Best Current Android Apps

[Grant Lamontagne]

I would love to run Android on my laptop.

Def

Sent from a digital multitool

[Whoey]

chromebook?

[Grant Lamontagne]

Yeah, I'm just not sure about that as it's basically using a browser as an OS, isn't it?

Def

Sent from a digital multitool

[Whoey]

sort of yes... I did see there is some software option for running android apps in windows.

They rolled the FB app back to the previous working version... will be interesting to see how my phone runs with a fresh install... very tempted to live without it.

[Grant Lamontagne]

There are lots of ways to use Facebook without the FB app- Hootesuite is pretty good, although it really does way more than I wanted it for.

Def

Sent from the place I sent it from

[Whoey]

Built in Motoblur will post to FB without the FB app

I use the FB app for reading and checkins...

[enki_ck]

I uninstalled FB and installed only the messenger. Don't use it for anything else anyways.

[Whoey]

I never understood why they split the messenger part from the main app...

[Whoey]

I'm rather bored with the Motoblur home screen on my Defy so I looked at some of the home screen replacements, right now playing with this one and liking it quite a bit

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gau.go.launcherex

when it installs there are several icons that are shortcuts to complementary apps, some of which I have installed, others I just deleted from my homescreen, but seems nicely rounded...

[Grant Lamontagne]

I may have yo check that out. Apparently when you hard reset a phone like I did then try to access Motoblur it gets all messed up and spits out errors every five minutes.  I find that really annoying.

Def



Sent from a digital multitool

[enki_ck]

I never understood why they split the messenger part from the main app...

It's for people who like to use the FB chat but don't want the resource hogging app that is the Facebook app (and is always on/restarts as soon as you kill it) slowing their phone down. I've uninstalled the FB app a week ago and haven't missed it once. If I wanted to check something out I'd just log in on the Firefox browser.

[Whoey]

now after a few days of using go launcher ex, I still rather like the updated feel it has given my poor old Defy, but it does seem despite using some of the battery optimization modules etc it seems to eat my battery too, in fact there's been a few times just using my browser the phone has gotten very hot, which I haven't seen it do since I had android 2.1 and tried using 3G, it would overheat in seconds where it was fine on 2G.

I am using the free versions of course, which are limited... apart from that minor issue and the "ads" to new themes, and complimentary apps it definitely makes my 2 year old phone feel new and snappy for the most part, a lot like my nexus 7, but without the horsepower of course.

I think it'd be an interesting thing if they put all the apps into a bundles suite to avoid all the nagging, but I guess it's also nice to choose the ones that suit your usage best.

I'm going to stick with it a while longer and see how it goes... I suspect I'll eventually give in and get a Nexus4...

[Abstraction]

now after a few days of using go launcher ex, I still rather like the updated feel it has given my poor old Defy, but it does seem despite using some of the battery optimization modules etc it seems to eat my battery too, in fact there's been a few times just using my browser the phone has gotten very hot, which I haven't seen it do since I had android 2.1 and tried using 3G, it would overheat in seconds where it was fine on 2G.

I am using the free versions of course, which are limited... apart from that minor issue and the "ads" to new themes, and complimentary apps it definitely makes my 2 year old phone feel new and snappy for the most part, a lot like my nexus 7, but without the horsepower of course.

I think it'd be an interesting thing if they put all the apps into a bundles suite to avoid all the nagging, but I guess it's also nice to choose the ones that suit your usage best.

I'm going to stick with it a while longer and see how it goes... I suspect I'll eventually give in and get a Nexus4...

Nova launcher is very good for battery life. I used to use go launcher but I found the more features they added the less I used and the more it hit my battery.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

[Whoey]

Yeah, seems to be overall an exercise in futility to prolong the life of my poor Defy... it's sluggish for pretty much everything now... I suppose I could factory wipe it and start clean... not keen on re-adding contacts etc, and not really sure about what backup program is the best option.

I'm leaning towards replacing it with a Samsung Galaxy S3... but I'd really like the LTE version which also has upgraded ram to 2GB... making it pretty much identical spec to a Nexus 4 but with an SD slot... although of course at extra cost. I can get an i9300 s3 for 378eur locally, seems the LTE i9305 version is about 100eur more, and noone has them locally, and the 16gb Nexus 4 comes in at 360eur delivered. I feel that if I'm going to commit to a new phone it should last me at least 2 years at those prices, hence why I'm keen on a 2gb ram LTE capable phone... these decisions aren't my strong point 

[Whoey]

Nova launcher is very good for battery life. I used to use go launcher but I found the more features they added the less I used and the more it hit my battery.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.teslacoilsw.launcher&hl=en

looks great, although like many many many options is not compatible with my android 2.2 phone... if my phone was on android 4+ I think a lot of the issues would be sorted...

[nuphoria]

Mmm, SD slots seem to be a little thin on the ground with many devices - what's that about?!

For me, a phone sized thing has to be able to hold a whole load of stuff including a shed load of tunes.

As for apps, I am sorry to report that Candy Crush has got me by the proverbial nuts
It's a great game though, lots to keep you playing and you don't need to buy anything if you're patient. However, I think their business model is absolute genius.

Loving Dolphin browser - got the extension for Firefox on the laptop so sending things there couldn't be easier.

Also, always been a Feedly fan for iOS. Now the Google reader is gone, it's got to be about the best RSS reader out there for me. Easy to customise and really nice layout on the Nexus 7.

[Abstraction]

Yeah, seems to be overall an exercise in futility to prolong the life of my poor Defy... it's sluggish for pretty much everything now... I suppose I could factory wipe it and start clean... not keen on re-adding contacts etc, and not really sure about what backup program is the best option.

I'm leaning towards replacing it with a Samsung Galaxy S3... but I'd really like the LTE version which also has upgraded ram to 2GB... making it pretty much identical spec to a Nexus 4 but with an SD slot... although of course at extra cost. I can get an i9300 s3 for 378eur locally, seems the LTE i9305 version is about 100eur more, and noone has them locally, and the 16gb Nexus 4 comes in at 360eur delivered. I feel that if I'm going to commit to a new phone it should last me at least 2 years at those prices, hence why I'm keen on a 2gb ram LTE capable phone... these decisions aren't my strong point 

If you want it to last two years I'd stay away from Samsung unless you're happy playing with custom ROMs. They're good at updating their handsets but terrible at doing so in a way that avoids them slowing down to an absolute crawl. I had to wipe and flash my sisters s3 after just a year when an official update made it unusable.

If you need LTE (my HTC one is LTE compatible but 3G is fast enough here) then I'd say wait to see what Motorola are unveiling tomorrow, look at the HTC one, or hope for an LTE nexus refresh, which is possible IMO after the new nexus 7 included cross network LTE.

The nexus 4 is the best bang for your buck you're going to get though - I'd sell you mine since I've replaced it with the HTC one, but I'm just too fond of it for playing about with ROMs. Got the Ubuntu beta on it right now :-)

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

[Whoey]

Yes, my big fear is 1gb ram won't do in a year's time regardless.

What I have gathered so far -

Negatives for the Nexus 4 vs Galaxy S3:
Camera does not take as nice pictures even though hardware wise is the same spec
no extra/expandable storage option... 8 or 16gb.
battery not easily user replaceable.

Negatives for the S3 vs Nexus4:
unlikely to get as many OS updates, definitely not as quickly.
oversaturated colours vs nexus's more natural colours, the IPS seems to be a better display, yet many favour the s3...
only 1gb ram in normal EU non LTE version, which is currently similar in price to the 16gb nexus 4,
2gb version is a lot more expensive with only 4G and the double ram features, seems colour choices are also limited?

I'm pretty sure there are plenty of apps that can address any installed software based inconsistencies... I do like the idea of "multitasking" feature touchwiz has.

I don't NEED LTE, but feel it may be important to have a capable phone in a few years. As I understand the Nexus 4 has it, although it is disabled.

[Abstraction]

Yes, my big fear is 1gb ram won't do in a year's time regardless.

What I have gathered so far -

Negatives for the Nexus 4 vs Galaxy S3:
Camera does not take as nice pictures even though hardware wise is the same spec
no extra/expandable storage option... 8 or 16gb.
battery not easily user replaceable.

Negatives for the S3 vs Nexus4:
unlikely to get as many OS updates, definitely not as quickly.
oversaturated colours vs nexus's more natural colours, the IPS seems to be a better display, yet many favour the s3...
only 1gb ram in normal EU non LTE version, which is currently similar in price to the 16gb nexus 4,
2gb version is a lot more expensive with only 4G and the double ram features, seems colour choices are also limited?

I'm pretty sure there are plenty of apps that can address any installed software based inconsistencies... I do like the idea of "multitasking" feature touchwiz has.

I don't NEED LTE, but feel it may be important to have a capable phone in a few years. As I understand the Nexus 4 has it, although it is disabled.

Yeah the battery and camera are the two reasons I replaced my n4 with the One (which is a huge improvement on both points) but despite being massively critical of phones not having SD card slots, thanks to steaming and cloud storage I really don't miss it. The n4 camera sucks, and battery is only good with custom ROMs (I can get literally double the battery life using a custom ROM and kernal).

N4 doesn't really have LTE, it has the processing chip to pick up one band of LTE but no amplifier.

Yeah the multi screen part of touchwiz is great, that's something I was hoping stock android would pick up. I really don't like the rest of the touchwiz software though - it looks cartoony, its a mess ui wise and over complicates things!

My advice would be to look and see what Motorola put out, as they will have stock android, their battery life has always been immense and they've just hired a ton of old kodec and nikon execs so should have a much better camera than in the past.

Otherwise I'm loving my HTC one, and the Sony xperia z has an SD card slot, fairly good battery life and a great camera as well as pretty much stock android. Only downside is it feels like a brick unless you have huge hands and the screens viewing angles suck. But hey, its waterproof!

Samsung put out good phones but unless saturation is your thing there are definitely better options these days.




Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

[Whoey]

just purged a whole bunch of apps off my defy and suddenly it seems alive again... go launcher suite included...

the HTC one/Galaxy s4/Sony Experia Z are all what I consider high end phones with high end costs... anything over 400eur is kinda out.

Moto X looks interesting, will see what happens after tomorrow's launch, but I'm guessing if they pull a $300/300eur launch via google play they'll sell out like the nexus 4 did at first...

[Whoey]

So now the Moto X is launched, looks like Europe is being left out.

http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/122689-no-moto-x-for-the-uk-other-cool-and-exciting-devices-in-the-portfolio-planned-for-europe

The device itself looks like a good option over the Nexus 4 if it were available at a similar price, so far all we see is the on contract US price, and pretty much no hope of seeing it outside North America...

http://www.mymotonow.com

[nuphoria]

No, nothing for us

I'm trying to weigh up whether to go for one of the higher end ones myself - which one I don't know yet. Got to do more reading and look for some deals.

[Whoey]

looks like I'll have to settle on a Nexus 4, the prices on the high end phones frighten me, even if you get it on contract, I don't use my phone heavily enough to make it worthwhile, but at the same time I don't want a phone that is identical or lower in spec to what I've got now, especially if committing to 2 year contract.

[Abstraction]

looks like I'll have to settle on a Nexus 4, the prices on the high end phones frighten me, even if you get it on contract, I don't use my phone heavily enough to make it worthwhile, but at the same time I don't want a phone that is identical or lower in spec to what I've got now, especially if committing to 2 year contract.

Its a great handset, certainly the best option if you're not looking at spending a fortune. I've just lent mine to a mate whose galaxy S4 is broken and he seems to prefer it. I went from a Samsung galaxy s2 and I was blown away by the improvement.

At the same time it's a massive shame that the moto x is us only (For now anyway) - it looks like a well thought out phone and if it was priced right would do well internationally.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

[Abstraction]

No, nothing for us

I'm trying to weigh up whether to go for one of the higher end ones myself - which one I don't know yet. Got to do more reading and look for some deals.

So much variety out there and so many pros and cons, my 2c for what it's worth (I get to use a lot of phones through work...) :

If you're on a really tight budget and don't want to do too much then the Motorola razr i is a really great deal (just got one for each of my elderly patents and 15 year old youngest brother who love them - £150 each, absolute bargain)
If you're on a budget but want something that will do everything really well and is future proofed then go for the nexus 4.

If you want external storage and on a budget then the galaxy s3,if you want external storage and happy to pay for a bigger screen and better performance go for the S4.
 
If you want the best screen, ergonomics and (in my opinion) the best overall package the HTC One is the best out right now.

If you want something waterproof and solid the Sony xperia z is the only option. If you are arty and are happy with a huge screen then the galaxy note 2s stylus is unreal for drawing and writing etc. For a battery that lasts for two days, go for the Motorola razr maxx.

All of those have great cameras imo aside from the nexus 4 and motorolas (which are still pretty decent). The htc one camera is faster, better at getting moving objects and in low light, the Samsungs are better at getting detail in good light.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

[Grant Lamontagne]

Decent specs but it seems the be all end all of the phone is that I can dress it up...?

I'm not sure that's a deciding factor for me since I'm probably going to seal it in an Otter box from the moment I buy it anyway.

Def

Sent from a digital multitool

[Whoey]

Moto X is after all only a midrange phone.

I would have preferred one vs a Nexus 4 providing the price was similar mainly because of the better camera (at least it seems better) plus some of the features apart from the paint your own case... in the end that seems a bit redundant since 95% of mobile users have a case/holder covering their phone... so the custom colours are kinda moot point.

That being said, seems like if we can hold out a little longer some more new phones are going to be released in the next couple months.

My Defy seems to now be behaving a lot better since I wiped a bunch of games and stuff I don't play or use. I also got rid of my ES task manager and ES file manager and installed clean master: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cleanmaster.mguard&hl=en which seems to have cleared out a lot of excess garbage I had from uninstalled apps etc.

If I had a backup device I'd consider trying a custom rom considering I hear that the Defy runs a lot better on newer android versions... shame they never released any official updates past 2.2. This would also be a concern with buying a new Motorola phone as they promise updates that never happen. I suppose that on a Google Play version that wouldn't be an issue, but I don't feel like being fooled again...

[jekostas]

Moto X is after all only a midrange phone.

Outside of screen resolution the Moto X compares well to other flagship devices on the market.

[Whoey]

CPU is dual core... most flagship phones are quads, yes I'm aware it has other "cores" dedicated for voice etc, but the main CPU is a dual core. I'd be happy with it if it was available here.

[Abstraction]

CPU is dual core... most flagship phones are quads, yes I'm aware it has other "cores" dedicated for voice etc, but the main CPU is a dual core. I'd be happy with it if it was available here.

It may be a dual core cpu but that doesn't really matter - nothing taxes the cpu enough for quad core to be anymore than a gimmick that harms battery life - gpu has been the bottleneck for years now. it's two krait 300 cores clocked at 1.75ghz and four adreno 320s for the gpu - thanks to the lower resolution (and 1080 at 4.7" is overkill, the htc one x screen looks just as good as my HTC One - fantastic) it's actually performing better in benchmarks than the S4 or One.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2