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[Q] What do you use NFC for?

Hey guys,
I just bought my NS and I'm curious about the NFC technology, but there really isn't anything to try it with here in Spain. So far I've only been able to tag my subway card, and even that gives me just an "unidentified tag" message. So I'm having a hard time figuring what use you can give it.
Do you guys give it any actual use in your daily lives? If so, can you share your experiences?

So I guess there aren't a lot of uses yet... :-(

Google will partner with MasterCard and Citigroup to allow its consumers to use their phones to make payments.

I didn't use it with anything until I decided to try to make it useful. Now I use it daily (as well as quite a few others) and don't think I'd want a phone without it given the convenience.
Take a look here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=980741 (development thread) or here https://sites.google.com/site/nfctasklauncher/

krohnjw said:
I didn't use it with anything until I decided to try to make it useful. Now I use it daily (as well as quite a few others) and don't think I'd want a phone without it given the convenience.
Take a look here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=980741 (development thread) or here https://sites.google.com/site/nfctasklauncher/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems that instead of using gps location variables to set your phone settings like Locale, it would be easy to have an RFID/NFC tag on your desk, car, home that you would place your phone near to configure settings for that location. Ringtones, screen brightness, wifi, etc could all be set.

krohnjw,
That seems like the kind of thing that could be really, really useful for the GTD app we're working on. Would you be interested in giving us a hand?

ScotchtapeLoser said:
It seems that instead of using gps location variables to set your phone settings like Locale, it would be easy to have an RFID/NFC tag on your desk, car, home that you would place your phone near to configure settings for that location. Ringtones, screen brightness, wifi, etc could all be set.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Essentially this is exactly how it's being used by most, myself included. Rcently I've added support for "profiles" so that a single tag can toggle between 2 defined profiles. So one car tag could be hit when entering to go into car mode, and the same tag hit when leaving to return to Home mode or something else.
frandavid100 said:
krohnjw,
That seems like the kind of thing that could be really, really useful for the GTD app we're working on. Would you be interested in giving us a hand?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure - what are you looking to do with it? Feel free to PM me.

I use NFC to trigger different profiles on my phone. Such as my car profile where I enable bluetooth and start up my navigation app.

Philips Fidelio For android

I don't know if you have seen these, but finally someone has made some great speakers/dock stations for our android devices. I hope that these are just the first of many to come.
Philips Fidelio

It's Bluetooth, which means it's unreliable at best. And, of course, as everything that comes from Philips butt, it is about $50 overpriced for what it is.
But I am with you, given the absolute dearth of good speaker docks for android, it is tempting.

I have had the larger Philips fidelio speaker for about a month now and have no regrets! Bluetooth streams seamlessly and provide rich bass
Sent from my Triumph using XDA App

How well does the app work with it? Do you have any pics of it being docked?

The native app needs improvement but I use a third party app anyways
Sent from my Triumph using XDA App

which 3rd party apps do you use?
Got the clock radio round one and like it as a dock and speaker but the app leads to significant battery drain in standby when not charging

Interested in what app you are using as well. The Fidelio app is annoying trying to open every time I plug my phone in.
Sent from my Triumph using Tapatalk

Got one for Christmas
Just thought that I would post and let you all know that I got the Philips AS851/37 Fidelio for Christmas. I love it. The sound is great, there are only two problems that I have with it so far, and only one of them is really a problem. First is that yes the Philis app sucks. Just use what ever audio programs you have been using and it works great. The second issue is that I love it so much I can't make up my mind which room of the house I want to keep it in. So I just move it around with me sometimes.

Did anyone of you find out the best apps to use with Fidelio? I got my new AS111 a few days ago. I really like the piece of hardware but the app is really crap.
Right now I'm testing Alarm Clock Plus which seems quite good so far.
One problem I'm having right now is that after a power outage here the clock on the device doesn't synk up again. I guess this is because I don't have the Fidelio app anymore, when I had it installed it wasn't any problem. If this is the case, does anyone know any other way to fix it than installing the Fidelio app?
/Daniel

Hi everyone ! Got one for my birthday, and I must say the excitement vanished quite quickly...
I'm spending a lot of enery trying to replace the Fidelio app, but so far without success.
I set the Fidelio (aka DockStation) alarm clock on "no sound" in order to let another third party alarm app play music, but the music keeps getting out in the smartphone speakers instead of the Fidelio's, and worse, I still get the forest birds ambiant sound ! I tried several alarm clock apps, even the Alarm Clock Plus mentionned above, none will let the sound go through bluetooth, although the media players are able to.
Does someone have any complete Bluetooth + Alarm combination working ?
Edit : forget what I said, I didn't go deep enough in the alarm apps options. There is one to use the music stream instead of the alarm stream when bluetooth on, and it was not activated by default. Works as a charm now.

Set Time on Fidelio
DanielMalmgren said:
One problem I'm having right now is that after a power outage here the clock on the device doesn't synk up again. I guess this is because I don't have the Fidelio app anymore, when I had it installed it wasn't any problem. If this is the case, does anyone know any other way to fix it than installing the Fidelio app?
/Daniel
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey folks, I know, that this thread was long dead,
but because there was no solution in setting the clock on your fidelio device without using their app,
I created an App that does that. I tested it on my Nexus 7 with JB and on my Nexus 4 with KitKat and it works on both devices.
If someone needs it, try it and report if it works with other Fidelio devices as well.
Heres the Google Play Link: "Edit" sorry, Im not able to post links yet. My App is called Fidelio Time (de.fideltime.time)

Jelly Bean, activate Google Now unintentionally with Back Button

I'm wondering if anyone else has encountered this with the new JB update.
I have encountered a bug where pressing the back button opens up Google Now.
This only happens when the homescreen is locked in landscape, and I press the back button to exit an app that is in portrait mode. Instead of returning to the home screen, it first exits the app then returns to... Google Now!
Example occurrences are:
1) Stock Launcher, Auto-Rotate screen Off. Using an application that is auto-locked in portrait mode (games, for example). Pressing back button quits the portrait mode application and opens Google Now.
2) Apex Launcher, Screen Orientation set to Always Landscape. Browsing the web in portrait mode, and pressing the back button quits the portrait mode application and opens Google Now.
Does anyone else have this issue?

I've noticed it when having Apex as a launcher as well. With the sale going on the past few days I bought Nova Premium, and I haven't been seeing it since (or at least not so clearly it is standing out in my mind).
PS: I'm still having to look around for kicking Google Now out -- it doesn't provide any useful information, and I don't see it 'learning' how to in the future.

MartyHulskemper said:
I've noticed it when having Apex as a launcher as well. With the sale going on the past few days I bought Nova Premium, and I haven't been seeing it since (or at least not so clearly it is standing out in my mind).
PS: I'm still having to look around for kicking Google Now out -- it doesn't provide any useful information, and I don't see it 'learning' how to in the future.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are wrong about Google Now. It's probably the greatest feature to differentiate between JB and ICS! Google Now is working well on my tf700.

MartyHulskemper said:
I've noticed it when having Apex as a launcher as well. With the sale going on the past few days I bought Nova Premium, and I haven't been seeing it since (or at least not so clearly it is standing out in my mind).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're absolutely right it was Apex launcher. I tried Nova Premium (which I also bought for $0.25 ) and the problem doesn't happen!

buhohitr said:
You are wrong about Google Now. It's probably the greatest feature to differentiate between JB and ICS! Google Now is working well on my tf700.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you/people actually use Google Now for?
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T

Vo01985 said:
What do you/people actually use Google Now for?
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mainly I used to search for stuff on the web. Instead of open the browser, wait for it to lauch then type in the search item, I just talk to it! Once you get used to Google now, it's very convenience!

Vo01985 said:
What do you/people actually use Google Now for?
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it can be used for a lot of things.
setting alarms
getting info
asking questions.
your personal planner.
Here is a list of its commands/features
http://www.addictivetips.com/android/google-now-commands-smart-cards-list/

buhohitr said:
You are wrong about Google Now. It's probably the greatest feature to differentiate between JB and ICS! Google Now is working well on my tf700.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This may be your opinion -- I am entitled to my own, however, and that runs contrary -- as a European, non-sports-watching--loving guy (I like *performing* sports), I have next to no use for Now. I have widgets that provide my agenda, and I can do without constantly-on location features -- I do not need driving directions to the train station when I'm cycling for groceries, thank you.
Congratulations on having it work to your liking.
buhohitr said:
Mainly I used to search for stuff on the web. Instead of open the browser, wait for it to lauch then type in the search item, I just talk to it! Once you get used to Google now, it's very convenience!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Dutch voice recognition is utter p00p. I absolutely reject having to direct any app in English, especially since I'm always docked and that works better on a train commute with a lot of co-passengers making all kinds of noises.
timrock said:
it can be used for a lot of things.
setting alarms
getting info
asking questions.
your personal planner.
Here is a list of its commands/features
http://www.addictivetips.com/android/google-now-commands-smart-cards-list/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will take a look at the list, but I've taken the tour before and I found nothing of much use. Can't hurt to be up to date, though, so thanks for the link!
(I use several optimized apps for the tasks you referenced and I do not see Now outperforming them, neither convenience-wise nor raw-performance-wise. But I may be mistaken.)

Vo01985 said:
What do you/people actually use Google Now for?
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm still in exploring the functions of Google Now. So far the cards are pretty neat; they show me the scheduled bus times at the nearest bus stop which helps. Also shows me how to get home by public transit. Weather is always useful as well.
I disabled the Nearby Places cards... because they were showing me things im not interested in, like the local smoke shop... Wish there was a way to remove/flag unwanted content

originalnabisco said:
I'm still in exploring the functions of Google Now. So far the cards are pretty neat; they show me the scheduled bus times at the nearest bus stop which helps. Also shows me how to get home by public transit. Weather is always useful as well.
I disabled the Nearby Places cards... because they were showing me things im not interested in, like the local smoke shop... Wish there was a way to remove/flag unwanted content
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One neat thing about Google Now is the more you're using it, it will know what you're looking for and provide those information upfront for you. Ex, if you search for train schedule from A citi to B city, next time it will display these train schedule info for you upfront.
---------- Post added at 10:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:59 PM ----------
MartyHulskemper said:
This may be your opinion -- I am entitled to my own, however, and that runs contrary -- as a European, non-sports-watching--loving guy (I like *performing* sports), I have next to no use for Now. I have widgets that provide my agenda, and I can do without constantly-on location features -- I do not need driving directions to the train station when I'm cycling for groceries, thank you.
Congratulations on having it work to your liking.
The Dutch voice recognition is utter p00p. I absolutely reject having to direct any app in English, especially since I'm always docked and that works better on a train commute with a lot of co-passengers making all kinds of noises.
I will take a look at the list, but I've taken the tour before and I found nothing of much use. Can't hurt to be up to date, though, so thanks for the link!
(I use several optimized apps for the tasks you referenced and I do not see Now outperforming them, neither convenience-wise nor raw-performance-wise. But I may be mistaken.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see your point, but it's more powerful than you think. It will learn what you're looking for and provide these information upfront without you have to search for them. After it learned your behavior, it knows you always check the weather in the morning, then you drive to work. Next time, it will show you the weather and any traffic jams from your house to work etc...without you have to search!

I get all the time if I hold and drag my finger a little. what its doing is showing the lock screen ring. happens that Google launch is default for top location of lock screen so that's what opens. might be handy if you have app you switch to all the time. replace Google with whatever in lock screen settings. opps I cannot find settings. good to check sometimes.
woody
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk 2

Alarm Clock Anyone?

Another epic fail for Microsoft - seems the surface RT OS does not have any alarm clock functions (unless it's very well hidden). Seems to me that this is such a basic function in an OS that I find it surprising that Win RT does not have it - (both Android and IOS have a multiplicity of alarms available). Any solutions?

The store is full of different Alarm Clocks, many of them for Free.
Robin

robincop deel 2 said:
The store is full of different Alarm Clocks, many of them for Free.
Robin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not a single one works because they must be running in the foreground and active - so when the tablet sleeps they become "deactivated" - this is apparently a fault of the OS. You can see this by reading some of the reviews.

docfreed said:
Not a single one works because they must be running in the foreground and active - so when the tablet sleeps they become "deactivated" - this is apparently a fault of the OS. You can see this by reading some of the reviews.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am sure it will get addressed. With App stores the need to bundle os apps is not needed anymore.

docfreed said:
Another epic fail for Microsoft - seems the surface RT OS does not have any alarm clock functions (unless it's very well hidden). Seems to me that this is such a basic function in an OS that I find it surprising that Win RT does not have it - (both Android and IOS have a multiplicity of alarms available). Any solutions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you use the calendar to set an alarm? That's kinda what I would have expected to use.

schettj said:
Could you use the calendar to set an alarm? That's kinda what I would have expected to use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unless the Calendar is running in the foreground (active) I do not think so. I am noticing that when the Surface sleeps, or when you switch from certain running apps to another, the first process shuts down - it's not 100% true but mostly so. Kind of defeats the purpose of having alarm or wake up functions of the app setting the alarm always has to be actively running.

I've tried 3 or 4 alarms in the store, they all work sporadically at best. To get the best results, I set the tablet not to sleep when the lid is closed or after X minutes while on power and left it plugged in and turned on all night.
The calendar seems to wait until the next time you turn the device on to update and show notifications.
I gave up having an alarm on the Surface, it seemed a bit too unreliable to me.

You could try using Windows scheduled tasks; that's what I did for an alarm on my PC the few times I needed one. No idea if Scheduled Tasks will do Connected Standby, though. In fact, I'd guess that they won't.

GoodDayToDie said:
You could try using Windows scheduled tasks; that's what I did for an alarm on my PC the few times I needed one. No idea if Scheduled Tasks will do Connected Standby, though. In fact, I'd guess that they won't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right, connected tasks will not work - I cannot believe that Microsoft still can't come to grips with background apps - even Apple allows these to run. I mean you cannot even stream music with the screen off except with the poorly designed internal music app. Alarms (or the lack of thereof) have plagued MS since the early days of WinCE - it's no wonder that MS has failed big time in the mobile sector. Whoever at Microsoft thinks Win RT is a multitasking OS is nuts.
Well, end of rant - do you suppose there's a workaround on the horizon?

docfreed said:
Right, connected tasks will not work - I cannot believe that Microsoft still can't come to grips with background apps - even Apple allows these to run. I mean you cannot even stream music with the screen off except with the poorly designed internal music app. Alarms (or the lack of thereof) have plagued MS since the early days of WinCE - it's no wonder that MS has failed big time in the mobile sector. Whoever at Microsoft thinks Win RT is a multitasking OS is nuts.
Well, end of rant - do you suppose there's a workaround on the horizon?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
windows RT is multitasking just in the Microsoft way. The act of app suspension and app killing takes the burden of open apps away from the user into the OS managed space (even iOS does this), however you should be looking at the display being off as suspend, I can understand them not letting apps other than their own preventing the system from suspending, otherwise anyone could write an app that is going to give you horrible battery life on your surface that never sleeps.

lilstevie said:
windows RT is multitasking just in the Microsoft way. The act of app suspension and app killing takes the burden of open apps away from the user into the OS managed space (even iOS does this), however you should be looking at the display being off as suspend, I can understand them not letting apps other than their own preventing the system from suspending, otherwise anyone could write an app that is going to give you horrible battery life on your surface that never sleeps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure that i buy this - I can set an alarm on my Iphone 4S and then let the screen go off (sleep) - in the morning it will wake me up and of course, battery life is fantastic. Same goes for Android. On Win RT how bad would the battery life be if MS had a simple alarm clock running in the bkgnd - I mean I'm not asking to run Halo while it'as sleeping!

docfreed said:
Not sure that i buy this - I can set an alarm on my Iphone 4S and then let the screen go off (sleep) - in the morning it will wake me up and of course, battery life is fantastic. Same goes for Android. On Win RT how bad would the battery life be if MS had a simple alarm clock running in the bkgnd - I mean I'm not asking to run Halo while it'as sleeping!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That was more in regards to third party music apps. With the alarm clock though if you take notice they will both be first party apps.

i assume that anyone needing or owning a tablet alreay own a smart phone, why the heck that ppl moan about things like alarms, and camera and etc. these features increase price. i wud happily purchase a cheaper surface with no camera, alarm, radio, gps, and so on, cos thats what my smartphone is for. the tablet is for proper work and entertainment. but hey opinions differ

spaco22 said:
i assume that anyone needing or owning a tablet alreay own a smart phone, why the heck that ppl moan about things like alarms, and camera and etc. these features increase price. i wud happily purchase a cheaper surface with no camera, alarm, radio, gps, and so on, cos thats what my smartphone is for. the tablet is for proper work and entertainment. but hey opinions differ
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The alarm wouldn't increase price of the tablet at all, and it's such a basic feature that there's really no excuse for MS not having it.

spaco22 said:
i assume that anyone needing or owning a tablet alreay own a smart phone,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
netham45 said:
it's such a basic feature that there's really no excuse for MS not having it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but you don't use your pc as an alarm clock do you? and if it were an x86 tablet like the plenty that already existed you wouldn't complain about the lack of alarm clock would you?

docfreed said:
Unless the Calendar is running in the foreground (active) I do not think so. I am noticing that when the Surface sleeps, or when you switch from certain running apps to another, the first process shuts down - it's not 100% true but mostly so. Kind of defeats the purpose of having alarm or wake up functions of the app setting the alarm always has to be actively running.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
calendar alerts go off even if the calendar is closed. I get alerts for all my meetings.
Sent from my RM-820_nam_att_100 using Board Express

schettj said:
calendar alerts go off even if the calendar is closed. I get alerts for all my meetings.
Sent from my RM-820_nam_att_100 using Board Express
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK that's a start, do they also go off if the Surface is sleeping (screen off)?

lilstevie said:
but you don't use your pc as an alarm clock do you? and if it were an x86 tablet like the plenty that already existed you wouldn't complain about the lack of alarm clock would you?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't understand these posts where people tell you how to use your device from a practical sense. I know people who use alarms on tablets so why should you tell us it shouldn't be a feature. Personally my daughter uses her android tablet all the time as an alarm clock next to her bed, while her phone is in the other room charging at night. I also would use the alarm on a Surface as I don't always keep every device I own at arms reach.
Saw the same argument about not having GPS on the Surface -I can see people wanting a GPS on a bigger screen like a tablet. So let's not judge everybody's use . : .

Calendar reminders/notifications for sure work when the device is in sleep mode.
I often hear my Surface at night in the room next door, or from my back-pack when traveling. It even allows you to "snooze". If it is very convenient as an alarm clock I do not know. It is kind of a hassle to set-up I guess.
MS in general does know how to do it of course, the native alarm app on the Windows Phones (7 and 8) works flawless and has been my best mate in the past years when traveling. It has only let me down once, but that was because the battery of the phone ran flat during the night.....
I was not aware of the "problem" of the Alarm Clock apps in the suspend state. It kinda defeats the purpose of the app if it does not run when the Surface and its owner are sleep mode...
Robin

guitar1969 said:
I don't understand these posts where people tell you how to use your device from a practical sense. I know people who use alarms on tablets so why should you tell us it shouldn't be a feature. Personally my daughter uses her android tablet all the time as an alarm clock next to her bed, while her phone is in the other room charging at night. I also would use the alarm on a Surface as I don't always keep every device I own at arms reach.
Saw the same argument about not having GPS on the Surface -I can see people wanting a GPS on a bigger screen like a tablet. So let's not judge everybody's use . : .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm more referring to the fact that it is a windows tablet, and this isn't a complaint that people have had with previous versions of windows, even on tablets. It is a use case that Microsoft have probably never even thought about.

Best Apps to Download

Just wanted to start a list of the best apps that we think are available for the S2

Calculator Plus+ is a good one, it's what you'd think, a calculator, and it works. It is optimized for a round screen. So crazy that Sammy never added a calculator as a stock app.
Sent from my SM-N920P using XDA Free mobile app

That's a problem... The list is quite empty. I am returning this thing because of that and also because of:
I owned first Gear as well as Gear S in the past and quite frankly Samsung is going backwards with their watches.
There is one Pro in this one - it is good looking, I like the design.
Well - 1/2 point for the rotating bezel. It is kind of cool but I am so used to the touch controls that barely used it.
The rest of review is pretty much all Cons:
1. Lack of speaker - ok, some say it looks silly to talk to the wrist but sometimes it was useful. Why removed if all previous watches hat one?
2. Lack of apps - seriously, there is NO useful app available for this watch. I had plenty of apps on Gear S and none of them is re-written for the round watch.
3. Vibrations are barely sensed - I had it set to strong and long and miss half of the notifications
4. Screen decides on its own if it wants to light up when the notification comes. Not reliable at all
5. Previous models had option to come back to the last used app after the screen turns off, very useful for timer, stopwatch, music control. This cames back to the watch screen always. Try to skip the tracks from the watch when you have to turn the dial to the music app every time.....
6. No auto brightness. Seriously? Go out - make the screen brighter by hand. Come back, dim it by hand...
7. Straps.... out of 4 halves I found in the box (2 to make a long strap and 2 to make a short one) I was able to attach 3 of them, the 4th would not fit. And I guarantee you that after couple replacements the mount will break....
8. No sleep patterns tracking on the watch
9. Battery - that's another screw up. Samsung advertises 2-3 days... Right...I liek to have the watch set to always on. Gear S had about 40% left at the end of the day. This garbage had 18% at 11pm last night....
10. No integration with Google Now - no cards, no reminders to be set... I thought Samsung finally understood that S-Voice cannot compete with any assistant available... I guess they are too stupid to get that
11. No integration with Google Maps - Here maps are great but on the watch it is a disaster, completely useless, slow, chews through the battery.
12. No way to choose if one wears it on the left or right wrist hence when you wear it on the right the buttons are above the watch and you cover the face of it while pressing.
13. no night clock mode while charging - all you see while being charged is a blackscreen.
There is probably more flaws but I either did not discover them or do not remember. Generally the watch is going back to Best Buy and I will wait for Moto 360 Sport or LG Urbane 2
And with Samsung phones going backwards as well (S6, Note 5) Samsung lost a customer (I own Note 4 now and I had Note 1, 2 and 3 in the past)

Wow, so that last post was mostly off-topic lol. Interesting points...just not relevant for this specific thread. Better to post that in a gear s vs gear s2 thread or something like that

sefrcoko said:
Wow, so that last post was mostly off-topic lol. Interesting points...just not relevant for this specific thread. Better to post that in a gear s vs gear s2 thread or something like that
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha. I've seen his post there also. I guess he REALLY wants people to know how he feels!

Wow..clearly he felt his review thread wasn't enough but now he has to post his review everywhere. Move along... .
Well back on topic... A fun little app to play with is Xenozu. It's a YouTube app that let's you search and watch videos. You do have to have a Bluetooth headset attached but it works when linked to wifi. It's more novelty then anything but fun nonetheless.

Wow can we boot that guy for hating so much, it may not be the best compared to a phone, but that's because it's a watch....plus my gear s2 does have a daylight mode, I walk out side and it will adjust itself. Also, am able to use my watch with the face always on and have about 45% by end of day, I have to constantly play with it for it to die.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using XDA Free mobile app

kufel said:
1. Lack of speaker - ok, some say it looks silly to talk to the wrist...
So, what's that little hole on the side between the buttons? The one you talk into for SVoice.
2. Lack of apps
It's brand spanking new... give it time
3. Vibrations are barely sensed
Subjective... I can feel it just fine on soft/weak/low, whatever
4. Screen decides on its own if it wants to light up when the notification comes.
o_0
5. Previous models had option to come back to the last used app after the screen turns off...
I'll skip this one because I have no clue what you're talking about
6. No auto brightness. Seriously?
Outdoor mode is automatic, you don't have to touch anything and it goes into auto brightness. Seriously
7. Straps
Mine come off and snap on just fine and are very solid. Perhaps you're doing it wrong?
8. No sleep patterns tracking on the watch
S-Health, oh and 24 hour activity tracking
9. Battery - that's another screw up. Samsung advertises 2-3 days...
Are you analyzing "day one" usage, straight OTB during fiddle and "hey look what I just got" time?
10. No integration with Google Now
It's Tizen, this has been known for quite some time now
11. No integration with Google Maps
Read comment for #10
12. No way to choose if one wears it on the left or right wrist...
WUT???
13. no night clock mode while charging
Big f*ing deal... you're wanting it to track your sleep patterns anyway right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Jus' sayin

Jus' clarifyin'
1. That's a mic not a speaker. Speaker is on 3G version
5. Previous app should be an option when reactivating watch. Viable point imo
8. As it stands, there is no auto sleep log. Should be addressed by Samsung. S-health even tells you to add a wearable for the function to work??
10 & 11. Google needs to be adopted for the watch to succeed under android I feel
12. See the point, but analogs never adjusted to which arm the watch was worn on. The user needs to adapt
Sorry to be short, it's late ;b

I assumed he meant mic and not speaker since he describes "talking to the wrist"

bkai said:
I assumed he meant mic and not speaker since he describes "talking to the wrist"
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My reply would be "Talk to the hand"

Back on topic: Parkmobile just appeared in the app store for the GS2, at least in the Netherlands. Great app for Parkmobile users.

Notifications for Gear s1 & 2
The app "notifications for gear s" is a must have. I am able to reply to facebook messenger and see my Google now cards. It's awesome.

I ony had my watch for less than a day, so obviously I'm still discovering new stuff, but so far I found:
- Calculator (free! and does the job) - this is a samsung app
- News Republic: I was pleasantly surprised to see they have a (free) companion app for the S2, this has been my main news app on my phone for ages (very customisable and looks nice, I love it)
- Gear Pong: just because why not
The Samsung Gear store is terrible by the way... Why with the stupid ugly watch faces flooding every category??? Do some clean up Samsung!

Protagoras said:
- Gear Pong: just because why not
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Wow, have You actually won even once? I couldn't, haha. Better games imo are FireFly or Colora

OK. Whining aside is there a program that will allow me to get reminders? I use Touchdown as my regular calendar and I think I can use my Samsung calendar but can't get S Voice to work off the GS2.

rogerperk said:
OK. Whining aside is there a program that will allow me to get reminders? I use Touchdown as my regular calendar and I think I can use my Samsung calendar but can't get S Voice to work off the GS2.
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Never mind! Reminders work you just have to set them on the phone. That works for me!

"I am Alive" by Kittikhun Yodrak is very useful. It's basically a toggle for screen always on. No idea why the app is so big though (7.5 MB)...

Cryps said:
Jus' clarifyin'
5. Previous app should be an option when reactivating watch. Viable point imo
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Well, at least you can configure the menu button double-click to launch last opened app.

Metronome and Guitar Tuner pls
Anyone, please... Make Metronome app / Guitar Tuner app for Gear S2. Please.........