What Android is closest to iPhone 4S?

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#572550 23-Jan-2012 22:21

Kumquat, I love that name

DrStrangelove

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#572588 24-Jan-2012 06:11

Yes, the phone name is a bit rude.

But hay I think your XPERIA Ray has GLONASS. That sounds rude too.

It's the Russian equivalent of GPS. This as I read it, means you get a few more satellites to play with, which betters your GPS/GLONASS positioning.

I used Google Maps, GPS and the talking person who lives inside the phone to 'map' a path to a restaurant approx 10km away and every approach to a turn was announced and the turn left/right was a few metres from each turn. When I got to the turnoff for the restaurant I thought the whole map/GPS thing had failed me, but just as I turned into the drive the phone announced, you have arrived at your destination. Freaky, one almost wanted to get out of the car and check if there was someone sitting in a sofa on top of the car.

And that's using an old banger Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10i

So with an XPERIA Ray you should have three red dots on your forehead everywhere you go.

"Where are you going?" - Blade Runner.

kiwitrc

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#572602 24-Jan-2012 07:51

Kumquat is a fruit.

lyonrouge

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#572611 24-Jan-2012 08:50

A feature I like on the Xperia Ray that is not on my Galaxy S2 is the media launcher

However, the S2 has a toggle in the notification area, which the Ray does not

S2 Toggle

NZtechfreak

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#572633 24-Jan-2012 10:10

Lyonrouge: if you want notification toggles use Widgetsoid :)

I missed them in my Galaxy Nexus so tracked down an app to provide them.

Twitter: @nztechfreak
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lyonrouge

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#572643 24-Jan-2012 10:31

NZtechfreak: Lyonrouge: if you want notification toggles use Widgetsoid :)

I missed them in my Galaxy Nexus so tracked down an app to provide them.

does Widgetsoid add toggle widgets or alter the notification bar?

NZtechfreak

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#572688 24-Jan-2012 12:28

In the notification drawer, like this:

Twitter: @nztechfreak
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Quic Broadband

Move to New Zealand's best fibre broadband service (affiliate link). Free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE. Note that to use Quic Broadband you must be comfortable with configuring your own router.

lyonrouge

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#572721 24-Jan-2012 13:14

Thanks (I started watching the demo video but 20 minutes was too long for work time).

lyonrouge

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#574894 30-Jan-2012 12:20

A firmware advantage of the Xperia ray over the Galaxy S2 is that I connect via USB without having to disable BlueTooth, I wonder if this is a Samsung thing or a variation between 2.3.3 (S2) and the 2.3.4 (ray)?

DrStrangelove

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#575562 31-Jan-2012 21:41

lyonrouge: A firmware advantage of the Xperia ray over the Galaxy S2 is that I connect via USB without having to disable BlueTooth, I wonder if this is a Samsung thing or a variation between 2.3.3 (S2) and the 2.3.4 (ray)?

ah, going off like a frog in a sock; Internet radio via WiFi, with Bluetooth A2DP streamed to some man size speakers, while 'editing' my phones sdcard on my notebook via USB.

I thought everyone could/did. Maybe not the frog bit, but the USB/Bluetooth/WiFi combination.

Have an XPERIA X10i v2.3.3 and it can use Bluetooth while the sdcard is exclusively used via USB on another device.

Just have to make sure your 'Bluetooth' required apps are on the phone and NOT on the sdcard, as the sdcard is mounted exclusively via USB and anything attached to it dies/stops while out of use.

Could this be what's happening on the Samsung S2?

Exclusive write just protects against write locks/corruption if both phone and ..say notebook are attempting to access the same files at the same time on the sdcard.

Bit odd if Bluetooth's not usable in conjunction with USB, cause if you had a USB keyboard/gaming attachment attached to your phone then you wouldn't be able to use Bluetooth on a Samsung S2

Most circa 2011 Sony Ericsson(RIP) phones have HDMI and USB which allows for keyboard, big screen and A2DP all in one giant smack down. Almost like a half baked 'desktop' with crap editing and limited printing functions I guess.

I'm guessing you mean USB sdcard access and not USB tethering when you say "Connect via USB".

But either way(USB Tethered or USB sdcard access), they both work on my XPERIA X10i v2.3.3 with Bluetooth streaming audio.

lyonrouge

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#575640 1-Feb-2012 08:22

Yes, it works in the Xperia Ray also, but the Galaxy S2 does not allow BlueTooth while accessing SD or Internal storage via USB (MHL & Driving Kit with BlueTooth is supported). Here is what the S2 presents when you attempt to access storage.

lapimate

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#577180 4-Feb-2012 12:44

lyonrouge: VF Xperia Ray customisation seems to be limited to setting the default home page on the browser (which is still called a browser, unlike XY world on my S2). There are no logos or start screen and no shocking red theme.

Can anyone report the nature/extent of the customisations (other than APNs and the like, if any) on the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray ST18a available as a Skinny handset (& therefore Telecom XT compatible - unlock $30)?

DrStrangelove

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#577717 6-Feb-2012 03:40

lyonrouge: A feature I like on the Xperia Ray that is not on my Galaxy S2 is the media launcher

However, the S2 has a toggle in the notification area, which the Ray does not

Is that still the case?

My olde X10i has a widget labelled 'Power Control' which provides basic switching.

| WiFi | Bluetooth | GPS | Synchronisation | screen Brightness |

For 3G data control I installed a widget called 'Data Control'

I use 3G Watch Dog for detailed 3G and WiFi traffic analysis.

I looked at some of the more complex and feature rich solutions, but fell back to the pre-existing options with the few additional apps as they did all I needed.

Just a passing thought in case you did have the widget pre-installed.

lyonrouge

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#577722 6-Feb-2012 07:08

DrStrangelove:
lyonrouge: A feature I like on the Xperia Ray that is not on my Galaxy S2 is the media launcher

However, the S2 has a toggle in the notification area, which the Ray does not

Is that still the case?

My olde X10i has a widget labelled 'Power Control' which provides basic switching.

| WiFi | Bluetooth | GPS | Synchronisation | screen Brightness |

For 3G data control I installed a widget called 'Data Control'

I use 3G Watch Dog for detailed 3G and WiFi traffic analysis.

I looked at some of the more complex and feature rich solutions, but fell back to the pre-existing options with the few additional apps as they did all I needed.

Just a passing thought in case you did have the widget pre-installed.

Yes, the hardware control widgets are packaged with the Ray which I am using, but they are not as convenient as the Notification controls on the S2. Like PCs I attempt to keep my mobile devices as close to vanilla as I can, as I experience has shown me that the less 3rd party applications, the greater the stability of the device.

On all my Android devices I have one widget, that turns the WiFi hotspot on and off, the Vodafone usage meter and Air New Zealand mPass.

lyonrouge

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#697171 6-Oct-2012 16:50

Was unable to connect to my Wifi at home so I upgraded to ICS (using the Sony desktop tool, not root/ROM). My Wifi now works but it struggles to connect to VF. We are in a marginal area at best, but could connect to it before, this is not good news for me.

Note: it could not establish a connect with the 32GB SD card installed, I put a 2GB one in and it connected and updated.

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