Is anyone else here obsessed with mobile technology? I'm particularly partial to Android phones and tablets, currently using the Samsung Galaxy Note. I previously have used the Galaxy S II and the HTC Aria. Tabletwise, I use the original 7" Galaxy Tab, as well as an original iPad.

Tech is something I'd like to forget about, but working in tech support for a major mobile carrier is like trying to quit smoking while working in a tobacco store. Too much temptation, so I may as well continue to relent.

Let the tech talk commence!

I have the Motorola Droid and I like it a lot. My friend, who's a Verizon salesman, is trying to get me to upgrade to 4G.

You'd dig the Droid RAZR Maxx, with its super battery life. 4G LTE is a pretty stellar network (at least on AT&T, I haven't experienced Verizon's).

How do you like the Note? I really am stalking that one pretty heavily right now....

I switched to ATT from US Cellular just so I could get the Note. Its great setting it on the table when I go out. It draws everyone in! I didn't purchase it for work related use, just personal, but its amazing what it can do!

Not a huge Apple fan but I just bought the new retina display iPad and I love it!

You'd dig the Droid RAZR Maxx, with its super battery life. 4G LTE is a pretty stellar network (at least on AT&T, I haven't experienced Verizon's).

I think that's what he wants me to get... I've got no complaints on Verizon's network and I usually have a decent signal.

How do you like the Note? I really am stalking that one pretty heavily right now....

I love the Note. I hated it for the first couple weeks or so, because it's so big that basic functionality is clumsy, but after that point it just seems like a normal phone. The S Pen is an impressive feature. Hopefully we'll get an ICS update for it soon.

Im hearing July...but you never know...

Not a huge Apple fan but I just bought the new retina display iPad and I love it!

I like Apple and I got the new iPad and I love it as well.

Im hearing July...but you never know...

The OS upgrade process is so tedious and unpredictable, and needlessly so. Google makes the vanilla OS and releases it on a Nexus device, after which point it's fair game to be added to other devices. The manufacturers add their GUI over it (Samsung TouchWiz, HTC Sense, etc.), which takes a while, then they send it to the carriers to add all their bloatware and securities. It's a back and forth between carrier and manufacturer until the carrier thinks they've locked it down well enough that users won't get anything for free, then it's finally given to the consumer. But that's only for flagships, typically. The lesser devices don't get updates reliably. I have the original 3G Galaxy Tab (AT&T), and it's still on FroYo. It never even got a Gingerbread update. I plan to eventually add a Cyanogenmod ROM so I can get an ICS tablet experience on it, but I shouldn't have to go underground to get updates when the mfr could at least make a vanilla version available so we early adopters aren't left in the cold.

But for those of us with the badass phones like the Note, we will get the update, but it's certainly not timely. It's all very frustrating.

I have a Galaxy Nexus on Verizon. I love the phone, but am really annoyed that the 4.0.4 patch has been held up for so long. 4.0.2 really wasn't good enough to be released, let alone have people stuck on it for 5 months. I have lots of battery and signal problems.

Love ICS, though.

I have a Galaxy Nexus on Verizon. I love the phone, but am really annoyed that the 4.0.4 patch has been held up for so long. 4.0.2 really wasn't good enough to be released, let alone have people stuck on it for 5 months. I have lots of battery and signal problems.

Love ICS, though.

That's the problem with the pace of technology. They tend to rush things to the market without proper field testing, and it leads to more frustration than it's worth. So people are required to buy something that's almost more of a beta, and wait for the more usable updates to roll out at a snail's pace.

That's the problem with the pace of technology. They tend to rush things to the market without proper field testing, and it leads to more frustration than it's worth. So people are required to buy something that's almost more of a beta, and wait for the more usable updates to roll out at a snail's pace.

The really frustrating part is that 4.0.4 has been up on AOSP for months. Verizon appears to be holding it up because of how it interfaces with the CDMA and LTE radio software.

White Peacock, know his stuff.
Impressive.

:pat_head:

The really frustrating part is that 4.0.4 has been up on AOSP for months. Verizon appears to be holding it up because of how it interfaces with the CDMA and LTE radio software.

Google sells an unlocked Galaxy Nexus directly for $400 - works on GSM only (CDMA is really a crap technology, truth be told) and only goes as high as H+, but buying it straight from Google is the only way to guarantee no bull**** when it comes to updates. I just read that Google will be doing that from now on - working with manufacturers to make pure Android 5 devices that Google will sell directly, bypassing all the carrier nonsense. That's excellent news. No more bloatware, no more lockdowns. I really hope the endeavor is successful. Buying a factory unlocked phone prevents carriers from having the IMEI/ESN in their database, so they wouldn't likely have a way of knowing what type of device it is, so they couldn't slam you with any particular plan without you requesting it directly. That may change in the future, but I know that as of now, if it's not an AT&T branded phone, it won't display in AT&T's systems.

They're not dumb, and they'll find new ways to lock you down, but I believe that for a while at least, we'll taste a bit of freedom. We GSM users will, anyway, since our service follows our SIM cards and not our device identifiers; I don't know what this will do for CDMA users :(

Google sells an unlocked Galaxy Nexus directly for $400 - works on GSM only (CDMA is really a crap technology, truth be told) and only goes as high as H+, but buying it straight from Google is the only way to guarantee no bull**** when it comes to updates. I just read that Google will be doing that from now on - working with manufacturers to make pure Android 5 devices that Google will sell directly, bypassing all the carrier nonsense. That's excellent news. No more bloatware, no more lockdowns. I really hope the endeavor is successful. Buying a factory unlocked phone prevents carriers from having the IMEI/ESN in their database, so they wouldn't likely have a way of knowing what type of device it is, so they couldn't slam you with any particular plan without you requesting it directly. That may change in the future, but I know that as of now, if it's not an AT&T branded phone, it won't display in AT&T's systems.

They're not dumb, and they'll find new ways to lock you down, but I believe that for a while at least, we'll taste a bit of freedom. We GSM users will, anyway, since our service follows our SIM cards and not our device identifiers; I don't know what this will do for CDMA users :(

I have a hated of AT&T and won't do business with them, so that one's out. I went with VZW because of the larger LTE network(Which is smokin fast). The phone itself is actually free of bloatware, and is stock. There are a few preinstalled VZW network apps, but I don't consider them bloat. The biggest beef is the CDMA radio hold up. 4.0.2 is buggy as hell and just wasn't ready for release. Google started the problem but releasing ICS before they should have, but VZW is making it worse.

I have a hated of AT&T and won't do business with them, so that one's out. I went with VZW because of the larger LTE network(Which is smokin fast). The phone itself is actually free of bloatware, and is stock. There are a few preinstalled VZW network apps, but I don't consider them bloat. The biggest beef is the CDMA radio hold up. 4.0.2 is buggy as hell and just wasn't ready for release. Google started the problem but releasing ICS before they should have, but VZW is making it worse.

The carriers always make them worse. I can't think of an instance in which carrier intervention in the OS/GUI/app selection has been beneficial. Technically those VZW apps are bloatware; that's not to say that they hinder the performance (although it's possible that they are).

What are your speedtest results on Verizon's LTE generally? On AT&T LTE I typically average about 10Mbps down/5Mbps up, but it's been as high as 27.92 down and 7.62 up.

Does Verizon still cut off data entirely when a call comes in? I know that's always been a huge gripe with their customers. Between that and the issue they have/had of LTE phones not rolling back to 3G when there's no LTE signal, that's enough to keep me away. Also, I like the free movement of the network from phone to phone using a SIM card. AT&T sucks to deal with, but truthfully, none of the carriers are angels. All options weighed I prefer Ma Bell.

The carriers always make them worse. I can't think of an instance in which carrier intervention in the OS/GUI/app selection has been beneficial. Technically those VZW apps are bloatware; that's not to say that they hinder the performance (although it's possible that they are).

What are your speedtest results on Verizon's LTE generally? On AT&T LTE I typically average about 10Mbps down/5Mbps up, but it's been as high as 27.92 down and 7.62 up.

Does Verizon still cut off data entirely when a call comes in? I know that's always been a huge gripe with their customers. Between that and the issue they have/had of LTE phones not rolling back to 3G when there's no LTE signal, that's enough to keep me away. Also, I like the free movement of the network from phone to phone using a SIM card. AT&T sucks to deal with, but truthfully, none of the carriers are angels. All options weighed I prefer Ma Bell.

I average out at about 15 down/7 up. It depends, lower at work, but it's a big building with thick walls.

I haven't had any problems with it rolling back to 3G with the Gnex. As for data cutting off, I honestly don't know. I don't use a headset with my phone unless I'm driving and then I'm not using the data.

My problem with AT&T has nothing to do with their wireless. Just the one I time I was on hold for a total of 17 hours trying to get a DNS record changed for a T1 customer of theirs(It was a legacy account and no one knew who controlled the name servers for that particular domain). It's a bit irrational, but it definitely made me never want to deal with them ever.

I average out at about 15 down/7 up. It depends, lower at work, but it's a big building with thick walls.

I haven't had any problems with it rolling back to 3G with the Gnex. As for data cutting off, I honestly don't know. I don't use a headset with my phone unless I'm driving and then I'm not using the data.

My problem with AT&T has nothing to do with their wireless. Just the one I time I was on hold for a total of 17 hours trying to get a DNS record changed for a T1 customer of theirs(It was a legacy account and no one knew who controlled the name servers for that particular domain). It's a bit irrational, but it definitely made me never want to deal with them ever.

Ah, so your beef is with landline. Behind the scenes, you'll find that AT&T Mobility is a completely different company than any of the landline endeavors. Little has changed since it was called Cingular (the current basic data APN is still WAP.CINGULAR). It's taken them quite a while to even standardize certain elements within the greater AT&T company, and even still I don't think there's any movement between the landline and wireless sides. I think the closest the two meet is at retail stores, wherein they sell landline services.

My "ancient" G2 averages 9 down and 1.2 up on T-Mo, and that's not even full bars at my house. <3 T-Mo so much. Wish we got nicer phones more quickly, but meh. Debating on what I'm getting next still. Learn towards the SGSIII, but not sure. Customer service wise, T-Mo has been amazing over the 9 years we've been with them. Hated Nextel with a fiery burning passion. Hated at&t after having worked in their call center. Verizon is insanely overpriced.

I hate all the bloatware crap the carriers shove onto the phones, so I generally don't purchase a new phone immediately. I prefer to be able to root and remove that crap/flash a new ROM as soon as I buy one.

What center did you work in? I do ATS (formerly ANS).

T-Mobile is the only other carrier in the US that I'd go for, since they're also GSM. I'm thinking that my next device will be one of the Nexus devices, for the pure Google experience. I don't think I could ever go with any other smartphone OS aside from Android. Of course iOS is capable, but too bland and cookie cutter for my taste. Now that Google Drive has come into my life, I find that Android devices are more worthy than ever as production devices. I can have Drive open on my phone, tablet and PC and edit a file from any of the devices, and it updates the file in the cloud, in real time, immediately reflecting the change on all three devices. Pretty amazing service so far.

I'm pretty interested in the Cotton Candy mini PC that comes with ICS pre-installed (and dual boots with Ubuntu). I don't need it...it's actually the last thing I need - I've got devices and gadgets coming out of my ears. But goddamned if I don't want it.

Useful But Unnecessary (http://www.fxitech.com/products/)

Its a little raunchy for some, but made me laugh......


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njos57IJf-0

I recently switched to iPhone. Let me say this... I love Android products but the iPhone ain't too shabby! I purchased the 5c and it has its perks. I really wanted the green phone but all they had were white so I have the black case and the green case. I also plan on purchasing the blue case. Hopefully they or some other company will make an orange case for game days!

I had a smartphone back when it was really technogeeks who had them and most people had flip phones. Nowadays everyone has a smartphone and its no longer "cool" to have an iPhone because everybody has one it seems like.

Personally I am still partial to the high-end gaming PC, even though its a dying breed.

I had a smartphone back when it was really technogeeks who had them and most people had flip phones. Nowadays everyone has a smartphone and its no longer "cool" to have an iPhone because everybody has one it seems like.

Personally I am still partial to the high-end gaming PC, even though its a dying breed.

That's why I went with Android when I first got a smartphone....cause "everyone" had an iPhone. Now that Apple has released an iPhone that doesn't look like every other iPhone on the planet out there and it's cheaper, I got one.