Best Current Android Apps

[Grant Lamontagne]

Yeah, I always thought a teeny HD screen was a bit overkill.  Hell, my 46" TV is HD and you can really only barely tell the difference between 720p and 1080p when watching crowd scenes or trying to see the design on someone's tie.  These are things that are nice on a big screen TV, but are completely lost on anything smaller.  Don't get me wrong, I love my HDTV and watching sci fi movies on Blu Ray, but I really don't need it on a smartphone, or even a tablet.

What I want is a nice 6-7" tablet that also has phone functions.  Then all I need is a bluetooth keyboard and I can stop carrying phone, laptop, tablet and a camera everywhere I go at work.  Go go gadget phablet!

Def

[derekmac]

Going off the top of my head, doesn't one of the Nexus tablets have a SIM card slot?

I love my HTC One, but saying that I'm actually considering going to an iPhone 5 just for the carry size and the billions of cases you can get.

The only reason really that I went with the One is I used my phone while watching TV for browsing, but I bought a 10.1" tablet so that has taken over browsing duty.

My wife has the S4 and loves it, but I don't like it as much as the One.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 4 Beta

[Abstraction]

Yeah, I always thought a teeny HD screen was a bit overkill.  Hell, my 46" TV is HD and you can really only barely tell the difference between 720p and 1080p when watching crowd scenes or trying to see the design on someone's tie.  These are things that are nice on a big screen TV, but are completely lost on anything smaller.  Don't get me wrong, I love my HDTV and watching sci fi movies on Blu Ray, but I really don't need it on a smartphone, or even a tablet.

What I want is a nice 6-7" tablet that also has phone functions.  Then all I need is a bluetooth keyboard and I can stop carrying phone, laptop, tablet and a camera everywhere I go at work.  Go go gadget phablet!

Def

On a bigger screen higher resolution is amazing but compare the screen on the htc one x (4.7" 720) to the htc one (4.7" 1080) and the difference is absolutely minimal unless you're reading text from a few inches away, at arms length they're both stunning, and it's the display calibration which is most important - something which htc and apple are amazing at. Samsung are too focused on eye popping contrast, though the note 2 was pretty impressive.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

[jekostas]

Yeah, I always thought a teeny HD screen was a bit overkill.  Hell, my 46" TV is HD and you can really only barely tell the difference between 720p and 1080p when watching crowd scenes or trying to see the design on someone's tie.  These are things that are nice on a big screen TV, but are completely lost on anything smaller.  Don't get me wrong, I love my HDTV and watching sci fi movies on Blu Ray, but I really don't need it on a smartphone, or even a tablet.

What I want is a nice 6-7" tablet that also has phone functions.  Then all I need is a bluetooth keyboard and I can stop carrying phone, laptop, tablet and a camera everywhere I go at work.  Go go gadget phablet!

Def

On a bigger screen higher resolution is amazing but compare the screen on the htc one x (4.7" 720) to the htc one (4.7" 1080) and the difference is absolutely minimal unless you're reading text from a few inches away, at arms length they're both stunning, and it's the display calibration which is most important - something which htc and apple are amazing at. Samsung are too focused on eye popping contrast, though the note 2 was pretty impressive.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

There's a reason why Apple coined the term "Retina display".  It essentially means that there's a threshold in terms of PPI that the human eye can't distinguish seperate pixels past.

[Whoey]

More reasons the non availability of the moto x sucks for Europeans

Sent from my Firespray-31-class patrol and attack craft via Tapatalk 4 beta

[Abstraction]

Yeah, I always thought a teeny HD screen was a bit overkill.  Hell, my 46" TV is HD and you can really only barely tell the difference between 720p and 1080p when watching crowd scenes or trying to see the design on someone's tie.  These are things that are nice on a big screen TV, but are completely lost on anything smaller.  Don't get me wrong, I love my HDTV and watching sci fi movies on Blu Ray, but I really don't need it on a smartphone, or even a tablet.

What I want is a nice 6-7" tablet that also has phone functions.  Then all I need is a bluetooth keyboard and I can stop carrying phone, laptop, tablet and a camera everywhere I go at work.  Go go gadget phablet!

Def

On a bigger screen higher resolution is amazing but compare the screen on the htc one x (4.7" 720) to the htc one (4.7" 1080) and the difference is absolutely minimal unless you're reading text from a few inches away, at arms length they're both stunning, and it's the display calibration which is most important - something which htc and apple are amazing at. Samsung are too focused on eye popping contrast, though the note 2 was pretty impressive.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

There's a reason why Apple coined the term "Retina display".  It essentially means that there's a threshold in terms of PPI that the human eye can't distinguish seperate pixels past.

It depends how you use the phone, as I say reading text up close you 'can' tell the difference, but in nearly any other use case you can't and it's not as important as calibration at that point (something the iPhone is good at, though htc are arguably better imo). 5"+screens really start to make use of 1080.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

[Abstraction]

Going off the top of my head, doesn't one of the Nexus tablets have a SIM card slot?

I love my HTC One, but saying that I'm actually considering going to an iPhone 5 just for the carry size and the billions of cases you can get.

The only reason really that I went with the One is I used my phone while watching TV for browsing, but I bought a 10.1" tablet so that has taken over browsing duty.

My wife has the S4 and loves it, but I don't like it as much as the One.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 4 Beta

Yep the new generation of nexus 7's all have built in lte across all networks, though it has no vibration motor which might be a deal breaker when it comes to phone replacement.



Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

[Abstraction]

Yeah, I always thought a teeny HD screen was a bit overkill.  Hell, my 46" TV is HD and you can really only barely tell the difference between 720p and 1080p when watching crowd scenes or trying to see the design on someone's tie.  These are things that are nice on a big screen TV, but are completely lost on anything smaller.  Don't get me wrong, I love my HDTV and watching sci fi movies on Blu Ray, but I really don't need it on a smartphone, or even a tablet.

What I want is a nice 6-7" tablet that also has phone functions.  Then all I need is a bluetooth keyboard and I can stop carrying phone, laptop, tablet and a camera everywhere I go at work.  Go go gadget phablet!

Def

Sounds like you want the Sony xperia z ultra mate, though it's not out till September, so htc and samsung will have competitors out too by then.

6.5 inch 1080p screen with phone +lte, fully waterproof and dustproof, 8mp Sony camera (the exmor pro everyone is using, as it's excellent) and a snapdragon 800 soc - so insanely future proofed. A ridiculously huge 3500mah battery too.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

[Grant Lamontagne]

There is one serious flaw in the Xperia that keeps me from getting it.  It's a Sony.

I really dislike Sony on so many levels that I refuse to buy any of their products.

I'll try to wait for the HTC One Max or the Note III to come out.

Def

[Abstraction]

There is one serious flaw in the Xperia that keeps me from getting it.  It's a Sony.

I really dislike Sony on so many levels that I refuse to buy any of their products.

I'll try to wait for the HTC One Max or the Note III to come out.

Def

Any particular reason? I've got good memories of Sony - the 90s were all about discmans, minidiscs, PlayStation and titantron for me!

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

[Grant Lamontagne]

Many.....

I avoided Sony for a while because of their memory sticks- I hate being locked into a form factor so if I had a Sony device with a don't memory stick I'd have had to get a Sony camera, a Sony mp 3 player etc or have memory cards for each device.

Also, Sony warranty treated my parents awful when they bought a nonfunctional DVD burner when they first became available.  My parents paid $500 for it, it was defective out of the box, the drive got sent from one location to another to be tested and repaired, at some point Sony lost it and wouldn't replace it until it was located etc. By the time my parents got their drive back (or had it replaced) the price had dropped on them and they'd been using an LG model they bought for $50 for some time.

There's more but those are the main reasons that come to mind.

Def

Sent from a digital multitool

[jekostas]

Bit of a shame, really.  There are plenty of things that Sony has done or does do that I don't agree with (rootkit scandal for one), but their android development team is actually one of the best in the industry in helping out community development in terms of releasing source code, providing development hardware, unlocking bootloaders etc.

[Grant Lamontagne]

That could be, but they'll have to do a lot better than they have before I'll consider another Sony product.  They do make good products- one of the best Palm devices I ever had was a Sony CLIE, but I hated that they locked you in with memory cards, and if anything went wrong with them you were up a certain creek.

Even my Blu Ray player is a Toshiba. 

Def

[derekmac]

The only Sony thing that I own is a PS3.  I'm also not a fan of them.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 4

[Whoey]

finally bit the bullet and ordered a Nexus 4...

[Grant Lamontagne]

Good for you!

You'll go mad waiting for the next great thing to come out.  There's always going to be a better phone at a better price.... you have to pull the trigger sometime.

Def

[Whoey]

Should be great if it's anything like this nexus 7

Sent from my Firespray-31-class patrol and attack craft via Tapatalk 4 beta

[Grant Lamontagne]

Yeah, I'm really fond of my Nexus 7 too.

Def

Sent from a digital multitool

[Abstraction]

finally bit the bullet and ordered a Nexus 4...

You should love it - great phone which I keep going back to despite having an htc one!

Lightening fast, lovely form factor and beautiful screen! You go for the 16gig version? I found that was plenty thanks to steaming and cloud storage.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

[Abstraction]

Many.....

I avoided Sony for a while because of their memory sticks- I hate being locked into a form factor so if I had a Sony device with a don't memory stick I'd have had to get a Sony camera, a Sony mp 3 player etc or have memory cards for each device.

Also, Sony warranty treated my parents awful when they bought a nonfunctional DVD burner when they first became available.  My parents paid $500 for it, it was defective out of the box, the drive got sent from one location to another to be tested and repaired, at some point Sony lost it and wouldn't replace it until it was located etc. By the time my parents got their drive back (or had it replaced) the price had dropped on them and they'd been using an LG model they bought for $50 for some time.

There's more but those are the main reasons that come to mind.

Def

Sent from a digital multitool

That's a shame, I can't stand proprietary memory cards either (the reason I never bought a vita) but I do love their hardware and found their after sales support fantastic in the UK.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

[Whoey]

finally bit the bullet and ordered a Nexus 4...

You should love it - great phone which I keep going back to despite having an htc one!

Lightening fast, lovely form factor and beautiful screen! You go for the 16gig version? I found that was plenty thanks to steaming and cloud storage.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

Yeah I opted for 16gb model as I figure it's the more futureproof of the two... should be a huge change for me, coming from a single core 800mhz cpu with 2gb primary storage (+16gb sdcard) and 512mb ram... now the damn thing has to last me at least a couple years!

[Abstraction]

finally bit the bullet and ordered a Nexus 4...

You should love it - great phone which I keep going back to despite having an htc one!

Lightening fast, lovely form factor and beautiful screen! You go for the 16gig version? I found that was plenty thanks to steaming and cloud storage.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

Yeah I opted for 16gb model as I figure it's the more futureproof of the two... should be a huge change for me, coming from a single core 800mhz cpu with 2gb primary storage (+16gb sdcard) and 512mb ram... now the damn thing has to last me at least a couple years!

Should do, the good thing about nexus devices is they won't be left behind os wise, and I'd be very surprised if any phone apps were developed in the next few years that the snapdragon S4 and 2gb of ram in there couldn't handle!

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

[Whoey]

I'm more worried the glass on the front/back will break before the phone outlives its usefulness... Apparently will ship on the 8th, which means I should have it for the weekend. Guess I should go out to the Vodafone shop and get a micro sim...

That being said I'm pretty careful with my phones, and considering the age of my Defy, you'd expect it to be in a lot worse shape than it is. I reckon once I have a new phone, I'll try to put a custom rom on the Defy and see if it still has any life in it.

[Abstraction]

I'm more worried the glass on the front/back will break before the phone outlives its usefulness... Apparently will ship on the 8th, which means I should have it for the weekend. Guess I should go out to the Vodafone shop and get a micro sim...

That being said I'm pretty careful with my phones, and considering the age of my Defy, you'd expect it to be in a lot worse shape than it is. I reckon once I have a new phone, I'll try to put a custom rom on the Defy and see if it still has any life in it.

I've got a 'rhino shield' screen protector on the front and back of mine (I kickstartered it but they should be available to buy soon if not now) and it's survived a fairly hefty fall onto the kitchen tiles. Feels just like glass.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

[Grant Lamontagne]

Otter box all the way for me.  Gotta protect the devices. They have a short enough lifespan around me as it is, I don't need to accelerate the process.

Def

Sent from a digital multitool

[Abstraction]

Otter box all the way for me.  Gotta protect the devices. They have a short enough lifespan around me as it is, I don't need to accelerate the process.

Def

Sent from a digital multitool

I can't deal with cases that huge - I'd rather keep them ergonomic and pocketable! Although guess it depends on the size of your pockets :-P

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

[Whoey]

and my new phone has arrived!

[Grant Lamontagne]

Awesome!  I can't wait to hear tour thoughts about it!

As for cases and size, I am a heavy phone user and I work outside so I like a large screen as it's easier to read spreadsheets on the go. The case is necessary for me or I won't have to worry about screen size!

Def

Sent from the place I sent it from

[Whoey]

Initial thoughts:
First setup was nice and easy, got it fired up and setup my gmail account and wifi, it updated a bunch of google apps, then asked to apply the 4.3 update. I let it update (and had it plugged in for a bit) then decided to do a factory wipe and start again, even though it's basically a fresh device. Ran back through the initial setup, now more (some of the same) updates are downloading again, but also installing some of the apps I have on my account on my Nexus 7. I half like that and hate it, but I did check backup my account etc on both devices so I guess it's to be expected. It now seems to have not installed some apps that I thought it was installing...

So far it's a very quick, bright, happy device... later today I'll head down to the Vodafone shop and get a microsim as my Defy uses regular sims. It feels huge when compared to my Defy, but it's alot thinner...

[ducttapetech]

Otter box all the way for me.  Gotta protect the devices. They have a short enough lifespan around me as it is, I don't need to accelerate the process.

Def

Sent from a digital multitool

Wonder if they make them for mine. My phones might live a little longer for when I get mad at it and throw it.

sent from Ducttapetech's mobile device