Google Announces New Nexus Smartphone and Tablets

Thanks, Google, for releasing them anyways by barlevg · 2012-10-29 05:16 · Score: 1

I was anxiously awaiting the price point on the Nexus 10. Glad I don't have to stay in suspense.

Re:Thanks, Google, for releasing them anyways by mfwitten · 2012-10-29 05:25 · Score: 1

price.

No Strings Attached? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 05:17 · Score: 2, Interesting

$299, no contracts, and those specs? Maybe it's time I finally paid attention to the smartphone market and finally bought one. I've not kept up though - will I have to have any kind of "google account" or "phone home to google" stuff enabled to use this phone properly? And if so, how hard would it be to jailbreak the thing and fully change that (without introducing additional issues)?

Re:No Strings Attached? by ThatsMyNick · 2012-10-29 05:23 · Score: 5, Informative

Nope, it is optional. You cannot use the play store without associating the phone with the Google Account though. You could use Amazon App Store, which has most apps. You could side load apps (just copy them to the system apps folder), if you have the apk and you are rooted (I dont know of a reliable site, where you can get the apk file from though)
Re:No Strings Attached? by Nerdfest · 2012-10-29 05:23 · Score: 1

Typically you don't need to set up any Google stuff on it at all, although the Google software will definitely come installed on it. The only thing you lose is access to the Google Play market, but you can use Amazon, several others, or side-load.
Re:No Strings Attached? by Nerdfest · 2012-10-29 05:24 · Score: 5, Informative

I don't think you need to be rooted to install APK files ... just drop them on the phone and run them.
Re:No Strings Attached? by Beavertank · 2012-10-29 05:24 · Score: 4, Informative

You'll need a google account if you want to use the Google Play Store (the app market from google) but you can install the Amazon Appstore (which uses an amazon account) instead if you prefer. Otherwise no, you don't have to have a google account to use the phone. Because it's a Nexus device you should be able to unlock the bootloader in a simple process (usually as simple as checking a box in settings and rebooting) then you can flash it with any custom ROM you want. So if you don't trust the default ROM not to phone home you can use a community created one instead (and also since it's a Nexus device a community for producing these custom ROMs should grow quite fast once it's in people's hands).
Re:No Strings Attached? by HTMLSpinnr · 2012-10-29 05:27 · Score: 3, Informative

There's a bit missing in those details. $299 buys the 8GB version, and $349 buys the 16GB version. There is no 32GB version, and a CDMA/LTE version was not announced - these are solely Pentaband HSPA+ devices for now. Or... you can ultimately pay more and go T-Mobile subsidized if you can't handle that much out of pocket at once with $199 out of pocket and $20/mo in subsidies for at least 20 months (Value plan, or $20 more/mo for the plan in general over Value for 2 years if Classic plan).

--
$ man woman *
-bash: /usr/bin/man: Argument list too long
Re:No Strings Attached? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 05:33 · Score: 1

Just make a throwaway Gmail account for your phone, for christ's sake. In this age of warrantless wiretapping, Google snooping on you is the least of your worries anyway. Your wireless carrier/ISP will happily give the government boogeymen all the info about you that they could ask for.
Re:No Strings Attached? by brian.swetland · 2012-10-29 05:46 · Score: 5, Informative

This is correct. Just check the "unknown sources" option under settings and you can install apps from pretty much anywhere (web, email, etc) -- the system will show what permissions the app needs and obtain permission to install it (or not) from the user.
Re:No Strings Attached? by ackthpt · 2012-10-29 05:50 · Score: 1

$299, no contracts, and those specs? Maybe it's time I finally paid attention to the smartphone market and finally bought one. I've not kept up though - will I have to have any kind of "google account" or "phone home to google" stuff enabled to use this phone properly? And if so, how hard would it be to jailbreak the thing and fully change that (without introducing additional issues)?
I'm waiting for a sufficiently stupid (read: not loaded up with clever bloatware) little smart phone I can move my Pay-as-you-go service to and do some basic web surfing through free wi-fi spots. I don't need books, I don't need financial software, I don't need instant/text messaging and I really don't want a lot of crap which makes the phone wake up and kill the battery so it's not available when I need it.

--

A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Re:No Strings Attached? by nighthawk243 · 2012-10-29 05:55 · Score: 1

Optional, but a pain in the ass since you'd have to sideload all the applications since you cannot get it from the Play store.
Re:No Strings Attached? by spire3661 · 2012-10-29 06:07 · Score: 4, Insightful

Under that criteria, i could label the power button a 'gaping security hole'

--
Good-bye
Re:No Strings Attached? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 06:10 · Score: 0

If you buy an unsubsidized phone, you don't really have to worry about bloatware. If you buy, say, an AT&T phone... you'll get Yellow Pages permanently grafted into your phone & contacts app, AT&T "recommended" app, AT&T's shit navigation app, AT&T FamilyMap, AT&T Code Scanner, AT&T Ready2Go, AT&T Smart Wi-Fi, etc. all permanently installed.
Then there's the manufacturer crap, which with samsung is actually quite nice (Kies Air, etc).
Re:No Strings Attached? by jodido · 2012-10-29 06:14 · Score: 0

ting.com
Re:No Strings Attached? by cduffy · 2012-10-29 06:36 · Score: 1

I'm waiting for a sufficiently stupid (read: not loaded up with clever bloatware) little smart phone
The Nexus line are pretty good about this; if you buy them direct from Google and not through a carrier, they won't be loaded down with much, and if you want more control than that, you can root them using manufacturer-supported (albeit warranty-voiding) tools.
The down side is that you're limited with respect to choice of pay-as-you-go carriers (as quite a lot of them resell Sprint service, and so aren't compatible with these phones).
Re:No Strings Attached? by scot4875 · 2012-10-29 06:37 · Score: 5, Insightful

You mean that gaping security hole that still requires the user to confirm their desire to install things after they've been shown a fine-grained list of permissions that said things require?
Unlike Apple, other phone manufacturers don't believe that locking you in a padded room with children's safety scissors is an acceptable practice.
--Jeremy

--
Jesus was a liberal
Re:No Strings Attached? by Gen_Music · 2012-10-29 06:45 · Score: 2

Consider something like a ZTE blade. For $50 you can do all that and a lot more on a reasonable second gen smartphone. Unlocked from the get go, HDSPA, wi-fi, multi-touch, and most of the the apps from the Play Store. The screen is about iPhone 3G-era, which is great for the bucks. And its sold around the world at a low price, wherever you are. Sometimes under the name Orange San Francisco, but its the same thing just carrier locked (£18 unlock for non-customers in the UK).
Re:No Strings Attached? by guises · 2012-10-29 07:00 · Score: 3, Informative

With my Nexus 7 there was no option to boot the first time without first setting up a Google account. I don't think this is such a big deal, I set up a separate throwaway account with each of my devices, but that annoyed me.

I'm also a little annoyed that I got my Nexus 7 just a month ago... Would certainly have waited for one of these here Nexus 4's.
Re:No Strings Attached? by h4rr4r · 2012-10-29 07:16 · Score: 2

Then how would an app that sends out sms on a schedule work?
I have to approve each time it sends?
Re:No Strings Attached? by mrchaotica · 2012-10-29 07:40 · Score: 1

I pre-ordered the Nexus 7, and even that hasn't been long enough ago for me not to be pissed about this. On the bright side, at least the only apparent difference is the availability of 32GB of Flash and a cellular modem, neither of which I care about. I wish my device weren't just de-valued by $50 though.
What I'm really glad of, though, is that I didn't jump the gun on replacing my old Samsung Intercept with a Galaxy Nexus, and can get that Nexus 4 instead.
You win some, you lose some, I guess.

--
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
Re:No Strings Attached? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 07:43 · Score: 1

You could require confirmation by default, and explicitly grant such an app permission to send them without your confirmation as a separate action.
Re:No Strings Attached? by ThatsMyNick · 2012-10-29 08:01 · Score: 1

Strange, the default ICS first boot setup is to ask if you have a google account. Did you not get this Yes/No screen when you booted up?
Re:No Strings Attached? by Miamicanes · 2012-10-29 08:50 · Score: 3, Interesting

The gaping hole in Android's security model is the fact that in order to have an app that fetches location-based ads over the internet, uses wi-fi (instead of GPS) for coarse location, and has the ability to pause when the phone rings or cooperate nicely with alerts and other apps, you basically have to give the app the right to do almost everything up to and including scrape your phone logs and dump them over the internet to the developer's server, then eavesdrop on your LAN's traffic and report it as well.
I don't have time to repost the whole essay I've written a few times detailing a provider-agnostic framework for adserving that keeps apps from leaking private user info by moving responsibility by proxying the network calls to fetch the ad content through Android itself in a way that allows users to say, "I trust Android to not leak my private info, but not this specific app... I'll allow this app to treat Android's new adserver API like a semi-black box to fetch ads in a way that prevents apps from injecting values not carved into stone in android-manifest.xml, and has Android itself inject sensitive values so the app itself can't touch them, and makes the requests in non-realtime with somewhat randomized timing through Google's adproxy (or a trusted CDN, for larger advertising agencies with the resources to pay someone like Akamai) that masquerades the user's IP address (so developers can't comb through logs and match up ad requests with IP addresses).
If Android did something like this, the laundry list of permissions that 98% of modern Android apps end up requiring could be concisely boiled down to:
* Display anonymized, location-based ads fetched over the internet in a way that does not reveal your current IP address or personally-identifiable information to advertisers or the app's developer, and does not allow apps to use it as a back door to leak information over the internet by injecting runtime values specified by the application itself into the ad request or by varying the timing of its network requests to convey private information to a remote server.
The requirement that values either be filled in by Android itself (in a black-box manner that keeps the values away from the app) or declared immutably via android-manifest.xml, and slightly-randomized non-realtime ad-fetching and timing is necessary to keep apps from using runtime values or timing attacks to leak information. If ads are fetched on demand by the app, the developer could modulate the request timing itself to convey one bit of data at a time, over a long period (ex: requesting new ad within 1 minute of last request == 1, requesting new ad after 2 minutes of last request == 0, requesting new ad after 3+ minutes = escape, resume as directed by the next few bits... over the span of an hour, you could leak 30-60 bits of data).
The hard part would be making it vendor-agnostic and not handing an ad monopoly to Google, without excluding ad agencies who don't have the resources of Akamai (hence, the transparent trusted anonymizing proxy for fetching the ad data itself).
Re:No Strings Attached? by Miamicanes · 2012-10-29 09:05 · Score: 3, Funny

This application wants to send a text message (_content_) to _number_. How should I handle it?
[ ] Deny, and ask me for permission next time.
[ ] Deny, and disable this app ([ ]until (*)tomorrow, ( )next week, ( )next month)
[ ] Deny, and uninstall this app
[ ] Allow this time
[ ] Allow until tomorrow
[ ] Allow until next week
[ ] Allow forever
[ ] Allow if (_click to select app_), which implements IGatekeeper, says it's OK to allow.
Re:No Strings Attached? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 09:33 · Score: 0

You don't need be rooted to install third party apps.
Just download APK and save to your phone/microSD and then open Android filemanager and tap it and you can install it.
Android will warn you that you have not disabled security setting to allow installation from untrusted sources if you haven't done so earlier but it gives you a button in warning to open setting there and do it if wanted. But after that you are at your own and responsible about every application you install. You can install apps and then re-enable security feature.
For rooting, it is only used for cases where you want to place application to /system/apps so it can not be removed or written by any other app. You need to use filemanager what has root access (super su application grants it if you want and if rooted), /system mounted as writteable (use remount app from play store, needs root rights) and you need to set APK user rights correctly (chmod/chown on Unix systems but tapping in filemanager file properties).
Or you need root rights if you want to give specific applications a wider range access to system and other processes than otherwise allowed.
Everyone should know what it means to have application running as root or admin rights on these days? It isn't safe if not knowing what app it is as it can do what wants at start.
Re:No Strings Attached? by guises · 2012-10-29 09:43 · Score: 4, Informative

Yes, that's what I got. If you click "no", it prompts you to create an account. There's no way to continue without either signing in with an existing account or creating a new one. That's a particular problem if you don't have a Wifi network to connect through - you pretty well can't use your device at all without connecting to Google at least once.

(That isn't completely true - you can root your tablet and install a third party ROM without connecting to Google, but that's kinda outside the spirit of the question.)
Re:No Strings Attached? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 09:52 · Score: 1

Then how would an app that sends out sms on a schedule work?
I have to approve each time it sends?
Whitelist?
Re:No Strings Attached? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 10:23 · Score: 0

FWIW, I have a UK Orange San Francisco (though I may have just found a replacement...) -- you can unlock them for free online. Don't remember the website providing codes (there are a few of them), but it won't take long on Google to track down a source. All in all, considering the price of the phone, I've been pretty happy with it.
Re:No Strings Attached? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 10:54 · Score: 0

I bought a Nexus 7 less than a WEEK before the price drop. How do you think I feel?
Re:No Strings Attached? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 11:15 · Score: 0

You could download then from the Play store to a cheap cruddy phone, and then just copy them over.
Re:No Strings Attached? by mattack2 · 2012-10-29 11:19 · Score: 1

It probably doesn't meet your criteria (even though you can turn off anything that runs in the background that eats the battery), but you can now use the iPhone on Virgin Mobile.
Re:No Strings Attached? by DrXym · 2012-10-29 11:35 · Score: 1

It should be possible to assign a trust level to an app - implicit (for apps baked into firmware), trusted or untrusted. The default level might be the untrusted group which requires manual confirmation each time the app does something potentially bad. But a user could change the trust level manually either from the confirmation or from the Apps settings.
Re:No Strings Attached? by AmiMoJo · 2012-10-29 11:45 · Score: 3, Informative

You can of course just make a Google account for that device, using a disposable email address to sign up and never entering any personal info. You don't need credit card details or anything like that.

--
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
Re:No Strings Attached? by rtb61 · 2012-10-29 12:30 · Score: 1

Higher price points are now demanding greater durability like being drop resistant and waterproof. An IR blaster to control and issue instructions to other devices is also starting to return. This lower price point is to shift focus away from Samsung and to drop a swift kick into Apple right where it hurts in the holiday sales market of their under speced over priced phone.

--
Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
Re:No Strings Attached? by cynyr · 2012-10-29 14:06 · Score: 1

Can I add to this "The ability to control, as a user, which CDNs are trustworthy, and that there be no way for the app to tell the difference between network failure and an un-trusted CDN."
I want this for a few reasons:
1) There could easily be a 0-day for a picture loading lib. See libjpeg issues from a while back.
2) I don't want to waste my precious cell bandwidth loading your ad.
3) I selfishly don't care about your flashing noisy ad.

--
All of the above was encrypted with a Quad ROT-13 method. Unauthorized decryption is in violation of the DMCA.
Re:No Strings Attached? by cynyr · 2012-10-29 14:12 · Score: 1

T-Mobile has pay-as-you-go plans, they are GSM and will work with the nexus 4.

--
All of the above was encrypted with a Quad ROT-13 method. Unauthorized decryption is in violation of the DMCA.
Re:No Strings Attached? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 23:33 · Score: 0

Stupid, I guess. The news of the price drop were leaked more than a week ago.
Re:No Strings Attached? by Psyborgue · 2012-10-30 00:02 · Score: 1

So install an AOSP rom like CyanogenMod. No need to have any Google apps installed at all unless you really want. You can also bypass the Google account setup by pressing all four corners at the android screen in a clockwise motion starting from the top left.
Re:No Strings Attached? by Psyborgue · 2012-10-30 00:04 · Score: 1

You can bypass the account setup by pressing all four corners of the android image in a clockwise motion starting from the top left. No need for a custom rom.
Re:No Strings Attached? by AmiMoJo · 2012-10-30 01:24 · Score: 2

The gaping hole in Android's security model is the fact that in order to have an app that fetches location-based ads over the internet, uses wi-fi (instead of GPS) for coarse location, and has the ability to pause when the phone rings or cooperate nicely with alerts and other apps, you basically have to give the app the right to do almost everything up to and including scrape your phone logs and dump them over the internet to the developer's server, then eavesdrop on your LAN's traffic and report it as well.
That simply isn't true. You don't even need permission to receive events when the phone rings, but you do need to ask if you want to read phone logs or access your files. You can't eavesdrop on LAN traffic because Android doesn't support putting the wifi or mobile data radios in "receive all" mode. There are some hacks to do it on certain rooted devices with supported chipsets, but not on unrooted systems.
Location is actually two separate and specific permissions - precise (GPS) or coarse (wifi/mobile network), and they don't give you access to the actual wifi network names or anything like that.
About the only thing you are correct about is internet access, which is all or nothing. Android has really fine grained permissions, allowing apps to do things like prevent the phone from sleeping while not being able to actually change any of the screen timeout or sleep related settings.

--
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
Re:No Strings Attached? by deathguppie · 2012-10-30 02:06 · Score: 1

As a tmobile subscriber I thought it worth mentioning that the cost of my galaxy s2 was tacked on to my phone bill at a rate of $15/month, and only until the phone itself was paid off. Tmobile doesn't maintain the payment on the phone subsidy after the phone has been paid off. They plan I got for me and my wife was $50/month per person, for unlimited everything. That comes out to a $130/month payment.. now reduced to $100+tax. I was paying AT&T nearly $200/month for far less and I continued to pay the phone subsidy even though I had purchased my nexus one outright.

--
once more into the breach
Re:No Strings Attached? by Shirley+Marquez · 2012-10-30 05:09 · Score: 1

You don't need a Google account to use it as a phone. Like any Android device, you need a Google account to use a lot of the apps that come with the phone. If you use the default Chrome browser your searches will be sent to Google, but you can install Firefox and set it as your default browser. And as others have already mentioned, you need a Google account to use the Google Play store but you can get apps elsewhere.
Re:No Strings Attached? by guises · 2012-10-30 05:41 · Score: 1

That's more like voodoo than a real thing, but I'll give it a try next time. We'll see. ::skeptical squint::
Re:No Strings Attached? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-30 13:00 · Score: 0

3rd party ROMs aren't all that Google-free either; a lot of them are developed by Google employees using goofy screen names in forums.

me like! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 05:18 · Score: 1

Finally, someone pushing the standard for pricing instead of just reaping the consumer! (where did that extra 'e' come from?)

Re:me like! by Enderandrew · 2012-10-29 05:56 · Score: 4, Informative

I don't think any of the major US wireless carriers offer discounted monthly rates for buying your phone outright. You might as well reap the price of discounted phones if your bill is the same rate.
In Europe, you have the option of a contract subsidizing your phone, or no contract and a cheaper rate, but buying an expensive phone outright upfront.

--
http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
Re:me like! by amRadioHed · 2012-10-29 06:08 · Score: 3, Informative

T-Mobile does, unless that changed recently. I still have the cheaper non-subsidised plan.

--
We hope your rules and wisdom choke you / Now we are one in everlasting peace
Re:me like! by Enderandrew · 2012-10-29 06:14 · Score: 0

I believe T-Mobile is the only US company who does, but I hesitate to call them a major carrier. They don't cover the whole country, and they are going bankrupt.

--
http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
Re:me like! by plover · 2012-10-29 06:37 · Score: 1

In the USA, all carrier-discounted phones are locked to that carrier, meaning you technically can't use the same phone on a different carrier's network. The phone will complain if it sees the wrong company's SIM card. Supposedly some carriers will unlock your phone once you have met the terms of their contract, but that doesn't seem to be universally true, nor easy to get.

I don't think any of the major US wireless carriers offer discounted monthly rates for buying your phone outright.
I've never been able to get a discount for bringing my own phone to the party. But they do have one advantage. I still have a decent unlocked GSM phone that I carry overseas, and I can buy local SIM cards for much less than the extortionate rates charged by my US carrier for roaming.

You might as well reap the price of discounted phones if your bill is the same rate
Absolutely. I think the value of the discount seems to be in the $200-400 range, so there's a chance this new Nexus will be one of the "free" phone options with a two year contract. If you're the kind of person who always pays your bills on time, and has been with the same carrier for several years, your carrier will probably give you one of these at little-to-no out-of-pocket cost.

--
John
Re:me like! by Jah-Wren+Ryel · 2012-10-29 08:13 · Score: 2

I don't think any of the major US wireless carriers offer discounted monthly rates for buying your phone outright. You might as well reap the price of discounted phones if your bill is the same rate.
Prepaid. Prepaid is almost always significantly cheaper than contract.
For example, with an iphone prepaid can save you $500-$1000 over a 2 year contract including all up-front costs like the full purchase price of the phone. And that doesn't include all the misc "surprise" fees that frequently show up on contract phone bills but never on prepaid.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57449345-94/why-a-prepaid-iphone-is-an-amazing-deal-for-bargain-hunters/

--
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
Re:me like! by Enderandrew · 2012-10-29 08:20 · Score: 1

I use my phone an awful lot. I have unlimited minutes and unlimited data. On my Sprint plan, if I needed to add another unlimited line it would be $20 for the new line, and $10 for the new smartphone fee.
$30 a month x 24 months = $720. I'm saving $400 with the phone subsidy. So unless prepaid is saving me $400 over the same period, prepaid wouldn't help me on a new line.
On my primary line, I'm paying closer to $60 a month, but even then, that is $1440 over two years total cost. $400 of that again is phone subsidy. So prepaid would have to be less than $1000 over two years to be worth it, and with unlimited data and minutes, I doubt that would the case.

--
http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
Re:me like! by Rich0 · 2012-10-29 09:21 · Score: 1

I've got T-mobile with an unsubsidized plan. I pay $100/mo for four lines. Two have unlimited voice, the other two have 500min/month. Two are no-data, and two are 2GB 4G, unlimited 2G. All four have unlimited SMS/MMS.
They do offer payment plans on phones as well, which are basically like a zero-interest loan on full retail prices. For the high-end phones they're a good deal. For the low end phones you're probably better off finding a cheaper phone elsewhere.
It is about a wash if you upgrade all your phones every two years for high-end devices. However, if you upgrade less it costs less, and you get the option of buying any phone you want as long as it can be unlocked.
Re:me like! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 09:35 · Score: 0

You are missing a few other charges. Take a look at the extra 'taxes' at the bottom. I'll bet that a few extra $$ of taxes magically appears when you add an additional line.
Source: I'm a Sprint customer who did that already...
Not singling out Sprint, I'm pretty sure the other US carriers do that crap too.
Re:me like! by metamatic · 2012-10-29 10:09 · Score: 1

They're not going bankrupt, and they cover the whole country in the same way AT&T does — patchily outside urban areas.

--
GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
Re:me like! by puto · 2012-10-29 13:23 · Score: 2

I work for ATT and have a Tmobile phone, because of wifi calling and unlimited data, which is still cheaper than my corporate discount, especially when I can use my wifi calling when I am outside of the US. Tmobile is not going bankrupt, they just bought metro pcs which got them spectrum and a shit ton of customers. Plus. they have roaming agreements with the T. But then again, leave the industry to use who know what goes on behind the scenes. But you must be one of our corporate shills...

--
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
Re:me like! by jtownatpunk.net · 2012-10-29 15:40 · Score: 1

If they're doing it now, they brought it back. I went to them in 2006 because I'd heard they let you jump right into a discounted month-to-month if you brought your own phone. "Nope. We don't do that any more."
Re:me like! by amRadioHed · 2012-10-29 16:30 · Score: 1

According to this page it looks like they're still doing it.

--
We hope your rules and wisdom choke you / Now we are one in everlasting peace
Re:me like! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-30 03:13 · Score: 0

if buy going bankrupt you mean still profitable, I see what you mean.

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 05:18 · Score: 0

What are you talking about? IPS is far superior interms of color reproduction (and dynamic range).

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 05:19 · Score: 4, Informative

Pentile is a specific design type (ie IPS), retina is a marketing term for high resolution.

NO LTE on the phone! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 05:20 · Score: 0

WTF!

Re:NO LTE on the phone! by Gen_Music · 2012-10-29 06:50 · Score: 1

Most LTE carriers around the word have their LTE on a different band to the rest of the world, so either there are no radio manufacturers that have an LTE radio for Google to use that support all carriers, or there's an LTE agreement with the carriers and manufacturers/each other to disallow it's use until a certain date.

Re:LOL by Beavertank · 2012-10-29 05:21 · Score: 1

ROFL? No, no, not now... not _yet_.

Booyah!! by erroneus · 2012-10-29 05:21 · Score: 5, Interesting

I knew there was a reason I didn't buy the Samsung Galaxy S3. Among the reasons:

1. To get it 'affordably' I would have to buy it from a wireless carrier... oh yeah and extend or buy a new contract with expensive data plan.
2. To get it otherwise, I would have to pay about $500... that's an expensive toy.
3. The darkest color I could get is blue...blue?! Really? Something wrong with black or grey? White is for chicks and Apple users.
4. When you get a phone through a carrier which is carrier branded, unless it's an iPhone, then the carrier is responsible for firmware updates. In cases like that, you will either never get one or it will be extremely late in coming and will contain even more bloatware than before.

Something told me that if I were to just hold off a little longer, I could get my next phone without all the trouble, And there we have it... A new Nexus 4 heading to my pocket in the near future.

As for the new tablet?? Well... that's kinda pricy. I've got a Nexus 7 and I'm pretty happy with it. But then again, the price was extremely reasonable. $500?? That's well within my "balk" range... the $200-$250 range is well within my "I'll strongly consider it" window. And a phone without obligations at $299? And likely to support high speed data options (which I will not likely use or pay for)? It's a no-brainer.

Re:Booyah!! by Sez+Zero · 2012-10-29 05:57 · Score: 1

I knew there was a reason I didn't buy the Samsung Galaxy S3. Among the reasons:
How big is it? I can't find the outer dimensions. At 4.7" I worry that it is one of those too-big-for-me smartphones.

And why can't they publish the size specs on the site?
Re:Booyah!! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 06:38 · Score: 0

136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6 mm (5.38 x 2.78 x 0.34 in), checked against my phone
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_i9300_galaxy_s_iii-4238.php
Re:Booyah!! by vgerclover · 2012-10-29 06:43 · Score: 1

SIZE
133.9 x 68.7 x 9.1 mm
Re:Booyah!! by crazyjj · 2012-10-29 07:43 · Score: 1

As for the new tablet?? Well... that's kinda pricy.
Yeah, that's really disappointing. I was really expecting the Nexus 10 to be in the $250-$300 range (considering the Nexus 7 is in $200 range). $400 is well beyond the impulse buy range.

--
What political party do you join when you don't like Bible-thumpers *or* hippies?
Re:Booyah!! by CaptainLard · 2012-10-29 07:48 · Score: 1

1. To get it 'affordably' I would have to buy it from a wireless carrier... oh yeah and extend or buy a new contract with expensive data plan.
What major US 4G data plan do you have that gives you a cheaper price if you bring your own phone?
Re:Booyah!! by Rich0 · 2012-10-29 09:22 · Score: 2

T-Mobile. If you live in a well-populated area chances are they're fine. The only time I've ever had poor signal was out in the boonies, and I'm only very rarely out in the boonies.
Re:Booyah!! by asdf7890 · 2012-10-29 11:26 · Score: 3, Informative

There is a rather useful search engine run by a company you may heard off, that helpfully directed me to the official specs when I made an appropriate enquiry: https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_4_8gb

The dimensions are listed there, to the precision of 0.1mm (no word on the accuracy though).
Re:Booyah!! by cynyr · 2012-10-29 23:40 · Score: 1

And for me when I'm out in the boonies, I'm usually camping and really don't want the cell signal anyways.

--
All of the above was encrypted with a Quad ROT-13 method. Unauthorized decryption is in violation of the DMCA.

Still no microSD? by Daetrin · 2012-10-29 05:24 · Score: 5, Informative

All the leaks seemed to indicate the Nexus 4 would have no microSD slot, and none of the news this morning seems to contradict that. I'd pick one up in an instant if not for that fault.

My ancient Nexus One has an 8 GB microSD card in it, and that filled up ages ago. So getting the 8 GB Nexus 4 would be a non-starter, and i don't expect it would take me long to fill up the 16 GB version either. I don't care what Google says, streaming everything off the cloud is not an option. I'm happy with T-Mobile for the price i'm paying, but they don't have the best coverage. (And from what i understand other carriers that have better coverage have stricter limits on data usage instead.)

--
This Space Intentionally Left Blank

Re:Still no microSD? by LodCrappo · 2012-10-29 05:27 · Score: 3, Informative

out of curiosity, what did you fill up 8gb with? I went for the 16gb version of the nexus 7 and after 2 months and literally hundreds of apps have only 2gb used, thinking I should have saved the $50 and got the 8gb version.

--
-Lod
Re:Still no microSD? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 05:35 · Score: 0

microSD is probably dead for modern Andorid devices. Sharing a filesystem with the Android OS and with your PC (FAT32) is not reliable and can be dangerous if you have apps stored on the SD card.
Re:Still no microSD? by HTMLSpinnr · 2012-10-29 05:38 · Score: 3, Interesting

I'm not the OP, but in my case, At least 7GB of the ~13GB available on /sdcard (partition, not actual removable media) in my Nexus S is music which I listen to on occasion - mostly in my car or on a flight. The balance (when closer to full) is pictures before transferring to local network or cloud storage or Apps installed to USB (no longer required for Nexus 4's monolothic partition), etc. Amazon MP3 with CloudDrive storage solves the balance of my music problem (you don't have to marry yourself to Google Play for everything). For most, it's simply silly to carry around your entire collection. It's unlikely you'll want all of it available, thus learning to place effective selection criteria when picking what goes to your device helps manage the size constraint.

Personally, I'd feel constrained by 8GB, but not by 16GB once you realize that even 8GB of "music" is more than anyone needs unless they're spending a TON of time away from the balance of their library. What will put the squeeze on things are 8MP photos and full HD video. Provided I can offload my photos to cloud storage (via Wifi thanks) or home storage, I can live with this level of storage. Thus, I'll be buying the 16GB version to replace my Nexus S.

Now if they had 32GB at $429, this would be a compelling compromise/price point, and would shut down many of the "it's too small" comments.

--
$ man woman *
-bash: /usr/bin/man: Argument list too long
Re:Still no microSD? by farble1670 · 2012-10-29 05:38 · Score: 2

if you install a lot of games, the space goes quick. it's not uncommon for a game to take up over 1GB of local storage. i have one (bard's tale) that takes up over 1.6GB.
also, if you ever want to pre-load movie rips, you are looking at 700MB-1.4GB each.
Re:Still no microSD? by m1ss1ontomars2k4 · 2012-10-29 05:41 · Score: 2

No idea about Daetrin's exact situation, but like him, I can't possibly afford to stream everything from the cloud. I filled up most of a 32 GB microSD card with music and video; if it weren't for the video I'd only need maybe 16 GB. Let's see--should I pay an extra $10/month for a (much) larger data plan, or should I get a phone with a microSD slot and buy a 32 GB microSD card for like $25? Of course, it's complicated by the fact that the kind of phone that comes with a microSD slot is very different from the kind of phone that doesn't--if you want updates directly from Google there's no other option other than a Nexus device, etc.
Re:Still no microSD? by clutch110 · 2012-10-29 05:46 · Score: 5, Interesting

I don't think that is the main reason as Android now uses MTP to allow concurrent access to the SD card. It is my belief that one of the reasons behind the lack of any sort of SD card is the possibility of it impacting the user experience. If you put in a cheap slow SD card then the apps located there slow to a crawl. With the built in flash storage, it should run to whatever standard Google demanded. I also believe this is one of the reasons Apple refuses to include expansion capabilities, the other of course the ability to charge a huge premium on upgraded space. For the Nexus 4 the bump from 8 to 16GB is only a $50 up-charge which isn't that bad in my opinion.
Re:Still no microSD? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 05:50 · Score: 0

microSD is probably dead for modern Andorid devices. Sharing a filesystem with the Android OS and with your PC (FAT32) is not reliable and can be dangerous if you have apps stored on the SD card.
I agree what SD card storage (and probably local storage of any kind) is going to disappear from Android devices. But consider... SD cards were designed from the start to be plugged into various devices and have files written to them and read from them. Any unreliability or danger in doing so is probably by design of Google.
Re:Still no microSD? by poity · 2012-10-29 05:51 · Score: 1

I have the GS3, and after filling it up with my music and apps, I still have more than 6GB left. Plus, I find myself listening to internet radio 90% of the time. I thought the microSD would be a good investment, but now I'm convinced I don't need it, and wouldn't ever need it.

--
your thin skin doesn't make me a troll
Re:Still no microSD? by the+eric+conspiracy · 2012-10-29 05:55 · Score: 4, Insightful

Media. Audiobooks in my case.
Re:Still no microSD? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 06:00 · Score: 0

8GB of internal and an sdcard slot would be fine.
The reason why OEM's don't want to do it is so they can overcharge for flash memory which is dirt cheap.
(And they can set it up where the people buying the 16GB version can subsidise the people buying the 8GB version.)
And the networks can put another amount on the contract (Which over 2 years is even more unreasonable).
8GB internal and a 32GB sdcard (For the current market price) would work just fine.
Google's MTP implimentation is also awful. (Doesn't work properly at all or impliment any of the things that make it useful it doesn't even have the file format stuff working in any way shape or form).
Re:Still no microSD? by tepples · 2012-10-29 06:06 · Score: 2

Amazon MP3 with CloudDrive storage solves the balance of my music problem
Provided you're using your phone on Wi-Fi at home or at a public hotspot, or you can afford a big data plan.

For most, it's simply silly to carry around your entire collection. It's unlikely you'll want all of it available
Unless you want to play a particular song for someone else who's in the room or in the vehicle.
Re:Still no microSD? by thetoadwarrior · 2012-10-29 06:11 · Score: 1

8gb is holding the OS so you don't have the whole 8gb. Apps aren't exactly small these days and neither is my music collection. I have an old 8gb ipod touch and even when it was new it felt absolutely tiny. I think Max Payne alone was nearly 2gb is size.
Re:Still no microSD? by spire3661 · 2012-10-29 06:13 · Score: 2

I like to load recorded TV on mine. 128 GB is the bare minimum i need to operate at the volume i want to. Im paitently waiting on the new NAND process to come online and make bigger modules available. Google is artificially restricting how much memory these devices can hold to force you through their services. Its punishment, not innovation.

--
Good-bye
Re:Still no microSD? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 06:14 · Score: 0

My aging N900 doesn't expose the SD to the PC until the umount succeeds -- if files are open, I simply can't access it over USB until I close them.
Does Android really lack this basic precaution, or are you talking out your arse?
Re:Still no microSD? by Jethro · 2012-10-29 06:17 · Score: 1

I am also not the OP, but I've run out of space on my 16gb Galaxy Nexus, and no SD card on the Nexus 4 might mean no more Nexus phones for me. I tend to keep my phones till they die (had a Nexus One before this guy) but the lack of expandable space has limited the lifetime by quite a bit.
I have 5gb dedicated to music cache, and I got a whole bunch of Audubon Field Guide apps when they were on sale for $0.99. I can only have one or two of them installed at a time. It's ridiculous.

--

In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is kinky.
Re:Still no microSD? by LodCrappo · 2012-10-29 06:30 · Score: 1

OK I get it (and thanks for the polite answers , realize now I should.have guessed the answer to my own query).
It seems to be not apps but offline media storage that ppl need the larger storage for, or maybe for some massive games.
I guess maybe my usage is atypical as I don't (or havent yet) take the nexus anywhere that I need media and don't have wifi. Just wasn't thinking along those lines at all
Thanks

--
-Lod
Re:Still no microSD? by Daetrin · 2012-10-29 06:36 · Score: 1

Looks like you've already got lots of data points, but in my case a quick check with SpaceMonger shows:

2.5 GB - Music (I'll sometimes use Pandora at home, but when i'm out driving or rollerblading at the beach i want to use my own playlists rather than stream stuff.)
1.4 GB - Audiobooks (I always try to have several books on there at a time, because it sucks if i finish a book up away from home and find i don't have any other new ones downloaded yet.)
1.4 GB - Pictures and video (I'll occasionally transfer stuff off, but i always leave some pictures on my phone to show to others.)
0.8 GB - Apps (Zombies Run! Is the biggest culprit right now, but only because i don't have room to download any other apps with particularly large space requirements.)
0.2 GB - Podcasts
0.25 GB - Miscellaneous data saved by a number of apps
0.4 GB - Free space
That adds up to about 7 GB, presumably because of rounding errors, but if i do properties on the whole card it comes out to 6.97 GB of used space and 436 MB of free space. (And the usual discrepancy that an 8 GB card doesn't actually hold 8 GB).

And although i don't have it at hand right now, my Nook tablet at home has several GB of ripped movies on it, which is another large suckage of space that i'm not even trying to use my phone for.

--
This Space Intentionally Left Blank
Re:Still no microSD? by plover · 2012-10-29 06:42 · Score: 4, Insightful

I think the real reason to not have an SD card would be that that Google is subtly trying to push consumers into the cloud. Flash drives don't make them extra money. But Google Drives do.

--
John
Re:Still no microSD? by fbobraga · 2012-10-29 06:51 · Score: 1

Does Android really lack this basic precaution, or are you talking out your arse?
No - never seen an Android Phone that lack this
Re:Still no microSD? by Daetrin · 2012-10-29 06:55 · Score: 1

You're half right. There are plenty of modern Android devices with microSD. For example, the LG Optimus G, which is very closely related to the LG Nexus 4. Likewise the Galaxy S line has microSD, but the Galaxy Nexus does not. Either it's some kind of weird coincidence, or Google is encouraging manufacturers not to include microSD for the Nexus devices lately. (My Nexus One obviously has a microSD slot, but i believe it was the only Nexus device to do so.)

Which means unless something changes i'm going to have to choose between a Nexus device and a microSD slot. If that remains the case for much longer i'm tempted to go with the microSD slot, root whichever device it is and install CyanogenMod.

--
This Space Intentionally Left Blank
Re:Still no microSD? by LodCrappo · 2012-10-29 07:00 · Score: 1

I don't really see the size limit being a way to force you to use Google services.. as far as I've seen Google allows you to pull in content using pretty much any mechanism you desire with no preference to their own services (other than having their own stuff pre-installed I guess). There are tons of third party content services... I stream lots of audio and watch some video, never signed up for any Google service (pandora, tune in radio, etc). Also just map to my local samba shares, which makes my entire home library available quite easily.

--
-Lod
Re:Still no microSD? by aliquis · 2012-10-29 07:03 · Score: 2

I don't know but I can only guess that having all VNV Nation albums alone would be 2+ GB, possibly 2.5.
Sure you could argue that once you have all VNV Nation albums you don't need any other music.
But I think that's wrong.
You at least need Complex - Dope, Skaven - War in the middle earth, Captain - Space debris & Beyond music, Jester - Stardust memories (Tip & Firefox - Enigma)
It's hard to argue your life could ever be complete without them.
Complex - Dope: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yJ5M3BY2Ts
Skaven - War in the middle earth: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGJQYYYTICU
Captain - Space debris: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thnXzUFJnfQ
Captain - Beyond music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlOxf9a2Eik
Jester - Stardust memories: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLMhBE99byM (Fasttracker version and decent sound card make it sound too harsh - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hY9p1oiE1_Y)
Enjoy. Those five tracks contain more creativity, total ownage, scenery, awesomeness, geek life and last longer than any of the current tablets has brought to the table together.
R.I.P.
Re:Still no microSD? by Gen_Music · 2012-10-29 07:07 · Score: 1

The latter. It's Linux at it's core remember. Depending on the particular phone, your Android will either prompt you to choose whether you are charging or want to use it as a storage device (and possibly some vendor/model specific media center style options), or you go into the notification bar , select USB, and it will automatically detect the background processes with binaries or resources on the sdcard in question and quit them before remounting your SD for external use. A few vendors have a more complicated dual access system, ranging from a delayed write system where data is sent to android's OS and the OS writes it (at a considerable performance hit), much like creative did with its MP3 players to a web server style system that allows you to download and upload stuff to your phone via your wifi buy browsing through HTML pages served by your phone.
Re:Still no microSD? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 07:16 · Score: 0

Well except for the fact that you can now get 8 gig class 10 SDHC card of that size for anywhere from $6-20, yeah it's a ok price. I mean you're only paying ~$6/gb for that 8 gig upgrade which is likely using the cheapest chips on the planet for the class.
Re:Still no microSD? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 07:18 · Score: 0

If you put in a cheap slow SD card then the apps located there slow to a crawl.
I purchased as Class 10 MicroSD for my phone and had endless problems with data corruption. I tried replacing it with another Class 10. It turns out the card was too fast for the chipset, so I purchased a Class 6 which also suffered from data corruption. I bought a third, unrated/Class 4 device and haven't had an issue since. I'd like to think some things would be faster with a faster card, but I can't tell. I think the issue of "poor user experience" is more from poor compatibility or poor user choices. Imagine the wave of complaints of data loss that result from the new Google flagship phone paired with counterfeit MicroSD cards.
Re:Still no microSD? by knarf · 2012-10-29 07:25 · Score: 3, Insightful

It is my belief that one of the reasons behind the lack of any sort of SD card is the possibility of it impacting the user experience.
"Hook, Line and Sinker". Look it up.
The real reason for the lack of an SD slot is this: "Pricing starts at $399 with 16GB of storage and tops out at $499 for the 32GB model"
When was it again that 16 GB of flash cost $100?

--
--frank[at]unternet.org
Re:Still no microSD? by Oxdeadface · 2012-10-29 08:16 · Score: 0

Don't be stupid.
Re:Still no microSD? by farble1670 · 2012-10-29 08:19 · Score: 2

I don't know but I can only guess that having all VNV Nation albums alone would be 2+ GB, possibly 2.5.
then upload them to google music, and then they only use up 0 bytes of local storage.
Re:Still no microSD? by batkiwi · 2012-10-29 08:42 · Score: 2

Not everyone has unlimited data plans, and not all areas have 100% coverage on the way to/from work (including tunnels/sparse areas/etc).
Re:Still no microSD? by s73v3r · 2012-10-29 08:42 · Score: 1

Only really works if you have an unlimited data plan, or are on wifi everywhere.
Re:Still no microSD? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 08:42 · Score: 0

I think Google does a bit more than "encouraging" when it comes to the design of a Nexus device. Nexus is Google's brand, while a manufacturer might have some input on its design, Google will say what they do and don't want on it.
Re:Still no microSD? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 09:48 · Score: 0

Reason why there is no MicroSD card is Google way to twist media corporations to start selling content trough play store and show other manufactures same thing.
Google does not force others to do things as they want, but they try to be example and get others to follow their example.
If you have MicroSD, you can easily copy a movies and music to another device quickly. If you need to do that trough a desktop computer or laptop or slow 3G, you don't start doing it.
MTP is huge mistake. As you can not easily connect your device to all Linux computers. MTP is slow and buggy one even in Windows. Having only a 700-900 kilobytes a second for transfer rate is no where near as same microSD card in card reader pushing 10-12MBytes a second.
I don't care if SDCard is blocked when connected to computer via cable because instead waiting a movie to be transferred a 20 minutes, it is in 3 minutes.
Re:Still no microSD? by trunicated · 2012-10-29 09:54 · Score: 1

If it's a really large concern, Android supports OTG USB, so for a few dollars you can get a card reader and plug it into your device.

--
There's a reason there is no "Disagree" mod...
Re:Still no microSD? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 10:00 · Score: 0

So don't ship it with an SD card installed. Any user "savvy" enough to purchase and install the correct SD card most likely also understands that SD cards will be slower than built-in storage.
I agree with the other guy. Lack of storage expansion is a show stopper for me.
Re:Still no microSD? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 11:12 · Score: 0

Just as bad, the article doesn't mention the carriers, so we have to assume GSM only.
Re:Still no microSD? by AmiMoJo · 2012-10-29 11:27 · Score: 1

It is my belief that one of the reasons behind the lack of any sort of SD card is the possibility of it impacting the user experience.
You chump.
The real reasons:
1. Drive you towards Google services, storing everything online and being connected 24/7.
2. Make massive profits on 16GB of extra flash memory, Apple style.

--
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
Re:Still no microSD? by rsborg · 2012-10-29 11:59 · Score: 2
I don't know but I can only guess that having all VNV Nation albums alone would be 2+ GB, possibly 2.5.
then upload them to google music, and then they only use up 0 bytes of local storage.
Places where this idea fails:
- Airplane without internet service (ie, most)
- In a location where cell service is horrible
- In a car where you pass by a weak or locked wifi point and you're on promiscuous mode
- If you have a wifi-only device, anywhere you don't have wifi
Streaming only really makes sense for home/work situations where you are unlikely to hit a bandwidth availability issue or data cap. Travelling anywhere means it's a crap-shoot, so local storage is as important as ever. I've filled up my 64GB iDevices with plenty of content and have run out of space before taking movies. There is no reason to not get the most available storage of any device you get unless it will never leave home.
--
Make sure everyone's vote counts: Verified Voting
Re:Still no microSD? by farble1670 · 2012-10-29 12:31 · Score: 1

There is no reason to not get the most available storage of any device you get unless it will never leave home.
ummmm ... cost?
Re:Still no microSD? by jrumney · 2012-10-29 13:01 · Score: 1

The "class" heirarchy is centered around the digital camera use case. It is based almost entirely on sequential write speed. To get higher sequential write speeds, manufacturers often trade off read speed and random write speed, so lower classes often perform better in a smartphone, where the use cases involve more random reads and writes.
Re:Still no microSD? by aliquis · 2012-10-29 13:26 · Score: 1

Do I get infinite storage for free there?
Does it work in Sweden?
I don't own an Android device. Yet.
Re:Still no microSD? by aliquis · 2012-10-29 13:29 · Score: 1

Well. The bigger issue is movie content.
Beyond audio books I could see myself watch YouTube content but possible also series on the move, for instance as something to do if going for a walk.
And if we throw series and movies into the mix, possibly blu-ray rips to make use of that resolution then 8 GB for sure won't last long.
How much space do a HD rip of Battlestar Galactica use?
Those more than 32 GB by itself?
I should buy and stream it from a service provider? Yeah right. Should. :D
Re:Still no microSD? by DrEldarion · 2012-10-29 13:49 · Score: 1

Do you really need all of them available at all times? What's wrong with putting them on Google Music and downloading them to your phone when you want them?
Re:Still no microSD? by aliquis · 2012-10-29 13:49 · Score: 1

.. but you can always run a NAS at your home.
Re:Still no microSD? by ZigZagJoe · 2012-10-29 16:43 · Score: 1

Honestly, the lack of a SD slot is criminal. The chipset has at least two SD interfaces; one being used for the internal storage and the second completely unconnected. All google/lg would have to do is put in a slot, run traces to it, possibly a few passive components. Couple dollars worth of parts, at most. No excuse.

Pretty sure this is related to Google pushing the unified filesystem for android - good for internal storage, but a terrible justification for not providing removable storage.
Re:Still no microSD? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 20:07 · Score: 0

He filled it with Pr0n
Re:Still no microSD? by cynyr · 2012-10-29 23:42 · Score: 1

Amazon MP3 with CloudDrive storage solves the balance of my music problem
Provided you're using your phone on Wi-Fi at home or at a public hotspot, or you can afford a big data plan.
Or that you got t-mobiles unlimited 4G value plan...

--
All of the above was encrypted with a Quad ROT-13 method. Unauthorized decryption is in violation of the DMCA.
Re:Still no microSD? by cynyr · 2012-10-29 23:46 · Score: 1

You could buy a OTG usb cable and plug in a harddrive...
I agree the 8GB one is a bit small, if/when I get one it'll be the 16GB.

--
All of the above was encrypted with a Quad ROT-13 method. Unauthorized decryption is in violation of the DMCA.
Re:Still no microSD? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-30 00:34 · Score: 0

The LG Optimus G doesn't have a microSD slot.
It has 32Gb on board, but it doesn't have a microSD slot.
It also doesn't have a replaceable battery.
Re:Still no microSD? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-30 09:05 · Score: 0

I hear you. I would really like to buy one of these devices. But the lack of memory and memory card slot turns me off. I wish they can allow at least a space for memory card. The price is wonderful, but they need to do something about that. I am currently using a Samsung phone, and I still use their service. I don't know why they feel they have to force us into using their service. We already like their services. Any how, just a thought.

"True HD"? by Cid+Highwind · 2012-10-29 05:25 · Score: 1

Nexus 4 specs include a 4.7-inch True HD IPS Plus display with 1,280 x 768-pixel resolution...

Lay of the TV marketing crack, Google. True HD means 1920 x 1080 pixels.

--
0 1 - just my two bits

Re:"True HD"? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 05:37 · Score: 1

Sir, you are thinking of "Full HD". Truer than true!
Re:"True HD"? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 05:40 · Score: 0

HD just means high definition. You might have a point for larger displays, but the human eye can't even distinguish between 1280 x 768 and 1920 x 1080 on a 4.7" screen...
Re:"True HD"? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 05:40 · Score: 0

True HD != Full HD
Full HD = 1920x1080 -- if they'd used that, I'd join your complaint.
"True HD" means either of the HDTV resolutions (1280x720 or 1920x1080); of course we could just say "HD", except that term has already been misappropriated (in the phone marketing space) for the previous generation of >=WVGA phones.
If you don't like "True HD", suggest a better term, and/or send a terminator back to kill the marketroids responsible for declaring 854x480 "HD".
Re:"True HD"? by farble1670 · 2012-10-29 05:40 · Score: 3, Insightful

negative. HD == 720p, which is ~1280x720px.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-definition_television
Re:"True HD"? by m1ss1ontomars2k4 · 2012-10-29 05:43 · Score: 1

That terminology doesn't show up on the Play Store, so I'm not sure where OP got that from.
Re:"True HD"? by MrAngryForNoReason · 2012-10-29 05:46 · Score: 1

Lay of the TV marketing crack, Google. True HD means 1920 x 1080 pixels.
Surely the resolution depends massively on the screen size. 1920 x 1080 is considered True HD but that is a term used for televisions which are normally at least 19 inches. Saying that you can't call a 4.7" screen True HD when it will have a pixel density far higher than a 'True HD' tv seems a bit ridiculous. This is exactly why pixel density and screen size are much clearer measurements than resolution.
Re:"True HD"? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 05:48 · Score: 1

"True HD" is LG-speak for "non-pentile 720p screen", or "we're better them Samsung since our best phone uses three subpixels per pixel instead of only two". All it means is that those "true HD" panels have better colour accuracy and sharper image than non-"true" HD panels, such as the one on the Galaxy S3. Or the one on the Nexus 10.
Re:"True HD"? by thetoadwarrior · 2012-10-29 06:13 · Score: 1

That is the name the screen's manufactuer gave it. Which does also mean Google didn't make up to be fair.
Re:"True HD"? by Jeremy+Erwin · 2012-10-29 06:40 · Score: 1

You're supposed to wank off to what's on the screen, not the screen specifications. If your eyes can't tell the difference because of the pixel density, the increased resolution of "1080p" won't matter in the least.
Re:"True HD"? by Gen_Music · 2012-10-29 07:11 · Score: 1

Pixel density would kill off the market for very big HDTVs as the pixel density is unmaintainable at those kind of levels. When you factor in that HD was originally a buzzword for TV which was only ever going to be a primarily used to display a small number of formats it makes sense. What is annoying is that HD was such a great marketing buzzword that now they are applying it to things that it simply shouldn't apply to. Enter Retina. Had Apple not patented/trademarked it, that might have been the buzzword for phones. At least it would have made sense then.
Re:"True HD"? by Cid+Highwind · 2012-10-29 08:29 · Score: 3, Funny

Sir!
This is slashdot! If there's one place on the internet spec-wankery and taking potshots at marketing misusing terms of art are not only permissible, but good form, this is it.

--
0 1 - just my two bits
Re:"True HD"? by isorox · 2012-10-29 10:31 · Score: 1

Nexus 4 specs include a 4.7-inch True HD IPS Plus display with 1,280 x 768-pixel resolution...
Lay of the TV marketing crack, Google. True HD means 1920 x 1080 pixels.
When I was a lad, 405 lines (377 active) was high definition.

A better link. by Tomun · 2012-10-29 05:27 · Score: 5, Informative

http://googleblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/nexus-best-of-google-now-in-three-sizes.html

4g? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 05:29 · Score: 0

without 4g, I'm not interested.

Re:4g? by barlevg · 2012-10-29 05:39 · Score: 1

HSPA+ *is* 4G, in terms of speed. You've been watching too many Verizon ads.
Re:4g? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 06:01 · Score: 0

So you'll have to wait some years. The only 4G standard out there is LTE Advanced, and it's not anywhere near implementation anywhere in this planet.
Re:4g? by barlevg · 2012-10-29 06:45 · Score: 1

20-30%. And as long as T-Mobile doesn't get the iPhone (I know you can get unlocked ones now, but still), you're probably still gonna end up being faster in most areas, since you're sharing with fewer people.

Hurricane Sandy can't hold Google down by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 05:30 · Score: 0, Informative

No one on the west coast gives a fuck about this non-story.

Re:Hurricane Sandy can't hold Google down by oodaloop · 2012-10-29 05:36 · Score: 1

Funny. That's what we think about all the wildfires, earthquakes, and snowstorms west of the Mississippi.

--
Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.

2,560 x 1,600 Monitor? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 05:35 · Score: 0

Where can I get one?
It looks like it might be the most affordable way to get a high resolution monitor.
All I need is some way to interface it.

Really it's quite annoying that pretty much the highest reasonably priced monitors are just 1080p.

Re: 2,560 x 1,600 Monitor? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 05:55 · Score: 0

catleap/shimian ebay
Re: 2,560 x 1,600 Monitor? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 08:16 · Score: 0

The worst part is that before those 1080p (1920x1080) monitors came out, the highest you could get was 1920x1200, which was actually _higher_ resolution. Then stupid HDTV came out, and all of the manufacturers wanted to do nothing but 1080 screens because then they could make them cheaper in larger quantities. I do understand the whole economies of scale thing, but that totally killed the entire "higher resolution monitors" arms race off, and marginalized anything higher resolution to become a "fringe" item at best. (I say this while looking at the 30" one on my desk at work... of course, I want one at _home_, and darn it I can't afford the $3000 my employers spent on this monster five years ago for a home system - if I had that much money floating around to spare, I'd spend it on something else first.)

Of course, you need a dual-link DVI cable to hook up to a 2560x1600 monitor, and good luck ever getting a Mac to work with one. (There's an adaptor - it requires connecting to both the regular external monitor port, AND the USB for power, and according to the reviews on Apple's own website, gives you a 3% chance of getting fuzzy outlines of what might be a picture showing up amidst the static, unless you're using Apple's own branded monitor, in which case it's only somewhat unreliable.)
Re: 2,560 x 1,600 Monitor? by compro01 · 2012-10-29 09:31 · Score: 1

HP offers a 27" 2560x1440 monitor for "only" $750.
link

--
upon the advice of my lawyer, i have no sig at this time

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by Quila · 2012-10-29 05:39 · Score: 4, Informative

And Apple "Retina" displays are also IPS. Pentile basically means you can forget the resolution number they give. It's probably not going to look as clear as an iPad even though the resolution specs are higher.

Re:No LTE. Less space than an iPhone. Lame. by farble1670 · 2012-10-29 05:41 · Score: 4, Insightful

1/2 the price of an iphone. win.

It's easy to sell phones cheap ... by stevez67 · 2012-10-29 05:42 · Score: 1, Insightful

... when ad revenue is your source of income and you don't have to show a profit or price your products with a markup like the competition.

Nexus 10 needs better designers by JDG1980 · 2012-10-29 05:42 · Score: 4, Informative

They managed to cram some awesome hardware into the Nexus 10. 2560x1600 at a $399 price point is very, very good.

But the physical design of the tablet – there's no way to sugarcoat this – is butt-ugly. Why did they have to make the bezel so huge? And asymmetrical? (I suppose that latter factor may have been a precaution against being sued by Apple.) Even though the hardware inside is great, the exterior just looks cheap. It looks like what you'd find on a $99 Archos tablet. Samsung's other designs are much more elegant than this.

I'm not at all impressed by the lack of a SD card slot. I loathe the "cloud" (and since this is a Wi-Fi-only device, it's not a viable solution anyway), and I'm not going to spend an extra $100 for 16GB extra of flash memory that cost the vendor under $10. Admittedly, this doesn't make Google/Samsung any worse than Apple on this front, but I had hoped they might actually do better.

Also, is there a physical home button? I can't tell from the photos. A tablet needs at least that one physical button.

Re:Nexus 10 needs better designers by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 05:59 · Score: 0

Yes, it is on one of the long sides, as is the camera. Making it a landscape tablet also avoids the wrath of Apple.
Re:Nexus 10 needs better designers by cduffy · 2012-10-29 06:50 · Score: 4, Insightful

I loathe the "cloud" (and since this is a Wi-Fi-only device, it's not a viable solution anyway)
How many people carrying around a Nexus 10 won't have a Bluetooth-enabled smartphone in their pockets?
If the tablet always has connectivity when it's near your phone, why would you want to pay your carrier $30/mo (or whatever) for the privilege of having separate connectivity?
Re:Nexus 10 needs better designers by darjen · 2012-10-29 07:29 · Score: 1

There is a huge difference in monthly price for a tablet data plan. I have the latest iPad on Verizon LTE for the $30/month 2gb data plan. I used to have my galaxy nexus on a smartphone plan which ran over $80/month for the cheapest voice/texting/data. I had Verizon transfer my data plan over to my iPad and it was MUCH cheaper. Plus both devices use a micro sim. I put the iPad sim in my phone, and now my galaxy nexus is now basically a data only smartphone using google voice.
Re:Nexus 10 needs better designers by s73v3r · 2012-10-29 08:49 · Score: 1

Because you're going to have to pay them that extra $30/mo anyways for the privilege of tethering.
Re:Nexus 10 needs better designers by Rich0 · 2012-10-29 09:27 · Score: 1

Not legally unless you have unlimited data. And not practically if somebody would actually make it easy to VPN your mobile data from your tablet (which I'd like to do even when not tethering for security).
Re:Nexus 10 needs better designers by dave420 · 2012-10-29 09:32 · Score: 1

Not in sane markets. Plenty of networks will give you a second SIM for your account, and don't charge for tethering. This isn't really a big deal. Maybe to USians, but elsewhere people will be fine with this.
Re:Nexus 10 needs better designers by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 10:01 · Score: 2, Insightful

Why I would want to buy a smartphone when my 7" and 10" tablets ARE MY PHONES?
Samsung understood that in their Galaxy Tab series by adding GSM radio to 3G models in first place.
I have 7" model and it replaced my Lumia smartphone. I have now a tablet and smartphone in one nifty 7" form. 72GB storage and I don't need to worry about battery in heavy use for 3-4 days. I is such a solid package that any smartphone doesn't even come a close.
And for GSM Voice calls, I have a bluetooth dongle as I keep tablet in my pocket (fits to all pockets perfectly, if not wearing a swim suit!) and when at home, I can still hold tablet on my ear in old fashion way or enable speaker to make normal conference call, or use 3.5mm hands-free if so.
41 day standby, about 8.5-9 hours video continues 720 videoplay at full screen brightness and talk times 2G = about 30 hours and 3G about 20 hours.
I must say, Galaxy Tab 2 7" 3G is coming pretty boring device because it isn't anymore fight or thinking when I need to recharge it, where is my laptop/tablet/smartphone or anything else.
Even this is written with my tablet. I use "thumb keyboard" from playstore and it gives me very fast typing speeds what is nearly same as avarage typer does.
Oh, just to fuck your mind. I pay unlimited data speed and amount 2 euros a month. I get max speed what carriers networks (not just my carrier network but my contract allows me to swap to any carrier in my country, now 5, network if having better signal there) what is HSPA+ now because I have 3G device. If place my SIM to 4G device, I get max 4G speed.
I rarely get lower than HSDPA speeds, minimal being around 7MBits but typica is between 12-18 MBits down and 5-7Mbits up. So downloading something over 2 megabytes per second isn't "WHOA" but just normal.
And all that just for 2 euros a month.... 2 year contract what ends in 18 months.
Re:Nexus 10 needs better designers by AmiMoJo · 2012-10-29 11:33 · Score: 1

The style is functional, with plenty of area to grip without covering the screen and a non-slippery back like the Nexus 7 (one of the best features IMHO). I agree that it doesn't look particularly stylish though, but then again it isn't a fashion accessory.
There is no home button, it is now on-screen. Same with the back and menu buttons.

--
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
Re:Nexus 10 needs better designers by kllrnohj · 2012-10-29 11:50 · Score: 2

Also, is there a physical home button? I can't tell from the photos. A tablet needs at least that one physical button.
There's not one, not two, but *THREE* physical buttons! Power, volume up, and volume down - just like on the Xoom and the Nexus 7.
Re:Nexus 10 needs better designers by cduffy · 2012-10-30 02:16 · Score: 1

My carrier, at least, redirects HTTP connections that look like they're coming from desktop PCs unless one is paying for a tethering plan -- but they have no beef at all (at least, they make no efforts to prevent) traffic passing through the phone from my tablet (thus having an Android user-agent).
(It's also straightforward enough to evade their redirection by passing traffic over a non-HTTP port -- OpenVPN, HTTPS, tor, ... -- but that's neither here nor there).

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 05:44 · Score: 5, Informative

Apple's retina displays are also a "lottery". They are not all from the same manufacturer. The lower quality ones have IR (image retention, kind of like short term (a few minutes) screen burn in). The samsung displays are superior to the lg ones, here is a 350+ page thread from fanboys as proof https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4034848?start=255&tstart=0

Lack of CDMA/4G LTE option disappointing by tguyton · 2012-10-29 05:44 · Score: 2

I'm sure I'm not the only Verizon user disappointed with the lack of a CDMA/4G LTE version. Especially if it was also offered at $300 unsubsidized, I'm sure there would be many people interested since it will allow users to retain any pre-existing unlimited data plans. Hopefully they have something in the works - I would really love for my next phone to be a Nexus device (especially given how much I'm enjoying my Nexus 7), but I'm not willing to change carriers and lose my current plan with discounts for it.

Re:Lack of CDMA/4G LTE option disappointing by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 06:06 · Score: 0

Yeah, that's especially disappointing since the 4G LTE phones (like my Droid 4) have SIM cards, so as far as I can tell, there is nothing tying these phones to a particular carrier (except, perhaps, carriers playing games with firmware to prevent, say, a Verizon-provided phone from being used on Sprint's network).
Re:Lack of CDMA/4G LTE option disappointing by MBGMorden · 2012-10-29 06:37 · Score: 1

Yep. I'm stuck on a Droid 1 right now to keep my unlimited data. Doing the math for my usage habits it would be another $40-50 per month higher over my existing plan to move to the "Share Everything plan" with enough bandwidth. Taking a subsidized phone isn't worth that, but there is a definite lack of any reasonably priced unsubsidized phones for Verizon. $299 for this phone I could handle, but seems every decent handset on Verizon (even the ones they're GIVING away subsidized) is over $500 without contract.

--
"People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
Re:Lack of CDMA/4G LTE option disappointing by compro01 · 2012-10-29 07:34 · Score: 1

Verizon and Sprint use different frequency bands, as does just about everyone else.
LTE is scattered all the fuck over the spectrum. There's 8 bands in use just in the USA.

--
upon the advice of my lawyer, i have no sig at this time
Re:Lack of CDMA/4G LTE option disappointing by Emetophobe · 2012-10-29 08:10 · Score: 1

I wouldn't be surprised if Google doesn't want to deal with Verizon anymore after the Verizon Galaxy Nexus abomination.
Re:Lack of CDMA/4G LTE option disappointing by Miamicanes · 2012-10-29 09:21 · Score: 2

That's a lame excuse. Put the LTE module on a daughtercard, sell the phone without it, and users with AT&T/Verizon/Sprint/MetroPCS can buy their carrier's LTE module, rip off the back, plug it in, and snap it back on. Or really, just put the RF amplifier and antenna on the daughtercard. I believe there's even a company in Japan that came up with a standard ~10 years ago for more or less this purpose (allowing users to buy a radio module from their carrier, and stick it into a phone made by someone else. If you think the US is bad, Japan is even worse when it comes to mobile networks with proprietary, closed phones).
There's no reason a phone with LTE can't be "open". The radio modem's firmware has nothing whatsoever to do with Android. It lives in its own firewalled universe. All Android does is pass the flash data to it when updating. If the radio modem wants to reject the new firmware, it can and will.
The whole issue with CDMA Nexi was a spat between Qualcomm (not wanting to release the source to peripherals on their SoC that had nothing to do with the actual phone/rf functionality), Verizon (not wanting open devices, period), and the reality that the existence of semi-open firmware for Sprint phones makes hacking Verizon phones with more or less identical hardware a lot easier. Verizon was vehemently opposed, Sprint was either indifferent (or too broke and poor to matter), and Qualcomm just stonewalled Google until they got frustrated and gave up.
Re:Lack of CDMA/4G LTE option disappointing by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 10:24 · Score: 0

Yeah, it sure is disappointing that Google didn't cater to the tiny minority of users, solely in America, who are impacted by GOOG's decision not to invest in a dying and poorly seeded technology..

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by durrr · 2012-10-29 05:44 · Score: 1

Atleast it's not called Penile

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by ackthpt · 2012-10-29 05:45 · Score: 2

And Apple "Retina" displays are also IPS. Pentile basically means you can forget the resolution number they give. It's probably not going to look as clear as an iPad even though the resolution specs are higher.

Perhaps you mean sharp it's been my experience with a number of small CE items that higher resolution does not produce a sharp display, unless the graphic handling provides sufficient contrast. I have one device which has very high resolution for a 3 inch screen, but looks somewhat blurred and faded. Lower resolution, better backlighting or higher intensity LEDs would serve the user better.

--

A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar

Butt-ugly by benjfowler · 2012-10-29 05:47 · Score: 0

The Nexus 10 is butt ugly, and looks liked a cheap Chinese chrome-plastic toilet seat.

That said, if it does PDFs better than the iPad and weighs less than a real Bakelite toilet seat, I'll still get one.

Re:Butt-ugly by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 06:33 · Score: 0

There is something very wrong with you.
Re:Butt-ugly by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 12:14 · Score: 0

looks liked a cheap Chinese chrome-plastic toilet seat
Er, you may have been very very drunk at the time, but I assure you, that thing you crapped on in that motel in China was the TV, not the toilet. The toilet was the white thing in the other room that tends to explode.

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 05:47 · Score: 0

Untrue. Apple have shipped retina displays that are not IPS panels. Retina only refers to the pixel size relative to viewing distance.

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by Sponge+Bath · 2012-10-29 05:49 · Score: 2

Got me the strangest woman
Believe it, this chick's no cinch
When I wanna get her goin'
Then I whip out my Big Ten Inch...

...Nexus tablet computer.

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by SaroDarksbane · 2012-10-29 05:53 · Score: 1

This may have been true of early pentile displays, but with increased resolution it hasn't been a problem in higher-end devices for quite some time.

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by Enderandrew · 2012-10-29 05:53 · Score: 5, Interesting

I'm literally holding an iPhone 4S and Samsung S3 in my hand at the same time (work phone and personal phone).

The S3 has the supposedly crappy pentile display, the 4S has the non-pentile display, with a higher DPI to boot.

Yet text is far crisper and easier to read on the S3 because Apple doesn't know how to do sub-pixel hinting for reasons I can't comprehend.

--
http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.

What PenTile means by tepples · 2012-10-29 05:55 · Score: 3, Informative

The common RGBG version of PenTile has green pixels on the pixel centers and red and blue between pairs of pixels. So you get only half the effective horizontal resolution for any border between black, red, blue, or magenta objects or between green, yellow, cyan, or white objects.

Re:What PenTile means by sp332 · 2012-10-30 06:20 · Score: 1

Wow, that sounds like the Apple II's color display! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_II_graphics#High-Resolution_.28Hi-Res.29_graphics "another quirk of Wozniak's design is that while any pixel could be black or white, only pixels with odd X-coordinates could be green or orange. Likewise, only even-numbered pixels could be violet or blue."

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 05:55 · Score: 5, Informative

It's not that they don't know how to do it; it's that they choose not to.

Jeff Atwood gives a good commentary on why they choose not to here: http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2007/06/font-rendering-respecting-the-pixel-grid.html

Missed opportunity by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 05:57 · Score: 0

Too bad you got rid of the Occupy protesters. You could have gassed them and used the corpses in place of sandbags on Wall Street.

Reliable site for APKs by tepples · 2012-10-29 05:59 · Score: 3, Informative

I dont know of a reliable site, where you can get the apk file from though

Ideally, the publisher of a Free, free, freemium, or ad-supported application would distribute an APK on the application's web site, usable by anybody who has turned on "Unknown sources". A reliable site will use HTTPS with a well-known CA or HTTPS + DANE (public key fingerprints in DNSSEC).

Re:Reliable site for APKs by Nerdfest · 2012-10-29 06:50 · Score: 1

There's all sorts on SourceForge, where you can download the APK, or build it yourself. Same with GitHub. Some commercial entities also provide them directly.
Re:Reliable site for APKs by s73v3r · 2012-10-29 08:27 · Score: 1

That's still more work than just uploading it to the Google Play store, and perhaps the Amazon store. More work for very little benefit.
Re:Reliable site for APKs by tepples · 2012-10-29 09:24 · Score: 2

That's still more work than just uploading it to the Google Play store, and perhaps the Amazon store.
If the application's developer already has a web site, how is making the APK available for download from that web site any harder than submitting it to Google and Amazon? A lot of free software projects already do this, especially those hosted on Google Code or SourceForge, as Nerdfest pointed out in the post above yours.

More work for very little benefit.
One benefit to making an APK available is that you're able to reach owners of older Archos devices such as the Archos 43 Internet Tablet, which prior to October 2011 was Android's closest thing to the iPod touch. These devices come with AppsLib instead of Google Play Store because they lack cellular data, which at one time was a requirement in the Android CDD.

Not fair to Google, flaw is in FAT by SuperKendall · 2012-10-29 06:01 · Score: 1

Any unreliability or danger in doing so is probably by design of Google.

Reliability would be on Google but not security. FAT simply is not meant to be secure, making it easy to modify files anywhere on the FAT volume...

--
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley

Re:Not fair to Google, flaw is in FAT by scot4875 · 2012-10-29 06:42 · Score: 1

And anybody who needs security has plenty of options. Why do you hate choice so much?
--Jeremy

--
Jesus was a liberal
Re:Not fair to Google, flaw is in FAT by Gen_Music · 2012-10-29 06:58 · Score: 1

I think he's referring to the potential damage of your data whilst transferring files, not the the security risk that FAT poses. Anything built to be secure in an Access Control sense must not be portable anyway, as moving a drive to another operating system quickly changes the Administrators of the drive in question, allowing anyone to take ownership unless encryption is employed.
Re:Not fair to Google, flaw is in FAT by SuperKendall · 2012-10-29 07:16 · Score: 1

I love choice.
But technical choice for non-technical users often does not make sense. The whole industry sees this, which is why for example even Google is producing a phone with no SD slot.
I guess that leaves you as odd man out, the only one willing to throw millions of users to the wolves so you can enjoy slightly greater flexibility you could have had anyway with a more secure solution.

--
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley

Google Voice by jerpyro · 2012-10-29 06:02 · Score: 3, Interesting

If I order the new nexus phone with no contracts, can I activate and use it as a wifi phone without it being associated with a carrier via Google voice?
I would gladly pay $300 for that.

Re:Google Voice by m1ss1ontomars2k4 · 2012-10-29 06:27 · Score: 1

You'd need a 3rd-party app for the actual voice calling/receiving, like Groove IP. I don't know if that's the best or anything; it's merely the only one I know of.
Re:Google Voice by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 06:27 · Score: 1

Yes.
Re:Google Voice by EmagGeek · 2012-10-29 07:37 · Score: 1

Why would you bother with a cellular phone if you weren't going to use the cellular phone?
Doesn't someone make a cell-phone sized Wifi tablet?
Re:Google Voice by SkimTony · 2012-10-29 08:03 · Score: 1

I don't know what Google's requirements for activation are, but you could always install a SIP client and use it as a wifi phone, and buy a cheap pre-paid sim that you never use. T-Mobile has 1000 minutes that last a year for $100.
Re:Google Voice by bhagwad · 2012-10-29 08:38 · Score: 2

Lots of people find the other functionality of a "smartphone" far more useful than the occasional call. I make around 3-4 calls a month with mine.
Re:Google Voice by s73v3r · 2012-10-29 08:51 · Score: 1

Not really. Most manufacturers aren't interested in competing with the iPod Touch (which is basically the type of product you're thinking of). I think Samsung makes one, and Sony has one.
Re:Google Voice by GreenEnvy22 · 2012-10-29 12:47 · Score: 2

Google has had a built in SIP client since gingerbread, no need for a sip client (though some may offer more features than the plain google one)
Re:Google Voice by cdrudge · 2012-10-30 05:34 · Score: 1

Yes. It's called the iPod Touch.

Barometer? by rickb928 · 2012-10-29 06:08 · Score: 1

Interesting.

Now all I need is an SD slot, but Google prefers a consistent user experience, so accomodating user storage is limited to the built-in they provide. Kinda like the browser no longer being able to load the desktop version of iGoogle. But I'm not bitter.

I could buy this one.

--
deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.

New Nexus 7 Also Available by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 06:08 · Score: 0

I just popped over to my local Office Depot, where the new 32GB Nexus 7 is selling for $250. The 16GB version has dropped to $200. I think other stores also have them in stock.

FAT is patented by tepples · 2012-10-29 06:08 · Score: 1

I don't think that is the main reason as Android now uses MTP to allow concurrent access to the SD card.

It still costs manufacturers money to license Microsoft's patents in VFAT and ExFAT.

the other of course the ability to charge a huge premium on upgraded space. For the Nexus 4 the bump from 8 to 16GB is only a $50 up-charge which isn't that bad in my opinion.

But consider how much of a mark-up it is over buying an 8 GB microSDHC card for $8.

Re:FAT is patented by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 06:48 · Score: 0

Then don't use FAT. There are plenty of other FSes to choose from.
Re:FAT is patented by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 09:51 · Score: 0

And why can not Android just mount the Ext4 filesystem formatted MicroSD Card to desktop/laptop computer when unmounted from Android itself? Why can not Google make a Ext driver for Windows and allow Windows install it automatically when attaching it?
ExFat is just stupid and so old and I have anyways MicroSD in Ext4 filesystem because I use it only on Linux. And the card CAME behalf of card manufacturer formatted as FAT32!
Google could offer MicroSD unformatted and tell to user to plug it in Windows PC and format it. No big deal, if really wanted to override that claim (what is bogus from you). As Google could only offer device WITHOUT MicroSD card.
Re:FAT is patented by FictionPimp · 2012-10-30 03:17 · Score: 1

Or the phone could present the datastore as a network drive. Then you wouldn't even need to plug the device in, you could get get it over wireless.

Storage by Jethro · 2012-10-29 06:13 · Score: 1

Any word on storage on the Nexus 4?

I have a Galaxy Nexus, and the absolute worst thing about it is the lack of an external storage slot. Since I have an unlocked GSM model I was limited to 16gb. And yeah, that got filled up REALLY fast. If the Nexus 4 doesn't have external storage (or at least a model with a LOT of internal storage), that might be a deal-breaker for me and the Nexus line of phones, which would be very sad.

--

In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is kinky.

Re:Storage by amRadioHed · 2012-10-29 06:19 · Score: 1

Only 8GB and 16GB available:
https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_4_16gb&feature=device-featured
8GB is a joke, I don't get it.

--
We hope your rules and wisdom choke you / Now we are one in everlasting peace
Re:Storage by Jethro · 2012-10-29 07:36 · Score: 1

*sigh* that's very sad for me. I love having Nexus phones, but 16gb is just not enough. I'd kind of hate non-expandable storage anyway, but I'd be willing to accept it if it was 32gb or (better yet) 64gb. But 16? Can't do it.
Time to give that HTC One X another look...

--

In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is kinky.
Re:Storage by Emetophobe · 2012-10-29 08:15 · Score: 1

The Nexus 4 is based off of the LG Optimus G. What I don't get is that the Optimus G comes with 32GB internal storage, but the Nexus 4 is limited to 8/16.

Release date 3rd or 13th and Nexus 7 upgrade by flibbidyfloo · 2012-10-29 06:24 · Score: 1

The summary says November 3rd, but the linked article says November 13th. I'll assume the original article is correct.

And how could you not mention the confirmed upgrade to the Nexus 7? That just moved it from my "interested" to my "must buy" column.

"Google is also upgrading the Nexus 7 tablet. The 16GB version of the 7-inch device is now $199, and is joined by a 32GB version retailing for $249. There’s also the option of HSPA+ mobile in addition to WiFi, which adds a bit of cost. Like the Nexus 4, it runs Android 4.2." (http://slashdot.org/topic/bi/google-rolls-out-new-nexus-smartphones-tablets/)

Re:Release date 3rd or 13th and Nexus 7 upgrade by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 06:33 · Score: 0

Is that the only changes? I was hoping for a camera upgrade.
Re:Release date 3rd or 13th and Nexus 7 upgrade by asdf7890 · 2012-10-29 12:18 · Score: 2

The summary says November 3rd, but the linked article says November 13th. I'll assume the original article is correct.
The horses mouth suggests your assumption is correct: https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_4_8gb
Re:Release date 3rd or 13th and Nexus 7 upgrade by asdf7890 · 2012-10-29 12:31 · Score: 1

Unless it varies by territory of course - I'm in the UK, perhaps the states will get it on the 3rd while we will need to wait 10 more days for the honour of paying through the nose[1] for one. [1] The equivalent of $383 at current rates for the 8Gb model through a mix of our tax regime and the manufacturer's desire to fleece us like everyone else does. Only 60% of the cost of a sim-free 8Gb iPhone 4 though, when my current smartphone fails (as it is threatening to do) or annoys me enough to warrant a short sharp visit to concrete-land I'll have to search out some comparative reviews.

too big by GodWasAnAlien · 2012-10-29 06:29 · Score: 2

Are the Korean hands getting bigger every day? Or is it now popular to hold a phone with two hands now?
I really wish there was a Nexus phone with a 4"(or less) display.

Re:too big by EmagGeek · 2012-10-29 07:52 · Score: 5, Funny

If you want a phone with a small screen, just get an iPhone.
Re:too big by AmiMoJo · 2012-10-29 11:35 · Score: 2

You know how some guys are just too short to play basketball? Well some guys' thumbs are just too small to operate the best smartphones.

--
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
Re:too big by Anonymous Coward · 2012-11-03 12:59 · Score: 0

what is your ideal "phone" screen size then? 5" ? 6" ? 8" ?
While operating your phone with one hand, can you really touch all four corners?

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by Quila · 2012-10-29 06:42 · Score: 1, Informative

I thought all current Apple Retina displays used IPS. The iPad does, the iPhone does, the iPod Touch does, and I'm pretty sure the MacBooks do.

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by fredprado · 2012-10-29 06:43 · Score: 0

Excellent article. Thank you for linking it.

Are there any decent GSM providers in the states? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 06:46 · Score: 1

I just moved back to the States last year. I paid $150 for an LG Optimus V, a no-contract CDMA Android phone on Virgin Mobile. Great plan - only $30/month for 300 minutes talk, and unlimited text and data (well, 2.5GB, and then they start throttling) - but the phone is absolutely awful, and I'm looking to upgrade. I'd buy the Nexus 4 in a snap, if only there was a decent GSM network to run it on. Unfortunately, however, it seems like the only two GSM providers in the States are AT&T and T-Mobile, and my research has indicated that the service they offer is both shitty AND expensive.

If anyone reading this is planning to get a Nexus 4 in the US, I'd be curious to know about your intended network provider and plan.

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by MrHanky · 2012-10-29 07:03 · Score: 1

Is it? Why call it True RGB Real Stripe PLS, then, instead of, for instance, pentile? PLS is Samsung's version of IPS.

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by Quila · 2012-10-29 07:04 · Score: 1

Apple doesn't know how to do sub-pixel hinting for reasons I can't comprehend.

Sub-pixel hinting is what you use when the eye can perceive individual pixels, not very necessary when the eye can't. Apple knows how to do it since OS X has it, and Apple even had an early analog form of it in the Apple ][.

As far as text sharpness goes, anything but the iPhone strains my eyes. I never could stand LCD anti-aliasing, and still can't run an LCD in anything but native resolution.

YAAAY by cashxx · 2012-10-29 07:16 · Score: 0

More plastic junk that are a copy of an Apple product!!

Re:Hurricane Sandy?! by space_jake · 2012-10-29 07:29 · Score: 1

Press conference for this was going to be in NYC.

Nexus 4 is DOA by EmagGeek · 2012-10-29 07:34 · Score: 0, Troll

It's not even LTE, and there is still no SD Card slot.

Sorry, Google. You fail.

Do Not Want by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 07:40 · Score: 0

Having zero trust in Google these devices are useless to me. Do not want.

me, for one by Chirs · 2012-10-29 07:43 · Score: 1

I work from home, so my cell phone is an ancient Blackberry curve with the lowest possible voice plan and no data plan.

Sure, I could theoretically work from anywhere with my laptop, but then I'd have to leave my big monitors, more comfortable keyboard, and faster-than-LTE internet connection--so why would I bother?

What other Windows-compatible FS? by tepples · 2012-10-29 07:49 · Score: 1

Which "other FSes to choose from" can Windows read and write when the user removes the microSDHC card from the phone and inserts it into a USB microSDHC writer?

Re:What other Windows-compatible FS? by robmv · 2012-10-29 08:22 · Score: 1

They could provide a new IFS driver for Windows and make users install it to access it, but I wonder if the reason they don't do that maybe is that to use a name as "SD Card" in your product the SD Card Association requires some compatibility tests, requiring VFAT. Adding an SD Card slot and not being able to use the term "SD Card" is not very compelling to the manufacturer. Maybe they can say, we support black rectangular external memory expansion used on many devices
Re:What other Windows-compatible FS? by tepples · 2012-10-29 09:19 · Score: 1

They could provide a new IFS driver for Windows and make users install it to access it
Requiring installation of Ext2 IFS would make it more difficult for people who aren't an administrator to access their data. In addition, users would run the risk of accidentally accepting the offer by Windows to "helpfully" erase everything on an Ext2-formatted card by reformatting it to FAT32 or ExFAT.

Adding an SD Card slot and not being able to use the term "SD Card" is not very compelling to the manufacturer. Maybe they can say, we support black rectangular external memory expansion used on many devices
Which is why a lot of Chinese devices appear to claim a "TF slot", where TF stands for TransFlash, the preproduction name of microSD. Or if they want to have a full-size SD slot, they could call it a MultiMediaCard (MMC) slot that just happens to be wide enough to take SD cards.
Re:What other Windows-compatible FS? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 10:18 · Score: 0

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Disk_Format UDF is supported in Windows/Linux/OS X.

Nexus 10 is DOA, too by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 07:50 · Score: 0

And what's with the two inches of wasted nothing in both axes? You realize your 10" tablet is the size of a fucking encyclopedia, right? Seriously, who wants a FULL INCH of wasted bezel space around the entire perimeter of their tablet? The thing is the size of a sheet of A4 and for what? A tiny screen (in comparison) and lots of dead weight? (or maybe it's all battery so it can approach the battery life of iPad)

Google Fail, indeed.

Re:Nexus 10 is DOA, too by Lord+Maud'Dib · 2012-10-29 08:14 · Score: 1

How are you supposed to hold it if there is no bezel? Watch some iPad mini ads and you'll see some instances where they have a thumb on the screen just to hold the thing because the side bezel is so thin.
Re:Nexus 10 is DOA, too by EmagGeek · 2012-10-29 12:19 · Score: 1

You're supposed to rest it on your palm or use your fingers as a tripod. You're not supposed to put your fingers on the screen to hold it. That's just silly.
An acceptable alternative is to use an Apple-approved sleeve or case that allows the mini to be held properly.
Fingers on the screen? You're holding it wrong.
Re:Nexus 10 is DOA, too by MindlessAutomata · 2012-10-29 13:53 · Score: 1

Hahahahaha, I like you.

4 - 7 - 10 by emblemparade · 2012-10-29 07:53 · Score: 1

I think the naming scheme is clear and brilliant: a number according to size, not "version" or "bandwidth speed" or any of that crap that most non-techie consumers could care less about. No more of that "S" or "Galaxy" stuff. No more internal numbering. "Nexus" is the brand family, and that's it.

Consumers are starting to think of this new network-computer world of "phones," "tablets" and "mini-tablets" exactly in terms of comfort vs. portability. How big is it? That's the only major quesiton they care about in terms of usability. Sure, there are other factors important to some users, but that should be the starting point.

I hope for their sake they keep the Nexus family numbering scheme consistent from now on. The can release new versions of these (like Apple does) with a simple numbering scheme (say, Nexus 7 version 2), but the name itself being tied to the size is perfect.

Re:4 - 7 - 10 by Emetophobe · 2012-10-29 08:25 · Score: 1

Nexus 4 also has a dual meaning. It has a 4.7" screen, but it's also the 4th Nexus phone (Nexus One, Nexus S, Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 4).

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 08:10 · Score: 0

iPod Touch 4th generation uses a Retina display that is not IPS.

Re:No LTE. Less space than an iPhone. Lame. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 08:16 · Score: 0

1/2 the price of an iphone. win.

Considering it has about as much features of an old 16 GB iPhone 4s, I'd sure hope it would be less.

16GB is the max and the actual available memory will be less. No microSD slot. No LTE.

Meh.

My current (and old) HTC phone running CyanogenMod 7.2 has better features than this. Nothing to keep me from considering the Samsung S3.

how much does flash cost? by farble1670 · 2012-10-29 08:37 · Score: 2, Interesting

can someone explain this to me?

i can buy a 32GB micro SD card for $20. that's retail. but google charges +$50 for +8GB? that, and it has to be cheaper for them to add flash internally that for me to buy a retail-packaged micro SD card?

even assuming retail prices, they should be able to ship a 32GB version for less than $20 more, and still make the same profit on the extra memory that would otherwise be made on selling the memory retail ... ?

i understand that they might want to milk customers here ... but if they are really trying to beat apple on prices, offering a low-priced 32 or 64GB model seems like a no-brainer.

Re:how much does flash cost? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 20:18 · Score: 0

Given Google's current strategy of pricing hardware at break-even levels, the most likely explanation is that the 8GB version is actually posting a net loss and the padded margin is meant to make the overall line reach net zero.
For example, consider that Google anticipates that the 8GB will carry 80% of sales. At $300, it actually represents a $9 per-unit loss on the actual price of $309. The 16GB version costs $314. At $350 retail, that extra $36 in revenue offsets the losses on the cheaper model:
Sell (4) 8GB:
Cost: $1236; Revenue: $1200.
Sell (1) 16GB:
Cost $314; Revenue: $350
Total costs: $1550
Total revenue: $1550

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 08:40 · Score: 4, Informative

I realize they're cheaper to produce... but that's probably because the result is cheaper looking. Just do it the standard way and save us from the misery of the pentile display.

None of the Nexus devices have a Pentile display - the Nexus 4, 7, and 10 all have regular RGB subpixels.

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by kllrnohj · 2012-10-29 08:44 · Score: 1

Android doesn't do subpixel hinting either. It falls apart with GPU-accelerated rendering and rotation. Not to mention it doesn't work unless you know the subpixel layout. Android just has a better font in Roboto. At high densities subpixel rendering simply isn't useful.

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by kllrnohj · 2012-10-29 08:45 · Score: 5, Informative

The tablet is a Pentile display.

Nope, RGB subpixels - standard LCD layout. It is *NOT* pentile. Hence the "RGB Real Stripe", which is Samsung marketing for "we didn't fuck with it"

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by Enderandrew · 2012-10-29 08:49 · Score: 1

Android does do sub-pixel hinting.

You are correct that Roboto is a fantastic font for readability on small displays. Really, it is just a great font all around.

You are also correct that isn't needed as much as resolution increases, but even on "retina" displays on phones, iPhone text isn't incredible readable.

--
http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by Solandri · 2012-10-29 09:09 · Score: 4, Informative

Whether or not pentile sucks depends on the PPI. If the PPI is too low, then you can see the individual sub-pixels and pentile (RGBG) sucks relative to RGB. But if the PPI is high enough, then you cannot see the individual sub-pixels and RGBG is indistinguishable from RGB while using fewer sub-pixels. The reason is a quirk in the human visual system - our eyes' resolution in green is much better than in red and especially blue.

Pretty much every recorded image we see takes advantage of this. Nearly all digital cameras use a Bayer filter (RGBG overlay), so the images they capture have half the red and blue resolution as they do green. Unless you flip certain JPEG options, a JPEG image you create from a pure RGB scan will do the same thing - reduce the red and blue information that's stored relative to green. Same for MPEG and NTSC. Basically, nearly all the recorded images you've ever encountered in your life were brought to you in RGBG. That you never noticed is proof that it's indistinguishable.

It's only displays which were typically RGB, but that was because there were no "pixels" on CRTs, and LCDs typically had low PPI. Once the display's PPI becomes high enough, RGB becomes a waste. When the G sub-pixels in an RGB array are dense enough to surpass the the threshold of visual acuity, the R and B sub-pixels are far too dense and way past that point. That is, you have way more R and B sub-pixels than are actually needed. If you're at this point, then an RGBG display like pentile with the same pixel density (but lower sub-pixel density) will create an image that's indistinguishable from RGB but using fewer sub-pixels.

NFS? sshfs? by hendrikboom · 2012-10-29 09:23 · Score: 1

Any chance of an NFS or sshfs client on the horizon?

Re:No LTE. Less space than an iPhone. Lame. by farble1670 · 2012-10-29 09:35 · Score: 2

Considering it has about as much features of an old 16 GB iPhone 4s, I'd sure hope it would be less.

that "old" 4s has a weaker processor and lesser display, and costs exactly the same. huh. i guess maybe when you compare phones you need to do a little better research,

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by VortexCortex · 2012-10-29 09:59 · Score: 3, Interesting

Yeah, that and if you don't do any sub pixel font drawing, then you can use the same exact code in portrait and landscape. However, if your display can be tilted then the vertical and horizontal sub pixel layout is swapped. Some Pentile displays are designed to be horizontally & vertically agnostic.

MS also has several patents on some sub-pixel rendering tricks, and although MS cross licensed them to Apple, who knows if they did so for their mobile devices? Maybe that's why you even need a high res retina display? To mask the lack of sub-pixel rendering? (can't be troubled to try and find out, ATM)

What contract-free providers for the Nexus 4? by BadassFractal · 2012-10-29 10:12 · Score: 2

I'm curious what budget contract free carriers such as Virgin Mobile and Straight Talk will be supporting this phone? I know that Virgin Mobile doesn't actually allow any phones besides the ones they sell on their network, but it's possible that other companies are less restrictive. Any thoughts?

Re:What contract-free providers for the Nexus 4? by jsh1972 · 2012-10-29 10:29 · Score: 2

simple mobile offers unlimited talk/text/internet for gsm phones for $50/month with no contract, $60 for hsdpa+ 4g unlimited.

Chrome Frame by tepples · 2012-10-29 10:13 · Score: 1

Why can not Google make a Ext driver for Windows and allow Windows install it automatically when attaching it?

Say a microSD card is formatted Ext, and the user removes the card from the phone and inserts it into a PC running Windows. The PC will see the Ext format and "helpfully" recommend that the user erase all the data and format it to FAT. I see no way for the card to interrupt that process and instead redirect the user to the web site where the Ext driver is available for download.

Google could offer MicroSD unformatted and tell to user to plug it in Windows PC and format it.

Say the user has formatted a microSD card to FAT using a Windows PC. The device would still need support for the FAT format just to be able to read and write files on this card.

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by ne0n · 2012-10-29 10:32 · Score: 1

I get more eye strain from trying to read the tiny screen on an iPhone and the low contrast doesn't help. If you have average or bigger hands the iPhone is an abomination, and the light-bleed (easily observed in any darkened room) is gruesome after a couple of minutes.

Compare that with the AMOLED screen on a Note. For left-handers it's an even easier decision.

--
$ :(){ :|:& };:

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by creepynut · 2012-10-29 10:37 · Score: 2

Indeed, I have a 4th generation iPod touch and my wife has an iPhone 4s. Although it shares the resolution, great for text, the screen on the iPhone is vastly superior when it comes to playing games or watching videos.

Writing to non-optical UDF volumes by tepples · 2012-10-29 10:54 · Score: 1

The table in the article you linked states no write support in Windows XP. And I wonder to what extent Windows Vista and Windows 7 allow writing to non-optical UDF volumes; I don't have a spare SD card with which to test at the moment.

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by AmiMoJo · 2012-10-29 11:42 · Score: 1

The problem is not the font rendering method they chose, it is the font itself. Helvetica is a print font. It was designed for high DPI printing, which only in the last year has become available on consumer LCDs.

Microsoft and Google both chose to create their own screen fonts that take maximum advantage of subpixel rendering and are designed for legibility on LCDs. Interestingly the Galaxy S3 also includes Helvetica as an option, and it looks okay on its high DPI screen but still not quite as good at Droid Sans at normal on-screen font sizes.

I could never really understand Apple's decision. Helvetica is a lovely font, just not on low DPI screens.

--
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by Tough+Love · 2012-10-29 11:45 · Score: 2, Funny

retina is a marketing term for high resolution.

I understand that Apple uses the marketing term "Cataract Display[tm]" for their low resolution displays.

This makes sense. But I am a littled confused about why Apple introduced the new iPad mini with a Cataract Display[tm].

--
When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by Tough+Love · 2012-10-29 11:52 · Score: 1

It's not that they don't know how to do it; it's that they choose not to.

Jeff Atwood gives a good commentary on why they choose not to here: http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2007/06/font-rendering-respecting-the-pixel-grid.html

What an idio... err sorry... what a fantastic way to justify a blatantly incorrect decision that has cost Apple dearly in terms of being forced to ship higher resolution hardware than is comfortable for their ongoing margins. This stupidity ranks right up there with Apple's suicidal dependence on "pixel perfect" fixed screen resolution. Not that I object in any way to Apple being suicidal mind you, on the contrary, I applaud it.

--
When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by rsborg · 2012-10-29 12:05 · Score: 3, Informative

Apple's retina displays are also a "lottery". They are not all from the same manufacturer.

Just to be clear, the "retina" issues identified above are all related to the Mac Book Pro (retina) not the iPad.

--
Make sure everyone's vote counts: Verified Voting

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by benjfowler · 2012-10-29 12:19 · Score: 1

Nearly read that as 'penile'

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 12:55 · Score: 0

Nearly read that as 'penile'

I don't know. Around here, "huh huh I can hardly tell the difference because I am a dumb American, lolz!" is a lot more popular than "I note the similarity".

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by Tough+Love · 2012-10-29 13:58 · Score: 1

retina is a marketing term for high resolution.

I understand that Apple uses the marketing term "Cataract Display[tm]" for their low resolution displays.

This makes sense. But I am a littled confused about why Apple introduced the new iPad mini with a Cataract Display[tm].

I also understand that Apple spinmods have no sense of humour.

--
When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.

No LTE, LG Display by Fnord666 · 2012-10-29 14:38 · Score: 1

the Nexus 4 appears to lack support for LTE and with a display from LG rather than Samsung I wonder just how good it will be.

--
'The tyrant will always find pretext for his tyranny.' - Aesop's Fables

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by ne0n · 2012-10-29 14:40 · Score: 1

Only the burn-in issue is specific to the MBP. Samsung panels are better than LG across the entire product lineup. Lately even fewer are winning the Macbook Air screen lottery, and if you get a Toshiba SSD with that junk LG screen you're SOL.

--
$ :(){ :|:& };:

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by ne0n · 2012-10-29 14:47 · Score: 1

Even if it did have a Pentile display, which it doesn't, I doubt you'd know from an unaided visual inspection. At 300DPI 99/100 of us need a loupe to tell if it's Pentile or RGB.

FYI only some of the SAMOLED screens are Pentile. All of Samsung's IPS/PLS panels are standard RGB.

--
$ :(){ :|:& };:

Good. by jonr · 2012-10-29 15:05 · Score: 1

I got a Galaxy Nexus for half the price. Can't wait until next year to get this phone for half price too...

Say goodbye to privacy by gay358 · 2012-10-29 21:05 · Score: 1

The push to cloud is making me sick. I suspect that the cloud providers may be data mining the data and of course USA government has more or less free access to the data which I would like to keep as private.

Re:Say goodbye to privacy by plover · 2012-10-30 08:48 · Score: 0

You only "suspect" your privacy is at stake? Dude, you should "know" your privacy is completely lost in the cloud. It's in the use agreements you checked "yes" to.
And just in case you doubt it, try a little test. A friend of mine was writing a short story that for some odd reason included a character eating "Spaghetti-O's". My friend is not normally partial to Spaghetti-O's, he does not eat Spaghetti-O's, he does not frequent the Spaghetti-O forums, and as a matter of fact has never really contemplated Spaghetti-O's in any way since childhood. Yet the day after tucking his Word document away in dropbox, he began seeing banner ads for - you guessed it - Spaghetti-O's. So pick a product, any product you don't normally buy, search for, or see ads for, and put it in a Word document in dropbox. See if your advertising shifts. Spaghetti-O's is random enough that it might be a good choice for you, too; or you could try mentioning gender-specific products designed for the opposite gender.
If Chef-Boy-R-Dee can buy a Google Adword for Spaghetti-O's, and can get notifications from "private" documents in the cloud, I suspect the DEA can buy adwords for illicit product names they're interested in. They could even open an on-line store and use adwords to entice people to visit their honeypot.
Earlier this year I asked an FBI agent if technology has made investigating easier or harder, and she immediately said "much easier!" All she has to do is look someone up on Facebook, and it's an up-to-date listing of known associates, complete with photographs. She can find stuff out in seconds that used to take them months of surveillance to piece together, and it doesn't even take a warrant or paperwork. It takes a mouse.
Note that these people did not have any privacy taken away from them. They voluntarily post this info online. It's not really Facebook's fault if the FBI reads the Facebook pages of dumb criminals.

--
John

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 22:33 · Score: 0

Yet text is far crisper and easier to read on the S3 because Apple doesn't know how to do sub-pixel hinting for reasons I can't comprehend

Well there are more pixels to begin with. Text sharpness have nothing to do with pixel density, and everything to do with the amount of pixels. Try to write a letter with only 4x4 pixels. It will look like crap no matter the size.

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by Psyborgue · 2012-10-29 23:49 · Score: 1

I think it's up to personal preference. I have a Samsung Galaxy S and personally I like the pentile pixel layout better. It looks somehow smoother to me. The pixels aren't square so it's a less "jagged" feel. That combined with it being an AMOLED display makes it very nice for reading text, and on a black background, very battery efficient.

faustt by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-29 23:50 · Score: 0

Niko_K Student Aug 23, 12, 11:03AM | #2
Joined: Aug 23, 12
Threads: 1
Posts: 5

Thanks for warning, Picky.
cybermediaboy Oct 16, 12, 04:12AM | #3
Joined: Jun 23, 08
Threads: 2
Posts: 201

Picky

Hello Picky,

In case you ever come back to check the replies to your post... it's a real shame for me to read this. Sorry.
Sometimes the writers (especially new ones) just take the orders without checking if they really have the access to the sources required to complete the paper. From next month on we will require a scanned title page of the book or publication from them, before we confirm we can do the order or assign the writer.

Hopefully, you will be the last person to run into such situation.

Sorry that you haven't posted your order number, and I can't check the situation further.
PLease mind that should you consider giving us yet another chance - you have a right to order 24 pages absolutely free from us, just contact the support officers and show them this post.

You are also eligible to use progressive delivery feature - that let's you receive and check part of your paper early - free of charge.

Best regards,
Eugene
Director of the company
editor75 Edited by: editor75 Oct 16, 12, 07:26AM | #4
Joined: Dec 18, 10
Threads: 9
Posts: 1,174

cybermediaboy:
PLease mind that should you consider giving us yet another chance

this from the scumbags who invented a "plagiarism detector" that steals the papers it's supposed to be "scanning." they are not here to help you.

customers and writers: if you see , or Academic Experts associated with anything, take note: these people are gangsters, and they will take your money.
cybermediaboy Oct 16, 12, 07:34AM | #5
Joined: Jun 23, 08
Threads: 2
Posts: 201

does not have anything to do with us last 3 years already. Originally it was our plagiarism detection engine, but later the guy who developed it left the company and settled his own business apart from us.
cybermediaboy Oct 16, 12, 07:36AM | #6
Joined: Jun 23, 08
Threads: 2
Posts: 201

And I doubt it steals any papers. As far as I know they don't have any database of prewritten papers, so no point in stealing anything. Do you have any evidence?
cybermediaboy Oct 16, 12, 07:42AM | #7
Joined: Jun 23, 08
Threads: 2
Posts: 201

Pointless discussion again. Sorry. I completely forgot that figting windmills is a waste of time. People just tend to judge things they have no idea about. I better get back to work.
editor75 Edited by: editor75 Oct 16, 12, 03:41PM | #8
Joined: Dec 18, 10
Threads: 9
Posts: 1,174

it's always good to see a scumbag thief get angry and start throwing out red herrings. tilting at windmills is one thing, but karma is truly a *****. cheers.
cybermediaboy Edited by: cybermediaboy Oct 17, 12, 03:58AM | #9
Joined: Jun 23, 08
Threads: 2
Posts: 201

I'm not a thief and I know that, neither we are scammers, and I am perfectly aware of that too, editor75, I think you have some problem with me which I can't understand, can you explain, what is it?

Have you been fired from or what? Just interesting, what makes people mad of us...
cybermediaboy Oct 17, 12, 04:04AM | #10
Joined: Jun 23, 08
Threads: 2
Posts: 201

Or you really believe we run m and steal papers from people who use it?
JohnsMom Oct 17, 12, 12:36PM | #11
Joined: Oct 6, 12
Posts: 106

You're withCorp? Isn't that the company that's trying to rip off this forum as we speak?
cybermediaboy Edited by: cybermediaboy Oct 18, 12, 03:23AM | #12
Joined: Jun 23, 08
Threads: 2
Posts: 201

If I wanted to do something bad to this forum, I would shut it down completely and erase all backups 2 years ago when an acquaintance of mine offered me full root admin access to the server where this forum is hosted.

What you refer to is a mistake someone from seo department did, we have taken the copy of the site down already. No harm was meant ne

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by Psyborgue · 2012-10-29 23:58 · Score: 1

No. Pentile RGBG is a pixel layout scheme almost always found on the display type: AMOLED. Apart from the Nexus One, S, and Galaxy Nexus, no Nexus devices feature this scheme.

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by halex-ab · 2012-10-30 00:19 · Score: 1

Those patents expired about two years ago, fortunately.

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by Quila · 2012-10-30 00:21 · Score: 1

And we're on 5th generation. I didn't realize they were still selling the old one.

Re:NFS? sshfs? by EmagGeek · 2012-10-30 04:02 · Score: 1

I would say little to none.

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by wiedzmin · 2012-10-30 05:04 · Score: 1

oh noes, it appears that I have angered the fanbois with mod points

--
Bow before me, for I am root.

Re:Are there any decent GSM providers in the state by True+Vox · 2012-10-30 23:23 · Score: 1

Well, I'm HOPING to get this phone, but not until it's available on Ting. Don't know when (or if) that will be, but that's what I'm waiting for. I prefer them to Virgin as they roam voice & text to Verizon (not data sadly). Virgin (another Sprint MVNO like Ting) doesn't roam.

The fact that their customer support is also WAY better doesn't hurt either. :)

If you wanna try Ting, feel free to use either twig.ting.com to get $50 off your first order, or, if you're feeling altruistic, my referal to get $25 off your order and me $25 off my bill. As someone who came from Virgin, I'm quite pleased with them. Depending on usage & service, though, YMMV (that is, if you're a HEAVY data user and Sprint gets great service in your area, you might be better off with Virgin).

--
"Gratuitous complexity is akin to chaos" - True Vox

Re:Nexus 4. The best new phone for 2010. by Bill_the_Engineer · 2012-10-31 01:25 · Score: 1

My theory about the delusions of Google fans is confirmed. Talk about the disappointing features of an Apple product then you're insightful. Talk ill of Google than you're a Troll.

--
These comments are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of my employer or colleagues...

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by Quila · 2012-10-31 04:26 · Score: 1

I've noticed if you have average or smaller hands, the larger screens are unusable with one hand. Note Apple's statement about the iPhone 5 screen, the area the average person can access with a thumb while holding the phone. The big screens of the competition, especially the quasi-tablet Note, were another thing that drove me to the iPhone when my last Android expired.

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by ne0n · 2012-10-31 08:25 · Score: 1

The Note can be used one-handed if your hands are average size. It has settings that enable the phone app, for example, to place all the numbers within reach of your dominant hand.

Obviously it's better to just get the phone that fits. I can't be bothered to muck about with a little iPhone when there are slightly larger devices with a much larger usable display.

--
$ :(){ :|:& };:

Re:Ugh, Pentile displays by Quila · 2012-11-01 04:12 · Score: 1

It has settings that enable the phone app, for example, to place all the numbers within reach of your dominant hand.

Nice kludge workaround for the fact that it's just too big to be a phone. I played with one in the store before buying the iPhone, instant reaction "You gotta be kidding me." Wife and kids got Android phones before that with 4" screens. I tried them, and they worked, but pushed the limits. I remember stating then that 4" is the biggest a phone can be and still be usable with one hand. Interestingly, that's the size Apple chose for the iPhone 5 ten months later.

Slashdot Mirror

Google Announces New Nexus Smartphone and Tablets

297 comments