Getting Android

Verizon Motorola Droid Turbo: Final Mobile Device Review on Getting Android

2015-01-10T22:02:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year everybody. It has been a great 3 years at Getting Android. We're especially thankful to Verizon for sending some of the hottest mobile devices over these last couple of years. Thank you for your support! Now for the Droid Turbo review:

Sony Xperia Z3v (Verizon) Review

2014-12-14T19:05:00.001-05:00

So the company that makes Playstation made another smartphone, and this time it is on Verizon. This is the first thought that crossed my mind when Verizon kindly sent me the Xperia Z3v to review. I was game to review it. Read on to see the verdict.

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Upcoming Review: Verizon Droid Turbo!

2014-12-13T16:53:00.000-05:00

Just as we're wrapping up the review for the Sony Z3v, Verizon sends us the Droid Turbo. Oh no they didn't! I've always loved the Verizon-exclusive Droid line. It has never let us down, so let's see if the Turbo can keep up with the other Droid reviews!

HTC One Remix (Verizon) Review

2014-12-07T23:13:00.003-05:00

After a nice, long Thanksgiving break, and a few weeks with the HTC One Remix, I'm ready to share my thoughts. I brought the Remix along with me on my trip to Colorado, even to areas in the Mountains where there is typically no service. How did the HTC One Remix (Verizon model) perform? Please read on.

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Verizon Sony Xperia Z3v Smartphone Upcoming Review: Send in Your Questions!

2014-12-06T13:57:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, Verizon shipped this beautifully-crafted device to my home: The Xperia Z3v Smartphone. Here is a super fast unboxing:

Verizon Launches "Connection Day" as a Thank You

2014-11-12T18:22:00.000-05:00

Some awesome news came this morning regarding some nice new offers from Verizon. On November 26th, 2014, Verizon will begin "Connection Day", giving mobile users deals on "friends, music, books, news, and apps". This is a deal for all customers, and not just business or higher-paying ones. Any Verizon customer can receive things such as free movies, Wi-Fi on select Airlines, and streaming music.

The brands that have participated with Verizon to offer these great deals are Amazon, Apple, Boingo Wireless, Conde Nast, Gogo Technologies, JetBlue, and Pandora. Here is a copy of the offers that will be available from Verizon:

The First Smartwatch with Network Connectivity Launched on Verizon This Weekend

2014-11-09T20:25:00.000-05:00

This is rather exciting news. It seems like weeks ago, I was complaining to my tech friends about all of these smart watches that really are not that smart, needing a phone to rely on for any form of connectivity. This new smart watch is called the Samsung Gear S and it has a 2" curved display (makes it fit nicely on the wrist) and network connectivity.

Face it: running with a phone in your pocket is ridiculous. I can prove this to you, because I own a Samsung Galaxy Note 4. My phone has a pedometer, but I'm still not inspired to put this tablet-sized phone in my pocket when walking/jogging. The Samsung Gear S is just in time to fix issue.

The Gear S fixes the issue by freeing up your pockets to where: "You can go out for a run, take care of some quick errands, and even just be around the office without having your phone in your pocket and still be connected". Being that it's strapped to your wrist, when you go for a jog, it's not going to make like a phone and jump out of your pocket, smashing into the ground. If it starts raining when you're jogging, there is no need to worry because it's water resistant.

At a glance, here are the specs for the Samsung Gear S:

If you're interested in checking out this hot new device, head over to Verizon's Samsung Gear S page.
As of this writing, the Gear S is available for $349.99 with a 2-year contract.

Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note 4 (Video)

2014-10-25T16:55:00.002-04:00

I have purchased the Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note 4. This is currently the highest-spec'd phone on the market and It's a lovely device :) If you have any questions or comments about the Note 4, send them my way. Thanks for getting Android!

Sony Xperia Z2 (Verizon) Review

2014-10-19T13:55:00.002-04:00

I have to be honest in that, before doing this review, I had not heard much about this tablet. I really wish I had heard more about it, and you will see why when you see the score I gave it. Is the Sony Xperia Z2 on Verizon the tablet for you? Read on!

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Verizon's "More Everything" Customers Now Getting 2x's the Data For Same Price!

2014-10-02T21:38:00.000-04:00

Remember when those shared data plans came out? I honestly didn't think it was going to be a good thing. Well, now you won't have to worry about others on your plan going over the data limit. Effective today, Verizon will double your sharable data for More Everything and Small Business plans. Your current shared data plan must be in the range of 20GB to 50GB to qualify. So, if you fit in this range, you will be able to get two times that data -- "from 40GB to 100GB".

I want to clarify that customers must act on this offer by October 31st. Don't hesitate to give Verizon a call and see what they can do for you!

For full details, visit this Verizon page.

Upcoming Review: Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet on Verizon

2014-09-27T14:12:00.001-04:00

Verizon was kind to send me another device for reviewing. This will be my first time reviewing a Sony product. The device pictured above is the waterproof Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet. Upon first glance, I really like the construction of the tablet. It feels elegant, yet solid. Over the next couple of weeks, I will review it based on how well it does when I throw some apps/games at it, as well as check out it's overall usefulness.

As always, send my way any questions or suggestions that you may have!

Thanks for getting Android.

LG G3 (Verizon) Review

2014-09-14T23:09:00.000-04:00

If the LG G2 wasn't enough of a beast for you, the LG G3 that I took for a test drive last month might pique your interest. Check out the score that I gave the LG G3 by continuing to my review.

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Verizon Customers Will Soon be Enjoying HD Voice & Video Calling

2014-08-27T22:09:00.000-04:00

Verizon has set out to enable Advanced Calling 1.0 "In the coming weeks". Being that Verizon has LTE just about everywhere, they're the carrier that can make something like this happen. You see, Verizon talked about VoLTE back in May and here we are, already approaching rollout. What makes this news really exciting is that Verizon customers will not need a 3rd party app to utilize the feature; I always feel it's annoying for me to ask a friend or family member to "Download this app, and we can try it out". If the feature is baked into your phone, you're ready to go.

Face it: Compared to landline/corporate IP phones, mobile phones have always sucked in terms of quality. Verizon has taken a big step to make a very important change in mobile technology. Verizon can accomplish this because they have the network to back it up.

I'm eager to do a sound quality comparison test between Verizon's HD voice and Sprint' HD Voice. Sprint? Yes, Sprint has been talking about HD calling for a while - apparently it is live, nation-wide - Honestly, I haven't noticed a difference and I think it might be an early April Fool's prank.

Verizon Ellipsis 7 Tablet Review

2014-08-03T18:06:00.001-04:00

This review is going to be pretty brief. Please read on to see why my review on the Ellipsis 7 is so brief, because this will let you know if this 4G LTE table will suit your needs.

More Explosive XLTE Growth for Verizon Customers in Michigan

2014-07-29T22:09:00.000-04:00

It was just back in May where we learned that Verizon added XLTE network capacity to six Michigan cities. Here we are, only two months later, and Verizon has already added some more XLTE coverage in these Michigan markets:

Battle Creek
Kalamazoo
Saginaw-Bay City
Escanaba
Iron Mountain
Marquette
Mt. Pleasant ("The Busiest Parts")
Muskegon

So Verizon is outright dominating the mobile spectrum, as this growth is just ridiculous...ly awesome for their customers. I'm assuming that the "busiest parts" of Mt. Pleasant would include the area where Central Michigan University resides.

If you don't even know what XLTE means, no sweat. XLTE is just Verizon utilizing more of it's wireless spectrum so that customers (even in areas saturated with many, many users) will not experience any slowdowns.

For instance, when I went to Las Vegas last summer, I had a device from another major carrier on hand. In the most populated parts of Vegas, my phone experienced major data dropouts; XLTE puts an end to this annoyance. If you're a verizon customer, there is no need to activate anything or make any account changes. These improvements to your network start now!

SOL Republic Tracks Headphones (Verizon) Review

2014-07-06T16:41:00.000-04:00

Think of those cheap earbuds that come with most smartphones: You know what I'm talking about?..The earbuds with the built-in microphone that typically sucks. If you're looking to replace them with a pair of higher-quality headphones, the SOL Republic Tracks will not disappoint. Check out my brief overview:

LG G2 (Verizon) Review

2014-07-06T15:37:00.002-04:00

The LG G2 has been out for quite some time now and (even though I've owned the Sprint variant), I wanted to revisit it. The reason I'm revisiting this old phone is because the specs are still great by today's smartphone standards and, in many cases, still better than phone's being released today. Read on to see the score I gave the nearly year-old Verizon LG G2.

Nokia Lumia Icon (Verizon) Review

2014-06-08T22:30:00.000-04:00

I figured it was time to do another test to see how a high-end Windows Phone would hold up to my normal preference of Android. I will spill the beans before the review and let you know that I was pleasantly surprised with the Lumia Icon. Is it enough to get an Android user to switch?.

Check Out My New(est) Moto X

2014-05-28T00:30:00.000-04:00

Sure, this is like my third Moto X, but I wanted a different design. I could have picked a more powerful phone, but the Moto X, in my opinion, is still "the perfect phone". Here's a little video clip of me opening the box. Correction for the video: I mention that the Skip unlocks the phone via BlueTooth - I meant NFC.

Verizon's XLTE Adds Even More Network Capacity to Michigan LTE Customers

2014-05-19T23:59:00.000-04:00

If LTE wasn't already fast enough, Verizon has begun "at minimum" doubling the capacity of their current LTE spectrum. The news broke this morning out of Southfield, MI that the following Michigan markets have XLTE now available:

Benton Harbor
Detroit
Flint
Grand Rapids
Houghton
Lansing

I'm pretty sure this massive upgrade will spread quickly, considering Verizon launched the original LTE in 2010. Since then, LTE is now accessible to 97% of people living in the US!

XLTE is intended to increase the LTE spectrum for reasons of being in densely populated areas, such stadiums, crowded streets, and concert venues. A month ago, when I took photos at the Tiger's game on Easter Sunday (in a crowded stadium), the network speeds even then were great. Throughout this season, as the stadium fills even closer to capacity, Verizon's XLTE will easily deliver blazing speeds. Enjoying these speeds as the Tiger's win is a good thing :)

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 (Verizon) Review

2014-05-18T22:48:00.001-04:00

I've had some bad luck with review timing over the last couple of weeks. Some recent devices that I reviewed received their OS Update from Verizon just after hours I sent them back from reviewing them. The same thing happened with the Galaxy Note 3, receiving Android KitKat. Yes, that really did happen as I heard the news from Android Central. In this review I cut the software section because it will already be outdated due to the Note 3's KitKat update.

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WOW Internet, Down in Michigan, but not Verizon Mobile Hotspot

2014-05-18T10:44:00.001-04:00

So it's a bad day for WOW. The internet is down for Michigan customers - at least I can confirm that near Detroit, MI is down. It only took me a few seconds to fire up "Internet Sharing" on the Nokia Lumia Icon. As a heads up, the Galaxy Note 3 review is going up tonight. The Nokia Lumia Icon is being tested obviously, and that'll be up within a couple of weekends. Thanks Verizon!

Here's a screenshot of the simple internet sharing menu:

Upcoming Review: Nokia Lumia Icon (Windows)

2014-05-16T00:52:00.000-04:00

Every once in a while, I request to review a non-Android device. While I often have a chance to review the best-of-the-best Android devices, I want to see one or two of Microsoft's best.

Microsoft is still pushing for the tile look that we see in Xbox 360, Windows 8 (PC and Laptop)/Tablets, and mobile phones. Many people can't stand the Windows 8 layout on the PC, because it is designed to favor a touch screen. Being that Microsoft has been favoring touch devices as of late, I chose to review a Windows Mobile phone. Check out my initial impression video below and send me any questions you may have.

Verizon HTC One M8 Review

2014-04-27T22:22:00.000-04:00

The HTC One M8 is HTC's latest flagship phone. Although the M8 was released weeks before other flagship phones such as the Samsung Galaxy S5, the M8 still directly competes with it. Please read on to see my verdict for the Verizon HTC One M8.

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Verizon HTC One M8 - Upcoming Review (video)

2014-04-14T18:26:00.000-04:00

Verizon kindly sent me the HTC One M8 to take for a spin. Ever since reviewing the original HTC One, I've been more of a fan of their cameras than I ever have. HTC has always produced great cameras in my opinion, but the HTC One Devices are by far the best. Not only do the HTC One series devices take great pictures, but they do it efficiently using Ultra Pixel technology. As a result, the file size of the photo is very small.

Take a look at my quick video "unboxing" of the HTC One M8.

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