New phone time

[MaxBurn]

Note 2 is getting closer. I'm pessimistic enough to believe they will delay the JB update on the original note untill after this thing ships. I think they need to get this on the streets before the iPhone but it's looking like they no can do.

http://www.theverge.com/2012/8/29/3276292/samsung-galaxy-note-ii-announcement

Good news IMO, similar everything hardware to the S3, ships with JB, slightly slimmer screen and they ditched pentile.

 

[Santilli]

Galaxy 3S update from those that have them?
HTC updates?

 

[ddrueding]

Still loving it. Does pretty much everything I want a phone to do. Even when I think of new things I want my phone to do, there is usually a free app for that.

 

[MaxBurn]

Comparing my phone to the videos of the note 2 and s3 I can see huge speed differences, looking ahead to that. Sometimes the lag is a bit jarring but yeah, it does all the things.

 

[Howell]

The os update about a week ago for both android and iPhone can swamp an exchange server in some circumstances. The band aid is to turn off device syncing for that user until you can delete the duplicate contacts.

Thank you MS.

 

[timwhit]

My GS3 fell out of my pocket when I was sitting in a chair and fell about 12 inches (30 cm) onto concrete. The screen cracked in several spots. Now I need to figure out what my options are to fix it.

 

[mubs]

Gosh, that's bad. My Nokia E71 has fallen about 4 feet several times. Other than scratches and minor dents in the metal body, not a problem. I'm really gratefully it's so robust.

 

[ddrueding]

My GS3 fell out of my pocket when I was sitting in a chair and fell about 12 inches (30 cm) onto concrete. The screen cracked in several spots. Now I need to figure out what my options are to fix it.

Bad luck. Mine has left my bike at 15mph+ several times and has one minor crack, a couple chips, and a couple scratches...I haven't seen replacement glass on the web yet.

 

[Mercutio]

I'd just like to say that I've never, ever dropped, cracked or dinged my two year old Evo. It still looks pretty much new.

 

[time]

My GS3 fell out of my pocket when I was sitting in a chair and fell about 12 inches (30 cm) onto concrete. The screen cracked in several spots. Now I need to figure out what my options are to fix it.

Corning claims Gorilla Glass 2 is as tough as the original while being 20% thinner, but anecdotally the GS3 is far more fragile than the GS2. I wouldn't consider one without a bumper or some sort of case.

The bad news is that OLED panels (and state-of-the-art LCD apparently) need to have the protective glass bonded to them at the point of manufacture, so you're looking at a very expensive replacement. Should be cheaper in the US, but in Oz, replacing a GS2 screen is about $300 (possibly more for a GS3).

 

[timwhit]

Corning claims Gorilla Glass 2 is as tough as the original while being 20% thinner, but anecdotally the GS3 is far more fragile than the GS2. I wouldn't consider one without a bumper or some sort of case.

The bad news is that OLED panels (and state-of-the-art LCD apparently) need to have the protective glass bonded to them at the point of manufacture, so you're looking at a very expensive replacement. Should be cheaper in the US, but in Oz, replacing a GS2 screen is about $300 (possibly more for a GS3).

That's what I've found too, the protective glass is half impossible to remove. I can buy a refurbished touch screen for $200.

 

[timwhit]

I should have had a case, but I dislike cases and have never broken a phone before.

I wonder if Sprint would take my GS3 as a tradein for a Note 2 that comes out next week?

 

[ddrueding]

I am very tempted by the Note 2, but I'll probably just wait until I break the S3 and weasel one out of Verizon.

I have a case, but it is incompatible with my car mount, so I don't use it.

 

[timwhit]

I found a bunch of places that repair phones locally. I'll call them tomorrow to see how much it is to repair this. The Note 2 is going to be close to $700 without being upgrade eligible, which is really a lot of money for a mobile phone.

 

[ddrueding]

Not bad for a laptop, though. Shame it is still only 720P instead of 1080P, that would be awesome.

 

[timwhit]

Not bad for a laptop, though. Shame it is still only 720P instead of 1080P, that would be awesome.

Just wait for the Note 3. They'll have to do something to make it better.

 

[ddrueding]

I helped a friend the other day hook his S3 to his TV via HDMI and pair a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. He really doesn't need a computer anymore.

 

[mubs]

I've never liked cases too; keep buying them from time to time, then they end up in the closet. Like to use them bare naked.

 

[Mercutio]

I helped a friend the other day hook his S3 to his TV via HDMI and pair a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. He really doesn't need a computer anymore.

The experience of doing that is a little too limiting for my taste, but when I've shown something similar off using my Xoom tablet, it gets a lot of ooohs and ahhhs.
From people who then don't want to take a class to learn more about it. Jerks.

 

[timwhit]

I found a bunch of places that repair phones locally. I'll call them tomorrow to see how much it is to repair this.

The first place wants $225 to fix it. I told the guy I could purchase a screen and digitizer for less than that and he told me I could not. Then I hung up on him.

 

[time]

As far as I can tell, there is no way to replace the protective glass separately without compromising the phone in some way. From memory, the lamination is to keep moisture away from the OLEDs and reduce the overall thickness.

Here's a video of some guy doing it. See if you think it's a serious commercial proposition. :-o

 

[timwhit]

As far as I can tell, there is no way to replace the protective glass separately without compromising the phone in some way. From memory, the lamination is to keep moisture away from the OLEDs and reduce the overall thickness.

Here's a video of some guy doing it. See if you think it's a serious commercial proposition. :-o

It still sucks. It seems I am out of luck unless I want to pay $225 for an LCD replacement or buy a new phone at basically full price.

 

[MaxBurn]

That does indeed suck. I ordered an international note 2 and I am considering square trade for it. Apparently the international versions imported are considered to have no warranty at all. It's a $90 plan and doesn't cover accidents, seems I can't get the accidental damage rider for some reason. If I could it would cost about $130 total or maybe more. With Apple I never felt I needed extra coverage, but I am considering it with Samsung. If only the plans weren't so incredibly expensive.

 

[ddrueding]

With Apple I never felt I needed extra coverage, but I am considering it with Samsung. If only the plans weren't so incredibly expensive.

?

 

[MaxBurn]

That regarding the lack of warranty from Samsung. Apple doesn't care where you got it or if you we're the original purchaser, I have swapped iphones on warranty that I bought from eBay.

 

[MaxBurn]

Android really needs to get up with the backup/restore thing. I think I just spent ten minutes finding and installing apps on the new phone. Thankfully some apps have a settings backup and restore but it's going to be days before things are back the way I had them on the new phone.

 

[time]

Google's software development paradigm

 

[Mercutio]

Android really needs to get up with the backup/restore thing. I think I just spent ten minutes finding and installing apps on the new phone. Thankfully some apps have a settings backup and restore but it's going to be days before things are back the way I had them on the new phone.

All the apps you've installed are listed on play.google.com under My Android Apps. If you have multiple registered devices, they will each be listed, effectively offering a set of apps for each tab. You can push apps out to your devices from the web interface; you don't even have to do it from the phone/tablet. It should only take a couple minutes to get everything back on a device that you've reset, app-wise.

As far as backup, it's a lot easier to do if your device is rooted, since non-rooted backup apps aren't going to be able to touch each app's protected settings.

 

[MaxBurn]

I didn't think about pushing them out to the device from the web page, good tip.

I guess my only complaint then is the backup my data, app data thing appears to do nothing at all for non google apps.

 

[Mercutio]

There's no way to do complete backups without rooting to access app protected storage. Hopefully that will change as the OS matures and we have a real backup semaphore of some kind. I suspect it just isn't a priority yet.

 

[MaxBurn]

It would be nice. But I think I have settled on "the one" so hopefully won't feel the need for a year or maybe two.

 

[MaxBurn]

4.2 it out but don't worry about it.

http://www.androidcentral.com/why-you-shouldn-t-worry-about-android-42

 

[Mercutio]

One of my students lost a day-old Note 2 in a snowmobiling accident. He was fine but his phone was screwed. Verizon made him sign a written affidavit about the nature and disposition of his phone's damage, telling him that doing so was part of the warranty repair process, then informed him that, although the language of his warranty indicated that he would have some amount of accidental damage coverage, it did not have to provide any repair in his case.

I've come to the conclusion that phone warranties are largely worthless.

 

[MaxBurn]

Meh, not surprised. I don't know of any warranty that covers accidental damage. That's in the realm of credit card automatic protection or a separate accidental damage insurance that cell companies push.

 

[ddrueding]

The accidental coverage Verizon offered to us was hundreds of dollars a year with a deductible also in the hundreds. Per handset. 100+ phones.

Worth it for us to take our chances and pay as needed.

 

[MaxBurn]

Right, I also think its a ripoff and my company does the same as you.

My insurance is a decent dual layer rubber/plastic case. Beyond that I'll just have to get another one if damaged.

 

[Clocker]

My work gave me a new phone, Motorola RazrM. Loving the blend of size & speed & especially battery life. It's what the HTC Incredible 4g should have been.

 

[Howell]

The os update about a week ago for both android and iPhone can swamp an exchange server in some circumstances. The band aid is to turn off device syncing for that user until you can delete the duplicate contacts.

Thank you MS.

More official news for those interested: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4532

 

[MaxBurn]

My work gave me a new phone, Motorola RazrM. Loving the blend of size & speed & especially battery life. It's what the HTC Incredible 4g should have been.

Good to hear, this is supposedly what my next work phone is going to be.

 

[Mercutio]

So it seems likely that the Galaxy S4 will be announced on March 14th. The rumor mill says 5", 1080p screen, quad core 1.9GHz CPU, 2GB RAM, storage options between 16 and 64GB + card slot and touchless gestures using the front camera for eye tracking and the gyroscope for positioning.

Looking at those specs, the first thing that comes to my mind is that something like that would've been a pretty sweet desktop not all that long ago, and I'm genuinely intrigued by the idea of being able interact with the phone without having to touch it OR talk to it.

Also, while I'm at it, do iphone people actually use Siri?