I Took The Plunge To Android Land...Oh Boy.


Recommended Posts

The Note 2 and S3 have their open source files available for a long time... That's not Samsung's fault if devs can't make good use of it.

That's correct but it was only for ICS. with JB, things have changed a lot. Anyway why not hear it from the devs themselves than i arguing?

That's correct but it was only for ICS. with JB, things have changed a lot. Anyway why not hear it from the devs themselves than i arguing?

https://plus.google....sts/Q1yVmqtubG9

Yeah, thanks for the link.

I know Entropy from XDA... He hates Samsung. Actually, that is some kind of pressure he is putting over Samsung (as usual) but the CM team is actually very spoiled and I can bet that they're pretty jealous of Samsung's improvement over their own software. There are many, many features that Samsung is not obliged to open (those are Samsung's sales advantage) and Entropy HATES that. Also, I had CM9 on my Note 1 and there was a bug with SMS messages even on supposedly stable CM9, where sometimes SMS was not being delivered and there was no way of knowing that. Also Samsung had nothing to do with that. But they (he) refused to fix it because it was not priority. Well... Samsung would never let that happen.

I'm not a fanboy on any of those sides. I just want my phone working with all the features that are available to it, and it is me the one who has to judge what feature is priority.

I got a little tired of all that. I'm using the official ROM and if I want other themes and additional features, I go for deodexed ROMs with them. ;)

Yeah, thanks for the link.

I know Entropy from XDA... He hates Samsung. Actually, that is some kind of pressure he is putting over Samsung (as usual) but the CM team is actually very spoiled and I can bet that they're pretty jealous of Samsung's improvement over their own software. There are many, many features that Samsung is not obliged to open (those are Samsung's sales advantage) and Entropy HATES that. Also, I had CM9 on my Note 1 and there was a bug with SMS messages even on supposedly stable CM9, where sometimes SMS was not being delivered and there was no way of knowing that. Also Samsung had nothing to do with that. But they (he) refused to fix it because it was not priority. Well... Samsung would never let that happen.

I'm not a fanboy on any of those sides. I just want my phone working with all the features that are available to it, and it is me the one who has to judge what feature is priority.

I got a little tired of all that. I'm using the official ROM and if I want other themes and additional features, I go for deodexed ROMs with them. ;)

Might have something to do with Kondik (Cyanogen) working for Samsung in OS development, it wasn't too long after he joined that TW stopped sucking and became the nice skin we currrently have on the S3/Note2

  • Like 2

Might have something to do with Kondik (Cyanogen) working for Samsung in OS development, it wasn't too long after he joined that TW stopped sucking and became the nice skin we currrently have on the S3/Note2

Thanks for the intel :D

Congrats! Good thing you have the quad core to make up for the slow performing OS.

Android is no iOS. It is a bit slow at some things, yes. Google has a long way to go before they can match the rock solid feel of iOS. Android just feels flimsy.

How is the S3 more phone if it has inferior hardware? Please explain

Not inferior, similar, the number of cores is not as big a deal, yet, and in some cases the chip in my S3 outperforms the chip in the Note2, and sometimes it doesn't. Other than size they are essentially side grades, unless you really want a stylus

i was gonna say no your wrong then realised ur in USA lol

the S3 LtE over here has quad core and 2gb ram

the US version has Dual Core and 2Gb of ram. Also benchmarks the dual core performs just as well (better in some cases) as the quad core. not really sure why they gave us more ram though.

Android is no iOS. It is a bit slow at some things, yes. Google has a long way to go before they can match the rock solid feel of iOS. Android just feels flimsy.

Where exactly do you think it is slow at? Care to elaborate?

I left the iPhone after the 4S, I had all other models before that, since the first one. I'm curious to know your opinion.

I think iOS is a boring OS. Everything looks always the same, no matter the number of updates you install. The only real new thing they added was the notification's stuff, even so it is so much inferior to Android's world of widgets... They're incredible and very effective.

Maybe you think Android looks flimsy because you have many options for doing the same thing. Just like Windows. :)

Too big for a phone based on pics I've seen but guess I need to check one out in person.

You'll always think it is too big, unless you own one. Then you'll start to see other phones as too small. Trust me. ;)

Where exactly do you think it is slow at? Care to elaborate?

I left the iPhone after the 4S, I had all other models before that, since the first one. I'm curious to know your opinion.

I think iOS is a boring OS. Everything looks always the same, no matter the number of updates you install. The only real new thing they added was the notification's stuff, even so it is so much inferior to Android's world of widgets... They're incredible and very effective.

Maybe you think Android looks flimsy because you have many options for doing the same thing. Just like Windows. :)

You'll always think it is too big, unless you own one. Then you'll start to see other phones as too small. Trust me. ;)

The text messenger is a bit laggy sometimes. maybe I just gotta get used to it.

Where exactly do you think it is slow at? Care to elaborate?

I left the iPhone after the 4S, I had all other models before that, since the first one. I'm curious to know your opinion.

I think iOS is a boring OS. Everything looks always the same, no matter the number of updates you install. The only real new thing they added was the notification's stuff, even so it is so much inferior to Android's world of widgets... They're incredible and very effective.

Maybe you think Android looks flimsy because you have many options for doing the same thing. Just like Windows. :)

You'll always think it is too big, unless you own one. Then you'll start to see other phones as too small. Trust me. ;)

And yes, you are right. Once you hold one in your hands, everything else, iPhone included, feels inferior. The screen is absolutely gorgeous and the simple fact that it has a removable battery is a plus.

The text messenger is a bit laggy sometimes. maybe I just gotta get used to it.

Here's a tip that'll make the UI, zooming and scrolling fly: check "Disable hardware overlays" on "Developer Options". It works great and the effect is immediately very noticeable. :D

Don't forget to turn it on again if you reboot the device!

Here's a tip that'll make the UI, zooming and scrolling fly: check "Disable hardware overlays" on "Developer Options". It works great and the effect is immediately very noticeable. :D

Don't forget to turn it on again if you reboot the device!

I believe if you check "disable hardware overlays" it will actually slow down your CPU a bit, because then the system will constantly check to make sure nothing is "clipping". Having it unchecked is supposed to be faster for the phone.

Have you checked though in the same options, to enable "Force GPU Rendering"? Some older applications don't use the GPU normally, and this could speed it up.

I believe if you check "disable hardware overlays" it will actually slow down your CPU a bit, because then the system will constantly check to make sure nothing is "clipping". Having it unchecked is supposed to be faster for the phone.

Have you checked though in the same options, to enable "Force GPU Rendering"? Some older applications don't use the GPU normally, and this could speed it up.

I did. But I didn't notice any improvement because I don't really use old apps...

Regarding the "Disable hardware overlays", I didn't notice any slowdown. Actually it was the exact opposite. Did you try it in real world use? Also, I got more than 200 points on Quadrant's benchmark after enabling this checkmark. It is now 6.360 points. Really amazing. :)

Anyway, there's an unnoficial 4.1.2 version for the Note 2 (beta) where Quadrant is reported to give over 7.000 points :woot:

I know Quadrant is not the most complete benchmark app, but it's fast and does give a nice overview of performance increments.

Here's a tip that'll make the UI, zooming and scrolling fly: check "Disable hardware overlays" on "Developer Options". It works great and the effect is immediately very noticeable. :D

Don't forget to turn it on again if you reboot the device!

Luis you are an angel. That worked great. Thanks for the tip.

A great choice. I salute you. It's going to be my next phone was well.

It sure is different. The video camera is amazing. Better than the one on the iPhone 4S. The photos are super clear. I can see the details on people's faces so clear is not funny.

I am still trying to get used to it. So many settings and features.

One thing I do like is the fact that, even though you cannot uninstall the AT&T Bloatware garbage, Samsung does give you the option to "Disable" the application from running so that is a good thing, unless of course I root it and remove them permanently, but I don't have a clue how to do that on Android.

Any suggestions?

I recently played around with my friend's Galaxy S3 and I was blown away by the size of the display (4.8"). If I saw the Galaxy Note 2 in person, I'd have trouble seeing it as a phone and not a tablet. It'd be great for watching videos and browsing the web. Have you used it with a stylus yet?

My sister and niece have the G3 and it looks big compared to my 4.65 in Galaxy Nexus.

It sure is different. The video camera is amazing. Better than the one on the iPhone 4S. The photos are super clear. I can see the details on people's faces so clear is not funny.

I am still trying to get used to it. So many settings and features.

One thing I do like is the fact that, even though you cannot uninstall the AT&T Bloatware garbage, Samsung does give you the option to "Disable" the application from running so that is a good thing, unless of course I root it and remove them permanently, but I don't have a clue how to do that on Android.

Any suggestions?

Root and use Titanium Backup to remove bloatware.

Edit: Whoops, you said you don't know how to... hang on one sec.

Edit 2: Here ya go: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1980644

  • Like 1

its not the hardware thats lacking but the OS is dull in my opinion, the interface really hasn't changed since it released in 2007.

I love the iPhone but Apple hasn't done anything new to it in years and it is a shame because iOS is very stable and feels rock solid. The iPhone 5 is simply not a worthy upgrade. They gave us .5 inches more of screen!....LOL...LOL...Really?

I would have gotten an iPhone 5 is the screen would have been like the Android phones, 4.5 - 4.8 inches, but .5 inches more?....What a joke.

They really need to come up with something very different and very impressive soon in the iPhone department because at the pace Android is going, it won't be long before Android takes over the crown.

its not the hardware thats lacking but the OS is dull in my opinion, the interface really hasn't changed since it released in 2007.

The OS is a bit dull. All you get is a grid of icons... woo! But the hardware usually is pretty lacking too, and that's what disappoints me. When the iPhone came out, there really wasn't anything like it. I'm an Android guy, but I'm not a fanboy and regardless of what people say, there wasn't that nice of a complete package back then. Most of it wasn't anything amazingly new and invented by Apple, but they were the ones that put it all in one nice package. Even with the iPhone 4, Apple was one of the first to mass market with a screen resolution like the Retina display. Now days, the iPhone hardware lags behind Android and even Windows Phone. Things they add to their phone have been in other phones for a year or more. The hardware is stale, and Apple has a stubbornness to changing anything (which was mostly Steve I think). There really isn't much if anything in an iPhone that you can't get from a year old Android phone. The hardware isn't bad, it's just a bit boring at this point.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Posts

    • NetSpeedTray 1.3.3 by Razvan Serea NetSpeedTray is a lightweight, open-source Windows network monitor that shows live upload and download speeds directly on the Taskbar. Designed for efficiency, it quietly sits in the system tray, conserving CPU and battery with dynamic updates. It blends seamlessly with Windows 10/11, adapts to light/dark themes, and auto-positions to avoid overlaps. Features include accurate interface detection, customizable display, optional mini-graph, color coding, granular font and unit control, detailed per-interface history graphs, safe data management, and easy CSV export—bringing the network monitoring Windows forgot. NetSpeedTray key features: Lightweight & Efficient Runs quietly in your system tray without consuming resources. Features a "Dynamic Update Rate" that lowers refresh frequency when the network is idle to save CPU and battery life. Native Look & Feel Blends seamlessly with Windows 10/11 UI. Smart detection for light and dark taskbar themes ensures text is always visible. Intelligent & Adaptive Positioning Automatically finds empty space next to your system tray and shifts to make room for new icons, preventing overlaps. Seamless OS Integration Behaves like a native Windows component. Hides instantly with auto-hiding taskbar Hides when a fullscreen app is active Smart Network Monitoring Accurate by Default: Auto mode identifies your main internet connection and ignores noise from VPNs or virtual adapters. Easy Interface Selection: Switch effortlessly between Auto, All, or Selected network interfaces via intuitive radio buttons. Total Visual Customization Free Move Mode: Unlock and place the widget anywhere on your screen. Optional Mini-Graph: Real-time graph of recent network activity with adjustable opacity. Color Coding: Customize colors and speed thresholds to quickly see network status. Granular Display Control Text & Font: Adjust font family, size, weight, and alignment. Units: Automatic (B/s, KB/s, MB/s) or fixed Mbps display. Precision: Set decimal places and always show them for uniform appearance. Detailed & Intelligent History Graph Smart Scale: Logarithmic scale shows low-level traffic and large spikes clearly. Per-Interface Filtering: View speed history for specific adapters (Wi-Fi, Ethernet, VPN). Safe & Efficient Data Management: Adjustable retention, automatic cleanup, optimized database. Easy Data Export: Export raw data to .csv or save high-quality graphs for reports. NetSpeedTray v1.3.3: The Updater Fix A stabilization release that repairs a critical regression in v1.3.2: the app shipped without OpenSSL, which silently broke every HTTPS request — including the built-in update checker (the "Could not check for updates" error many of you hit). This release restores it, hardens the build so it can't happen again, and fixes a startup crash plus four other reported bugs. Changes: Fixed update checking — Resolved a critical issue that prevented the app from checking for updates ("Could not check for updates"). Fixed startup crash with Auto-Cycling — The app no longer crashes on launch after enabling Cycle display mode. Fixed incorrect network speeds on 10GbE adapters — Multi-gigabit network cards now display speeds correctly instead of being stuck at 0. Improved color coding — Default color is shown when idle, and color/threshold changes now apply immediately without restarting. Fullscreen visibility fix — The widget now correctly stays visible over fullscreen apps when Keep Visible is enabled. Improved AMD Ryzen temperature detection — More reliable CPU temperature monitoring for Ryzen processors. Cleaner upgrades — Installer now removes outdated application files during upgrades, preventing DLL/version conflicts while preserving user settings. Improved stability — Fixed potential DLL loading issues by excluding critical OpenSSL and NumPy components from UPX compression. Better settings window — Scrollbars removed and layout improved for a cleaner experience. Localization improvements — Updated translations and completed missing UI text across all supported languages. More reliable releases — Added regression tests covering recent critical fixes, bringing the test suite to 196 passing tests. [full release notes] Download: NetSpeedTray 1.3.3 | 87.9 MB (Open Source) Download: NetSpeedTray Portable | 101.0 MB View: NetSpeedTray Home Page | Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • Why Delta Chat is the best decentralized messenger you have probably never tried by Paul Hill There is no shortage of messaging apps out there; we have WhatsApp, Messenger, and Telegram, just to name a few. While Meta has taken steps to incorporate encryption into Messenger and WhatsApp, they still leave a lot to be desired. If you are in the market for a messaging app that promotes security, privacy, and optional anonymity, you'll want to read what I have to say about Delta Chat. For those not familiar with Delta Chat, rather than relying on centralized servers as you do with Facebook Messenger, it relies on email. Essentially, it is a chat interface that feels like a messaging app, but secretly in the background, it is firing off emails. In the past, you used to have to sign in with your email account. When you sent messages to people, it would just be sending encrypted messages to their inbox, which their Delta Chat client would decrypt. When I first learned about Delta Chat, it required users to sign in with an email account, but I was pleasantly surprised upon trying it in 2026 that this is no longer a requirement, or the preferred method was to use the app. Recently, I’ve tried UAD-ng on my old Nokia 3.4 to disable most of the Google apps because the bootloader is locked, and this is the next best option. While finding replacement apps in F-Droid, I came across Delta Chat again, and it has undergone quite a big change since I last used it, with its new chatmail relays, which no longer require you to sign in to your own email account, providing anonymity, and they offer greater security. Android and Desktop Delta Chat apps. Not only does it run on my de-googled phone, but it also works on desktop computers and iOS, making it truly ubiquitous. For me, Delta Chat is a wonderful alternative messenger because it gives you more control. It supports switching between different profiles, which you can set up super quickly; you don’t register a username, you don’t register a password. The only thing you do have is a random string email address on a chatmail relay (which you don’t have to memorize). To maintain access to your profile, you just need to add a second device to your account via QR code or make a backup of your account, which you can restore later. Fail to do these, your account is gone - as it should be if you don’t want to leave accounts that could get hacked later on. My decision to block Google stuff on my Nokia was done for practical reasons; the device sucked when it launched, and it sucks even more now. The nice thing about F-Droid and the apps within is that they’re usually lightweight, free of bloat, and work well on that device. What was inconvenient for me was that it was hard to send messages from that device, say if I wanted to copy a code over to my main phone or send family members a link from that device. That’s when I decided to look at the available chat apps and saw Delta Chat. Another nice thing about Delta Chat is its notifications. Some messaging apps rely on Google’s ecosystem for notification transport on Android; however, with Delta Chat, it can use Google’s solutions if you have Play Services or MicroG installed. Otherwise, it is able to keep a background connection to the chatmail relay server so that you can get notified when you receive a message. As free software, the code of Delta Chat is open for all who want to take it and build upon it. In the future, if the developers of Delta Chat make a catastrophically bad decision and take the app in an undesirable direction, users can take the code and fork the project. This contrasts with closed-source apps from corporations that can take their products in any direction they like. By relying on free software instead of closed-source programs, you actually control your computing. I’ve spoken at length about how running this type of software is like owning your own home rather than renting it. The same applies here; if you use Delta Chat, you don’t need to worry about it going away in the future. Whether it is Telegram, WhatsApp, or Messenger, you are required to register a username and password to use these services. A major flaw in this design is that anyone can try various passwords and potentially break into your account with your complete chat history intact. Sure, there is encryption in Messenger, where you need a second PIN and two-factor authentication in Telegram, but breaches happen all the time. Unlike before, when you used to sign in to your email account to send and receive messages, the primary way to do it now is to create an account on a chatmail relay. The resulting email address is a random string followed by the name of the relay you pick. This means you can start and begin adding contacts Without a username and password, you either need to ensure you have a backup or at least one device running your Delta Chat profile. The primary way to log in on another device is to go to the settings and add a second device. Then, you’ll just scan a QR code with your new device, and it’ll log in to your account and sync all your chat history and contacts. To end users, Delta Chat just looks like any instant messenger; however, it is really sending your messages as encrypted emails to your contact. This is pretty cool from a censorship perspective, as it makes the service more difficult to block. Previously, the main way to use the app was by logging in with email, but nowadays, it’s recommended that you use chatmail relays. Chatmail relays temporarily hold messages in case your device is offline. They are cheap, simple servers that don’t store data as group states. Other information, like your name and avatar, only exists on your device and the devices of those you share your contact information with. The relays are also decentralized and operated by various groups and individuals. It is even possible to set up your own chatmail relay, but most people will want to use one hosted elsewhere. To keep your messages secure, Delta Chat uses a secure subset of the OpenPGP standard that gives you automatic end-to-end encryption. It also uses Secure-Join to exchange encryption setup information through QR-code scanning or invite links. Autocrypt is also used to automatically establish end-to-end encryption between contacts and all members of group chat, but sometime this year Autocrypt v2 will be rolled out, bringing post-quantum resistant encryption and forward secrecy. The Delta Chat FAQ is an interesting read that explains many more details about the app. Credit: Pexels Delta Chat is unique among messaging apps because it is built on email, a technology that’s decades old and isn’t going anywhere soon. What’s more is that email is not centralized either, so it’s far more difficult for any authoritarian regime to disrupt the Delta Chat app. I haven’t spoken too much about features yet, so I will do that now. Delta Chat allows you to do one-on-one chats, group chats, and create channels. It also supports file sharing and making audio and video calls when chatting one-to-one, but it’s not available for group chats right now. At the time of writing, the calling functionality is disabled and can be enabled in Settings > Advanced > Debug Calls. I have used the video calling feature, and the quality is excellent. It works over WebRTC, another open standard. The app also lets you send voice notes, enables disappearing messages, and has its own app ecosystem. I did try playing chess one time there, but it was a bit spotty; though, we did manage to complete the game with a victory for me. To add people to Delta Chat, you can either give them your Delta Chat link or your QR code to scan. These are the only ways to add users, so you won't have any spam bots bothering you. If the people you want to chat with don't have the app yet, just send them your link, and it will take them to a webpage where they can install the app and then add you. It's really quick for them to install it and get started, which is nice. Credit: Microsoft. The Majorana 2 quantum chip unveiled in 2026. I do not think quantum computers are too far out now, and I do hope that Delta Chat is able to push out Autocrypt v2 sooner, rather than later, so bad actors do not attempt to collect encrypted communications and then decrypt them in the future using quantum computers. By getting people’s messages post-quantum-safe now, users won’t have to worry when quantum computers start cracking legacy encryption. Overall, I would recommend this app to people who are already past WhatsApp and Messenger and have perhaps begun using apps like Telegram or Session. It shares a lot of characteristics with these apps and goes a lot further than Telegram in terms of security. By being based on email, it is also resistant to censorship, and the lack of a username and password makes you anonymous (if you want to be) and safe from brute force password cracking attempts. Let me know in the comments if you’ve tried Delta Chat recently. Do you think it's a good bulwark against governments that are tightening their grip on the internet?
  • Recent Achievements

    • One Year In
      bernmeister earned a badge
      One Year In
    • Week One Done
      Scoobystu earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Week One Done
      tuben earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • First Post
      OffsetAbs earned a badge
      First Post
    • Reacting Well
      OffsetAbs earned a badge
      Reacting Well
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      471
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      217
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      156
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      73
    5. 5
      FloatingFatMan
      71
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!