011 17:21
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porksmash posted:Has anyone tried to activate a Verizon phone on a Sprint plan? porksmash posted:I was planning to use wifi only, but it would be nice if I could get internet everywhere.
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May 3, 2011 19:39
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SURPRISE WITNESS posted:Now, my question for any Epic owners here is about the best way to carry this beast. I don't use a screen protector or a snap-on case. I would recommend carrying it in some kind of case if you don't use a screen protector. Despite having Gorilla Glass, it is possible to scratch it with something hard enough (e.g., diamond rings). Although a bit pricey, I'm thinking of picking up a Sena Ultraslim pouch. I had one for my old phone and it was great protection for when I wasn't actively using it. They didn't make one to fit the Epic until recently, and since I've had it I've been using a generic Azmer pouch. The generic pouch doesn't fit the length of the phone, leaving the bottom 1/8" exposed or so, which is where my screen has scratches.
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May 4, 2011 00:23
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SURPRISE WITNESS posted:After learning about the gorilla glass, I'm glad I don't necessarily need a screen protector. I felt like the Zagg shield I had on my Pre was a necessary evil. It made it look like crap and felt like it made the touchscreen slightly less responsive but the screen underneath is still as perfect as the day I unboxed it. I'm just saying that my wife and I both own Epics, and we both have scratches. Mine are only where the screen is left exposed from my pouch, and must be happening in my pocket which otherwise only contains a (capped) pen and a tube of chapstick. My wife's is completely unprotected and spends the day in her purse with keys and a wallet. I've never dropped my phone and to my knowledge neither has she. In general, I take very good care of my devices although not to the point where I obsess over them. It sounds like you're doing so, but my point is that if minor scratches will bother you, it's worth doing something to protect the phone at least while it's not in use. There's posts frequently on xda of the variety, "my Epic has scratches I thought it was Gorilla Glass WTF." So while many folks may never have problems, it's possible, and it's not limited to the take-a-circular-saw-to-the-phone crowd. Depending how much such scratches might bother you, I'd consider protection as appropriate. ExcessBLarg! fucked around with this message at 17:18 on May 4, 2011 |
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May 4, 2011 17:16
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SalTheBard posted:Is the Transform a lovely piece of poo poo or did I just get lucky and get a lovely one? Is there any reason for this device to exist other than to exacerbate, and provide additional evidence for, Samsung's software maintenance nightmare? Edit: The fact that the Epic sells for peanuts at ExcessBLarg! fucked around with this message at 18:00 on May 5, 2011 |
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May 5, 2011 17:56
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Duckman2008 posted:Currently HTC is having problems (again) keeping their drat phones in stock, so likely Samsung is doing heavy subsidization of the Epic because the numbers for the phone are likely much higher since no one can sell the Shift (even sprint.com is out). It is likely working, because I can no longer order Epics for my store, they are backordered.
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May 6, 2011 00:06
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Rent posted:Google is absolutely loving retarded if they think people really want "FREEDOM OF CHOICE" and will pay $530 for an unlocked phone. Which is why the Nexus S was also available with a $199 subsidy price for a two-year T-Mobile contract through Best Buy Mobile since day one. Rent posted:We sold a whopping zero Nexus S at my location because of this.
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May 8, 2011 21:06
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chemosh6969 posted:Maybe the lesson to learn is not buy any phone on day 1. It wouldn't surprise me if the Nexus S 4G has a few release problems. The original Nexus S did also, including particularly annoying ones like the random reboot bug. Hopefully Google will sort these issues out in short order with a software update. thisdude23 posted:Blame hardware problems on Samsung.
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May 9, 2011 17:23
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ThermoPhysical posted:Galaxy S phones had the browser lag In any event, Opera Mobile has better rendering performance than any version of the stock browser that I've tried, and it also supports Flash. Perhaps some folks are turned off by its custom interface, but I'm quite happy with it. As a bonus, it's nice to have the browser be a separate component from the underlying OS where updates can't break its performance.
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May 9, 2011 19:26
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The Grand Judabuddha posted:nope, that gets me to my Google voice inbox.
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May 10, 2011 18:36
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Rent posted:2) You misunderstood me. Tmobile is only carried in 1/3 of the Best Buys in the nation, but the Nexus S was carried in ALL of them. If you were 2/3 of the stores, you could only sell it unlocked for $530. Thus, we sold zero. Even though there is only 1 sku, we could not sell a Tmobile customer a Nexus S as an upgrade, we would have to order them and have them sent to their house, even though they're in our store Although I don't get why Google didn't distribute through T-Mobile as well with the AWS Nexus S. It is rather helpful that Sprint's version isn't stupid-special that way.
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May 11, 2011 16:52
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brc64 posted:I agree with a lot of that, but the LTE vs Wimax argument is a more complicated one as I understand it. It's worth mentioning as Network Vision and the decomissioning of iDEN will enable Sprint to provide WiMAX (and later LTE) service in 850 MHz band with comparable building penetration, but still have adequate capacity with the 2500 MHz band, although this likely won't be usable with current WiMAX phones. Conversely, if Sprint were to deploy LTE in the 2500 band, it would suffer the same problems as their current WiMAX deployment.
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May 11, 2011 23:44
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Lowen SoDium posted:So the HTC Sensation has a signed bootloader which makes me worried that the EVO 3D will as well. In any event, I would definitely expect the Evo 3D to have a signed bootloader. I also expect that, if it's not terribly difficult to crack, folks will have figured it out on the other models by the time it's released. But yeah, if you're banking on CyanogenMod support, it's worth confirming that it's crackable first.
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May 13, 2011 16:54
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Lowen SoDium posted:Probably because the carriers want them to lock down the devices so that they can't be hacked to do things that they don't want them to do. Although it may be the case that carriers are "expressing a preference" for locked/signed bootloaders, it's certainly not a strict mandate and appears largely to be still at the manufacturer's discretion. Google's and Sony Ericsson's (latest) devices feature unlockable-by-design bootloaders. Samsung's bootloaders aren't even locked and will flash any bootable kernel (there were Tab firmware leaks a while back that did feature a signed bootloader/kernel but they've backtracked on that). I'm not sure of LG's exact situation, but the Optmius series appears to be rather hacker friendly. Even Motorola, which historically has been the most difficult manufacturer with regard to signed bootloaders did an about face, likely at the pressing of Google, for the Xoom's bootloader, and they claim their late-2011 phones will be unlockable as well. Every one of HTC's Android phones have featured some kind of boot/NAND lock that had to be cracked. Although each of these has been cracked as well, except for the latest devices, they've been stepping up their game over time. It's cat and mouse poo poo, and I don't really expect them to change, although it would be great if they did.
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May 13, 2011 17:07
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gotly posted:G router. WRTGL54 with stock firmware. The laptop sitting next to it has full bars. Sorry Nexus guys, that's way worse than I originally thought. 
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May 13, 2011 20:39
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nate fisher posted:I know Samsung software sucks but it will not be on it long at all. nate fisher posted:Edit: it is my understanding that if the EVO 3D is locked you can not permanent root it? Is that correct?
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May 14, 2011 02:16
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Lowen SoDium posted:What did Sprint have come out recently that caused this much sudden growth? Plus Evo, Epic, Evo Shift, Nexus S, etc. Mobile data usage has gone up lots across the board. Not sure that Sprint's EVDO (3G) capacity has gone up tons in the past few years.
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May 18, 2011 19:48
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ThermoPhysical posted:Does anyone know if the free tethering on the Nexus S 4G will be charged by Sprint? I know that the built-in Froyo USB Tethering is modified on the Epic to switch CDMA NAIs to the one that Sprint uses for tether accounting. So even if the device doesn't include "Sprint Mobile Hotspot", I'd imagine that the framework would be modified, as it is in various places genearlly for CDMA support, to switch NAIs when tethering as well. Interestingly enough, stock USB tethering works just fine with a WiFi Internet connection on the Epic, and although I've never tested it, I'd guess that WiMAX would as well. Mind you, the Nexus S is unlockable, and I'd assume any CyanogenMod ROM for it wouldn't have tethering restriction. Plus there's always root.
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May 18, 2011 19:59
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McPhearson posted:It seems the EVO 3D is going to have a signed bootloader. Android Police posted:It seems HTC has finally caved to what are likely the security demands of wireless carriers with its newest phones, and is locking down its handsets Moto-style. Android Police posted:In short: custom ROMs, kernels, and recoveries (like ClockworkMod) may never come to the EVO 3D, barring some kind of epic HTC screw-up.
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May 24, 2011 17:06
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letsgoflyers81 posted:HTC was one of, if not the most open manufacturers while the others were tightening security. I can't recall any HTC Android device (except those OEMed for Google) that shipped unlocked/unlockable. To my knowledge, all have relied on a root exploit and/or downgrading to engineering firmware. HTC has been stepping up their game with regard to making their devices progressively more difficult to crack, but I don't think they ever welcomed folks to do it. Beyond that, HTC has historically been late on getting their kernel sources out there and such. The reason why HTC devices have traditionally been the hacking choice was due to their getting to market first with the G1/Dream, and their phones otherwise being relatively easy to support once cracked. letsgoflyers81 posted:I REALLY want an EVO 3D but I don't know if I'll get one if there's a genuine concern about it being rooted. I'd be disappointed with not being to flash custom ROMs, but rooting is much more important. The HTC situation isn't completely hopeless like it is with current Motorola devices. But they're out of favor at the moment with CyanogenMod due to the existnce of other high-end unlocked/unlockable devices. But there's a huge enough Evo crowd out there that I would expect a serious cracking attempt to be made on the Evo 3D. But there's no guarantee it will happen, at least not a timely one.
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May 24, 2011 17:30
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heat posted:Basically we will need some champion of the people at HTC or Sprint to "lose" an engineering build brc64 posted:And nobody is saying the phone will be unrootable. A signed bootloader doesn't prohibit root, just the ability to load custom ROMs. The ability to simply have root is almost inevitable. There may be a good amount of time between the Evo 3D's release and a successful root exploit for it. Beyond that, if folks can't get S-OFF then they'll have to choose between updating their phone and temporary root support. And phones that ship with updated ROMs won't be rootable until the next exploit.
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May 24, 2011 17:48
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Chunk posted:I honestly dont care about custom roms nearly as much as I care about rooting for tethering. What are the odds I would be able to do this with the evo 3d?
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May 24, 2011 18:00
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Chunk posted:What about wifi tethering
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May 24, 2011 18:18
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letsgoflyers81 posted:Don't these require software to be installed on the computer? Wifi tethering is so convenient because you don't need to install anything, you don't need admin rights, and it works with any Wifi device not just computers.
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May 24, 2011 18:28
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heat posted:I wonder if something like KON-BOOT could be applied to a phone environment. nate fisher posted:After reading the XDA thread about the EVO 3D I think I understand a little better the difference between encrypted and locked bootloader. This is really a different situation than Motorola devices. None of them, to my knowledge, have had NAND locks. Conversely, there's never been any mechanism to disable signatures nor any leaked bootloaders that would ignore them. For those devices, the inability to sign kernels is the real problem, it's not so much on HTC. nate fisher posted:Just curious what is the main reason HTC is doing this? Is it really to please the carriers because of tethering? Maybe they figure it reduces their overall support costs? I can't imagine it does though, given that every previous device of theirs has been cracked.
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May 24, 2011 20:20
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nate fisher posted:Motorola device coming to Sprint (Atrix?).
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May 25, 2011 22:39
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thelightguy posted:Thanks for not just saying TouchWiz. I happen to like the interface. Seriously folks, if there's any indication that Samsung software engineers don't use their own phones, it's the Battery Full popup. *beep beep*, screen turns on at 3am with an unclearable notification and modal dialog box, that fucks with the alarm clock when it goes off later? If they actually used this poo poo it would be gone post-haste. And yes, there's battery popup mods, thankfully! thelightguy posted:Of course, I also like having an actual keyboard if I'm going to be doing any typing, which makes me even more of a minority. Properly modified and bug-reduced, I actually like my Epic. Keep in mind that the Nexus S 4G is nearly identical hardware, with NFC instead of a keyboard. Pretty much everyone regard the Nexus S 4G as a great phone, if not a little dated spec-wise. The Epic, especially at the time it came out, could've been just as great if the software situation on it wasn't kind of hosed. nate fisher posted:I prefer HTC over Samsung but all the real positive reviews of the SGS2 has gotten my attention. ExcessBLarg! fucked around with this message at 00:09 on May 26, 2011 |
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May 26, 2011 00:05
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Rent posted:At my store, Epic returns compared to Evos is probably 10:1. I'm familiar with the issues that are known around tech circles, but I'm curious what "regular folks" run into that are significant enough to prompt return.
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May 26, 2011 02:06
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Duckman2008 posted:Epics it varies. I had one or two that wouldn't connect to 4g. I know I've seen two that had a glitch where only two of the bottom 4 default touchwiz buttons showed (I believe phone and apparently drawer). Getting the phone to sign into google for the first time is still sometimes a crap shoot. Another time it would freeze when trying to call back from the call log screen.
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May 26, 2011 17:22
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letsgoflyers81 posted:They will probably be locked out of the box and will require a software update to unlock them. To be honest, this is probably what I would expect of their devices from here-on out anyways. They'll shipped locked, probably even with signed poo poo, and require installation of a new bootloader through recovery or some other mechanism to actually unlock the devices.
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May 27, 2011 15:18
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jaku78 posted:Though I believe Samsung has a track record of just having awful radios. Tons of complaints on the Epic in the same category and I can bring up a few times my old Moment had the same issues. To be a bit more specific, the Intel 4965 chip on my laptop is very finicky. It works fine at home and on most consumer access points, but it has issues with a good number of enterprise ones. They've upgraded the wireless infrastructure at work a few times over the past decade, any my ability to connect to those access points has gone down over time to the point where my laptop refuses to work with them. To combat this, I've carried around an old Orinoco card that works pretty much everywhere, although not with WPA2. Since getting my Epic, I've just been USB tethering using its WiFi radio to connect to access points when my laptop wouldn't work, and it's been a champ in every circumstance. Only once have I encountered an access point it didn't work with, temporarily, although I think the AP was just overloaded at the time. 3G service is another story, it's been pretty awful at times, although I'm more likely blame that on Sprint being overcapacity in markets I frequent as opposed to the device itself.
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Jun 1, 2011 18:30
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Turnquiet posted:I don't suppose the whole Network Vision shebang will have a positive impact on Sprint's super over saturation in any major metro area? If the back haul is overloaded, having a nice set of tri-band towers won't do much to fix it, correct?
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Jun 1, 2011 20:05
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ZeroAX posted:I'm confused, wont they have to use sprint's spectrum if they're using Sprint's network? So it's conceivable that they'd piggy-back on Sprint's backhaul and tower access, but run their own radio gear.
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Jun 3, 2011 16:45
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Turnquiet posted:Tossing an additional frequency on the towers but jamming them into the same overcapacity data lines seems like a dumb idea if the goal is providing a service that is not terrible. But yes, it would be a bit silly to light up even more equipment on their towers without fixing the existing bandwidth issues, whatever those might be.
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Jun 3, 2011 17:27
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The Entire Universe posted:Does this also go for Best Buy?
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Jun 6, 2011 21:10
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mtr posted:What's the etiquette on selling a rooted phone? I wouldn't go to the trouble of setting S-ON. Even if whomever you sell it to wants to run stock ROM, S-OFF isn't going to hurt them, and it avoids any problems for someone who might want it S-OFF later. Since the phone is likely (almost) a year old anyways, there's little expectation the manufacturer warranty still applying.
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Jun 8, 2011 20:00
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hotsauce posted:Will the Nexus S 4G die if you tether while charging? hotsauce posted:This happens with some phones in the car while using Google nav...the charger simply cannot keep up with consumption and it drains even though it's plugged in.
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Jun 13, 2011 17:40
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