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Stupid question that is probably more of a rant...

Ok, so we all have the latest greatest most "open source" phone, right? LMFAO
Why is it, seeing as battery life is complete CRAP, that programs are not smart enough to be able to turn on and off the wifi, gps, wireless networks, etc as needed? When I open google maps, it should start up the GPS. When I try to get on the web, it would be nice if it could check for pre-configured wifi. When those programs are exited, or after an inactive time limit, the wifi, gps, etc should shut back down. It seems silly to fumble around in settings to turn things on and off all the time.
Since this is a problem with Google's software, I assume they will continue to support the "not our problem, let the developers figure it out" stand, while locking us out of the ability for a fix.
Am I the only one that thinks this way?

I completely agree! I am greatly disappointment in the direction Android is going. Leaving everything to 3rd party developers and then locking root access, yeah, really smart move! As soon as T-Mobile USA releases a 3G pocket pc, I am so gone. I would have left my HTC Wizard behind for another device (and G1) but I'm stuck with this strange 3G AWS frequency and no real option for a WM device except what my provider offers. Google still has a chance to fix this issues for Android but I am very impatient with things in general. One day, it could be a great OS but as of right now and the way the road looks ahead is a dismal path to possible destruction. My suggestions to Google would be to jailbreak all devices, create your OWN soft keyboard so all programs can be used with it, ADD SOME KIND OF OFFICE SUPPORT, add support for your own software (built in) to be able to control all settings (like speed racer mentioned), video recorder, better camera options, and better Marketplace support. Again, this is a new mobile OS and it will evolve somewhat but if things continue to happen in the same path or pattern, failure is practically the only option.

gospeed.racer said:
Ok, so we all have the latest greatest most "open source" phone, right? LMFAO
Why is it, seeing as battery life is complete CRAP, that programs are not smart enough to be able to turn on and off the wifi, gps, wireless networks, etc as needed? When I open google maps, it should start up the GPS. When I try to get on the web, it would be nice if it could check for pre-configured wifi. When those programs are exited, or after an inactive time limit, the wifi, gps, etc should shut back down. It seems silly to fumble around in settings to turn things on and off all the time.
Since this is a problem with Google's software, I assume they will continue to support the "not our problem, let the developers figure it out" stand, while locking us out of the ability for a fix.
Am I the only one that thinks this way?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, download Locale or Power Manager.

I have seen both, and they are good....but they dont do what I am asking.
NATIVE support. Its like Google has all these different departments, and none want to work with the others. Everything needs to be streamlined together, maps should be able to turn on and off resources....instead of me doing it with my keypad. Who chooses to leave GPS on all day? Same with Wifi?
I am fed up with Google thinking everyone needs to do the grunt work. They cant even get their own software working properly (for example, try using the search function in maps, then try to get directions to that search...good luck!) and instead of USEFUL updates, we get updates that RESTRICT us.

gospeed.racer said:
for example, try using the search function in maps, then try to get directions to that search...good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm... seems pretty easy for me? Open maps application, start typing your search (e.g. "starbucks mountain view"). List of locations comes up. I tap one, it shows location on map. Tap on the address and it brings up menu. Choose Directions to this Address and click Route button.

true...but if you simply click on "directions" and type in the exact same items you searched before, it suddenly forgot how to search.
For example, if I search for "pdx" or "gresham" on the maps, no problem. But, when I click "directions" and type in the same thing, it cant find it. It cant do a search and come up with a list of results? Google cant? LMAO. Seriously? I guess I need to do a search, write down the results. Then do another search, get directions, and type in the previous location that I wrote down. Pretty handy if you ask me!
Never had this issue with the desktop version of google maps. I can type in "gresham" and "PDX" and it can get me there. On the phone, it cant figure it out.

Apparently no one can read or understand what has been said. Google hasn't left it to 3rd parties, they are working on these things as we speak. It is in their "roadmap"
OK so it doesn't do everything your home computer can. Why can't you give it time. Why did you buy something that is brand new if you weren't ready to be patient? That is like the people who claim Vista sucks just because they used the beta version and had problems.
Give it time. As for directions are you talking about Gresham, OR? I get directions just find typing pdx and then gresham, or
Obviously you have to type the state for the city, also that little bookmark icon can be usefull... just search for the two things you want first (PDX then do a search for gresham) then use the history bookmark to add those to the direction. Worked simple that way too.
And guess what... I also can use copy and paste too... wow I guess there are many ways to do it you just have to figure it out.

gospeed.racer said:
Ok, so we all have the latest greatest most "open source" phone, right? LMFAO
Why is it, seeing as battery life is complete CRAP, that programs are not smart enough to be able to turn on and off the wifi, gps, wireless networks, etc as needed? When I open google maps, it should start up the GPS. When I try to get on the web, it would be nice if it could check for pre-configured wifi. When those programs are exited, or after an inactive time limit, the wifi, gps, etc should shut back down. It seems silly to fumble around in settings to turn things on and off all the time.
Since this is a problem with Google's software, I assume they will continue to support the "not our problem, let the developers figure it out" stand, while locking us out of the ability for a fix.
Am I the only one that thinks this way?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, it's not an open source phone (and I don't think google or T-mobile have said that the G1 would be), but the _software_ is. If you want a totally open phone, you should be looking towards the openmoko platform, or the dev version of the G1 that google have now announced.

neoobs said:
OK so it doesn't do everything your home computer can. Why can't you give it time. Why did you buy something that is brand new if you weren't ready to be patient? ....
... wow I guess there are many ways to do it you just have to figure it out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If Google was up front and said that it wasnt ready yet (why are WE the beta testers?) that would be one thing, but the way it is marketed in commercials and on the website, this is a phone that is ready for mass use. It is very much still in beta.
The problem with your "its not a home computer" logic is that is CAN do the functions I am referring to. It just doesnt. I used bad examples- try using something like "denny's" instead. In a search it will pull them up, but in the "directions" it will not. Apparently if there are more than one result it gets confused. My example was bad.
I have been patient, the updates so far have done nothing (for my phone at least) but fix problems and patch loopholes. There has been nothing updated that improves functionality that I have seen yet. I found their roadmap- Looks like some soft keyboard functionality next year, and more supported languages. Who hoo.

gospeed.racer said:
If Google was up front and said that it wasnt ready yet (why are WE the beta testers?) that would be one thing, but the way it is marketed in commercials and on the website, this is a phone that is ready for mass use. It is very much still in beta.
The problem with your "its not a home computer" logic is that is CAN do the functions I am referring to. It just doesnt. I used bad examples- try using something like "denny's" instead. In a search it will pull them up, but in the "directions" it will not. Apparently if there are more than one result it gets confused. My example was bad.
I have been patient, the updates so far have done nothing (for my phone at least) but fix problems and patch loopholes. There has been nothing updated that improves functionality that I have seen yet. I found their roadmap- Looks like some soft keyboard functionality next year, and more supported languages. Who hoo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't get mad a google for marketing... the commercial doesn't even say that it is google's OS... it just says Powered By Google. It blows for them.
And for the maps... I haven't been able to get either the phone or desktop to map the locations for me. Besides that doesn't it make more sense to figure out where the dennys is before getting directions to it?
It hasn't even been a month in a half yet and you think you are patient. I don't remember any significant updates to any OS in the first month it was out.

I guess my point is that tmobile (not Google apparently) released a phone that isnt ready for the general public. It should be in beta still, until the bugs (like a battery that lasts half a day under light use, calls that do not ring through, messages that dont show up, and ringtones that sometimes work and sometimes dont) are fixed. There are many problems with the phone and the OS and if you cant admit that I dont know what to say. If you are happy then fine, but not all of us are. We did NOT sign up for beta testing, if we had then there is no issue.

Sounds to me that someone should have done a little bit of research before purchasing their phone? I mean, come on! It hasn't even been 2 months yet. Maybe a razr would fit your likings more? Tmobile has plenty of those.
I say if you aren't gonna get out there & learn to write your own apps to make it the phone you want it to be, don't complain. No one held a gun to your head & said buy the phone or else. You bought into the hype. Deal with it.
No one is perfect the first time out the gates. You should have known this if you came from a windows mobile device previously. Microsoft has been at it for how many years & they still haven't gotten all the bugs & kinks out. If you think you can do better than google, I'm all in! Lets see what you got. Till then, buy a phone that doesn't have all the hype you want. Then you won't be setting yourself up for disappointment.
I haven't had any issues with this phone. So you can't save apps to the SD (YET) but that can be fixed. So your battery isn't the best (YET) but that can be fixed. Give it time. You didn't come sprinting out your mothers womb did you? Didn't think so. Let Android learn to crawl before you expect it to run hundred yard dashes

gospeed.racer said:
I guess my point is that tmobile (not Google apparently) released a phone that isnt ready for the general public. It should be in beta still, until the bugs (like a battery that lasts half a day under light use, calls that do not ring through, messages that dont show up, and ringtones that sometimes work and sometimes dont) are fixed. There are many problems with the phone and the OS and if you cant admit that I dont know what to say. If you are happy then fine, but not all of us are. We did NOT sign up for beta testing, if we had then there is no issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is funny... I had all those issues on my wing... guess I should go complain in the herald forums about my beta testing that device too.
I admit it has errors... but that doesn't mean it is the worse phone ever made like you make it out to be.

Yeah go complain at the Herald forums! They'll just tell you that you're an idiot and to unlock your phone and flash a new ROM on it. Oh wait... you can actually do that with a wing and not this pos and it actually ends up being a decent pda. That's the difference... and yes a lot of this anger comes from people with stock RC30. Also, to the dude who wipes his ass with money, lol, a lot of tmo. customers didn't have much of a choice for pdas with 3g. It's not a matter of not having the facts but the expectations were very high for this os and phone seemed to have fallen quite short. I'm not going to repeat what the shortcomings are... for they have been hammered into our skulls enough already but Google basically copied a lot of things from different mobile OS and seem to have forgotten the basics and left them out. They other thing is they won't admit any mistakes were made but simply state that they will be left to 3rd developers. After that, a security update was pushed out that locked root. How will or why should this affect developers? Well, there are several applications that only be used on rooted devices and this number will continue to rise. Several developers have quit trying to port over a few applications because of this and the crappy java layers used on android. And finally, T-mobile, google, and htc all claim that this is an open source device and os. It used to be.... the security flaw was announced on every tech blog and web site so basically google (yes google!) Sent a quick patch to fix it and now open source is dead essentially. I guaranty that root will be locked down on every other android device released next year. I know we will find a way to unlock everything here but it's just bs and you guys know it. Of course, no fanyboys will admit it while having their lips firmly placed on google's ass. It's not open source and it won't be until we unlock root ourselves. And now one can argue with me until the next android device comes out. Yes, it is its infancy but it really seems more like a beta. Just disappointed like many others. It's such a stable OS and has a lot of potential but a lot of basic things have been left out, nothing less or nothing more...

I'm sorry, can you show me where T-mobile and HTC claim the G1/Dream is an "open source device" please? I haven't seen anything from either company stating that the G1 would be open source. Android, on the other hand _is_ open, and while, yes I will agree that it's frustrating that you need to "hack" the device to be able to use it to it's full potential, Google have addressed this by releasing the "dev" handsets. Ultimately, as a previous poster has pointed out no-one forced you into picking up the G1, and as you've discovered, frustration often comes with picking up bleeding edge hardware.

So basically your mad at htc/google/tmobile cuz you neglected to read the specs on their websites? Damn my headlight just went out on my car. I'm gonna go yell at chrystler for not putting a better bulb in it! Your forgetting to realize what I stated before, no one forced you! You can piss & moan all you want but again as I stated before, make your own apps to make it the phone you want it to be! So you want 3g? Why? Cuz its faster? Umm I forgot where htc/google/tmobile said this was a laptop? Can you show me? Cuz last time I checked, it was still a cell phone. 3g is a novelty. I don't live in a 3g area so maybe I'm just speaking on deaf ears. I by no means am a fanboy of htc. If tmobile got that touch blackberry, i'd be all over it like white on rice! Be angry but all your gonna get is white hairs & wrinkles. Its wasted energy. Take a seat & wait for android to grow & then you may speak. Or go out & do it better than google. Make your own os. Let's see how you do your first time out
And as far as the unlocking & flashing, how long did it take for that to be a reality? I wasn't there from the start of windows mobile but I'm pretty sure people weren't able to do that right out the box. It is a skill that needed to be learned, as with Android. Maybe you'll research your device better next time.

so I can write apps that will make me not to miss calls when they dont ring through? Will help battery life? Will keep me from missing messages?
I AM TALKING ABOUT THE ROOT GOOGLE SOFTWARE not just apps. Have you heard me complain about a video recorder? A video player? no, because those CAN BE FIXED. How do we change the way Google maps works? WE dont...Google does.
The OS itself is very nice. Coming from WM6.1 the stability is great. I dont need to reboot daily, constantly shut down programs, etc. I understand that WM has been around forever, I had a tmobile PPC2003, so I have been around this stuff for a bit. Android is new, given time it will get better. But I am missing calls NOW. I am constantly charging my battery NOW. These things are important as it is a "phone" after all. The roadmap addresses NONE of these things, just some multi language support and a keyboard.
I am quite sure that there will be many more replies to how f'd up my thinking is, but I am done. I am at the point where all I can do is repeat myself. Its NOT ready yet, and there are MAJOR things that need fixes.

gospeed.racer said:
so I can write apps that will make me not to miss calls when they dont ring through? Will help battery life? Will keep me from missing messages?
I AM TALKING ABOUT THE ROOT GOOGLE SOFTWARE not just apps. Have you heard me complain about a video recorder? A video player? no, because those CAN BE FIXED. How do we change the way Google maps works? WE dont...Google does.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, you DO fix the problem - you file a bug with google, and if you have the skills, a patch that fixes the problem, if it's all ok, then it'll get accepted into the source and fixed.
The only problem is, that as T-mobile have (I assume) insisted that the G1 is locked, google need to compile the release for you.
please, go read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source and, if you can return your G1, I don't think it's the phone you want.

Google Now Widget/Homescreen

Ok so I did a lot of searching and have not been able to find anything for this... I found a couple of threads started by people asking if it is possible or if there is one that exists but those did not receive any real responses so I'm hoping that one of the amazing devs here can help please. I'm debating making a thread in the general Android Development forum so that maybe I'll reach a wider audience.
So what I'd like is a homescreen widget, or possibly a Live wallpaper, which shows the live cards from Google Now.
There are countless Google Now themed UCCW skins that people have put out. I don't want that.
I also found a way to create homescreen icons that LOOK like Google Now cards. But all those do is launch apps, they do not update with live information from Google Now.
I'm not sure why Google Now wasn't created with a widget. It just seems to make sense. It's kind of annoying that you have to open the app to get all this information, instead of having it right in front of your face on your homescreen where you can access other apps quickly as well. I mean the point of google now is to present you with information before you need it right? How is that possible if I can't get the info without opening the app.
So I'm hoping there is, if anything, some sort of work around here.
Maybe someone knows of a way to create a widget with desktop visualizer that will show the live Google now cards and update them.
I'm hoping for a scrollable widget that will be almost exactly like Google Now (i.e new cards will pop up as they do in the app, you can scroll up and down to view all of the cards you currently have, you can swipe to remove cards - (come to think of it you probably won't be able to swipe to remove cards, but maybe a double tap or something?))
It would probably be best if this widget did not include the google search bar and simply showed the google now cards.
I remember hearing about an app in the past that could overlay live wallpapers on each other. Is there a way to overlay an app into a live wall paper? so that you could see Google Now as your live wall paper, even if maybe you can't actually interact with it this way?
For now I'm going to try setting up something with tasker, so that google now will automatically open every morning when I turn off my alarm, and possibly at other points (maybe when a new card pops up or something). Something similar to this could probably be done with the smart actions app if people are interested in trying that out. But honestly I feel like this is not the best solution because I'd rather not have tasker running constantly, eating my RAM and therefore my battery.
So I don't know if the reason there is no widget already is because it simply is not possible. And if it's not possible could someone please explain why?
Also, so that I can try to work on this myself - can someone please help me by telling me which files Google now uses for getting and updating cards? (i.e. the file names I would see in Titanium or under Settings>Apps or in a file explorer where they would be located - I'm guessing somewhere in the /system/ folder) If I can access these I can play around with them and try some things out
TIA to all who reply...

Given that Google Now is a bit of a battery drain already, I'd imagine that having it constantly running and updating cards would use even more. The cards ARE available in the pulldown menu, aren't they? I haven't used it in a while... Still on ICS until Moto+Rogers updates the OS sometime in Q1 '13 now. >.<

EdwardN said:
Given that Google Now is a bit of a battery drain already, I'd imagine that having it constantly running and updating cards would use even more. The cards ARE available in the pulldown menu, aren't they? I haven't used it in a while... Still on ICS until Moto+Rogers updates the OS sometime in Q1 '13 now. >.<
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got a Razr Maxx HD because I don't want to worry about battery drain. It's been something holding me back with every other phone I ever owned. I hear that the regular Razr HD gets pretty amazing battery life as well. I'm not looking for reasons why I wouldn't want this. I'm looking for reasons why it would not be possible or a way to make it possible.
Sorry to hear about Rogers...
But if you are rooted you should be able to install Google Now for ICS
This might work http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1983337
And I just found this http://www.droidforums.net/forum/droid-news/232046-gnow-handlebars-easy-solution-google-now-ics.html

I am looking for the same thing as you but maybe we need to be writing to the Google dev team instead.

dhigby said:
I am looking for the same thing as you but maybe we need to be writing to the Google dev team instead.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also discovered that pressing the home button and swiping up brings up Google Now. That is good enough for me, and I can live without the widget.
Sent from my HTC One S

dhigby said:
I also discovered that pressing the home button and swiping up brings up Google Now. That is good enough for me, and I can live without the widget.
Sent from my HTC One S
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This. It works from any app and it only takes a second to load.

[App][4.3+] Sesame Lock Screen / App Switcher: quick launch everything!

Howdy. My friend Steve and I made Sesame so we wouldn’t have to swipe around looking for things anymore.
It puts your favorite apps in a ranked list on the lock screen along with a keyboard that can filter to pretty much anything in 1 or 2 touches. What’s cool about Sesame is that it learns from your behavior and makes new shortcuts deep into native apps.
This thing is like a power tool for Android. It takes some getting used to but it’s worth it.​
Shortcuts it makes today
All your apps (ranked by how often you use them)
All contacts w/ 1 touch to text, call, or email (WhatsApp too!)
Websites you visit (but not when browsing incognito)
Music library and new stuff you listen to (Spotify only atm but expanding soon)
You can Quick Search: Maps, Waze, Netflix, Spotify, Google Music, Chrome, Play Store, Yelp and YouTube
It makes shortcuts back to your searches
Hangouts conversations, including groups
Alarms you set
Uber/Lyft see live ride options w/ ETA & Surge Pricing
Smart Keyboard
The keyboard is designed to pull things up fast. It’s not swipe, it’s faster. You don’t need to type full words. It understands shorthand, so if I want to play music by Ratatat I can type ’S’ for Spotify then ‘R’ and 'Spotify: Ratatat' will come right up. It also learns from your choices so next time only ’S’ might get the job done.
Lock Screen and/or App Switcher
The Lock Screen version displays your notifications and keeps your existing security 100% intact. Note: some device types see display issues when transitioning from Sesame to the system lock screen. If that happens, you can still use it as an app switcher.
There’s no registration and none of the data leaves your device.
It’s still got some rough edges. If you do try it, give it a shot for a few days. Our test users said it took some getting used to but they’d never go back now. We try to get out 2-3 new versions a week. So please give feedback, we want to make it better!
It’s free in the play store, check it out!

Will take it for a spin and give feedback later. thanks.

Hey, I'm Steve. I'm the developer working on this. Happy to answer any questions on how this works.
Hope you like it!

GerManiac said:
Will take it for a spin and give feedback later. thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How'd it go?

We pushed a new update. Version 0.5.16 now makes Reddit shortcuts and has an improved keyboard.
This post didn't exactly catch fire irl like it did in my dreams but if you've tried it and want to give feedback, we're definitely listening. Cheers.

Pwallius said:
How'd it go?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So far so good. I think it's a great idea, and you made the idea into a fantastic app, but I for myself noticed that I hardly launch apps or anything from the lock screen, since I automatically unlock my phone with the fingerprint.

GerManiac said:
So far so good. I think it's a great idea, and you made the idea into a fantastic app, but I for myself noticed that I hardly launch apps or anything from the lock screen, since I automatically unlock my phone with the fingerprint.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What if you could launch it by swiping from the edge of the screen? I'm thinking the upper right edge is easily reachable and out of the way. You could swipe and pull down to pull Sesame up right away.
Lots of people just aren't interested in changing their lock screen but I do think there's some potential here. Thanks!

Pwallius said:
What if you could launch it by swiping from the edge of the screen? I'm thinking the upper right edge is easily reachable and out of the way. You could swipe and pull down to pull Sesame up right away.
Lots of people just aren't interested in changing their lock screen but I do think there's some potential here. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That sounds good, however, maybe you could give the option to choose from where to swipe, upper right is for me a no go, since I've got a six inch Huawei Mate 8, it would still be reachable but not convenient.

GerManiac said:
That sounds good, however, maybe you could give the option to choose from where to swipe, upper right is for me a no go, since I've got a six inch Huawei Mate 8, it would still be reachable but not convenient.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Roger. That can be done.
I think we're going to try to make the Lock Screen pretty first. Something like this.
There are lock screen apps w/ 50MM users that are basically rotating pretty pictures. They get around all the lock screen compatibility problems by building their own security then having the user turn off the system one. This isn't 100% secure, which is why we didn't go that way. But it'd keep out anyone except a motivated hacker. And if the system security is OFF we can build a seamless experience. So maybe that'd open Sesame up to a wider audience. It'd be totally optional, you could still keep the system security if you wanted.
Thanks for the feedback. It def moves our thinking. Let me know if there's anything else we can improve.

Pwallius said:
Roger. That can be done.
I think we're going to try to make the Lock Screen pretty first. Something like this.
There are lock screen apps w/ 50MM users that are basically rotating pretty pictures. They get around all the lock screen compatibility problems by building their own security then having the user turn off the system one. This isn't 100% secure, which is why we didn't go that way. But it'd keep out anyone except a motivated hacker. And if the system security is OFF we can build a seamless experience. So maybe that'd open Sesame up to a wider audience. It'd be totally optional, you could still keep the system security if you wanted.
Thanks for the feedback. It def moves our thinking. Let me know if there's anything else we can improve.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I understand, but you are right you are not going to get the audience you want.
Take for example hilocker I've been watching the locker growing but then it grew slower and slower. however it was not only the app which wasn't always running smoothly, but also the little to non response of the dev.
The features however integrated are great.
Giving the user the option to decide to keep security or to have a better experience at the cost of some security, is a good idea.

GerManiac said:
Yes, I understand, but you are right you are not going to get the audience you want.
Take for example hilocker I've been watching the locker growing but then it grew slower and slower. however it was not only the app which wasn't always running smoothly, but also the little to non response of the dev.
The features however integrated are great.
Giving the user the option to decide to keep security or to have a better experience at the cost of some security, is a good idea.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup. We've got a few cards try to play. Let me know if some insight hits you about this conundrum. Thanks for the legit feedback.
I'll let you know when the next version is out.

No posts in close to three years. Did everyone stop using this? What are you using instead? The googl app?

user2837 said:
No posts in close to three years. Did everyone stop using this? What are you using instead? The googl app?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just started using it on my NexS and it's very good. I've always liked these types of apps having used Fastkey Launcher and Launchboard previously. This is much better and very customizable. I use it as a widget and not the lockscreen.

Bixby - Anyone use it, if so, what for?

Well, the title covers it. I can't actually find a reason to use or like it. Anyone use it? If so, for what?

TCPDump said:
Well, the title covers it. I can't actually find a reason to use or like it. Anyone use it? If so, for what?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's completely disabled on my phone.

I can see it honestly being as good as google assitant if not like 10% better. But currently its pretty mediocre, and that is being generous. From the most simple tasks it screws up. If samsung wants it to succeed, they really need to put tons of R&D into it. Because as of right now, it cannot compete with google assistant.
The only thing that I like about it is the fact it can actually wake from voice while screen is off. Something the S8+ cannot utilize with "okay google"

TCPDump said:
Well, the title covers it. I can't actually find a reason to use or like it. Anyone use it? If so, for what?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I got my device in April, i really
looked forward to get Bixby up and running.
However i since then, lost interest in Bixby.
I used to to use, voice wake up to wake phone (re S voice installed, but disabled ) on my other devices Note 4, Note 5 etc.
However with S8 you need Bixby activated, to work. Thats all I'm interested in.
If you look at Bixby (as whole)
Bixby cards is basic very limited
and boring.
Bixby vision is a waist of time. Nearly always wrong in identifying objects.
I use Google Assistant. with Nova Prime.
I can call up Google Assistant in any app
or web page that i am currently in.
Bixby button is aso configured to G. A.
My view is Bixby, will eventually become
just like S voice.
Not worth using after
novelty wears off..!

I have the beta and used it for about two days then stopped. The ONLY advantage is the fact it can wake up from a locked screen, which Google Assistant can do on every other Android phone out there, except Samsung.
My main issue was searching for simple things. If I ask Bixby where the nearest Starbucks is, it gives me a link to the Wikipedia article for Starbucks. Google Assistant shows me a list of the three closest Starbucks and the option for directions to each one.
Bixby CAN be awesome, and it may be one day, but for now it's too lacking to compete. But it is still a beta.

I only use it occasionally for the photo thing. Kinda hit or miss but promising. Awaiting the release of the Note 8 so they go full on with bixby.

Oyeve said:
I only use it occasionally for the photo thing. Kinda hit or miss but promising. Awaiting the release of the Note 8 so they go full on with bixby.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
IF they go full on with Bixby. There's still a chance it won't be ready when the N8 releases.

So far I've found it to be pretty useless in comparison to Google Assistant. If Samsung isn't going to make it exceptionally better and worth using I hope they remove it in an update and make the dedicated button do something else.

It's not great so far, but I've found it a bit useful for setting alarms and reminders when I hold down the button. In that context it feels pretty intuitive to me. Otherwise, meh. The voice recognition when you try to wake it from sleep is borderline embarrassing.

All voice control is a complete gimmick in my eyes. I can never look past it and would never be seen dead uttering voice commands into my phone like James Bond. I don't want my phone limited and bloated with software all catering to (most of the time at the detriment of other features) some suspiciously hyped up way of using a phone that only applies to about 10 percent of the market. I should be able to fully remove every aspect of any software that openly listens to my voice on my device. That is not okay that Samsung should try and prevent this from happening. Voice control used in datafarming I bet.

I just tell it to rap for me. Entertains me for a minute.

I've used it for some basic functions like turn on/off hotspot, wifi, screensaver & play music, other than these, I haven't tried others.

You cant say its complete gimmick, Bixby is promising as samsung have put a lot of hardwork,
We should be giving time for it to mature and compete with other hardcore assistants like google assistant or siri or alexa

Yeah! Totally right!!
willcor said:
When I got my device in April, i really
looked forward to get Bixby up and running.
However i since then, lost interest in Bixby.
I used to to use, voice wake up to wake phone (re S voice installed, but disabled ) on my other devices Note 4, Note 5 etc.
However with S8 you need Bixby activated, to work. Thats all I'm interested in.
If you look at Bixby (as whole)
Bixby cards is basic very limited
and boring.
Bixby vision is a waist of time. Nearly always wrong in identifying objects.
I use Google Assistant. with Nova Prime.
I can call up Google Assistant in any app
or web page that i am currently in.
Bixby button is aso configured to G. A.
My view is Bixby, will eventually become
just like S voice.
Not worth using after
novelty wears off..!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google Assistant is Floyd Mayweather, perfect as a whole and Bixby, is Conor Mcgregor, a UFC fighter who is an alien in a boxing ring.

i rather bixby. i can unlock the device with voice

I can't see the point in Samsung's own assistant on Android platform when Google has one for years. Another stillborn, I'd say. Wasted manhours in developing something that users will reject. Sometimes I wonder how the world still hasn't collapsed if biggest companies have that stupid managers. No sane person wouzld authorise work on assistant in a world where there's Google, Siri and Alexa. And adding the button dedicated to Bixby is the stupidest thing they've done. Luckily it can be disabled. I barely use Google Assistant, as someone wrote, all these voice apps are just a gimmick. No way I'm gonna use some half baked Samsung assistant.

What level of Goog did you opt for on your Pixel?

I've never really used many of Googles apps and services and more specifically given it all the permissions for which it's asked. I decided for no particular reason other than morbid curiosity to go all in this time; give it everything, partake of every privacy smashing feature. So far I'm not really finding the phone experience to be different than when I blocked many of those features.
This had me curious, just how Goog is everyone else going with their phones? I don't want this to devolve into a privacy debate so please leave that for another thread. I'm interested in how Goog folks are going and if they feel the benefits are worthwhile to them.

I've never opted out of anything when I get a new Google device, or even on Chrome from that matter. And even when I get a prompt to opt in to something they ask to help development, or to better my experience I always say yes. I've been doing this since the Nexus One. I'm deep into the Google ecosystem. I use all Google products for everything I can think of (barring OS as I use Windows 10, and not Chrome OS). I've never had any privacy or security issues with Google having all my info, and I'm not worried about it in the slightest. They have millions of subscribers/customers. I'm sure they're not worried about any one individual's info. Anyway I know you said you don't want to get into the privacy/security aspect of it, and neither do it, but I just wanted to throw in my experience with opting in to everything.

Let Google be Google! Seriously though it's not like they track you like spies lol, you'll enjoy the little things that make Google different. Location based stuff mainly

I'm not noting much difference; I'd say none if given more time and I didn't notice some helpful feature between here and whenever I decide to call the experiment. And yeah, Bobby, it is kind of a fine line, privacy is a worthy topic but not the purpose of this thread. I'm just curious if people do go all in or not and if so if they find it beneficial. In other words I was wondering how many go full Goog and if so was it worth it to give Goog the works because of some benefit I haven't yet surfaced. Start talking about privacy,security, that sort of thing, the thread is as good as dead.

I like to use as many Google apps or services as I can. They're usually pretty handy and allow me to get the most out of my phone. This is supposed to be a Google phone, so why not use Google's stuff instead of third party apps? If my data gets leaked then I could always join a class action lawsuit with the others that were affected.
The only annoying thing I've found with signing up for every Google service is pretty much anything I search for on Google shows up in my Google Now feed. For example, if I search for barbershops in my area or ask Google Assistant to find me the nearest one I'll get a few cards in my Google Now feed the next morning related to hair cutting or the latest hair styles. They assume that I'm interested in that stuff and want more info, but in reality I could care less. I just wanted a damn haircut... To avoid this I've been doing all of my searching in an incognito window. I can't turn off search history because if I do I can't use Google Now or Google Assistant

Face_Plant said:
The only annoying thing I've found with signing up for every Google service is pretty much anything I search for on Google shows up in my Google Now feed. For example, if I search for barbershops in my area or ask Google Assistant to find me the nearest one I'll get a few cards in my Google Now feed the next morning related to hair cutting or the latest hair styles. They assume that I'm interested in that stuff and want more info, but in reality I could care less. I just wanted a damn haircut... To avoid this I've been doing all of my searching in an incognito window. I can't turn off search history because if I do I can't use Google Now or Google Assistant
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This exactly!
My wife is always being lazy and asking me to search for something for her (while she's holding her phone!) and she doesn't understand why I hate doing it. It's because I don't want to fill my google feed and advertising ID with info on her (very feminine) interests.