Some questions about Andorid

[jleebiker]

Afternoon all. Long time Windows Phone user here. The new Samsung S5 Active really has me looking at this phone. WP has nothing like it right now.

I have a few questions:
1) Security-Can anyone explain how Droid can match the security of WP? The thing we hear time and time again are the security flaws in Droid OS. Case in point, the most recent pulling from the Google Play store of the #1 anti-malware app when it was discovered it was actually malware itself. How do you insure your data is safe and someone isn't backdoored to it or is able to get to your data in any way, shape or form?

2) IP67-I've read that Samsung doesn't have a good track record with this. They actually had it pulled from one model? At the same time, I saw a YouTube video of a S4 IIRC going through 50 min in a washing machine and it lived. Does anyone have any first-hand experience at the S5 surviving in a harsh environment?

3) Slow downs-Another recurring theme we hear is that Droids slow down over time. For whatever reason, be it adware, spamware, malware or something else, the OS on a device tends to get laggier and laggier. Is this really true or just anecdotal?

4) Battery life-the S5 has a HUGE screen at 5.1 inches. How long is the typical battery life on a single charge? I guess that would vary wildly based on what other processes are running, WiFi, Cell coverage.

5) Has anyone tried the Bluetooth stack on the S5? I do so many things with BT, I would hate to lose any funtionality.

My biggest concern is the security and slowing down. Thanks all!

 

[AZgl1500]

Afternoon all. Long time Windows Phone user here. The new Samsung S5 Active really has me looking at this phone. WP has nothing like it right now.

I have a few questions:
1) Security-Can anyone explain how Droid can match the security of WP? The thing we hear time and time again are the security flaws in Droid OS. Case in point, the most recent pulling from the Google Play store of the #1 anti-malware app when it was discovered it was actually malware itself. How do you insure your data is safe and someone isn't backdoored to it or is able to get to your data in any way, shape or form?



Most of that is bad mouthing from the opposite camp. I have used both AVG anti-virus and McAfee. Both are excellent and no problems with either one.



2) IP67-I've read that Samsung doesn't have a good track record with this. They actually had it pulled from one model? At the same time, I saw a YouTube video of a S4 IIRC going through 50 min in a washing machine and it lived. Does anyone have any first-hand experience at the S5 surviving in a harsh environment?



NADA on this from me.


3) Slow downs-Another recurring theme we hear is that Droids slow down over time. For whatever reason, be it adware, spamware, malware or something else, the OS on a device tends to get laggier and laggier. Is this really true or just anecdotal?



That is NOT a fact…. It is a result of folks loading on more apps, some of which may have issues… especially is not from the Play Store:
the basic phone has no reason to go slower over time.



4) Battery life-the S5 has a HUGE screen at 5.1 inches. How long is the typical battery life on a single charge? I guess that would vary wildly based on what other processes are running, WiFi, Cell coverage.


This varies by how you use the phone. I am very frugal with mine and getting 5 days minimum per charge. Others with heavy games and video use get 16 hours. Depends on how it is used.



5) Has anyone tried the Bluetooth stack on the S5? I do so many things with BT, I would hate to lose any funtionality.


I use a BT headset, have not tried anything else.

 

[jleebiker]

Thanks for your time in answering my question. Do you know if Verizon will be getting the S5 Active? Do you know if it will support the new AWS band?

 

[AZgl1500]

Thanks for your time in answering my question. Do you know if Verizon will be getting the S5 Active? Do you know if it will support the new AWS band?

I read all the Newsletters and no info as of now.

 

[lgdlman]

I came from WP just recently myself. I can typically get 2 days on the battery, which I love. One of the best phones I've had in some time now.

When I was on WP, I did the dev upgrade and was not amused at the "new" look and feel.

Love this phone!!

 

[jleebiker]

I came from WP just recently myself. I can typically get 2 days on the battery, which I love. One of the best phones I've had in some time now.

When I was on WP, I did the dev upgrade and was not amused at the "new" look and feel.

Love this phone!!

Are you using the S5 or the S5 Active?

 

[AZgl1500]

I came from WP just recently myself. I can typically get 2 days on the battery, which I love. One of the best phones I've had in some time now.

When I was on WP, I did the dev upgrade and was not amused at the "new" look and feel.

Love this phone!!

My daughter has the Windows Phone. I asked her a few days back if she felt any need to change it for an Android phone.

She replied that while it did not have as many apps available as the Android phones, for the way she used it:
Shopping
Facebook, Twitter
Reading Books
movies
TV shows
Craigslist
Text Messaging by the hours, how many friends can a girl have anyway???
and more.....

She says there is no point in getting a different phone, she would have to spend months getting used to it all over again. Her one complaint is that the battery is only good for about 16-20 hours of her kind of use.

It has been a life saver for her, she is doing temporary job work as a health care giver, on a call in basis and she never knows where she will be.... often just doing "watch out" for hospice patients. Leaves her with lots of hours of "do nothing time" occasionally. The smart phone has been great for her.

.

 

[fofjjsr]

1) Security-Can anyone explain how Droid can match the security of WP? The thing we hear time and time again are the security flaws in Droid OS. Case in point, the most recent pulling from the Google Play store of the #1 anti-malware app when it was discovered it was actually malware itself. How do you insure your data is safe and someone isn't backdoored to it or is able to get to your data in any way, shape or form?

The security concerns (on all phones) are largely over-hyped. However, the government has actually begun testing using Android phones as their devices (over previously used Blackberry). There are some bad apps, but they can be easily avoided by looking at the ratings, how many reviews they have received and what they are saying.

2) IP67-I've read that Samsung doesn't have a good track record with this. They actually had it pulled from one model? At the same time, I saw a YouTube video of a S4 IIRC going through 50 min in a washing machine and it lived. Does anyone have any first-hand experience at the S5 surviving in a harsh environment?

IP67 I think is getting misrepresented. The S4 was built different with different standards. The IP67 claim is that the phone is dust/water resistant, not WATERPROOF. Some people have got away with submerging their phones and taking pictures in pools and such, but that is not what the phone claims to be able to do. Again, it is resistant, meaning it is suppose to withstand spills, splashes, quick plunges etc, not an actual underwater device, otherwise Lifeproof and Otterbox would not have produced WATERPROOF cases for the S5.

3) Slow downs-Another recurring theme we hear is that Droids slow down over time. For whatever reason, be it adware, spamware, malware or something else, the OS on a device tends to get laggier and laggier. Is this really true or just anecdotal?

This is also a misconception. All phones are prone to this, and it occurred in the passed because some droid phones were receiving updates (lower end models) they shouldn't. The higher end models can survive updates longer, and more power hungry apps longer than before. I mean lets be honest most people never even come close to using the full power of the phone. This complained was mostly do to 2 year old phones receiving the latest updates, kind of like the iPhone 4 and 4s receiving iOS7 and it bogged them down.

4) Battery life-the S5 has a HUGE screen at 5.1 inches. How long is the typical battery life on a single charge? I guess that would vary wildly based on what other processes are running, WiFi, Cell coverage.

The battery life I get is amazing. I easily make it through the day (most of the time still around 60% to 70%) by the end of the day. However, that can vary because I am not a person that does much gaming on my phone, almost none, nor stream much other than music (which even then most of that is on my phone). So battery can vary depending on how it is used. I will say I get much better battery life than my S4, and a little better than my Note 3.

5) Has anyone tried the Bluetooth stack on the S5? I do so many things with BT, I would hate to lose any funtionality.

I use bluetooth all the time on my phone. When at work (I also have an S5 as my work phone) I have a headset that is constant connected to both, no issues. I also have it paired with my car and when I had my Galaxy Gear that as well. I haven't had any issues with bluetooth, it has been very stable.

 

[fofjjsr]

Thanks for your time in answering my question. Do you know if Verizon will be getting the S5 Active? Do you know if it will support the new AWS band?

Right now I would say no. The active version seems to be a a AT&T exclusive, it was with the S4. But the S5 supports AWS, so if it does become available for Verizon I would say yes to it supporting it.