[Q] Couple of issues and questions Flash and Kids Launcher - Galaxy Tab 3 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

[Q] Couple of issues and questions Flash and Kids Launcher - Galaxy Tab 3 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

So... I bought four of these things for my kids for Christmas.
having owned and hacked on HTC Vivid as well as Nexus 7 2012 and now 2013 I convinced my wife that I'm owning a full-fledged Android device would be better than purchasing one of those watered down android based kids devices like a nabi or kurio.
I am now trying to set up the device for each of the kids they range in age from 2 to 5.
I am fine with the 5 year old having just a restricted profile with Android 4.3 but the other two need kid a friendly launcher.
I've tried several available from the Play Store and I know some of you must have kids too so I'm curious as to which launcher you like better. kiddos sing like a great launcher however it relies heavily on flash and on this tablet flash keeps crashing which brings me to my first question is there anyway to get flash on these tablets, are they capable of running flash, and is there any specific instruction set for installing Flash properly. flash working on my other tablets such as my Nexus 7 but for some reason the galaxy Tab 3 doesn't seem to want to install it. For my second question that may be related my son likes to call me on skype, these tabs have a front facing camera however Skype will not launch, have any of you faced a similar problem is it related to flash.
My third question is more open ended I know the galaxy tab 7 kids edition has a launcher built-in just for kids do you know of anyone working on a ROM that I could install on these tabs to make them the kids version.
I bought these tablets on a killer deal from Sprint for $49 dollars a piece with a $5 a month data plan. this save some cabbage for custom. accessories which brings me to my final question I know that they have OtterBox cases for these tablets do any of you know of a kid friendly case.
I have been a reader of this forum for a very long time I'm happy to say that this is my first post and I hope you guys will help.
if I have posted in the wrong area please let me know and I'll be happy to move it.

Related

[Q] Went from iPhone 4 to Note 2 - Interesting feeling

After using the iPhone for the part 5+ years, I finally got tired of the same old OS. I jumped ship and went to the Galaxy Note 2, and I absolutely love it....amazing device. All my coworkers that I show it too and amazed at the display size and the overall great looks of the phone.
What I find interesting is when I look at the iPhone's tiny display, I don't know how I survived all this time with such a small display. I feel that I can never go back to a small display now that I'm used to the Galaxy Note. The iPhone display just feels way too tiny...lol. The big brillant display of the Note 2 is very good, and I can't really tell the ppi difference between the iphone 4 and Galaxy Note 2. The past wqeek has been extremely busy at work with lots of phone use (for actual calls) and I find holding the Galaxy 2 fairly comfortable...not as awkward as I thought it would be.
That being said...I do have one question....my microSD card will sometimes unmount on it's own, and the only way to recover is to physically remove and reinsert the card again. I have a Class 10 PNY 32GB card. Has anyone else had this issue. I've reformatted the card on the phone, but have not yet tried reformatting on a windows 7 computer yet, so that is my next step. Seems to happen once or twice every few days.
Thanks for any advice regard the microSD card.

mikefly562 said:
After using the iPhone for the part 5+ years, I finally got tired of the same old OS. I jumped ship and went to the Galaxy Note 2, and I absolutely love it....amazing device. All my coworkers that I show it too and amazed at the display size and the overall great looks of the phone.
What I find interesting is when I look at the iPhone's tiny display, I don't know how I survived all this time with such a small display. I feel that I can never go back to a small display now that I'm used to the Galaxy Note. The iPhone display just feels way too tiny...lol. The big brillant display of the Note 2 is very good, and I can't really tell the ppi difference between the iphone 4 and Galaxy Note 2. The past wqeek has been extremely busy at work with lots of phone use (for actual calls) and I find holding the Galaxy 2 fairly comfortable...not as awkward as I thought it would be.
That being said...I do have one question....my microSD card will sometimes unmount on it's own, and the only way to recover is to physically remove and reinsert the card again. I have a Class 10 PNY 32GB card. Has anyone else had this issue. I've reformatted the card on the phone, but have not yet tried reformatting on a windows 7 computer yet, so that is my next step. Seems to happen once or twice every few days.
Thanks for any advice regard the microSD card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Welcome to the other side. Regarding the sd card...I have a samsung 32gb class 10 and have had no problems with unmounting. Although I have not really had enough time with my note to notice (only a few days). Are you stock? If not what is your rom/kernel?

Welcome to Android! excellent device choice f,sure
Its more then likely a defective SD card.

xavier6303 said:
Welcome to the other side. Regarding the sd card...I have a samsung 32gb class 10 and have had no problems with unmounting. Although I have not really had enough time with my note to notice (only a few days). Are you stock? If not what is your rom/kernel?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes..I'm running stock right from the AT&T store...no root and I made no changes to kernal, etc. Since I'm fairly new to Android, and I use this phone for work and personal use, I don't want to experiment with it yet, so I plan to keep it stock for a long time.
If reformatting does not work, I'll go back to Staples and return/exchange the microSD card since they have a fairly good return policy.

I was also an iOS user since iPhone4, and before switch to Note 2, I was using iphone5. I do love the Noteii's size, battery life, s-pen ... But in term of overall smoothness, I think IP5 still has the edge. I am not sure if there something I can do in NoteII to improve it.

eelnoraa said:
I was also an iOS user since iPhone4, and before switch to Note 2, I was using iphone5. I do love the Noteii's size, battery life, s-pen ... But in term of overall smoothness, I think IP5 still has the edge. I am not sure if there something I can do in NoteII to improve it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hate to second guess you, but I can't think of what you could possibly be doing with your Note, that you really can see any difference between the smoothness of iOS 6 and JB. The vast majority of professional reviewers from the biggest tech sites, have all gone out of their way to say that the difference in fluidity between iOS 6 + JB is negligible and no longer a valid argument when comparing Android to Apple... at least not when comparing JB.

Theres soooo much more you can do on Android. Here is a few great apps for stock Android thats not available for stock IOS. Handcent (a texting app with tons of features), Perfect App Protector (let people/kids see your phone without worrying about them looking a your email or what ever app you choose to lock up), Keep Safe (lock up your naughty pictures), and Apex Launcher (easily customize your Home UI, makes IOS users envy with a cool looking UI).

Dr. Evo said:
I hate to second guess you, but I can't think of what you could possibly be doing with your Note, that you really can see any difference between the smoothness of iOS 6 and JB. The vast majority of professional reviewers from the biggest tech sites, have all gone out of their way to say that the difference in fluidity between iOS 6 + JB is negligible and no longer a valid argument when comparing Android to Apple... at least not when comparing JB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't get me wrong. I am not complaining the overall performance of Note II. And I have no doubt it has more processing power. Regardless what the so called professional reviews say, in day to day use, the smoothness of IP5 does have edge. it is small but noticeable. Not that Note II is bad in anyway, just doesn't feel as smooth. While this doesnt mean IP5 is faster, it just mean, at least from user interface/graphic point of view, iOS optimizes it better
IP4 is my first iOS device, before that I was a Window mobile user. So I don't considered myself iOS fan. And between IP4 and IP5, I have used WindowPhone7 (HTC Titan II) for a while. I was actually quite impressed with the smoothness of WP7 but I hated how restricted it is (more so than iOS, which I am not so happy with). Note II is my first Andriod device, so far I love Andriod's flexiblity. Moving away from iTune is just priceless. But the smoothness of iOS's user interface shouldn't be desputed.

I was surprised at how quickly I got used to the size of the Note II, I laughed at my brother in law when he said he wanted the OG Note. Now when I pickup an iPhone it feels like the phone from Zoolander, a child's play thing.
I have the cheapest microSD card I could find. I believe its class 4. Had it about a year. Used it on my Galaxy S II with no issues, and still no issues on the Note II. Unless you count the glacial file transferring (planning on getting one of those 64GB sdxc cards soon). No issues mounting or unmounting. I would make sure the card slot is clean of debris, and check the card for dirty contacts. Try an eraser to clean the contacts. Do you have any other cards to try? Cameras, old phones, etc that have a card you can use to eliminate the phone. I would guess bad card before I blamed the phone. But, if other cards do it too, call AT&T and get the phone swapped.
Sent from my Note II

eelnoraa said:
Regardless what the so called professional reviews say, in day to day use, the smoothness of IP5 does have edge. it is small but noticeable. Not that Note II is bad in anyway, just doesn't feel as smooth. While this doesnt mean IP5 is faster, it just mean, at least from user interface/graphic point of view, iOS optimizes it better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope I'm not starting a religious debate here, but I had the same discussion with my coworker earlier in the week. Far be it from me to say whether iPhone is better than Android or vice versa, and I'm not going to debate with you as to which is smoother or not. I have iOS 6 on my iPod Touch, and it's really smooth, but does that help me in my day to day?
Here's my phone experience.
This is my fourth Android phone (one was borrowed) and at every change, I thought about getting the iPhone. The first time I didn't because I had just finished with 2 consecutive Blackberry Pearls. Compact QWERTY/SureType spoiled me so much I couldn't type on the iPhone. I text around 2000-3000 messages a month so I need to type. iOS' lack of 3rd party keyboard haunt me to this day, especially when I need Chinese/Japanese/Korean handwriting recognition. I think that's probably the biggest deciding factor for me, and still is.
Here are the awesome things that iOS has brought me: iTunes store, FaceTime, Siri ... Passbook? Getting smartphones to the mainstream, and pushing developers to consider the mobile platform? Apps are more or less the same except in some really niche areas. I need an app for music notation, and unfortunately, most of the usable ones are on iPad.
Here are the awesome things that my current Andriod (Samsung Note II) does for me: screenshot + annotation, CJK handwriting recognition (3rd party, alas), not turning off while I'm still reading, keeping orientation when I lie down ... window in window/popup window (being able to watch videos while reading emails), OTG usb support so I can hook up card readers, usb memory sticks and external hard drives, access to the file system, quick notetaking/hurried scribbles, offline voice to text (which was also a biggie for me).
When you press space while typing an email address in Blackberry, it knows there are now spaces in email addresses, so the first space is always the "@" symbol, and the second space is always the "." ... so "me you com" turns into "[email protected]", and I thought, WOW, Rim seriously had people sitting around going, hey. what would make things easier for people.
That's the feeling I got from the Samsung Note II.
I guess in the end, maybe I'm just too function over form. I'd rather have things that work over things that look nice. This, of course, has no bearing whatsoever as to the "iPhone 5 vs Samsung Note II" debate, because that's just my opinion. I think Apple's done a fine job, but I also think they need to innovate the pudding out of their products.
Anyways, welcome to Android, and I hope you enjoy your stay!

Hmm... how should I start...
Note 2/Android deals terribly with missed calls, texts and emails. Icon badges which are extremely useful are almost non existent or simply don't work. You have to "configure" just about EVERYTHING on this system to get it to work, where as with iOS it works... simply.... It does push as Android doesn't and its smooth as silk ON ANY APPLICATION...
Anyone tried flipboard on both? Why is it that on the iPhone its so much smoother than Android? Its the same developer with the same app and goal. There has to be an underlining from the OS that dictates or does this... How does that help me on the day to day? How good looking is your car? How does the ergonomics feel? That is how it helps.... For the first time the note 2 made it "passable" or "acceptable" the smoothness or lack of.. It still stutters even after 5 years... something the iPhone got right on day one! Anyone remember the G1?
Widgets without a capacity for push/seamless push they are pretty much useless, same thing as opening an application. If things would push correctly to your phone, android would have been so much more useful than iOS that it would have brought back Apple to the drawing board.
There are no programs like LockInfo/Intelliscreen X.
pictures MMS on Android have a play button..WTF? Even ChompSMS (makers of bitesms for iPhone) can't compare to bitesms functionality and usefulness. A quick reply on Android with Chomp will leave the badge on the icon and marked as unread, when you specifically want it read... you have to open the app to clear it. That should have worked flawlessly. If it works on the iPhone, why can't they make it work on Android... Its just coded differently and has bad coding or handling of data (whatever, I don't know).
In a general sense... iOS looks so much better... Android feels like pixels on a screen where as iPhone feels totally different... Then again... w/o a jailbreak it gets boring fast... and Android has a lot more to fiddle around.
The lack of jailbreak is the second time it has pushed me to Android... And this Big Screen is such a nice addition that I feel like I couldn't go back to the tiny i5. But then again, if a Jailbreak appeared I would be returning it...
I want to like Android... The geek in me likes it, but when simple things like notifications badges and push email don't work correctly makes me see all the huge flaws android still has...
For instance.....
I have lockinfo on my iPhone.... I go to my GOOGLE calendar.... add an Appointment.... pick up my iPhone and its RIGHT THERE... RIGHT THAT VERY SECOND that I turn on the screen... Try that SIMPLE thing with Android and let me know... that is the kind of things that should have worked flawlessly from DAY 1.
Try this... Google Now... "remember me when I get home to call my aunt." See what happens... Even spanish language works so much better on Siri than on Google... Even S-voice does a better job than google :facepalm: And the ousted Forstall... What a joke.
Updates.............. Oh god.. try getting an Android update... You need to buy a new phone (nice business from ATT and such? You mean to tell me that Google can't have the same "power" over carriers?, yeah yeah yeah... Get the nexus.. Nexus is and always will be a second class/Cheap product. LTE anyone?)
Music and iTunes... for much that I hated iTunes, the fact that I can organize stuff with one simple program, no matter the iPhone (1,3g,3gs,4,4s,5,iPads bla bla bla) is killer....
The list goes on and on...
Why am I still here? No Jailbreak for iPhone = boring iPhone and no lockscreen and tethering. And the Note 2 Screen is gorgeous..
I went to the ATT store... all androids there.. test them out... ALL OF THEM LAGGED... ALL OF THEM WITH 4.1 jelly bean... Picked up the note.. NO LAG! ok.. we can try this one out..
The S-pen is really useful and wonderful and that alone could make such a difference that would put the iPhone to shame... and I really want that to happen, but I wish that android would get its act together and made it possible to upgrade the OS and work on the simple things first... Its like if Google never ever used an iPhone.
Sorry.. I had to vent this. I wish android fixed this issues and it would become a huge progress and would destroy the iPhone... In the meantime... it will still feel like a second class product.

Sounds like you really haven't put any time into customizing your phone. All of what you are talking about is very easily achieved. And who needs factory updates when Samsung actively encourages you to get roms. Unlike apple who will crucify you for even saying the word jailbreak
Galaxy Note II

R1deTheLight said:
Sounds like you really haven't put any time into customizing your phone. All of what you are talking about is very easily achieved. And who needs factory updates when Samsung actively encourages you to get roms. Unlike apple who will crucify you for even saying the word jailbreak
Galaxy Note II
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL he said all the android devices lagged, i doubt the optimius g lagged the gs3 or the htc one x+ lagged

Andrew149 said:
LOL he said all the android devices lagged, i doubt the optimius g lagged the gs3 or the htc one x+ lagged
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also never base anything on the display models. Those things have weird custom display software that att makes for them. And they go through hell every day with hundreds of people ****ing with them
Galaxy Note II

I can't believe you are comparing an iphone which is JAILBROKEN to a stock Android device. Do you really think that's a fair comparison?
I loved BiteSMS on the iphone, but I was the only person I knew who had it. Why? Because it's not in the appstore! How come you don't blame Apple for not including all those awesome features you refer to in the stock firmware? The funny thing is you can't even say "there's an app for that" because none of the stuff you mentioned can be bought through legitimate means.
The iphone does a lot of things well, even when it's stock. The "features" you miss though 95% of iphone users never had or have to begin with. Your complaint list is completely unfair and I'm surprised you didn't realize that as you were typing all that out.
There are some legitimate gripes, don't get me wrong. The one that really bothers me is carrier control over devices. ATT should be slapped down as well as the rest of the carriers. Google has the power to do so and they should exercise it.

Go SMS pro is free and has the pop up in line reply for texts. I tried to break the logic for when a text is read and unread, couldn't get it to break. (No root required)
One thing HTC did good was lock screen support. I used a "productivity" lock screen that showed calendar notices on the lock screen. It also showed missed text, email, calls etc. It worked great. (No root required on Sense)
I use Nova Prime (was $0.25 not that long ago), the badges work great, and for more apps than TouchWiz launcher. (No root required)
I don't care for the voice control of Google Now. What I like is knowing traffic is bad before I leave. Other cards that give me info I will need, but don't have to ask for.
Widget locker lets you do all sorts of lock screen customization, without root.
Then there is CM/AOKP. Lock screen calendar built in, pop up text reply built in with correct logic, all sorts of customization.
When I think about my time with iPhone, the only jailbreak thing that was easier than unrooted stock android was pirating apps. (Something I don't advocate or miss). Far more apps are legitimately free on android. And with every jailbreak tweak the system became more unstable, and slow. Any iPhone upgrades to the next version of iOS was slow enough, when adding jailbreak on too of that it was unusable to me. For me jailbrake still had a big component of trial and error to find a good mix of what I want. Android is the same, you get out what you put in. It will take some work, and Googling into all hours of the night to find the right set of apps to do what you want, but you have much more power over your experience in Android. Then, with custom ROMs its even more.
All that said ... if you want an iPhone get one. Don't mistake this for "don't let the door hit you on the way out." I've been on xda for a while, and seen a lot of people come and go. Generally I have seen the people that come in saying how much android is harder to customize, and easier jailbreak was, go back to the iPhone. You only get 14 days (instead of the old 30) to make a choice that may haunt you for 18 months. Make the right one for you. Its better to be happy with your choice and device than to be stuck on a platform you don't like because others tell you its better. Android is the right choice for ME. TouchWiz is the right choice for ME. The Note II is the right device for ME. Ultimately you need to make that choice for you, its your phone, and you will be the one using it every day.
Sent from my Note ][

highlanderx said:
Hmm... how should I start...
Note 2/Android deals terribly with missed calls, texts and emails
....
Sorry.. I had to vent this. I wish android fixed this issues and it would become a huge progress and would destroy the iPhone... In the meantime... it will still feel like a second class product.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure what planet you live on but I disagree with everything you state.
I am familiar with the apps/features you mention on the iPhone since I owned the iPhone, iPhone 3g, and Iphone 4s which I used extensively at work, traveling, backpacking, motorcycling, etc., etc.
Also I've been comparing my Note2 with my wife's new iPhone 5 her work purchased for her...and there really is no comparison.
Her prior phone was the BB Curve 2 and I thought she is going to be blown away as a new iphone user...I about died when she said "I'm not impressed...thought the screen would be more useable/bigger".
Apple has lost their creativity which saddens me because I actually used the original MAC in the '80s to develop manufacturing software AND I own a ton of AAPL stock.
I certainly understand and agree the iPhone may be better suited for certain types of people and obviously MANY like it...that's fine but your rant is over the top and based on old, wornout statements.
Just my opinion.

quarlow said:
Go SMS pro is free and has the pop up in line reply for texts. I tried to break the logic for when a text is read and unread, couldn't get it to break. (No root required)
One thing HTC did good was lock screen support. I used a "productivity" lock screen that showed calendar notices on the lock screen. It also showed missed text, email, calls etc. It worked great. (No root required on Sense)
I use Nova Prime (was $0.25 not that long ago), the badges work great, and for more apps than TouchWiz launcher. (No root required)
I don't care for the voice control of Google Now. What I like is knowing traffic is bad before I leave. Other cards that give me info I will need, but don't have to ask for.
Widget locker lets you do all sorts of lock screen customization, without root.
Then there is CM/AOKP. Lock screen calendar built in, pop up text reply built in with correct logic, all sorts of customization.
When I think about my time with iPhone, the only jailbreak thing that was easier than unrooted stock android was pirating apps. (Something I don't advocate or miss). Far more apps are legitimately free on android. And with every jailbreak tweak the system became more unstable, and slow. Any iPhone upgrades to the next version of iOS was slow enough, when adding jailbreak on too of that it was unusable to me. For me jailbrake still had a big component of trial and error to find a good mix of what I want. Android is the same, you get out what you put in. It will take some work, and Googling into all hours of the night to find the right set of apps to do what you want, but you have much more power over your experience in Android. Then, with custom ROMs its even more.
All that said ... if you want an iPhone get one. Don't mistake this for "don't let the door hit you on the way out." I've been on xda for a while, and seen a lot of people come and go. Generally I have seen the people that come in saying how much android is harder to customize, and easier jailbreak was, go back to the iPhone. You only get 14 days (instead of the old 30) to make a choice that may haunt you for 18 months. Make the right one for you. Its better to be happy with your choice and device than to be stuck on a platform you don't like because others tell you its better. Android is the right choice for ME. TouchWiz is the right choice for ME. The Note II is the right device for ME. Ultimately you need to make that choice for you, its your phone, and you will be the one using it every day.
Sent from my Note ][
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1000 times this

R1deTheLight said:
Sounds like you really haven't put any time into customizing your phone. All of what you are talking about is very easily achieved. And who needs factory updates when Samsung actively encourages you to get roms. Unlike apple who will crucify you for even saying the word jailbreak
Galaxy Note II
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
By all means... I wish to solve all of those issues and be happy with my Android!... Why do you think I am here?
ROMs usually do NOT have all the features unless they are based on the stock roms.. Ports like CM10 and the such will loose most of the S-pen features if not all.
I don't get why people can't get criticism from the things they like... all it will do in the future is make a better product... If you think its all mighty and perfect, there is nothing to fix... Nothing new to add... it will be stale.
---------- Post added at 11:56 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:55 AM ----------
Andrew149 said:
LOL he said all the android devices lagged, i doubt the optimius g lagged the gs3 or the htc one x+ lagged
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HTC One X+ was the one that lagged the most...
S3 that comes here with the crap dragon lagged to hell
Note 2... not a single hiccup... hence why I got it... Besides I wanted the biggest one I could find... I really wanted a phablet.
---------- Post added at 11:58 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:56 AM ----------
andrawer said:
Not sure what planet you live on but I disagree with everything you state.
I am familiar with the apps/features you mention on the iPhone since I owned the iPhone, iPhone 3g, and Iphone 4s which I used extensively at work, traveling, backpacking, motorcycling, etc., etc.
Also I've been comparing my Note2 with my wife's new iPhone 5 her work purchased for her...and there really is no comparison.
Her prior phone was the BB Curve 2 and I thought she is going to be blown away as a new iphone user...I about died when she said "I'm not impressed...thought the screen would be more useable/bigger".
Apple has lost their creativity which saddens me because I actually used the original MAC in the '80s to develop manufacturing software AND I own a ton of AAPL stock.
I certainly understand and agree the iPhone may be better suited for certain types of people and obviously MANY like it...that's fine but your rant is over the top and based on old, wornout statements.
Just my opinion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To quote Steve Jobs:
This phone is 5 years ahead of any phone in the market....
Its been 5 years and phones are catching up... but... until the simplicities aren't take care off.... You will see more iPhones on the road than Notes or S3s.
---------- Post added at 12:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:58 AM ----------
quarlow said:
Go SMS pro is free and has the pop up in line reply for texts. I tried to break the logic for when a text is read and unread, couldn't get it to break. (No root required)
One thing HTC did good was lock screen support. I used a "productivity" lock screen that showed calendar notices on the lock screen. It also showed missed text, email, calls etc. It worked great. (No root required on Sense)
I use Nova Prime (was $0.25 not that long ago), the badges work great, and for more apps than TouchWiz launcher. (No root required)
I don't care for the voice control of Google Now. What I like is knowing traffic is bad before I leave. Other cards that give me info I will need, but don't have to ask for.
Widget locker lets you do all sorts of lock screen customization, without root.
Then there is CM/AOKP. Lock screen calendar built in, pop up text reply built in with correct logic, all sorts of customization.
When I think about my time with iPhone, the only jailbreak thing that was easier than unrooted stock android was pirating apps. (Something I don't advocate or miss). Far more apps are legitimately free on android. And with every jailbreak tweak the system became more unstable, and slow. Any iPhone upgrades to the next version of iOS was slow enough, when adding jailbreak on too of that it was unusable to me. For me jailbrake still had a big component of trial and error to find a good mix of what I want. Android is the same, you get out what you put in. It will take some work, and Googling into all hours of the night to find the right set of apps to do what you want, but you have much more power over your experience in Android. Then, with custom ROMs its even more.
All that said ... if you want an iPhone get one. Don't mistake this for "don't let the door hit you on the way out." I've been on xda for a while, and seen a lot of people come and go. Generally I have seen the people that come in saying how much android is harder to customize, and easier jailbreak was, go back to the iPhone. You only get 14 days (instead of the old 30) to make a choice that may haunt you for 18 months. Make the right one for you. Its better to be happy with your choice and device than to be stuck on a platform you don't like because others tell you its better. Android is the right choice for ME. TouchWiz is the right choice for ME. The Note II is the right device for ME. Ultimately you need to make that choice for you, its your phone, and you will be the one using it every day.
Sent from my Note ][
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Widget locker is a program and is not a lockscreen... The program disables the lockscreen and the program activates itself...
First in lower mem (not applicable here) phones it LAGS to hell... you will always see the desktop THEN widget locker. Same goes with Executive Assistant...it got to the point where it wouldn't unlock.
I haven't tried the latest ones and this was a year ago with a craprocket that I bought and I hated it. Went to the 4S when the jailbreak came out and I was a happy camper... Again.. as I have said before.. I got tired of the same thing... of the lack of new interesting things to do with a new phone... Specially without jailbreak. I do play around with the phone and this is one of the things that I like about Android.
XDA Community for android doesn't exist for any other platform...and that simply is a bonus...
Why do I want updates?
4.2 brings some good lockscreen features and I want to try those... There might be a port... but... it might not have all the functions it would have if it where stock.
---------- Post added at 12:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:05 PM ----------
quarlow said:
Go SMS pro is free and has the pop up in line reply for texts. I tried to break the logic for when a text is read and unread, couldn't get it to break. (No root required)
One thing HTC did good was lock screen support. I used a "productivity" lock screen that showed calendar notices on the lock screen. It also showed missed text, email, calls etc. It worked great. (No root required on Sense)
I use Nova Prime (was $0.25 not that long ago), the badges work great, and for more apps than TouchWiz launcher. (No root required)
I don't care for the voice control of Google Now. What I like is knowing traffic is bad before I leave. Other cards that give me info I will need, but don't have to ask for.
Widget locker lets you do all sorts of lock screen customization, without root.
Then there is CM/AOKP. Lock screen calendar built in, pop up text reply built in with correct logic, all sorts of customization.
When I think about my time with iPhone, the only jailbreak thing that was easier than unrooted stock android was pirating apps. (Something I don't advocate or miss). Far more apps are legitimately free on android. And with every jailbreak tweak the system became more unstable, and slow. Any iPhone upgrades to the next version of iOS was slow enough, when adding jailbreak on too of that it was unusable to me. For me jailbrake still had a big component of trial and error to find a good mix of what I want. Android is the same, you get out what you put in. It will take some work, and Googling into all hours of the night to find the right set of apps to do what you want, but you have much more power over your experience in Android. Then, with custom ROMs its even more.
All that said ... if you want an iPhone get one. Don't mistake this for "don't let the door hit you on the way out." I've been on xda for a while, and seen a lot of people come and go. Generally I have seen the people that come in saying how much android is harder to customize, and easier jailbreak was, go back to the iPhone. You only get 14 days (instead of the old 30) to make a choice that may haunt you for 18 months. Make the right one for you. Its better to be happy with your choice and device than to be stuck on a platform you don't like because others tell you its better. Android is the right choice for ME. TouchWiz is the right choice for ME. The Note II is the right device for ME. Ultimately you need to make that choice for you, its your phone, and you will be the one using it every day.
Sent from my Note ][
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a post of don't let the door hit you on the way out...
Which is ridiculous... if you don't admit to your flaws you will not really know how to fix them...
I really dislike apple's wall garden and the tight grip they have on everything... I really find it annoying that they are suing everyone and the only way to make a real statement is not buy another product of theirs.. but if the community CAN'T take a simple critic about simplicities that DON'T work and you can argue it does... out of the box it doesn't and modded at best it partially works, we will never get the product we wish for.
If lag was never an issue, why does project butter exist and why do people welcomed the update? I am sure that if all the things that I have stated where fixed, everyone would be happier with their android.
I wanted more a 5.5" phone than an iPhone, hence why I got this one... I also wanted a fast phone that didn't lag. I got this one which is decent.
Right now I am using the Jedi Rom which is very nice and Apex Launcher which solves somewhat most of my issues with the badges... But there are still hiccups and there are still unread message counts that are read from time to time and only a reboot fixes the issue. Does anyone think that is ACCEPTABLE?
GOSMS is freaking ugly and laggy... sorry...
Fluidity was one of the things I really liked about launcher pro but that program hasn't been updated in years. Badges had huge hiccups. Badges is one of the things that once you get used to it, specially after 5 years, its hard to get unused to it.
What about visual voicemail on the STOCK Phone app? its nice to be able to deal with all your call's needs right on the phone app. No, we need to go to a separate app to just deal with voicemails...
You people should use an iPhone for a good while to see how simply it works on everyday stuff...
Don't get me started on Tap economy. Android requires too many more taps than iPhone to do just about the same thing.
All of the things that I have said... can be fixed... I had a LOT more complaints about android that were fixed with ICS and Jellybean, hence why I am back.
Things CAN be fixed and I bet they are fixing them.. but post like these is what makes their todo list bigger with newer updates.
---------- Post added at 12:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:09 PM ----------
andrawer said:
Not sure what planet you live on but I disagree with everything you state.
I am familiar with the apps/features you mention on the iPhone since I owned the iPhone, iPhone 3g, and Iphone 4s which I used extensively at work, traveling, backpacking, motorcycling, etc., etc.
Also I've been comparing my Note2 with my wife's new iPhone 5 her work purchased for her...and there really is no comparison.
Her prior phone was the BB Curve 2 and I thought she is going to be blown away as a new iphone user...I about died when she said "I'm not impressed...thought the screen would be more useable/bigger".
Apple has lost their creativity which saddens me because I actually used the original MAC in the '80s to develop manufacturing software AND I own a ton of AAPL stock.
I certainly understand and agree the iPhone may be better suited for certain types of people and obviously MANY like it...that's fine but your rant is over the top and based on old, wornout statements.
Just my opinion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you don't agree with them... prove me wrong... we are all here to debate... If I am wrong, it means that my issue can be solved... which is what I want... I am not here to just complain, its also a way of looking for solutions... but this is also a perspective on why iphone lovers hate android. Wasn't samsung mocking android owners? Isn't Samsung trying to Snitch iPhone users? This is the way... fixing stuff. If an iPhone owner comes to all this broken OS, they will really go back. I have the opportunity to fix them and I don't mind fiddling with code and decoding and coding APKs if need be. I like to do all that.

Dude, its not android users not taking criticism, youre just *****ing about things you can fix easily. Like I said, you have not spent any REAL time trying to figure things out. Besides this phone just came out. Give the dev community a minute and I guarantee things you never even knew you wanted will become a reality.

Poll: Reason we as people buy a new phone and whats the motive/selling point

Wanted to start a unusual Poll thread about
Why we buy the latest and greatest phones and whats the motive or reasoning behind it?
Not just about the galaxys or s4..even any device...
Whats become the selling point for you as a "INDIVIDUAL" in your case for instance?
Like many of us phone junkies admit we have had to have it the day it drops.. whats the biggest reason and is it a sickness.
Do our old phones really not do what a phones meant to do at the end of a day? just because a new one has taken its place?
Maybe its cause of the new look
Maybe it's due to the rumored batt life
Maybe its a new design
And maybe its just a habit
For me its about the always improving batt life of upcoming devices. ..
Old phones were plagued with batt life issues i believe now we are overcoming that.
Also for me and the s4 it wasnt the cam that sold me I felt the ir blaster was a very unique feature.
What's your reason?
Sent from my SGH-M919 using xda app-developers app

I'm a tech junkie so I love having the latest and greatest. I also recently became hooked to root and flashing roms/mods and the development on my previous phone (S3) slowed down a lot. So here I am lol
Sent from my SGH-M919 using xda app-developers app

lojak29 said:
Wanted to start a unusual Poll thread about
Why we buy the latest and greatest phones and whats the motive or reasoning behind it?
Not just about the galaxys or s4..even any device...
Whats become the selling point for you as a "INDIVIDUAL" in your case for instance?
Like many of us phone junkies admit we have had to have it the day it drops.. whats the biggest reason and is it a sickness.
Do our old phones really not do what a phones meant to do at the end of a day? just because a new one has taken its place?
Maybe its cause of the new look
Maybe it's due to the rumored batt life
Maybe its a new design
And maybe its just a habit
For me its about the always improving batt life of upcoming devices. ..
Old phones were plagued with batt life issues i believe now we are overcoming that.
Also for me and the s4 it wasnt the cam that sold me I felt the ir blaster was a very unique feature.
What's your reason?
Sent from my SGH-M919 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's almost like a compulsion. I rarely impulse buy and I can take weeks to finally decide on my purchases. I read reviews, speculations, I memorize the specs of all my choices and compare them. The compulsion part comes in because once I get the idea in my head that I really want something I will find a way to get it; I'll make myself believe I need it... I actually almost hate when it comes time to buy a new toy because I put so much time into the pre-purchase. On the other hand, it's also a type of rush. As far as selling points go, it's usually something small and trivial that makes me decide which way to go. Buying my 1st droid I was torn between an LG Nitro and the GS2. I had my mind made up that I wanted the S2 and while in-store I played with both of them. I liked the LG's screen a little bit better and that was the one I bought. The whole reason I got the S4 is because around January I had decided I was going to buy the S3. I had already worked out a deal with a friend to buy his and everything; then I realized the S4's release was very near. In fact, the purchase of this device was the easiest one I've made in quite some time because I had already done the legwork and research on the S3, The hardest part was waiting for release... then deciding which carrier's version to buy, whether to switch carriers or buy outright, etc etc.

Its better to be addicted to new technology then crack. Haha really though it's a hobby for me. Something I enjoy. One can have the fastest and newest features. Plus I like to learn about new technology and development.
Sent from My S4 in BEASTMODE

My current phone, a Galaxy S 1, has super slow NAND, and that affects performance quite alot with newer apps being larger than they were 3 years ago.

I use my phone more than any other device I own. I haven't played my PS3 in months and I barely use my tablet. I chose to buy this device because I wanted to get rid of my Galaxy Nexus before it became obsolete. I work and purchasing something like this does not have an effect on my finances because I can afford my gadgets. I know some people just have to have the latest even if it they have to change their lifestyle in order to do so.
I love customizing my phone, but now that I have this device I don't feel the need to. I wish I had bought the Nexus 4 instead. They have a very active community that is all about helping each other out and they are very loyal to their brand. Seems like most of the people who I have seen in the T-Mobile section are teenagers.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Xparent Skyblue Tapatalk 2

I'm buying a new phone when my old one breaks or becomes too old/slow/buggy for my needs. And I always buy the top of the line models just because I think they'll serve me longer. For example I don't really need a quad core cpu now, but in 2 years from now it might become a minimum requirement to run Google Maps.

lordcheeto03 said:
It's almost like a compulsion. I rarely impulse buy and I can take weeks to finally decide on my purchases. I read reviews, speculations, I memorize the specs of all my choices and compare them. The compulsion part comes in because once I get the idea in my head that I really want something I will find a way to get it; I'll make myself believe I need it... I actually almost hate when it comes time to buy a new toy because I put so much time into the pre-purchase. On the other hand, it's also a type of rush. As far as selling points go, it's usually something small and trivial that makes me decide which way to go. Buying my 1st droid I was torn between an LG Nitro and the GS2. I had my mind made up that I wanted the S2 and while in-store I played with both of them. I liked the LG's screen a little bit better and that was the one I bought. The whole reason I got the S4 is because around January I had decided I was going to buy the S3. I had already worked out a deal with a friend to buy his and everything; then I realized the S4's release was very near. In fact, the purchase of this device was the easiest one I've made in quite some time because I had already done the legwork and research on the S3, The hardest part was waiting for release... then deciding which carrier's version to buy, whether to switch carriers or buy outright, etc etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Feel just like you man. I have had almost 40 different phones in the past few years. Any high end phone I have probably bought....drives the wife crazy. Funny thing is that I'm not an impulse shopper with anything else but phones. I can walk to the AT&T store right now and chances are I'm walking out with something new.....so I try to avoid them lol
Sent from my GT-I9505G using xda premium

I bought it for the prompt and timely updates from Samsung and T-Mobile.

I'm still in therapy trying to figure out what the cause of this 'have to buy new device sickness' is. I'll post back in a couple of years when I get off the couch
But seriously, I enjoy having a newer version of my current device because it's something new, even if the changes are subtle. But I've always gotten the newer version usually months later, mostly due to not being eligible for a subsidized device under contract for 22 months, for example, with Sprint. But with T-Mobile, I'll be able to get the newer device when available due to their 'No Contract' option with annual eligibility for a new device, and twice a year eligibility for newer devices with the 'Jump' program, although newer versions of the same device, S2-S3 and S3-S4 for example, drop once a year. My last few devices have been Samsung upgrades. But I can change manufactures if the model warrants it, and then it would be possible to upgrade maybe twice a year. But Samsung Galaxy series have been berry, berry good to me
With the above being said, you'll NEVER see me waiting on a line outside the store waiting to get a new device the day it comes out, and obviously you won't see me in a tent overnight or for days on end waiting to be one of the first to get a new device. Now that's a Sickness, imho :silly:
I'll wait a few days or weeks until the device is available without the lines, or when it's back in stock.
Now back to the 'couch' already in session lol!

I bought the phone because I am a huge fan of the newest technology. I skipped on the one simply because the button layout, HTC sense, and the screen being a tiny bit smaller. Having the latest technology intrigues me (and poor impulse control lol) to buy these new gadgets.
As of now I'm really only interested in Samsung and Nexus devices unless something else over shadows those. There's no real good reason for upgrading every time a new phone is available for me. A phone from a year or two ago would suffice but I just have to have the latest and greatest. Its definitely an American mentality.
It's easier to click "thanks" than type it.

I'm still using my Galaxy S1 and after 2.5 years the battery is almost gone.
The phone has become really slow and hangs a lot.
Thus, I just ordered a new S4

I had a LG G2X for over 2 years. Always hated the camera and screen size, but when it first came out it was good. Got slower and slower over the months. Got to the point where if I downloaded an app over 30mb it wouldnt run on the phone so I gave up on it. Looked up all kind of reviews of the S4 for about 2 months before I dished out the cash for it.
The things that one me over were:
Camera
IR Blaster
Performance specs
& Support I THOUGHT it was coming with.

stevessvt said:
I bought it for the prompt and timely updates from Samsung and T-Mobile.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hahaha. Then you bought it for the wrong reasons. Lol

current phone g2x POS , dead pixel (so line on the screen), intermittent Bluetooth cut out when backlit buttons light up or go out. and general nvidia/lg crappy build support for drivers.
going to s4 on the 16th as soon am my contract is over. root remove bloat and be happy.
i replace a phone when it no longer dose what i need it to do. g2x issues gps / Bluetooth , forced to use stock roms if you want to be able to make calls and having working Bluetooth if you made the mistake of updating the base band to get gps working.....been waiting for my contract to be done for the last 2 months i can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel 8 more days and i can retire the g2x to become a backup mp3 alarm clock and gps nav device...

For me its a hobby to get new phones. I havent use any phone for more than 6 months.
Sent from my GT-N8013 using xda premium

I LOVE tinkering and twiddling with my devices. I generally keep a phone over a year or until a badly thought out mod kills it, but last phone had next to no development. I kinda splurged on this one. It's my first very high end one and I LOVE it. Made me realize that almost all the mods I've been doing on various phones were to get them closer to the level this one is.

wanna hear a story i work at a cellphone retail store my boss love iphones
the first time i got a phone was a blackberry slow as **** then i went to sprint and got 2 option the 4s or the galaxy s2
i went with the s2 of course i hate iphones
since then i learn about rooting,flashing etc
xda has the best customer service lol
since then i had the s2,s3,note 2 and now the note 3
why i buy samsung phone easy to customize root,removal battery and sd card
im a music junkie and no other phone has what Samsung phones offer,
i play with all new device since i work in a cellphone retail but in the end samsung for me
sorry for my bad english and bad grammar

Well I have always purchased Android phones, and I picked up the Galaxy S4 after my Galaxy Nexus bit the dust.. switched to T-Mobile to get the unlimited data and I've been incredibly happy with them so far

I like to have the it phone so people admire it, and ask me to customize theirs.
To make $ rooting and flashing it has to be a phone a lot of people have.
For me it's been g1, g2, Hercules, s3, s4. Samsung will likely have the next one: s5
Sent from my SGH-M919 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Taking the plunge on Saturday! Couple questions...?

Hey all, buying my first tablet in a few days! I'm mainly getting it for a browser based flash game (Wartune) but will use it for other odds and ends as well, I'm sure.
Couple quick questions:
Anything I should watch for when buying the Nexus 7? I will be picking it up from a local BestBuy.
I've skimmed through the rooting thread and have done it on all of my phones, seems very similar. Any recommendations before doing so to this device after I purchase it?
I've tried looking, but are there any 'essential' roms I should look into?
Thanks guys and girls!

cunningStunts said:
Hey all, buying my first tablet in a few days! I'm mainly getting it for a browser based flash game (Wartune) but will use it for other odds and ends as well, I'm sure.
Couple quick questions:
Anything I should watch for when buying the Nexus 7? I will be picking it up from a local BestBuy.
I've skimmed through the rooting thread and have done it on all of my phones, seems very similar. Any recommendations before doing so to this device after I purchase it?
I've tried looking, but are there any 'essential' roms I should look into?
Thanks guys and girls!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I went through three (two were in store) before I landed on one without issues. The first one had noticibly bad "banding" on the top of the screen (some may call it light bleed), and the next one had sveral dead pixels left and high from center of screen (i tried a couple -unstick pixel- apps to no avail). I have not had an issue since, I am really enjoying it, the resolution and density are very nice.

The default browser (chrome) for android doesn't support flash. I think some third party browsers do but I haven't fooled with them in a long time and never had much luck.
Edit: To answer your actual questions though, I bought my nexus 7 from best buy and have never had any issues with it. That being said, you can look through these forums and see that many people weren't so lucky. Rooting the device is very easy and if you have done it before you don't have anything to worry about. I myself have not tried any custom Roms for the nexus 7 because stock/rooted has met all my needs so far.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

All this talk about bad pixels and light bleeding is off-putting. Do the same issues exist with the Nexus 10?

I use Stock. I tell you why.
1.tired to download and plug my nexus to my pc and spend hours just for roms.
2.risk to brick it,
3.i need a safe tablet, with easy update. Because i travel often. Stock is stable. Practically no crash...
4.warranty loss. They can see if you rooted it.
Just enjoy your tablet out of the box... 2 years warranty in my Swiss country. Whatever happen I sent it back and in Switzerland they are good with service(unlike USA where they send back unfixed tablets) . I don't even open it.

[Q] So who was crazy enough to buy one of these??

That would be me!! lol. Amazon made me an offer I couldn't refuse -$159- I got the free year of prime- I paid for it last year by accident and ended up getting a lot of use out of it, so this made it easy. And the phone was $60 (after putting $99 towards prime), and I opened an amazon CC which gave me $40 in an instant credit- so this phone was $20 in the end!! plus taxes of course.
Before I pulled the trigger I looked to XDA to see where development was for this phone- and it looks like it is picking up and starting to move- so I will be getting this new fire phone tomorrow!!! I have to confess I have been using an iphone 5s (JB of course!) for the last year and a half and have been missing the challenge of rooting, romming, and making the best out of the hardware that is lacking due to poor software.
My plan is to put on the latest update and add google play market- leave it unrooted for now and see how it goes. But I am keeping my eye on beta CM11 and seeing how far it goes with CM 13 possibly in the future!!
@ggow- you seem to be very ambitious with this phone!!!! You are doing some great work and I am following your development closely :good::highfive:. I have never used safestrap before, but I may just have to give it a whirl. You make it very tempting
Why was I interested in this Fire Phone??? I bought a kindle 7 hdx last year and hacked that to run google market and it turned out to be a pretty great tablet that I also got a great deal on. It has the fire OS running along side google market with a great launcher running to swap back and forth. So kindle, instant videos, amazon music, and all the google apps too. It's specs were very close to the ipad mini and was a third of the cost. I gave it to my daughter to use in NYC running on att and she has had no complaints with how I modded it. And she is not very techy! :silly:
I am getting a little bored with my 5s and wanted a bigger screen- I passed on the 6+ since we are no longer getting subsidies and $850 for a phone seems ridiculous!! I don't know if 0.7 inches will make much of a difference, but for $20, I just had to find out
I have a Fire Stick TV also and I want to see how they work together. Very excited to receive this phone tomorrow.
Even after all the horrible reviews I read and watched on you tube!! Hopefully these modifications developed here will make it great!

Geez!!!! 75 views and no comments? Come on people- loosen up and let me know if you love your fire phone or hate it or Hate me cause I got it so cheap:silly: Please share your experiences with your Fire Phone. By now it's a year old, but still looks like a great phone for $60. I am basically a really cheap bargain hunter and wait for things to go on sale. This was really a good one.
Share what you did to make it a great phone! Would love to benefit from your experiences.:highfive: Do you love the Fire OS? Do you love the Market? Or CM11? Please share And I thank you in advance:good:

Great phone for the money. If throw yourself into the Amazon ecosystem the fire OS works quite well but I think only Jeff Bezos has done that so far. I'm using it with a custom launcher at the moment but when cm11 is final I might adopt it.

sashusmom said:
Geez!!!! 75 views and no comments? Come on people- loosen up and let me know if you love your fire phone or hate it or Hate me cause I got it so cheap:silly: Please share your experiences with your Fire Phone. By now it's a year old, but still looks like a great phone for $60. I am basically a really cheap bargain hunter and wait for things to go on sale. This was really a good one.
Share what you did to make it a great phone! Would love to benefit from your experiences.:highfive: Do you love the Fire OS? Do you love the Market? Or CM11? Please share And I thank you in advance:good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since you asked:
The hardware is incredible for the price. The antutu benchmark puts it slightly faster than a galaxy s5. However, the bells and whistles (extra cameras, 3D, etc) are irrelevant at best. -- The os is terrible. It works well enough but is far behind other smart phones' os. Also, Amazon's wish to completely control your "experience" gets in the way of good hardware. If you root and then add gapps and the google now launcher, the phone is better to use, but still feels wrong, especially when certain apps can only be added through amazon's app store. -- Finally, I'm still irked by the locked bootloader. It was at this stage I put it in the drawer to use as an emergency backup - or maybe a "mini-gamer" for kids.
Then came ggow and his work to bring CM11 to the phone. Thanks to him, I now use it as my daily driver. I have added Xposed Framework with a few modules, all my favorite apps, and the phone is great! The only annoyance is that there are very infrequent random google play services stops which quickly correct themselves leaving a msg that needs to be swiped away. This is no big deal and ggow might have this fixed by the time you read this. Ggow also mentioned bypassing lollipop (CM12) and looking to "M" for his next major upgrade. How this will happen with a locked bootloader I don't know, but all praise to the person who brought my firephone backed to life.
Enjoy your firephone.

I bought the Fire Phone 6 months ago (I think, don't remember), when it was $189 (and a year of Prime). Having a phone with those specs at $90 was a great deal and hard to refuse. Bought it, got it, and the first day of using it I was amused with how different it was from stock Android. I had a Nexus 5, which got stolen, and I wandered with a low-end phone until I bought the Fire Phone. The Fire Phone couldn't be more different from the Nexus 5, software-wise. I saw the lock screen, toyed with it and thought: "Wow, it moves depending on where I look it from, nice!" (my first lock screen was the one with the time made from the stars and the moon with below it) but also "Did Amazon really need 4 cameras just for that? It might drain my battery" and "Which real-world use could I give to this feature?"
Yes, it was nice to see how things moved thanks to the Dynamic Perspective feature, at least at first; then, like all novelties, my attention to it faded and eventually I disabled it. Having my battery drained wasn't worth for a feature I wasn't paying attention to and which the only real-world use I could think of was showing it to some friend to surprise them a for a little time. And because this phone doesn't have a removable battery, I couldn't afford to lose it for some gimmicky feature.
Then I saw the Carousel, which is the home screen where the most recent apps are shown, with the notifications below it. They were affected by the Dynamic Perspective too. I hated that dotted pattern they used for the Carousel, and then I tried to change it for, say, whatever picture this phone could've come with.
I went to Settings, and was surprised to see, first, that that annoying dotted pattern was there too, and then that there wasn't a way to change the wallpaper. I thought "Come on, it's 2015, every OS in the friggin' world has a way to change the wallpaper. It's the most basic form of customization. Even Apple (which I don't hate), with all that walled garden feeling, allows you to change the wallpaper." But Amazon's FireOS didn't (I haven't ever seen a Kindle Fire tablet). My phone shipped with version 3.6.8, and we had to wait until May to see such a basic feature with the upgrade to 4.6.1. I got annoyed by that, but there was nothing I could to about it.
I checked the pre-loaded games, which make heavy use of the same Dynamic Perspective. I half-liked the Planet Blocks game and played it for a while. After that, I forgot I had it and remained hidden.
Then I went to the Appstore to see what was new. I knew the Appstore didn't have any Google app, and understood it. Amazon had an equivalent to every Google app and, even though I didn't like how they looked, they got the job done, and that was what mattered. Downloading and installing was what I was used to, and updating was a breeze.
But I guess I missed some apps that weren't on the Appstore and was lazy to not sideload all of them. I needed to see good ol' Google on this phone, so I went to XDA and checked if there was a way to sideload Google Play Services. After all, underneath all the Amazon skin and no traces of Google, FireOS was Android at the heart (3.6.8 was based on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, which was pretty outdated even then). There was a way to install Google Play Services, and there was a way to root the phone too, but only if you were brave (and foolish) enough to downgrade to 3.5.1 (it was a bad idea, because if you did that, there would be problems with the Amazon account registration and also some nasty overheating issue). So, I stayed with just installing Google Play Services. It went smoothly and finally got Google. With the Play Store I'd be able to download and install SwiftKey and maybe Google Now Launcher or Nova Launcher.
I got no luck with SwiftKey. It installed, but then you couldn't use it unless you activated it via ADB. After that, got SwiftKey. And about launchers, they worked, except for widgets (which weren't supported in FireOS) and the wallpaper (there was a way to change the wallpaper in Nova; you could choose the image, but it never worked; you had to like the black background because it was the only option). I checked other launchers, some supported widgets (not all widgets, but some) and some found a way to change the wallpaper. I stuck with Buzz Launcher, which made the phone look and work most similar to Android.
I hoped Amazon would sometime hear what users here at XDA (and everywhere else) had to say. The Fire Phone was a great piece of hardware, but its software was a bummer. People were trying to google it but all you could do was sideload Google Play Services. The bootloader was locked (and still is), and the Towelroot method for rooting didn't work for 3.6.8, so downgrading was the next stage for googling up the device. I remember seeing some guys here at XDA offering some money to the first person to unlock the bootloader, and some people sending a letter to Jeff Bezos himself to unlock it and then also a Change.org petition, taking the example of the HP TouchPad tablet (it saw new life after HP unlocked its bootloader, after which people flashed Android instead of the built-in webOS, becoming the second-most selling tablet of 2011). It never happened.
Then it was the question if the phone would ever receive a FireOS 4 update (based on Android 4.4 KitKat), given its lackluster sales. It finally happened on May, and came with very necessary changes to help customize the phone.
This new version would eventually be rooted via Kingroot, which is a very shady-looking app for rooting. It worked, and then there was a way to change it for SuperSU, a more reliable root app. With all the long wait, knowing a developer found a way to flash a ROM even with the locked bootloader was a relief. I flashed it as fast as I could. Now I'm using Cyanogenmod 11 and it's great (no trace of Amazon). It's still beta (the developer uploaded the first build just 4 days ago), but it works pretty well right now, and it'll only get better.
Now we can use a phone that has a great price and good specs with a great OS to match. To the people out there wondering if the phone is worth the price (right now it went back to $449 and comes with a year of Amazon Prime, with $99 alone, so the phone's real price is $350), no, it's not, you could get a OnePlus One at that price (which comes with Cyanogen OS), or a Moto X, or a Xiaomi Mi4, or many other great phones below $350 (and then if, and only if, you want Amazon Prime you can subscribe). When it gets a big discount, which happens from time to time (last one was this week and the price went down to $159), it gets more attractive (especially if you were going to subscribe to Amazon Prime). The phone has many gimmicky features which are really useless, uses an OS that is difficult to adapt to, and is overpriced most of the time (no wonder Amazon failed to sell it at launch at $199 with AT&T contact, or later at $649 unlocked, or now at $449), but may be a great deal when bought at discount (this week the real price of the phone was $60, and at that price you cannot get any smartphone off-contract) and if you're willing to tinker with the phone and flash a ROM (Cyanogenmod 11 is the only one right now, but might be more in the future), it makes a pretty good phone.
A quad-core Snapdragon 800 CPU, with Adreno 330 GPU and 2GB of RAM, a 13MP rear camera and 2.1MP front camera, 1080p recording, 32GB of built-in storage and now the ability to flash Cyanogenmod 11 for just $60? I'd buy it.

Wow!! Great responses guys. I thank you for taking the time to offer your opinions and I really look forward to receiving my Fire phone

Got my Fire phone!!
I really like the screen- overall size of the phone is not really bigger than my 5s but the screen real estate is a little bigger. It's not so lite that you will drop it or so thin you will drop it either. When I use my 5s bare, I have a hard time hanging onto it. It's in a wallet case that I can get a good grab onto. I like a little heft to it and it does feel good in your hand.
I have the incipio folio case on this fire phone that I got for $10 from ATT online store. That was a really good deal. Also did a screen saver just because I like them and the protection from minute scratches they provide.
So, on my Amazon account it was registered to me and the free prime was added on. When I went to set up the phone it requires you to register again to your account and I got all errors that it couldn't be done at this time, blah blah blah. I researched it and apparently this was a big problem at launch too.
So I updated it to the latest of 4.6.1 (820) and tried again, same deal. It just wouldn't register. So I de-registered it on my computer, and tried again on the phone, no go. You can't use the phone without it being asso. with an amazon acct- no apps at all are usable, even the preinstalled ones. So I chatted online, they couldn't help me and wanted to have their Fire Team support call me back- but I couldn't at that time so I will deal with it tomorrow. I'll have to search this forum and see if there's any info about it.
In the meantime I got the google apps working so now I at least have a pretty good list of apps, but no amazon services working yet. I still have to add a sim card and check the basic call functions- since it is a phone.
The benefit of picking up a phone that is a year old is you guys have already tackled the tough parts of rooting, modding, roms, etc. I checked out this forum before purchasing and was pleasantly surprised that you just made the break through just this week for CM. I may have to check that out! I have the att Mega and that poor orphan phone is so crippled most guys just walked away. I Love it for it's 6 inch screen size. The iphone 6+ was in my thoughts but can't justify that price tag. My mega was a penny when we still did subsidies.
I thank you all for your perseverance and hard work and your stick-to-it-ive-ness:good: This could actually be a decent phone with all the modifications. I am hoping I can leave it as is and swap between the Fire OS and the Nova launcher. Hopefully I'll get it registered correctly tomorrow. It's nice getting back into android after apple. I like them both- but I do get bored.
*************************************************************************
So even though it is 3 am here, I just got off the phone with fire phone support and I was told it was a system wide outage and there are many people having this problem. They will get back to me!! I won't hold my breath here
**************************************************************************************************************
Talked again to amazon and I am "on the list" to have this registration fubar sorted out. She took additional info- my mac address on the phone specifically, and supposedly this will be fixed OTA magically. We'll see.
I do have a working sim in and phone calls work fine. I have issue with the tinny sounding speakers that are suppose to be stereo- Sounds terrible- especially with music clips ringtones. Pandora sounds bad too. I did read the reviews about the sound and it appears to be true.
******************************************************************************************
So Amazon finally fixed the registration problem OTA. I can now access my Amazon stuff. Problem solved.

This phone still worth buying in 2017?

Simple question. I asked the same question on another phone I'm interested in, got some good response, am asking it here.
I need a new phone, battery is getting hinky on my HTC One M8 plus the camera is ca-ca and I need a better camera for my job because I have to use the phone's camera quite often.
Out of principle, I simply don't want to spend more than $350 or so for a phone. I toyed with the idea of going over to the dark side with an iPhone, but I'm not going to spend that much money for a phone, I've got other things I need/want to spend money on instead of phones that cost more than some cars I've driven in my life. I'm also too invested in Google's ecosystem and I just prefer Android.
I also need to be on VZW's network. Have toyed with going GSM, I need to stay with Big Red.
Phones within my price range that I'm interested in are an HTC 10 (my last two phones have been HTCs and I've liked them), a Moto X Pure (that's the other phone I asked this question about), a Samsung S7 (all that glass scares me to death, I'm a klutz and the brick-like cases my phones reside in bear that out), Moto G4 Plus or the new Moto G5 Plus (which is having all kinds of issues on the VZW network unless you disable HD calling) — and this one, which really really intrigues me.
I know it's three years old, but I see that there's still a vibrant community supporting it, I've seen people online call it "the best phone Samsung ever made and probably ever will make," and the specs are still righteous compared to newer and flashier phones.
I don't care about new and flashy, my phone is a tool, period, and I need it to work for me.
The Note 4 also apparently is rootable ... I've never owned a non-rooted phone, have never rooted one myself although I've flashed ROMs. (I've got a line on a mint used one running Noble Rom; can anyone tell me about stability of that?)
So after this long-winded drivel, I repeat the question ... this phone still worth buying in 2017?

Depends what you're looking for I guess. If you're looking for a decent phone for around $200, it's decent. Beware the emmc failure error though, these things seem to choke themselves out at either exactly one year or exactly two years after purchase. Not all of them but a large enough percentage that its worth mentioning.
Edit:Also this is anecdotal but I suspect that refurbished note 4s don't have real gorilla glass. I dropped my note 4 easily hundreds of times from around 3 feet, sometimes with some force, with only the s view cover fit a case. The screen never had problems until insurance replaced mine due to failing emmc, then it cracked on the first drop after that.
Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk
---------- Post added at 07:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:19 PM ----------
Also, if you get it I would use one of the newer note rom TouchWiz ports
Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk

Modtronix said:
Note 4 is very rootable including the V variant many active devs for it. Sprint model here and was an amazon purchase. Been rock solid. Many of the others you mentioned are nice as well. Good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it is as well . great device lotta development and now I saw they go for $149 new . Will it hang with the Note 8.....no of course it won't it is almost 5 yrs old now but it at 149 unlocked its less than 1/8 th the projected price of the note 8 .

There are lots of reasons to love the Note 4. Replaceable battery, holds up to 256GB micro SD, IR support, big bright screen, rootable with Magisk support, great ROMs from anything from nearly stock to basic 7.11 versions. If you like to use your spen, get a Touchwiz ROM.
I bought my first one on the day of release. Since then, I've bought nine more over the years for friends and family. All (except one) has been rooted and are running newer ROMs. The holdout is my daughter who thinks rooting is bad. Kids, you can't teach them anything ... ugh! However, they are difficult (shall I say tricky) to root, it's well worth it. I bought the N7 when it was released. Had it two weeks. Hated the 'edge' because I would pull that out accidentally, or couldn't close with the X because my finger was right on the edge. I was sorta glad to return it. Needless to say, I bought a refurbished N4 on Amazon and several more since then. My neighbors wanted new phones, but didn't want to pay $600+ for them. I talked them into the N4 and set them up. They love them, but don't use half of the features. Newer phones are slimmer, not as wide, but that never bothered me. The only reason I would want a newer model would be for more RAM, however I like having the extra cash in my pocket, so I'm perfectly happy and will continue with the N4 series as long as I can.

Note 4 well worth the money!
I definitely recommend the note 4 it is an amazing phone best phone i have ever had! You will be very happy if you do decide to purchase im rooted and using twrp and custom rom! I also read a article talking about how people have decided to stick with the note 4 instead of upgrading to note 5 or 7 this is because the note 4 was way ahead of its time because of the harware that is used in it. The phone has a very good processor i highly recommend this phone!

i bought an LGV20 this week, thats going to be sold, and the note 4 will continue to be my daily driver...at least until the note 8 comes out

This phone is spectacular. I have 2. Never any problems at all outside of my own rooting quandaries. Only complaint is front facing cam. I'm not into selfies but if I get decent haircut and I want to remember it or just notate something stupid like my teeth for my own personal use, the front facing cam sucks.

prw94 said:
Simple question. I asked the same question on another phone I'm interested in, got some good response, am asking it here.
I need a new phone, battery is getting hinky on my HTC One M8 plus the camera is ca-ca and I need a better camera for my job because I have to use the phone's camera quite often.
Out of principle, I simply don't want to spend more than $350 or so for a phone. I toyed with the idea of going over to the dark side with an iPhone, but I'm not going to spend that much money for a phone, I've got other things I need/want to spend money on instead of phones that cost more than some cars I've driven in my life. I'm also too invested in Google's ecosystem and I just prefer Android.
I also need to be on VZW's network. Have toyed with going GSM, I need to stay with Big Red.
Phones within my price range that I'm interested in are an HTC 10 (my last two phones have been HTCs and I've liked them), a Moto X Pure (that's the other phone I asked this question about), a Samsung S7 (all that glass scares me to death, I'm a klutz and the brick-like cases my phones reside in bear that out), Moto G4 Plus or the new Moto G5 Plus (which is having all kinds of issues on the VZW network unless you disable HD calling) — and this one, which really really intrigues me.
I know it's three years old, but I see that there's still a vibrant community supporting it, I've seen people online call it "the best phone Samsung ever made and probably ever will make," and the specs are still righteous compared to newer and flashier phones.
I don't care about new and flashy, my phone is a tool, period, and I need it to work for me.
The Note 4 also apparently is rootable ... I've never owned a non-rooted phone, have never rooted one myself although I've flashed ROMs. (I've got a line on a mint used one running Noble Rom; can anyone tell me about stability of that?)
So after this long-winded drivel, I repeat the question ... this phone still worth buying in 2017?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got my Verizon Note 4 about 2.5 years ago and I still like it a lot. I did have the failing motherboard problem, but Samsung fixed it completely for only $70. It's working great now and I'm hoping to keep using the phone for at least another two years.
So, yes, I would certainly consider buying another Note 4 today. The only caution I would take is to make sure I bought a brand new one. Otherwise you are likely going to be buying someone else's phone with a failing, or soon to be failing, motherboard. Perhaps a phone that has been refurbished by a very reputable company could be acceptable (e.g., from Samsung, or Verizon), but I would want to make sure it has a very good warranty (preferably much longer than 90 days). I definitely would not buy a used phone that is being sold as-is (even if the buyer claims it works fine).
I have seen new Note 4 phones advertised on Amazon for about $300. Refurbished phones seem to be going for about $200 (but I think the extra $100 is well worth the cost for a new phone).
I've never rooted my Note 4. It sounds like versions from some carriers are easier to root than others. If you are on Verizon it sounds like it may be rootable, but it is more difficult. I would read the Verizon specific threads on rooting the Note 4 if you intend to buy a phone specifically for rooting. Personally I really don't feel the need to root the phone. For me it works fine (although I do use a custom launcher so I can customize the look and feel). I also disable any bloatware that I never use. Unfortunately you can't completely remove the bloatware without root.

The Note 4 is still an amazing phone whether you want to use it stock and unrooted or whether you want to root and flash roms. Be advised tho this particular model is a pain in the rea to roo but keep at it and you'll get it done no problem.

Personally? I can't find a phone to replace it. For me, I'm network flexible, and I've considered a V20 on TMO, but honestly I can't find a reason to switch. Rarely if ever do I feel like I need more ram, and that's basically the only significant feature that the v20 would pose for an upgrade. And I'd miss EVERYTHING ELSE about the samsung. Reasons to buy it? Cheap, plenty of power left in the processor/ram category IMO, REMOVEABLE BATTERY (this is something I can't stress enough for me personally. And I can not stand that newer models don't have it.) IR support (why would they get rid of this, why?! why?!?!) and its TWRP/root capable. Again, something I can hardly stand to live without. My phone is ad blocked, xposed, etc... I'll be eating out and I'll start changing TV volumes and my friends just get this WTF look on their face... And I can't find a newer phone to beat it, that has all the same features, and can still be TWRP. My opinion? Yeah, it IS the best phone, and maybe the last GOOD phone samsung ever made. I know there's tradeoff arguments to be made. But they'll drag me to the grave with my note 4. No way I'll be switching until the last boat leaves the dock, and the phone simply can't function in society any more. Hopefully by then, there will once again be another option with removeable battery, IR, TWRP.... but we can only hope.

For what its worth, I switched from a note 4 to the v20. I miss the stylus occasionally but there's a solution for screen writing included with the phone. I like the v20 more
Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk

I've had mine since about 6 months after release. It was a decent phone when it was still locked, but once we got root, it became a phenomenal device. I've been eligible for upgrade for over a year, but I haven't seen a new phone I'm willing to replace it with. Getting hard to find removable batteries and SD cards. I'm curious about the upcoming Pixel 2, but mostly I'm just hoping my phone will last forever.
At this point, if it dies, I'll probably hunt down another Note 4.

I think the note 4 has been a decent phone. I purchased mine new in 2015. It's always had a really poor camera that dosent auto focus without shaking it repeatedly (common issue). It's also had a round of boot looping, which could only be corrected with a factory reset. After boot looping and other random crashing issues where it suddenly powers off. I've decided to move to an LG v20. P. S. You can buy a brand new note 5 for 259.

For fun, thought I'd drop in now that 2018 is looming.
I love my Note 4 (T-Mobile). I'm a flashaholic, and there's plenty out there (though my ext sd card makes Marshmallow roms my preference, since Nougat keeps wanting to reformat the 128g sd I have in this thing!).
I've flashed a few dozen different roms on this thing and it doesn't mind at all. Bought it used off ebay (I didn't know about the emm memory mess back then, which would have given me some pause even if ebay does favor the buyer). But it runs perfectly for me. I use a rubber case because I'm paranoid.
Reasons I really like this phone?
1. big screen.
2. durable.
3. REMOVABLE battery.
4. External SD card slot (at least 128g works just fine, maybe even more?)
Reasons to not go with it?
1. Ya gotta have the newest and shiniest.
2. Small but real possibility you'll run into the emmc memory issue (if you do, get your money back from whoever sold the phone to you and/or chuck it in the trash - game over).

I love the Note 4 and was thinking about rooting it. It's the longest I've ever had a phone. Been about 3 years now and it still runs strong for daily use. Most people don't even use a phone for its full potential. It's a tool for their social media, snapping a few pics, browsing the web, paying some bills (which we all hate), getting directions, etc. As a daily driver, it's been great and I can't find a reason to upgrade to a flashier new phone for $800 plus. I'm the type that if it still works well, then there's no point in replacing it. It still performs as well as middle of the pack models even 4 years after it's release. And the 515ppi 5.7" screen with 2k quality doesn't make the phone feel dated at all. Only the style of the phone feels dated but most of us have a case on it anyway. So hopefully with a new 3220mah battery and a root, this phone will last me a little longer since it still does what I tell it to and with T-Mobile LTE, which is nearly 2 times faster than Sprint, and WiFi through Verizon Fios keeps it snappy and feeling smooth.

Develop Bugs

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