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I recently upgraded from the iPhone 5s to the Galaxy Note 3.
This phone is a revelation and I want to try and give some indication why.
I have been using iPhones for many years with a detor to Android every few months (itchy feet!).
Whilst Android is clearly the more technically advanced platform, I always end up dumping the Android phone a few weeks later and returning to the iPhone.
Why ? mainly for two reasons. 10 years ago we used to say that a phone is mainly for phone calls. Internet was a limited and frustrating experience. Today I realise that I only use my phone 5% for calls, the rest is email, general messaging and browsing. The keyboard and user experience therefore become very important.
Apple software engineers really "get" user experience. I don't know how they do it but the keyboard on the iPhone is psychic. My typing is terrible but it manages to mostly get the right keys and if not, do the correct word substitution. It must estimate if you hit between two keys then pick the best letter in the context of the word you were typing or something like that. And then the word lookup is terrific and terribly accurate
Now Android keyboards gave me much worse typing. Not only that, but the word substitution was not automatic (no way of setting it). I could never get used to clicking on the correct word substitution after practically every word. This whole keyboard thing made me feel like chucking every Android phone in the bin after a few weeks (aka to ebay).
Recently, epiphany! I discovered whilst testing an Android phone, that savvy users actually never used the default keyboard (duh!). I found that SwiftKey app was pretty popular, installed it and bing!, now I had 95% of the apple keyboard experience.
That's the thing about Apple, you see it works great out of the box. Android you need to fiddle with it, and for many users they just don't have time or want to do this.
Step in the Note 3.
Ok, now the keyboard is great. I don't know whether it's the latest version of Android or a Samsung developed keyboard but many of the issues have been solved out of the box. One other thing though, due to the size of the screen they have taken the liberty of adding a fifth row of keys, the numeric ones. Genius! You know how frustrating it is when you are typing in passwords or email addresses with a mixture of letters and numbers, always having to flick between numeric and letter keyboards. Now problem solved. For the first time it seems an Android keyboard is better then the Apple one!
The other thing that frustrated me was the speed. Despite having better specs, Android phones have always had the occasional stutter. This can occur anytime, when scrolling, opening an app, etc.
The Note 3 seems 99.9% free of this. Again not sure if this is software development or brute force.
So whilst we are on the subject of brute force let's talk specs. The Note 3 has 3gb of memory, a quad core snap dragon 800 cpu running at approx. 2.3Ghz and a Adreno 300 GPU (yes, thats right, a graphics co-processor). The screen is a full HD 1920x1280 and is an AMOLED with Gorilla glass 3. AMOLED was invented by Samsung and its simply the highest contrast phone screen you can get. IPS screens, as used by the iPhone, have slightly more accurate colours and a slightly brighter maximum brightness, but the contrast on an AMOLED is quite striking. As well as 32gb of internal storage it has a microSD card. I put in a 64gb one so now I have 96gb of storage. Note that with Android you can install apps on the external card if you want, which is very useful.
This spec approaches many full computers!
Completing the specs it has a truly monster 3200MAh battery and a removable stylus built into the body. A stylus you say, back to the Pocket PC ? not quite, this is a whole new technology. For taking notes (aka the phone name) or drawing, its really very good. It also has a switch on it for a pop up menu and other fun.
Lets talk about the elephant in the room, the size. Samsung have been crafty here, the screen size is 5.7", only 0.7" bigger then the S4 but of course a world different from the iPhone 5. Samsung do have phones with bigger screens (e.g. the Mega) but in this bracket have clearly restrained themselves, e.g. compared to say the HTC One Max , Sony Xperia Z Ultra, etc.
This has paid off. The screen is larger and much more comfortable to use then a smaller screen, but due to the extreme thinness, lightweight and minimised bezel of the device, does not feel gigantic in the hand.
Its a personal taste thing and you have to push yourself to even try a device of this size. But the danger you run is that there is no going back. Even 5" screens look pokey, let alone the iPhone 5.
It fits fine in a jean pocket and you get use to it faster then you would think.
The main reason for me trying this in the first place was to attempt to replace both my iPhone 5s and iPad mini, which I take to work every day, with one device. Also cutting the need for two contracts. On a side note I have 4G contracts from EE and vodafone. Again its something you don't think you need, but once you have you can't go back to 3G. The EE network is more mature and has better coverage, I assume Vodafone will come up to the same coverage in time.
Lastly lets talk accessories. Samsung just get this much better then anyone else. There are all sorts of things, from charging backs (so that you can use wireless charging) to docks and headphones. However the key breakthrough is the S-View wallet type cover. This has a window in to allow the phone to show status reports of phone calls and texts as they come in, without having to open the cover. The phone is "cover aware" and formats a small square window to fit this window. It also switches on when you open the flip cover and switches off when you close the flip cover. This is just sheer genius. It sounds simple but it raises the functionality to a whole new level. The final piece of genius is that the cover replaces the back of the phone, so it doesn't add much to the bulk (although it does clverely add a less then 1mm overhand to protect the sides).
Samsung has always made excellent phones, but its no use denying that its basic design has been influenced heavily by the iPhone 3, which it has kept to slavishly.
With the Note 3 Samsung has finally carved its own genuine innovation into the market and created something quite special which is going to permanently change the direction of phone development.
Put it this way, Apple will be responding to this either this or next year, and not the other way round.
Its not surprising that this is one of the world's best selling phones. A busy central London Vodafone shop told me recently that Samsung had long ago overtaken Apple with sales volume, especially the S4, but now the Note 3 is their best seller. No surprises there.
I got the gear 2 just a few months ago and prior to that I had the Galaxy gear 1, which I still think is good. The Gear 2, not the Neo, got a lot of things right. I'll go over several of the reasons why I'm keeping the Gear 2 and why it's my preferred wristwatch, even moreso that my Rolex Submariner.
1 - It's a watch, not a cellphone. Most people expected "smartwatch" to be the same thing as "smartphone". Once you adjust your expectations to something more realistic, you find out that it's really a great watch.
2 - The Gear 2 is much lighter than my Rolex, Suunto and even my Patek Philippe.
3 - It's a more accurate watch than all my other watches. Even though Rolex may say "officially certified chronograph", It's actually not that accurate. Any Seiko quartz watch is more accurate. Read up on that if you don't believe me! Mechanical watches have a way bigger margin of error over 24 hours than most quartz watches. Quartz technology is VERY accurate. Not too sure about the oscillator in the Gear 2 but I bet it's a pretty good one which is far better than any mechanical ones.
4 - Price; I got mine for $250 CDN. Some people may say that's pricey. Sure, if you compare that cheap digital watches. My Suunto which I use for freediving is $400! My Casio G-shock is $118 and doesn't do 1/3 of what the Gear 2 does. And don't even ask about the price of the Patek Philippe. Thank god I won that one during the president's club competition. Even most mid-range watches are in the $200-$300 range these days and don't have the prestige of the luxury swiss watches or the features of the Gear 2. You get a lot of "bang for the buck" from the Gear 2.
5 - Battery vs. winding. My swiss watches are mostly self winding "perpetual" watches. Yes, they keep going and going... so long as you wear them. If you put it down for 2 days, it runs out of energy and you can't tell time. Surprisingly, my gear 2 still has some power left over after 2 days of inactivity and it can still tell time... accurately. Given that my swiss watches cost hundreds of times more and do far less for a modern connected person like myself; it's a much better choice if you can put aside the luxury watch snob factor. I really like showing off my Patek Philippe and it's spinning balance wheel at the bottom. It impresses a lot of people. But after a day where I couldn't check my messages, make messages, phone calls and so on, I really miss my Gear 2.
6 - The changeable wristband is a godsend. I have 3 wristbands besides the original; a large rubberized one which I wear when going skiing, my el-cheapo just to prove the point that for $15, you can class it up and a really nice stainless steel (heavy one) which I just got. It's so easy to change wristbands on this watch. Much easier than any other wristwatch I have, even my cheap plastic ones. Kuudos Samsung
7 - Button on the front. This is one area where samsung has it right and Apple will get it wrong. The Gear 1 had it on the right side which is just wrong. Not too bad when you use your right hand to press but for those who like the watch on the right wrist, you find yourself putting your hand over the screen when pressing the button or using your thumb instead of your index finger; which doesn't work quite as well. As a golfer I can tell you that a crown on the right side of a watch is a pain! This is where Apple will really get it wrong. When you swing and you pronate and supernate, you'll find the crown snags on your glove. That's why most left handed golf watches are built with the crown on the left. Samsung go it right by putting the button on the front.
8 - Size, this thing is smaller than most Breitlings and even smaller than my Patek Philippe. So while it is larger than most watches, even the square and rectangular ones, it's by now means unwieldly.
9 - Camera; It takes decent pictures and for really quick snapshots, it's far faster than reaching for your phone. I just double press the front button to get to camera mode and then I can snap. Great for those "did you see that?" moments
10 - Heartrate monitor; not as accurate as the HR monitors on my gym equipment or even those blood pressure monitors but it does the job pretty well most of the time.
11 - IR blaster; ok, this thing is really cool! I was changing the TV at a bar and nobody knew it was me. It's very discreet. I even have the "power off" app which is great when there's just too much noise. As far as I know, the gear 2 is the only one with such a thing. I don't even need my phone to use it either.
12 - Built-in apps; this thing comes with so many right from the factory it's really good value. Think about it: Dial the phone, call a contact, check the weather, get notifications, for almost any app on the phone, play music and videos directly from the watch, control the media player on the phone, record voice memos, voice controls, pedometer, heart rate, sleep tracker, exercise tracker. reply to text messages, check my schedule for the day, tomorrow etc, stopwatch, timer. That's a LOT of things that you can do from your wrist.
13 - Autonomous apps; A lot of people get this part wrong. They think the watch has to be constantly tethered to the phone. This is not the case. Many apps require the phone to work because of internet connectivity or GPS but there are lots of apps which don't. Once you're paired with your phone, power off your phone and try some of these: Pedometer, Heart rate, Exercise (except hiking and biking which require GPS), camera, Gallery, music player (and videos), sleep tracker, stopwatch, timer, IR remote, voice memo and of course, the watchface itself. That's a lot of things that regular watches can't do.
14 - Lots of apps; Yeah so there isn't 1 Million apps in the app store. But like I said before: this is a smartwatch, not a smartphone. You don't really need an app store that has 50,000 different variations of a LED powered flashlight. Yes. I wish there were more apps but given that the gear 2 hasn't even been around for a year, the samsung app store gives a pretty decent choice of apps. Lets not forget that some apps just aren't suited for your wrist. Do you really want to play angry birds on this thing? I already have a solitaire game and I barely use it because it's just not right for my wrist. Developpers are still trying to figure out what works and what doesn't on a wrist.
15 - Some apps, really work well though. Some of my favorites: anti-sleep alarm which is really useful for late night driving. Meternome which I use all the time when playing guitar. Calculator, I mean duh right? Casio had it back in the '80s. Alarm, especially the vibrate part so I don't wake up my wife. Swing by Swing golf; this is actually pretty damn good for us golfers. Runtastic, strava, bike computer, bike; all apps that are really handy for a cyclist. I just can't choose which one is the best for me. xbmcGear to control my media boxes (goes really well with IR remote), Expedia, which I always use when travelling. It knows everything about my bookings. DSLR remote, comes in handy with my Nikon 300. Calendar, of course! If you've got a clock, this is the next logical choice. A lot of these apps can work autonomously as well!
I could go on and on. The only downsides to this watch are that I have to plug it in about every 2 days and I need to press the button to see the time. I turned off the "wake on gesture" to save the battery. Still, charging is really fast; it's usually fully charged in 30-45 minutes. Nice!
As an owner of many watches, from high end Swiss luxury watches to cheap plastic digital quartz, I can tell you that this is currently my favorite for everyday use. And since I "get it" that this is a WATCH and not a "PHONE ON MY WRIST", My expectations were REALISTIC when I got the Gear 2 and I've been pleaseantly surprised by the Gear 2 and everything it can do.
How do the others stack up? Well, the Android wear ones seem to be lacking a lot of what the Gear 2 has; no camera, no speaker, no IR blaster etc. The Apple watch? Well the whole "you must ABSOLUTELY be tethered to an iPhone for ANYTHING to work" is a turn off for me. Not to mention the stupid crown AND button on the right side which will piss off many people wearing it on the right wrist and any golfer wearing it on their left. The Gear S? Well, the simm card thing is cool but deleting the camera and IR seems like it's taking away some useful tools I've gotten used to. The Gear 2 isn't the best, but it's really hard finding others which have better functionality and features. All the "better" options out there always seem to be missing something that the Gear 2 has.
Oh! forgot to mention this: Music player on the go!
I use the music player with connected Bluetooth headphones all the time. The Gear 2 has 4GB of storage so lots of room for plenty of music when I work out. I retired my iPod shuffle once I got the bluetooth headphones (Beats). That note 3 is just too big when I'm out jogging or at the gym.
I do this 2-3 times a week and having the music player secured on my wrist, where it can't fall off, and no wires to get caught up in, is much better at the gym. SO MUCH BETTER!
Have to agree.. I also love my Gear 2. Currently the best available iteration of smart watch rather than the recent set of Android wear smart watches without speaker or IR.
The speaker feature is great when you are alone driving in the car. Even playing the songs from gear 2 in low volume while sleeping really works for me. Hope it had a sleep timer thought
I have to say, i miss my gear 2. I went and traded mine for the gear s and there are days where I really wish I still had the gear 2.
Then I remember:
Every recent up date to gear manager I had to reset the watch.
Every time I really needed the camera to work
(Taking a pic of our parking spot at WDW, couldn't even do that because it was stuck in macro mode)
Drop the watch from my wrist taking it off and boom it quit working (This happened to 2 watches)
The gear s has not had any of these problems.
I definitely will keep my gear 2 once I upgrade to the gear s just for the camera alone. Only smart watch avaliable with a camera! Awesome sauce!
Started on the Neo, then tried various Android Wear watches, was waiting for a deal on the Gear S but then got a deal on the Gear 2 do happy, excellent battery life, looks super cool, love the call and camera functions.
For me it is the right balance of apps and notifications. I feel others try to almost make your mobile redundant with apps.
I find with the Gear 2 I barely take my phone out of my pocket. For me only annoying bits are S Voice is too limited and would be perfect with some WhatsApp quick reply function.
Sent from my SM-G900F using XDA Free mobile app
I love my Gear 2 and even with the Gear S available, I'll still stick with gear 2, unless they make a gear S 2 with a camera LOL
Pro's - well, almost everything has been said by the OP so let's keep it that way
Usage:
Fleksy Messenger - no need to pull up my huge slate Tab S 8.4 to read/reply to messages
Music App - paired up with Gear Circle, I could be on the go with music.
Gear alarm (app store) - does what it says. vibrates and does not wake up the one sleeping beside you lol
Stay awake( app store) - useful when driving during the night, you need to make weird circular gestures to turn off the alarm, keeps you awake
Instant Setting (appstore) - toggles phone state mobile data, wifi, bluetooth, silent/vibrate etc.
launch gear (app store) - toggles apps before pulling out my slate, use? so that everything is loaded even before I open the tablet
although the gear 2 with it's tizen OS lacks app count, it is usable enough on a day to day basis,
turning off the wake up gesture will save the battery bigtime, last me 5 days in one charge only using it to respond to sms and to check time.
overall, a $200 investment is worth it especially to those who wield device like me
Enjoying mine to the max
after having the original Gear, and installing the Tizen update, I really thought that I wouldn't need a Gear 2.
Discovering one barely used on eBay for a bargain price in the UK, swayed me enough to take the plunge...and I'm so glad I did!
The Gear S took my fancy, but I was amazed at how much I had come to rely on the camera for quick pics and video. The fact that these appear on my phone, then, through dropbox, appear everywhere, means iMovie on my iPad mini is a doddle!
That is 'my' usage case anyway. I use the stock fitness apps a lot and with the heart rate monitor, which can be accurate enough, I find this little gem of a watch becoming more and more useful.
The IR blaster for the tv is cool, the odd occasion when your hands are full and your phone rings (yes, a well placed 'swipe' with your nose will answer that important call on your wrist, and I'm actually enjoying using S Voice(although its gone bloody quiet again) for its message replies, appointment creation and task/memo reminders has made me realise that this really is a neat little package!
Looking through the app store, I'm seeing a few good apps come through, like Gear Navigator, S Alarm, BeatObox, Notepadd ++ and Notifications Wear style(alought this last one is still a WIP), there seems to be people willing to invest time in this device.
Now it is true that I am intrigued by the Apple watch (I am platform agnostic, owning both iOS and Android), but I know for a fact that if CES 2015 brings a Gear 3 with upgraded features, or the hint of a Gear S2 with a camera.....I'd stick with Android!
The only thing to date that has kept me from jumping on the Android Wear platform is the lack of sound/feedback/ no external speaker!
Well thats my thoughts on the watch....anyone else?
actually...thats not all...Has anyone else lost Fleksy messenger etc since upgrading Gear manager....they just dont seem to exist any more on the app store???
Zeuserx i REALLY APPRECIATED your post!!!
i am in a difficult moment. i own gear 1 but i NEVER modded it...... and BLOCKED the tizen update because i don't want tizen.
in my future i would find the time and skills to put a custom rom... why? just 2 things..... to use a record video with unlimited time...especially using a SPY app like SecretVideoRecorder that record/take picture while SCREEN IS OFF!!!
but............... i recently found a used gear2 and:
1) i prefer that do have CHANGEABLE bands, because what if i RUIN my gear 1 band? i noticed replacement parts are not so cheap.
2) it's more compact, but i have to ask you if the SPEAKER PERFORMANCE is the same of the gear 1. i ask it because i think gear 2 uses less space and SMALLER HOLE to thespeaker compared to gear 1
3) i REALLY.....(and really!) like the IR blaster feature!! i'm a native PRANKSTER.... i like jokes.... and i would use the ir blaster lots of time and ok, sometimes just to really use it at my home.
but really.....................i could buy the gear2 only for THIS FEATURE!!!!!
but..... i find just 1 cons:
does not have a ROM with full android. just like nullrom. is it a big problem? i don't understand if with tizen i CAN INSTALL my preferite app/apk ( secretvideorecorder for example......) or not.
if i CAN install secretvideorecorder..... i'm in!
Speaker is fine. I can have a decent conversation on the phone in most enviornments except those which are just REALLY too loud, like a bar.
IR blaster is not only fun but also useful. As in my post: if you don't like what's on TV at a bar, just a few presses and you'll have total control of the TV. and since it's on your wrist, it's pretty stealth. Not to mention that the average joe just doesn't know that you can change TV channels with a watch. hehehe. I use it at home too. "Time to go to bed!", I just swipe 3 times, click the remote app, click power. "Awwww!!!!!" . "I said: bed time !"
I use the camera all the time when shopping. I take snaps of items to research, barcodes etc. Sometimes even videos. And I do this even when my phone is nowhere nearby. YOU CAN'T DO THIS WITH AN APPLE WATCH!
Still the best smart watch on the market
---------- Post added at 10:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:33 PM ----------
Shame Samsung only start great ideas but never finish them
Went to the Apple store to buy my sister a Watch as a present, so pretentious and whats with the you cant actually buy a watch in store and have to book an appointment to try one on ???
Third time playing in store with the Apple Watch - i don't like it, small screen, too busy, crap battery life and expensive.
Then it dawned on me, unlike bloody Samsung, Apple won't abandon this model and already updating it and building up more apps.
I still like not love my Gear 2, but really getting sick of Samsung's ditch the product after 12 mths, less in some cases (thats mobiles and wearables).
I had gear 1, and returned it. Just last week got gear 2 over gear s. Like it, but the experience would be better if s voice was more robust (faster and more features) and there were good apps.
I remember the gear 1 had snapchat, and I thought I was able to share pics. This was a good watch, samsung should of kept the OS
The best thing about gear 2 right now is that it's better battery and lot more responsive than gear 1...
Who cares about android on my wrist? Actually I do because that is were the development market is. This is why apple watch is going to be a killer in about 1 year.
I may return the gear 2? It's frustrating to not have s voice working. Google voice is soooo much better. I'm tempted to try to get android wear on my gear 2 if the camera works
---------- Post added at 02:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:12 PM ----------
Zeuserx said:
I got the gear 2 just a few months ago and prior to that I had the Galaxy gear 1, which I still think is good. The Gear 2, not the Neo, got a lot of things right. I'll go over several of the reasons why I'm keeping the Gear 2 and why it's my preferred wristwatch, even moreso that my Rolex Submariner.
1 - It's a watch, not a cellphone. Most people expected "smartwatch" to be the same thing as "smartphone". Once you adjust your expectations to something more realistic, you find out that it's really a great watch.
2 - The Gear 2 is much lighter than my Rolex, Suunto and even my Patek Philippe.
3 - It's a more accurate watch than all my other watches. Even though Rolex may say "officially certified chronograph", It's actually not that accurate. Any Seiko quartz watch is more accurate. Read up on that if you don't believe me! Mechanical watches have a way bigger margin of error over 24 hours than most quartz watches. Quartz technology is VERY accurate. Not too sure about the oscillator in the Gear 2 but I bet it's a pretty good one which is far better than any mechanical ones.
4 - Price; I got mine for $250 CDN. Some people may say that's pricey. Sure, if you compare that cheap digital watches. My Suunto which I use for freediving is $400! My Casio G-shock is $118 and doesn't do 1/3 of what the Gear 2 does. And don't even ask about the price of the Patek Philippe. Thank god I won that one during the president's club competition. Even most mid-range watches are in the $200-$300 range these days and don't have the prestige of the luxury swiss watches or the features of the Gear 2. You get a lot of "bang for the buck" from the Gear 2.
5 - Battery vs. winding. My swiss watches are mostly self winding "perpetual" watches. Yes, they keep going and going... so long as you wear them. If you put it down for 2 days, it runs out of energy and you can't tell time. Surprisingly, my gear 2 still has some power left over after 2 days of inactivity and it can still tell time... accurately. Given that my swiss watches cost hundreds of times more and do far less for a modern connected person like myself; it's a much better choice if you can put aside the luxury watch snob factor. I really like showing off my Patek Philippe and it's spinning balance wheel at the bottom. It impresses a lot of people. But after a day where I couldn't check my messages, make messages, phone calls and so on, I really miss my Gear 2.
6 - The changeable wristband is a godsend. I have 3 wristbands besides the original; a large rubberized one which I wear when going skiing, my el-cheapo just to prove the point that for $15, you can class it up and a really nice stainless steel (heavy one) which I just got. It's so easy to change wristbands on this watch. Much easier than any other wristwatch I have, even my cheap plastic ones. Kuudos Samsung
7 - Button on the front. This is one area where samsung has it right and Apple will get it wrong. The Gear 1 had it on the right side which is just wrong. Not too bad when you use your right hand to press but for those who like the watch on the right wrist, you find yourself putting your hand over the screen when pressing the button or using your thumb instead of your index finger; which doesn't work quite as well. As a golfer I can tell you that a crown on the right side of a watch is a pain! This is where Apple will really get it wrong. When you swing and you pronate and supernate, you'll find the crown snags on your glove. That's why most left handed golf watches are built with the crown on the left. Samsung go it right by putting the button on the front.
8 - Size, this thing is smaller than most Breitlings and even smaller than my Patek Philippe. So while it is larger than most watches, even the square and rectangular ones, it's by now means unwieldly.
9 - Camera; It takes decent pictures and for really quick snapshots, it's far faster than reaching for your phone. I just double press the front button to get to camera mode and then I can snap. Great for those "did you see that?" moments
10 - Heartrate monitor; not as accurate as the HR monitors on my gym equipment or even those blood pressure monitors but it does the job pretty well most of the time.
11 - IR blaster; ok, this thing is really cool! I was changing the TV at a bar and nobody knew it was me. It's very discreet. I even have the "power off" app which is great when there's just too much noise. As far as I know, the gear 2 is the only one with such a thing. I don't even need my phone to use it either.
12 - Built-in apps; this thing comes with so many right from the factory it's really good value. Think about it: Dial the phone, call a contact, check the weather, get notifications, for almost any app on the phone, play music and videos directly from the watch, control the media player on the phone, record voice memos, voice controls, pedometer, heart rate, sleep tracker, exercise tracker. reply to text messages, check my schedule for the day, tomorrow etc, stopwatch, timer. That's a LOT of things that you can do from your wrist.
13 - Autonomous apps; A lot of people get this part wrong. They think the watch has to be constantly tethered to the phone. This is not the case. Many apps require the phone to work because of internet connectivity or GPS but there are lots of apps which don't. Once you're paired with your phone, power off your phone and try some of these: Pedometer, Heart rate, Exercise (except hiking and biking which require GPS), camera, Gallery, music player (and videos), sleep tracker, stopwatch, timer, IR remote, voice memo and of course, the watchface itself. That's a lot of things that regular watches can't do.
14 - Lots of apps; Yeah so there isn't 1 Million apps in the app store. But like I said before: this is a smartwatch, not a smartphone. You don't really need an app store that has 50,000 different variations of a LED powered flashlight. Yes. I wish there were more apps but given that the gear 2 hasn't even been around for a year, the samsung app store gives a pretty decent choice of apps. Lets not forget that some apps just aren't suited for your wrist. Do you really want to play angry birds on this thing? I already have a solitaire game and I barely use it because it's just not right for my wrist. Developpers are still trying to figure out what works and what doesn't on a wrist.
15 - Some apps, really work well though. Some of my favorites: anti-sleep alarm which is really useful for late night driving. Meternome which I use all the time when playing guitar. Calculator, I mean duh right? Casio had it back in the '80s. Alarm, especially the vibrate part so I don't wake up my wife. Swing by Swing golf; this is actually pretty damn good for us golfers. Runtastic, strava, bike computer, bike; all apps that are really handy for a cyclist. I just can't choose which one is the best for me. xbmcGear to control my media boxes (goes really well with IR remote), Expedia, which I always use when travelling. It knows everything about my bookings. DSLR remote, comes in handy with my Nikon 300. Calendar, of course! If you've got a clock, this is the next logical choice. A lot of these apps can work autonomously as well!
I could go on and on. The only downsides to this watch are that I have to plug it in about every 2 days and I need to press the button to see the time. I turned off the "wake on gesture" to save the battery. Still, charging is really fast; it's usually fully charged in 30-45 minutes. Nice!
As an owner of many watches, from high end Swiss luxury watches to cheap plastic digital quartz, I can tell you that this is currently my favorite for everyday use. And since I "get it" that this is a WATCH and not a "PHONE ON MY WRIST", My expectations were REALISTIC when I got the Gear 2 and I've been pleaseantly surprised by the Gear 2 and everything it can do.
How do the others stack up? Well, the Android wear ones seem to be lacking a lot of what the Gear 2 has; no camera, no speaker, no IR blaster etc. The Apple watch? Well the whole "you must ABSOLUTELY be tethered to an iPhone for ANYTHING to work" is a turn off for me. Not to mention the stupid crown AND button on the right side which will piss off many people wearing it on the right wrist and any golfer wearing it on their left. The Gear S? Well, the simm card thing is cool but deleting the camera and IR seems like it's taking away some useful tools I've gotten used to. The Gear 2 isn't the best, but it's really hard finding others which have better functionality and features. All the "better" options out there always seem to be missing something that the Gear 2 has.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's 2015, we need to do more from our wrist.
The limitations right now appear to be software related. And developers drive the innovation if they get excited and see market. Samsung has killed their gear 1 start by abandoning android.... Android wear on gear s with a camera would of been great progress.
Actually, I like my gear2 is because it can run on android wear. although the porting is not so perfect enough
I'll go over several of the reasons why I'm keeping the Gear 2 and why it's my preferred wristwatch...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Amen to all the reasons mentioned. In addition, I like the scratch proof glass. I can't avoid bumping/hitting hard objects with my Gear 2 but the glass is still smooth. I also love the contrast of the amoled screen.
With Watch styler and some tweaking on the json file while the watch is connected to my laptop, I can mimic any watch face or design my very own.
What I hate with this watch is the very low resolution display and the absence of ambient sensor that is needed to automatically adjust the brightness of the screen.
Howdy all. I shoot long-range precision rifles as a hobby. I use an Android app called Applied Ballistics to calculate the ballistic trajectory and wind corrections for all my shots. I have an old T-Mobile Samsung S5 that I'd like to re-purpose to be a dedicated ballistic computer. I have no desire for cell connectivity, WiFi, or any other applications (maybe a calculator too). I'd like to just run Applied Ballistics as the only app on the phone to maximize battery life while out in the field away from any wall chargers (I have a GoalZero solar panel, but that thing takes hours to charge).
I'm wondering if you guys could suggest a custom lite OS for me to use. If it can last a couple of days or more (almost like the S5 in "ultra power savings mode") that would be fantastic.
Hello guys,
I want to get a good fitness watch, at a reasonable price not more than $150. I prefer the Fit cos honestly I'm not in need of a a smartwatch.
My only problem is that I read that the display is very poor and the accuracy for exercise is also bad only the heartbeat monitor that's good.
The watch is OK I guess and the straps are interchangeable and all.
Any advice on a good fitness watch within budget?
Thanks
Garmin vivosmart HR
Στάλθηκε από το MHA-L29 μου χρησιμοποιώντας Tapatalk
efbill said:
Garmin vivosmart HR
Στάλθηκε από το MHA-L29 μου χρησιμοποιώντας Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the suggestion but I prefer a rounded watch face.
zayidhs said:
Thanks for the suggestion but I prefer a rounded watch face.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like this? https://en.ticwear.com/pages/product-introduce
Huawei Fit pretty much fits the bill
I now have the Huawei Fit. Previously I had the Microsoft Band that I paid $90 for at Best Buy. I like the Huawei product pretty well, and it does surpass the original Band in some areas yet falls short in others.
The Fit does not have built in GPS, so I get quite a different result walking a trail in the park with my phone in my pocket and when I walk without the phone. If I have the phone then Huawei picks up the GPS and is quite accurate. The Band had a built in GPS and was quite accurate in my opinion.
The Huawei is water proof allowing you to swim with it, so that is a plus for some people.
For sleep tracking, I still preferred Microsofts implementation where it showed you the data and also showed the heartrate throughout the night. I could see exactly where I got up like when there was a lightning strike or had to go to the bathroom. The Huawei perhaps tracks a little more data when sleeping and is good, but I got much more satisfaction with the Microsoft implementation.
I like that the Huawei has the time always showing except while sleeping. The fact that it's not color is not a negative for me. It is very clear and easy to read in bright sunlight. It is backlit for night time and the bands are easy to replace. Really, Microsoft having a non replaceable band is really without excuse as I have a perfectly good Band but no way to wear it since the band broke. It also does well with notifications and I like that it lets you set what apps you want the Fit to notify for. The Band was excellent at notifications but only did text and phone call notifications.
The alarm for instance was easy to set and easy to stop and had a really strong vibration. On the Huawei, the alarm vibration is not very strong but it does wake me up since I'm a light sleeper, however, I have had numerous times trying to stop the alarm and instead it puts the alarm into snooze. As far as I can tell there is no way to then stop the alarm but to wait till it goes off 10 minutes later and try again. The reason I have this issue is perhaps the worst feature of Huawei Fit which is the touch only screen. It is at best 90% for touch and flick navigation. I don't know if my fingers have more oil or something, though I rarely have this issue with my samsung phone navigation. Microsoft Band put buttons on it for navigation and that pretty much made things fool proof.
It seems like you flick through some menus and suddenly it will go into a submenu. As annoying as that is, you can be stuck in that submenu until you successfully back out of it. There needs to be a home button, flick or gesture that will let you go back to the first screen which is the clock area.
Another thing is if I get several notifications, I must flick through each one before Huawei allows me to delete them all. So, I like to get the notifications and might glance at them, but for instance, when I get on a google hangout thread and people are chatting back and forth, I don't want to look at all of these on my Fit. Instead I probably already have my pc on so I can view or participate in the thread from there. But later when I want to delete these notifications from the Fit, I must navigate through each one until I finally get to the screen that says Clear All. It does group them which helps but why can't I quickly get to the delete messages area or have some gesture to bring that up?
I paid $69 on Prime Day for the Huawei Fit so I'm not complaining. I think it is well worth that price and I think Huawei is one of the top brands in the future. However, if I was looking at $100 or above then I would most likely get the samsung product.
I wish Microsoft would have sold their technology to another player rather then bury it as I think they had a very good product, but since they didn't I'm overall satisfied with Huawei!
zayidhs said:
Hello guys,
I want to get a good fitness watch, at a reasonable price not more than $150. I prefer the Fit cos honestly I'm not in need of a a smartwatch.
My only problem is that I read that the display is very poor and the accuracy for exercise is also bad only the heartbeat monitor that's good.
The watch is OK I guess and the straps are interchangeable and all.
Any advice on a good fitness watch within budget?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello brother i have mi 11 ultra
And wanna new fold
Do you recommend fold mix 2 ?
And what you like and what you don't?
Why no answer?
Definitely yes if you like miui
Only if you don't have problems with chinese rom, bc mi fold doens't have global rom yet
I answered some of your questions on the other post but I will make my summary here.
1. Either:
a) you must not use Android Auto/ Google Assistant or
b) you must be willing to wait out the 7 days and comfortable rooting your device (with all the issues with banking apps that brings).
2. You must be prepared to suffer compromises on audio quality (very big difference) and camera quality (low light and stabilisation difference) compared to a similar priced candybar flagship.
3. You must be someone who babies their phone a little bit. I'm sure if I dropped this phone it would shatter into a million pieces (as with any foldable).
4. Compared to Fold 4:
a) it lies flat on the table without that stupid shape where the hinge is
b) fold is much less visible in my opinion
c) you would hope that Samsung has the fold technology "safer" given its the forth iteration. That said, haven't heard of any issues from Xiaomi owners thus far.
d) one handed operation is so much better on the xiaomi because of the front screen size and thinness
5. MIUI is a pain in the ass sometimes (10s lockout to enable third party apps for example) and there is a lot of fiddling around to allow apps to run in the background and turn off battery optimisation (prevents notifications from showing properly)
I have been using the Mix Fold 2 for over couple months now and it's awesome from a hardware perspective, with great in hand feeling and the cover screen is usable just like a normal phone, IMHO its definitely better than Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2, 3 & 4!
However my biggest gripe is the OTT battery management of MIUI 13 it is a pain, sometimes there is a 10s lockout to enable third party apps for accessibility etc... Even when you have enabled this after while MIUI will randomly disable it in the background so you have to go through the whole process again so frustrating!!!!!
Maybe because it's a Chinese ROM that's its so aggressive either way for that reason alone I will not be buying a another Xiaomi phone in the future.
My next fold phone will most likely be a Honor Magic VS which is definitely getting a global release so the software should be be better optimised for western market, also very keen on the Google Pxel Fold due ETA May 23
The hardware itself is amazing - thin, light, the cover screen has an aspect ratio allowing to use it as your main screen if you wish; doesn't feel cramped like the Z Fold 3/4. You can feel the difference with a 8.02" screen; no other foldable gives you such an experience.
The crease is annoying though, especially if you happen to slide your finger across it when scrolling documents, websites, or playing. Despite the aforementioned, it hasn't been a deal breaker yet for me.
Camera - it's not flagship material, but I'm not a photo junkie, so I don't care.
Wireless charging - it's not present; quite convenient, but you can learn to live without it.
Expandable storage - not there, but same as above.
Audio is good enough; 99% of the time I stream my audio via bluetooth anyway, so I don't really care how it sounds on-device.
Battery - once you configure your device, disable some of the apps, it's exceptionally good, especially with such a big screen. I easily manage 6h+ of SOT while gaming.
Apps - it's a minefield of bloatware - one of the first things you need to do is uninstall them. Some can be removed via the app manager, others need to be deleted from profile 0 via adb.
Connectivity - OK for that generation; better than my SD888 devices.
WiFi is fast; As for cellular reception, I live in an area with terrible cell rception & can comfortably hold conversations on my Fold 2, compared to my other devices where the network often dropping or cutting me off in the middle of sentences.
Software - it's awful; the amount of tinkering to make it remotely acceptable for use is amazing.
Worse - some of the settings, like customization to the profile of each app's battery usage gets reset on reboot. You're forced to register/sign in to Xiaomi if you want to unlock some of the deeper customization features - example: USB Debugging (Security) split into 2 parts.
Some features are locked for use with Xiaomi apps - example: you can't change the launcher. Even if you do, you can't use fullscreen gestures.
After upgrading to MIUI 14/Android 13, my company apps stopped working, although I presume that's going to be affecting a small portion of users only.
It doesn't seem you can flash/boot a GSI (like phh's) yet. I'll hang on to this device for the time being, but if a more compelling offering comes out, I'll probably switch. I was hoping the Pixel Fold would be that device, but I wouldn't go for a gen1 from Google.
In summary - good hardware albeit with some compromises, horrific software experience.
Score - 4/7
adwinp said:
The hardware itself is amazing - thin, light, the cover screen has an aspect ratio allowing to use it as your main screen if you wish; doesn't feel cramped like the Z Fold 3/4. You can feel the difference with a 8.02" screen; no other foldable gives you such an experience.
The crease is annoying though, especially if you happen to slide your finger across it when scrolling documents, websites, or playing. Despite the aforementioned, it hasn't been a deal breaker yet for me.
Camera - it's not flagship material, but I'm not a photo junkie, so I don't care.
Wireless charging - it's not present; quite convenient, but you can learn to live without it.
Expandable storage - not there, but same as above.
Audio is good enough; 99% of the time I stream my audio via bluetooth anyway, so I don't really care how it sounds on-device.
Battery - once you configure your device, disable some of the apps, it's exceptionally good, especially with such a big screen. I easily manage 6h+ of SOT while gaming.
Apps - it's a minefield of bloatware - one of the first things you need to do is uninstall them. Some can be removed via the app manager, others need to be deleted from profile 0 via adb.
Connectivity - OK for that generation; better than my SD888 devices.
WiFi is fast; As for cellular reception, I live in an area with terrible cell rception & can comfortably hold conversations on my Fold 2, compared to my other devices where the network often dropping or cutting me off in the middle of sentences.
Software - it's awful; the amount of tinkering to make it remotely acceptable for use is amazing.
Worse - some of the settings, like customization to the profile of each app's battery usage gets reset on reboot. You're forced to register/sign in to Xiaomi if you want to unlock some of the deeper customization features - example: USB Debugging (Security) split into 2 parts.
Some features are locked for use with Xiaomi apps - example: you can't change the launcher. Even if you do, you can't use fullscreen gestures.
After upgrading to MIUI 14/Android 13, my company apps stopped working, although I presume that's going to be affecting a small portion of users only.
It doesn't seem you can flash/boot a GSI (like phh's) yet. I'll hang on to this device for the time being, but if a more compelling offering comes out, I'll probably switch. I was hoping the Pixel Fold would be that device, but I wouldn't go for a gen1 from Google.
In summary - good hardware albeit with some compromises, horrific software experience.
Score - 4/7
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
all of these problems/complaints you have are easily solved by unlocking and rooting. anyone not willing to do that probably shouldn't get this phone.
knives of ice said:
all of these problems/complaints you have are easily solved by unlocking and rooting. anyone not willing to do that probably shouldn't get this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As probably should every user of every major flagship device.
Sarcasm aside, there are reasons why one such as myself, hasn't resorted to that alternative.
Apart from that, a large number of the issues can be solved via adb; no need to root.
ADB, knowledge, time.
..and here I am, a gorgeous, tactile experience, really monolite-like and premium materials.
finally the MIX brand shines again after years of tarnishing. I'm really excited about the aesthetics.
when unfolded is one of the nicest foldable experiences I had, a large display light to handle.
The crease to me is almost invisible, no problems at all.
Some doubts come from the software, chinese rom only, in social networks (for example whatsapp) messages do not always arrive on time (80% ok), which creates some problems.
usual things that Xiaomi NEVER solves..
I've been very impressed with the Mix fold 2. I came from the Fold 4, and was concerned it wouldn't feel as polished as the Samsung device. It's actually worked out the other way, the Mix Fold 2 feels generation's ahead design wise, closed, it feels like a normal smart phone, and whne open, its an an ultra thin tablet. Even in its 4th generation, the Fold 4 still didn't feel right.
My main concern with the Mix fold 2 was the software, being a Chinese phone. Thanks to the help on here, I have everything I need working just as I want, mainly my banking app, and notifications. For me, it feels smoother, and the animations are better than on the Fold 4. From various reviews, I read the camera wasn't as good as others. I must admit, I've been very impressed with the images produced.
jamesbilluk said:
I've been very impressed with the Mix fold 2. I came from the Fold 4, and was concerned it wouldn't feel as polished as the Samsung device. It's actually worked out the other way, the Mix Fold 2 feels generation's ahead design wise, closed, it feels like a normal smart phone, and whne open, its an an ultra thin tablet. Even in its 4th generation, the Fold 4 still didn't feel right.
My main concern with the Mix fold 2 was the software, being a Chinese phone. Thanks to the help on here, I have everything I need working just as I want, mainly my banking app, and notifications. For me, it feels smoother, and the animations are better than on the Fold 4. From various reviews, I read the camera wasn't as good as others. I must admit, I've been very impressed with the images produced.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. Got my Mix Fold 2 one week ago. Feels great to use. Do not think I ever will go back to a normal phone again. I am very impressed with the battery life. Screen on time when using the large screen is actually the same as on my Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro. According to Accubattery both phones consume 13% per hour when the screen is on.
The only important thing missing for me now is a virtual keyboard adapted to foldables in order to make typing on the large screen more comfortable. Microsoft SwiftKey has this functionality, however if I apply this setting the same keyboard is used on the smaller screen.
flipp0 said:
I agree. Got my Mix Fold 2 one week ago. Feels great to use. Do not think I ever will go back to a normal phone again. I am very impressed with the battery life. Screen on time when using the large screen is actually the same as on my Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro. According to Accubattery both phones consume 13% per hour when the screen is on.
The only important thing missing for me now is a virtual keyboard adapted to foldables in order to make typing on the large screen more comfortable. Microsoft SwiftKey has this functionality, however if I apply this setting the same keyboard is used on the smaller screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Battery life is really impressive. We're on holiday at the moment, there's been quite a few times where the super quick charging has come in very useful too! I'll use that more than the wireless charging of the Fold 4.
I'm the same, after experiencing this, I don't think I would go back to a normal phone again.
I agree with regards to the keyboard. I'm using SwiftKey, it would be great to have the split on the larger screen, and smaller on the outer screen.
The phone is really nice and with a lot of tinkering, you can have almost everything working on the Chinese ROM.
However, I'd suggest waiting a little bit until the end of the month when the HONOR Magic Vs will be officially released in Europe with Google-friendly software.
The exclusivity of this device is in the lightness combined with the reduced thickness. This makes you forget the fact that it is a bit too high and thus makes it usable.
adwinp said:
The hardware itself is amazing - thin, light, the cover screen has an aspect ratio allowing to use it as your main screen if you wish; doesn't feel cramped like the Z Fold 3/4. You can feel the difference with a 8.02" screen; no other foldable gives you such an experience.
The crease is annoying though, especially if you happen to slide your finger across it when scrolling documents, websites, or playing. Despite the aforementioned, it hasn't been a deal breaker yet for me.
Camera - it's not flagship material, but I'm not a photo junkie, so I don't care.
Wireless charging - it's not present; quite convenient, but you can learn to live without it.
Expandable storage - not there, but same as above.
Audio is good enough; 99% of the time I stream my audio via bluetooth anyway, so I don't really care how it sounds on-device.
Battery - once you configure your device, disable some of the apps, it's exceptionally good, especially with such a big screen. I easily manage 6h+ of SOT while gaming.
Apps - it's a minefield of bloatware - one of the first things you need to do is uninstall them. Some can be removed via the app manager, others need to be deleted from profile 0 via adb.
Connectivity - OK for that generation; better than my SD888 devices.
WiFi is fast; As for cellular reception, I live in an area with terrible cell rception & can comfortably hold conversations on my Fold 2, compared to my other devices where the network often dropping or cutting me off in the middle of sentences.
Software - it's awful; the amount of tinkering to make it remotely acceptable for use is amazing.
Worse - some of the settings, like customization to the profile of each app's battery usage gets reset on reboot. You're forced to register/sign in to Xiaomi if you want to unlock some of the deeper customization features - example: USB Debugging (Security) split into 2 parts.
Some features are locked for use with Xiaomi apps - example: you can't change the launcher. Even if you do, you can't use fullscreen gestures.
After upgrading to MIUI 14/Android 13, my company apps stopped working, although I presume that's going to be affecting a small portion of users only.
It doesn't seem you can flash/boot a GSI (like phh's) yet. I'll hang on to this device for the time being, but if a more compelling offering comes out, I'll probably switch. I was hoping the Pixel Fold would be that device, but I wouldn't go for a gen1 from Google.
In summary - good hardware albeit with some compromises, horrific software experience.
Score - 4/7
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, Nova Launcher wouldn't work on this device ?
What about AoD Notify ?!
nex_t said:
So, Nova Launcher wouldn't work on this device ?
What about AoD Notify ?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It will work with a workaround I mentioned in my debloat thread. You need to install the securitycenter, install the 3rd party launcher & reinstall the securitycenter.
Quickstep will not be working.
Thank you
I've read, there are some issues with the whatsapp notification
Is there a fix for this ? Could you please give more details about ?
I don't think I'd like to open the phone manually, to check if I have a message
Does the Nova Launcher works ? Aod Notify ? Youtube Vanced ?
And the last question : would it be possible to add another software button ( volume ) to the navigation bar ?
As the Good Lock for Samsung
Thanks, again
Well, bummed out about the Magic VS launch. Not coming to UK before July, and no release dates for other EU countries? Rly? It’ll be almost a year old when it finally arrives, not much cheaper than Fold4, and not long before Fold5 will be announced. Pointless.
Guess it’ll be a Mix Fold 2 for me anyway. Was going to get it close to 2 months ago but decided to wait for the VS…