Showing posts with label Nexus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nexus. Show all posts

Sunday, May 18, 2014

OnePlus One

OnePlus One Launch Keynote


I am still with my Nexus 4. The Nexus 5 has not felt like a major upgrade. And the Moto brand has less appeal after Google got rid of the company it bought. Moto E looks like a good budget phone, but I am not paying less for less memory space and a similar size battery.

My biggest gripe with my Nexus 4 is its battery. I managed to replace the battery at a phone store in Queens. But funny things are known to happen in Queens. My "new" battery still drains pretty fast. So I am in the market for a new phone.

I went back to the store wanting to know if maybe they did not put in a new battery, and they said it is your phone, not the battery! Go figure.

My next phone might be the OnePlus One. Actually I am pretty sure it will be. It comes with 50% more battery power. And that is the top attraction. But I also want more memory space. My Nexus 4 has 8 gigs, and now I want 16, perhaps more. I want my phone to be able to hold more pictures, more videos.

The OnePlus One is being touted as the "Nexus killer" and I think they might have a point.

I might go for the $349 model and get myself 64 gigs of space.

After battery, I am looking at its bigger screen size. I do not make that many calls on my phone. My phone is primarily a small portable computer. 5.5 inches are a phablet. And I am ready for one.

Then I am looking at the camera. 13 megapixels is a step-up from the 5 on Nexus 4, although I have not had major complaints at 5.

I am still a little superstitious about moving away from the stock Android experience, but a larger battery is a huge attraction. Currently I am used to carrying an External Battery that is the same shape but bigger and heavier than my phone. One guy told me at least I was not carrying with me a generator that someone else he knew was seen carrying.

OnePlus One (Unlocked)
$299 ...... Call quality, unfortunately, was one of the biggest sore spots for the OnePlus One. Volume in the earpiece is frustratingly weak and made callers on the other end sound muted, distant, and difficult to hear over even the most innocuous of ambient noise. Transmissions through the mic fared better, coming through more clearly, but still on the low side for volume. The headphone jack works fine for music, unlike in our initial hands on, but the OnePlus One couldn't route calls through a wired headset.
Google Nexus 5 review: You can't beat the Nexus 5 at this price point
We do wish that the rumors about the 3,000mAh battery life were true. One thing we love about the Nexus 5's distant cousin - the LG G2 - is that big battery and long life...... Our two biggest gripes with the Nexus 5 are its battery life and camera. Both can be hit or miss ..... Battery life struggled on some occasions, too. After a full week with the Nexus 5, we can confidently say that we can never be sure when it will last a full day, or when we should bring our chargers and battery packs with us. As you'd imagine, we tend to err on the side of caution, though we really wish we didn't have to.
OnePlus One: Sales start in May, wider availability expected in late June (Updated)
OnePlus, a company which only made itself public in December last year, has launched its first smartphone, the OnePlus One. On paper, it’s more powerful than a Galaxy S5 or HTC One M8, but at $300, it will cost less than half their price. The device was unveiled at an event in Beijing, and the proceedings live tweeted through the company’s official Twitter account. We’re excited about the OnePlus One ..... the initial run of 64GB black phones in early June. We’re told to expect increased availability in late June, at which time invitations will have become widespread...... OnePlus calls the phone “amazingly elegant.” It has decided not to slap its name or logo on the front panel, leaving it very understated. The screen sits in a slightly recessed bezel – just 0.07mm according to OnePlus – and the edges have been machined down to give a contoured finish...... slightly larger than the Galaxy S5 ..... the lightest 5.5-inch smartphone out there .... a brand new Snapdragon 801 processor will power the phone, just like the new Xperia Z2 and the Galaxy S5. It’ll be backed up by 3GB of RAM, and a 3100mAh battery will be inside the device. Lau says the decision to make it non-removable means it can have a higher capacity, while keeping the device suitably slim. OnePlus’ phone will run Android, but it’ll be a custom version of CyanogenMod...... the camera, which uses a 13-megapixel, six-element, f/2.0 Sony Exmor IMX214 sensor. Image stabilization and slow-motion recording at 720p will be standard, and a fast 0.3s shutter speed is promised. The camera also shoots video in 4K (Ultra HD), and selfie fans will welcome a 5-megapixel front camera fitted above the screen...... the phone is the world’s first to feature down-firing stereo speakers, something which other manufacturers avoid, due to the complexities with fitting them inside the phone. OnePlus has partnered up with JBL to ensure they sound great. ...... the software has a flat, minimalistic style. Although CyanogenMod is designed to be endlessly modified, OnePlus will include various themes and wallpapers to make personalization a little easier.
A $300 smartphone has never looked so good
It doesn't make sense that the OnePlus One should be this inexpensive. It looks elegant, feels solid and performs smoothly, and it doesn't show any signs that it's a first-generation product from an unknown company. Regardless of how well it sells, the industry will see this as a benchmark for what an affordable phone really can be. All told, it outperforms Google's Nexus 5 in nearly every way -- and it does so at an even lower price. Heck, it's better than many flagship phones that sell for twice as much. ........ The OnePlus One doesn't look like a $299 phone. Its arched back, polycarbonate build, elegant chassis and top-of-the-line spec sheet could easily fool someone into thinking you paid $600 for it. ..... I actually enjoy the One's display more than most flagship smartphones, and it's leaps and bounds better than the Nexus 5. Because it uses an IPS panel, the One's viewing angles are among the best in the industry, keeping pace with the One M8 and absolutely destroying the GS5. ........ the colors are natural, making them more satisfying to stare at than the saturated GS5 and overblown Nexus 5. ........ What exactly is CyanogenMod? It's custom firmware based on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) and gives the user more freedom to fiddle around with settings, icons, themes and... well, nearly every aspect of the Android experience. Cyanogen's one of the most popular pieces of third-party firmware in the Android universe and can be installed a wide variety of devices, but the experience is even better on the One because it was built into the phone; since CyanogenMod could work with the hardware early in its development, it was able to add a bunch of optimizations that you won't find on other phones. ........ At first, it doesn't appear that different from stock Android, save for a few style changes (think: icons and buttons). But don't let its understated facade fool you: There's a lot of power behind the scenes, and it becomes more evident as you continue to poke around. There are several new features, with tweakable settings thrown in everywhere. Many of you are simply looking for an inexpensive phone and don't care about making dozens of tiny adjustments to your Android setup, and the beauty of CM is that it can fit your style just as easily as it can fit the preferences of power users -- it's completely customizable, and it's fantastic. ....... one of the One's best features: always-listening voice recognition .... The Nexus 5 has a lot of endearing traits, but the camera isn't one of them. Sure, it has its moments of greatness, but I can't help think this is a case of settling. The OnePlus One, on the other hand, uses a 13-megapixel rear camera with a Sony sensor, six-element lens setup and f/2.0 aperture for lower-light shots. Additionally, the front-facing camera tops out at 5MP -- a sizable improvement over the 1.3-megapixel sensor on the N5. ...... Video recording here is solid ..... It's hard to believe that a $300 device like the One has as much muscle underneath the hood as the Galaxy S5 and Oppo Find 7. In fact, you technically can't get any faster, since the phone sports a 2.45GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 (MSM8974-AC), a 578MHz Adreno 330 GPU and 3GB of RAM. Until the Snapdragon 805 comes out later this year, this is the absolute best silicon that Qualcomm has to offer. But what does it mean to you? Smooth everything, fast everything and no lag as far as the eye can see. ....... CyanogenMod's firmware gives you the option to change your performance profile to one of three modes, ranging from power conservation to battery sucker. .... soft audio output, both on the external speakers and in the earpiece. All of my conversations were much quieter than they should have been, and I could barely hear music blaring at full volume. .. Fortunately, none of this was a problem when I used headphones; in fact, I often had to turn down the volume to make my ears feel comfortable. In addition, the One has an equalizer app called AudioFX, which lets you fine-tune the audio. ...... The One has a 3,100mAh non-removable cell that's just a tad smaller than the battery inside the Note 3. What's more, it's actually larger than what you'll find in the GS5 and One M8. On most days, I made it to the end of the evening with around 5-10 percent life remaining. (On average, this constituted 14-15 hours of solid use, and roughly four hours of screen-on time.) These were days full of emails, calls, travel, social networking and a little bit of gaming. All told, our standard video rundown test yielded 10 hours of life. This isn't the best I've seen, but I'd consider it well above average for a smartphone -- and I'm hard-pressed to ask for more from a $300 device. ...... the $349 64GB model, offered in black, starts shipping in early June. For the rest of you still waiting for an invite, OnePlus is hoping to send one your way by the end of June.


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Tuesday, December 25, 2012

So I Got My Seven Inch Android Tablet


Believe it or not, this is the first "touch" device I have owned. I bought it online at nomorerack.com for 75 bucks, tax included. The market price is 200 bucks.

The Nexus 4 I did manage to place an order for the final week of November is still nowhere in sight. I am thinking it might show up by mid January. And so I needed to get my hands on something. I happened upon this deal. It says Made In China. Go China.

I was thinking the 99 dollar seven inch Nexus 7 rumor might be true. So far it does not seem to be holding. Heck, the 199 dollar Nexus 7 has long been out of stock.

I am too active when I am surfing. I am constantly typing away. So for me touch is not where it is at. It is nice to have. But it was never going to be heavy duty.

I got into the obvious games - Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja, Temple Run - and stacked up some books on my Amazon Kindle app. That Kindle app might be the key attraction for me.

I also had to go online to buy a case for the seven incher. I think I paid six bucks, and free shipping.

I might be running late, but below $100 is the right global price point for this tablet. This is the "one laptop per child" we all have been waiting for. I expect functionalities to get better over time.

I can see me reading books on the train.

It is a sorry little thing though. I think it has 2GB of spare space. And the battery might last a little over two hours.

Wait until I get my hands on my Nexus 4. Now that comes with bragging rights.

Nexus 4 Magic Waiting To Happen
Nexus 4: My First Smartphone
The Best Christmas Gift One Can Hope For

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Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Nexus 4 Magic Waiting To Happen

Nexus 4
Nexus 4 (Photo credit: sukiweb)
This feels like lining up online to get a ticket to the New York Tech MeetUp. You get there a few minutes before and hit refresh, refresh, refresh.

The Best Christmas Gift One Can Hope For

Nexus 4 selling out within minutes on November 13, I then guessed and now have determined, was a marketing gimmick. That was meant to whet the appetite. Task performed. Now gimme gimme, gimme my fone!

Nexus 4: Sold Out

I am not the kind of person who gets excited about shopping, but Nexus 4 is doing it for me.

Nexus 4: My First Smartphone

With the last Nexus phone an immediate issue was the camera was not 8 MP. With this Nexus phone the obvious issue looks like is speed. But I am not bothered. I expect to use it on Wi-Fi a lot.

Nexus 4 At $299: Really?

My next purchase is going to be the $99 Nexus 7. Make it happen, Google.

The Top Free Android Apps

What I am really, truly eager to get is the Google-Dish network: Google-Dish Wireless Service: Can't Wait.

Google’s Speedy-Seller Nexus 4 Smartphone Back In Stock In U.S. Play Store — From Noon PST Today
After A Few Days Of Use, The Google Nexus 4 Proves A Very Strong LTE Smartphone
Google’s done a great job creating an untouched Android experience in an attractive hardware package thanks to OEM partner LG .... the LTE network here is orders of magnitude faster than the standard HSPA+ 3G one. ..... The one sore spot for the Nexus 4 initially was that for some reason, being on a true 4G network disabled Google Now from refreshing. Since this is actually one of my favorite things about Android Jelly Bean, I was more than a little disappointed. Switching to 3G or Wi-Fi got it to refresh .... I’ve found that I can at least make it from morning til night with my usual usage habits, which as you might imagine can be fairly demanding. .... my experience with the Nexus 4 as an LTE device gives me plenty of hope that Google will officially support it in an update, and possible release LTE versions compatible with U.S. and international networks down the road .... a $300 smartphone this good is a triumph, but with LTE included, it’s a nearly unbeatable package.


How To Enable 4G LTE On The Google Nexus 4
the Nexus 4, Google’s latest flagship Android smartphone, supports LTE via a relatively easy software hack ..... the Nexus 4 only supports LTE on the AWS band (1700 or 2100MHz), which is currently used for LTE networks in Canada, and for some areas served by T-Mobile’s fledgling 4G network. ..... download speeds exploded, as did upload rates. ..... turns out that enabling LTE breaks Google Now’s ability to connect to the network for some reason
Google Returning Month Of December To Nexus Devices With Android 4.2.1 OTA Update


Nexus 4 Review: Not Exactly Perfect, But Close Enough For Me
the Nexus 4 feels great. ..... When you first see Android 4.2’s Gesture Keyboard in action, it’s damn near impossible not to think of the Swype keyboard. After all, the concept is identical — instead of pecking out missive with your thumbs, you sweep them across the keyboard to trace out words and phrases. I’ll admit it: it’s been a while since I’ve used anything of the sort, but I’ve been having a grand ol’ time with the gesture keyboard so far — it’s fast and fluid, not to mention a bit more accurate than I remember Swype being. I don’t know that it’ll replace my two-thumbed tapping approach, but it could (and the fact that I don’t have to jump into the settings and change keyboards is a distinct plus). ..... Multiple User Accounts .. It doesn’t exist in the phone version of Android 4.2. This needs to be addressed — I’d love to be able to hand my phone to a friend in need without secretly wondering whether or not they’ll find my stash of jaunty Cole Porter tunes. ..... the camera UI has been drastically decluttered, leaving only a big blue shutter button, a shooting mode toggle (for bounding from photos to videos to panoramas), and a shortcut for the new radial menu. ...... Low-light performance is always questionable when it comes to the sorts of small sensors seen in smartphones, but the Nexus 4 did an above-average job in keep the noise down. ..... the Nexus 4’s screen is awesome. ...... While roaming the streets of San Francisco, the Nexus 4 managed to achieve speeds that ranged between 3.8 and 14.5Mbps down, and between 1 and 2Mbps up. ...... When it came to overall day-to-day use though, the Nexus hung in there with for a full working day dashing through airports, firing off emails, and checking vainly to see if my flight had been cancelled. ..... The Nexus 4 is a device that tickles me on many levels — it’s got a class-leading spec sheet, it’s completely unlocked, and as far as devices sold without contracts go it’s pretty damned cheap. More simply put, it’s the sort of device that’s designed to kick my salivary glands into action and it certainly succeeds on that front. .... If you’re an Android enthusiast, a tinkerer, someone who hates signing multi-year contracts for high-end hardware, or just enjoy experiencing the bleeding edge, you really can’t buy this thing fast enough.
Why Android Jelly Bean 4.2′s Multiple User Account Switching Is Tablet-Only? (Hint: Nokia Patented It For Phones)
One of the coolest (and most useful) features of Google’s Android Jelly Been 4.2 update is multiple user account switching, offering up the option to have several users share access to a device, while keeping their settings and content walled off from each other. It’s something we’ve been used to on PCs forever, so it’s bound to be welcomed by Android users. ...... Everyone can have their own homescreen, background, widgets, apps and games – even individual high scores and levels! And since Android is built with multitasking at its core, it’s a snap to switch between users – no need to log in and out.
Android 4.2 Jelly Bean Has Arrived: Photo Sphere Panoramic Camera, Gesture Typing, Wireless HDTV Streaming
Android 4.2 will finally offer multiple user accounts, allowing family members to share the device while maintaining their own unique settings. And speaking of settings, Android 4.2 will have a “quick settings” section if you click the icon on the top right, allowing you to switch between user accounts, toggle Wifi and Bluetooth, adjust brightness, go into airplane mode, etc. .... the major introduction here is Photo Sphere ..... Android 4.2 will include gesture typing, a lot like Swype, letting you glide your finger over the letters instead of tap them. Google Now has also seen an update, adding cards for flight information, restaurant reservations, hotel confirmations, and shipping details.
How and why the Google Nexus 4 is so cheap
Google’s Nexus 4 is one of the cheapest flagship devices the market has ever seen. As USPs go, Google has really nailed it this time, selling a high-end flagship device at the same price-point as a mid-to-low-tier handset. ...... On paper it rates better than the Galaxy S3 – sort of. And In the hand it feels just as good. So what exactly is going on here? How can Google sell the Nexus 4, with its top of the line quad-core Qualcomm S4 Pro chipset, Android 4.2 OS, and high-res 4.8-inch display for so damn cheap? ..... the Nexus 4 is what it is: a high-end smartphone priced at a below-rock bottom price. ..... It’s simply cheaper to buy direct from Google and pick and choose which network you go with. ..... it’s not just networks that will suffer at the hands of Google’s Nexus 4. The company’s hardware partners – Samsung, HTC, Motorola, and LG – will also be affected by Google's reactive pricing. ...... Google has a sprawling business and huge levels of capital at its disposal. It also controls Android and its Play store, taking a cut of all the content that’s sold through it. ...... the advent of the Nexus 4 is likely to impact on Samsung and Amazon more than Apple. Samsung because it won’t be able to compete on price with Google and Amazon because charging so little for a phone will tempt many users over to Google and its Play store. ...... Here, the long game is the popularisation of Google’s Nexus brand – both tablets and smartphones – and its Play services – apps, movies, games, and books. ...... The mobile space is changing at an unprecedented rate with software companies venturing into hardware (Microsoft and Google) and retailers like Amazon attempting to take on Google at its own game. .... to compete with the big boys – Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon – you need to control everything: hardware, software, and content distribution. ...... most definitely a game-changer. It turns everything in the space on its head. No one else, including the world’s biggest phone manufacturer, Samsung, can produce a smartphone with such good specs and retail it at such a low price point. It’d be suicide. ...... Going forwards, things will never be the same again inside the Android space. It’ll be interesting to see how Google’s key partners react and how the Nexus 4 impacts on sales of handsets like Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S4 ..... The Nexus 4 could very well be the handset that turns Google’s Nexus brand mainstream. And that could spell bad news for everybody else inside the space. ..... the game has now been changed. From here on out it's going to be all about low-cost high-powered handsets and cashing in on services. Google and Amazon have wised up to this, Apple is already making a killing doing the same thing. Now the only question is where do HTC, Samsung, LG, and Motorola fit in?
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