The Official Android Thread

[rumborak]

Sweeet, that it one very good phone as well. I played around with the eye detection the other day, was pretty cool.

I rooted my HTC One yesterday and installed CyanogenMod with Android 4.2.2. That HTC Sense stuff was just starting to annoy me.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

So I just ordered a Samsung Galaxy S4 that hopefully will arrive sometime this week. Pretty excited.

[jasc15]

I just went through and cleaned out and formatted all my contacts.  In the process, I learned how Google's contacts are organized, as well as the difference between "My Contacts" and "Other Contacts".  I was confused why there were duplicate contacts in the "Other Contacts" list, but I realized that when you send your phone contacts to Google, they all go here.

I am considering deleting all phone contacts, so there is no chance of dumping all these poorly formatted contacts into my Google list.

Is there any reason why this might be a bad idea?

[Fiery Winds]

I'd make a backup before deleting anything, but I have used Google for handling all my mail, contacts, and calendars.  It's made jumping between iOS, Android, and PC seamless, as all I have to do is sign into my account and it's all there.  No more, "I lost my contacts, send me your numbers!".

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

I had Viber installed before I went for Talkatone. Problem with Viber is, you can't call landline or cellphone numbers, can you?

Ohh that's right, I completely forgot, sorry about that.

Side note: I just got my galaxy s4!

Nice, what's your opinion so far? Because I just ordered one.

[jasc15]

I'd make a backup before deleting anything, but I have used Google for handling all my mail, contacts, and calendars.  It's made jumping between iOS, Android, and PC seamless, as all I have to do is sign into my account and it's all there.  No more, "I lost my contacts, send me your numbers!".

Thing is, every contact in my phone is duplicated in Google.  So the only backup necessary would be for Google contacts.  I can't see a problem, but just want to be safe.

[Fiery Winds]

I'd make a backup before deleting anything, but I have used Google for handling all my mail, contacts, and calendars.  It's made jumping between iOS, Android, and PC seamless, as all I have to do is sign into my account and it's all there.  No more, "I lost my contacts, send me your numbers!".

Thing is, every contact in my phone is duplicated in Google.  So the only backup necessary would be for Google contacts.  I can't see a problem, but just want to be safe.

Gotcha. I don't think you would lose your Google contacts if you deleted your phone contacts (that were used to seed Google's list). Like you said, backing up Google (from a PC, so you can export a file) wouldn't be a bad idea.

[jasc15]

So I cleared my phone contacts, and backed up google with a .csv on my computer at home as well as in Google Docs.  I think I am covered.

Also, what does "HOME" mean in the status bar right after unlocking?  It goes away after a few seconds.



I sometimes see "HOME" on the screen of an incoming call, too.  I once answered it, thinking it was Home calling (my parents), but I didn't notice the number and it was some solicitation call.

[contest_sanity]

Anybody know a non-super-complex way to run iOS apps on Android?

[Chino]

I upgraded to Kit Kat today and not sure how I feel about it. All I know is, I keep getting a notification that says "Message not sent" It's referring to three messages out of the thousands upon thousands I've sent over the last year. I can't even find in the threads which messages the phone is talking about. Please advise.

[lonestar]

My current phone probably won't get the upgrade, but hoping to land a S5 this week.

[cramx3]

I got the S5 and I love it. So much better than my Razr Maxx.

[Chino]

I got the S5 and I love it. So much better than my Razr Maxx.

I've have the Razr Maxx HD for about 18 months now with no case or screen protection. I have to give the thing credit where credit is due. My battery still lasts the better part of two days, and it's still shockingly fast. No complaints here.

[cramx3]

I got the S5 and I love it. So much better than my Razr Maxx.

I've have the Razr Maxx HD for about 18 months now with no case or screen protection. I have to give the thing credit where credit is due. My battery still lasts the better part of two days, and it's still shockingly fast. No complaints here.

Oh the battery is fantastic.  Thats the only thing I miss about my old phone.  I dont know how the HD compares to the regular Maxx, I liked it a lot when I first got it, but the phone was really frustrating to work with it by the end of my 2 year contract so the S5 felt like such a better phone and in reality, is a better phone minus the battery life.

[lonestar]

S5 ordered, picking it up next Tuesday. Very excited since this is the first time Virgin has had a front run phone available in the US.

[Chino]

Did anyone wlse download the KitKat update and have their text message format change? Mine is hideous now.

[jasc15]

How does everyone feel about the Motorola Moto E and Moto G?  They seem to be getting good attention, and they cost less than the used phone I bought about a year and a half ago.  Either that, or I buy a friend's old Nexus 4.  Lack of 4G and camera flash don't bother me.

[MetalJunkie]

Did anyone wlse download the KitKat update and have their text message format change? Mine is hideous now.

GO SMS Pro is awesome, provided you find a free theme to apply.

[rumborak]

Ooh, just got Android 4.4.3! Had been a long time since an Android update.

[Chino]

Ooh, just got Android 4.4.3! Had been a long time since an Android update.

Your thoughts?

[rumborak]

I think it's actually mostly bug fixes. The dialer has new colors, but other than that I haven't seen much difference.

[MetalJunkie]

I had Cyanogenmod for a while, but the S4 feature loss and the plain layout kinda made it "meh" for me. Put the stock Sprint S4 4.4.2 back on. Feels good, man.

[rumborak]

I had bought my HTC One straight from HTC back in the day, with the whole HTC Sense stuff on it. When the Google Play Edition came out I put that one on; so much cleaner.

[jasc15]

Just got a Moto G with 4.4.4, replacing my HTC Inspire with 2.3.5.  Huge difference between versions.  Also, the Moto G has a very basic setup with no "skins" or other proprietary UI's, which I like.  Mostly, I love the battery life.  After 52 hours on battery and my normal use, the battery life was still ~45%.  My HTC barely lasted until the afternoon before dipping below 20%.

I have very few apps on this phone, as I want to keep is uncluttered, however I would like a full page month-view calendar widget.  The Google widget only shows "agenda" view, and I don't see an option to change this.

[King Postwhore]

Really loving my Galaxy 5S right now.  It's my second wife.

[rumborak]

Jasc,

for calendar I recommend the "Pure Grid calendar". When you activate what they call "timelines", it looks like this:

[cramx3]

Really loving my Galaxy 5S right now.  It's my second wife.

This, makes my work iPhone 5 seem like a piece of junk.

[rumborak]

Man, I want some announcement regarding Android L (5.0)!
HTC supposedly said they will release the new Android version a few weeks after Google officially releases it.

[rumborak]

Woot, apparently October 16th is likely the release day for Android L!

[MetalJunkie]

Woot, apparently October 16th is likely the release day for Android L!

I hope they drop it for the S4. I'm not due for an upgrade until March.

[jasc15]

Looks like it will be available for my first gen. Moto G.

[rumborak]

I wonder how much they can do for my HTC One M7 in terms of battery power. I've had it for a year and a half now, and battery power is noticeably dropping. I hope they did a good job with Project Volta.

[Chino]

I'm salivating over the new Droid Turbo. Seeing as my Droid Razr HD Maxx has made it two years without a case, I'm really excited for this release.

On the inside, the Droid Turbo boasts some beastly specs — a 2.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon 805 processor, 3GB of RAM and a 5.2-inch Quad HD (2560x1440) resolution display (that's an insane 565 pixels per inch). Around the back there's a 21-megapixel camera with 4K video recording capabilities and Dual LED flash. That's in addition to Motorola camera features like Quick Capture and video highlights that we've seen on the Moto X.

That's all powered by a 3,900mAh battery, which is claimed will keep the Turbo humming for 48 hours of use. As it's done with the Moto X, Motorola continues to push charging time as a differentiator, and the Droid Turbo will get 8 hours of use from a charge of just 15 minutes from the bundled Motorola Turbo Charger, it's claimed. What's more, a wireless charging back is included for hassle-free charging.

 

[rumborak]

That's a nice phone, dang.

BTW, supposedly big announcement today by Google.

[Chino]

That's a nice phone, dang.

BTW, supposedly big announcement today by Google.

New Nexus line perhaps?