Brian Fowler Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 Yeah, I think that's definitely from whatever the previous owner did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raziel Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 Craig, Head over to the XDA Dev's forums for the Note 4. There'll be step by step instructions on how to restore the phone back to full factory default (and give you helpful links to the stock kernal and OS's.) http://forum.xda-developers.com/ That's where I got the stuff when I was rooting and such on my S3. Since going to S5, AT&T locked the damn bootloader so no easy rooting, and since I got tired of waiting for the OTA to Lollipop and pulled it down and sideloaded it, there's no way to root a S5 on Lollipop yet. But its easy enough to turn off the bloatware that its not bugging me that much running stock,. Although my wife's Moto X running stock Lollipop is making me jealous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabe Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 If you have terrible, useless tablets laying around, you can get $50 credit for them at Best Buy. Tough luck Nook owners, they're the exception and are not taken. I just traded in a Kindle Fire - the first one - and got the $50. Not bad for something just laying on a shelf. You also get a $150 coupon for a Surface Pro 3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Fowler Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 Hm... Fifty bucks for my kindle fire HD 7 is tempting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Fowler Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 Apparently the real best buy in Midland closed, and the hour+ each way drive to Saginaw or Lansing is discouraging. Wonder if they do it at the mobile+ stores or only the full locations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Fowler Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 For anyone that might still want one, the OnePlus One is now officially going open without invitations. However the OnePlus Two will have the invitation system again at launch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petey Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Man...the camera on this Note 4 is a piece of shit. Reviews said the camera was really goods and about on par with the iPhone. Not even close. Maybe it's just my phone, though. Basically, on my iPhone, I could keep tapping the screen to take pictures and it was incredibly fast. It would take a picture for any time you tapped the screen. With the Note 4, you tap, and wait, tap, and wait, and wait, etc. I turned on busy mode where you hold down the shutter button, but that's not even close to what a burst mode is. It's so fucking slow. Even with a .1 second delay set it takes already a second or longer to take pictures. Then it takes for fucking ever to process them. The one time I held down the shutter for awhile and it snapped off two pictures! What a bunch of bullshit. Then there's the quality of the pictures, which is fucking terrible. It's like there is a muppet filet on that makes everything look fuzzy. If it isn't that, then there's a ton of grain in the shot. This is indoor, but I've noticed it outdoors as well. You can barely even take a picture indoors. Even if the room is well lit the pictures comes out blurry since it's taking forever to take the shot. It's all very frustrating because coming from the iPhone, shit just worked. I didn't have to fuck around with a bunch of settings to get things to work somewhat properly. I have the full version of Camera Zoom FX and some other popular camera apps, but it's the same thing each time. There's other issues with this phone add well, like it gets way bogged down sometimes. Chrome and Firefox both can be very laggy. In Facebook, if i click on an article to read it, half of the time I came even read the article because it either freezes up or scrolling is barely responsive. One thing I keep coming back to its that the previous owner rooted the phone. I can't tell if everything else is stock or not. I mean, I think the phone doesn't have a different kernel, but I don't know where I would find out what the stock kernel is. Would it be a good idea to factory reset the device and then flash the phone to un-root it? I'm just not sure what else it would be. Every review I saw made it sound like these issues should not be happening and it's just a daily frustration for me. I'm almost half tempted to sell the thing and then buy an iPhone 6+. I really like other aspects of the phone so if I can fix this then I'd rather do that. Craig, is your phone rooted? If so, is the rom you're running Touch Wiz based or is it based off stock Android? If it's stock Android, that ruins Samsung's processing that makes the camera good quality. Also, the browser consensus is Chrome beta over regular Chrome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Lucia Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 The Kindle Fire HD 7" is on sale right now on Amazon for $79 (which is $60 off). Just grabbed one, a case, and the "ad free" gimmick (my friend didn't, and it drives her crazy) for still a good $20 less than what the damn thing would have cost normally. This will end up being more of an "around the house" tablet, with my Surface functioning as an on the road/work mini-PC of sorts. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig H Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Regarding my phone, it's only rooted. There's no different ROM on there as far as I know. What is the factory ROM used for the Note 4? And I didn't know that about Chrome Beta. I was using Firefox, but I uninstalled that last night. It crashed constantly. Is there a reason why Chrome Beta works better? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misanthrope304 Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 FWIW....I've got three kindles (hdx, hd6 and hd7, I also got my mom an 8.9 hdx)...the only time you see the ad's are on the lockscreen, sometimes they're for shit you might actually buy, like a $79 kindle, fwiw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misanthrope304 Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 It pains me to say it, but if you want a camera that Just Works, Apple is your best bet by far. my S5 works like a charm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Fowler Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 I have zero issues with my G3's camera, but I'm not that fussed about cameras. My Kindle Fire HD 7 has the lock screen adds, my HDX 8.9 doesn't. It's a mild annoyance, but not a huge deal breaker. But when I was buying a 455 dollar device anyway, the extra 15 bucks didn't seem like a big deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petey Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 Regarding my phone, it's only rooted. There's no different ROM on there as far as I know. What is the factory ROM used for the Note 4? And I didn't know that about Chrome Beta. I was using Firefox, but I uninstalled that last night. It crashed constantly. Is there a reason why Chrome Beta works better? I don't know how to check on TouchWiz, but if you go to Settings ---> About Phone on stock Android, there's usually info somewhere on that screen that shows if it's a custom rom. And I don't know exactly why Chrome Beta works better. You'd think it'd be the opposite but apparently not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Fowler Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 I really liked chrome beta until they removed the tabs button. Having to open recent apps to switch tabs broke the entire experience for me. If that ever becomes unable to turn off in regular chrome, then firefox will be my new default mobile browser. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glfpunk Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 My Oneplus One camera is perfectly acceptable. Also no waiting. Tap the button, instant picture. Pretty much a necessity if you have kids since they never sit still. Phone is still going strong and battery life is fantastic. I've owned a lot of phones and this is the best by far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig H Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 You can turn that feature off. When you're in Chrome Beta, just go to Settings and there's a menu item in there labeled "Merge tabs and apps." Turn that off. It works the same in Beta that it does in regular Chrome. I didn't like that feature either so I turned it off. So yeah, I did make the switch to Chrome Beta. Seems to run about the same, but the Bookmarks look better, I guess. I still get the same issues I get with other browsers, like when I go to AndroidCentral.com, that freezes up the browser. Same with other websites. It's not all websites, it's not even all websites with Javascript, but I'd say half run like shit. It also looks like I am just rooted, I'm not using a different ROM. Regarding the camera, I turned off the HD mode for burst shots and now it functions like a real burst mode. I tried comparing the image quality between HD mode and non-HD mode burst shots and I couldn't really see much of a difference. The phone also does some strange things in displaying the photo taken. Sometimes it looks pretty sharp and clear. Other times it has something that looks like a fuzzy filter on it that I mentioned before. I've yet to upload these into Lightroom on my computer to take a closer look, so it's possible the phone is compressing the photo when it's displaying it. I wish there were a way to shoot in RAW format, but oh well. I also wish I wasn't so particular about the camera, but photography is something of a hobby and a love. I can't always bust out my D-SLR, and it feels impractical to carry a point and shoot camera with me, so I'd like my phone to at least be up to snuff. I still may re-sell it, sell some Magic cards, and then get an iPhone 6+, but I really like the S Pen. Drawing and taking notes with it is really satisfying. About as good as my Wacom tablet really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petey Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 Craig, I think there's something wrong with your phone. Simple stuff like loading websites should not be freezing. I could see if you were using a Galaxy Nexus, but you're running a top tier phone. Even my 2013 Moto X had no real performance issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glfpunk Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Yep. If you search it, the galaxy devices usually have a good amount of defective devices in circulation due to them churning them out so quickly. That said, they should make it right if you bring it to their attention and send you a replacement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig H Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 I bought it from someone on Swappa:/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 If you have terrible, useless tablets laying around, you can get $50 credit for them at Best Buy. Tough luck Nook owners, they're the exception and are not taken. I just traded in a Kindle Fire - the first one - and got the $50. Not bad for something just laying on a shelf. You also get a $150 coupon for a Surface Pro 3. Interesting. May have to wipe ole Bessie (my Acer Iconia) and say goodbye... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolfan in NYC Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Okay, so a couple of days with my new S6 Edge, some notes. Holding it feels weird, but in a good way. I'm so used to the plastic feel of my S4, I'm not used to this one yet. That said, the word I'd use to describe it is "futuristic", like I'm holding a glass tablet. And even saying that belies the fact that it feels 100% solid in my hands. The Edge itself looks very cool, but isn't really all that functional. I haven't tried out the night clock yet. I'd imagine someone is going to make an app or something to make it more useful in the 2 years I'll probably have this phone. It is by far the fastest phone I've ever had. Apps open quickly, games are super responsive, Netflix loaded like lightning, same with Twitch. The camera is really, really nice. The selfie cam is a massive upgrade on any self-facing camera I've seen. Very sharp and clear pictures even in low light. The regular camera has some wonderful, rich tones. Image stabilization is very apparent and appreciated. Any questions, let me know. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glfpunk Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 I'll probably be looking at an S6 or a Oneplus Two in a few months for the wife since my attempt at replacing the cracked screen on her One resulted in me fucking it up beyond all fucking repair. Oh well. She's been using my old Nexus 5 and the battery is garbage since it got 5.1. Edit: scratch that. Found the part I fucked up online and ordered it. Her phone will be back in business soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Fowler Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 If it comes to Sprint and reviews well, the Huawei P8 Max had jumped to the top of my want list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Fowler Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 So, according to Display Mate, the Apple Watch Sport glass display is notably better than the sapphire screens on the more expensive regular Apple Watch and absurdly expensive Apple Watch Edition. (Also, if I didn't mention it before, CHRIST those names are bad.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincey Greene Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 I'll have an LG G4 with the black leather back, please and thank you. (I'll actually keep my Xperia z3 because buying every phone I want would be crazy expensive. Looks really good.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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