NEW2U Certified Pre-Owned

Who comes up with these names? Marketing MBAs? Anyway, after a few Twitter messages, T-Mobile agreed to send me a replacement for my dying HTC One M8. I have been with T-Mobile for 10+ years, including several years where I only needed a "home" phone number and would use ~5 minutes out of my 700 minute plan each month. The replacement phone arrived quickly and I have 7 days to return the old phone.

However, T-Mobile managed to send me a different phone. So instead of a HTC One M8, I now have a refurbished Samsung Galaxy S5. Both phones came out around the same time in 2014, and both were $650 new. Even though both are running Android 5, there are enough hardware and software differences that it's a pain in the ass to copy apps and data over to the "new" phone. I'm struggling to remember dozens of usernames and passwords, and there's no way to transfer chat/text history. Ugh.

Also the Galaxy S5 is slow. My HTC was a bit slow already but the S5 is worse. Here are some quick impressions:

- S5 is lighter and thinner, and has a replaceable battery. If I could replace the battery in the M8, then I would be posting this.
- The screen looks nicer than the HTC, and has a much higher resolution camera.
- Even though the battery is replaceable, it doesn't seem to last very long... and it comes with a USB 3.0 cable port.
- Sound quality is bad. The HTC had awesome speakers, but I guess everyone uses headphones to listen to music.
- S5 only came with 16GB vs. 32GB of on-camera memory. Good thing there is a micro SD card (I hate Apple).
- The refurbished phone came with free headphones! Surprisingly, the M8 didn't come with any. I have lots, but I like the cheap Samsung ones. I'm still using the set that came with my original Galaxy S9000.
- Already bought a new case since the old one won't fit. $11.99 from Amazon.

Again, beggars can't be choosy. Having a S5 is much better than no phone, or spending another $700 on a new one.

==========

One more thing: The S5 is supposed to be waterproof so in case you drop your phone in the toilet or something. To achieve this, the USB 3.0 charging port has a huge cover that is hard to open/close, especially if you don't have long fingernails. The obvious solution is to get an inductive charger back cover (or a thin insert) and charge wirelessly. I'll see how long I can deal with the fat cover for now.

==========

Well, I think I've copied everything I could off the old phone and reinstalled most of the apps on the new phone. I did a factory reset on the HTC and it's going back to T-Mobile tomorrow. Looks like I'm stuck with Samsung phones for now.

Crappy Smartphone

My first smartphone was a Samsung Vibrant (aka Galaxy S9000) and it worked well for several years. About two years ago, I replaced it with a HTC One M8. At the time, conventional wisdom was to get a Samsung Galaxy S4 or an Apple iPhone 5; I got the HTC to show some love for Taiwan. I also ended up buying a special case (dot view) and an external camera (HTC Re) for it.

Last weekend, I noticed that the phone was cracked along the edges, and the glass screen had a bulge in it. Most likely the internal battery went bad since the phone wasn't holding much charge either. Lithium ion batteries tend to heat up and swell as they deteriorate. I'm kinda pissed since the phone cost me $650 and only lasted <2 years, while several iPhone 4's and my OG Galaxy is still fine. The HTC phone still works but now I'm afraid it will catch fire or something when the battery finally dies. Debating whether to buy a battery replacement kit online (looks like it will take hours to open case and replace battery), or get a new (expensive) phone. Sigh...

Kindle Fire

After my ASUS Transformer fiasco, I went and bought a Kindle Fire. I guess I didn't do that much research other than the fact it cost more to make than what Amazon is selling it for... the cheap Chinese guy syndrome got me again.


Kindle Fire next to my iPad 2

I messed around with it for a few hours trying to set it up so my mom can watch K-dramas. You quickly find out that it's not a "normal" Android pad. Amazon, like Apple, has locked the system down so you have to get apps/content from Amazon. It won't let you install Android Market so I can't set up the Kindle Fire like my Samsung GalaxyS. Also, the hardware is slow. Not sure if it's the funky browser or a crappy CPU. The 7" form factor is easier to hold but small for browsing.

Well, you get what you pay for... it was sold as a Kindle (media player) instead of a full tablet. But since it was only $200, I guess I'll keep it. My powerstrip next to my bed is now full: table lamp, charger for Samsung phone, charger for iPhone 4, charger for iPad 2, and now charger for Kindle Fire. :)

==========

So you can install Android Market after all, but you have to root the Kindle Fire by installing the Android SDK, then install a whole bunch of stuff. I haven't even rooted by Samsung GalaxyS after 18 months so I'm not sure if I will do this.

Do Not Remove

It was only a few years ago that I was the only Apple person in my family. Recently however, my sister has taken a bite and now has two Apple computers, two Apple TV's, two iPhone 4's and an iPhone 3G that my nieces use like an iPod Touch. Anyway, the old iPhone 3G's battery is starting to fail so I brought it back home to replace the battery. How hard can it be?

Well, if you're not a nimble 13-year old farm girl from China working at Foxconn in Shenzhen, it's pretty hard. I did manage to swap out the 3.7V Li-ion polymer battery but it took awhile. Two electrical engineering degrees were not enough to overcome old age and very small screws and connectors.

Why yes, I did take photos:


Working iPhone 3G with battery replacement kit ($6.31 from Amazon). Note the time = 9:38pm.


Remove bottom two screws and remove LCD display. The "case cracking tool" was useless. I ended up using a suction cup to lift up the cover/display. Next disconnect connectors 1, 2, and 3, which were conveniently labelled.


Remove 7 tiny tiny screws. One was under the "Do not remove" sticker. Oh well... it's out of warranty anyway.


After removing the screws, disconnect connectors 4, 5, 6, also conveniently labelled, and unnumbered connector for the camera. Remove motherboard and finally see battery.


The battery was held down by double-sided tape. Remove old battery and replace with new battery. Connect and screw everything back. Look it still works. Again, note the time = 10:30pm. Took me almost an hour to do everything.


Final test: see if Land Before Time (Sydnie's favorite movie) still plays. Check!

Couple of thoughts. I've owned many Apple products from an old Apple II+ to a Mac Plus to a Mac mini plus several iPod/iPad/iPhones, and everything has been sealed up tight at the factory. Most product needed special tools to open the case, and you can't change the battery in mobile devices. My Samsung GalaxyS has a back cover and a battery change takes only 10 seconds, not close to an hour with the iPhone. Totally lame.

I am also lucky that I wasn't born in rural China. I would totally suck working at Foxconn assembling iPod/iPad/iPhones, unlike this factory girl:


iPhone girl

Seriously, if I had to do this 12 hours a day, six days a week, for $0.50/hour, I'd probably want to jump off a building too.

Vibrant Software Upgrade

I got a notice on my phone for a software upgrade. It took ~5 minutes and the phone seems to work okay. While it was upgrading, I read a few posts on the T-Mobile forum and people were complaining about the phone bricking after the upgrade. There are also a lot of complaints about the battery life post upgrade. I was already getting sucky battery life so hopefully it won't make it worse.

Model number: SGH-T959
Firmware version: 2.1-update1
Baseband version: T959UVJI6
Kernel version: 2.6.29
Build number: ECLAIR.UVJI6

The fix was mainly for GPS. I read that a lot of people had issues with the GPS functionality on the Samsung. My experience was 50/50... sometimes it would take minutes to acquire the GPS signal (or not at all), but other times it seemed okay. It always performed worse than the GPS on my Blackberry Curve. Now the GPS locks on in seconds, even indoors.

The other thing that was supposed to get fixed by this update was access to Samsung's Media Hub software. It allows you to buy/rent movies and TV shows. I just ran the app and it seems to work.

Now if they will just release Android OS v2.2 (Froyo) for my phone.

Kogi BBQ in Irvine

When I got the new smartphone, I was wondering what I would do with it. Well, I found one use... I can follow Kogi BBQ on Twitter. I saw that one of their trucks was going to be in Irvine at 6:30pm so I stopped by after work. I've actually never gotten food from Kogi, nor any other "gourmet" food trucks, so this is a first for me. Yeah, yeah... I'm way behind.


This is the "Naranja" truck based out of Anaheim


There were about 20 people in front of me but the line moved pretty quickly. I stood for about 15 minutes before getting to the truck. Since it was my first time, I just ordered a spare rib burrito. Usually I'm very picky about stuff inside my burrito but since I never had a Kogi burrito before, I just ordered the default.


This was behind K1 Speed (indoor go-karting place) on McGaw and Von Karman in Irvine. Parked next to the Kogi truck was a ice cream truck. It looked expensive so I didn't ask. Maybe these trucks travel in packs now.


I only waited about 5 minutes for my burrito. I noticed that almost everyone in line had a smartphone, with a lot of iPhone 4's... without phone cases!


Kogi spare rib burrito. It was different. The meat had good flavor but was really salty. I wasn't sure what else was in there but there was definitely some cheese, veges (kimchi?) and maybe rice. I ate about 1/2 of it in the car before driving home. If I go again, maybe I'll try the tacos or the sliders instead.

!@#$%^& Air Bubbles

Yesterday I bought a clear screen protector (2 pack) for my new phone. It's basically a thin pieces of matte plastic film that comes sandwiched between two stiffer plastic sheets. Instructions are simple: peel off one side, stick it on the phone, and peel off the other side. It also comes with a cleaning cloth to wipe off the phone surface... all this for $15.

Anyway, my first attempt was quite unsuccessful. Somehow I got a big piece of lint stuck to the film and it created a huge air bubble. I also messed up one edge in my multiple attempts to remove the piece of lint. Getting frustrated, I went to the 2nd sheet of the 2 pack and was a bit more successful, leaving only two small bubbles.

However, I'm a perfectionist with the stupidest things so it bothered me all night. After getting up during the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, I decided to try and peel back the film, and pry off the piece of lint/dirt from the sticky side. At first, I was successful which left only one noticeable air bubble, but I just couldn't leave it alone... I had to have a bubble-free surface. Well, I learned something: don't do this on the bed since any slight movement kicks up a lot of lint/dust. Instead of getting rid of one piece of lint, I managed to get hundreds more stuck on the film. Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!

No problem, I thought. I saved the other piece of film from before. If I can remove the one large piece of lint, I can still make it work. This time, I sat at my desk, wiped the phone really clean, and stuck the original piece of film on to see about 10 medium sized air bubbles. I managed to get that down to about 3 when a random burst of air (or something) deposited a lot of dust and a small piece of hair(!) on the film, and I knew I was done. So after about 40 minutes of work and $15 (plus tax... when did OC sales tax become 9.25%?!), all I have is a small piece of cleaning cloth and a still-naked phone.


♫ Tiny bubbles... ♪

I feel like I should go spend another $15 and try again (and again since it's a 2 pack) before I really scratch up the phone surface. This time though, I probably need to break in to a class 10 (or better) clean room and wear a bunny suit. Is this what OCD feels like?


Maybe I should have got a leather pouch thing like I have for the "old" Blackberry 8310. The screen is still pretty clear and scratch free after ~2 years.

Weatherbug Elite

I bought my first app from Android Market earlier today. I liked the free Weatherbug app but kept clicking on the ad so I splurged and bought the ad-free version for $1.99. For the list of cities, I put in Chengdu, Beijing, and Taipei.

Currently it says:

Chengdu - Hot and humid
Beijing - Very hot
Taipei - Hot and humid

:(

I Am Tethered!

I'm such a nerd... :) This is the first time that I got tethering to work. I'm actually connected using my Vibrant and typing/posting this entry through the T-Mobile 3G connection. I'm not sure if it's legit or not... hopefully this is covered in my $25 unlimited use data plan.



Okay, so it's not as fast as my home cable modem connection with Cox but it's not too bad. It's good enough for light browsing and email but I won't be downloading K-pop music videos. I'm still not used to the on-screen keyboard so when I have to type a lot online, I can tether my netbook and use the 3G Internet connection.

==========

This is where I got the info. Not sure how we're supposed to know to use epc.tmobile.com and *99#. The guy in the store definitely didn't tell me I can tether.

Android Blogger

I found a case for my phone yesterday at the T-Mobile store in Tustin.

==========

Arg! I started this post using the browser app on the phone but it was taking forever. It's a cool phone, and even though it costs as much as a computer, I can't see it replacing my PC/notebook/netbook. Anyway, there doesn't seem to be an Android app for Blogger/Blogspot, which is strange since Google owns Blogger. I checked out Blogger Mobile but it's really for sending in posts using SMS/MMS.

I also downloaded Samsung Kies which allows you to link the Galaxy S phone to your computer using the USB cable. The only feature I'm looking for is tethering since I have the unlimited data plan from T-Mobile. It's not offered in the US so I had to download it from the UK site.

No Case for New Phone :(

When I bought the new Samsung phone at the T-Mobile store in Torrance, the girl in front of me got the last gel case for the Vibrant T959. Since the phone is so new, there are not many choices on Amazon, and the #1 search result gave an availability of 1-4 months. I'll probably break the phone by then.

During lunch today, I went to the Irvine T-Mobile store. I search the entire store and they only had the leather case... not cool. Next I went to the Best Buy at the corner of Jamboree and Barranca but since they don't carry T-Mobile, they didn't have a case that fit. Searching online (with the new phone!), I saw that AT&T offers a variant of the Galaxy S called the Captivate so I headed there. They only had a clear case and when I held it up to my phone, it didn't fit properly. Turns out even though it's the same phone, the case and ports are slightly different. Sigh... 4 stores (not counting Amazon) and still no case. The guy at Best Buy said that the Santa Ana store carries T-Mobile so maybe I'll try there and the T-Mobile store in Tustin/Irvine Marketplace on the way home.

==========

Back to the phone itself... I downloaded lots of apps from Android Market. The coolest so far has to be Google Goggles. This app lets you take pictures of stuff and it will do a search based on the image. You can also do this with product barcodes. I took a picture of a bottle of Centrum multi-vitamins at home and it told me it costs $18.99 at Amazon.

New Phone

No new TV yet but I did get a new cell phone. I've had my T-Mobile account with my Motorola Razr3 for a few years so it was time for an upgrade. I was using my mom's Samsung slider phone on my line but she got tired of the Razr so I gave it back to her and got a Samsung Vibrant (or i9000 Galaxy S). It's an iPhone like smartphone and cost me $200 to upgrade plus an additional $25/month for the unlimited data plan.

I've only had the phone for one day and it's pretty cool. It has the most amazing OLED display (480x800) and came with a copy of Avatar preloaded on a 2GB microSD card. It also has 16GB of internal memory so lots of room for media and stuff. It runs Android 2.1 and so far I've only played with it a little bit.



I only have one issue with it so far. The battery life is really really bad. I charged it up this morning and by the time I got home, the battery was almost drained. The battery monitor said ~50% of the power was used by the beautiful display so I turned down the brightness. Also, I get almost no reception (AT&T is fine though) at work so I had the WiFi turned on which drains the battery faster than the 3G/Edge connection.

I was about to upgrade my phone last month. I think the Vibrant came out on July 15th so I'm glad I waited. I swapped out the 2GB microSD card and replaced it with an existing 4GB one... and loading it up with K-pop MVs!