Help android convert from iphone...

[mk3tony]

Hi guys,

i've got an iphone 3gs which i am giving to my girlfriend after upgrading on orange to the galaxy s2. Loving the phone except for a couple of points:

There doesnt seem to be as many good apps or games as apple's appstore, am i just looking for the wrong things or is the appstore actually better on that side?

also, i have both the galaxy and iphone next to me, the iphone has full wifi signal, yet the galaxy has 1 bar. is there any way i can improve this as it is terrible, the phone is meant to be wayyy fast yet my 3gs is actually faster for internet surfing!

thanks

 

[Quboid]

There are plenty of apps. The Apple Appstore does have more but there is still loads. I think the market is quite bad for finding apps.

Odd about wifi. It is fine on my SGS2, do you have the same problem on all wifi networks?

 

[yohobojo]

Market has more free apps than apple app store

 

[chocobosandwich]

More viruses and trojans too.

 

[llescaflownell]

Not unless you're smart about what you're downloading.

 

[mk3tony]

There are plenty of apps. The Apple Appstore does have more but there is still loads. I think the market is quite bad for finding apps.

Odd about wifi. It is fine on my SGS2, do you have the same problem on all wifi networks?

Seems to be, i'm on both my work wifi and my home, both i got full wifi with my iphone and it was quite quick so i thought well the sgs2 Will be better. even at work i will only get 2 bars and i sit nearly underneath the router! both routers are n wireless networks so range really shouldn't be a problem, how can check what the issue is?

I just feel that all the games are very 2d or am i just looking at the wrong ones? the appstore is very well presented compared to market i think?

 

[KING LUFF]

Welcome to the forum and Android! I have used both the Android Market and the App Store from Apple and unfortunately the App Store is much better that the Market for both content and design. You will find more free apps in the market though and there will usually be a similar app if not the same one available.

For the WiFi issue, try downloading WiFi Fixer from the market:

https://market.android.com/details?id=org.wahtod.wififixer&feature=search_result

 

[mk3tony]

Welcome to the forum and Android! I have used both the Android Market and the App Store from Apple and unfortunately the App Store is much better that the Market for both content and design. You will find more free apps in the market though and there will usually be a similar app if not the same one available.

For the WiFi issue, try downloading WiFi Fixer from the market:

https://market.android.com/details?id=org.wahtod.wififixer&feature=search_result

Hi KING LUFF, thanks, yeah i feel that the iphone is more user friendly to be honest!

i downloaded the wifi fixer, but it hasnt really done anything, i put the settings onto max wifi but to no avail. i can't understand how i can have my iphone next to my gs2, both on same wifi, loading same page, iphone has full signal, gs2 has 1 bar and to make things worse, the iphone loads quicker.

Surely it can't be a router issue as the problem is also at work, but then i dont see how it could be the phones problem as the nexus s i bought did that as well, could it be an android issue?

i don't know if calling samsung support will do anything except cost me money?

i really want to like this phone

 

[Spewy]

I too have this wifi weak signal issue, I am currently about 6feet away from the router and only have two bars which soon drops to one or none If I move much further away. I have already ordered a better router with "n" to try to solve the issue but I did not have this problem with my desire. Also I don't think the web pages load any quicker with the GS2 than they did with the desire.

 

[s44]

A lot of games are available only through Gameloft, not directly from the Market.

 

[Trev186]

If it is games you want search Yongzh (he is the dev)

and you will find several emulators made by him:

He has : SNESOID, GENSOID, GEAROID, ATARIOID, GBC, GBA and a N64oid which is not on the market the moment but when he finishes it will be (he will send you a copy if you email him though Mario 64 works perfectly as do a few others)

Also search for FPSE it is a Sony playstation emulator

Checkout zodttd.com for PSX4droid (no longer on the android market but free on his site) for an alternative PSX emulator

If you are interested in getting your hands dirty there are also ScummVM and DOSbox emulators for Android but they require a bit more work to get up and running

A Dreamcast emulator is also in development currently.

IMO just with the Sony Playstation library alone you should be busy with games for a LONG time. RPGs like Final Fantasy 7-9 work very well

If you like games like Final Fantasy Tactics there is a PSP port of a similar game called Spectral Souls on the market. It is a bit pricey but for PSP quality it is well worth it. Personally have played about 3/4ths of it myself and love it.

 

[KING LUFF]

Hi KING LUFF, thanks, yeah i feel that the iphone is more user friendly to be honest!

i downloaded the wifi fixer, but it hasnt really done anything, i put the settings onto max wifi but to no avail. i can't understand how i can have my iphone next to my gs2, both on same wifi, loading same page, iphone has full signal, gs2 has 1 bar and to make things worse, the iphone loads quicker.

Surely it can't be a router issue as the problem is also at work, but then i dont see how it could be the phones problem as the nexus s i bought did that as well, could it be an android issue?

i don't know if calling samsung support will do anything except cost me money?

i really want to like this phone

Well i now have a GS2 and my better half has the iPhone 4, i also have a HTC Desire so i have done some tests and the GS2 does seem to have a weaker signal than the other 2.

I wouldn't worry though, i got the Desire when it 1st came out and it had a similar problem, it was promptly fixed in a software update and i'm sure Samsung will do the same. Remember, this is a very new phone to the market, there are always going to be small problems.

I find this to be one of the simplest Android phones out there, it will just take a couple of weeks if coming from iOS. The benefit at the end being that you really can do so much more with your phone than any other mobile out there

 

[uktivo]

"I find this to be one of the simplest Android phones out there, it will just take a couple of weeks if coming from iOS. The benefit at the end being that you really can do so much more with your phone than any other mobile out there"

I second that view. I've tried HTC desire HD and a couple of other HTC handsets. This SGS2 is the closest match to the iOS UI but has lots more customisation.

 

[XplosiV]

Personally I never bother using wifi. I don't see the point in using another piece of hardware when I alway have decent 3g/h speed as it is.

If a low wifi signal is pretty much your only issue, then things can't be that bad. And I'm sure samsung will patch that soon enough.

 

[NZtechfreak]

In these tests, how were the actual speeds? My Samsung i8910 used to report extremely low 3G signals, and yet got better speeds at my home than any other phone I had owned before it...

 

[Irate]

i agree the wifi does not work properly but it doesnt really affect the browsing experience for me. also the the android app strore is poor in comparison with the apple version its filled with a lot of useless junk

 

[mk3tony]

Well i now have a GS2 and my better half has the iPhone 4, i also have a HTC Desire so i have done some tests and the GS2 does seem to have a weaker signal than the other 2.

I wouldn't worry though, i got the Desire when it 1st came out and it had a similar problem, it was promptly fixed in a software update and i'm sure Samsung will do the same. Remember, this is a very new phone to the market, there are always going to be small problems.

I find this to be one of the simplest Android phones out there, it will just take a couple of weeks if coming from iOS. The benefit at the end being that you really can do so much more with your phone than any other mobile out there

what worries me though is that my friend has had the nexus s for over a month now, he came round yesterday and had the same issue, very weak signal, so is it still likely that a software update would sort?

also, is there a way yet to stop websites automatically loading in mobile view?

 

[NZtechfreak]

On lots of Android handsets if you go into the browser and type about:debug into the address bar and enter, then go in settings, you will see an option to change the user agent to desktop. Let us know if it works here too

 

[Quboid]

I think it is about:useragent on this phone.

 

[mk3tony]

I think it is about:useragent on this phone.

You legend! top work that works perfectly now just wish i could use the internet better i'm changing the channels on my router as we speak to try improve the range but so far it hasn't helped

 

[Spewy]

Have I missed something! What fixed it and what is user agent?

 

[mk3tony]

Have I missed something! What fixed it and what is user agent?

i dont know what it is, but i just typed it into the address bar and it stops it opening up into mobile view. Some websites still do it, but if you just type it in when your on the website then choose desktop again and then go back onto the website, it works fine

UPDATE ON THE WIFI ISSUE:
After being on the phone to orange and phones4u all day i have found out thus:

Orange has had many complaints about the poor wifi signal issue. They have said that it is an issue which could be in gingerbread but most of their issues are with the gs2 at the moment.

There is a fix planned in the next big software update but no idea when that will be.

So i and whoever else has this issue will just to suffer

 

[XplosiV]

Well the next BIG update will be android 2.4, and thats probably a fair while away

 

[mk3tony]

Well the next BIG update will be android 2.4, and thats probably a fair while away

i know tell me about it does anyone else have the same issue?

 

[XplosiV]

You will probably find that the devs that do the custom kernels and rooting and all that jazz will have a fix long before samsung. Only thing is that to be able to fix the phone you'll most likely need to root it for a start.