Over the course of the past month and a half, I've tried a total of 8 Samsung Galaxy S7's. I didn't set out to exchange so many phones and I really didn't need the inconvenience of all the swapping involved, much less of all the inspecting, testing and comparing I've done. I'm not a reviewer or a device tester. I'm only someone who wants (and expects) good and consistent quality among relatively expensive products if and when I purchase them.
Having stated the above, I've found that certain variants of the S7 do not perform equally in some ways (such as involving certain SoC functionality). On one model, the API necessary to activate and utilize a certain hardware capability (that's indeed supported by said device's circuitry) is not supported by its factory-flashed firmware. Moreover, there's an absence of information available addressing this issue on the Internet or even from Samsung itself. So it can be quite difficult to gain direction on the possibility of a resolution.
Here's my case in point concerning the above mentioned missing API. While the unlocked US variant of the S7 (i.e., the SM-G930U) genuinely comes with a built-in, fully functional FM broadcast receiver chip, phone buyers are not able to easily access the chip's functionality. I suppose I should clarify by adding that the FM chip would be fully functional if Samsung chose to enable it within the firmware that comes on this model. But they have chosen not to do so and it's not entirely clear why.
I have personally confirmed that the FM chip on the 930U can be activated, and that it will thus receive local FM broadcast signals. One merely need flash a major carrier variant of the S7 firmware onto their 930U. Or at least I can confirm that the SM-G930P (SPR) firmware will achieve this end. That's all it took to get my last 930U up and running on the local FM broadcast band. Once the flash had completed my 930U began receiving local FM radio stations via its headphone jack antenna input and the NextRadio application. Note: I had trouble with the first flash attempt because the stock 930U partition was too small to accept the 930P firmware image and thus required an adjustment.
I personally find it discouraging that Samsung doesn't give owners of the 930U a convenient way to activate the device's built-in FM receiver function. Since it appears there have been no instructions published yet on this topic, 930U owners who want access to the device's FM receiver will have to rely upon the trial and error approach and attempt to resolve the matter with a firmware flash (as I did). I believe it's currently the only option. I'm guessing the reason the receiver is not enabled by default in the factory supplied firmware is because the cellular carriers have no real incentive to request that Samsung incorporate the necessary API component. And Samsung itself obviously doesn't care enough to simply include it. And I suppose Google may fit in there somewhere as well. The result is of course that the average S7 owner is neither supplied with the knowledge nor the choice to enable FM reception on the 930U. Granted, most phone users aren't terribly interested in gaining FM broadcast reception capability. But it can be a big deal for those of us who are.
Yet another difference between the 930U variant and the cellular carrier variants, and even the 930U variant and the international unlocked variant, is that the 930U seems to have a persistent wifi sensitivity issue. That is, the device can't see wifi signals that are below a moderate signal level. This conclusion is based upon my comparative testing of three 930U devices to several 930P devices (Sprint variant), and one 930F device (international unlocked variant). This wifi concern, by the way, is the main reason the 930U has been ruled out as an option for my personal situation. I like the absence of bloatware (well mostly - I want to retain Sprint Zone functionality) and I like the potential for interchangeability between major US cellular carriers, be they GSM or CDMA based. But I can't handle the crippled wifi reception! Any device I use needs to be able to see and establish connections with wifi nodes that produce signals below a moderate level ( i.e., less than -85 dBm) at locations where I may need such capability.
Still further concerns for me are various inconsistencies between new S7's within a single variant group. Some of these inconsistencies include the following: 1. Obvious display color differences (e.g., some S7's produce vivid and bright colors, while others seem to display colors that are noticeably washed out). 2. Some S7 camera's seems to see better in extremely low lighting environments (clearer, brighter detail and less graininess) than do others at the same ambient light levels. 3. Most of the S7's that I've possessed have poorly aligned overlay ports around the front and back camera lenses. In most cases, this is purely an aesthetic annoyance. But for a phone that costs $650 to $700, I personally expect better quality control. 4. On some S7's the very same cellular network signal levels will produce more signal bars than on other S7's.
I understand that issues like the ones I've observed on the S7's I've assessed may be present on mobile devices produced by other manufacturers as well. I have to say, though, that I tend to expect a bit more from a rather expensive device that's touted so highly by so many
What I've noticed with mine is the awful quality of video indoors with light, especially in 1080p60fps. Also indoors I noticed a yellowish tint in the center of the screen and a darker ring around it that's visible in pics and videos. None of them are visible outside in day, but mostly at night with artificial light.
Related
Why do mobile companies restrict the use of SIM cards from phones from being used in tablets?
While phones were mostly less powerful than the new tablet devices and the larger screens meant there was a greater data demand by tablet devices, this is certainly no longer the case.
Phones are now more powerful than most tablets and the rest are simply equal. Processors are quad core clocked at similar speeds, if not not higher speeds, the working memory is again the latest 1-2Gb configuration with 16-32GB internal NAND flash memory. With phones having the latest 128GB external SDXC memory support to compliment the superior camera resolutions of 22 Mega pixels. Cloud services are now just beginning to gear thewmselves up to cope with this data interchange whereas tablets still have only modest cameras. Phones do now have front and back facing cameras and the similarities continue to converge.
But crucially the screen resolution has become irrelavent because of technical innovation and it is commonsense the data is sent highly compressed through the Internet where it is decompressed and interpolated to match the local screen resolution by the local graphics processing unit, GPU. This item is again of superior design, as a matched technology to the central processing unit, CPU where the mobile phone market is concerned. Both CPU and GPU are expected to have multiple cores to improve performance and the designs are optimised to consume as little power as possible. A great advantage for a mobile phone. The competition leads to great performance in wider world applications and this is the reason for the extreme competition that has been encouraged in the mobile phone marketplace. But of course we, the public, are paying for this R&D whereas it used to be hideously expensive top secret military R&D budgets. The senate was worried about the cost of a hammer and a handfull of screws at one stage.
There has been a complete change in the definition of mobile phone and tablet where the OS is now exactly the same for each, being Android 4.x.x.
So why are telcos forcing people to purchase a separate SIM for each device? I am disabled. I need specialist communication software to assist me in communicating when I am travelling. For this the tablet is better. But while at home or when meeting friends during the evening the mobile phone is the better option. But the telcos refuse to let me use the same SIM in both devices. I cannot use both devices at the same time so I don't see the logic behind this situation.
The situation continues because the telcos think we cannot see they are continuing to enforce this barrier so that they can make a greater profit from users. Please help get people to recognise the false pretence that prevents us all from exercising a freedon of choice to use either device according to our intended purpose without the need to purchase separate SIMS. Afterall, because I can only use one device at a time why am I forced to pay for two 3G or 4G contracts with separate data components?
I don't see any common sense in this situation and I do think we are all being ripped off by this legacy programmed system restriction.
And I did install the phone SIM in my tablet after being told by the telco staff it was OK, where it worked happily for approx 12 hours. Later when I enquired how I could set up the voicemail and SMS services an arrogant technician then told me I could not install this SIM into a tablet, followed rather weakly by, it will stop working after a time.
Given the conflicting statements and the fact the SIM was working when I was being told it would not work I question the reality of the reason for it not working. It may be recognised by a systematic ID check. But the blocking of the data services after an arbitrary period of time raises the question, "Why shouldn't a SIM now work regardless of whether it is a Phone SIMor a tablet SIM.
The legacy rationale a history of tablets as they were originally a platform for advanced circuitry and software to be released and the resulting extra data demand to their internet connection lasted only as long as the phone market had not become so competitive that their technical facilities raced ahead of tablets. In fact the technological improvements in hardware and saftware have brought both devices to an equal status where users can choose the device according to the context of their intended purpose.. So much so that having more than one device to suit practical applications in varied social settings with no impact on the data portion of their respective uses. Example, you can now watch films or TV series while commuting.. Preferable to use a smartphone here. But you can continue exactly where you left off on a tablet or even a smart TV! The data compression and local pixel mapping to suit the resolution of the device is done locally and absolutely without any impact upon the data demand or stream.
There is no reasonable argument to continue differentiating between Phones and Tablets other than to enforce an obsolete regimen and to unfairly extract money from phone and tablet users who unwittingly pay twice for the same telephone and data services! Copyright(CC) Arclite 13-03-2015
I swap my SIM between my phone and my tablet several times a day. Never had a problem with it...
I often say to myself, that there must be more makes and models of mobile devices out there than the variety of vehicles these days. If that turns out true, it's no wonder. This industry is the fastest growing market right now. With such a selection, features, brands, and prices, it's hard to choose which device will be the best for you. Hopefully this guide will give you an idea on what to look for in your next device.
FIRST OFF:
GSMArena is your friend. They provide detailed specifications of many devices out there. The ones they don't show, well, a good rule of thumb is that the device is probably not popular enough to warrant your attention, if you want to do some of the things this site is known for (more on that later).
A cool feature of GSMArena is the ability to be able to compare two (or more) devices side-by-side, so once you have a small handful of possibilities, you can compare features easily.
One thing you do need to be careful of, is that GSMArena does not feature every variation a carrier may instill. So the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini you may see at the Bell Aliant store really has 16GB of storage space, but Bell may be the only carrier that uses that variant.
NETWORK:
Those looking for a Wi-Fi only tablet can skip this section...but a must-read for everyone else.
If you have a handful of devices in mind, right off the bat you should rule them in by checking their network status. I cannot tell you which one will work for your network, but your provider will tell you what technology (or technologies) they use (CDMA vs GSM/HSPA/HSPA+/LTE), and at what frequencies. My provider runs HSPA+ and LTE at 1700 and 2100 mHz only (no 2G), so that narrows my options for phones. As an example, last years Moto G LTE would work, but not this year's version due to mismatched frequencies.
Network technology is quite important, especially if you use CDMA. This means you would have no SIM (a tiny device that contains your subscriber information that you get from your provider) card (unless it has world phone capability, and even then, the bands probably won't work for your region) and are stuck with the carrier you buy the phone from. There are some CDMA-based network phone's, like the Motorola Photon Q (released for Sprint), that have their SIM card non-removable (a CDMA/GSM hybrid) where people have modified by soldering in a proper SIM slot. However, the GSM bands used for this device no not work for North America providers.
REFUSALS:
Think of a list of what you don't want. Want to avoid a phablet? Check! No to an Android OS older than Kitkat? Got it! No Samsung devices? You are on fire!
Maybe you can even think of some of the basic internals we take for granted. Usable space is one of them. It's hard to tell, but there is a big disconnect between the ROM size and what you have available to use. Heck, the system data's gotta take up space too! But the big question, what does this leave me? My recent phone, an LG Optimus F3Q, came with a JellyBean ROM, on a 4GB device. I had 1.3GB to play with. Not a lot, in light of the F3Q's predecessor for T-Mobile, the Samsung Galaxy S Relay 4G had a 8GB ROM (Ice Cream Sandwich) and 5GB to play with. Why the downgrade, I never understood.
Seems as though a couple years ago, 16GB or more was reserved for high-end phones, 8GB for mid-range, and 4GB for budget phones. I am still seeing phones set up this way, such as the LG G3 S (aka Beat). This is a phone that was released with a 8GB ROM (the smaller cousin to the LG G3, much like the relationship between the Samsung Galaxy S4 and S4 Mini) and KitKat as an OS, upgradeable to Lollipop. This phone is in preparation of space-hungry Lollipop, and it shows when you look at this device's usable stoage space. For a 8GB ROM, you get around 2.4GB available to you. Since Lollipop's new runtime doubles the space of applications (un-compiled version, and compiled version of everything) compared to previous Android versions, the situation is just as bad with this phone as I have previously complained about with the F3Q. Thus, my refusal is no less than 8GB for Jellybean-age devices, or no less than 16GB for Lollipop or newer.
FEATURES:
Okay, so now you know what you don't want. What about what you want? Time to start a second list. Be reasonable, as in don't add features that won't be in phones for the next several years (like 1TB storage). This could be a quad-core processor (which seems to be the bare minimum for decent devices these days, or maybe 2GB of memory/RAM).
GIMMICKS:
In your feature list, did you add dual-SIM support, QWERTY keyboard, or some other gimmick? Be careful with that - a lot of manufacturers don't handle gimmicks too well, and only put them on lower-specced devices (Samsung Duos line comes to mind). These devices are not meant to push a lot of units, so the prices of them usually are quite higher. Keep in mind that dual-sim is not quite a gimmick, but it strays from the norm enough that you would be confused if it wasn't.
TO MicroSD OR NOT MicroSD?:
This is increasingly becoming a gimmick sadly. I like spending less on a device and then supplementing it with cheap memory. But this cannot be the case for many. Some manufacturers are bringing them back, others, are abolishing them from their devices. It's hard to see what the weather will be like there.
It comes down to personal choice, if it's a worthy feature or something you can live without.
BATTERY:
Battery life holds a big importance. Typically you want to look at the number of mAh the battery holds (as a comparison to like devices), but for say, different screen sizes, a smaller battery will work just as well on a smaller screen. So you need to look at screen-on-time metrics to know how long you can use your device, and how long you can go before a recharge. The challenge is that manufacturers usually advertise battery life by idle time, which is a perfect-world scenario (all sensors and radios turned off, no screen-on-time - basically the device is hibernating more aggressively than you will ever let it).
Another consideration is whether the battery should be removable. I used to be a strong supporter of removable batteries, since I would replace a faulty battery from time to time, but these days, I'm ambivalent to that idea. With external battery packs, you should never have to pop the back cover because the battery went dead. With the fact you can turn off a bootlooped phone after pressing power for many seconds, you never need to pull the battery either. Although, the big reason for a removable battery is for longevity of the phone, as the battery is usually the first to fail (after-market batteries are tested to function well for 300 charges). With a user-replaceable battery, you can easily buy and insert a replacement, be it from the OEM or third party (which often provides a little more juice). Once again, it comes down to personal choice.
DEVELOPMENT:
Okay, by now, you must have some decent candidates. But how do they stack up to this site? If the device does not have a forum yet, there is no guarantee it will ever get one. Even if it has a fourm, there is no guarantee it will get any amount of development. This becomes a judgement call whether your phone will be rootable, and have the ability to install custom ROMs (if that's your thing). If you are not concerned about that kind of support, no loss has been made, but if custom ROMs are your thing, don't buy and then "hope and wait" for something that may never come because you got a device noone cares about.
FINALLY:
Sometimes you cannot have everything you are looking for and not looking for. So this becomes time to prioritize and find the best match of features and refusals. It is not necessarily settling, but if we could all have our "Homer", the cost of phones would be astronomical (and some people place certain price points as refusals).
If you still get stuck, there is the device suggestion thread where others suggest the best device out there for your needs.
Hope this helps someone on their next purchase.
So i'm looking for a Tablet that also functions as a Phone (actual phone networks not Skype/etc via data), size isn't important as long as it's in the tablet range. It's not a concern how inconvenient a tablet would be as a phone as it will be used in an office and not intended to travel. Not sure if it's relevant with how the radio's/bands/ranges work, but I live in the UK.
Intense Googling seems to flag the Samsung Galaxy Tab S/S2 as prime candidates or the Xperia Z4, But honestly nailing down if any specific tablet really supports voice calling or not seems surprisingly ambiguous.
The Galaxy Tab seems the more competitively priced but it seems like there's a disturbingly large amount of posts/threads about faulty screens on them, unsure if this is a common issue or I'm just getting confirmation bias.
Also the S 10.5 seems about the same price as a S2 8.4 is just now, yet the hardware doesn't really seem revolutionary in the S2, better to go with S for battery/screen size?
Edit: I realise you might need more information than simply 'tablet please', let me update this...
I'd like it to be fairly high performance, aspect ratio and size aren't that important, it will be used mostly for phone calls, messaging, and presenting videos of concepts/mock-ups, usually which are much higher resolution than the device itself, The ability to root the device would be useful.
Any Suggestions/Advice? Alternative models to consider? Thanks
Hello, if i'm posting this in the wrong place please migrate this message somewhere better. Also I could post separate topics but i'm trying to wrap them into one. (if it's better to separate let me know - another board I stepped on toes for having "too many separate posts" that were lightly linked)
I'm trying to buy a Tracfone. Specifically a Tracfone "with 1 year service/minutes" bundle, actually i'm looking for two of them (me and GF) because her phone seemed to just implode recently for no reason.
Two places I know of having "bundling deals" are QVC and HSN, if there are others please let me know? I'm aware of shopcelldeals but those arent bundles, just minute-less phones usually.
One of my TOP priorities is finding phones that can root, yet searching for nearly every Tracfone for sale on either site keeps showing the same things - others asking for root with no success, talk of locked bootloaders, and similar. I am wondering if this is something across the board, if some manufacturers are worse than others, if some tend to have root methods show up later, etc. I can live without it for now, I just can't put certain cool things on until then.
If finding a rootable Tracfone is hopeless i'm probably shopping for conventional phones for BYOD but then no minutes deals with either a free phone or barely more cost obviously.
Makes little difference to be if 3G or 4G (despite the impending 3g sunset), CDMA or GSM, other than really trying to find Verizon or ATT Tracfones because of superior coverage where I drive. Actually ideal might be one ATT and one Verizon due to complimentary coverage. (where one is out the other usually is present)
The above probably already is a pretty short list of phones (if any at all) so not even sure if more details is needed, other than preferring a larger screen to make Google Maps more usable. (5-5.5" is nicer than smaller) That's honestly the most demanding application we are likely to need. Something with a replaceable battery preferred - note i'm not afraid of "non user replaceable" batteries that just make it hard/involve disassembly, have tools for that long as it's possible and there's a guide.
The fallback worst case scenario is just buy a pair of used Samsung Galaxy S5's one VZ one ATT and do the bring own device tracfone SIMs, but i'd like to see if there is something competitively cheaper since money is sorta tight. Any advice on anything directly or indirectly mentioned in this thread would be appreciated as helpful.
Actually, strongly consider used (as in pre-owned) CDMA (and specifically ex-VZW) phones; they can be purchased from many Amazon sellers, Wirefly, etc. Also, not all VZW customers trade in their phones (and especially not since VZW has the hypercheap Samsung Galaxy J3 that they are pushing to non-unlimited customers - my Mom bought one to replace her Galaxy Nexus, which I now have).
Once you have your ex-VZW phone in hand, order a SIM Kit from Tracfone via their BYOD page - https://get.tracfone.com/bring-your-own-phone/
While you are waiting for your SIM Kit to show, select your replacement ROM of choice *and* remove the old SIM - you won't need it for any of the prep steps. (You will need a wireless router with at least 2.4 GHz N support, though.)
For Samsung-based ex-VZW phones (which I suggest and which I will use as an example), grab the Universal Android Toolkit (current version is 1.5.6). While it is a Windows application, it is a "character mode" Windows application that runs windowed - no mousing here. The UAT supports features that ODIN flat out lacks; even better, you don't need to use that unique-to-Samsung "download mode", either. It doesn't just support flashing community ROMs/firmware; it can also restore supported devices to bog-stock (REALLY useful for phones you "inherit" from others). It even includes a mix of rooting utilities, and supports custom recoveries (it includes two versions of TWRP for the Galaxy Nexus, for example - with alternatives from the old CWM and Carliv's/Philz Touch (should you not like TWRP).
Some common misconceptions are about to get sliced and diced in this paragraph - so PAY ATTENTION.
First misconception - Tracfone requires a stock configuration. Not true of BYOP, and never has been. What firmware you run on your phone is YOUR business - Tracfone, in fact, could care less.
Second misconception - you have to start fresh (no porting). Patently false; you can port existing numbers to Tracfone BYOP just fine; I ported a lifeline number from Tracfone's Safelink Wireless division.
Third misconception - you can't port numbers from feature phones. See second misconception above; the number I ported was from a feature phone. (Safelink Wireless just started shipping Android phones itself; until Christmas of this year; the standard lifeline phone was a feature phone - typically from Alcatel, and connected to T-Mobile's 3G network.)
Last misconception - Tracfone uses a weak network backbone. While that was certainly the case with T-Mobile's network (which is still used by Safelink's feature phones), the LTE side of Tracfone (and Safelink's Android phones) is driven by Verizon Wireless - which is as solid as it gets in most of the US. As VZW predecessor company Bell Atlantic Mobile used to remind us in their video ads, a cell phone is only as good as the network it runs on.
Some surprises about the Galaxy Nexus in particular - first off, it doesn't support SD cards - at all; by that, I mean there is no way to physically mount them. (Therefore, don't even think about that option.) However, basic storage is capacious - out of the 29 GB of total storage, only 3 GB is used by my chosen firmware (PureNexus 7.1.1 for Galaxy Nexus) and GApps (Dynamic 7.1.1.) For that reason, I therefore have LOTS of room for files and apps (especially apps) - and without getting hamstrung by lack of basic storage space. (All too many devices compensate for that lack of basic storage by using SD cards; however, the tradeoff and hamstringing comes into major play with Lollipop and later, as they normally don't let you run apps from the SD card - that is why workarounds like APP2SD exist.) That capacious storage also covers why it's still supported - and especially why the Android community is still writing new ROMs for it, despite the dual-core TI OMAP CPU. (That's right; I did say dual-core.) In general use, there is surprisingly little bog in the GNex - even compared to a more modern phone such as the Samsung S7, let alone the J3.
If you search Google for "Gear S3 Teardown" the results return various websites detailing a single set of internal components with different cases (Classic and Frontier) for the Gear S3.
Does this mean that ALL variants of the Gear S3 contain an LTE modem and embedded sim?
Could it mean that the LTE modem has just been disabled in the BT/Wifi model or is the hardware actually missing from that model?
Did you actually found some teardown, or you`re referring to Samsung`s commercial images showing Gear S3`s internal layers...?
Anyway, while I would really hope for a *possibly working* LTE modem and eSIM inside my bluetooth version, I`m not sure how likely is that. I`m emphasizing "working" here as sometimes companies do really include some parts that are not in use, as parts themselves might be overall cheaper than making a separate production flow to exclude them, but it also happens that not really all the parts needed are there.
For example, I remember reading that many phones that do not have (plain old) radio signal receiving ability actually do have the receiver inside their internals (as it`s simple and cheap, and integrated into some bigger chip), but the wire/line that should finally connect it to something in order for it to be useful is missing (as that is easy to omit, in comparison to integrated circles).
Also, something that you don`t advertise as available (even if it might be present in a way) doesn`t need to be tested/supported, which cuts down some costs, too.
So, I wouldn`t really be surprised if LTE modem or eSIM are really in there in bluetooth versions as well, but I would be a bit surprised if all the accompanying hardware is in there, too, making it possible to be enabled through software only... but we can still hope
Yes I am just reffering to Samsung's commercial images. I have not found another website where they actually performed a real teardown of the Gear S3 range and listed the details of the internal parts.
Well, the R765A rom is available in the Roms Forum. A brave soul could try flashing that to a Bluetooth model and WATCH (pun alert) what happens.
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