Lollipop's and Androids (Welcoming All Geeks)

[GlockSpock]

FIRST, SOME BACKGROUND

 
My first ever smartphone was the original Motorola Droid. I loved the thing, especially the slide out keyboard. I quickly integrated it into my home setup, allowing SSH to my computer and server just because I could (was running Linux on both of those at the time). Eventually I was convinced to try rooting and custom ROM's. Wow, was I blown away! I could overclock (and underclock) the phone at my desire. It was awesome.

Eventually, I dropped the phone so many times that the power button would not allow me to wake or turn on the screen. I was due for an upgrade, so I went to Verizon and got the HTC Thunderbolt. Holy crap! This thing was 4G! I believe it was the first or one of the first 4G phones on Verizon, and I got it when 4G first came to Cleveland (we beat Chattanooga if I recall correctly). I was stunned. The connection speed was literally faster than my Charter Cable connection. It probably had higher latency by a few dozen milliseconds, but bandwidth exceeded Charter on all tests. That was because there were so few 4G devices.

I ended up buying a MBP (MacBook Pro) and loved it. I had always wanted a Mac but could not afford one until I received sufficient scholarship money for school. This was when the 4s just came out and Apple was first releasing "iCloud" services (sync, etc). I had to get an iPhone. So I sold the Thunderbolt and bought an iPhone 4.

Eventually I got rid of the iPhone 4 and went to a "dumb phone" for cost savings. It was ok I guess.

Once I reached a point in my life I felt I could justify it again with cost savings through a MVNO, I purchased an iPhone 4s and used it with PagePlus. This thing worked great and integrated with iCloud even more than previously and with my Apple TV perfectly. I dropped it in water and it still worked for a few months.

Since I was using a partially damaged phone, I purchased a Sprint Nexus 5 to use with Ting. I loved some things about it, being the first Android phone I had used in a number of years. But I was yearning to go back to iOS so everything would play nice.

Eventually I decided to purchase a Sprint iPhone 5 and use it with Ting. It would have worked, had I not been scammed on Craigslist into buying a phone with a defective logic board or screen (there is a thread on here somewhere for that).

I ended up sucking it up and finding an iPhone 5 on Ebay with Applecare. It worked fine with Ting. Then the lockscreen button stopped working and I went it to Apple and they sent me a refurbished phone for free. That's what I have now, a refurbished and 100% "mint" iPhone 5.

WHERE I AM NOW

Now, I own no home computer, just an Apple TV and my iPhone 5. I do have an Xbox One as well, and an Airport Extreme router (Apple's). There is also my Nest Thermostat (owned by Google now).

 

Some of my reasoning for doing so are:

 

• Pressy
• IFTTT (of course this works with iOS but Android integration is much deeper (IF I GET A TEXT MESSAGE, THEN THIS, etc )
• Tasker (Geeks Unite!)
• Wireless Charging
• Google Wallet/Pay
• Micro USB (Seriously, reversible lightning is great but the pricing is not)

Now, some reasons against me doing so are that I have ~120 movies I've purchased in the iTunes Store (sales, stuff like that. I probably have less that $5 in each movie. Of course these are locked to the Apple. Even though I know it is possible (and illegal), I don't want to get into stripping the DRM off them or anything like that.

 

Also, it is very nice to have a router that interfaces perfectly with your phone. The Apple TV is nice, yet I find myself using the Xbox One for Amazon Prime more often than not.

 

IF I make the switch, it would be all or nothing. New router, no Apple TV (possible switched with something in the future but would see how long the Xbox One would work).

 

For digital movies, thinking Ultraviolet  system may be better overall. For those unaware, Ultraviolet is simply a "locker" or database that keeps record of what movies you have. Then services, such as VUDU, connect to Ultraviolet and let you stream whatever movies you have. VUDU is technically, I believe, higher quality streams than Apple's. I could access the movies from the Xbox One, Android, etc etc. It is much more universally available.

 

So, I created this thread about Lollipop. Last time I used Android I think KitKat was just released. I realize not much has changed, but has anyone used a Nexus 5 with Lollipop? Bonus points if you are near Cleveland and want some one on one geek time.

 

[lunarpowered]

I used my coworkers Nexus 5 with Lollipop. Graphics are insanely smooth and I really enjoyed the new interface. He's having battery drain issues after upgrading to Android L though.

I personally have a Droid Maxx for the insane battery life. Still waiting on Lollipop for it, but hoping I don't have battery issues after.

[GlockSpock]

I used my coworkers Nexus 5 with Lollipop. Graphics are insanely smooth and I really enjoyed the new interface. He's having battery drain issues after upgrading to Android L though.

I personally have a Droid Maxx for the insane battery life. Still waiting on Lollipop for it, but hoping I don't have battery issues after.

 

Wish I could demo the Lollipop before jumping in again. Funny that Lollipop is supposed to provide:

 

Power for the long haul with a battery saver feature that extends your device by up to 90 minutes. And now it's easier to manage your power usage - see the estimated time left before you need to charge, and when you're charging, approximately how much time until it's topped up and ready to go.

 

But on the Nexus 5 it is draining it quicker. If I do it, I will probably try and stick with stock vanilla Android. Honestly it was partially all of the skins and "features" that pushed me away from Android and it was the vanilla Android that interests me again.

[No_0ne]

I had an 8 track player once, does that count ...

[Ted S.]

I had an 8 track player once, does that count ...

 

Probably more secure than todays technology.

[RED333]

HA, HA I still use a flip phone.

[btq96r]

I have a Nexus 5, but I run CyanogenMod instead of the software that Google would want me to have.  They hope to have their version of Lollipop out "to welcome the upcoming holidays and New Year."  So, I'll just be a patient boy until then, I suppose.

http://www.cyanogenmod.org/blog/cyanogenmod-11-m12

 

For those that are literate in the whole open source Android realm, I've been digging CyanogenMod ever since I flashed when I took my N5 out of the box.  It's a lot simpler to use than any of the developer kits to root your device (it does that automatically when it puts on the OS) and removes a lot of the "Google knows best" parts of the standard Android OS.  Bloatware, spyware, ect...it's in your interest to get rid as much of that stuff as you can.  I also add other privacy and security measures such as my VPN service, TextSecure, Red Phone and Avast. 

 

 

I used my coworkers Nexus 5 with Lollipop. Graphics are insanely smooth and I really enjoyed the new interface. He's having battery drain issues after upgrading to Android L though.

I personally have a Droid Maxx for the insane battery life. Still waiting on Lollipop for it, but hoping I don't have battery issues after.

 

I always go through and make sure there isn't any unnecessary power drain.  A lot of apps have to be told when and how to run.  I have a lot of them set to wi-fi only for most things, always turn off send usage stats so it isn't kept running in the background, and I keep my brightness at about half.  I have no problems getting through a standard day if I start it with a 100% charge.

[satalac]

Waiting on lollipop for my Moto X. Heard nothing but good things about it.

[div]

I'm using a OnePlus One with cyanogenmod currently, but I have several nexus devices as well. Will be installing L on them next week.

Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk

[enfield]

I may tell Google no thanks when it wants to upgrade my Nexus 7.  I've read that it's not an improvement on the 2012 Nexus 7, the fault being with the tablet.

 

By the way, I charge my flip phone once a week.  Neener neener!

Edited November 16, 2014 by enfield