Let's Talk BBQ
General => General Discussion & Topics => General Discussion => Topic started by: pz on September 16, 2013, 11:26:21 PM
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My wife is a staunch Apple fan while I prefer PC/Android. Consequently we have many good-natured banters about who's device is better.
This past summer we planned a trip to the southwest through Vegas and the Four Corners area, where we knew we would encounter RV parks without wireless, or with wireless so poor that it is not effective. My sweetie checked with our phone carrier about the possibility of tethering her iPad to her iPhone. "Sure" they said... "You'll need to pay a monthly fee and give up your unlimited data account". Naturally she was not interested, and quite annoyed, so we went on the trip with her being a bit disgruntled from the start. Secretly I'd downloaded a free Android app that allowed me to tether any wireless divce to my Android phone.
While we were in an RV campground that did not offer wireless, I thought [...perfect... now's the time to break out my tab...] ;D
Took her a few minutes, but she eventually asked "Whatcha doin'?"
"Oh... just surfin'" I replied in a nonchalant tone without looking up
"How you doin' that!!!" she exclaimed
The main good thing that came out of the entire exchange was that I was still able to stay in the RV that night, but I suspect that it was because I allowed her iPad to tether to my Android phone. Secondary gain was that she now admits that there are significant advantages to my Android devices, especially as she is enjoying 4G internet access through my phone as we are traveling down the road. Tertiary gain might be rubbing it in a bit that her Apple device needs my Android to connect to the internet, but I don't have the nerve to try that one. ;D
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I am an Android guy and have been since the start. I am a tweaker for sure, and the open source nature of Android allows for more of that. The problem is that Android is becoming the new IOS as they let the carriers (big red especially) determine the amount of "openness" allowed on devices.
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I had all iPhone devices until earlier this year. After buying a Nexus 7, I decided to go all Android. I am really enjoying the freedom of it and while admitting there are some superior apps on iOS I'm OK with it. I'm a hacker deep down and I can hack android.
I just found out that I'll need to carry a blackberry for work. Never had one before. Should be interesting.
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I had all iPhone devices until earlier this year. After buying a Nexus 7, I decided to go all Android. I am really enjoying the freedom of it and while admitting there are some superior apps on iOS I'm OK with it. I'm a hacker deep down and I can hack android.
I just found out that I'll need to carry a blackberry for work. Never had one before. Should be interesting.
I have carried a BB for work for many years. It is still the best and easiest email device (especially the devices with the full non-touch keyboards). BB is nice too in that it will often continue to get emails when your company's Exchange server is down since it basically intercepts emails en route. ;)
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I only own and use android phones. I have a Galaxy S3 and love that phone from the 8 MP camera to the large screen. The ability to tether without paying your carrier is great. And my phone can become a wi-Fi hotspot.... for a fee to my carrier every month. You can root a iPhone or android phone but that comes with problems like when you do a update to the OS.
But when it comes to tablets I feel the Apple is superior.
I have two iPads and a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1
The kids play with both. And the only one I have needed to do a factory reset on due to a corrupt system is the Samsung. Android tablet OS beaten several times by a two year old ???
The iPad OS has never been defeated by my children and is rock solid. Has a longer battery life and offers more parental controls. And they always fight over the iPad ;)
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... And my phone can become a wi-Fi hotspot.... for a fee to my carrier every month...
The app I installed also turns my phone into WiFi - that's how my wife can connect to me. In fact, both of us can wirelessly connect to the same phone. At one time I was using an Android tablet, a W8 slate, and my wife,s iPad - worked great, and no extra fees showed up on my bill :)
Interestingly, when we came home this weekend, my wife's iPad lost the ability to connect to our home router - my android worked perfectly. I told her it must be her iPad and she told me to restart the system, which I did - no joy. Finally I tracked down the issue - DHCP was not working properly on her iPad - was issuing an IP in the wrong range - funny thing is that none of my W8 or Android devices had any problem with DHCP.
Any of you Apple guys/gals know what might be up? I had to manually set the IP address to get the thing to hook up.
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Which app are you using for wi-Fi hotspot on your phone? Is your phone rooted? And which carrier you have?
And as far as the iPad losing connection you got me? My iPads are the only devices I have that never lose the connection with my router. My windows pc's, android phones, Dish Hopper, alarm system, sprinkler controller, and android phones sometimes lose connection and I have to reset the router to get the Internet connection back.
I always check the iPads to see if the Internet is actually down. If they don't have a connection then the problem is with Time Warner and not my router ;)
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Which app are you using for wi-Fi hotspot on your phone? Is your phone rooted? And which carrier you have?
And as far as the iPad losing connection you got me? My iPads are the only devices I have that never lose the connection with my router. My windows pc's, android phones, Dish Hopper, alarm system, sprinkler controller, and android phones sometimes lose connection and I have to reset the router to get the Internet connection back.
I always check the iPads to see if the Internet is actually down. If they don't have a connection then the problem is with Time Warner and not my router ;)
Had that issue too muebe...I use Galaxy Note 2, a Mackbook pro - and Dish w/Hopper.
I finally switched routers. Bought an Apple Airport Extreme. Pricey, but worth it. No more router re-boots.....
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I have a Samsung GS3 that whoops my wifes iPhone.
We use this for internet. AT&T MiFi 4G LTE unlimited.
(http://i868.photobucket.com/albums/ab242/nepas1/bbq%20places/mifi.jpg)
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Which app are you using for wi-Fi hotspot on your phone? Is your phone rooted? And which carrier you have?
Bone stock phone (not hacked in any way) Samsung Note. ATT is carrier. Below is the link to the app. The free version allows you to use your phone as a WiFi hot spot, and I can say that devices hook up as easily as they do on your home system (maybe even easier) There was not setup involved - it just turns on and works. There is no function limitation to the free version, but you cannot password the connection, so theoretically others in the area (like at an airport) could see you hot spot and connect. If you get the paid version (only 10 bucks), then you can assign password to the connection.
What I did was to get the free version, and use it for a while as I checked my online bill to ensure that no magical charges showed up - not a single extra cent, and I still have my unlimited data plan. Once I was sure that no additional charges would show up, I got the paid version and now I am secure in that only my devices can link to the phone's WiFi
WiFi Tether (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.abcdrone.fastwifitether.free&hl=en)
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We use AT&T since they were xingular.
I have a samsung galaxy g3 that is not rooted. We decided on the att mifi mobile hotspot because its pw protected wep/wpa where my phone hot spot is not.
The at&t is the MiFi Liberate hotspot touch screen. We use it on the road. 10 devices can hook to it (if they have the pw) and i can block any of them if needed
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The free version is not compatible with my phone (blocked by carrier). Don't want to buy a full version that does not work. I read the reviews and many AT&T customers were blocked after a week or two.
I would probably need to root my phone for it to work. Not going to do that.
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The free version is not compatible with my phone (blocked by carrier). Don't want to buy a full version that does not work. I read the reviews and many AT&T customers were blocked after a week or two.
I would probably need to root my phone for it to work. Not going to do that.
Yeah
I aint that techy to do the root stuff. Im to old to get an @$$ kicking from my wife for messing up my phone ??? ???
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The problem with rooting is the carrier can brick your phone if you do an update.
I can still USB tether so it's all good ;)
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I'm with you - would never root my device, and I'm certain if the free version does not work, then the paid version will not either. Too bad - I read some of the reviews and it appears to be hit or miss regarding the app working on some phones and not on others.
I'd better go check my online bill again ;D
... and I'd better not do software updates, which usually "fix" open holes in their tight control
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I won't even consider a device that cannot be rooted. I had my 2 S4s (mine and wife's) rooted a hour after getting them home.
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I have the original iPad - nothing fancy. I use a pretty vanilla droid - several years old. I do not use / depend on devices for accessing things. I do use them to connect to the net, but not worried about being "instant". I guess I am pretty old fashioned - just me. I don't feel the need to be connected instantly.