galaxy s3

[Badsmerf]

Brock, while browsing with my phone I run into a little annoying problem. Usually it happens when a topic is a rather long one, and I'm on say page 4 of 6. Also, more often than not it happens if I go to my home page and come back to it later. The problem is the navigation isn't working. If I try to go back to the Minnesota Twins forum it just simply reloads the page I am on. I push it the forum navigation tab, and before I can even select "forum" "twins daily" or "minnesota twins" it just reloads. It does this several times before I can actually get out of it. Now, if the thread is only a few pages I can just go back, but if it is 15 like the joe benson thread, I'm not going back 10 pages. Not sure if anyone has experienced this, but I wanted to make you aware.

[Jeremy Nygaard]

I have the Galaxy s3 and have never experienced that problem. Interesting.

[Brock Beauchamp]

I don't have an Android device for testing right now. I'm waiting for Google to release the new Nexus 7 before I invest in Android again.

 

But even at that point, I'm not sure if I'll be able to trouble-shoot this problem. That's the main development issue with Android... Too many options, too many horrible, awful, terrible skins, browsers, and versions.

 

I will never understand why Google allowed manufacturers to skin their operating system and why they took three years to release a browser based on the Chrome/webkit engine (that I believe is still optional use for manufacturers). It makes trouble-shooting on Android basically impossible unless you enjoy dropping $3-4k on hardware to get the proper mix of Samsung, HTC, Moto, Sony, Nexus, etc. devices.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Are you using the stock Android browser? You could try Chrome or Firefox instead, might be a little better browser anyway. I know my older stock Android browser did a lot of weird page caching -- I generally have to go back to the forum via bookmark.

[James]

I just got the HTC One, and using chrome, it brings me to the full site rather than the mobile site. It's not a big deal. I have a feeling that it's an issue with chrome, because it brings me to the full site rather than the mobile site for other websites as well. I can't find any settings or anything that would be causing this, but I haven't investigated it too much either.

[Brock Beauchamp]

I just got the HTC One, and using chrome, it brings me to the full site rather than the mobile site. It's not a big deal. I have a feeling that it's an issue with chrome, because it brings me to the full site rather than the mobile site for other websites as well. I can't find any settings or anything that would be causing this, but I haven't investigated it too much either.

 

From what I can gather, that's a common HTC problem. For reasons beyond my comprehension, I believe they specified a VERY large viewport size for the One.

 

Which means that instead of getting a mobile site, the phone identifies itself as a tablet or desktop.

 

Android has a lot of good things about it but leaving important software decisions to manufacturers is NOT one of those things. More often than not, manufacturers will make stupid decisions because they're not software companies.

[Badsmerf]

I'm using chrome. Its completely random when this happens, but frustrating as hell. For some reason, it just will not work for like 3.1 minutes.

[glunn]

I am thinking of getting a smartphone. Would the Apple be the best for accessing TD?

[Brock Beauchamp]

I am thinking of getting a smartphone. Would the Apple be the best for accessing TD?

 

iPhone pros: app selection, aftermarket accessories, operating system stability, very long support cycle for hardware

 

iPhone cons: limited to the feature set provided by Apple, small-ish screen

 

Android pros: operating system flexibility for power users, a multitude of hardware choices, price

 

Android cons: loads of ****ty manufacturer skins (if possible, go Nexus or one of the new "Vanilla Android" devices), short support cycle for hardware

 

There's no right or wrong choice here. If you want a big screen, buy an Android device. If you plan on keeping the device for more than two years, buy an iPhone. If you want to customize the hell out of your device, buy an Android. If you only want standard features but need rock-solid phone stability, buy an iPhone.

 

I had an iPhone. Then I bought an Android device. Now I'm back on iPhone. Next time around, it could be back to Android.

[glunn]

iPhone pros: app selection, aftermarket accessories, operating system stability, very long support cycle for hardware

 

iPhone cons: limited to the feature set provided by Apple, small-ish screen

 

Android pros: operating system flexibility for power users, a multitude of hardware choices, price

 

Android cons: loads of ****ty manufacturer skins (if possible, go Nexus or one of the new "Vanilla Android" devices), short support cycle for hardware

 

There's no right or wrong choice here. If you want a big screen, buy an Android device. If you plan on keeping the device for more than two years, buy an iPhone. If you want to customize the hell out of your device, buy an Android. If you only want standard features but need rock-solid phone stability, buy an iPhone.

 

I had an iPhone. Then I bought an Android device. Now I'm back on iPhone. Next time around, it could be back to Android.

 

Thanks, Brock. This makes it easy for me. The iPhone is much more what I am looking for.

[Brock Beauchamp]

If you buy an iPhone, hold off until early to mid September. Apple is on the verge of releasing a new model and even if you don't want to spend the money for that model, it means you'll get last year's model for a reduced price.

 

Whatever you do, don't buy anything older than the iPhone 5. Its hardware was a massive step up from the iPhone 4S.

[Otto von Ballpark]

I will add that if you buy an iPhone, back up your device often. I've gotten some older iOS devices that are pretty much worthless now because they don't support the new iOS version, and older versions of apps are not available in Apple's App Store. That shouldn't happen for awhile with a new iPhone, but given Apple's current model, it should happen eventually. (For example, the iPhone 3 models from 2009 are no longer supported by the new iOS version 7, so apps should start drying up for them soon.)

 

You should probably back up an Android device too for similar reasons, but at least Android has channels other than Google's Play Store to get apps.

[Brock Beauchamp]

I will add that if you buy an iPhone, back up your device often. I've gotten some older iOS devices that are pretty much worthless now because they don't support the new iOS version, and older versions of apps are not available in Apple's App Store. That shouldn't happen for awhile with a new iPhone, but given Apple's current model, it should happen eventually. (For example, the iPhone 3 models from 2009 are no longer supported by the new iOS version 7, so apps should start drying up for them soon.)

 

You should probably back up an Android device too for similar reasons, but at least Android has channels other than Google's Play Store to get apps.

 

Android is much worse than Apple when it comes to hardware support. With an iPhone, you'll get 48 months of hardware support (from time of device launch), where in the Android world, it's not uncommon to receive less than 12 months of device support from launch and it's rare to see hardware support go past 24 months.

 

It's one of the things that most chaps my hide about Android. Google needs to start forcing manufacturers to extend their support cycle and while they're at it, they should stop letting manufacturers ruin the elegance and simplicity of Android with a crappy skin. Most of these companies don't know squat about UIX and have no business skinning what is a pretty good OS out of the box. I have yet to see an Android skin that is better than stock Android. That's all you need to know about skinned devices.