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bull3964 posted:I'm not sure battery life is such a barrier to entry for someone who was thinking about buying the Bionic since I think it's pretty much accepted at all LTE phones are going to suck down the power.
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Aug 2, 2011 21:34
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Zeta Taskforce posted:Specifically, what’s the difference between 4G and mobile broadband? Mobile broadband typically refers to USB sticks/hotspots that provide data connectivity for non-phones: laptops, tablets, etc. So probably not what you're looking for. Zeta Taskforce posted:On the data plan, why does there seem to be two pricing schedules, one of them with the description called “included mobile hotspot”? Although, with some hackery, you can usually use Android phones as mobile hotspots without paying extra. It's something Verizon would prefer you not do however. Zeta Taskforce posted:I see myself browsing the web a lot, but don’t need to download movies or listen to streaming music. I’m guessing I don’t need massive amounts of data. Any particular plans I should look at or avoid? The only other trick to be aware is that you can cut your texting costs with Google Voice and doing free texting over data. However, folks will have to text to a different phone number than they call you on (for in-network calling anyways).
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Aug 2, 2011 22:28
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bull3964 posted:If you add an additional line, you should be able to buy one at the subsidized price. If they're letting you do that, that's a bug in their ordering system. Athenry posted:What do they care? They get your money either way. The problem here is going to be the contract terms. I don't have them handy, but it's quite likely there's a statement to the affect that "adding a line with a subsidized smartphone requires maintaining a qualified data plan for the duration of the contract" or some poo poo, which they may end up holding one to. ExcessBLarg! fucked around with this message at 23:57 on Aug 3, 2011 |
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Aug 3, 2011 23:51
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Galler posted:Do you really only get $30 or $50 off now?
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Aug 4, 2011 00:54
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WeaselWeaz posted:FYI, you don't do this if you have a 4G phone. It shouldn't let you anyway but if it does it may fry your SIM card. How does it fry an LTE SIM card? That's super special. But if so, couldn't you take the SIM out, update, then put it back in? Edit: Looks like the new CDMA basebands (used in the LTE phones) can do PRL updates automatically. Calling *228 (is supposed) to do nothing on them. ExcessBLarg! fucked around with this message at 18:20 on Aug 5, 2011 |
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Aug 5, 2011 18:14
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WeaselWeaz posted:When the Thunderbolt first came out people would call *228 and their SIM card would get deactivated, requiring a trip to a store for a new one. I didn't realize you had to call a phone number to do PRL updates on Verizon anyways. They've been automatically pushed (or at least automatically polled) on Sprint for years. Then again, we're much more succeptible to the whims of roaming agreements than you guys are.
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Aug 5, 2011 19:29
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BoyBlunder posted:I don't think they did a lot of testing with the 'Bolt
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Aug 5, 2011 19:33
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yellowjournalism posted:Is there any plausible way I can get out of ETF or should I just bite the bullet?
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Aug 8, 2011 01:58
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yamdankee posted:I might break down and just get broadband through cable or something soon if I can't figure something out... Unfortunately even the cheapest models are rather expensive.
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Aug 8, 2011 19:54
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sadus posted:I'm curious if its an electrical issue or if they just want to keep being able to charge exorbitant fees for chargers and batteries with half the power? Same is basically true with batteries. Aftermarket Evo 3D batteries run $8-9 on Amazon, a four-pack of Eneloops are $10. That said, they did make AMPS phones with NiMH cells in the 90s, and they were  thick, not particularly pocketable.Edit: I do prefer to use AA cells over proprietary ones in as many applications as I can. For example, I'm a fan of the Canon PowerShot A-series which do. Li-ions go bad too quickly and having to carry around a bunch of different types of batteries and chargers suck. A cell phone is a reasonable exception though, I use/charge/carry it around enough frequently that I'm OK with a battery replacement being a special purchase, and it's well worth it for the increased portability and battery life. ExcessBLarg! fucked around with this message at 04:36 on Aug 10, 2011 |
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Aug 10, 2011 04:32
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nickhimself posted:Man, I really like my ThunderBolt but I want to punch the design team in the face. Who thought that putting the charge port on the same side that the phone will rest on while the stand is propped up was a good idea? gently caress that guy.  Does the kickstand still hold it up if you flip it upside down, or is not strong enough like the Photon's?
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Aug 12, 2011 01:02
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Codiusprime posted:It took me forever to convince my fiance that she didn't need a talk killer, the Verizon rep told us that our phones would run slow if we didn't have it and that it was the most important app for us to have and blah blah blah. Never again. I can understand a sales clerk bullshitting to make a sale, but it seems like even bringing up ATK with a customer (whether actually necessary or not) is just going to confuse them and make them uncertain about a purchase. Unless the goal is to push them over to an iPhone. Also, yeah, everyone knows ATK isn't necessary, but 3G Supercharger Mega is!
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Aug 18, 2011 17:18
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jfreder posted:Of course, Motorola needs proof of purchase so unless you also get the old receipt with it, you're boned. Do they still require original proof-of-purchase for phones that have been on the market for less than a year? More specifically, if the device serial number says it was part of a manufacturing lot < 1 year old, there shouldn't be any quesiton as to whether the warranty has expired yet or not. Wouldn't "first activation date" be a reasonable approximation of the original purchase date? Aside from Verizon keeping it in a database, I think CDMA phones store the activation date in radio NVRAM anyways. Perhaps if a phone is reactivated the original date is scrubbed though. Also, certainly Verizon knows when a phone was originally sold and activated for any subsidized sale because of the contract renewal. I can't imagine they don't keep historical records of that for a long time. Seems to me the "we don't know how old it is" bit is a scapegoat to get out of their warranty obligations. What I'd be really interested in is if someone forges an original sales receipt, would they notice and deny? If so, then they must know when the device was originally sold, in which case why require the proof?
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Aug 18, 2011 18:09
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NewcastleBrown posted:Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought those numbers were the percentage of battery charge used by that process, NewcastleBrown posted:If it is a percentage of battery charge used then a more efficient screen would definitely produce a lower number. NewcastleBrown posted:If it is the percentage of the time since last charged in which the process was running then it is a pretty damned useless stat that there is no good reason for them to show.
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Aug 26, 2011 00:09
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bull3964 posted:I also doubt it will be sold through VZW channels.
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Aug 26, 2011 18:13
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bull3964 posted:Nexus devices traditionally aren't high volume sellers and Verizon tends to not like those taking up space in their corporate stores. bull3964 posted:Look at what happened with the HTC Merge. The Nexus Prime, meanwhile, is another generational/revolutionary device. Even if hardware wise it's not much beyond an SGSII, software wise it definitely is. Why wouldn't Google and Verzion want to give it as much exposure as possible. Also, consider: Both Android 2.0 (Droid) and Honeycomb (Xoom) launched on Verizon backed by a good degree of marketing. Granted, neither of these were labeled as Nexus devices (Droid predated the Nexus line, Xoom probably couldn't be sold as platform development prototype since there's no AOSP release), but they were both definitely "Nexus in spirit" given their vanilla UI and unlocked bootloaders. Furthermore, Verizon's dropping of the SGSII totally makes sense if, at or shortly after the SGSII's expected release, the Nexus Prime launches on Verzion. Especially if it has a shiny AMOLED+ screen.
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Aug 26, 2011 18:28
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bull3964 posted:The only problem is Verizon's marketing dollars go behind the Droid brand and the next Nexus isn't going to be the "Droid Prime." bull3964 posted:I cannot see heavy promotion of a device that they can't install CityID, VCast, or any number of preinstalled Verizon applications that earn them money. bull3964 posted:You do have a point with the OG Droid and the Xoom, but I think that came more of Motorola's preference for Verizon for high end devices rather than Google and Verizon teaming up in any significant way. bull3964 posted:We have the Bionic, Vigor, and Droid HD all launching before the end of this year on Verizon. I'm not sure they are going to worry about having a 4th superphone in their stores for the holiday season. If the rumors are to be believed that Google is pushing the development pace of the Nexus Prime to match or beat an iPhone 5 launch in October, then I can't see them doing a Best Buy-limited humdrum launch. If it features LTE, realistically there's no carrier to launch it on but Verizon. It seriously does not make sense for Verizon to shaft the launch that way. But if the Nexus Prime isn't coming out until December, isn't trying to compete with the iPhone 5, supports LTE/CDMA/GSM/UMTS as a magic, Verzion-compatible but unlocked (as so can be used on domestic GSM carriers as well) device, well yeah, I'd expect it to get a marketing and sales shaft by Verzion.
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Aug 26, 2011 19:15
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bull3964 posted:Google wants to rush ICS to beat the iPhone5? With a Nexus device no less? It honestly doesn't wash. But why are you so disparaging of the Nexus line? There's absolutely no reason to think that a Nexus phone, if sold through corporate channels and marketed appropriately wouldn't sell well. I could buy the argument that Verzion wouldn't be terribly interested in selling it due to the lack of VCast poo poo, maybe. But there's absolutely no reason to think that it isn't competitive, especially with other Android offerings. bull3964 posted:Basically, I'm looking for some indication that THIS Nexus is special from the last two (three if you count sprint as a separate device) that would justify a drastic change in marketing for both Google and Verizon. Seriously. The Nexus One wasn't the first device to launch with Android 2. And while the Nexus S was the first to launch with Gingerbread, GB itself is merely an incremental update on the Android 2 line. ICS brings a lot to the table. For one, a hardware accelerated UI, which finally makes the Android UI competitive with iOS and WP7 in terms of speed and fluidness. Second, a (Matias Duarte, i.e., "webOS inspired") redesigned UI. Particularly one that's supposed to run everywhere, and make it easy to write apps that tolerate different hardware profiles. I don't know if Google is trying to pin ICS up against iOS 5 specifically or not. However, ICS does represent the greatest change in the phone-side of Android to date. Given that the previous two major Android refreshes were both launched and marketed on Verizon, I fail to see why this would would be shoved under the rug.
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Aug 26, 2011 20:09
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bull3964 posted:Does the manufacturer of the Nexus device want it to sell really well? Yeah, they get a lot of sales from it, but it undermines their brand identity and they have no contract with Google that says they are ever going to be asked to make a Nexus device again. bull3964 posted:Does the carrier want a Nexus device to be a success? They have less control over the device which brings fewer opportunities for additional revenue streams. Verizon's primary revenue comes from selling service, not VCast. If offering a Google/AOSP option nets customers they wouldn't otherwise have, paying $70-90+ a month, that's a reason to want a Nexus device to be successful. bull3964 posted:Does google want a Nexus device to be a success? This is a prickly question. bull3964 posted:I will be completely surprised and shocked if this comes with a big Verizon blitz because it basically means google is trying to brand their own mainstream devices now. That has pretty serious implications for the future of android. This Nexus S 4G commercial has been playing on prime-time television for months. Seriously, I don't know if Google is trying to blitz the iPhone 5 with the Nexus Prime or not. However, Google has been stepping up, or at least encouraging, greater marketing and presence of Nexus devices with each successive model. It's really not that far fetched to think they would do the same with Verizon, especially on a device that is substantially different and improved from previous Android offerings.
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Aug 26, 2011 21:12
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Codiusprime posted:Here's hoping for stock Android. Also, it's interesting that it's going by the model SCH-I515 (Fascinate: SCH-I500, Charge: SCH-I510). Usually I don't put much significance into model numbers, but perhaps Samsung considers this, hardware-wise, to be an incremental change over the Charge? Also note Nexus S (GT-I9020) vs Galaxy S (GT-I9000), and Nexus S 4G (SPH-D720) vs Epic (SPH-D700). As for whether it's a "Nexus in spirit" device, the two things I'd look for is a Fastboot-compatible bootloader (used in Nexus S, but no other Samsung device), and a new "devices/samsung/foo" AOSP git repo. Both should mean a high-priority CyanogenMod port and "easy" (in as much as supporting ICS is easy) source-based ROM support. ExcessBLarg! fucked around with this message at 16:55 on Aug 29, 2011 |
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Aug 29, 2011 16:52
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bull3964 posted:This upgraded SGSII phone is what will become the Nexus Prime, but probably won't release to other carriers yet due to it being so close to the release of the SGSII. I don't think Google has any qualms about releasing a Nexus ICS device over the SGSII in a short timeframe, and I'm not sure how much Samsung has to say in the matter. However, I always felt that October was an unrealistic release timeline for an LTE/CDMA/GSM/UMTS multi-carrier Nexus device launch (if such can even exist). To be honest, this makes sense. Working with Samsung to get a Droid Prime released on Verizon in October to challenge the iPhone 5 makes absolute sense, and a Nexus Prime (or Nexus whatever) will probably release on GSM/UMTS carriers in Dec-Jan. Sprint will probably get a lol WiMAX model sometime next Spring. bull3964 posted:So, I can be confident buying the Bionic now and if the Droid Prime comes out before December 8th and it's awesome, I'll be able to exchange for it. ExcessBLarg! fucked around with this message at 21:00 on Aug 29, 2011 |
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Aug 29, 2011 20:58
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doctor thodt posted:Wow, that's really awesome, and kind of unreal. Since they're a membership club, I wonder if they've ever terminated customers who abuse their policies a bit too much.
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Aug 30, 2011 03:35
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Bob A Feet posted:Can't you guys ever be satisfied with a device? As anyone who has ever owned a Samsung can attest, the major "device satisfaction" problem is not how it performs out of the box, but the ability/willingness of the manufacturer to properly support/updates it for, and within a reasonable period of time. And honestly, for any given device that's something nobody can know within Verizon's 14 day return window if the purchase it on release day. Is it, however, often apparent within 90 days. From what I see, everyone who has mentioned picking up a Bionic at Costco wants to keep that phone long term. But if a Droid Prime comes out with ICS next month, and there's no sign of an update to the Bionic at the end of 90 days, or the Bionic turns out to be poo poo, they want to retain the option to exchange it for something that's going to do them better in the long term. And honestly, I don't blame them for hedging their bets on this.
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Sep 3, 2011 18:19
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doctor thodt posted:Man, Costco really dropped the ball on this one. Plus, wouldn't it have been mentioned to the folks who called stores about it yesterday?
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Sep 8, 2011 16:31
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slackerbitch posted:Not especially, I just really want a physical keyboard. ... It's looking increasingly like I'm going to have to either compromise on that point, or leave Verizon. The MT4G Slide is pretty darn decent, better spec'd than the Droid 3. But that's the only other option. Sprint's hardware keyboard options are 2010-era devices that are either buggy-as-poo poo post GB upgrade (Shift), or from the get-go (Epic).
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Sep 8, 2011 22:38
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sadus posted:I just assumed it did but apparently in Verizon's infinite wisdom Kansas City isn't even on the list for 4G in 2011.
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Sep 9, 2011 17:35
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ProjektorBoy posted:I was under the impression that Verizon mandates data plans for qualifying smartphones. A used Droid X, Droid 2, or even Incredible are good options that will easily last until year's end. The original Droid would also work in a pinch, which you might be able to find particularly cheap since folks who got them are coming up on their two-year upgrades and nabbing Bionics. Fascinates are better spec'd than the OG Droid, but might also be a bigger hassle. Avoid the Droid Eris, LG Ally, and Samsung Continuum. The LG Vortex might be OK, but I imagine you can find an OG Droid for the same price if not cheaper. Edit: Added more phones.
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Sep 9, 2011 17:41
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Lowness 72 posted:So - what's the best Android device right now? Lowness 72 posted:Or at least, is there a selection of devices to look at? The current crop of 3G-only devices aren't bad if you want to cheap out, or if she really doesn't like the Bionic. But I wouldn't expect them to maintain relevance in two years. The other 4G LTE devices (Thunderbolt, Droid Charge, Revolution) are last year's tech. Lowness 72 posted:Is there a family data plan? How does this work? With Android you can cut out her SMS costs by using Google Voice for SMS. But if you already have unlimited family SMS, that only saves you $10/mo.
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Sep 10, 2011 21:57
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ukrainius maximus posted:I know it's probably old news, but I'm so glad I switched that on.
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Sep 12, 2011 20:51
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Sohcahtoa82 posted:I mean, if you already have a physical keyboard on your phone, why would you opt to use the touch-screen keyboard instead of the physical one? I find Swype particularly advantageous because as I can use it one-handed in portrait without having to tap my thumb around all the time, which really helps with one-handed phone balance or whatever. Also, I don't have to turn the phone sideways and slide out the slider. The fact that the keyboard take up ~50% of the screen isn't a big deal because it's transient. It's only up when I'm acting typing something and out of the way the rest of the time. Compared to non-slider portrait hardware keyboards where the keyboard takes up half the front face all the time. By far my #1 use of a hardware keyboard is for ConnectBot/ssh where none of the on-screen keyboard solutions are great for typing terse shell commands and making frequent use of "funny characters". Hacker's Keyboard goes a long way to make ConnectBot feasibly usable with an on-screen keyboard, but it's a bit cramped. It probably really needs a 4.5" screen or larger to be of sufficient utility. My #2 use would be long emails. While a hardware keyboard is much better for typing those than an on-screen one, I've concluded you're not really meant to type long emails on phones and it's probably just better to wait those out. So, realizing my #1 hardware keyboard use case is irrelevant to the vast majority of the smartphone population, I'm seriously reevaluating my needs here and trying to come up with a solution that allows me to escape using poo poo phones. I'm really serious that if they made an Otterbox or something with built-in bluetooth slider keyboard I'd just get that. It'd look silly as poo poo, but when I need to carry a hardware keyboard around I could, and when I don't I'd leave it alone. Only problem would be powering it--don't like the idea of having to charge it separately.
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Sep 14, 2011 15:01
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doctor thodt posted:I can't think of a single pragmatic advantage that the former has over the latter for mass-texters.
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Sep 14, 2011 18:16
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Duckman2008 posted:My advice on charging a Bluetooth keypad If they made one for the Nexus whatever I'd buy the poo poo out of it. Honestly they can just make one keyboard with swappable mount clips so the only per-device custom part is a few bits of plastic. I wouldn't care if it wasn't quite the right shape or the camera didn't work.
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Sep 14, 2011 20:20
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Unormal posted:Just got a Bionic, Is there a reason you didn't notice the screen until after you purchased it?
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Sep 27, 2011 18:34
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Unormal posted:I'm just putting in my two cents for people who are considering purchasing one sight unseen. Given that you're pretty unhappy with it, I figure there might be some aspect of it that's not apparent in a store, or that folks need more time than casually looking at one to actually tell if it disturbs them. If so, I'd like to take that into account when advising folks in the future. Sorry bro. 
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Sep 27, 2011 21:32
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kalibar posted:Then again, I don't remember Ev-DO being anywhere near this bad back when I had a Touch Pro on Sprint SERO. I feel like it was pretty consistently above 1mbps. Honestly it's capacity issues. Data usage hadn't yet exploded in the Touch Pro days.
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Oct 5, 2011 16:14
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doctor thodt posted:And so the Costco drama begins. She then said "the problem is people keep coming in with this three-month-old phone" (pointing to the display Bionic) "and want to replace it with this brand new phone" (pointing to the Razr) and the exchange policy really isn't for a free upgrade. So, apparently it's actually a problem? Costco is definitely eating the exchange costs, and at least unofficially they're trying to discourage the freebie upgrade but I think that's a bit disingenuous of them. It's total bullshit to buy a Razr today with the intention of exchanging it for a GNex in a month or two. However it's not bullshit to buy a Razr today, only to discover that it's a poo poo phone and it's driving you insane, and end up wanting to exchange it for a GNex because it's a phone that loving works. I imagine folks who got screwed in the G2x debacle would've taken the Costco-option out of it was available to them at the time. Which makes me a bit curious. Honestly, most phone problems are software based (see LG, Samsung) and so all hardware is equally defective. A model-for-model exchange is ultimately useless, it just makes the customer go away for a while. With things like broken GPS, broken cellular radios, major-loving-software problems, the Costco exchange policy should address that kind of stuff, but I don't know if they intend it to or not. Perhaps the real problem is that, moreso than other electronics, smartphones obsolesce really-loving-fast, and so folks will take advantage of the "free upgrade", and they're also really-loving-lovely too, so many folks will exchange and play the cell-phone-roulette game just to get a device that works. Edit: JP Money posted:Who would've thought a store would resist a bunch of people basically loving them over on phones just to keep the best gadgetry in their pockets? 1. Because it runs counter to their own (perhaps poorly-though out) written return policy. 2. Because Costco is particularly well known for its crazy-liberal return policies. People do occasionally return three-month-old 50" televisions no questions asked. So this reversal is particularly notable. ExcessBLarg! fucked around with this message at 19:45 on Nov 20, 2011 |
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Nov 20, 2011 19:40
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kalibar posted:Google Voice is absurdly convenient and useful.
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Nov 26, 2011 22:00
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JP Money posted:By the time the nexus is out there will be a new, way better phone coming out 2 months later max that will make nexus owners feel inferior. That said, the N1 did have a few problems, most notable are the limited internal storage and multitouch issues. Aside from that, it was a pretty significant step up over contemporary Android devices and pushed the direction of Android hardware (while maintaining its own relevance) for at least a full year. I see the Galaxy Nexus doing the same, and it's not clear to me that a mythical quad-core device that might come out mid 2012 is going to perceptibly improve upon it. notwithoutmyanus posted:Or look at how the original samsung galaxy series runs - like poo poo + gps doesn't work reliably, compared to even it's own loving remake (galaxy S 2) less than half a year later - gps still doesn't work reliably and now you have brightly polished turds (sprint complete signal loss issue for one example). More to the point, the SGS is essentially a Nexus S with a SD card slot and no NFC. While it's not a dual-core wonder, the SGS/NS with a proper software stack (e.g., CM7) handles everything you throw at it like a champ. If anything, one reason the SGSII is a bit less of a high-profile development target is because the SGS line is powerful enough that, for developers who have SGS devices, the SGSII isn't a significant enough improvement to represent a compelling upgrade.
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Nov 28, 2011 22:10
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raej posted:Is it worth switching to Verizon for the Galaxy Nexus?
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Dec 18, 2011 23:13
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Kyrosiris posted:Yes, well, when someone comes out with a phone with a keyboard AND an unlocked bootloader, then I'll be able to be picky in that regard.  Actually the Captivate Glide doesn't look to be a bad device, except it's Tegra 2 and an AT&T exclusive.
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Dec 19, 2011 19:52
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