Ok, who has a new phone? Looking to upgrade

[JustRalph]

Ok......... I am looking really hard at the Samsung GalaxyIII.

I can get an Evo 4LTE on Amazon for .02 cents with a 2 yr contract.

Maybe going to wait for the Galaxy Note II with 5.5 inch screen. I have very old eyes.

Anybody have either of the above or any recommendations?

[Canarsie]

Ok......... I am looking really hard at the Samsung GalaxyIII.

I can get an Evo 4LTE on Amazon for .02 cents with a 2 yr contract.

Maybe going to wait for the Galaxy Note II with 5.5 inch screen. I have very old eyes.

Anybody have either of the above or any recommendations?


I have the S3 Verizon version and really like it. There are a few apps that duplicate Siri that work rather well. Web access is fast with 4G or using a router.

Video from NYRA and Woodbine is crystal clear. Wagering on 4NJBets isn't as easy using a desktop or tablet but that's more on an indictment on the ADW. They haven't updated the interface in years if I could legally drop them would do so in a split second.

Bookmarks from Chrome and Firefox are a breeze to use with sync and Dropbox has never failed me. I prefer the Dolphin Browser but there are many choices. Reading a book on it isn't too bad never thought I would want to on a small screen. But when my back acts up it becomes a good way to pass time on something that isn't too heavy while lying down.

It will take up to a 64k sim card so there aren't major storage concerns. Of course it can be rooted that shouldn't be a problem for you with your expertise.


Calls are crystal clear and rarely dropped. Usually its on the other end if it happens and the carrier is ATT.

[JustRalph]

Damn fine info, thanks very much. :ThmbUp:

[Stillriledup]

I have a new (soon to be old!) Iphone and probably won't be switching anytime soon. Every electronic thing i own is Apple. I think i own one of everything they have out there on the market.

[Canarsie]

Damn fine info, thanks very much. :ThmbUp:

Glad to assist here's a forum which can answer most of the questions posted by all types of users. At the bottom of the page there is a link that takes you to the S3 forum.

They are excellent about releasing info about rooting and who is getting ICS or Jellybean next.

http://androidforums.com/

[OverlayHunter]

Canarsie -

Can you please share which Verizon plan you have with that and what it costs.

[Canarsie]

Canarsie -

Can you please share which Verizon plan you have with that and what it costs.


Sure I'm on the 2 GB data plan everything else status quo for the rest of the family and my dad. My wife and son have unlimited data till they get a new phone or choose to pay full retail for the unit. Any subsidy by Verizon and they have to go on a shared plan.

When I bought the Galaxy they told me that my fathers phone would now cost $30 instead of $10 but that didn't happen. His phone has no internet but I'm going to buy him a smartphone because once he heard he can talk into it he was sold. When I asked Veriaon about an early upgrade for him (he has a few months left) they told me it could be waved for an upgrade purchase. That took me two or three representatives to confirm it but every phone conversation is recorded they would be stuck.

Most of my data usage is either at a hotspot or through my router. It's only a month but I never came close to using a gig. It's set up to update only through wi fi that's the smart way to go.

I used my wife's phone for NFL Red Zone and it worked great all season. You can connect it to a tv with an phone to hdmi cable

By costs do you mean just my phone or all of them on the plan? My total bill with taxes for all the units is around $236.

I'm really pleased with the S3 have over 100 apps on it and there's still 10 gb of storage on a 16 gb unit left. I put off buying a sim card because I'm debating 32 or 64 gb still haven't decided.

[OverlayHunter]

Canarsie,

Thanks for the information. Very helpful.

[raybo]

I recently bought a Samsung Galaxy Note clone phone/tablet from China, through Everbuying.com, for $162 with free 3 day shipping.

It has a 5" touch screen, 1.2 Ghz processor, Wifi access plus WiFi Hotspot creation (to power your netbook/laptop when a public WiFi signal is not available. It runs Android 4.0.3, with all the bells and whistles. It is a dual SIM phone so you can have 2 service providers or 2 phone numbers. It's ATT/T-Mobile compatible or you can use any network that accepts GSM or WCDMA SIMs, unlocked for international use. I use the StraightTalk $45 unlimited talk, text, and data prepaid plan and it works fine.

It didn't come with an "S-pen", for note taking, but you can purchase those cheap, anywhere that sells them.

As long as you can get a 3G signal you're set, for talk, text, and data, or any cell signal for talk and text only.

No complaints so far!

[TexasDolly]

Raybo, who is your plan with for $45 ?
Also is it extra to run the laptop from the wifi ?
Thanks Ray,
TD

[raybo]

Raybo, who is your plan with for $45 ?
Also is it extra to run the laptop from the wifi ?
Thanks Ray,
TD

Straight Talk (get it at Walmart or anywhere that sells prepaid cards, or Straighttalk.com). There is no extra charge for running the wifi hotspot, but word of warning, running it will use your battery pretty heavily, that's why they sent me 2 batteries with the phone I guess.

[pktruckdriver]

This is very helpful as I used to use verizon to get online with my laptop, but at 75.00 and with limits it got too much.

I currently use Straightalk , but with a barebones phone.

How do you get your own phone to sync up with Straighttalk, I thought you needed to buy their phones.

I too Pay 45 a month, but have no wifi hotspot, as my phone does not hae the capablity, just email checking, etc...

You got link to where you got the phone, Sir?

Great stuff


Patrick


PS, if you have the phone being charged , the wifi still works , no?

Also is it true Wifi, or does it affect your data plan, as Verizon'x u,imited was really on 5G of downloads, not truly unlimited, is Straightalk??

[TexasDolly]

Thanks Ray,apparently they use ATT/Tmobile so they should have good coverage.
TD

[raybo]

This is very helpful as I used to use verizon to get online with my laptop, but at 75.00 and with limits it got too much.

I currently use Straightalk , but with a barebones phone.

How do you get your own phone to sync up with Straighttalk, I thought you needed to buy their phones.

I too Pay 45 a month, but have no wifi hotspot, as my phone does not hae the capablity, just email checking, etc...

You got link to where you got the phone, Sir?

Great stuff


Patrick


PS, if you have the phone being charged , the wifi still works , no?

Also is it true Wifi, or does it affect your data plan, as Verizon'x u,imited was really on 5G of downloads, not truly unlimited, is Straightalk??

Patrick,

I think this is the link to the phone I bought, they have so many it's tough finding exactly the same one, but this one looks like the one I have: http://www.everbuying.com/product150056.html

Yes, you can be charging and use any of the phone's features, including the WiFi Hotspot (probably ideal so your battery stays charged while doing that). With Straight Talk, you can use one of many networks, as they use almost anyone's towers/signals. There is no extra charge for using the Hotspot feature, you're just using the cell signal as you would for any other data usages, $45 per month unlimited everything. Straight Talk started the "bring your own phone" program several months ago. The phone you use just has to be either ATT/T-mobile compatible or an unlocked GSM/WCDMA SIM card phone, which this one is an unlocked GSM/WCDMA SIM phone.

It also has analog TV, however it doesn't work in the States because we went digital on all our TV broadcasts. I wish it had the "S-Pen" instead of the TV antenna, like the Galaxy Note has, but carrying an "S-Pen" separately isn't that big a deal, for writing on the screen making notes, etc..

Make sure you ask for the English User's Manual at check-out, if you bug the phone, otherwise you'll get a Chinese one and that one, unless you read Chinese, is worthless. But it's Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, so you can download the PDF Android 4.0 user's manual which gives most of the features you'll use on the phone.

I have been unable to find a gel cover for the phone so far but I'm assuming someone will make them once the sales of these new phones reaches a certain level. It comes with a removeable rear plastic cover.

It has an 8 MP back camera and a .3 MP front camera and takes great pictures! Of course you can download any of the thousands of apps designed for Android devices.

All in all, for the price, I can't see anyone beating this deal, at present.

[raybo]

Thanks Ray,apparently they use ATT/Tmobile so they should have good coverage.
TD

Yeah, they use multiple networks for their signals, I think Verizon is the only major one that they don't get. I use ATT 3G most of the time, but if I hit a dead spot, with my phone I can just do a search for a signal and select whichever one that is available.

I really think this is the way the industry is going, any device any signal, any usage. The future looks very good, and appears to be getting cheaper, at least in the near term, due to all the competition offering cheap unlimited "pay as you go" prepaid plans. I've never signed a contract with any network, only prepaid plans, waiting for the time when those prepaid companies would offer the deal I wanted which several have done in the last couple of years. Now, with the sharing of towers/signals it's all good.

[JustRalph]

Finally pulled the trigger

Ordered a Galaxy S3 from Amazon wireless on a new contract from Verizon

$99 bucks.......had to grab it........should be here Monday


Canarsie, thanks again......

[fast4522]

Great phone, it does everything we want and still learning. Battery life is not that great but genuine Samsung accessory's dirt cheep via the internet. Our phone is with Sprint because we get a 24 % employment discount on the 2 year contract. I got the phone for $150 at BJ's and BJ's gave us a $40 rebate off that, plus my company refunded the activation fee to boot.

[JustRalph]

Just bought some NFC tags to play with. I can see some great uses for me when it comes to these programmable NFC tags.

About a buck a piece and re usable.

Btw, you iphone guys, skip the NFC discussion. Iphones don't have it. Get back in line with your parents :lol: :lol:

[Canarsie]

Finally pulled the trigger

Ordered a Galaxy S3 from Amazon wireless on a new contract from Verizon

$99 bucks.......had to grab it........should be here Monday


Canarsie, thanks again......

You made a wise choice that you won't regret. The only app I would like to have that is not available Horse Racing Now by McPeek.

As soon as it arrives make sure you get Dolphin Jetpack app right away its the best browser out there. Thank heavens for HTML5 its the replacement for Flash or Silverlight.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dolphin.browser.engine&hl=en


I used to get Woodbine video directly from their site and then they switched to Silverlight and poof it wasn't available.. With Jetpack and MX video player (really great app) and the codecs available everything is back to normal.

https://play.google.com/store/search?q=mx+video+player&c=apps

I would get an extra battery or accessories off Ebay they are really cheap and power can drain if you are using a lot of video. The phone uses the industry standard micro usb charger so you might have some lying around.

I have Seekdroid on there just in case the phone is lost or there is urgency to wipe out the data which thankfully has never happened.

http://www.androidauthority.com/best-android-apps-privacy-security-98118/

Best of luck with you new gadget.

[Relwob Owner]

Ok......... I am looking really hard at the Samsung GalaxyIII.

I can get an Evo 4LTE on Amazon for .02 cents with a 2 yr contract.

Maybe going to wait for the Galaxy Note II with 5.5 inch screen. I have very old eyes.

Anybody have either of the above or any recommendations?


JR,

I held off on getting an iPhone forever, even though people told me how great they were. I broke down about a year ago and could not be happier. I now have an iPad, an MacBook Air and Apple TV and could not be happier.

Good luck with your search.

[JustRalph]

JR,

I held off on getting an iPhone forever, even though people told me how great they were. I broke down about a year ago and could not be happier. I now have an iPad, an MacBook Air and Apple TV and could not be happier.

Good luck with your search.

I love IOS. Have multiple Ipads and also a Motorola Zoom 10 inch tablet that runs Android. My wife has a blackberry issued by her employer.

I also have an Apple TV and two Roku boxes. I dabble in all of it.

The wife is now hooked on Pandora radio. Had to put a radio in her BMW last week and they now have car radios that have Pandora controls built in. She is loving it.

It's an interesting time we live in. To quote Yakov Smirnoff, "what a country"

The wife carries an Ipad to work now and her company is about to change her to an Iphone 5. Should be an easy transition.

[HoofedInTheChest]

Just bought some NFC tags to play with. I can see some great uses for me when it comes to these programmable NFC tags.

About a buck a piece and re usable.

Btw, you iphone guys, skip the NFC discussion. Iphones don't have it. Get back in line with your parents :lol: :lol:
You bought yourself a great phone, but i hear the next generation S3 is the one to wait for, it sounds like a real game changer. My contract is up with my iPhone and i am sitting on the fence, i am leaning toward the S3 but i might hold out till they release the next generation next summer.

As far as NFC goes, it's to early in the inception to get all hot and fuzzy about it, retailers and banks still need to come up to speed but it is one of the coolest ideas i have come across in along time, the possibilities are endless. The iPhone has "Passbook", which works along the same lines but with no Tags required, but again it is in it's infancy with only a handfull of vendors supporting it. Time will tell....

Enjoy your new phone, you might want to invest in a second battery.

[raybo]

You made a wise choice that you won't regret. The only app I would like to have that is not available Horse Racing Now by McPeek.

As soon as it arrives make sure you get Dolphin Jetpack app right away its the best browser out there. Thank heavens for HTML5 its the replacement for Flash or Silverlight.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dolphin.browser.engine&hl=en


I used to get Woodbine video directly from their site and then they switched to Silverlight and poof it wasn't available.. With Jetpack and MX video player (really great app) and the codecs available everything is back to normal.

https://play.google.com/store/search?q=mx+video+player&c=apps

I would get an extra battery or accessories off Ebay they are really cheap and power can drain if you are using a lot of video. The phone uses the industry standard micro usb charger so you might have some lying around.

I have Seekdroid on there just in case the phone is lost or there is urgency to wipe out the data which thankfully has never happened.

http://www.androidauthority.com/best-android-apps-privacy-security-98118/

Best of luck with you new gadget.

Since you brought up Dolphin, I've been thinking about getting it. I am running ICS, Android 4.0.3 and have been using the default Android browser.

I assume I need to download the Dolphin browser first, then download Dolphin Jetpack?

Once I get them downloaded and installed, what else am I going to have to do to transition from the Android browser to Dolphin? Will I have to setup my favorites, user names, passwords, etc., again, or will they somehow get synced to Dolphin?

I read some of the reviews for Jetpack and most were good but several said it actually slowed things down, or wouldn't work at all. Seems most of those were Android or Dolphin version problems.

[Relwob Owner]

I love IOS. Have multiple Ipads and also a Motorola Zoom 10 inch tablet that runs Android. My wife has a blackberry issued by her employer.

I also have an Apple TV and two Roku boxes. I dabble in all of it.

The wife is now hooked on Pandora radio. Had to put a radio in her BMW last week and they now have car radios that have Pandora controls built in. She is loving it.

It's an interesting time we live in. To quote Yakov Smirnoff, "what a country"

The wife carries an Ipad to work now and her company is about to change her to an Iphone 5. Should be an easy transition.


Sorry, I missed your post that you got one....good luck!

[Canarsie]

Since you brought up Dolphin, I've been thinking about getting it. I am running ICS, Android 4.0.3 and have been using the default Android browser.

I assume I need to download the Dolphin browser first, then download Dolphin Jetpack?



Once I get them downloaded and installed, what else am I going to have to do to transition from the Android browser to Dolphin? Will I have to setup my favorites, user names, passwords, etc., again, or will they somehow get synced to Dolphin?



I read some of the reviews for Jetpack and most were good but several said it actually slowed things down, or wouldn't work at all. Seems most of those were Android or Dolphin version problems.


I'm almost positive you need both as they compliment each other. I have six in a folder though Dolphin has become my steady girlfriend. Chrome refuses to load some pages and can be extremely slow. Firefox needs some improvements also but Opera is very good.


I know this syncs bookmarks not sure of passwords that's something I want to manually.

http://dolphin-browser.com/add-ons/tools/xmarks-for-dolphin-browser-hd/

One of the cool things about the Play store is you can set an option to your model only along with latest version. When a person gives it one or two stars my hunch is a competitor is posting or a person who is really overwhelmed. If it's three stars and a case is made further review might be necessary. I set up a Twitter column just for tech stuff so it's easy to refer to. Most of the Android sites rave about it after putting it through tests.

[Canarsie]

Another great app is Nova Launcher Prime which is great for using Widgets and customizing all sorts of stuff. They also have an ad supported version. It's like getting five addition screens to put your favorite apps on.

http://www.androidcentral.com/nova-launcher-prime-android-app-review

[HoofedInTheChest]

Here is a good app for preserving your battery life. The Pro version is the one to get and it's only a couple of bucks.

2X Battery app by Sam Lu

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.a0soft.gphone.aDataOnOff&hl=en

[judd]

allways had a blackberry--my choice:ThmbUp: