The Great Smartphone & Tablet Thread, v3: iPhone / iPad / Android / WP8 / Blackberry

[Madmick]

Any word on whether there will be a Firefly app available for other formats, like Windows? I'm considering an upgrade to a Lumia 1520, but the identifying application of Firefly allures me. I don't mind that it instantly pops up with the Amazon page, but from what you're telling me buying the Firephone would be a dead bust.

Nope, none that I'd seen. They got me with that damn Wolverine commercial. I was like "Shazam for movies? Oh SNAP!!" So I immediately checked the Play store to see if it was there. No dice, of course. I then searched my favorite sites and performed a half dozen Googles looking for rumors on when it might be released to the store. Nothing.

I think they're playing it smart. They realize that software is the most appealing thing about their phone right now since it's such a terrible deal hardware-wise, and many users are deterred by their walled-off OS & app market.

I just think it's a terrible buy. I mentioned its terrible pricing structure when it was first released. I'd think you'd be better off getting a LG G2), and putting the saved $200 towards a Kindle Fire tablet. Of course, the latest generation like the LG G3 or the Lumia 1520 are the same in price, but they're effectively half a generation ahead in terms of hardware. Besides, software that ambitious is usually very spotty in its infancy, and I haven't heard anything about it. You can Shazam/Soundhound for music. You can use barcode scanners for other products, or some of the other software that's been out there for longer from far more established software companies (ex. Google Goggles). There's nothing for Movies & TV that I know, but when I thought about it, I realized that I'm rarely watching a program on a TV where I'm not able to check the channel for the program name. That's their niche, though.

It could be a killer phone, I don't know. I've never even seen one- much less handled one. I'm skeptical. Still, it's a Snapdragon 800 processor in a phone with a 720p display (and who really wants to burn 1080p data except those with grandfathered, unlimited plans?). Bezos has that Midas touch. I'm just worried this is the lips to the water.

My friend has a Note3 and it takes his forever to charge.

How long is that, precisely? It should be ~150 minute charge.

 

[Hank The Tank]

My friend has a GS5 and took it in the pool in Vegas, its toast.

I've taken my GS5A rafting and taken videos in the pool with it, no problems.

Anyone else know someone (not read on the internet) that had their GS5 fail from water?

 

[WorldofWarcraft]

The only probably reason is gasket not sealed correctly. Maybe the charging port cover wasn't on all the way tight.

 

[Madmick]

My friend has a GS5 and took it in the pool in Vegas, its toast.

I've taken my GS5A rafting and taken videos in the pool with it, no problems.

Anyone else know someone (not read on the internet) that had their GS5 fail from water?

The only probably reason is gasket not sealed correctly. Maybe the charging port cover wasn't on all the way tight.

That's a definite possibility, WoW, but know, too, that the GS5 isn't rated for hardcore watersport activity. It's IP67. The second number describes the level of water resistance:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_Code
The "7" just means that it's rated up to 1m for 30min. "8" used to be the highest rating meaning that something is indefinitely waterproof generally up to 3m; however, this doesn't necessarily mean that these devices are protected against collision with water (ex. diving off a platform, high-dive, or cliff...taking a tumble off a jetski at high speeds). So they just this year introduced a new zenith specification. "9K" describes a device that is, "Protected against close-range high pressure, high temperature spray downs."

This code has been in use for a long time, and yet it is still widely misunderstood. It took a decade, it seems, before a substantial portion of the population understood that "waterproof" watches were just "water resistant", and usually not very much so. Some were designed to merely hold up to mild rainfall walking in between buildings in a place like Manhattan (>10 minutes), but people were trying to go snorkeling with them, and getting upset that they stopped functioning. In fairness to the public, this is because the device sellers make a rather obvious, concerted effort to mislead them while not explicitly making claims that are false.

Unlike the Galaxy S5, the Galaxy S5 Active is IP68. It also sports the burly MIL-STD-810G certification although it should be noted that there is no official testing body that regulates this standard.

*Edit* Correction, the Active is also only IP67 certified. I misremembered. It does carry the MIL-STD-810G certification. Here is a review further investigating its ruggedness:
http://pocketnow.com/2014/06/18/galaxy-s5-active-review

 

[kuromusha]

Anyone have experience with getting a replacement phone from T-mobile? My Nexus 5 is experiencing some screen failure. I'm wondering if they give you a brand new phone or a refurbished one. I don't care either way. I would just like to know.

 

[ChainFlow]

Went ahead and got the HTC One M8. It has much better battery life than my old iPhone 5S. I'd say 20-30% longer life. Not as much as I hoped but still very noticeable. The screen is nice and it's much easier to use in hand than I thought it would be.

Still might "Jump" to the new iPhone if it turns out to have better battery life and a bigger screen, though.

Anyone have experience with getting a replacement phone from T-mobile? My Nexus 5 is experiencing some screen failure. I'm wondering if they give you a brand new phone or a refurbished one. I don't care either way. I would just like to know.

My iPhone 5S stopped responding to screen touches. I showed up to the T Mobile store without appointment after work and had a replacement in my mail box two days later.

 

[King of Fists]

Any windows 8 phone owners have browser issues? I was testing a beta version of a Nokia phone with windows 8 the other day and apparently the browser auto zooms every page to 150% as a "feature" which just made every site look shitty. Worse, I couldn't figure out how to turn it off

 

[cartizel]

Can anyone recommend software/app for windows phone that is good for downloading music?

I read Zune was what I needed but apparently it isn't supported by the new Windows OS.

THANKS

 

[Kadafi]

The GS5 has by far the best battery life I have ever had with a phone. I use it for work as well. Very happy with it.

 

[Matt]

My wife got me a Samsung Galaxy 5 yesterday. It seems ok so far. Haven't really had time to look at it yet. Is it considered a good phone?

 

[GhostZ06]

im trying to pressure my sister into allowing me switch off metro to sprint. Since im having trouble finding phone, an if i went to T-mo phones will be ultra expansive. Im trying to get the new G3 since i heard its pretty gnarly

 

[Madmick]

My wife got me a Samsung Galaxy 5 yesterday. It seems ok so far. Haven't really had time to look at it yet. Is it considered a good phone?

As a piece of hardware it's the best.

 

[Matt]

As a piece of hardware it's the best.

So...that's good then, right?

I haven't figured out what I can do with it yet. One thing it did already though, is solve my universal remote problem for my TV. That was really cool.

Not sure why but my wife got the same phone and all her old apps showed up. But mine did not. She said something about signing into google for that.

 

[Kadafi]

Lol

 

[bosox32]

Anyone got a Galaxy Tab S??

Best buy offering.a $100 credit with an old tablet trade.

 

[KazuyaMishima]

The GS5 has by far the best battery life I have ever had with a phone. I use it for work as well. Very happy with it.

And it charges unbelievably fast with usb 3.0. I only have to charge my phone once every 2 days and never fully of course. The power saving mode is awesome.

 

[Madmick]

So...that's good then, right?

Yeah, I'd say so. Nobody ever looks disappointed with a gold medal (here's looking at you, McKayla Maroney).

Spoiler

I haven't figured out what I can do with it yet. One thing it did already though, is solve my universal remote problem for my TV. That was really cool.

What would you like to do? Is there anything you've seen or heard other people talking about that you wanted to do with your phone that before you couldn't?

Not sure why but my wife got the same phone and all her old apps showed up. But mine did not. She said something about signing into google for that.

Yeah, your carrier didn't help you do this? The reps will help you with this process if you swing by. You just have to sign in using your Google+ account (Gmail for older accounts) and it will have all of the apps that you installed in there.

This is a prerequisite to accessing the Play store via the phone (unless you access it via the browser), so if you have opened the Play Store app and have surfed around looking for new apps, then you should already be signed in. As long as you didn't create a NEW profile, then what you need to do is open the Play Store, hit the menu button, look for "My Apps". Once here, around the top left of the screen you should see two tabs. You'll automatically be taken to "Installed", which shows the apps you have installed, but you want to switch to "All". This shows all the apps that you have downloaded in the past on this account even if they aren't currently installed. You can add them one-by-one from here, and remove ones from being attached to your account that you don't like.

If you haven't yet signed in, then when you do, it should ask something like, "Do you want to import the data from your old account?" or something to that effect. Say "Yes", and it will automatically install all your old data like your apps, and add all your old contacts into your address book. So this is simpler, and that's why it's usually the first thing they do at the Verizon/AT&T/wherever if you bought the phone from them, but your carrier will usually provide this service for free even if you didn't.

Of course, it's not that hard, so it's less of a hassle to do it yourself once you read the above, IMO.

 

[Madmick]

And it charges unbelievably fast with usb 3.0. I only have to charge my phone once every 2 days and never fully of course. The power saving mode is awesome.

Yeah, btw, guys, if you ever buy a replacement charger, do yourself a favor first, and research the specifications of the OEM charger.

Recently, my little brother went to Wal-Mart to replace his charger for his S3. The workers there gave him a Samsung charger which they assured him would work for the S3. Well, it didn't. It might have, but it didn't, and fortunately, in his case, since he came to me when furious when it was inoperable out of the box. Immediately I saw on the box that it was a 1 Amp charger, and I thought, "For the S3? That can't be right." A quick Google revealed it wasn't. He wanted a 2A charger. They're lucky they were wrong with the under rather than the over on the amperage. If the reverse had held true, then they could have fried his phone. Even if it the current had been miraculously stable enough to work, his phone would have taken ~2x as long to charge. I was almost upset enough to go down there and scold their "tech" staff. Then I remembered they wouldn't care.

Additionally, I think it was like $19.95 or $24.95 for this crappy 1A charger at Wal-Mart that didn't have the detachable USB port. With Amazon Prime, I was able to order him the appropriate 2A charger that included the detachable male USB input, and for $9. Two day shipping. Direct from Samsung.

 

[pinger]

Went ahead and got the HTC One M8. It has much better battery life than my old iPhone 5S. I'd say 20-30% longer life. Not as much as I hoped but still very noticeable. The screen is nice and it's much easier to use in hand than I thought it would be.

Still might "Jump" to the new iPhone if it turns out to have better battery life and a bigger screen, though.



My iPhone 5S stopped responding to screen touches. I showed up to the T Mobile store without appointment after work and had a replacement in my mail box two days later.

I bought the M8 and it's battery is phenomenal compared to the Samsung I had.

 

[Madmick]

I bought the M8 and it's battery is phenomenal compared to the Samsung I had.

Specify which Samsung, please. These details can never be ignored. Samsung's historical catalog of smartphone models reaches into the hundreds.