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*facepalm*

this list is not sorted due to frequency. if it was, then lock/unlock would be first on it...

but i would not be surprised if making phone calls is not the first priority on smartphones.

Don't really care what phone anyone uses - it's a personal thing. But found it interesting that you buy a mobile phone and making calls is 4th on your list of things you do with it.

I'm sure that the CERN scientists are much better than you. How can you live with that, Joe? I bet you also don't care. :p

They are indeed better in what they do, or at least let's hope so. But I also don't attempt to force my limited understanding in their field over their more developed understanding, nor do I attempt to force them to use bad technology because it is cheaper but popular. Which is what you are trying to do in your posts. I wouldn't mind scientists at CERN, however, forcing their knowledge upon the mainstream population, certainly over religious tardos. ;)

Good for you. For your information, I work in mobile development, so I have access to these devices. I could care less what other websites, or you, the "actually USING" Joes, have to say.

Why all the anger? Chill out.

They are indeed better in what they do, or at least let's hope so. But I also don't attempt to force my limited understanding in their field over their more developed understanding, nor do I attempt to force them to use bad technology because it is cheaper but popular. Which is what you are trying to do in your posts. I wouldn't mind scientists at CERN, however, forcing their knowledge upon the mainstream population, certainly over religious tardos. ;)

We love the AMOLED screen! Live us ALONE!!! :cry:

LOL :D

Will you still say iOS is more polished when the time comes and it navigates you, say, into a forest instead of where you actually want to go?

Dont have this issue with my iPhone, it this problem related to only people in the USA?

Dont have this issue with my iPhone, it this problem related to only people in the USA?

It is dependent on the quality of one's maps coverage. But a Maps app is hardly any actual indication on the OS quality. Just like the awful mspaint.exe is not an indication that Windows 7 is bad. :rolleyes:

The Maps app has worked really well for me. I've only had one instance where it had a restaurant on the wrong side of the road.

People can download the free Maps++ app if they want, which is literally Google Maps.

Sadly, it is missing Google Street View.

I'm sure iOS have many good apps. But that's not changing the fact that iOS is really bad and is from the stone age now.

Take a look at Android 1.5 and then look at Android 4.2. And then look at the first iPhone OS and then look at iOS 6. How many changes are there from the first iPhone OS to the current iOS 6?

Yey, you can change wallapaper, weeeeee. That's revolutionary.

Now, look at Android 1.5 and then look at Android 4.2. Now, tell me how many changes you see here compared to the changes in iOS?

That list for Android is fking HUUUUUUUGE. On iOS however, i can count the visible changes in iOS 6 from the first iPhone OS on one hand.

Oh also, the user experience on iOS suck donkey kong, i mean, it's seriously bad today. Those who wonder why i say this have NEVER tried the current iOS 6 and Android 4.1x / 4.2. iOS is light years behind Android in pretty much everything except for the AppStore.

Peoples always talks about how Android is confusing to alot of peoples. Ehhhm lol, and you think a massive bunch og icons squeezed into some pages are any more user friendly to the users when they have to scroll pages after pages to find their apps to use?

Take a look at my playlist here on YouTube to understand what i'm talking about:

If there isn't going to be any BIG major changes in iOS 7, then i belive iOS will end up in the same way as Symbian. Yeah, iOS will die out slowly if it doesn't change dramaticly pretty soon.

So the operating system is years ahead because you can change gadgets. :laugh:

You said it, the AppStore is unmatched. Rather, the quality of the apps on it is unmatched. That is what matters. The OS is there to service applications. If that changes in the future, the other platforms will be superior.

Not trolling or saying "<name> is wrong for using iphone" but iOS is far from "polished". Even after 5+ years different menus and options can look entirely different. It's far from consistent.

(also i'm not inferring that any other OS is much better in this regard)

So the operating system is years ahead because you can change gadgets. :laugh:

You said it, the AppStore is unmatched. Rather, the quality of the apps on it is unmatched. That is what matters. The OS is there to service applications. If that changes in the future, the other platforms will be superior.

AppStore is better than Play Store, but that's just barely. The difference is so small that it almost doesn't matter anylonger. But still, AppStore have the little edge.

But that alone isn't the factor that makes it better than Android. It's the whole package that counts. And Android wins here by a large margin.

AppStore is better than Play Store, but that's just barely. The difference is so small that it almost doesn't matter anylonger. But still, AppStore have the little edge.

But that alone isn't the factor that makes it better than Android. It's the whole package that counts. And Android wins here by a large margin.

And that is your opinion. It comes down to some people like things one way, others a different way. Otherwise we would only have 1 brand of everything. Only Pepsi, only Ford Focus cars, etc. If you don't like iOS that's fine, or if you don't like Android that's fine too. What makes you less of a person is when you start bashing other people for not liking or thinking the same way you do.

And that is your opinion. It comes down to some people like things one way, others a different way. Otherwise we would only have 1 brand of everything. Only Pepsi, only Ford Focus cars, etc. If you don't like iOS that's fine, or if you don't like Android that's fine too. What makes you less of a person is when you start bashing other people for not liking or thinking the same way you do.

If you take your time to look on the YouTube videos on my playlist as i posted longer up, then you WILL realize why i like Android better than iOS. And i'm not alone on saying this, and this is for sure.

Android is more user friendly, more easier to use, lets you customize it the way you want it to be to let it be as effective as possible to you. Android adopts to you and not you that have to adopt to the OS. Android lets you decide over your device, witch is a huge advantage over the OS deciding for you.

Why shouldn't this be better than iOS where you have zero possibilities?

EDIT: And no, i didn't bash any peoples here. All i was bashing was iOS.

Learn to read.

Sadly, it is missing Google Street View.

This is my question. How often, honestly, do people really use street view? ESPECIALLY when you are driving your freakin car? I mean seriously? If you are walking, I could see using street view, or if you are actually pre-planning your trip, I could see using it to see what the building looks like or something, but come on.... DRIVING?

  • Like 1

No, the screen isn't bad. It's a universal problem with that type of display.

The S3 has a pentile display which is inferior to an RGB display in terms of quality, so that's what causes the pixelation. I don't think the Note 2 has a pentile display, so it may not have those problems.

Yeah, ask 99% of the consumers, and they wouldn't be able to tell the difference between pentile vs. non. If you're going by pure specs, then yes. But, in everyday usage, most people wouldn't notice (or even care). IMO, the whole Galaxy lineup is massively overrated. The HTC One X series is overall better imo. Plus the recently released Droid DNA trumps the Note 2 in terms of certain specs.

Either way, these comparisons are getting out of hand. There are so many fanboys on this forum, and it is so apparent who likes what platform. Basically, use what you like/what works for you, and stop trying to persuade other people that one platform is better than the other. Every platform has its advantages and disadvantages. Also, no one gives a flying **** what anyone else likes. For me, the iPhone is vastly outdated (has been for a long time), and just flat out doesn't offer the features that I need from a phone.

I kept buying flagship Android devices and felt something was missing.

Got an iPhone 5. Sure, it's missing lots of features that my Galaxy S3 (and indeed, S2) had, but it just works better.

It's missing NFC, but NFC payments aren't supported in my country yet (there are NFC terminals but no apps that support the payments!) and I don't need to toggle settings using NFC tags because battery life is great when I just leave settings on all the time.

It has limited multitasking, but the battery lasts a lot longer and I don't really see a difference with the way I use the phone. I still get notified about new Facebook posts, emails, etc, but it's all done using push notifications which use less battery than having lots of apps permanently running.

iOS is still smoother than Android even with Project Butter too. My Nexus 7 gets stuck sometimes whilst scrolling, but my iPad and iPhone rarely ever do.

Things are just more well thought out on iOS. Everything works very well (other than Maps!)

  • Like 1

Limited multitasking? It behaves exactly how Android multitasking behaves. Applications are suspended when going to the background. Like Android, some applications are allowed to work in a hybrid mode. Android allows the installation of services, which are another application running in the background. Not many apps use this option, and it wastes more battery life. Apple has chose another model, a system-wide push support, which is much more efficient. It works good enough for most types of software.

Limited multitasking? It behaves exactly how Android multitasking behaves. Applications are suspended when going to the background. Like Android, some applications are allowed to work in a hybrid mode. Android allows the installation of services, which are another application running in the background. Not many apps use this option, and it wastes more battery life. Apple has chose another model, a system-wide push support, which is much more efficient. It works good enough for most types of software.

I believe Android apps can run in the background running any tasks they like. Correct me if I'm wrong.

For example, IRC clients which must remain connected to servers and active are possible on Android, but not on iOS.

The ways Android apps avoid being killed in the background has a parallel on iOS with the limited Background APIs. The BroadcastReceivers component lets apps wake up for a short time to run some task or another, and then shunts it back to a background state. This is useful for location check-ins or file syncing.

The other way to forcibly maintain an app in the background is the Service component. An app that is running as a Service can run indefinitely and should almost never be killed by the system. This is what makes Android multitasking unique. Regular processes will be ended before a service, and a developer can further indicate a Service?s importance by running it as ?foreground,? but this requires a notification icon to be persistently visible in the notification bar. You will see this behavior with automation apps like Locale as well as with music playback.

http://www.extremetech.com/computing/112013-how-multitasking-works-on-android-and-ios/2

iOS backgrounding is actually much more advanced, as iOS controls can free their allocated memory to allow the app a continued life, and are restored when the app is restored. This does not happen with Android. Perhaps your example of IRC client hits something that is limited with iOS, and there are other examples. But they are few, while the method implemented in iOS, and limitations in place, make people write better software. Server-initiated push is in the vast majority of cases a much more elegant solution than a living client polling for data. Apple's push deamon is alive, of course, but that's a very purposefully build single deamon for the entire software library. Sure, it makes it more difficult for developers to manager a server infrastructure, but that is not my concern as a software consumer on an iPhone or iPad.

It has limited multitasking, but the battery lasts a lot longer and I don't really see a difference with the way I use the phone. I still get notified about new Facebook posts, emails, etc, but it's all done using push notifications which use less battery than having lots of apps permanently running.

It is very difficult for me to make comparisons between THIS generation hardware because I'm comparing an iPhone 4 to a Nexus 4 which has more than 2 years of technology between them. That being said, my observations about Android was that multitasking is much more immediate and ready-to-go when compared to how it works on my iPhone 4. Even small things, like getting SMS Messages in my non-stock BiteSMS app, are peculiar in iOS. I receive all these push notifications but when I open them the app spends about 5 seconds *loading* this data before it is ready to use. Seems like all 3rd party apps are like this on iOS.

On the other hand, touch response is so much more "buttery smooth" on my iPhone 4 than the Nexus 4 across ALL applications. Nexus 4, some apps I would describe as "buttery smooth" other apps (such as Chrome) there is a noticeable input lag (not an FPS stutter, but a system response lag) that I think Google and iron out more.

Why don't you guys try Windows Phone 8?

It really is a great mobile OS, and as more people come to the platform, more apps will also be developed for it.

I agree, Windows Phone devices are highly underrated. I love iOS, but nothing can compare my Windows Phone. It's just a solid, stable operating system that has features built into that most other operating systems require 3rd party applications.

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    • Creative Sound Blaster AE-X PCIe review: your headphones will love it by Steven Parker If you have been reading Neowin for any length of time, you may remember that I reviewed the Sound Blaster Audigy FX Pro back in April. I found it to be an excellent budget sound card, even though it lacked support for formats such as DTS over the included SPDIF port. Anyway, Creative reached out to me again asking if I was interested in reviewing the Sound Blaster AE-X. It is a card mainly targeted at headphone wearers, which I'll get into a bit later. Before we get underway, here is a disclaimer: Creative Labs provided a free sample without any review pre-approval. Here are the full specs of it: Creative Sound Blaster AE-X Dimensions: 179 x 126 x 18 mm Weight: 263g / 9.28 oz Platform: PCI-e DAC: ESS ES9039Q2M Connectivity Options Side: Rear: 1 x HD Audio Front Panel Connector, 1 x ⅛“ Headphone port, 1 x RCA Line-out (Left) port, 1 x RCA Line-out (Right) port, 1 x Coaxial SPDIF-out port, 1 x ⅛“ Mic in/Line-in port, 1 x TOSLINK SPDIF-in port Surround: No DNR / SNR: THD+N: 0.0001% Dynamic Range 130 dB Recording Resolution: PCM up to 32-bit / 192kHz (Stereo) Direct Mode: Line Out (Stereo): PCM up to 32-bit  384 kHz Coaxial SPDIF Out: PCM up to 24-bit 192.0 kHz Headphone Amp: PCM up to 32-bit / 384kHz (Stereo) Native DSD: DSD64, DSD128, DSD256 Output Impedance: 1Ω, Supported Headphone Impedance: 8–600Ω, IEM: 0.5Vrms, Low: 1.5Vrms, Mid: 3Vrms, High: 6Vrms, Maximum output power: 350mW @ 32Ω (High), Maximum output voltage: 6Vrms (High) Front Panel Headphone Amp: PCM up to 32-bit / 192kHz (Stereo) Native DSD: DSD64, DSD128 Output Impedance: 10Ω, Supported Headphone Impedance: 32–300Ω, Maximum output power: 40mW @ 32Ω, Maximum output voltage: 1.9Vrms ASIO: ASIO 2.3 Total Harmonic Distortion: THD+N: 0.0006% Dynamic Range: 114 dB Scout Mode: Yes EMI shielding: No (but it passed all the FCC emission tests) Operating temperature: 0–45°C Input Power: 12V⎓0.5A Warranty: 1 Year (MSRP) Price: $179.99 / £169.99 The Sound Blaster AE-X was announced at the end of May, and it becomes clear that it is mainly for headphone wearers. I should also note that the card does not support DDL/DTS encoding technology, but it is said to support decoding through the coaxial SPDIF port. I was able to test this working with the classic Windows Sound properties, but I could not get a DTS (decode) signal through my Logitech Z906, it defaulted to 3D sound whenever I played DTS content through Plex or Emby. In addition, this card only supports two channels (stereo) over the speakers. The surround support is limited to the Headphone Amp, so before I get underway, what we have here is a card mostly intended for headphone use, especially with its SPDIF In (Toslink) port where you could connect another device like a console. So what about the highlights of this card? The AE-X is powered by the ESS SABRE DAC (ES9039Q2M), which is capable of a 130 dB dynamic range. In addition, it supports 32-bit/384 kHz playback for deeper detail and clarity. The headphone amplifier delivers up to 350 mW @ 32Ω, which admittedly far surpasses standard onboard audio, offering support for studio-grade headphones. DSD256 and ASIO 2.3 are also supported. What doesn't it have? No support for What-U-Hear, Super X-Fi, or the SmartComms Kit No EMI shielding, but it passed all the FCC emission tests (from the FAQ) I also want to make it clear that I am no audiophile. For me, it's purely subjective and it should just "work" out of the box. First impressions As I said in the introduction, I was a bit sad to see that the AE-X only supports stereo output, meaning it would not be on par with my ALC1220 over my speakers, as I mentioned it seems like this card is marketed toward headphone users. Since I am not an avid gamer that would rule me out as a potential customer, but I can still test its capabilities! The card arrived in a nice-looking box, as shown above. It's quite a bit larger than the Audify FX Pro that I reviewed back in April, and at first I thought the covering meant that it was EMI shielded, but it isn't as mentioned above in the highlights section. What's in the box: 1 x Sound Blaster AE-X PCIe card 1 x 3.5 mm CTIA TRRS to Dual TRS Headset Splitter Cable 1 x Quick Start Guide Aside from the Quick Start Guide, which someone at my age (I guess) needs a magnifying glass to read thanks to the tiny fonts, Creative Labs also has the manual online, which first requires you to prove that you're human in order to access it (so I can't direct link it). Anyway, the box is mostly made up of cardboard, and the only plastic in it is the anti-static bag for the card itself. Design Top Bottom The card itself looks pretty cool and actually wouldn't look out of place in an all-white build. There's only one connector, and for some reason it is awkwardly placed on the side (front-facing) that is for the front panel audio connector, which will let you use the headphones through the front PC audio jack. Since the front panel Headphone Amp has fewer capabilities than the rear headphone port, I decided not to use it. Rear of card PCI-e interface The rear of the card is completely open and is normally where you would find the front panel connector. The PCIe interface side is completely covered, which initially made me think it was EMI shielded. I/O panel Side (front-facing) with Front panel connector On the outer rear bracket side we have the TOSLINK SPDIF in, Coaxial SPDIF out, RCA line out (Right), RCA line out (Left), Headphone out, and Mic/Line in ports. On the front facing portion of the card itself is the F-panel connector. Usage Test System Our test system consists of the following: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D Gigabyte X870E AORUS MASTER (BIOS F12) Corsair RM1000x (2024) Thermal Grizzly Kyronaut (33x33x0,2mm) 2x 32GB Kingston Fury Beast RGB DDR5 6000MT/s CL36-38-38-80 T-Force Z540 2TB (PCIe Gen5) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition (NVIDIA) Creative Sound Blaster AE-X Windows 11 25H2 Pro I installed the card into the Gigabyte X870E AORUS MASTER which includes the RealTek ALC1220 onboard audio. For our subjective listening tests, I used the Coaxial SPDIF port to my Logitech Z906 speakers. For headphone tests I used the OneOdio Studio Max 2 Wireless DJ Headphones that I reviewed last month. After installing the audio driver, I installed Creative Nexus, which is a relatively new app designed for the latest Sound Blaster cards. Then I discovered the AE-X needed both a driver update from 1.00.15.0001 to 1.01.09.000 and a firmware update from 1.00.06.0000 to 1.00.06.0002, then I was set to go. It should be noted that the card did not work without the driver (not Plug and Play). As you can see above, you can manage the firmware, driver, and inputs via Advanced Settings on the Device tab. By default Nexus enabled "Direct Mode". Upon clicking on Acoustic Engine, the Equalizer can be enabled and set to four different presets, which are: Gaming Music Movies Footsteps Enhancer There's also a dedicated Scout Mode for gamers. I mainly used Tidal and Spotify in the past week to listen to some of my Liked Songs (which now total over 700) in Shuffle mode; there were no pops or interference that I could hear. I also found a 5.1 Surround Music playlist on Tidal that sounded really great over Studio Max 2 headphones. When I reviewed the Audigy FX Pro, I went out and purchased a Logitech Z906 set second-hand for €100 specifically to use with the card, but in this instance all I could get on the AE-X was the 3D output of surround sound through Coaxial SPDIF and although it still sounded great, it isn't quite as good as DTS Interactive via my onboard Realtek ALC1220. Conclusion So what have I learned? The AE-X lacks multi-channel support for 5.1/7.1 setups and drops support for modern surround technologies like Dolby or DTS, functioning strictly as a stereo output device. So to really benefit, you will need Studio-grade headphones to "hear" the benefits of this card. With that being said, I can imagine it will appeal to gamers who are switching between console and PC. By utilizing the SPDIF in port, you could just plug your headphones into the AE-X (front or rear port) and then switch between PC and Console without having to move the headphones to a different port. As I said in the Sound Blaster Audigy review, the EQ in the Creative Nexus app offers safe presets, which allows a user to further tweak the lows, mids, and highs for a personal listening experience. Of course it all depends on the headphones you hook up to it. Speaking of headphones, I kind of wish I had higher-quality Studio-grade headphones to really test this card with; I'm not usually wearing headphones in my day to day duties. The only time I will wear them is if I want to listen to music very late at night and I don't want to disturb my neighbors, so my rating (verdict) is based on this fact. Someone with a PC/Console setup and wears headphone religiously to game, and consume media will benefit much more than I from the high-quality Headphone Amps that are included in the AE-X. Once again, I do feel like Creative could have gone the extra mile to support the S/PDIF port a bit more. Why include it if you're not supporting the main popular digital formats? It seems like the decision was more of a legacy-based one, offering uncompressed 2-channel PCM audio, for users with high-fidelity audio systems and external DACs. Maybe I will be lucky enough to review a card that truly includes all these features in the future. I am sure readers with far more knowledge on audio systems than me will correct me in the comments below. I'll just say I am happy to learn what I don't know! Where to buy The Sound Blaster AE-X is available to purchase now in preorder for $179.99 on the U.S. Creative website, or for £169.99 on the Creative UK website and will start shipping to customers from June 25.
    • $80 or 90%, anything else would be financial suicide one way or another.
    • Or... just use Bitwarden. Free, and has on-prem option as well. Works both on desktop and mobile, wherever you are. The age of local password files is over.
    • Thanks
    • I actually got to use one of those so called "backup codes" once. It was for a customer, I choose the backup code option, and by the grace of god, they actually hade them printed out. Imagine my surprise, when after using the backup code, Google then told use we had to enter a code they just sent to the gmail address we currently did not have access to. I was not amused, Google backup codes should be the end all get out of jail free card, because you had to have access to the account to even get them.
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