Technology Android

[masta247]

Thanks.

These are the benchmarks I was looking at earlier. http://www.anandtech.com/show/6022/samsung-galaxy-s-iii-review-att-and-tmobile-usa-variants/4

It appears as though the EVO 4G and the One X are close together, but still ahead of the S3. In some of the benchmarks, the S2 beats the S3! The fuck is up with that?

But you're right, in the US, there appears to be no quad-core device between the S3 and the HTCs. They are all on the S4 Snapdragon. Even with the extra RAM on the S3, there's no significant performance boost.

I'm pretty sure that it's about software. The SGS3 comes with really huge amounts of bloatware, including things that run ALL THE TIME. I'd do what Pittsey did - slap a custom ROM and your performance would definitely go up 10-20% easily.
Considering that the One X and SGS3 on US carriers all pack the same chipset (dual core Krait at 1,5ghz) the differences can come from RAM and software. Since SGS3 comes with 2gb of ram it's an extra over 1gb on the One X. However RAM on SGS3 might be slightly slower, but it still wouldn't explain that difference - so my bet is software after all.

Also, just saw that the One X has Beats Audio. Not the same for the EVO LTE, right? But is it all just a gimmick then, when it comes to listening to music?

Beats audio is really shit on One X. The thing is, audio quality depends on the audio chip used, and the one on One X is rather poor. Beats audio is a software solution made to squeeze more out of your audio chip and make audio sound a certain way - in reality it boosts bass higher than it should be.

Also, does anything change when considering the EVO and SG3 are on Sprint, which is CDMA, but the reviews are all using the GSM version with the quad-core?

Fuck this phone market. I'm trying real hard to find the difference between the One S and One X and which of the two is most like the EVO. On benchmarks, they flip flop in getting the better scores which makes it tough to keep track of one or the other.

HTC One S was designed to run Snapdragon S4 - from the motherboard, through RAM and drivers - it was optimized for that chipset and is basically a flagship device for Snapdragon S4.
HTC One X and SGS3 basically had their original chipsets replaced with Snapdragon S4. That's why the One S is usually the fastest.

Anyway, all of those phones are really fast so I doubt you're going to feel the difference. I can't really answer those questions about the US phone market since it always appeared really weird to me, lol. There are like dozens of strange versions of phones out there and the CDMA network is.. unique.

 

[masta247]

the phone market does suck. there's nothing that excites me.

I'm pretty disappointed too. Watching new phones get announced now.. they are all really meh. LG and Sony announced their flagships and they are really bad too, they are actually behind the rest in tech specs and designs suck the most actually.

Last year was better for Android. This year it's basically Samsung vs HTC for high end, Sony vs Samsung for mid-end.

I'm actually looking forward to the Apple event in September.

 

[dilla]

I'm pretty disappointed too. Watching new phones get announced now.. they are all really meh. LG and Sony announced their flagships and they are really bad too, they are actually behind the rest in tech specs and designs suck the most actually.

Last year was better for Android. This year it's basically Samsung vs HTC for high end, Sony vs Samsung for mid-end.

I'm actually looking forward to the Apple event in September.

I love Apple's designs. There is no phone that comes close to how solid the phone feels and how beautiful it looks. From what it seems like in the pictures and the reviews, HTC really went all out in making the One series feel as solid as an iPhone and look as pretty as one too. I'm not saying the copied, but they put an emphasis on looks this time as well.

HTC have always looked nice, but I felt their Android competition was shit to begin with, aesthetically. The Droid Eris I had, as shitty as it was, performance-wise, I have yet to hold an Android phone that felt as snug as it in my hand. The 3.5" screen? or 3.7"? It was just so snug, I walked around with it in my hand and barely noticed it.

Obviously with the monstrosity that is the SG3, I'm ready to not do the same. I think the BlackBerry Bold I use on the island now fits better than the SG3 will.

 

[Pittsey]

I like the look and feel of the S3.

 

[masta247]

I don't think the Iphone looks good these days. I think it's very outdated with the small screen and feels heavy for the size. But I know that Apple are perfectly able to come up with a stylish new device. Perhaps their decisions are going to suck now - without Jobs, but their design teams are still stellar.

That said, I think most high-end, modern Android phones look and feel better than the Iphone. Perhaps my perspective is different though, because it's mostly aimed at the US market and I've never liked its design.

 

[dilla]

I don't think the Iphone looks good these days. I think it's very outdated with the small screen and feels heavy for the size. But I know that Apple are perfectly able to come up with a stylish new device. Perhaps their decisions are going to suck now - without Jobs, but their design teams are still stellar.

That said, I think most high-end, modern Android phones look and feel better than the Iphone. Perhaps my perspective is different though, because it's mostly aimed at the US market and I've never liked its design.

Well, if you consider the iPhone 4 is well over two years old now, and the same design has been kept, for the most part, on the 4S, we're talking about a two year old design that just recently started looking dated.

I have faith in Apple's design team as well. I think Jobs left enough plans that a few more designs could be milked out of them. If we really wanted to see Apple fail without him, the time it would most likely happen would be in a few years. That is, if they do.

I'm starting to think that maybe buying an unlocked GSM phone in the States and doing T-Mobile's prepaid plan might be the way to go. It's cheaper, and I won't be limited to Sprint because of my parents having a contract with them.

 

[masta247]

Iphone 4 design started looking outdated to me when they came up with 4S. While the Iphone 4 was somewhat unappealing to me (it came out at about the same time the first Galaxy S came out and to me the SGS looked better) the decision to go with the same size and design with 4S was really silly to me and it was by far more unappealing at that time, when phones like Xperia Arc and the SGS2 were already out.

I've heard that more and more people are going pre-paid in the states. That's what I did here, because pre-paid gives more bang for the buck here and unlocked phones online/second hand are usually cheaper than what carriers get them for. Plus you can always get a new phone whenever you want to.

That said, I'll be in the states in 2 weeks and I'm looking at T-mobile pre-paid and I will have a few questions about how it works (especially the internet, since they separate web from data or something, as if you had to pay more if you own a smartphone?).
I compared it to AT&T and they had a pretty cool pay-daily deal but apparently you can't buy a data package with it.

 

[dilla]

Are you able to view the T-Mobile USA website? I know being in a different region, it may not let you view it. But here it is: http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-plans

I'm just not sure if you're allowed to use your own phone or it has to be a select few phones they offer specifically for the plan. Also, after the first 200MB or 2GB of 4G speed runs out, I'm not sure if they bump you down to 3G, or down to EDGE. I can handle the former. Not the latter.

The thing is, an unlocked GS3 and then the $60 plan, which fits me best, is still gonna be a fuck-ton more than just doing a family line and a subsidized phone from Sprint. I kinda regret getting my parents on Sprint this April, now. My sister wanted the iPhone, and AT&T and VZW were the only other options, but cost an arm and a leg. And were capped. But Sprint's on the downfall, their phone selection is mediocre... Even though what I want, Sprint does have.

 

[masta247]

^ There's a good deal that for 30$/month you get unlimited texts, 5gb of data and 100 minutes. I'd like that one, but apparently you have to buy a sim card at Walmart. I think it should work with any unlocked gsm phone.

I think from what you say it looks like AT&T have a better plan for you, with everything unlimited for 50$, and they appear to be GSM too:
http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/plans/prepaidplans.html

edit: nvm, it appears that you need an additional data package for smartphones? And it's 25$/1gb.. Weird. Why does it say that data is unlimited then..

 

[ARon]

On T-Mobile data is unlimited but your speeds get capped once you go over a certain limit, like if I go over 5gb's a month, which I have, I'm restricted to the edge network, stupid as fuck. I just call and complain that I use my phone for business and it's so slow my gmail isn't syncing properly and they usually give me 250-500mb of data to use

 

[S O F I]

i haven't crossed 2gigs yet. what the fuck do you do with your phone?

oh, you stream music? what a faggot.

 

[dilla]

I don't think I ever crossed 4.5GB on my unlimited data on Verizon when I was with them. I had weather and sports sync, but I never stream audio or video. Plus, most of my time was spent at my apartment or on campus back then, so there was WiFi and I most definitely used that when I could.

My parents' house is almost a dead zone; the signal is so weak, just leaving your phone on the counter for a few hours will have it lose about 30% because the signal is so weak. I feel being on WiFi might fix the data issue, but there's always the voice radio that'll always be searching. I'm ready for that. I'm not sure if anything can be done about it. Aren't there these units carriers sell or give to you to help get better signal in your home? I think AT&T was giving them out for iPhone users that constantly dropped calls.

I guess I'll just stick with Sprint. The truly unlimited everything is going to be clutch, and I can't imagine speeds being stupid slow in a city like Chicago. I'm only going to use it for texting using Whatsapp and Google Voice (overseas friends) and checking the occasional score. Maybe GPS once in a while.

I did read that the SG3 was getting wireless charging in September. That some accessory was due to be released around then. How awesome would that be? Depending on how it works, I may not have the issue of the battery running low due to poor signal in my house then.

 

[masta247]

I'm fine with EDGE speed. I rarely use up 100mb a month. Most of the time I'm on wifi and EDGE is enough for Google maps, Gmail and even browsing with Opera Mini. Plus 2g saves battery on stand-by.
Sure it loads stuff slightly slower but I can survive with it as long as it works. Actually in Canada I was stuck with 2G and I survived with it. I know that I used up way more than I do here though - possibly 500-700mb.

Clearly T-mobile's offer is better though. Are there any other pre-paid GSM carriers in the States?

 

[Pittsey]

I'm fine with EDGE speed.

Fuck that.... I get pissed off if I find I'm unable to get on HSDPA. 3G is too slow for me...!

 

[THEV1LL4N]

mine doesn't seem to even work on 3G anymore, just HSDPA and 2G. I rarely get EDGE (unless i'm in Wales or the countryside somewhere).

 

[masta247]

Good EDGE is 5 times as fast as GPRS (the old school 2G). 3G (UMTS) is merely twice as fast as EDGE. HSDPA is like at least 5 times as fast as EDGE though.

Typically the speeds you'd get are:
GPRS: 35 kbps
EDGE: 100-150 kbps (though technically 300kbps is reachable for EDGE but there aren't many carriers offering those speeds)
UMTS: 250 kbps
HSDPA: 600 kbps up to shitloads (like, 42 megabit per second) depending on your carrier.

Personally I don't download huge amounts of data on my phone. Opera compresses the shit out of everything so it downloads most websites in a few seconds on EDGE. I'm fine with that. Especially since I have preloaded maps on my phone, so with Google maps I'm only downloading information about places. Heck, with good EDGE I can even hold a voice chat on Skype perfectly fine.

I download app updates and upload to Dropbox while on Wi-fi.

edit: To me the perfect solution will be EDGE Evolution, or Evolved EDGE. It'll provide 500kbps-1mbps speeds while saving the battery life like EDGE does while offering decent speeds.

 

[Pittsey]

I've preloaded 60mb of maps on my phone. It should give me most of the south east of England. Yet, if I am in a poor signal area (rare but happens) then I still can't get directions. Am I doing something wrong?

 

[masta247]

I've preloaded 60mb of maps on my phone. It should give me most of the south east of England. Yet, if I am in a poor signal area (rare but happens) then I still can't get directions. Am I doing something wrong?

Google Maps kind of suck and sometimes use preloaded maps only if you have no data connection at all and also, it doesn't give you directions - Only shows you the maps. You need any data connection to get directions since apparently Google servers create those.

 

[dilla]

I'm fine with EDGE speed. I rarely use up 100mb a month. Most of the time I'm on wifi and EDGE is enough for Google maps, Gmail and even browsing with Opera Mini. Plus 2g saves battery on stand-by.
Sure it loads stuff slightly slower but I can survive with it as long as it works. Actually in Canada I was stuck with 2G and I survived with it. I know that I used up way more than I do here though - possibly 500-700mb.

Clearly T-mobile's offer is better though. Are there any other pre-paid GSM carriers in the States?

I think there are, but they are not major carriers like AT&T and TMo. I think they may be regional, and if I'm not mistaken, they even might be sold with a phone for a couple of hundred bucks.

Literally, a box with a phone and SIM for $200 or so. So I don't think that's what you're looking for. Check Wal-Mart wireless.

 

[masta247]

I think I'll just get the T-mobile SIM alone and go for the 30$/month pre-paid (Walmart's exclusive deal). Looks like a decent deal for me.
It could be better - for example I don't need unlimited texts and calls, I just want data and the lowest price possible for maintaining a local number for occasional calls and texts. Unless I'll meet Koreans again. I swear that Korean girls send more texts any given day than I do per month.