Android 5 (Lollipop)

[doneritehosting]

Be nice clivejo LMAO!!!!

"The growth to achieve 100,000 apps is faster than Android with 24 months, but slower than iOS with 16 months. The number ramped up to 150,000 in December of 2012, followed by 200,000 in December 2013. The Windows Phone currently contains more than 300,000 apps as of August 2014."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Phone_Store

Growth is a bit slower than IOS but Faster than android.....

So the app situation is not Stagnant as most people fear... It's coming along.. another year should see alot more growth. Its a great OS as long as the apps you need are there... other than that its pretty much waiting on DEV's if they are not.

[clivejo]

Android was a brand new OS, no-one had heard of it or seen it. Myself I came from Nokia's Symbian OS which was rock solid! I then had a HTC Universal running WinCE but again the lack of decent apps limited it functionality, but it was good for emails etc. I still have it somewhere and am thinking of installing Android on it, I like the full keyboard at times.

Windows on mobile has been around donkeys years. But it never really took off and if Windows 8 on the desktop is anything to go by Im not surprised developers are staying well clear of it!!

[doneritehosting]

Yup you are right about MS and mobile.... MS was terribly short sited and dropped the ball in the smart device arena way before even Iphone was somebodies itch. 100% agree there with you clivejo, MS severly underestimated todays popularity of mobile smart devices and did not pursue it vigorously.... Hardware was one limiting factor back then, todays tech, speed, and micro size was just not available, albeit mobile devices were large and slow as christmas.... They are however making an effort to do things halfway right these days..... Alot of the tech used today though was Innovated by MS and they still hold those patents.....

Myself I hope MS does well not because I use one but rather successful competition from three players can only lead to cheaper and better products for everyone on all 3 platforms no matter which you prefer to use...

An edit to add:
My favorite phone was the Motorola V60 flip. You could lay it in the palm of your hand, close it and hide the whole phone. It made phone calls, done text and... you charged it once every 3 to 4 days (whistles) had to love it lol!!! I miss the simplicity of those days sometimes.

[Tom Alexander]

We need a disLike button now... Yan...
I was tired of cooking ROMs and I bought Galaxy...
But anyways, be careful when sitting with the phone in your pocket:



(rofl)

[clivejo]

Tom that's a feature!! Wait and see, there will be lawsuits on who invented the bendy phone!!

[The Stealthy One]

So being a bit of a phone/gadget fanatic, I need to step in here. Bit my tongue long enough (yes, I always lurk. lol). Seriously, no kidding - I've owned over 30 smartphones in the past 12 months. I am always testing and trying out the latest cutting-edge stuff....not sure why I haven't started a review blog yet, as my wife even keeps encouraging me to do so. Anyway, long story short...I spend extensive amounts of time testing and re-testing both networks here in the US and smartphones themselves.

I'll tell you my favorite mobile OS, hands-down, is Windows Phone. Totally love it - it works. Fantastically. I used to be an Apple fanatic, but got tired of the fact that you cannot drag and drop photos from a PC or Mac to your phone (you have to use iTunes). So yes as you can guess photography is a chief requirement of mine. So here are my awards for 2014:

- Lumia 1520 (I know, a 2013 model, but still that good)
- HTC One M8 (totally unmatched Android phone - no one comes anywhere near close on any front)
- iPhone 6 Plus

Biggest losers this year? Easy!

- iPhone 6 4.7" (could the battery life be any sh*tt*er?)
- Motorola Droid Turbo (unbelievably awful camera on any level)

If I could tote three phones, you better believe I'd have a 1520, M8, and 6 Plus with me at all times. The 6 Plus is my daily driver at the moment because of certain apps I need and with dispersed family all on iPhones and kids of my own now, FaceTime just makes sense. Plus, where my wife works Verizon is the only carrier with good coverage and I want to make sure she is safe and has a signal if needed at all times. Having said that, depending on what happens with Windows 10 and Windows Phone 10 (or whatever they call it) and Verizon's support of said operating systems, I could very well head back in the MS direction next year. I really love their products that much - I have no idea why, except they just plain get out of my way and work exactly like I need them to, which is priceless for me. I am also curious to see what the next M9 looks like. I don't care what anyone says, the M8 takes amazingly beautiful pictures for a smartphone, besting even the iPhone in my opinion. I've attached some photos I took in Bermuda with my M8. My only concern there is tablets - Android tablets suck, always have, and unfortunately always will until Google invests the resources needed to get them up to par with the iPad.

So yes, let's talk tablets for a bit. My winners for 2014 are:

- iPad Air 2
- Lumia 2520 (again, I know it's technically a 2013 model, but still)

Biggest tablet loser:

- Asus Windows RT VivoTab (again, I know technically 2013 but absolutely the worst piece of **** I've ever used in ANY technology)

I actually really love Windows RT so sad to see the rumors about it going away. Lumia 2520 cannot be beat. Just cannot be beat.....unless, of course you need the iOS ecosystem as I unfortunately do at the moment.

So let's talk US networks. My favorite all-around is AT&T, if only because they're becoming slightly more generous with their data allotments now and offer the best selection of phones by far. Their data speeds are also impressive. Verizon is my least favorite, even though that's what I use right now. They compress the **** out of their voice codecs to the point of ridiculousness and because they have so many users in many areas the 4G LTE network crawls like a freaking turtle. So bad. But coverage everywhere for voice and SMS so.....yeah. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE T-Mobile's network quality where they have service - their big challenge right now is covering areas outside of big cities. But their speeds and reliability are absolute tops, at least all along the East Cost US and in Hawaii. Unlimited data is a big plus, too. And lastly, we have Sprint out of the big 4 - getting better, but still such a big disappointment. The company and more specifically its network has been mismanaged for so long that it lags in many areas. BWI airport (Baltimore, Maryland) still has no Sprint coverage, believe it or not. This is a big airport. Other areas have blindingly fast speeds. It's crazy. I so want to love Sprint because they're kind of the underdog and they have oodles of spectrum that would allow them to stomp AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile to bits - they're just not executing on it well - at least not yet. Will be interesting to see how they change further over the next year or two.

OMG, I could go on forever. Should've been a wireless industry analyst. I love this stuff. Read fiercewireless and lightreading every single day. I know I have rambled and jumped all over the place. But couldn't bite my tongue any longer. Lol....too much free time on my hands today? Perhaps, just perhaps.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2. lol

Just wanna say, reaching my ten-year mark having worked with RSP, which I realized this morning and which also shocked the heck out of me. I literally started as a kid in this business....and acted like it too. Why Kalin and all are still gracious enough to work with me, I have no idea because I certainly don't deserve it. Things are of course mended now and I matured so much. But eternally grateful for RSP/LiquidNet and what this company stands for in the industry and the world. Guys, don't ever give up on what you're doing. The progress and momentum here is truly amazing. And I am eternally grateful for what RSP provides and for this RSP Forum community. Going to try to be a bit more active now----we'll see how that works out with another baby on the way!

Anyway, happy holidays to all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[The Stealthy One]

Oh, and here are some of my Bermuda pics taken this past May with the HTC One M8 Harman Kardon edition on Sprint. All default camera settings, though another thing I love about the M8 is the granular control they give you over camera settings. Again, this isn't perfect photography - it's a phone after all. But awesome quality nonetheless, for what it is.

EDIT: Actually, have to link to them as they are too big to upload here! So here you go:

http://postimg.org/image/qbgukha4r/

http://postimg.org/image/6fla6s6yf/

http://postimg.org/image/xoqwpfkyr/ - this one was actually through the window of a moving bus, that's how fast the shutter is on the HTC One M8!
http://postimg.org/image/kfk5p01cd/ - view from the Bermuda zoo

http://postimg.org/image/6edruwuk9/

http://postimg.org/image/59pbb0xx9/

[doneritehosting]

Right on Stealthy about Windows Phone I got a Lumia Icon with verizon and could not be happier with it..

[The Stealthy One]

Have you seen the Lumia 1030 concept/rumors? Sorry to see they may be dropping Zeiss, but still.....might have to do whatever it takes to get my hands on one of those if it comes to fruition!

[clivejo]

I will never ever ever ever buy a Samsung again because ot the tons of sh** they pre-load on their phones aka bloatware. I had 3GB of ram and only 300MB free when I boot up the phone (brand new nothing installed on it...)

I do agree regarding the bloatware, both Google and Samsung install. But saying that there is a great community of devs who give you different options, such as SlimKat and Tiny ROM, which have cut down version of KitKat. I dont know why you were getting Force Closes/Crashes as Ive never have a problem with that (bar in the Alpha 3 ROM and the crashing camera app, but that was a reported bug and to be expected in alpha software)

Who knew this topic would have 3 distinct camps, we got the Android, Microsoft and Apple fan clubs!! All punching from their own corners

Where are the Blackberry fans?

[Tom Alexander]

Where are the Blackberry fans?

- They are using iOS now

wink wink ha-ha.

[doneritehosting]

Have you seen the Lumia 1030 concept/rumors? Sorry to see they may be dropping Zeiss, but still.....might have to do whatever it takes to get my hands on one of those if it comes to fruition!

I have seen the concept photos and articles Steathy.... If the 1030 comes to light it's gonna be a fantastic phone, especially with that 50mp pureview zeiss snapper.... I'll have to do some bartering with verizon again, sh**

[The Stealthy One]

Kinda been looking at the One M8 for Windows on T-Mobile, too - just until the next flagship Lumia comes out. Might have to go pick it up tomorrow!

[doneritehosting]

Speaking of Blackberry, this is interesting news....

http://bgr.com/2014/11/13/blackberry-samsung-partnership-enterprise/

[The Stealthy One]

So I actually went and ordered an HTC One M8 for Windows on T-Mobile US today. Couldn't help myself - it's almost like a disease! haha