The iPhone killer? A thread for Android phones

[RoboticMonk3y]

I was going to get rid of my phone and get a house phone until I realised that costs more each month than the £12 unlimited net and texts monthly deal I'm on. House phones should be free. FREE.

as well as paying BT each month, I also get the joy of them calling me once every 2 weeks telling me there are AMZING deals that I can take advantage of...

I've repeatedly and politely asked them to not call, and that I have no need for any of their other products, but they still call every other monday

[Uncle Dokuro]

I was wondering if anyone knew of a good Premier League app on Android. Ideally one that could stream live games and news, but will take live score and play-by-play updates if that all that's all I can get.

[DANGERMAN]

I use the ESPN Goals app for HT and FT highlights, I'm not sure whether that'll work for you though with the digital rights stuff

There are websites that let you stream games, it can be a bit fiddly on a phone/tablet. I've just tried https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.livefootballstream&feature=search_result'>This App and it works, but suffers from the same fiddly ads as if you'd just gone to the site yourself

[Uncle Dokuro]

I use the ESPN Goals app for HT and FT highlights, I'm not sure whether that'll work for you though with the digital rights stuff

There are websites that let you stream games, it can be a bit fiddly on a phone/tablet. I've just tried This App and it works, but suffers from the same fiddly ads as if you'd just gone to the site yourself

Thanks. I searched for ESPN Goals and it gave me ESPN FC app, which I installed. I'll give the other app a try too.

I have no issue getting local Earthquake games, but Dish Network want me to fork out extra cash to get Fox Soccer, Fox Soccer Plus, MLS Direct Kick and beIN Sports HD. So I'm hoping to go around this with apps and the intertubes.

[DANGERMAN]

you could google wiziwig, not that I ever use it to stream Fox Soccer

[RoboticMonk3y]

I charged the battery up when I got it, and it still says the battery is full! It has a light on the top, too. Well worth nineteen quid.

If it could do Twitter, I'd probably use it daily and get rid of the smartphone. And I'm kind of not joking.

Question about the nokia 100,

is it possible to set up parental controls/call barring?

I'm looking at getting the young one a phone and this one seems to be a prime candidate, but I don't want every number under the sun being dialled or texted.

[retroed]

I don't think the Nokia 100 can do that.

[Sly Reflex]

I updated my phones firmware last night to the latest windows patch. I've been putting it off a bit as last time I updated I noticed slowness in apps and stuff when the battery was low which bugged me a little.

Anyway, I hesitantly went for the upgrade and it's really nice. They've changed how the tiles look ever so slightly and done some tweaking and tuning, everything seems to run really smoothly. It even looks like they optimised battery life, I've hammered it today and it's still got 30% in the bar. It's not world changing and it seems a bit superfluous from a visual point of view, but whatever they did code wise has really seen an improvement. I've not noticed anything that'd piss me off yet with usability or performance.

Did you get the update illdog? Or are they rolling different updates for different models?

[Uncle Dokuro]

Why are we talking about the Windows Phone in a thread about phones that are better then the iPhone? I kid you Sly.

[Uncle Dokuro]

Android news from Google I/O 2013 event in San Francisco

Google Play Game Service (integrated with Google+, Cloud Support Achievements and Leaderboards)

http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/Android/Choose+a+company+Google+Play+Games+Service/news.asp?c=50915

Overhauled Google Maps for Android

http://techcrunch.com/2013/05/15/deep-dive-with-the-new-google-maps-for-desktop-with-google-earth-integration-its-more-than-just-a-utility/

Google to sell an unlocked S4 through its store with out the Samsung software bloat

http://techcrunch.com/2013/05/15/google-to-begin-offering-unlocked-samsung-galaxy-s4-with-stock-android-for-649-on-june-26/

Google unifies text and video with Google Hangouts for android, Gmail and G+

http://techcrunch.com/2013/05/15/google-hangouts-messaging-app/

Google Now getting new card reminders

http://techcrunch.com/2013/05/15/google-now-gets-new-cards-for-reminders-music-public-transit-tv-books-and-video-games/

[DANGERMAN]

wonder how long it'll take for the update to roll out to everyone...

The S4 thing is a good idea, I don't really have a problem with Samsung's bumpf on the S3, I think it at least looks better than stock Android, and I probably wouldn't buy a new phone outright, but it's still a decent idea.

I also really like the Google Now cards, but it does need some new ones to make it actually useful. Mine currently tells me what the weather is, when United play, and how long it takes me to get to/from work, which I already know. I'd love it if it did start popping up with what games are coming out and reminders for tv (non-sponsored of course)

[Uncle Dokuro]

Not sure when all the updates will roll out, but the Google Music All Access, G+ update and Racer: A Chrome Experiment are live right now.

[Uncle Dokuro]

Here a full list of everything that was shown at day of of Google I/O 2013. Apparently now in Gmail you send really money as attachments via Google Wallet.

http://www.omgchrome.com/google-io-2013-day-1-recap/

Also, for those that use Google Keep on Android you can now have a semi-native Keep app on your desktop by following these steps.

1.) Get Google Keep from the Chrome Store

2.) On your Chrome Browser right click the Keep web app and select Create shortcut

3.) Click where you want Google Keep to be placed pinned to taskbar, start menu or desktop.

4.) Click on Keep to view your notes on your desktop in a semi-native app that is not dependent on Chrome.

Google said more semi-native apps are coming soon. Hopefully Google Docs and Calender are among those.

[Uncle Dokuro]

Google Hangouts is now available. Go to the google play store and download hangouts. It will replace the Gtalk app on your phone.

Also, go to the Chrome store in your chrome browser and you can download the Google Hangout extension to your browser.

[Jimboxy]

Ok droid folks. Which handsets do you have, how long have they lasted and would you recommend them?

Also, app suggestions as well.

[spatular]

I have an Xperia play, nearly 2 years old, battery probably needs replacing, bout £5 from eBay. I think it's great. But i guess you're looking for more recent ones, so good luck with the hunt Actually recently realising mine can't do miracast I might want a new one now too.

[DANGERMAN]

I've got an S3, had it just less than a year and a half. In terms of power and features yeah, it's still more than holding it's own, I dare say anything the S4 could do the S3 could do if Samsung wanted to update the software. It can go a bit funny sometimes but I think that was largely down to Opera and the amount of gifs on the forums I visit. And as a bit of a double edged sword, it's quite a slippy phone, so I've dropped it quite a few times, however the worst that's happened to it is the 'silver' bezel around the rim of the phone is tatty, the screen itself is damn near bullet proof *touches all the wood*

as for apps, I don't know what you want. I've used Plume as a twitter app for years and it's great, I can't remember the differences between the paid and free versions but I don't feel bad about paying. Same with Swiftkey as a keyboard, I know paying for a keyboard seems a bit needless but honestly it's the best touchscreen keyboard I've used, it's not perfect (it won't put swearing as the first choice suggestion for some reason), but it makes the default android keyboard, the ios keyboard, and the WiiU keyboard all seem unusable in comparison

[halfagogo]

a vote for the s3 here, absolutely love mine but to be honest im currently on the hunt for a replacement but after having a go on one, do not want an s4 (mostly due to the increased size (s3 size is perfections).

also: otterbox cases - just the best.

[Jimboxy]

Well it's between the s4, lg g2 And htc one. So far I'm leaning towards the htc one, mainly because it's not as over sized as the other two and astecitcally it looks nice (even though it will the sheathed at the first opportunity) I was leaning towards the G2 but the lock button and volume controls are on the underside of the phone and I can't decide if that's great or really awkward.

[regemond]

I'd say not to go for the S4. As Dangerman said, the S3 could do 90% of what the 4 does. I really like the look of the Sony Experia Z, but between the HTC One and the G2 I'd probably say the One. One of the biggest issues with the G2 is that all the buttons are on the back, rather than the sides which can make it really awkward at first. Apparently once you're used to it it's a great feature, but until then it's more than a little annoying. Just noticed you said pretty much the same thing, but I'm too lazy to delete...

One of my mates just switched from iPhone to the HTC One and after getting used to the differences between Android and iOS he's completely sold on it. Best phone he's had apparently.