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I’m sure their usage growing has nothing to do with the fact that Microsoft basically forced everyone off their MSN/Windows/Live Messenger service and onto Skype.

about 17 hours ago on Pick your poison: messaging will be fragmented, expensive, or locked-in 1 reply

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Given the fact that the screen image is the right side up despite the Nexus 4 being held upside down, you can probably assume the standard “screen images simulated”. The screen reflections on the actors’ hands look blue to me, instead of reflecting the actual screen colour. Since they screwed up the orientation of the Nexus 4, they might’ve simply pasted the wrong screen on the Nexus 10, too.

1 day ago on Is This An HSPA+ Nexus 10? 1 reply 3 recommends

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The Nexus 4’s screen isn’t “bad”. It’s horribly calibrated, and the viewing angles aren’t great, but the glass on the screen is the nicest I’ve ever used on any device. Somehow, there seems to be less friction when gliding my fingers across the glass on this device compared to others. Seems like a small thing, but it makes using the device just a little bit nicer.

1 day ago on Does everyone who owns a Nexus not care about cameras on a smartphones?

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I was really hoping that they would announce improved coverage of their Google Music service to other countries at this event, but I guess Canada is still stuck with iTunes, iTunes or iTunes as our online music vendor choice (okay, there’s 7Digital [aka HMV Digital] or Pure Tracks, too, but the selection is quite a bit more limited, the prices are often worse than iTunes, and the mobile apps available have been utterly horrible).

1 day ago on Why All the Negativity?

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I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that comment. The colour balance on the Nexus 4 is a little off, but it takes acceptable pictures with limited sensor noise. Most of the biggest problems is the software. The auto-focus is absolutely terrible, the radial control menu is poorly designed (love the buttons under my finger that I can’t see), it’s poorly calibrated, and just isn’t that nice to use.

1 day ago on Does everyone who owns a Nexus not care about cameras on a smartphones? 1 recommend

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Nexus devices also don’t have physical home and back buttons, but this phone definitely has those. I’d guess that it’s probably a standard S4 with different software rather than completely unique.

2 days ago on Google turns the Samsung Galaxy S4 into a Nexus phone, coming June 26th for $649

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Depends on your device… The One X still had that terrible partitioning scheme where apps and their data were separate from the /sdcard partition. I imagine it’s far from the only post-ICS phone released with that partitioning scheme.

2 days ago on Google turns the Samsung Galaxy S4 into a Nexus phone, coming June 26th for $649

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If I was in charge of branding Moto phones, I’d make sure every phone from now on has “X” as the first letter of the model number just to drive ridiculous speculation from the tech press, but then continue to insist that these “X-Phone” rumours are rubbish.

3 days ago on Is Google I/O going to be the silence before the storm?

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The API for doing backups to Google’s cloud storage has been around for quite a while now (API level 8 – Android 2.2). Just no one uses it. It’s difficult to say if that new feature is merely giving additional visibility to this already-present feature, or if Google is overhauling the backup APIs.

4 days ago on Cloud Syncing of App Data Leaked in Play Services APK 1 reply

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Is this supposed to be an ironic commentary on the paid shills for Samsung by posting something that sounds like a paid ad for HTC, or are you actually serious?

5 days ago on So the Head of Android at Google uses an S4.... 2 recommends

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While I certainly don’t have any inside information, I expect that we’ll probably see a dual core Pivos XIOS box sometime this year. The Amlogic dual core SoC has been available for some time now, and would be the easiest platform for them to port their XBMC work over to.

7 days ago on Android Set Top Boxes / Android-on-a-stick

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Look at how many people hold up their iPad to record video. Looking stupid seems to be a very lousy deterrent.

7 days ago on Moto X Phone first Android 5.0 on VZ and Nexus will be first 5.0 on GSM 1 reply 1 recommend

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I think there was some major differences during 4.2.1, but since 4.2.2 hit, the random battery drain fix that was the probably biggest benefit to Franco’s kernel is already integrated.

7 days ago on Google should buy Franco Kernel

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It’s not without risks, though. Forwards compatibility among 30-pin connector products has been a problem on-and-off throughout the life of that connector, and with the new connector being so new and vastly different, there’s no saying if your device designed for the iPhone 5 will work with the iPhone 5S with that connector. On the other hand, Apple is unlikely to drop Bluetooth, and don’t have the ability to revoke permission from creating iPhone compatible Bluetooth devices (although they could stop you from using their logo), so I’m pretty comfortable saying that Apple is responsible for the boom in Android-compatible Bluetooth devices.

7 days ago on What I hate about Android ... 1 reply

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I think we can thank Apple for this. After the iPhone 5 hit without any third party accessories due to its new connector, it must’ve caused many of the accessory manufacturers to reevaluate things. By sticking with BT/WiFi/etc for connecting to the device, they can maintain backwards compatibility no matter how many times Apple decides to redesign connectors without telling anyone, and additionally open up the market to Android/Blackberry/WinPhone/etc.

8 days ago on What I hate about Android ... 1 reply 3 recommends

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I think there may be a simpler answer: The replacements are likely all refurbished units that were returned for some reason and “repaired” or returned to the RMA stock because they couldn’t anything wrong with it (“No fault found”).

9 days ago on My Experience with The Nexus 4: Why the Fuck Can't They Get One Right?

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That’s true up until the point where they put out enough electromagnetic radiation to cause burns. But if your cell phone is repeatedly burning you, you should’ve got it fixed long ago.

10 days ago on San Francisco's efforts to label cellphones with radiation warnings meet their end 2 replies

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Another thing to watch out for is the fact that the specs on those devices is often grossly exaggerated. Plenty of those sticks are advertised as 1.5GHz. What isn’t usually stated is where that number comes from. It’s not the CPU speed, but rather the sum of the speeds of all the SoC components. The CPU runs at 800MHz, the GPU at 250MHz, and two DSPs at 200MHz each. Add them together, and you’ve 1.5GHz. Even that 2160p claim is rather dubious, because it doesn’t refer to the 4K TV standard, but the fact the thing is capable of decoding 1920×2160 3D content, that it will never be able to display through it’s HDMI 1.3 connection.

Even the sticks with AMLogic SoCs are often very poorly built. Most overheat and lose WiFi connection at the drop of a hat and have no firmware recovery feature (unless you enjoy shorting pins on the SPI flash). Some of the boxes are a little better built, but you’ll still often find them skimping on important details.

Now, all that said, a lot of Android apps work quite well on the TV with a standard remote control. TuneIn works quite nicely, for instance. Sadly, it’s not typical, and even apps like Play Music often work poorly with a remote control.

One other possibility other than an Apple TV, Pivos XIOS or these terrible sticks is something like the QNAP NAS appliances which do double duty as a NAS as well as XBMC interface.

10 days ago on Android Set Top Boxes / Android-on-a-stick 1 reply

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I doubt Google will enable aptX in AOSP or the Nexus devices. There would be patents to license, and doing it for all of AOSP would probably cost a lot more than Google would want to shell out.

10 days ago on BT 4.0 in AOSP...I think its coming. Google I/O Update!!!

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So many apps are still Gingerbread/FroYo themed, and we’re starting to see some very bad Holo UI implementations (ES File Manager, for example). Still, it’s better than not having UI guidelines at all.

11 days ago on After three years of Windows Phone, I love my Nexus 4

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Actually, I know what was causing it. The phone would wake up after getting fully charged, and the screen would come on. The A/C adapter has to be a genuine Motorola one, or the touchscreen goes crazy (even charging it via my computer would cause this). Combine these two, and you have the phone calling people at random at around 2:00 AM. Sadly, it’s not an uncommon problem on these Motorola phones.

No problems with any of the other phones I’ve used since. They wake up when charged, and then properly go back to sleep due to inactivity.

11 days ago on How often do you upgrade & why? 1 reply

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Pretty much. If you want access to Google’s software, you gotta take Google’s software. But I suppose it doesn’t sound quite as sinister when I say it that way.

11 days ago on I'm starting to think that Android will eventually be more Google and less freedom in the future. 1 recommend

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I spent nearly six months with a Motorola Milestone (A854 – the Droid 1 without the Droid branding). After I found out it was waking up in the middle of the night, unlocking itself, and dialing random numbers then sending them to voicemail, I ditched it for a Galaxy S2 (i9100). The GS2 lasted around 18 months before I got fed up with waiting for firmware upgrades, and frustrated with the bugs in Cyanogenmod on the phone, so I bought a Nexus 4. I think I should be able to get a year or two out of this thing.

11 days ago on How often do you upgrade & why? 2 replies

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As long as you never set foot outside of the few urban areas they serve. Outside of the five or six cities these providers service, you’re left with Telus, Rogers, Bell or a provincial carrier (and if you can stomach the limited phone selection, the provincial carrier is probably your best bet).

12 days ago on In 2013, the keys to Android are still held by the carriers

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There’s no reason why AMOLED couldn’t be colour accurate. All it would require is colour calibration.

12 days ago on Why I ditched the Nexus 4 and went back to the Galaxy Nexus. 1 reply 1 recommend

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They all stink?

14 days ago on Worst. Review. Ever. 1 reply 1 recommend

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Hardly. “But there’s no apps!” been the rallying cry against all emerging platforms. It’s not wrong, and it’s a damn good reason not to be an early adopter of the platform. The iPad, Android phones, Android tablets, and now Windows phones and tablets have all been the target of this.

16 days ago on I'm curious: Exactly what x86 apps do 'regular' users need that would render Windows RT useless?

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It seems likely that 4.3 will be released at Google I/O this month, with either 4.4 or 5.0 at November of this year.

17 days ago on 4.3 jelly bean is last for current devices?

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Copysung

Come on. That’s not even clever. If you have to M$ify their name, “Samesung” at least makes a little more sense.

18 days ago on Mud slinging begins - Samsung paying for negative reviews of one 1 reply 2 recommends