The Official Cell Phone Junkies Thread - Part 1

[BatMatt]

Yeah read that article as well, I could double check but as far as I know the RAZR HD isn't in the Verizon Equipment Guide for employees yet and it usually shows up there at least week or so before a phone launches and I haven't heard of the corporate stores getting accessories in yet. October 18th very well could have been a release date at some point, hell, perhaps it still is, but Verizon is very infamous for delaying releases several times on a device

[Motown Marvel]

yeah. well, if you hear anything let me know. i've been waiting a long time for this one and my current Droid 1 is barely holding out.

[the dmg]

Originally Posted by Motown Marvel

yeah. well, if you hear anything let me know. i've been waiting a long time for this one and my current Droid 1 is barely holding out.

You still have a D1? Wow...that is some patience.

[BatMatt]

Yeah talk about a legacy device. It was a great one. Way to stretch it out Motown

[BatMatt]

Well now Equipment Guide screenshots show the 18th for the RAZR HD after all, you've got me on this one Motown. Now congratulate yourself by finally upgrading

[Spidey-Bat]

Originally Posted by the dmg

That's good because if you're still keeping the phone, you'll need to go back in order to get the OTA for ICS (if it ever comes).

Got my phone back to 905 OTA stock. Though I had to flash it again because my phone got busted after I froze too many apps (though they were the same ones I froze before).

I don't know if I'll try the 232 ICS leak. I installed an ICS launcher and Gallery ICS so it at least feels more like ICS. Though some widgets don't work like Direct Dialer and Quick Contacts.

I wish I rooted a long time ago. The battery is much better after freezing a lot of bloatware.

[Motown Marvel]

Originally Posted by BatMatt

Well now Equipment Guide screenshots show the 18th for the RAZR HD after all, you've got me on this one Motown. Now congratulate yourself by finally upgrading

YEAH!!! time to throw away money that i dont have!

[TheAQU4M4N]

Does anyone know if selling your old iphone at GameStop is worth it? I'm trying to get the 5 next month.

[ComicChick]

is rooting the only way to get rid of programs you don't want/need/use?

there's a lot of stuff that came with my phone that i dont ever use. wondering if that would help make it work better, but i'd probably screw it up rotting somehow

[BatMatt]

Yeah pretty much it's the only way to remove preinstalled/bloatware apps. Devices on Ice Cream Sandwich and above you can at least disable most of them of them however

[Spidey-Bat]

Originally Posted by ComicChick

is rooting the only way to get rid of programs you don't want/need/use?

there's a lot of stuff that came with my phone that i dont ever use. wondering if that would help make it work better, but i'd probably screw it up rotting somehow

Rooting can be pretty simple depending on the phone. What kind of phone do you have?

[ComicChick]

Originally Posted by Spidey-Bat

Rooting can be pretty simple depending on the phone. What kind of phone do you have?

Sidekick 4G :/

[Trainwreck2100]

Originally Posted by ComicChick

Sidekick 4G :/

i didn't know they still made those

[ComicChick]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck2100

i didn't know they still made those

its fairly new. they're under samsung now

[the dmg]

Originally Posted by Spidey-Bat

Got my phone back to 905 OTA stock. Though I had to flash it again because my phone got busted after I froze too many apps (though they were the same ones I froze before).

I don't know if I'll try the 232 ICS leak. I installed an ICS launcher and Gallery ICS so it at least feels more like ICS. Though some widgets don't work like Direct Dialer and Quick Contacts.

I wish I rooted a long time ago. The battery is much better after freezing a lot of bloatware.

Agreed. I always flash to new ROMs and never look back. I just haven't made the jump to the latest ROMs out there for the Bionic.

Originally Posted by xMaNiAx

Does anyone know if selling your old iphone at GameStop is worth it? I'm trying to get the 5 next month.

Sell through ebay and Craigs List. You get a much better price for any phone. Depending which iPhone you have, I would use ebay as a guide, and see if GameStop's offer is better. I don't use GameStop, so I wasn't aware they did this. How much do they offer?

Originally Posted by BatMatt

Yeah pretty much it's the only way to remove preinstalled/bloatware apps. Devices on Ice Cream Sandwich and above you can at least disable most of them of them however

That's the one implementation I've been waiting on for Android to do for the longest time.

Originally Posted by ComicChick

its fairly new. they're under samsung now

You and the sliding keyboard.

[Motown Marvel]

Motorola has confirmed the Oct. 18 date for the release of RAZR HD and RAZR HD MAXX. i might say screw it, and go big splurging on the maxx.

[the dmg]

Originally Posted by Motown Marvel

Motorola has confirmed the Oct. 18 date for the release of RAZR HD and RAZR HD MAXX. i might say screw it, and go big splurging on the maxx.

The bigger battery makes it worth it.

[LibidoLoca]

Skynet is Coming: Google Uses "Virtual Brain" to Improve Voice Recognition

Google is ready to make put its artificial intelligence platform, its "virtual brain" technology, to better use soon. The technology has already taught itself to recognize human faces and cat faces, and is now gearing up to take on the difficult task of speech recognition and more. Google's "virtual brain" gets its name because it is based on the idea of a neural network in the human brain. In that respect, it each piece of the "virtual brain" can interact and influence each other in order to build a self-teaching system.


The tech has already been put to work "watching" thousands of YouTube videos, and from those videos it has been able to build the ideal "average patterns" that are used to detect human faces and cat faces in photos in Picasa and Google+ (the examples of which are found below). Who said those cat videos were worthless?

The technology has also started getting folded into other Google products. Apparently, the tech has been put into the speech recognition system in Android, and according to Vincent Vanhoucke, one of the heads of Google's speech recognition system, the technology has already improved the accuracy of speech recognition by 20-25%. Android 4+ users may have noticed the tech at work with the real time dictation feature. Any time you see a word pop up then correct itself based on context, that's the Google brain at work. The neural network is only working in US English right now, but should move to different languages eventually.


The technology is likely going to be pushed into the self-driving car soon enough, and has potential to make searching by image better and much more. Essentially, the neural network could make all Google products better in one way or another, because the technology excels at learning context and adjusting for behavior. This means that if you use voice actions to search for "Oklahoma City Thunder", but the last word is garbled, the system will check with your pooled Google data and understand that you likely said "Thunder" because of search history, etc. From the sound of it, this technology either already is, or will soon be a huge part of the intelligent push system that makes Google Now such an interesting platform. This technology appears to be the magic sauce that allows Google to find some amazing links in context from the huge amounts of data the company has on its users' habits, searches, interests, and location.


And, that's the most amazing part of this technology: the more data it is given, the more context it can find, and the better it can learn to find more relevant information and context. Using pattern recognition and sound recognition, the neural network could get closer to understanding context and information surrounding a central target, like scanning the background of an image to learn where a photo was taken by using existing similar images and geotag data. Of course, Google is quick to point out that this is really still just the first step towards a true artificial intelligence.


Although Google's neural network technology is smaller than a human brain, can beat humans at certain tasks, and can teach itself and get more efficient at learning, it still can't reason, which is essential for intelligence. So, the neural network can find specific visual data faster than humans can, and it can match shapes and patterns, and ultimately do jobs that would be incredibly tedious and boring for humans. But, it can't draw from the outside world and reason out the why or how of a thing.


Why and how are the most powerful of all questions, and both the asking and drive to answer those questions are the true mark of intelligence. Google's brain can't do that yet. But, the question still stands: when the day does come that Google or some other company creates a true artificial intelligence, will you be there with pitchforks and torches, or with an offering of peace for our new Cylon overlords?

Prototype LG Nexus Compared to iPhone 5

The upcoming LG Nexus phone might have leaked all over the place in the last couple of days, but these here are the best and most detailed pictures of the upcoming smartphone. This time it's Belarus and local etailer Onliner that got a prototype LG Nexus, and it looks like a crossover between the LG Optimus G and the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.

With so much smoke, we can only conclude there must be fire - the LG Nexus is likely coming on October 29th. The device is known by many names: the LG E960 Mako, the LG Optimus Nexus and the LG Nexus 4 (it’s the fourth-generation Nexus).

So here’s what’s on this prototype. LG’s Nexus in its current version runs on Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, but chances are it’d get an update to Android 4.2 just before its launch. There is a 4.7-inch screen with a resolution of 768 x 1280 pixels, a whopping quad-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm chip under the hood (hopefully an S4 Pro like on the Optimus G), and 2GB of RAM.

Internal storage is only 8GB and we’ve heard nothing about an expansion slot, and that would seem like a downer. The rear camera is an 8-megapixel one.

The folks who got the prototype promise a full overview of the phone very soon, so stay tuned, and in the meantime feel free to check out the pictures of the device. How do you like it?

Leaked Thinner and Lighter Nokia Lumia Prototype for Verizon

AT&T scored an exclusive deal for the Nokia Lumia 920 in the US, which left many disappointed, especially Verizon subscribers. Now @NokiaPureView, who have leaked quite the spot-on info on Nokia's plans before, claim they are in the possession of a Nokia Lumia prototype that is destined for Verizon.


They say it looks like a Lumia 920, but thinner and lighter, and is definitely not the Lumia 822, which already leaked with Big Red's branding. We've heard rumors before from the perennial Microsoft leaker MSNerd that Verizon will be scoring a Nokia Lumia with PureView camera tech inside, but the sensor will be smaller than the 41 MP giant in the 808 PureView.


Now the latter part materialized in the Lumia 920, but the Verizon availability didn't, as AT&T scored the handset all for itself on an exclusivity period. Whether that Lumia that the folks over @NokiaPureView claim handling is a Verizon version of the 920 that will be announced at CES, or something totally different like the rumored 1001 in early testing phases, remains to be seen. The source just says "matte finish, pureview, thinner, lighter, better," leaving us to salivate over the perspective.

Appeals Court Overturns Injunction on Samsung GALAXY Nexus

Samsung and its fans will be happy to hear that the sales ban placed on the Samsung GALAXY Nexus by Judge Lucy Koh before the jury trial with Apple, has been overturned by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. In making the ruling, the Appeals Court said that Judge Koh had abused her discretion in ordering the injunction on the device.

Ironically, the Samsung GALAXY Nexus wasn't even part of the trial that resulted in a $1.05 billion verdict in favor of Apple. Judge Koh had issued the injunction against the Samsung GALAXY Nexus prior to the trial, agreeing with Apple that the phone infringed on Apple's '604 unified search patent also known as the Siri patent The injunction was stayed by the Appeals Court until it could make a ruling on the matter, which it has now done.

The Appeals Court said it reversed Judge Koh not only because she had abused her discretion, but also because Apple could not prove that buyers were purchasing the Samsung GALAXY Nexus because of the infringing technology. In its decision, the Appeals Court wrote that the Samsung GALAXY Nexus could sell just as well even without the infringing technology, which allows users to search the internet and the phone's own memory with a single search. The Appeals Court remanded the case back to Judge Koh.

An injunction that the judge had placed on the Samsung GALAXY Tab 10.1 was dismissed by Judge Koh earlier this month. Koh had placed a sales ban on the tablet before the trial saying that a reasonable jury would find that the tablet infringed on Apple's design patents for the Apple iPad. Surprise! The jury found that the Samsung GALAXY Tab 10.1 did not infringe on Apple's design patents and while the jury did find that it had violated some of Apple's software patents, Judge Koh set the tablet free.

[TheAQU4M4N]

Originally Posted by the dmg

Sell through ebay and Craigs List. You get a much better price for any phone. Depending which iPhone you have, I would use ebay as a guide, and see if GameStop's offer is better. I don't use GameStop, so I wasn't aware they did this. How much do they offer?

I saw on the site if the iphone, I guess it varies for each generation but its around 80-145 if there are no scratches and it comes with a charger and original box. I've never used eBay to sell things and I've heard that it has like a selling fee for it.

[the dmg]

Originally Posted by xMaNiAx

I saw on the site if the iphone, I guess it varies for each generation but its around 80-145 if there are no scratches and it comes with a charger and original box. I've never used eBay to sell things and I've heard that it has like a selling fee for it.

Going off of the recent 4s, it sells for about $300-400 depending on the condition. The fees are minimal compare to what you have the potential to pocket.

Which one do you have?

[ComicChick]

Originally Posted by the dmg

You and the sliding keyboard.

i'm totally tactile

[TheAQU4M4N]

Originally Posted by the dmg

Going off of the recent 4s, it sells for about $300-400 depending on the condition. The fees are minimal compare to what you have the potential to pocket.

Which one do you have?

I have the launch iphone 4, 16 gb. It does have one scratch(barely noticeable) but works perfectly.

[the dmg]

Originally Posted by ComicChick

i'm totally tactile

Touchscreen phones have tactile feedback!

Originally Posted by xMaNiAx

I have the launch iphone 4, 16 gb. It does have one scratch(barely noticeable) but works perfectly.

You could probably get at least $160 for it with just the cables that came with it.

[TheAQU4M4N]

quick question, about upgradiing policies. The last time me and my family used an upgrade was last november to get her Iphone 4 and the company AT&T told us will have another upgrade available last June. Then when I checked, when they announced the Iphone 5, it said June of 2013 and then I had an upgrade on 11/11/12 that I could use but then I went to the AT&T store today and they said March of 2013? tell me why this happened? because we have only upgrade once in the last year and half for only one line.

[the dmg]

Originally Posted by xMaNiAx

quick question, about upgradiing policies. The last time me and my family used an upgrade was last november to get her Iphone 4 and the company AT&T told us will have another upgrade available last June. Then when I checked, when they announced the Iphone 5, it said June of 2013 and then I had an upgrade on 11/11/12 that I could use but then I went to the AT&T store today and they said March of 2013? tell me why this happened? because we have only upgrade once in the last year and half for only one line.

I'm not too familiar with AT&T, but with Verizon, each line gets an upgrade (I don't know how it works with the new Share Everything plan though). It could be one of the other lines. They won't tell you if you're not the main account holder.