Tag: Android

How to completely turn off mobile data in Android?

When you own a smartphone, are you expected to be subscribed to a data plan with it?

Apparently, the answer is yes if you own an Android device.

Turning off Mobile/Cellular Data in the Settings

In iPhones, if you turn cellular data off, it means no cellular data — completely. As long as it stays off, you will not be charged for any unintentional background data use.

That is not the case for Android. Apparently, even if you turn off mobile data in your Android device and solely use wifi for internet connection, the system still uses mobile data and connects to the internet from time to time.

So now you can’t fault me when my money mostly goes to my ever reliable iPhone in the battle between the two systems. Continue reading How to completely turn off mobile data in Android?

The real reason why I’d still go with the iPhone

It’s already 2017. You’d think Android devices have already caught up with the iPhone, especially in terms of performance.

Just watch the video below. Just remember that the iPhone 7 Plus was released the earliest among the phones tested, which include Samsung Galaxy S8, LG G6, Google Pixel, and OnePlus 3T.

Load Protect feature is permanently ON for all Smart Bro accounts

Well, I was just about to write about this: about how Android keeps accessing data even though Mobile Data is off in the settings. I mean, off means “off”, right? Apparently, that’s not the case for Android. For Android systems, OFF means OS Services will still use data and access the internet — charged to your account, unless you go the Airplane mode.

Anyway, just today, I received an SMS from Smart saying that the Load Protect feature of Smart Bro is now permanently turned ON. Furthermore, to surf your favorite apps/sites, you are now required to subscribe to a data package. Thus, this means that the automatic default rate of P5/15mins.of internet has been removed to avoid any unwanted charges.

Smart Bro advisory about the Load Protect feature
Smart Bro advisory about the Load Protect feature

Continue reading Load Protect feature is permanently ON for all Smart Bro accounts

Apps are better designed in iOS than in Android

Before I bought my Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 (9.7-inch, T819), I totally forgot taking into consideration the fact that apps are usually better designed in iOS than in Android.

Not that I totally screwed up in my decision, of course, there are other important factors that I considered, the topmost being the price.

But to give you an example of how apps are better designed in iOS than in Android, take a look at the screenshots of probably the most go-to app for every smartphone and/or tablet owners, Facebook.

In landscape modes, here’s the Facebook app in my old iPad 2:

facebook-app-on-an-ipad
Facebook iOS app on my iPad 2 (Landscape mode)

Continue reading Apps are better designed in iOS than in Android

The Mobile Gaming Phenomenon that is ‘Pokemon Go’

Ever since Pokemon Go was announced in March and eventually launched in July (initially in select countries), it has taken the world by storm. Social media friends have started posting their virtual Pokemon finds, along with their own punchlines, which in the process captured the curiosity of those who are uninitiated in the Pokemon Go world. Eventually, every one has to try it out! That, regardless of news about armed robbers using this same mobile game to find their victims.

pokemon-go

So, what really is Pokemon Go?

Pokemon Go is a free mobile game for iOS and Android developed by Niantic. It is a GPS-based augmented reality game that allows players to capture, train and battle virtual Pokemon that appear throughout the real world. Although it is free, it supports in-app purchases for players who are maybe too lazy to go out and catch them outside their comfort zones and instead take some shortcuts.

This video trailer pretty much summarizes the game in less than 2 minutes: Continue reading The Mobile Gaming Phenomenon that is ‘Pokemon Go’

Knockoffs are nowhere near the real deal

GooPhone is one of those Android device manufacturers that make clones of the iPhone. With the recent unveiling of the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, GooPhone has come out with the GooPhone I6S, which is the same size and form factor as that of the iPhone 6S and made to appear to run iOS 8.

Here is the video review of the GooPhone I6S for reference:

http://youtu.be/byNGVYya9JE

I have tried customizing an Android device (a Samsung Galaxy S2) before, changing the launcher and icons to make it look like the latest iPhone. Then, after spending quite a number of hours customizing its appearance, it struck me–no matter how much time I spend on customization, no matter the extent of every detail I copy, it is still an Android device pretending to be an iPhone.

So, heed my advice: if you want an iPhone for a smartphone, save and spend on an iPhone. Custom-making an Android device to make it look like an iPhone is just a pathetic way of showing how much you really want an iPhone. After all, knockoffs are nowhere near the real deal.

LG G4 and Beyond

Pocketnow: LG wants to make a new flagship, even more powerful than the G4 will be

But to hear some new talk from company execs, it’s not the G4 that will get us really excited, but what’s next: a phone that “stands above the G series” as an even higher-end option.

If it’s higher than the G4, what does that make my LG G2, then? Plain old Android device?

I just hope LG won’t neglect updates for my G2. Up until now, we’re still waiting for the Android Lollipop OS version update.