Phone, Tablet and Gizmo Thread #0x02

Mort Walker · Post by **Mort Walker** » 05 Aug 2013 22:04

^^^Anantech has reviewed the GPe of the S4 & HTC One. Both are good, and don't suffer from lag. It comes down to choice, some of us want the a removable battery & microSD card.

Prasad · Post by **Prasad** » 05 Aug 2013 22:11

That nexus is pretty good for usage in india. No 4G radio iirc.

Mort Walker · Post by **Mort Walker** » 05 Aug 2013 22:20

^^^It does have one LTE frequency, but is incompatible with what is available in India.

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 06 Aug 2013 02:26

Woman buys iPhone online, gets Apple instead

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 06 Aug 2013 09:03

Got the new Nexus 7. Excellent tablet indeed. The screen is definitely the best part of it - puts the screen of the iPadminis I saw in stores to shame. I've never played with the gen 1 Nexus 7, so I can't compare against that. But Anujan already provided a comparison review earlier.

There's been rumblings online though, about a bug in the GPS app that causes GPS to lock up within minutes, requiring a cold boot. I have no pressing dependency on GPS, so I'll wait and see what chacha does about this.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 06 Aug 2013 11:42

samsung galaxy duos. yeah the same dog that sold for 14k in jan and is 9k now.
seems some sw issue with keybds in portrait mode and the P key. even a larger keyboard doesnt help there.
but I installed swiftkey which very nicely predicts the word having p...so I just tap that or use my mighty barrons guide gre kamandu vocab to find alternative words if it starts with P hence cannot be predicted.
pakistan.pimp.$enis....not too many useful sms words.

kid is seizing this chance to push for a note2, 920 or nexus4 but no can do right now.

BhairavP · Post by **BhairavP** » 06 Aug 2013 12:29

Note 2 prices have crashed - 26k ish for a new one, sans exchange. This is with bill and warranty.

niran · Post by **niran** » 06 Aug 2013 12:34

Samsung Core, kdum new model 4.5 inch screen with dual core CPU
it is a phone.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 06 Aug 2013 13:43

I would avoid core, quattro and grand quattro - midrange me2-ware. Sam has only one good phone - S3. the S4 is like a F-solah block60 - a flabby tabby loaded with 20 JDAMs and needing a 36,000lb reheat big motor to get in the air

the note2 is down to 27500 on flipkart. a note3 is expected in sept4...so inventory clearance is on. its still a hugely capable phone with all payload & sensors inspite of being "superceded"

nexus4 is around 24500.

so much meat, so high cost.

prahaar · Post by **prahaar** » 06 Aug 2013 13:54

Singha wrote:Sam has only one good phone - S3. the S4 is like a F-solah block60 - a flabby tabby loaded with 20 JDAMs and needing a 36,000lb reheat big motor to get in the air

A friend of mine owns an S3, complains a lot about "slowness" of the phone. He has only a few hundred contacts, the other one has 1k+ contacts and says he can count before the contacts turn up in S1. Based on the feedback, S3 and S4 become slow with usage (i.e. addition of more data to the file system, housekeeping seems to go bad). Although this situation is common to all devices (incl. PCs), the problem is more pronounced in Adnroid-Galaxy compared to iPhone and Lumias.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 06 Aug 2013 14:29

my phone a narrow band along right edge of screen has become unresponsive. upto android 2 there was calibration option under display settings, but no more in android 4. no touch is detected in this narrow band, so looks like touch has become left-shifted for unknown reason.

android seems to be getting more of a fat dog like f-solah block60 in all matters.

krishnan · Post by **krishnan** » 06 Aug 2013 14:37

talking about caliberation , my micromax funbook which i bought for my kid shuts down when battery is at 70% or less ... is this battery problem ???

merlin · Post by **merlin** » 06 Aug 2013 15:16

Suraj wrote:Got the new Nexus 7. Excellent tablet indeed. The screen is definitely the best part of it - puts the screen of the iPadminis I saw in stores to shame. I've never played with the gen 1 Nexus 7, so I can't compare against that. But Anujan already provided a comparison review earlier.

There's been rumblings online though, about a bug in the GPS app that causes GPS to lock up within minutes, requiring a cold boot. I have no pressing dependency on GPS, so I'll wait and see what chacha does about this.

Screen is a little small though. Am debating between a Nexus 7 or an iPad mini 2 (one with reportedly double the resolution of the current one) and an iPad mini screen size is perfect for me. Resolution does matter - I have seen an Ipad 2 and Ipad 3 next to each other with the same content - the Ipad 3 blows away the one before in terms of resolution and crispness of text/graphics.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 06 Aug 2013 15:35

my ipad is the best device of any type ever in my hand. hours of daily use by kids and superb battery life and screen. no sw or hw issues whatsoever - none. I would wait for new ipad mini if I were you, going by the "issues" that goog partners like asus and htc get into.

meantime android market resembles this scene....everyone has a different pov, version, ROM and a gun to back it up as being the true faithfool. the whole mania for nexus phones and its "pure android" is just indication of failure by google to make sure everyone gets timely update like IOS users take for granted.

a lot of chipanda makers and their front ends have a policy of NO updates at all...forget late updates.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 06 Aug 2013 16:03

android market more fragmented than ever
http://www.techhive.com/article/2045568 ... -says.html

reminds of netbsd, freebsd, irix, ultrix, hp-ux, linux, dec-unix.....

habal · Post by **habal** » 06 Aug 2013 16:34

krishnan wrote:talking about caliberation , my micromax funbook which i bought for my kid shuts down when battery is at 70% or less ... is this battery problem ???

one issue with these chinese branded Indian-assembled tablets is, that if the specific model is no longer in production, then forget about it. They take 2 months to repair anything, and always give the unit back unrepaired anyways.

member_20292 · Post by **member_20292** » 06 Aug 2013 16:36

prahaar wrote:
Singha wrote:Sam has only one good phone - S3. the S4 is like a F-solah block60 - a flabby tabby loaded with 20 JDAMs and needing a 36,000lb reheat big motor to get in the air
A friend of mine owns an S3, complains a lot about "slowness" of the phone. He has only a few hundred contacts, the other one has 1k+ contacts and says he can count before the contacts turn up in S1. Based on the feedback, S3 and S4 become slow with usage (i.e. addition of more data to the file system, housekeeping seems to go bad). Although this situation is common to all devices (incl. PCs), the problem is more pronounced in Adnroid-Galaxy compared to iPhone and Lumias.

yeah...problem is not so pronounced in my cynaogen modded GALAXY s1 Vibrant.

How about the apples, and the iphones? WOrk well ?

krishnan · Post by **krishnan** » 06 Aug 2013 16:41

problem is it never goes below 70% , will shutdown when battery reaches 70%

Mort Walker · Post by **Mort Walker** » 06 Aug 2013 18:43

Suraj wrote:Got the new Nexus 7. Excellent tablet indeed. The screen is definitely the best part of it - puts the screen of the iPadminis I saw in stores to shame. I've never played with the gen 1 Nexus 7, so I can't compare against that. But Anujan already provided a comparison review earlier.

There's been rumblings online though, about a bug in the GPS app that causes GPS to lock up within minutes, requiring a cold boot. I have no pressing dependency on GPS, so I'll wait and see what chacha does about this.

Congrats. I'm planning on getting one, but I am bit undecided right now. Sammy has sent out invitations for the 5.7" 1080p Note 3 to be announced in Berlin on Sep. 4th which I really want. A phablet suits my lifestyle right now.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 06 Aug 2013 18:50

as long as it does not appear like flablet, these phablets should be okay.. i am only p!ssed at integration of data.

Mort Walker · Post by **Mort Walker** » 06 Aug 2013 18:52

Singha wrote:my ipad is the best device of any type ever in my hand. hours of daily use by kids and superb battery life and screen. no sw or hw issues whatsoever - none. I would wait for new ipad mini if I were you, going by the "issues" that goog partners like asus and htc get into.

meantime android market resembles this scene....everyone has a different pov, version, ROM and a gun to back it up as being the true faithfool. the whole mania for nexus phones and its "pure android" is just indication of failure by google to make sure everyone gets timely update like IOS users take for granted.

a lot of chipanda makers and their front ends have a policy of NO updates at all...forget late updates.

Singhaji,

This is exactly the sentiment that makes AAPL successful. I am happy for you, but I have had more good luck with Mac desktops and laptops than iOS devices. For personal use, I prefer using a Mac. Unlike you, I have had trouble with the iPad3 as my kids have messed up the home button and filled up the memory in it. The scoundrels, each one of them, customizes the damn thing each time he or she gets a hold of it and I can't create separate logins for each user like I can on a Nexus tablet.

Mort Walker · Post by **Mort Walker** » 06 Aug 2013 18:53

SaiK wrote:as long as it does not appear like flablet, these phablets should be okay.. i am only p!ssed at integration of data.

Please clarify, I do not understand?

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 06 Aug 2013 19:19

I don't like to use cloud services to store my files. I like to preserve them on a sd card. If I switch OS and services, it is pain.. for example I switched from my old sammy android to ios, everything is a pain.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 06 Aug 2013 19:27

SaiK wrote:ramana.. some times "fit to screen" setting goes against zoom

It was a settings issue. it works fine now.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 06 Aug 2013 19:35

yay! my hunch was right.

Mort Walker · Post by **Mort Walker** » 06 Aug 2013 20:12

SaiK wrote:I don't like to use cloud services to store my files. I like to preserve them on a sd card. If I switch OS and services, it is pain.. for example I switched from my old sammy android to ios, everything is a pain.

When you use a smart phone, to an extent you are using cloud services, be it email (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, Apple), calendar, contacts, apps such as DropBox, SkyDrive, Google Drive, iCloud, Evernote, and so on. It makes it easy to switch OS if the application is available on the OS, so you can use any mobile or desktop OS.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 06 Aug 2013 20:15

sometimes chat has important discussions that needs to be preserved as well.. it becomes as evidence and reference point for many other activities. cached data is important for performance, and most business data has to be out in the cloud.. sometimes one might need to work offline, and get it all synced up later.

Mort Walker · Post by **Mort Walker** » 06 Aug 2013 20:27

^^^I run an SMS and phone log back up app that backs up every few hours all phone calls time/date and SMS chats to Gmail. I can go back to 2010 (when I installed the app) and pull up an SMS chat or phone call. I can also correlate the time of the month of SHQ based on the wording of her texts.

If only chacha and NSA gave me a quick alarm that it is that time, I would really appreciate it.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 06 Aug 2013 21:43

Mort Walker wrote:Congrats. I'm planning on getting one, but I am bit undecided right now. Sammy has sent out invitations for the 5.7" 1080p Note 3 to be announced in Berlin on Sep. 4th which I really want. A phablet suits my lifestyle right now.

The Nexus 7 size is about right for me. The phablet form factor falls between two stools for me - too small to completely eliminate the size constraint of a phone, and too large to be as portable as I'm used to carrying a phone.

This tablet sure puts pressure on AAPL to ensure the next iPadmini is a retina display one. On the other hand they're worried that doing so will further cannibalize the larger iPad sales. They'll probably compromise by puttiing in a retina display and other features and also giving it a price bump in order to bridge the margin gap between it and the larger iPad.

Mort Walker · Post by **Mort Walker** » 06 Aug 2013 22:37

I just checked on the new Nexus 7 and it is ~~sold out on-line~~ in more popular places like Amazon. ***It comes in then sells out apparently.

As an aside, to all BRF members here in the US, please check your state laws regarding sales tax for on-line purchases. The law may specify sales tax only for on-line purchases and may not include sales tax for purchases made over the phone. A few of the camera/electronics/computer retailers in NYC have switched to "please call us" on pricing.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 06 Aug 2013 23:56

Don't buy from chacha's play store if you are on the west coast. Amazon ought to be much faster.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 07 Aug 2013 07:36

tigerdirect is fast

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 07 Aug 2013 09:19

'was thinking to "eye-padmini"

BhairavP · Post by **BhairavP** » 07 Aug 2013 09:53

Used F-I-L's HTC One yesterday, uber cool, and WHAT A SCREEN! Sorry for the shouting, but that thing is a beaut!
In other, less interesting news, got a new sheet battery for the laptop nice and cheap from eBay - using a Sony Vaio 13.. 13" + 1600*900 = bliss. Crappy TN panel though, although a few brave souls have replaced it with an IPS screen. I don't have the b@lls for that yet!

Any nanhas here get Paypal payments from abroad? How easy is it to withdraw into our accounts?

Patni · Post by **Patni** » 07 Aug 2013 10:42

rohitvats wrote:To the learned maulaners - how is the LG Google Nexus 4? It is retailing at Croma retail at INR 25,490 for 16 GB version.

Read good reviews about the screen resolution and display and not too good about the main camera; I like the specs of 1.5 Ghz Quad Core with 2 GB RAM...that is serious hardware as far as this mango-abdul is concerned.

I have been using nexus 4 16GB version since march here and its a beauti! definately best bang for the buck in market today at the ~25K. just buy a good cover to prevent its glass body from geting fine cracks near edges. The latest 4.3 update flashed improves battery life very well ( when ideling, power consumption is reduced by factor of 2 or better!). I basicaly used to get about 13 hrs of use out of it earlier on 4.2.2 version with 20-30 min of talk time and 3-4 hours of net use (screen on time of ~ 25%), and battery will be down to 35% from full charge, with 4.3 i have 60% charge after 13 hours! Dont game much but it can handle anything on market today with plenty of spare power.

The device does heat up to about 30C when charging in non ac hot and humid weather of mumbai and hottest i have had it while testing at about 35C. It does feel warm to ear if on 3G and talking for more then 20 minutes. No such issue if on 2G. I sure will recommand it over anything currently avilable in india for normal smartphone useage. If you are into rooting and trying out custom ROMs, things are lot more exciting.

ArmenT · Post by **ArmenT** » 07 Aug 2013 13:18

My boss's iphone 4S caught fire in the car on the drive to work this morning. He was using a third party car charger (he's been using the same charger for over a year) and smelled smoke in his car on the freeway. Then he looked down and saw small sparks/flame coming out of the part where the USB cable's connector connects to the phone base. So he pulled the charger out of the lighter socket and put it out. Apparently, he was actually talking on the phone at that time (bluetooth headset) and the phone continued to work perfectly while he was putting it out. So he comes into the office and asks if I have a spare wall charger somewhere and we tested it out. Unfortunately, the base of his phone appeared charred and it looks like some contacts had melted, so the phone wasn't getting charged, but it continued to work fine with the existing charge it had. Luckily it is under warranty, so he shouldn't have issues getting it switched. Still a mystery to us as to why it overheated suddenly, as he'd been using that charger on that phone for over a year with no issues.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 07 Aug 2013 13:40

a mans 's house in HK burnt down due to same reason. these AC/DC to usb chargers seem to have some unexplained dreamliner type problem. only a university level unbiased study might find some clues.
apple is giving a exchange offer of $10 on all third party chargers.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23585898

if people have a panda charger to go with a panda phone, might be better to drop some coin and buy something of a safer nature like samsung, nok type microusb charger

same goes for the battery chargers of any chinese made toys like remote control cars, or remote control helicopters..those can be even more wild and deadly...I would charge these toys only under mk1 eyeball control.

Mort Walker · Post by **Mort Walker** » 08 Aug 2013 04:28

Pyaare,

Kahan gai aap?

So although WP gains market share, it is still abysmal. If WP is so wonderful then why only 4.8 million more shipped 2Q2013?
IDC PRESS RELEASE

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 08 Aug 2013 05:26

ArmenT wrote: Apparently, he was actually talking on the phone at that time (bluetooth headset) and the phone continued to work perfectly while he was putting it out. So he comes into the office and asks if I have a spare wall charger somewhere and we tested it out. Unfortunately, the base of his phone appeared charred and it looks like some contacts had melted, so the phone wasn't getting charged, but it continued to work fine with the existing charge it had. Luckily it is under warranty, so he shouldn't have issues getting it switched. Still a mystery to us as to why it overheated suddenly, as he'd been using that charger on that phone for over a year with no issues.

1. lose contact.
- so, extra current drawn while charging.. some amperes for talking, hopefully some apps did not shutdown, plus the battery charge

2. design issue
- can't be it, since you say the contacts had melted.

i suspect 1.

ArmenT · Post by **ArmenT** » 08 Aug 2013 06:42

SaiK wrote:
ArmenT wrote: Apparently, he was actually talking on the phone at that time (bluetooth headset) and the phone continued to work perfectly while he was putting it out. So he comes into the office and asks if I have a spare wall charger somewhere and we tested it out. Unfortunately, the base of his phone appeared charred and it looks like some contacts had melted, so the phone wasn't getting charged, but it continued to work fine with the existing charge it had. Luckily it is under warranty, so he shouldn't have issues getting it switched. Still a mystery to us as to why it overheated suddenly, as he'd been using that charger on that phone for over a year with no issues.
1. lose contact.
- so, extra current drawn while charging.. some amperes for talking, hopefully some apps did not shutdown, plus the battery charge

2. design issue
- can't be it, since you say the contacts had melted.

i suspect 1.

According to the AT&T store, the issue seemed to be caused by lint accumulated in the charging slot. Take it for what it is worth.