4G Android phone megathread

Bunt4aTriple

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I got the lollipop update on my galaxy s4 and the absolutely infuriating thing about is whenever I access an app from the notifications, the delay is excruciating.  Gmail and text are both bad, but exchange email is a legitimate 10 count or longer.  I swipe down, click on the exchange notification, and then watch the wheel spin for 10-15 seconds for the email to display.  I would not consider this an upgrade.
 

Winger 03

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Same here, I am glad it is not just me.  It is a little embarassing in a work setting when it takes me forever to get to email on the road.
 
Bunt4aTriple said:
I got the lollipop update on my galaxy s4 and the absolutely infuriating thing about is whenever I access an app from the notifications, the delay is excruciating.  Gmail and text are both bad, but exchange email is a legitimate 10 count or longer.  I swipe down, click on the exchange notification, and then watch the wheel spin for 10-15 seconds for the email to display.  I would not consider this an upgrade.
 

smastroyin

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Jul 31, 2002
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It's probably appropriate that another word for lollipop is sucker.  
 
Not that you guys are suckers, I have "upgraded" now too.  but it sucks.  
 

FL4WL3SS

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smastroyin said:
It's probably appropriate that another word for lollipop is sucker.  
 
Not that you guys are suckers, I have "upgraded" now too.  but it sucks.  
Tap the breaks a little - what he upgraded to isn't Lollipop, it's Samsung's version of Lollipop. I'm sure Samsung screwed something up when they put their touches on it.
 

smastroyin

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I hate it on my Nexus 7 which is pure Google.  Well, hate is too strong a word, but my battery life is comparatively terrible (maybe 60% what it was on KitKat) and I don't like the "all instances of each app you ever opened in the recent apps wheel" business, and it definitely runs slower rather than faster.  Also every revision they do offers less customization without rooting.  And they force you into this monochrome shit in the notification bar which was a silly design choice that takes away the feel of what was good about Android.
 
It's even worse on my G3 but I guess I can blame LG and Verizon as much as Google.
 
I guess my basic problem is that Gooplesoftbook are essentially likely trading middle managers and marketing executives all the time and you just end up with this thing where everything feels the same.
 

Monbo Jumbo

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smastroyin said:
I hate it on my Nexus 7 which is pure Google.  Well, hate is too strong a word, but my battery life is comparatively terrible (maybe 60% what it was on KitKat) and I don't like the "all instances of each app you ever opened in the recent apps wheel" business, and it definitely runs slower rather than faster.  Also every revision they do offers less customization without rooting.
 
It's even worse on my G3 but I guess I can blame LG and Verizon as much as Google.
 
Is your Nexus 7 first gen or 2nd gen?  I like it on my 2nd gen Nexus 7 - but my usage doesn't push the battery's limits. 
 

SumnerH

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FL4WL3SS said:
Tap the breaks a little - what he upgraded to isn't Lollipop, it's Samsung's version of Lollipop. I'm sure Samsung screwed something up when they put their touches on it.
 
Generic Lollipop has these shitty, intrusive ugly card-style notifications and the pointless recent apps stuff taking the place of useful stuff and fubars battery life until you go toggle a zillion settings.  And constantly tries to turn on location services.
 

smastroyin

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Monbo Jumbo said:
 
Is your Nexus 7 first gen or 2nd gen?  I like it on my 2nd gen Nexus 7 - but my usage doesn't push the battery's limits. 
 
2nd gen.  If I leave it at home for the day unplugged, it will have lost 40-50% battery by the time I get home.
 

Foulkey Reese

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smastroyin said:
 
2nd gen.  If I leave it at home for the day unplugged, it will have lost 40-50% battery by the time I get home.
The N7 is a $200 tablet that performs like one. When I switched to an iPad mini it blew my mind that I could go to bed with the device at 88% battery, leave it on, and come home to it at 88% battery. 
 

Foulkey Reese

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smastroyin said:
Sure, but there is a marked performance difference on Lollipop.
Not that you necessarily want to, but the N7's are super easy to root and install a custom ROM on. I bet you could get it running fast again pretty easily. 
 

Marceline

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Foulkey Reese said:
Not that you necessarily want to, but the N7's are super easy to root and install a custom ROM on. I bet you could get it running fast again pretty easily. 
 
I'm running a Galaxy Note 3, rooted, with lollipop (via cm12.1) and it runs great. Battery is better than what I had on KitKat and I have noticed no difference in performance. So another vote for rooting here. I've been very satisfied with Lollipop on my now aging hardware.
 

Yakker 4 your Kudos

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Feb 28, 2006
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Are there any 5"> smartphones left, or does the phablet-style phone now rule unchallenged? Iphones got too big (and the 5s are not ideal for me because I need wifi phone capability),  and now Nexus 5 or Xperia Z3 compact phones are only available from sketchy resellers, mostly "international versions" with little to no warranty protections.  Any recommendations?
 

SumnerH

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Pudge Gumley said:
Are there any 5"> smartphones left, or does the phablet-style phone now rule unchallenged? Iphones got too big (and the 5s are not ideal for me because I need wifi phone capability),  and now Nexus 5 or Xperia Z3 compact phones are only available from sketchy resellers, mostly "international versions" with little to no warranty protections.  Any recommendations?
 
The Motorola E seems to be very well received.
 
The Sony Z3 Compact also got good reviews, but it's getting a little older now.  
 

Omar's Wacky Neighbor

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My son wants a smart phone with a big screen and a good CPU (he's taking an EMT course this summer, and wants those specs for research on the fly).  Since we dont want to be tied down to a 2 year contract, and wish to go month to month for the present:  can anyone give me a good reason to NOT get him a Zenfone2/64gb (ballpark $280-300 including tax)?  I understand the the camera is not the greatest, but the rest of the phone seems pretty strong.
 
EDIT:  besides that the ZenFone Selfie release is hopefully right around the corner.
 

Valek123

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Omar's Wacky Neighbor said:
My son wants a smart phone with a big screen and a good CPU (he's taking an EMT course this summer, and wants those specs for research on the fly).  Since we dont want to be tied down to a 2 year contract, and wish to go month to month for the present:  can anyone give me a good reason to NOT get him a Zenfone2/64gb (ballpark $280-300 including tax)?  I understand the the camera is not the greatest, but the rest of the phone seems pretty strong.
 
EDIT:  besides that the ZenFone Selfie release is hopefully right around the corner.
If your son is looking to do anything EMT on the phone I'd suggest going Apple purely because most applications for Fire/EMS are built for apple devices, there has been a big push on the android end but it's a good year or more behind apple.  In my area this is driven by hospital usage of apple devices, and that seems to be a national thing in EMS.  It's literally the ONLY reason I am considering a migration to Apple down the road as I hate nearly everything else about them.
 

Omar's Wacky Neighbor

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Valek123 said:
If your son is looking to do anything EMT on the phone I'd suggest going Apple purely because most applications for Fire/EMS are built for apple devices, there has been a big push on the android end but it's a good year or more behind apple.  In my area this is driven by hospital usage of apple devices, and that seems to be a national thing in EMS.  It's literally the ONLY reason I am considering a migration to Apple down the road as I hate nearly everything else about them.
Thanks for the input.  My wife is already an EMT in town, and she's one of the few who really makes use of the iPad in the rig.  Others are hesitant to take the plunge and still take pen to paper.  She's also got a nubmer of free or near-free EMT apps on her iPhone, and I just got my son some some anatomy apps that were on sale in the iStore.  Just hated to drop all that cash on a 6+ for a volunteer position, but he'll probably also get use out of it in the college app process (I just HATE that you cant add memory to an iPhone).  Guess I'll just have to keep refreshing the iPhone listing in AWD every hour.......
 

Bunt4aTriple

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Anybody with an LG G4 yet?  I haven't pulled the trigger yet on the verizon model, but Best Buy is giving away a $100 gift card with it, and there is still the package deal from the manufacturer that includes a 32gb sd card, an extra battery and a battery charger case.  Pretty solid deal.  My galaxy s4 has been terrible (as described above, but the most annoying thing is that my corporate mail turns off sync several times a day, so I'm constantly missing emails) since lollipop.
 

kelpapa

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Bunt4aTriple said:
Anybody with an LG G4 yet?  I haven't pulled the trigger yet on the verizon model, but Best Buy is giving away a $100 gift card with it, and there is still the package deal from the manufacturer that includes a 32gb sd card, an extra battery and a battery charger case.  Pretty solid deal.  My galaxy s4 has been terrible (as described above, but the most annoying thing is that my corporate mail turns off sync several times a day, so I'm constantly missing emails) since lollipop.
I have been waiting for it for a while. My S4 was a steaming pile of shit since before the update (not a bad phone, I just got a lemon), and has the same issues you've mentioned. I just called and a store nearby has one on hold for me. I'm picking it up tomorrow.
 

milfordsoxfan

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Jan 26, 2006
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I got an invite to Google's Project Fi.  I've been looking for a reason to tell Verizon to go fuck themselves, and this gave me the opportunity.  I'm only two days in, but so far, so good. I've been on a call and switched from voice over wifi to LTE seamlessly (turned off wifi to see what would happen).  It's cheap.  $20 per month + $10 gb , and you get a refund for any data you don't use.  The only downside (for me) is the only phone available right now is the Nexus 6, which I find a little too large - otherwise I really like the phone. It works off T-Mobile and Sprint.  Thankfully I don't believe I've yet been connected to Sprint, although there is no way to know for sure.  T-Mobile is actually pretty good where I live (I tested them for two weeks a while back and got speeds around 20-30 down, 5-15 up). The battery seems to hold up well despite the switches from data to wifi.     
 
Worth noting that I spend 99% of my time between New Haven and NYC, and rarely venture too far outside the 95/Merritt corridor.  Yes, I lead a boring existence, you don't need to tell me.  Even in a place like Weston, where my friend sort of lives in the sticks, I got good service.  When I have to visit my sister upstate I imagine the service will kind of suck.  We'll see in a couple weeks.  I don't think I'll get any service when I go on my yearly golfing trip to Vermont, but I didn't get any with Verizon either.  
 
If you live in an urban area where TMO is strong, I'd look into it.  It cut my bill from about $115 or so per month to somewhere around $50.
 
My ETF with VZW is $120.  Does anyone know if I can mail it in the form of a giant novelty check or something equally inconvenient?
 

Monbo Jumbo

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milfordsoxfan said:
I got an invite to Google's Project Fi.  I've been looking for a reason to tell Verizon to go fuck themselves, and this gave me the opportunity.  I'm only two days in, but so far, so good. I've been on a call and switched from voice over wifi to LTE seamlessly (turned off wifi to see what would happen).  It's cheap.  $20 per month + $10 gb , and you get a refund for any data you don't use.  The only downside (for me) is the only phone available right now is the Nexus 6, which I find a little too large - otherwise I really like the phone. It works off T-Mobile and Sprint.  Thankfully I don't believe I've yet been connected to Sprint, although there is no way to know for sure.  T-Mobile is actually pretty good where I live (I tested them for two weeks a while back and got speeds around 20-30 down, 5-15 up). The battery seems to hold up well despite the switches from data to wifi.     
 
Worth noting that I spend 99% of my time between New Haven and NYC, and rarely venture too far outside the 95/Merritt corridor.  Yes, I lead a boring existence, you don't need to tell me.  Even in a place like Weston, where my friend sort of lives in the sticks, I got good service.  When I have to visit my sister upstate I imagine the service will kind of suck.  We'll see in a couple weeks.  I don't think I'll get any service when I go on my yearly golfing trip to Vermont, but I didn't get any with Verizon either.  
 
If you live in an urban area where TMO is strong, I'd look into it.  It cut my bill from about $115 or so per month to somewhere around $50.
 
My ETF with VZW is $120.  Does anyone know if I can mail it in the form of a giant novelty check or something equally inconvenient?
 
Waiting for my invite - they sent out an email today with a utility to tell you when to expect the invite - mine says 3 to 4 weeks - sheesh. 
 

milfordsoxfan

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Monbo Jumbo said:
 
Waiting for my invite - they sent out an email today with a utility to tell you when to expect the invite - mine says 3 to 4 weeks - sheesh. 
 
Yeah, I signed up whenever it first was announced.  I think maybe it took two months?  I had honestly forgot about it when it popped up in my inbox.  
 
Don't know your carrier, just make sure that T-Mobile is strong wherever you are if you're going to go with Google.  You can test T-Mobile with no cost other than a phone activation fee - and I only had to pay that because my VZW phone wasn't compatible with T-Mobile.  
 

jercra

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milfordsoxfan said:
 
Yeah, I signed up whenever it first was announced.  I think maybe it took two months?  I had honestly forgot about it when it popped up in my inbox.  
 
Don't know your carrier, just make sure that T-Mobile is strong wherever you are if you're going to go with Google.  You can test T-Mobile with no cost other than a phone activation fee - and I only had to pay that because my VZW phone wasn't compatible with T-Mobile.  
T-Mo or Sprint, right?  Isn't that what Fi is?  It switches between T-mo, Sprint and Wifi depending on what has the best connection?
 

milfordsoxfan

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Yeah, you nailed it.  It's Google's MVNO.  I think that Sprint sucks, generally speaking, and really don't ever want to be attached to their network unless the choice is no service at all. The biggest catch is that right now it only works with the Nexus 6.  I have no idea if Google intends to invest in their own wireless infrastructure.  If anyone has the cash to do so, it's probably them, and they have a lot of skin in the game with regards to providing people with the ability to more easily access the internet at higher speeds.  That said, I don't know if it would be a wise investment.  
 
I've been on it since Tuesday, and so far it's been great.  Tomorrow I have to go to Glastonbury, and will pass through some less populated areas, so we'll see how it goes up there.  
 

saintnick912

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I was using an ancient version of Tapatalk Pro for a while, not knowing that it was end of life and there was a new version out there.  So I tried the new version a couple of months ago and it sucked royally for how I use it, which is browsing around the different subforums and clicking on threads that way.  Tried the latest update last night and with a bit of tweaking it's definitely a step up on the old version now.  So if any of you tried and hated the new version, give it another shot.
 
In terms of customizations I turned off the avatars and the action bars in the topic lists (forum pages basically) since they spread things out too much and were redundant with things I could do elsewhere.  Also bumped to 50/page and turned off signature.
 

Corsi

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Foulkey Reese said:
Lollipop is out for the Droid Turbo today.
Wish me luck.
 
Finally.  I didn't get prompted for it yet, but it worked by checking for system updates.  Downloading now.
 
edit: it's going slooooow
 

Bunt4aTriple

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Just popping in to say that I switched to AT&T from 12 years on Verizon, solely for the S6 Active and I freaking love this phone.  I didn't like the fragile feel of the LG G4, and couldn't be happier.
 
Well, except for the fact that Verizon cut off my access to my old bills and I'm 3 months late in submitting for expense reimbursement with my company.  They wouldn't even give me access to my current bill, which has yet to be paid, until I bitched.  For the rest, I'll need to send them $5/bill.  Animals.
 

Rod Becks Mullet

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GRR....wish I checked into this thread before downloading Lollipop.  My S4 is getting assfucked by it.  The lag time trying to use Microsoft Exchange is infuriating, there's no reason a phone should have that kind of lag time these days.  Seriously debating dumping my Samsung very soon because of it (the phone also has some old physical damage, this is just topping me off)
 

Orange Julia

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I have the lollipop update waiting on my galaxy 5 (T-Mobile, not rooted) do I keep postponing it? Everyone seems to be enraged by it.
 

Orange Julia

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I read that if you can find the update which has been downloaded to the phone but not activated you can delete the file but I can't find the file.
 

Orange Julia

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I wiped it using directions on the SG5 Tmobile site but I am still getting the little "postponed" icon. BigCPAPi said he got the update overnight (he also has an SG5, but he's on Verizon) and hasn't noticed any degradation in quality as of yet.
 

SumnerH

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Battery life is somewhat worse and the UI is clunkier, but if you go back and re-tweak all your settings it's passable.
 

Orange Julia

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The update has postponed itself. When I click on the little update logo the choice is to close it, or to update. There is no longer a postpone option (it is greyed out). So i just closed it.  Fingers crossed.
 

jimv

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Monbo Jumbo said:
Goodbye Sprint.
Hello Google Fi.

Looking forward to small bills.
Can you offer an initial review? Curious to know how its working out
 

Foulkey Reese

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Corsi

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Foulkey Reese said:
Yea mine was the same. Once I did a wipe performance seemed to improve quite a bit. I'm really liking the update. Battery life seems to have improved too, not that it was an issue to begin with.
 
Only thing that I've found annoying with the update is that the 'mobile data' switch from my Power Toggles widget doesn't directly shut off my mobile data.  Instead, it takes me to my Data Usage settings, where I have to shut it off from there.
 

Caspir

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Got a message that my micro sd was unexpectedly removed from my Note 4. Seemed strange, but it happened once before and fixed itself in about two seconds. This time, it shows no micro sd even though it's in there, and removing and putting it back, etc., has done nothing. Read online that Sandisk doesn't play well with Samsung, but this is going to get to to switch to the S6 edge and just say fuck it and go with the non-removable battery, no extra storage model that I've held out on for basically no reason other than, "They can't tell me I can't take my battery out!" stubbornness. 
 

Foulkey Reese

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Corsi said:
 
Only thing that I've found annoying with the update is that the 'mobile data' switch from my Power Toggles widget doesn't directly shut off my mobile data.  Instead, it takes me to my Data Usage settings, where I have to shut it off from there.
When do you find the need to turn off mobile data?

I don't think I've ever done that other than on a flight.
 

Corsi

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Foulkey Reese said:
When do you find the need to turn off mobile data?
I don't think I've ever done that other than on a flight.
 
Maybe (probably?) it's unnecessary, but whenever I flip on my wifi, I shut off my mobile data.  I have this irrational fear that I'll somehow be using some mobile data, even if connected via wifi.