Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact review (H8314)

In September, I decided it was time to get a new phone to replace my LG G5 that I got in November 2016. The straw that broke the camel's back was the GPS stopped working while I was out of town.

Here is the list of issues I was having with my LG G5:

• Didn't like to stay connected to LTE
• Screen retention
• Poor battery life (tried a replacement battery, but was unable to find an official one from LG)
• GPS would only work after a reboot, then finally quit altogether
• Software had not been updated since January (and still hasn't!)

My wish list for a new phone included:

• Smaller phone for a better one-handed feel
• Great screen and not curved (preferably LCD)
• Fingerprint reader (preferably on the back)
• Consistent updates
• Preferably a Snapdragon 845 processor
• Nice to have: Wireless Charging
• Good price to value ratio

That boiled down to 2 phones, the yet to be announced Google Pixel 3 or the Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact. In the end, I went with the XZ2 Compact because of three reasons. First, it was immediately available. Second, it was on sale for $500 vs at least $650 for the Pixel. Third, my wife's Pixel 2 did not feel/look much smaller than my LG G5 and I wanted something that was easier to use with one hand.

Now onto the review. I purchased the XZ2 Compact in Silver on September 8th from Best Buy for $500 ($450 if purchased with Cricket Wireless Sim and Refill card) plus tax. I immediately put it into a clear slim TPU case and put a tempered glass screen protector on it. I have had the XZ2C for a little over 3 months, and it has been a joy to use.

Pros:

• Monthly software updates (was a pain when I first got the phone that I had to install 5 updates)
• Android Pie released in October
• Battery life has been phenomenal, some examples:
• on WiFi with light browsing:
• 4 hours of on screen time in 16 hours with 60% battery left
• 6 hours of on screen time across 48 hours with 22% left
• 3.5 hours of on screen time across 72 hours
• typically go at least 2 days between charging
• One handed feel is great and easy to use
• GPS and Fingerprint reader are quick
• Close to stock android
• Venom, Halloween, and Christmas Themes have been fun to play around with

Cons:

• Sometimes miss the bigger screen
• Screen has slight curve at the edges so screen protectors either don't cover the whole screen or only adhere at the edges
• Miss the ability to pin apps to not be accidentally swiped away
• Miss the convenience of the headphone jack (Added 2019-01-28)

Sony XBR65X850C Review

Sony XBR65X850C Review

The Choice

As my aging LN-T4066F was too small for my new family room, I decided to go shopping for a new TV due to the good holiday pricing.  My debate was between the Sony XBR65X810C ($1500), Sony XBR65X850C ($1800), and Samsung UN65JS8500 ($2000).

My primary sources of information, was rtings.com, amazon.com, and bestbuy.com.

Model	Rtings.com	BestBuy.com	Amazon.com
JS6500	8.3	4.7 (377 reviews)	4.3 (195 reviews)
X850C	7.7	4.6 (455 reviews)	4.2 (187 reviews)
X810C	8.0	4.2 (64 reviews)	4.3 (38 reviews)

Notes:

• Rtings.com ratings are for 55 inch , both Sony models have material differences in 65 inch:
• X850C has a Full LED backlight, which should improve uniformity
• X810C switches to an IPS display, which would reduce black intensity, but improve viewing angles
• Amazon.com ratings are for all sizes combined

Key factors in choosing the X850C:

• In person picture: very similar between all 3 at the store
• Android TV: while still young and needs some refining, I believe this will be the future so I wanted this type of TV
• Ability to do 24p via almost any source
• Full Array LED Backlighting: Samsung was only border lit
• Low input lag for games
• No additional connections box (This could have been a plus with a longer cord)
• Small not distracting bezel: the Samsung model had a bright stainless steel looking metallic border that I found to be very distracting

The Review

The picture on this TV is absolutely amazing. The upscaled 1080p contact looks life-like as we have been binge watching BBC's Sherlock. Netflix SD content looks okay, but that is more likely due to the source material.

Pros:

• Excellent picture without requiring any tweaking
• No flashlighting or dark corners as far as I can tell
• Netflix and Amazon Instant Video built in
• Access to all my Google Play Movies
• Casting built-in
• Ability to install Kodi (and decode MPEG2 content from MythTV)
• Standard remote works well (haven't tried smart remote)
• Ability to rename inputs and the easy switching from the home screen

Cons:

• Some glare from windows
• TV button on remote can only be mapped to an input and not an app
• Inability to create a "favorites" app list: Built in apps are separated from installed apps
• Update 1/12: You can now rearrange the apps, but I wish you could turn off featured apps and suggestions
• No included 3D glasses, not a big deal for me, but something to be aware of
• Remote is not universal
• Cannot go back to the home screen via input button

In the middle:

• Sound is decent, but not much is expected from TVs this thin and is about the same as my old one
• Android TV requires some refining, have had to reboot the TV because of dropped frames in Kodi
• No context menu button on remote, had to map Stop to it in Kodi

Root and ROM LG Spectrum VS920ZV8

Since, I became tired of waiting on Verizon and LG to issue Jelly Bean for my Spectrum, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

Here is the series of steps that I followed.

Backed up my device before rooting:

• Copied SD Card contents to my laptop
• Used ADB to backup my data
• Used this as my guide: http://www.howtogeek.com/125375/how-to-create-a-full-android-phone-or-tablet-backup-without-rooting-or-unlocking-your-device/
• Installed JRE 32-bit - Oracle
• Installed Android SDK 32-bit - Android
• Opened SDK Manager and installed "Android SDK Platform-tools"
• Enabled USB Debugging on my phone under Developer Options
• Connect your phone to your computer
• Changed USB type to Internet -> Ethernet under Connection Options
• Unmounted my SD Card (adb kept trying to backup all the data on my sd card regardless of options used) 
• See: http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=28303
• Run a command prompt: cmd
• Inside the Android\Android-sdk\platform-tools folder, run: adb devices
• You should see your phone listed
• To initiate the backup run: adb -apk -noshared -all -f C:\Users\NAME\backup.ab
• For other options see: http://geekyouup.blogspot.com/2011/12/android-40-adb-backup-restore.html
• Authorize the backup on your phone
• Wait for it to finish 

 Rooted and installed CWM using this:

• AndroidForums
• Followed the above instructions to root and install CWM
• Used google play to download and install ROM Manager by CLOCKWORKMOD
• Used ROM Manager to install CWM 6.0.1.1 (not touch!) using Recovery Setup Option

Created a nandroid Backup:

•  Used ROM Manager

 Downloaded my ROM and Google Apps:

• CM 10.1
• Google Apps

Installed them:

• Rebooted into Recovery
• Wiped Data and Cache (factory reset)
• Installed from SD Card (CM 10.1)
• Installed from SD Card (Gapps)
• Rebooted

Everything seems to be working great, but have yet to try bluetooth.

6/12/2013 Update: Bluetooth works!

Root and ROM Verizon Droid X 4.5.621

Here is my compilation of how to root and rom on a Verizon Droid X 4.5.621

Disclaimer: I am not liable for any damage done to your device and always backup before beginning.


Root:

1. Download the iso from:
• http://rootzwiki.com/topic/31735-combined-droid-2d2gdx2-and-droidx-root-cd/
• http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1823112
2. Recommended: run a md5sum on the iso
3. Use Unetbootin to write it to a blank USB drive/CD
4. Boot from this new USB drive/CD
5. Follow on screen instructions
6. Congratulations you are now rooted! You should see a new super-user app.
7. Install Titanium Backup from Google Play
8. Run Titanium Backup, it will fix your root permission

Rom:

1. Install Droid 2 Recovery Bootstrap
• Available on Google Play for $2.99
• Or from the web:
• http://www.androidauthority.com/how-to-install-clockwork-mod-recovery-on-motorola-droid-x-42778/
• http://androidforums.com/droid-x-all-things-root/372029-tutorial-simple-gingerbread-602-sbf-root-process-updated-9-9-11-a.html
2. Open it and have it Bootstrap your phone
3. Install Clockwork Mod Recovery
4. Open it and have it install CWM
5. Choose Phone:
• Droid X for installing Blur based ROMs
• Droid X (2nd Init) for installing CyanogenMod style ROMs
6. Have it backup your phone
7. Install your favorite ROM; Here is a list of many of them:
• http://androidforums.com/droid-x-all-things-root/402999-official-droid-x-theme-rom-list-updated-3-27-12-a.html
• http://rootzwiki.com/topic/25017-roms-droid-x-45621-stock-rooted-stock-deodexed-modded-clockworkmod-flashable-updates-by-ky/
• CM9 Beta: http://www.droidforums.net/forum/droid-x-roms/199030-cyanogenmod-9-beta-dx-8-19-a.html#post2022094
• Google Apps (all the way at the bottom): http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/index.php?title=Latest_Version

Other thoughts:

• As of this writing, CM7 does not install with the 5.X CWM
• How to reboot into recovery:
• Open up Clockwork Mod Recovery click "reboot into recovery"
• Power Off Phone -> Hold in Camera Key -> Press Power until Phone starts booting -> Release camera key after 5 seconds

LG Spectrum Review

Pros:

• Gorgeous 4.5" 1280x720 HD screen protected by Gorilla® Glass


• Qualcomm Snapdragon Dual Core 1.5GHz CPU makes the phone responsive


• 1GB of RAM


• 4G Data on the Verizon Network


• 8 MP rear camera with LED flash


• Front Facing Camera


• 16GB Micro SD card included -- upgradeable to 32GB


• Allows Grouping of Icons in App Drawer


• Comes with Swype

Cons:

• No Notification LED


• Only 4GB of internal memory


• Back is slick, so I had to get a case


• Not on Ice Cream Sandwich yet


• Wifi range seems to be smaller than my Droid X


• Social Networking Widgets/Apps not as slick as MotoBlur

Comments:

• Battery Life seems middle of the road (1830mAh)


• Icons are bright and cartoonish


• Speakerphone volume is sufficient


• Price: $199 with 2 year contract, buy one get one free

Linux UPnP DLNA client

In my search to connect my Droid X to my server wireless, I came across the idea of using DLNA to copy my pictures over to it.

To set it up:

mkdir /mnt/dlna
sudo modprobe -l -t /mnt/dlna fuse
sudo djmount /mnt/dlna -o allow_other


To run in a diagnose mode try:

sudo djmount /mnt/dlna -f -o allow_other




However, I have found 2 problems with it
1. does not maintain the file date/time
2. only seems to pull the first 90 files

My Favorite Android Productivity Apps

Here are a list of my favorite Android Apps:

1. Advanced Task Killer by ReChild




1. Allows you to kill running apps




2. GMail by Google Inc.




1. quick access to Gmail




3. GTasks by Dato




1. A widget and app that integrates with google tasks




4. SMS Backup+ by Jan Berkel




1. An app that backups all SMS and MMS to gmail with a SMS label




5. Calendar Widget by Motorola




1. A widget and app that integrates with Google Calander