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As an iPhone user, I want to know why the people in this community prefer Android, what makes Andorid phones “Smart” to you.
I know customization is a big one for most people, it used to be my number one as well. I used WinMo since the 2003 edition, then the HTC Hero. However slowed I became tired of it, and I realized customization is a pretty big waste of time. At the end of the day, having the option for a customized user experience doesn’t mean it’s a better experience. Power hungry news widgets, youtube widgets, facebook widgets are quite gimmicky and almost useless. The only things useful were the quick settings.
This is just my opinion on the customization argument. Don’t hate.
For me, features that makes life easier makes phones smart, and iPhone has a number of them that gets used all the time:
Wireless sync without hassle (plug in the power, no button pushing at all)
Air Play, wirelessly play music on my speakers (I have yet to get a apple TV, but able to wirelessly stream video would be pretty cool too)
iPod with music controls on the Lock Screen, and also multi-tasking bar. These little things really makes the overall experience top notch.
Facetime/iMessage – I love native apps, so fast, easy, reliable.
I want to make a switch to Android because I want a larger screen (G NOTE!), but I don’t know enough about the OS to overcome the pros of iPhone.
What features/apps do you use all the time that are great and exclusive to Android?
So far im thinking:
Better Gmap, youtube, actual folders, screen size, independence from computer. What else?
All I can say is wow, I have an iphone 4, ipad 2, galazy tab 10.1 and galaxy s2. Everything you mentioned can be done on andriod with the exception of itunes crap, lets not forget that half the stuff you mentioned were actually on andriod a long time ago.( Apple always announces producta as new but in reality their just really stating they can now do it. Just google specific app types for what you have listed and you will find them easily.
Sent from my GT-P7510 using xda premium
your choice s is right..Andorid is a good platform ..
You don't like customisation? you probrobly still won't like android. None of the features you mentioned are impressive they are availible to android phones in one form or another. WHat makes android smart is its ability to be how you want it. If you like being told how to use your phone and what to do with it, stick with apple, or try wp7. If you want your phone to keep suprising you go for an android handset. Some apps you may need to set up once. That goes for any phone.
I have chosen android because of the great community of developers and the possibility to use customroms.
Sent from my Galaxy S (ICS Beta 1) using Tapatalk
All I can say is wow, I have an iphone 4, ipad 2, galazy tab 10.1 and galaxy s2. Everything you mentioned can be done on andriod with the exception of itunes crap, lets not forget that half the stuff you mentioned were actually on andriod a long time ago.( Apple always announces producta as new but in reality their just really stating they can now do it. Just google specific app types for what you have listed and you will find them easily.
I'm careful about posting at night, but:
Cm nightly 263
Tmobile g2
300 dollars on ebay 6 months after it dropped
183 apps
Paid for 2:
Geocaching app
ICS blue theme
Pandora no ads
Unlimited skips
Plugged into 18 dollar cigarette lighter mp3 player in expedition with 9 speaker surround sound
Full keyboard
Etc etc
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA Premium App
Even if you need some apps that aren't stock from the market, Android is a better experience. With some tweaks (legally, opositive as Jailbreak), like ROOT and unlock bootloader, you have everything you need and don't need in no time.
Android is the way you want it. I used a little of his iPhone and entered on the App Store. That thing don't have NOTHING. No substitute music app, video app. And the things I saw have 2.5 of 5 in ''points'' (sorry, coudn't find the correct word), and in Android Market most of apps have 4.0 or more.
The thing I want to say is, with Apple, in my opinion, you pay for things you won't have. Processors are from Samsung, camera sensors are from Sony, desing is horrible, in my opinion, compared to Xperia Arc.
But all of this is my opinion.
Sorry for english, btw
Sent using Mini CM7 Pro by Paul
I would say large number of wrapper classes
bennyx8903 said:
For me, features that makes life easier makes phones smart, and iPhone has a number of them that gets used all the time:
Wireless sync without hassle (plug in the power, no button pushing at all)
Air Play, wirelessly play music on my speakers (I have yet to get a apple TV, but able to wirelessly stream video would be pretty cool too)
iPod with music controls on the Lock Screen, and also multi-tasking bar. These little things really makes the overall experience top notch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well, actually all the things you mention there are on Android; in fact they were already on it long before the iPhone could do it.
music control on lock screen - Android has had it for a long time, I think since first release. in fact, there are several music player apps that are able to set their own controls to the lock screen, Player Pro is one of the most popular. I prefer btunes though, which you might like because it's basically an exact copy of the iOS player with some enhancements that I was really craving back when I had my iPod.
speaking of, Android's stock music player app is pretty good, although a fave feature of mine is the ability to download alternate ones if you wish, many of which have a wealth of feature the iOS app really out to have by now. as for your music itself....
wireless sync - Android could do this before iOS. in fact, it could wirelessly sync with itunes months (maybe over year or more) before Apple even announced the feature for iOS, which only a month ago received the feature. just use Doubletwist, or iSyncr wifi, (both allow it over wifi or USB). for a good long time now, these apps and others have allowed this. i prefer iSyncr, as it allows you to sync only the checked songs in Itunes. USB can be configured to sync automatically at plug in, and the wifi add on allows it to be set to auto sync at certain times of day, on the hours, every four hours, every 8 hours or manually. it also lets you auto sync and upload new music, photos and videos, default to your iTunes folder but you can set it to send the anywhere else on your computer that you like. best of all, the USB version can sync with any Mac or PC running iTunes without installing ANY programs on said computers, and the wifi version only needs a very small counterpart program installed on it, which is free and can be loaded to your phone's own sd card for easy installation if you don't have a connection on the comp at the time. configuration is easy, but only takes once, and anyway both versions come with common, good options preset if you wish.
Also, Doubletwist does Airplay on android, as do several other apps, although I can't say much about them because I never really got into local vid streaming. I'm told they work great though.
there's also more options for buying music on Android, as we have Amazon MP3 and now google music to download directly to the device or through your computer, and of course, iTunes through your comp if you wish.
as for multitasking bar, well Android had that too, you hold the home button and it shows a list of recent apps. there's lots of additional third party options for this too, like alternate home screen launchers and such that allow scrollable docks.
I know you said you don't like widgets, but of course you don't have to use them. there are several widgets that also add multitasking capabilities too, like circle launcher and some folder-type organizers.
God I write too much. anyway, check out some of the apps I mentioned on the Market website.
https://market.android.com/
The ability to do basically anything on it, customized it so it fits your needs, and being unique from other devices.
And you can change to a thrid party keyboard instead of using the stock keyboard.
OK which i have SwiftKey X.
In some words, iOS does not have everything Android has but Android likely has everything iOS has and more than that.
silveraero said:
In some words, iOS does not have everything Android has but Android likely has everything iOS has and more than that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a good way to put it, yes. In fact, Android users got quite a kick out of the iOS 5 unveiling a few months ago; it was widely noted that of all the "new" features unveiled, every single one of them was actually stolen directly from the Android OS, or one of it's popular exclusive apps, except for iMessaging, which came from BlackBerry.
It really angered a lot of people actually, because Apple even copied the pull down notification menu, renamed it the notification "center" and still proceeded to sue every Android dvice manufacturer it can, claiming they infringe on things like scrolling, anything with a touchscreen, rounded corners, black borders, etc.
I think the real question. Is why not android? Not much you can't do with these devices.
Sent from my DROID X2 using XDA App
I had a Droid, sold it and went to iPhone. There are some features I prefer on iOS compared to android. Syncing to iTunes for one. When I was on my Droid, doubletwist was in its infancy and didn't work all the time. If it does now, that's a big plus.
My iPhone plugs directly into my car stereo via usb, so it charges and plays at the same time. Not sure if something like that is possible on android, but it wasn't at the time to my knowledge.
I prefer the music app on the iPhone and the way it manages everything. Again, that has likely improved.
I recently got another android device in my Nook Tablet. It's gotten me back into wanting to find my way around hacking android. Now if there was an app compatible with FaceTime, and a game I play was ported over, I'd switch back to android when my next upgrade came around.
I also have a lot of audiobooks in m4b format that I don't want to reconvert, not sure if there is an Android player that will play them. That would be an important factor in switching to android.
Sent from my BNTV250 using Tapatalk
I'm glad you can do that on that small screen, also can you send me a file by Bluetooth ?
I choose Android not only because of customization, but because Apple is so ANTI-customization. They shove their consumers in a box and expect them to stay there. If anything's changed, they face bricking/fines/etc. Apple doesn't condone freedom. Apple screws innovators. Therefore, I say screw Apple.
bennyx8903 said:
Now, I'm not exactly shooting you down, but rather mentioning that these are available on Android;
For me, features that makes life easier makes phones smart, and iPhone has a number of them that gets used all the time:
Wireless sync without hassle (plug in the power, no button pushing at all)
DoubleTwist + AirSync.
Air Play, wirelessly play music on my speakers (I have yet to get a apple TV, but able to wirelessly stream video would be pretty cool too)
I've seen this several times; HTC devices have it built in and several Market apps do it.
iPod with music controls on the Lock Screen, and also multi-tasking bar. These little things really makes the overall experience top notch.
Every single lockscreen in the world has Music controls, and Android has recent apps (which are greatly revamped in ICS)
Facetime/iMessage – I love native apps, so fast, easy, reliable.
Google Talk, built in app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Had to do some things there. On a side note, I respect you for coming to a site filled with hardcore Android fans and talk about the iPhone.
bennyx8903 said:
As an iPhone user, I want to know why the people in this community prefer Android, what makes Andorid phones “Smart” to you.
I know customization is a big one for most people, it used to be my number one as well. I used WinMo since the 2003 edition, then the HTC Hero. However slowed I became tired of it, and I realized customization is a pretty big waste of time. At the end of the day, having the option for a customized user experience doesn’t mean it’s a better experience. Power hungry news widgets, youtube widgets, facebook widgets are quite gimmicky and almost useless. The only things useful were the quick settings.
This is just my opinion on the customization argument. Don’t hate.
For me, features that makes life easier makes phones smart, and iPhone has a number of them that gets used all the time:
Wireless sync without hassle (plug in the power, no button pushing at all)
Air Play, wirelessly play music on my speakers (I have yet to get a apple TV, but able to wirelessly stream video would be pretty cool too)
iPod with music controls on the Lock Screen, and also multi-tasking bar. These little things really makes the overall experience top notch.
Facetime/iMessage – I love native apps, so fast, easy, reliable.
I want to make a switch to Android because I want a larger screen (G NOTE!), but I don’t know enough about the OS to overcome the pros of iPhone.
What features/apps do you use all the time that are great and exclusive to Android?
So far im thinking:
Better Gmap, youtube, actual folders, screen size, independence from computer. What else?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android has wireless sync...its not just a iPhone feature as the iPhone 4 and 4S are both minor fails. Atennagate and iOS 5 battery problems.
I'm thinking of going to WP7. An Android app exclusive is PewPew. I haven't seen that in iTunes.
Sent from my SPH-M920 using xda premium
Android is open source OS, many developers can come up with Custom ROM and kernel that is better in terms of performance other than that, i like how it sync with my google mail, contact and calendar.
I am a software developer, and have been creating Android apps for businesses since 2008. Up until recently all of the apps I have created have been for businesses to serve specific needs.
When I recently bought my TF300T I quickly wanted to start leaving the laptop home, but there are just a few things left I still cannot do on Android.
So my question to you is, what would you like to be able to do in Android that you cannot yet do?
I'd like to see a word processor that supports features such as: multiple columns, page numbering, a ruler, fonts, spacing, margins, multiple paper sizes, printing directly to a wireless or shared printer etc.
Some of these features are available for various Office suite word processors, but I have yet to find one that supports them all. It's getting better, but we're not there yet.
A robust office suite, really, is the only thing that's missing for me.
Google bought quickoffice, so I hope to see a Drive/office hybrid. MS is also working on office for android tablets afaik.
So office apps might not be the best choice as a software dev.
Has someone made a nice music player app that takes advantage of the tablet screen? Basically multiple frames so you can see what's playing (with basic controls) on one side of the screen, and be able scroll through your playlist or music directory on the other side of the screen.
Something like that with pop up windows (or frames) for additional features (like an Equalizer) would be pretty nice.
Actually not sure if the TF300 has a good music player, as I haven't received mine yet, but on my other tablet, everything I've found seems to be made for phones, and I hate having to cycle through different screens just to browse the playlist
I really want an app that synchronises handwritten note taking with audio, like the echo smartpen does. Then I could use it in meetings really effectively.
I think there is an ipad app that does this (grr...) but nothing for Android
mike-y said:
Has someone made a nice music player app that takes advantage of the tablet screen? Basically multiple frames so you can see what's playing (with basic controls) on one side of the screen, and be able scroll through your playlist or music directory on the other side of the screen.
Something like that with pop up windows (or frames) for additional features (like an Equalizer) would be pretty nice.
Actually not sure if the TF300 has a good music player, as I haven't received mine yet, but on my other tablet, everything I've found seems to be made for phones, and I hate having to cycle through different screens just to browse the playlist
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google Play Music, which comes on the tablet, is tablet-optimized. The tablet also comes with MusicFX, which is an equalizer, and it integrates with Play Music.
EndlessDissent said:
Google Play Music, which comes on the tablet, is tablet-optimized. The tablet also comes with MusicFX, which is an equalizer, and it integrates with Play Music.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd hardly call Google Music tablet optimized, it scales well but doesnt use space very efficiently.
This is the only one I know of, but its really ugly
https://play.google.com/store/apps/...jects.musicplayerforpad&feature=search_result
But yeah, I'd also like to see a better office editor. Quickoffice is a little too light on features to be taken seriously for more than minor edits.
The docks USB port does not recognize my camera and I do not like the way the tablet just puts your pictures in one big conglomeration. I would like a tablet that recognizes any digital camera and places your photos into files by date like a PC does. I use the tablet for work and I have to upload photos to my reports and then send the reports to my office. I have been able to type reports but it takes so many steps to get pictures from my camera into the tablet and then load them onto my reports that I am not able to do my reports quickly unless I am at home at my compute doing them.
I would love to get my hands on an Android clone of the airsketch app another teacher in my building has for his ipad.
Sent from my jitterbug using tapatalk.
I would like to have an app was functionally similar to Quicken. Personal financial tracking that was not web based. I have to carry a netbook to get that currently.
Mike
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T using XDA
Biggest problem with Android apps right now is they aren't optimized for tablets. Most of the apps are designed for phones.
Yeah, but that should change as tablets get cheaper and more popular.
I would like at least a word processor (if not a whole office suite) That;
1: Had all but the most advanced of a PC's word processors features such as full formatting, the ability to add fonts, full text options; the whole nine yards.
2: It having a nice ICS tablet layout. Not a clunky phone UI that has the features but not the layout to be of any use.
3: Full usb (or our dock) and bluetooth keyboard support with hotkeys and shortcuts (ie: Ctrl+V for paste etc etc...)
4: A supportive dev who would listen to community input and have a way to contact them easily where the other members of the community could also see the discussion (ie: a forums).
If you actually intend to do this (I REALLLLLLLY hope you do, its sorely needed) then I myself will plan on donating to the projects development as it goes along.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T
SilentStormer said:
I would like at least a word processor (if not a whole office suite) That;
1: Had all but the most advanced of a PC's word processors features such as full formatting, the ability to add fonts, full text options; the whole nine yards.
2: It having a nice ICS tablet layout. Not a clunky phone UI that has the features but not the layout to be of any use.
3: Full usb (or our dock) and bluetooth keyboard support with hotkeys and shortcuts (ie: Ctrl+V for paste etc etc...)
4: A supportive dev who would listen to community input and have a way to contact them easily where the other members of the community could also see the discussion (ie: a forums).
If you actually intend to do this (I REALLLLLLLY hope you do, its sorely needed) then I myself will plan on donating to the projects development as it goes along.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right now I am putting the finishing touches on a project I hope to release this coming week sometime. It will be a tool specifically for Tablets and geared towards software developers mostly.
I am responding to you because the app I am about to release does support all of the typical hotkeys like Ctrl-V etc.
The biggest problem with creating an office suite for tablets is supporting all of the various file types that are out there (Office 2000/2003/2007 etc.) If it was just a matter of supporting one file type, and having the ability to import/convert from/to the other file types than it would be much easier. The problem is that would add an extra step for users to deal with.
I also think that Google will be releasing a very nice Office Suite for Android very soon. I think with the push for Chrome OS, and the already stated fact that Google plans to merge Chrome OS into Android points to that even more.
sgrant said:
Right now I am putting the finishing touches on a project I hope to release this coming week sometime. It will be a tool specifically for Tablets and geared towards software developers mostly.
I am responding to you because the app I am about to release does support all of the typical hotkeys like Ctrl-V etc.
The biggest problem with creating an office suite for tablets is supporting all of the various file types that are out there (Office 2000/2003/2007 etc.) If it was just a matter of supporting one file type, and having the ability to import/convert from/to the other file types than it would be much easier. The problem is that would add an extra step for users to deal with.
I also think that Google will be releasing a very nice Office Suite for Android very soon. I think with the push for Chrome OS, and the already stated fact that Google plans to merge Chrome OS into Android points to that even more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, Im excited for whatever Google has up it's sleeve. (maybe a built-in office suite in jelly bean? )
sounds like an interesting app and Ill be sure and give it a try!
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T
some apps require sd card to work (like this one or this one), because they put the data on sd card, so i want an app that have the abiltiy to use the internal memory as an "virtual sd card",
i know sd cards are not expensive, but i just feel like it's not necessary to use a sd card while there's still a lot of space on my device (like this one has 32 GB) and sometimes you forget your sd card or because of whatever reason you don't want to use your sd card.
so an app like that would be very useful (at least for me, i really need it )
i'd also like to see the list of apps you've created
I would like a virtual server running.
I have a particular need and idea to get some of my phone apps working on the tablet.
My idea is to create a virtual space something like Stick It! or Super Video, those app allow you to open a window and play your videos inside a hovering and movable window.
I took a measurement, and since owning an Asus TF300T with the keyboard dock, my tablet is mostly in landscape mode .
In landscape mode I can fit 3 windows of virtual space (or however you want to call it technically) of my phone in portrait mode.
So the apps on my phone where the developer is; for whatever reason, not interested in making those apps tablet ready, I can run those apps and see them the way they would look on the phone.
Because of the space that I measured, I can run 3 portrait phone apps at once. And just tap to switch between windows.
Does this sound like something that would benefit users?
Thanks
Rob
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2
pepperonihead said:
The docks USB port does not recognize my camera and I do not like the way the tablet just puts your pictures in one big conglomeration. I would like a tablet that recognizes any digital camera and places your photos into files by date like a PC does. I use the tablet for work and I have to upload photos to my reports and then send the reports to my office. I have been able to type reports but it takes so many steps to get pictures from my camera into the tablet and then load them onto my reports that I am not able to do my reports quickly unless I am at home at my compute doing them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
There's a few apps I can think of off the top of my head. A gallery, a calculator & an app that brings all your social feeds together.
For the gallery, I'd like something similar to the stock gallery app except with the option to view it in list or folder view or something similar. Sorting options like sort by name, type etc and the ability to flick through them in that order would be good too.
For the calculator, heaps of buttons on the screen would be nice, and maybe they could be scrollable to reveal more buttons. Right now most calculators are just simple calculators with giant buttons lol. I'd really appreciate a scientific or graphic calculator on Android.
I'm also yet to find a decent tablet app that brings all your social feeds together. Something like the desktop Tweetdeck where you can have multiple panes would be great plus the ability to view profiles, messages, notifications etc.
I'd be willing to pay for any of these as long as their recently priced. (Not gonna pay $20 for a gallery lol)
If any of these are already on the market a reply or link would be appreciated lol, maybe I'm not digging hard enough.
---------- Post added at 09:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:21 PM ----------
rlanza1054 said:
I would like a virtual server running.
I have a particular need and idea to get some of my phone apps working on the tablet.
My idea is to create a virtual space something like Stick It! or Super Video, those app allow you to open a window and play your videos inside a hovering and movable window.
I took a measurement, and since owning an Asus TF300T with the keyboard dock, my tablet is mostly in landscape mode .
In landscape mode I can fit 3 windows of virtual space (or however you want to call it technically) of my phone in portrait mode.
So the apps on my phone where the developer is; for whatever reason, not interested in making those apps tablet ready, I can run those apps and see them the way they would look on the phone.
Because of the space that I measured, I can run 3 portrait phone apps at once. And just tap to switch between windows.
Does this sound like something that would benefit users?
Thanks
Rob
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for double post but I'd love something like this. Like multitasking with 3 vertical apps running in phone mode would be beautiful. Maybe not a virtual server (do you mean online?), but just running an app in a phone version rather than tablet. That way we could have apps like Launcher 7 etc run on tabs. Or maybe have 2/3 of the screen having a browser and the other 1/3 of space occupying a phone app. Great idea man.
It would seem pretty hard to code or implement though.
+1
Hi All,
Having patiently waited for the Nexus 10 to be announced and now not being able to get 'hands on' time with one as yet in the UK, I'm seriously considering getting a Note 10.1.
Had a play with one in-store recently, I found it hard to put back down!, Love it!. I previously had the original Note put found I didn't use stylus that much because a thought the 5" screen was too small to anything useful, I now have a SGS3
I recently sold my nexus 7 only because I want a 10" daily driver mainly for reading my Magazines & Video on the commute to work, then productivity side is having the stylus for drawing house floor plans mainly and the odd sketches using adobe creative cloud, which I hope works on this device.
I know the Nexus 10 would be better for movies, but I would also like to read my magazines and tech documents without too much zooming / scrolling (as i had to on the nexus 7)
I'm edging towards the Note 10.1 and maybe even consider the 3G version (Or should I just tether to the SGS3?)
Which one shall I get?
its your preference bec if you buy a 3g you will need two 3g plans if you teeter you can do with one and save money I do not know the difference between the two over there but if it is much then no point
For me, the pen input forgives any shortcomings the Note has (build quality, screen res <= don't care too much anyways). So if you want the pen, you want the Note. Otherwise the Nexus 10.
skadebo said:
For me, the pen input forgives any shortcomings the Note has (build quality, screen res <= don't care too much anyways). So if you want the pen, you want the Note. Otherwise the Nexus 10.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
^ This. But also, if you want more than 32GB of storage, you want the Note (since the N10 lacks memory expansion).
Well the screen is not as bad as the specs show and on the other hand N10 screen is not as good as specs show.
deba said:
I'm edging towards the Note 10.1 and maybe even consider the 3G version (Or should I just tether to the SGS3?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Note is the most complete tablet on the market now and that includes W8 RT & Pro tablets. The latter beat it on productivity because of their MS Office access but lose big time on the consumption side. That is unless you think the kluged way you consume media on your current laptop/desktop is ideal.
When looking at other tablets ask yourself if these features mean anything to you:
- Multiview (enhanced in JB)
- Pop up play
- S-Pen/S-Note
- AllShare Play and Cast
- Enhanced camera features (smile/face/blink detection, buddy shot)
- Mini apps (enhanced in JB)
- Enhanced audio and video codec support
- IR port
- Browser h/w acceleration
- S-Voice (added in JB)
- Air View (added in JB)
- Group Cast (added in JB)
Video Air View – Preview videos without opening them. View future/past scenes in a playing video via the timeline without stopping it.
Photo Air View – Pictures contained in folders will display in thumbnails when you hover over the folder. They advance nine at a time.
E-Mail Air View – Hover the pen over a heading or contents of an e-mail summary (including via the widget) to see an exploded view of the contents without opening it.
S-Planner Air View – Hover the pen over an event or task to see an exploded view without opening it.
Pop Up Note – Tap the screen twice with the S-Pen button depressed and a pop up note will be displayed. Even on the lock screen when the device is locked. On the N8000, if you’re in a call and remove the S-Pen from its holder, a pop up note automatically opens.
Easy Clip – Capture anything on the display (lasso) anywhere and save it to the clipboard or send it an application (including S-Note).
Draw/Write on an e-mail – As it says.
Draw/Write in S-Planner – As it says (Month View only)
Color Picker – In S-Note, set the ink color to a color selected from a picture.
Pen Switch – Select multiple pen types (color, texture, weight) and toggle through them without opening the menu by pressing the button on the S-Pen once.
Sketch Affect – Change any picture to an outline, color sketch, pencil sketch and more from within S-Note.
Share S-Notes – Convert S-Notes to plain text, PDFs, or pictures and share them via Facebook etc. in one step.
Photo Note – Write personal notes on the back of photos
Gallery Organizer – Create folders and drag and drop pictures between them.
I've had the Note since it was launched and wouldn't be able to move to a tablet that didn't offer some of those features. Good or bad, Samsung's done so much to the Note s/w wise that it's more "Samsung" than "Android."
As for the 3G, personally, I wouldn't have a tablet without it. Tethering is a pain in the ass. Pull out phone, turn on Wi-Fi sharing, connect tablet, disconnect tablet, turn off Wi-Fi sharing. Forget the last step and you're phone's battery is toast. It's toast anyway based on the additional power draw. And when a tablet's always connected you don't have to wait several minutes for it to sync to be usable as is the case for a Wi-Fi tablet reconnecting after being offline. The Note's also a full-fledged phone and with its mammoth battery its the device I use for long conference calls. All my accounts are replicated on my phone and tablet. If I have to respond to a long e-mail I'll pick-up the Note. Something short like MMS I'll use the phone. To me, it's really nice to have that option of picking the right tool so easily. I guess in the end it depends on your wallet and the cost of 3G access.
The only area where the Note gets dinged is the lack of a FHD display and I honestly wish it had one. But, as others have said too, the stuff listed above outweighs that.
Thanks guys, I just picked up the 10.1 wifi after work and playing with now!.
BarryH_GEG said:
The Note is the most complete tablet on the market now and that includes W8 RT & Pro tablets. The latter beat it on productivity because of their MS Office access but lose big time on the consumption side. That is unless you think the kluged way you consume media on your current laptop/desktop is ideal.
When looking at other tablets ask yourself if these features mean anything to you:
- Multiview (enhanced in JB)
- Pop up play
- S-Pen/S-Note
- AllShare Play and Cast
- Enhanced camera features (smile/face/blink detection, buddy shot)
- Mini apps (enhanced in JB)
- Enhanced audio and video codec support
- IR port
- Browser h/w acceleration
- S-Voice (added in JB)
- Air View (added in JB)
- Group Cast (added in JB)
Video Air View – Preview videos without opening them. View future/past scenes in a playing video via the timeline without stopping it.
Photo Air View – Pictures contained in folders will display in thumbnails when you hover over the folder. They advance nine at a time.
E-Mail Air View – Hover the pen over a heading or contents of an e-mail summary (including via the widget) to see an exploded view of the contents without opening it.
S-Planner Air View – Hover the pen over an event or task to see an exploded view without opening it.
Pop Up Note – Tap the screen twice with the S-Pen button depressed and a pop up note will be displayed. Even on the lock screen when the device is locked. On the N8000, if you’re in a call and remove the S-Pen from its holder, a pop up note automatically opens.
Easy Clip – Capture anything on the display (lasso) anywhere and save it to the clipboard or send it an application (including S-Note).
Draw/Write on an e-mail – As it says.
Draw/Write in S-Planner – As it says (Month View only)
Color Picker – In S-Note, set the ink color to a color selected from a picture.
Pen Switch – Select multiple pen types (color, texture, weight) and toggle through them without opening the menu by pressing the button on the S-Pen once.
Sketch Affect – Change any picture to an outline, color sketch, pencil sketch and more from within S-Note.
Share S-Notes – Convert S-Notes to plain text, PDFs, or pictures and share them via Facebook etc. in one step.
Photo Note – Write personal notes on the back of photos
Gallery Organizer – Create folders and drag and drop pictures between them.
I've had the Note since it was launched and wouldn't be able to move to a tablet that didn't offer some of those features. Good or bad, Samsung's done so much to the Note s/w wise that it's more "Samsung" than "Android."
As for the 3G, personally, I wouldn't have a tablet without it. Tethering is a pain in the ass. Pull out phone, turn on Wi-Fi sharing, connect tablet, disconnect tablet, turn off Wi-Fi sharing. Forget the last step and you're phone's battery is toast. It's toast anyway based on the additional power draw. And when a tablet's always connected you don't have to wait several minutes for it to sync to be usable as is the case for a Wi-Fi tablet reconnecting after being offline. The Note's also a full-fledged phone and with its mammoth battery its the device I use for long conference calls. All my accounts are replicated on my phone and tablet. If I have to respond to a long e-mail I'll pick-up the Note. Something short like MMS I'll use the phone. To me, it's really nice to have that option of picking the right tool so easily. I guess in the end it depends on your wallet and the cost of 3G access.
The only area where the Note gets dinged is the lack of a FHD display and I honestly wish it had one. But, as others have said too, the stuff listed above outweighs that.
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Click to collapse
skadebo said:
For me, the pen input forgives any shortcomings the Note has (build quality, screen res <= don't care too much anyways). So if you want the pen, you want the Note. Otherwise the Nexus 10.
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Click to collapse
I totally agree. The pen is great, I was on the fence about it also, to the point I cancelled my order, but it arrived anyway so I played with it and now there is no way I am sending it back. I use it mainly at work the large screen is not ideal for at home I still find the nexus 7 better for bed and toilet times so in that aspect the note 10.1 is the best solution for my needs, also the latest video from Samsung makes the next update even more to my liking.
Sent from my GT-I9300
BarryH_GEG said:
As for the 3G, personally, I wouldn't have a tablet without it. Tethering is a pain in the ass. Pull out phone, turn on Wi-Fi sharing, connect tablet, disconnect tablet, turn off Wi-Fi sharing. Forget the last step and you're phone's battery is toast. It's toast anyway based on the additional power draw. And when a tablet's always connected you don't have to wait several minutes for it to sync to be usable as is the case for a Wi-Fi tablet reconnecting after being offline. The Note's also a full-fledged phone and with its mammoth battery its the device I use for long conference calls. All my accounts are replicated on my phone and tablet. If I have to respond to a long e-mail I'll pick-up the Note. Something short like MMS I'll use the phone. To me, it's really nice to have that option of picking the right tool so easily. I guess in the end it depends on your wallet and the cost of 3G access.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as tethering goes, use Bluetooth tethering, not WiFi hostspot. It's much more battery friendly, and has the benefit of being overridden by default if a known wifi network pops in range of the tablet. I never actually disable tethering on my phone.
Get the Note 10.1. The Nexus 10 OS, surprisingly, isn't as mature and stable nor as versatile. I'm leaning towards returning the Nexus 10 at this point mainly for laggy hdmi out, lockup just browsing with Chrome and on top of that lightbleed. I'm sure the Nexus 10 will mature with another update or two but by then there will probably be new products from Samsung, etc. and the Nexus 10 might drop in price and/or get upgraded. If it was my only tablet I might hang on to it and wait for it to mature but since it's not I'm not not beta testing.
I got mine Tuesday, still using just my fingers with it and still browsing using my phone.
Need to get the hang of the pen but I love using it with sketchbook.
Really alot to discover about the note, so much more than any reviewing sites say about it and don't think Samsung really promoted it very well as nobody really knows what it can do until you have a scout through youtube.
I bought mine cause all I basically knew about it that it has a great pen and the note is very responsive, there wasn't really any information about it and some of the reviews really were bad and can't believe they're talking about the same tablet.
No wonder people are weary about buying one.
Really don't blame them.
I for one love the note
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
mi7chy said:
I'm leaning towards returning the Nexus 10 at this point mainly for laggy hdmi out, lockup just browsing with Chrome and on top of that lightbleed. I'm sure the Nexus 10 will mature with another update or two but by then there will probably be new products from Samsung, etc. and the Nexus 10 might drop in price and/or get upgraded.
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Click to collapse
I think we're witnessing a redefinition of the Nexus program and it doesn't appear XDA'rs are too fond of it. Rather than a development test bed for propeller heads, with the N4/7/10, Google's turning Nexus in to a full fledged "brand." And from the pricing it's aimed at value-oriented mainstream consumers and to create sales volume. There's a lot of "stuff" in their new devices and the specs look fantastic but if you read any of their forums there were compromises made. And at $299/$199/$399 each I guess we shouldn't be surprised. Looked at purely on "value" all three devices are pretty impressive. The N7 sort of stands alone because it competes with the KF and the like which is a relatively low bar. The N4 has some excellent high-end competition and has quite a few weaknesses compared to them. The N10 competes as much with the iPad as other Android tablets so all the h/w and s/w niggles along with some (shocking for Samsung) QC issues isn't a good start. If I didn't need/want the Note's features (and 3G) I'd still buy it over any other Android tablet though.
The main reason I would choose the Note 10.1 over the Nexus 10 is the ability to multi view apps, mostly in Jelly Bean. That does it for me!
For me it's the memory... I use the internal memory for apps, ebooks and music... I seem to be running out pretty quick, and I got the 32gb 3g note 10.1, the 64gb sd card is almost full so having no expansion is a serious deal killer for me... I want to see if the note 10.1 can handle a 128gb sd card but unfortunately we don't have 128gb in micro sd format, yet...
My Gear S2 Classic verdict after 1 month every day use:
Pros:
- Absolutely office compatible, looks great, really nice to wear and not too big for slim-wristed people like me
- Great battery time, runs in between 36h and 48h (I use it for time, notifications from 11 apps and 30 min sport recording every day)
- Excellent display (its AMOLED after all), even in strong daylight
- Probably the very best user interface, the bezel/lunette with the two buttons makes it very intuitive and easy to operate
- Thanks to MRTIMEMAKER endless watch faces (you basically don’t have to buy any…)
- Sturdy build (but also see cons for screen)
- Easy to connect and to administrate via GEAR App on my Samsung S6 edge
- All the apps shipping with it cover all my everyday’s needs
Neutral
- No speaker, I don’t really need it but the alarm clock is a bit lame using vibrations only
- Vibrations are quite weak (had to set it to strong and long duration to surely recognize them)
- HERE maps directions are not always distinct, so I have to look at my phone from time-to-time
- Built-in keyboard is hard to use and not really adapted to a round watch-face
- Currently very few applications in store (but it is getting a bit better everyday)
Cons
- S Voice is inferior to OK Google or Siri but it is needed due to mediocre keyboard
- No integration of Google Maps, Voice Search and only partly support of Google Now notifications (only first notification is displayed)
- Screen is only Gorilla glass, competition uses sapphire glass
- Notifications get overwritten by newer ones if they come from a different app (except for emails and SMS)
- Only the original charger (which is very pricey) works with this smartwatch, even that it seems to use wireless charging standards...
So at a scale from 1 to 10 (10 is best) I would give this watch an 8. With more apps to come it will get a straight 10!
My wishes for apps would be:
- Integration of Google Maps and Voice
- Keyboard alternatives
- Displaying (and editing to some extend) of notes apps like Google Notes, MS Notes etc
- A (working!) sleep tracker
- More information (tags) on currently played music in music app
- A simple(!) stock ticker
Thanks for the review. Min shows up tonight and I am particularly interested in your experience with other chargers. What did you try?
Thanks,
Fred
I totally agree with your review. I bought both S2's. For me, the classic was a little smaller than the 'sport'. The classic should have been larger to justify the $50 extra.
Uses Google Maps.. just a heads up...
Great review and very true. I used the gear s2 (non-classic) for a few weeks before I returned it. I will be getting the 3g version from verizon.
a huge upgrade for me would be the google now notifications all showing. In addition, the sleep tracking option would be great (which apparently will be available at some point based on other discussions online). The no speaker is a bit annoying, and I refuse to walk around with a bluetooth headset just so that I don't have to take my phone out of my pocket. Overall it seems that Samsung did a great job with this watch, and should be able to make it close to a "10" with a few further updates. I did find that the battery life could have been stronger too.
My desires for Samsung would be:
Full view of google now notifications (so basically pulling everything from my google now even if it wasn't a recent notification)
Sleep tracking (with the option of shutting everything on the watch aside from the time and the tracking items)
Customizable "sleep mode" (as opposed to only do not disturb and battery saving mode)
"watch only" mode (it would be nice to have my watch only without any notifications or anything else at times while saving battery-which would turn off all the "ometers", bluetooth, vibration, etc. and just give me the time)
Fast charging (this could hurt battery life, but it would be nice instead of the 2:15 it took to charge from 0-100% even if it's only to get a 25% boost in 10 minutes or whatever on a 250 mah battery... my notes 4 with off 300mah takes an hour to charge)
Overall... GREAT job samsung... really loved the watch. And looking forward to receipt of my 3g version
I have a sport but agree with most of this. I also have a moto 360, and save for the lack of Google maps and s voice instead of Google now, I find the s2 more powerful and enjoyable.
I also find the ui a lot more intuitive. Android wear you just need to memorize which swipe does what, there's nothing to clue you in. On the s2, it is apparent just by looking at it how to do most things.
They have really delivered on this, great first showing for this update to tizen and ui paradigm.
Swap google now for s voice, get Google maps going, offer a larger size, and they have a pretty compelling case to ditch android wear.
Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
Great review, thanks. Any updates since last written? The Gear S2 classic grabbed my attention and since my pebble steel is having issues with it's screen I figure it's time to start shopping. I have a note 5 and don't use S-voice as I find OK google works better, getting the S2 I assume I can't use that. So that brings me over to android wear.
sapphire crystal glass is fare more reflective than gorilla glass, so using it will also make the watch less visible under sunlight.
Mr.time maker is really ****ty it doesn't support anything other than watch face + 2 hands, might as well use the stock watch faces.
jacobgong said:
sapphire crystal glass is fare more reflective than gorilla glass, so using it will also make the watch less visible under sunlight.
Mr.time maker is really ****ty it doesn't support anything other than watch face + 2 hands, might as well use the stock watch faces.
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Click to collapse
To be fair, Mr timemaker also supports something like three or four complications as well as many cool faces -- all for free. Nice change from stock faces without breaking the bank. For something more complex, then samsung gear watch designer software is a good bet.
sefrcoko said:
To be fair, Mr timemaker also supports something like three or four complications as well as many cool faces -- all for free. Nice change from stock faces without breaking the bank. For something more complex, then samsung gear watch designer software is a good bet.
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Click to collapse
Yes but the complication support is useless because you can't customise it so it never fits with the rest of the watch face.
it disgusts me to see a "tourbillon" watch that just has a Google image of a fixed tourbillon, or a white "complication" that doesn't even fit into the slot of where the complication is supposed to go on the watch face.
jacobgong said:
Yes but the complication support is useless because you can't customise it so it never fits with the rest of the watch face.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It works fine with many faces but I agree the lack of customization isn't ideal and doesn't fit well with some designs. If you're looking for something more robust I suggest using Gear Watch Designer.
After 2 months of use, my review of my G2 Classic:
1-Overall a good watch. Looks good, works well enough. I'll keep it.
2-POOR ALARM!! The main reason I use a smart watch is to get notifications and if this is so weak it does not wake me up in the morning or alert me of an email then it is a major fail for the watch.
3-Once I turn off those apps and functions I simply do not need or use (wifi, NFC, etc.) I get 2 days of battery life.
4-Screen is bright enough to be seen in direct sunlight - a major requirement for me.
5-The watch is waterproof - a major requirement for me.
6- The watch works with multiple email programs - a major requirement for me.
7-The watch functions are easy to work with in the most part.
8-Weather and Step Count are poor. The weather doesn't update hourly when you select that option. Only updates when I force it. Steps are off by several hundred from my phone. Not show stoppers, but poor. ((UPDATE - I just deleted all my non-stock Note 4 weather programs and used the one that came with the phone. Lo and behold it now updates hourly. So... use the stock weather app. Problem solved.)) ((CHANGE 2 24 Jan - now it doesn't work. Not sure why.))
9-Samsung Customer Service on this watch sucks. I called a couple of times and got people in India who obviously never heard of the watch and had nothing to offer.
What I"d like to see:
1-Get the damn update out! It's been a couple months and nothing in the US. I hear some of my criticisms will be answer by that.
2-Make the Weather and Step functions work as advertised.
3-FIX THE DAMN VIBRATION!! This is a major fail for the watch and the one reason why I do not recommend it to other professionals. It simply does not help me manage my time and, though I like the watch, had I suspected this I probably would have kept my Pebble. It woke me up in the morning.
4-The ability to set reminders by voice with Google Now off the watch. This is a function I use extensively on my phone and it would be better off my watch. Pebble actually has a separate app that does this as well and that would work too.
Some want more watch faces, more apps, etc. But since I'm not launching nuclear missiles from my watch I really don't want that much functionality. I don't need to see my photos on my watch, control my music, navigate, or many of the other things this watch does. I want some simple health functions, trustworthy notifications, and that's about it. I have one or two watch faces I use and I'm happy with that.
I've had my S2 Classic for 3 days now and I have no issues with notifications. What did you mean by the notifications getting over written? I've not yet had this issue. I can have notifications from sms, google+, facebook etc and can easily act upon them like comment on a google+ post. Unless you meant the same app it'll over write the notification or maybe I miss read. The keyboard I guess is mediocre but isn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Is annoying that if you use made up words like nicknames for example you have no option but to press and hold the keys to choose individual specific letters but once you do that once you can save a word and I'm pretty impressed with the text prediction on it. Other than that I can type relatively quickly on it just having to get used to wear all the letters are now I'm used to using a qwerty keyboard on my phone lol.
S-voice is a little bit of a let down and would prefer the option to have google now but again it works better than expected seems to recognize what I say most of the time although is a little slow especially compared to google now. The only real massive fault I don't like about it is the lack of apps but this may improve with time and I hope it does because the bezel feature is pretty cool and it has potential just hope Samsung do all they can to get devs to make apps for it. The watch is smaller than I thought after looking at videos and pictures online but content is still readable and I compared it to my dad's wrist watch and the S2 is slightly bigger but is roughly the same size so helps give the look of an ordinary wrist watch which I like. Plus isn't bulky unlike my sony smart watch first gen.
I keep reading about weak vibrations which is strange. I set my Classic to long/strong vibration settings and always feel the vibration when it goes off. Maybe different on the sporty gear s2? Or just personal preference perhaps.
sefrcoko said:
I keep reading about weak vibrations which is strange. I set my Classic to long/strong vibration settings and always feel the vibration when it goes off. Maybe different on the sporty gear s2? Or just personal preference perhaps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had a Pebble and the vibration was strong enough to wake me from a deep sleep. The one on my S2 Classic is hard to feel when I'm awake, much less asleep. It's subtle enough that I have missed calls and calendar notifications. Glad it works for you but it sure doesn't work for me. Its several magnitudes weaker than Pebble.
rogerperk said:
I had a Pebble and the vibration was strong enough to wake me from a deep sleep. The one on my S2 Classic is hard to feel when I'm awake, much less asleep. It's subtle enough that I have missed calls and calendar notifications. Glad it works for you but it sure doesn't work for me. Its several magnitudes weaker than Pebble.
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Click to collapse
Ah that makes sense... I never owned a pebble but I can see how going from one device with much stronger vibrations to another one with weaker vibrations might be a problem. I don't use my Classic's alarm for sleep either (although I am a light sleeper anyhow so I imagine it would be ok for me there too lol). Ok, thanks for clearing it up for me. Hopefully samsung pushes out a future update that allows for greater vibration intensity (if the hardware supports it, that is). Personally I wish every smartwatch had a speaker too, so we wouldn't be forced to rely on vibrations all the time
sefrcoko said:
I keep reading about weak vibrations which is strange. I set my Classic to long/strong vibration settings and always feel the vibration when it goes off. Maybe different on the sporty gear s2? Or just personal preference perhaps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
After one month...
CONS
- I want SLEEP TRACKING!!!
- The bug of the alarm HAS TO BE FIXED asap
- There is no sound alarm (very bad)
PRO
- I don't use notification, so my watch is rarely connected, so my battery life is 4 days long (UAU!!!)
- Great screen
- Great usability
- Very elegant (I have the classic)
- Great designer for the watchfaces (attached my own face...)
- For my needs the APPs are sufficent
Final vote: 8 (it will become 9 with the Sleep Tracking)
Harmon Rabb said:
I have a sport but agree with most of this. I also have a moto 360, and save for the lack of Google maps and s voice instead of Google now, I find the s2 more powerful and enjoyable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a Huawei Android Wear, and my opinion is the same as yours.
I went back and forth between the two for several weeks, and eventually just accepted the few limitations of the S2 3G vs. AW, and haven't had the Huawei on my wrist now for 3 weeks or so.
I'm a weather buff, so the one thing in addition to OK Google that I missed was the InstaWeather watch faces. They are absolutely awesome, with a really good animated radar face, and several others that are great.
I simply had to wean myself from glancing at my watch to see what's going on weatherwise (animated radar!), what was coming in terms of forecast, etc. It was painful, but not too much, and I found what I feel is among the best weather apps for Android out there, MyWeather. That helped a lot -- incredible graphical information, forecasts, etc.
If you like weather, download this app now, and have fun watching what's going on on the west coast right now as I type this
As for the rest, I really value the ability to make/receive calls, so the speaker is a big plus. The standalone 3G was a great bonus, but now that I've had it a while I'm find it far more valuable as a feature than I initially thought.
So, at this point the only thing I really have as a significant complaint is the poor performance of S-Voice. I've learned (and am still learning) the quirks of the program so that I can make it as successful for me as possible, but it falls far short of Google's voice recognition servers.
So, I have had this watch since late November, so, here's my honest opinion after ~7 weeks use. (I suspect I get unnecessarily flamed by Samsung Fans for this!!)
The Good
- The design, rotating bezel is the best attempt yet at a simple selection system for a smartwatch
- The battery life - I easily get 3 days
- The hardware - nice screen, snappy performance
- Answering/rejecting calls from the watch works very well and call quality is superb
- Notifications work well, but limited as to what one can do with them with non samsung phone
- Huge number of watch faces - but who needs more than one?
- When S-Voice is working (which is rarely) its handy for 'remind me to...', 'set alarm for...' requests.
- Controlling music player on phone works well enough
- Very few decent apps, but Remote Camera, Xenozu (Youtube), Gear Browser, Toggles, Flipboard work pretty well.
The Bad - (Warning - this is pretty scathing!)
- Only 1.4GB free on watch from the original 4GB
- Watch is full of junk that cannot be uninstalled (useless watch faces useless apps)
- Seriously compromised if not using with a Samsung phone (eg no email, limited sms messaging)
- No way to add SMS functionality via third party apps. Can send messages, but can not go back through old received messages.
- No Gmail/Email (pop3/imap) app, if you have a Samsung phone you get this feature, if not then tough. A stand alone imap-enabled client would have solved this.
- Often the only option in notifications is 'show on phone' eg from FB messenger/twitter notifications - where we are talking about just a few words, this defeats the purpose of the watch, I need to be able to read on watch and reply on watch. This limitation gets tiresome. 3rd parties EG FB/twitter could fix this with their own S3 app, or notifications that allow 'reply', but we all know they never will. Some other notifications (eg email are less limiting)
- Samsungs App store is god-awful - there are many poor quality, paid apps, and when one installs them and discovers they are rubbish there is NO WAY to get a refund (unlike the google play store). I have wasted £20 this way.
- Decent apps on the Samsung store are hard to come by. The (fairly pointless) Xenozu Youtube app, gear brower along with the widgets app (displays android widgets on yr watch) are about the only decent ones that exist. The latter eats battery on the phone though. One notable exception being the remote camera app which is good.
- Samsung pay still does not work in the UK, and no idea when or if it ever will.
- a good 80% of the 'apps' on the Samsung store are simply watch faces - I only need one watch face.
- What remains is an extremely poor collection of extremely buggy apps.
- The 'SMS Service is not available' response to S-Voice attempts to 'Send a text to xxx' requests is tedious. There was no need to screw the functionality up so much for non Samsung phone users.
- Very often S-Voice does not respond - just times out and gives a spoken error
- The remote connection (via wifi) when watch is not connected via bluetooth is unreliable. Its supposed to make a remote connection to phone and allow notifications/etc to still be sent to the watch. Most of the time, it does not work even where watch/phone are on same wifi network, I have never had it work when they are on different networks.
- The watch is fussy about wifi networks (it wont work at all in my workplace for instance). It connects, but no connectivity.
- S-Health is a pile of junk, it auto-detects cycling when I am doing 60MPH on the motorway for instance!!! Among many other issues. Where is the option to remove it and replace with Strava? S-Health on the phone also eats the phones battery in no time.
Samsung needs to up their game if they are serious about Tizen Smartwatches, supplying their own developers for free to the likes of facebook, twitter, whatsapp, hive, ifttt, Skitrax etc in order to ensure that apps for the watch get developed, or paying devs to develop for the platform. They also need to change their store to allow a refund window for rubbish apps.
Samsung could WRITE an IMAP app to fix the email hole on the watch (could be configured from phone, but then work without phone)
Nigel
I am a Samsung fan and I agree with a lot of your gripes, but with all Tech products the "honeymoon" period is pretty short, in other words the level of excitement wears off quickly.
But I agree, if they want Tizen to take off, they need to have major upgrades to the software side of the experience. Samsung is and always will be a great hardware manufacturer, but the software side is always a question-mark. This goes for the overloaded useless crap software on their galaxy phones to the poor software functionality of their smart tvs.
Google is releasing Android Wear upgrades so hopefully some competition outside of Apple will spruce things up, but I am not holding my breath.
BTW, I had to turn off S Voice as it would randomly turn on 2-3 times a day (I didn't even have voice recognition configured) when I was in meetings, very embarrassing. I should have the capability to uninstall it all together.
Also 100% agree on the refund period, like what the hell, in this day and age it should be an easy thing to do. Have bought so many faces and apps that look great and advertise great functionality to only be disappointed when seeing it work after installation. Money wasted.
The only reason I dont have a Samsung phone is the software. Hardware great, but why oh why do they have to mess with stock android so much!?
Sent from my SGP621 using Tapatalk
I bought the frontier to try out Tizen. The other reasons were Samsung Pay, GPS (coming from Huawei Watch) and IP68 certification. I was hoping there would be great apps to support it along the way. The watch build (minus the rotating bezel) is fantastic but Tizen and the current Gear apps are just not exciting enough and hence my feelings are similar to the OP. Maybe my expectations for a wearable are too much. However, I'm looking forward to what Under Armour has to offer since I like to track my runs. Still keeping my Huawei with latest Wear developer preview installed which I actually prefer over Tizen for its clean UI, Google search and wrist gestures. I hardly touch the Frontier's rattling bezel for the fear of it breaking loose. I wish I could tap the screen to turn on the display as with the Huawei. These are just my preferences but its good that I can have the same notifications on both watches at the same time using one phone and therefore be able to switch between the two.
I agree with the OP post plus I'm fed up with the bugs and crap altitude and barometer. Maybe I'll switch to the Fenix 5 when it's released.
I also own a Lg G watch r, and the thing i miss on Gear s3 are the lack of google`s software integration. Would like to use "ok google", by far superior to S-voice. Also google maps, with turn by turn navigation on my wrist.
The selection of watchfaces are awful on gear, and many of them does not look nice on the watch. Missing Watchmaker app, awesome selection of quality watchfaces created by users.
Like mentioned in OP, the notifications are not rich enough.. the idea of the watch making it easier is not working good enough. BUT im hoping there will be changes coming, because it an nice looking and powerful watch.
blackspp said:
I agree with the OP post plus I'm fed up with the bugs and crap altitude and barometer. Maybe I'll switch to the Fenix 5 when it's released.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fully agree with you. There is no apps and Samsung does not bring much to the table. It should be improving the experience, but in place they just rotate few features between models. They don't add new features, but only remove some to replace them with others. Then next models, swap them again (e.g. IR remote).
Progress will be to keep the existing and ADD something!
The only thing I enjoy with the Gear S3 is the look. I felt an improvement in quality, but nothing else. Hope that new intersting apps will get on board soon and that firmware update will be able to correct irrealistic figures from all sensors in that watch.
I fully agree with all of you.
I can use Google maps now with Directions, but even that one I have to start manually.
Toggles was new for me. (Thanks)
But still a lot of handy things as in the first part of Nigel's story.
Quick read my mail, etc etc, coming from a ,not too bad, Sony Smartwatch, its great.
And we have this beautiful KLM airline app.
S-Voice is a drama. (no Dutch)
But this is the Tizen choice. We knew it... lets face it.
Huib
Does anyone know if android wear 2.0 will support android pay on rooted phones? The only reason I'm keeping my Gear S3 is for samsung pay. The rest is too buggy as mentioned here. The other reason is spotify, which rarely works well for me anymore.
soundneedle said:
Does anyone know if android wear 2.0 will support android pay on rooted phones? The only reason I'm keeping my Gear S3 is for samsung pay. The rest is too buggy as mentioned here. The other reason is spotify, which rarely works well for me anymore.
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There first has to be a watch that supports Android pay with nfc. Right now there isn't any and idk looks like they might not let root users unless they make a separate app for Android pay for watches like Samsung did for Samsung pay for the gear s3 on how it is separate from the Samsung pay phone version. We should know hopefully soon.
Geez!
I was tempted by the Amoled screen vs the LCD of the Moto 360 v2, but as I am an HTC phones user the limitations will be bad.
Though I see there are some custom roms, I wonder if they can fix most of the listed problems?
Samsung Pay with MST keeps me around. Truly groundbreaking on a watch. If you're not using that, then yeah I can see how you'd throw in the towel.
I'm mystified by the lack of app developers as well as Samsung's poor app offerings! I want to be able to read all Flipboard posts! I want better functionality from the calendar. I want Facebook, a better browser and a swyping keyboard! And I want them to fix the WiFi so you can connect to password protected networks!
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kronium said:
Samsung Pay with MST keeps me around. Truly groundbreaking on a watch. If you're not using that, then yeah I can see how you'd throw in the towel.
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Likewise, first impression was "Wow great watch" but after a month with it, it got bland fast so I sold my Canadian version (which didn't have Samsung Pay on it). I found out through the forum that the American versions have Samsung Pay which would work in Canada and that Watchmaker could trigger Tasker so I decided to buy another one. Honestly love the watch now! Samsung Pay IS really groundbreaking and makes this watch totally worth it. (blah blah blah I know, spending money so that you can pay for more stuff you don't need...)
I use tasker to control my home automation so that's a plus too.
I am fully aware that the Gear S3 is a smartwatch first and sport tracker second. But Samsung come on, at least have Strava come -on-board with a native app, S-Health sucks big time.
Yup. It seems to work okay with cycling. Just okay.
S Health is a humongous battery hog.
And how about a Pandora native app also.
I use the watch daily. I can see my notifications (text and Gmail) on the watch without looking at my phone. I also use Samsung Pay almost daily. I have the LTE version, so it it nice to be able to have a stand-alone device if needed. There are many, many reasons I like this watch. However, I think it is obvious that there is a huge lack of usable apps for this watch. Clearly, this is mostly because of Tizen, but Samsung is to blame for that. They have taken little initiative to get real app development. They could at least create a bridge that would allow some Android apps to function on Tizen. They are very hoggish and want to control all aspects of the watch for themselves but aren't moving fast to do so. They offer a BMW app for the watch, but how many people drive a BMW? Why not offer a Chevrolet, Ford, Dodge app, etc...? The list is way too long to mention here of usable apps that need to be available for this watch. So, as I have mentioned in other threads, the watch is great...it just severely lacks app development and Samsung's weak attempts (****ty contests) to inspire development is falling way short. I can only hope they change this very soon. Google should be releasing a pretty awesome watch very soon and I'm not sure if Samsung Pay is going to be enough to keep me with the S3. Especially since I can just use my phone for the same thing.
scott14719 said:
I use the watch daily. I can see my notifications (text and Gmail) on the watch without looking at my phone. I also use Samsung Pay almost daily. I have the LTE version, so it it nice to be able to have a stand-alone device if needed. There are many, many reasons I like this watch. However, I think it is obvious that there is a huge lack of usable apps for this watch. Clearly, this is mostly because of Tizen, but Samsung is to blame for that. They have taken little initiative to get real app development. They could at least create a bridge that would allow some Android apps to function on Tizen. They are very hoggish and want to control all aspects of the watch for themselves but aren't moving fast to do so. They offer a BMW app for the watch, but how many people drive a BMW? Why not offer a Chevrolet, Ford, Dodge app, etc...? The list is way too long to mention here of usable apps that need to be available for this watch. So, as I have mentioned in other threads, the watch is great...it just severely lacks app development and Samsung's weak attempts (****ty contests) to inspire development is falling way short. I can only hope they change this very soon. Google should be releasing a pretty awesome watch very soon and I'm not sure if Samsung Pay is going to be enough to keep me with the S3. Especially since I can just use my phone for the same thing.
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I agree with everything you say except SPay! Amen!
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Ditto the two above posts...
I bought the watch 2 weeks ago and I love the way it functions personally. S health got a major upgrade 2 weeks ago, and to get the most of it you need to check off the activities that you like in the S gear app. So far I have just run and walked using this app. and it gives heart rate, and let's you know your pace and calories burned. I have yet to track weight training, and such. The Under Armor apps are there, but I seem to get and invalid email error so far. One of the best keeps getting better since the last heart rate monitoring addition.