Database Users

My (Insanely Long) Review of the SGS2

This ended up being way longer than I thought it would. It might help newbies though. Happy reading (to those that don't fall asleep half-way through).
So, here’s my SGS2 story. First some background. My Android experience is with two phones, the G2 (Desire Z) and G2X (LG O2X). Prior to that I had numerous Windows phones, the last being an HD2. So interface wise I’ve never used or even seen TouchWiz and my Sense experience is from Windows. Both Android phones were close to “pure Google” so I’ve played with a lot of launchers and heavily customized them. I liked the G2, loathed the G2X. Also, being in the U.S., the SGS2 is my first non-carrier branded phone.
The phone came Friday but I didn’t get to set it up until Monday. I wanted to play with it for a few days before commenting on it. So, by category, here are my thoughts.
Physical
I like the size, weight, and the way it feels in my hand. For some reason though, I treat it like it’s fragile. You can’t lay it down on its face because the gray trim around the screen touches the surface. You can’t lay it on its back because the plastic on the bulge at the bottom will scratch as will the camera surround. I’ll feel better when the cases I ordered come.
The full-glass front is nice as it makes the phone look rich and is more durable than using multiple materials. It’s a very stylish phone with no flex in the chassis and a very premium look. The hard-key for home that also activates task manager and voice control is a clever touch. As is being able to answer calls with the home button and disconnect them with the on/off switch. The capacitive buttons for back and menu have a pretty wide sensitivity area which makes them easy to hit even if they’re not illuminated.
The on/off switch and volume toggle are firm and respond well. I’m used to the power button being top right but I have no preference.
Overall, other than my fear of damaging it, I rate the phones physical attributes highly.
Screen
LG should stick to TVs. The O2X/G2Xs are plagued with LCD screen bleeding from the corners. It drove me crazy watching video with dark backgrounds. The colors were good on the G2X but the SGS2 blows them away. Having a totally black screen from edge to edge is a nice change from the G2X. Also, 4” vs 4.27” may not seem big on paper but the extra space makes browsing and media a much better experience. My screen has no bad pixels, lines or discolorations so I’m happy. I see the banding in gradients on certain apps and pages that some people have pointed out but it doesn’t really bother me.
TouchWiz & Samsung widgets
I used ADW Launcher on my other phones and liked it a lot. The biggest change coming to TouchWiz was the lack of control – no changing rows and columns, no changing icons, labels, or backgrounds, no controlling transitions. Also, the home screen being the furthest left screen instead of center is taking some getting used to. But to use some of the cool Samsung widgets you have to use TouchWiz.
So, after adjusting to it, I like TouchWiz. The multiple methods of moving between screens is cool as is the methods they use for moving apps around on the screen, adding pages and folders. The gyroscopic zoom is pretty cool too and a great party trick when defending buying a phone for $800. Having used Sense I was expecting TouchWiz to be similar. Sense is pretty much an all-inclusive overlay with different Sense functions all tightly integrated. TouchWiz is less intrusive and leaves a lot of stock Android exposed.
The full page calendar widget is handy and so are the e-mail and mini paper ones. I’m using live panel on one screen but it’s really just a method of resizing widgets which all the other launchers do too.
There’s no lag but I can see TouchWiz being a bear on less powerful devices. Overall, it’s not to die for but as an alternative launcher it’s got some benefits including the use of Samsung’s proprietary widgets.
Pre-Loaded Apps
Some brief comments on the pre-loaded apps:
AllShare – Much better than the DNLA app on the G2X.
BBC iPlayer – Doesn’t work in the U.S., even on a UK phone.
Calendar – I like Samsung’s better than stock.
Contacts – Again, better than stock.
Clock – Some cool features and I like Samsung’s desk clock better than stock android.
FM Radio – Nice interface but I haven’t used it.
Game Hub – Seems pretty limited in content and simplistic but I haven’t used it.
Kies Air – A really neat feature when you just want to move a couple of files between the phone and a PC.
Memo – Simple and effective for taking quick notes and easier than opening a Docs to Go page.
Mini Diary – Pretty cool for vacations and other type of social outings.
Polaris Office – Can anyone figure out what it does that other apps don’t already do better?
Readers Hub – I like it for the newspapers and magazines while I’m traveling. It’s nicely implemented.
Samsung Apps – What a strange little app. I doubt I’ll use it for anything other than updating pre-loaded Samsung apps.
Social Hub – I’m using it instead of individual apps for Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. I lose some functionality but it’s easier to see everything in one place and be able to respond quickly. Also, Samsung’s figured out a way to link Facebook contacts to internal contacts which supposedly can’t be done in 2.3.3.
Samsung Suggests – Just a link to a web page where Samsung suggests certain market apps.
Task Manager – Nothing special but not offensive either.
Video Maker – Nice to have I guess if you want to edit something on the road before sharing it. A phone’s not a great device for editing though.
Voice Command/Recorder/Talk – I haven’t figured these out yet. They’re all just Samsung-ized versions of Vingo. The few times I played with it what I said wasn’t understood. I haven’t figured out the difference/benefit compared to Google Voice.
E-Mail
I use Exchange and love the Samsung app. It offers lots of customization options, is responsive, and supports advanced Exchange features. It includes a tasks app which most manufacturer e-mail clients don’t. Some people were complaining about the lack of tick boxes. They’re there. When you press delete or move they’re displayed. It’s actually a cool idea as it saves a bunch of screen real estate. Overall, I like it better than the stock app and Enhanced E-Mail which I’ve used previously.
2G/3G/4G
I’ve only used the phone in my home city but it’s worked as well as any other phone I’ve used. It gets signal where my T-Mobile phones wouldn’t but that’s more a tower issue. I’ve never seen the phone drop below 3G but it does intentionally drop H/H+ when no data’s being transmitted. Data restarts immediately so if it saves battery I’m fine with it. Interestingly, I’m not in an AT&T fake 4G area but my downloads and web page loads are faster than my G2X even though SpeedTest shows half the bandwidth.
Wi-Fi
I’ve only used it in my house but it works as well as the G2/G2X in picking up, holding, and re-connecting a signal. It’s actually 15-30% faster than the G2X using SpeedTest. I get close to 30MB down according to SpeedTest where the G2X could only pull in the teens.
Bluetooth
It’s much more reliable than the G2X. It pairs easily, stays paired, and re-connects quickly and automatically. Rhapsody sounds 100% better over Bluetooth in my car than it did with the G2X. Loudness in my car is great, my BlueAnt Q2 headset is a little lower than I’d like but livable.
GPS
No problem picking up satellites and locking with GPS-only enabled. It’s a bit faster with Wi-Fi and sensor aiding on but feels roughly comparable to the G2 and G2X. My area has a pretty unobstructed view of the sky so it’s not a difficult test.
Sound
I have a pair of Shure 530’s and can’t turn the volume up past half-way. The bass seems richer and the separation better than on my G2X and G2. I’m no audiophile but the sound is more than adequate and better than my previous phones so I’m happy. The external speaker is louder than the G2 and G2X but a little shriller.
Internet
I like the stock browser and am impressed with how fast it renders. It’s a lot more fluid and responsive than the one on the G2X.
Battery
Every time I get a new phone I follow the same process. Format the SD card on a PC and have it in the phone at first boot, load any phone updates over the untouched stock ROM, hard reset, than start loading apps and customizing. There’s way too much that’s interconnected in phone software today so I try to reduce the variables.
I’ve been configuring and re-configuring the phone for two days now so it’s hard to judge battery performance. Neither Android OS or Android System have gone above 16% and there are no deep dives in the battery usage meter to indicate a run-away app or service. I’ve used Wi-Fi for hours a day, Kies AIR, AllShare, have all the Hubs as well as news and weather synching and am using Exchange push e-mail. Yesterday I was also watching videos on PlayOn and Netflix over 3G and Wi-Fi and listened to Bluetooth audio in my car for a few hours. Yesterday I got 12 hours on the phone and today about 11. The G2X was good for about 14 to 16 so I think I’ll get that with the SGS2 when I start using it the same way.
It appears I have a different approach to apps I don’t use then most of you. A lot of you freeze or remove them. I open them, accept their nag screens, and register if there’s a registration offered. I then go in to their settings and disable them or throttle them to the least amount of intrusion as possible. With everything inter-connected in the stock ROM there may be a polling process taking place looking for the status of specific apps. Freezing them potentially continues the polling while activating and ignoring them allows them to just be dormant. This could also explain why the online reviewers aren’t having problems as their phones are pre-setup by Samsung. Just my two cents on battery and, please god, don’t turn this in to yet another battery life discussion thread.
Summary
I really like the phone. It looks and feels good, seems well made, and is incredibly smooth and fast. I think Samsung did a great job with the UI. I know there’s battery, 2G/3G/4G, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth issues but there are tons of external variables that affect those things. If you think you’ve got problems go check out the G2X/O2X boards. And shame on LG because their ROM is on 2.2 which has been around a lot longer and should be a lot easier to work with. My phone’s running terrific (knock on wood) and I would buy it again and recommend it to others. It’s kind of like moving in to a new house. As I live with it for a while I’m sure I’ll find additional positives and negatives. But, overall, it was a good choice and investment.

perfect

Here is my response the phone kicks arse.....good review though

Hold on, you are on t-mobile usa and you can connect to 3g? I thought this phone can not do AWS? I haven't checked this forum for a while so if it works with tmous 3g frequencies I would be damn!
Nice review btw!
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

ceroglu said:
Hold on, you are on t-mobile usa and you can connect to 3g? I thought this phone can not do AWS? I haven't checked this forum for a while so if it works with tmous 3g frequencies I would be damn!
Nice review btw!
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
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He said TMo phones. He may have been buying them off contract.

Awesome review. Answered a few of my questions! Didn't know about the home button answering calls and whatnot. I love that!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

I believe the browser is faster because stock android doesn't use hardware acceleration on the browser while Samsung does on its phone. I think ice cream sandwich will bring hardware acceleration to the entire os finally.
Glad you enjoy the sgs2. Nice review
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App

Good sane review. Hey but what about that crappy batter...jk.
Didn't know about receiving/ending call buttons. Thanks for the tip. I've always hated using the touchscreen buttons and it seems Samsung did me a big favor.
Have you tried purposely scratching your phone? I always baby my phone, until the inevitable first drop. Then it is meh, who cares. The phone is black/greyish so marks won't really be that noticeable.
Also good to hear a normal person who isn't whining about Touchwiz all the time, and actually finds the pre-installed apps useful. Touchwiz is a paper-thin veneer, but certain benchmark freaks would rather turn on Windows Classic and leave Aero off for whatever peanuts of savings they can muster.

How do use allshare
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA Premium App

poloboogie said:
How do use allshare
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA Premium App
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I have a ton of videos and pictures on my Windows Home Server. I also transfer TV shows from TiVo to it so I catch up using the phone while hanging in the backyard, doing chores, etc. The WHS can stream remotely but I haven't tried that yet. I also use it to transfer pictures back and forth.

silverwolf0 said:
Touchwiz is a paper-thin veneer...
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I'd imagine version 1.0 was a bit rough. When you think about it, everyone used to dump TouchWiz and Sense to make the phone's run faster and smoother. With dual-core processors UI speed really isn't much of an issue anymore. And you can get things done faster with some of the app integration like contacts/Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn all combined. Now let's hope the manufacturers don't start making bloated UI's because of the increased headroom.

great review.

Damn good review, used to iphone for last 3 years. Loving android more and more. This might be my next phone
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

Regarding Polaris Office and how it stacks up against other office suites currently available on Android, have a look at this thread.

superrrrrrrrrrrrb review. thanks a lot buddy

I must say thats a nice review! I finally got mine two days ago, I was blown away! Haha
First when I took it out of the (awesome) box. So thin, so beautiful.
Then I turned it on, plastic was still on. Didn't see the boot up animation so well. During set up I already was like "wow, those are some deep blacks..". Then when I arrived in the homescreen and I saw the colours and sharp icons... Oo! (I'm coming from Desire with simple AMOLED)
Then I swiped to the right to go to the second page, again wow xD So smooth and fast.
I also didn't use swype before, I'm hooked now. I swiped all of this, in record time and with minimal effort.
Overall this is the best phone you can get right now, without doubt.
Edit: Just picked up my Desire again.. Slow and ugly haha! Everybody coming from a Desire generation phone will be amazed. Its definitely a big upgrade, worth it in many ways.

Thanks for the review. It was solid and it wasnt long at all.

Great review and I read it all, didn't fall asleep either. Agree with most of your observations.
The things I don't like about Touchwiz is mainly to do with the app drawer, I prefer the continous up/down scrolling of the stock one, apps can't be arranged in alphabetical order.
Also wished there was some kind of nightmode for the screen where it would turn down the brightness to an even lower level for those, like me, who do a lot of reading in bed in complete darkness. The lowest brightness level of the screen is still too high in those situations.

zen123 said:
Great review and I read it all, didn't fall asleep either. Agree with most of your observations.
The things I don't like about Touchwiz is mainly to do with the app drawer, I prefer the continous up/down scrolling of the stock one, apps can't be arranged in alphabetical order.
Also wished there was some kind of nightmode for the screen where it would turn down the brightness to an even lower level for those, like me, who do a lot of reading in bed in complete darkness. The lowest brightness level of the screen is still too high in those situations.
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try screen filter which is free on the market, one click on the widget turns on good night mode..

How is the IR blaster and the QuickRemote feature?

I am curious how the LG G2 IR blaster works as a remote control compared to the GS4 and HTC One? Is it very responsive to turning on your TV? What about for DVD/Bluray players or Air conditioners?

My good friend has an S4 and it works identical to his. Pretty much have to point the phone directly at the IR sensor. But that can also depend on the device you are controlling. But i do know the built in app, quick remote is a great app and has worked with every device I have currently. Tvs, sounds systems, dish, etc
Sent from my LG-D800 using xda app-developers app

Xbox as a DVD player in app, my pana plasma, my Yamaha receiver, pretty much everything but my myth box. Admittedly, I haven't put in any time trying my myth box.
Sent from my LG-D800 using Tapatalk 4

it's pretty bad. there's absolutely no range. you have to literally be standing directly in front of what you're using.. not off to the side whatsoever. the gs4 had better range and angles.
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk 4

S4 works from any angle.. Tried and tested

jayochs said:
it's pretty bad. there's absolutely no range. you have to literally be standing directly in front of what you're using.. not off to the side whatsoever. the gs4 had better range and angles.
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk 4
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Interesting. The LG G2's IR blaster looks like the same size as the GS4 but way smaller than the HTC One. I don't get why it would have range or angle issues compared to the GS4.

Doesn't handle complex remotes from what I've seen so far. Tried to add a WMC remote and that was fail-tastic.

jayochs said:
it's pretty bad. there's absolutely no range. you have to literally be standing directly in front of what you're using.. not off to the side whatsoever. the gs4 had better range and angles.
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk 4
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Geekybiker said:
Doesn't handle complex remotes from what I've seen so far. Tried to add a WMC remote and that was fail-tastic.
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Those are precisely my observations with the Verizon G2:
Windows Media Center 7 is next to impossible to control unless I am nearly touching the IR receiver.
My Panasonic V10 plasma is also next to impossible to control unless I am 2-3 feet from the IR receiver.
I can't get my Denon AVR to control at all.
Looks like I'm sticking with Ceton's media center app and my harmony one for a while longer.

Anyone try a different IR app?

Awesome
I had the S4 before and I love the remote on the G2. It's more basic but on my stuff it's faster and doesn't have all the watch on junk I don't care about. Also you can access it from the notification bar from anywhere and you can use it on the lock screen even with a pass code.

I find that it works, but like others have mentioned you need a pretty good direct line of sight. I have it set up for my Sony TV, Sony Blu-Ray, Pioneer Receiver and my Xbox. TBH, I haven't tested how well the xbox controlls work, but I had to manually program it using a different Xbox remote that I already had. Based on previous use w/ a physical Xbox remote, the IR sensor in the Xbox is pretty crappy, I don't expect the G2 to be any better. Bottom line: It's convenient at times, and annoying at others. total wash.

Thanks for all the responses. I don't mind that I need to be line of sight in order to use the remote control feature because who honestly is not facing the TV or what not when they are using the remote. These IR blasters are a new thing on smartphones so I am sure future generations will be better.

ericdabbs said:
Thanks for all the responses. I don't mind that I need to be line of sight in order to use the remote control feature because who honestly is not facing the TV or what not when they are using the remote. These IR blasters are a new thing on smartphones so I am sure future generations will be better.
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I was excited to try out the IR blaster on my new verizon lg g2 and was very disappointed as well. It's not that you have to be facing what you are controlling but you need to be really close. My couch is probably 8-12 feet back from the tv depending on where you sit, and it doesn't even come close to controlling anything unless i reach all the way out and lift my arm all the way up so the angle is perfectly pointing at the device. It's incredibly awkward and a complete waste of time. Oh and that is if i'm at the closest distance, anything further and it doesn't work at all no matter how I angle it. Don't get me wrong I love this phone but the IR blaster is pretty much useless. Maybe mine is defective but even during setup when i was standing 4 feet away I had to click multiple times for it to do anything. I read a lot of reviews on the device and didn't see anyone complain about it until I started digging.. All the major sites just raved that it had an IR blaster and that it worked similar to the other recent phones that have come out with IR blasters.. No mention that it has horrible range at all. I only found this thread and 1 others talking about bad range.

Could someone post the APKs? I accidentally deleted mine when I was uninstalling all of the bloat.

Same problem here...totally useless. I have 4 different brands of tv' sand I only can get it to work on one of them. Will not work with any directv boxes. Total crap.

zhzaen said:
Same problem here...totally useless. I have 4 different brands of tv' sand I only can get it to work on one of them. Will not work with any directv boxes. Total crap.
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don't know about the negative comments but it seems to work great in my house Samsung hd tv sony hi fi and humax set top box hd all work excellently ? no problems whatsoever so not sure why maybe because im using it in a small room idk but ive no negative things to say about it

Works with my directv boxes and my Samsung tv. The drawback is you need to be close or our won't work.
Sent from my Verizon LG G2 VS980 using Tapatalk 4

I hate it to be honest because it doesn't work half the time before root and after root. That's the only thing I miss from my s4.
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk now Free

The IR Blaster and TV App

I have to say that the IR blaster bundled with the TV app is an awesome combination. The TV app wasn't mentioned anywhere else but it performs wonderfully and has some great features.

Was like that on the m7 too.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Yeah, I thought it was a gimmick and didn't give it much thought. But I gave it a shot the other night laying in bed and I can't believe I ignored it for so long. At night before falling asleep, I tend to just channel surf until I find something that I'll fall asleep to. The included guide that shows me sports or movies that are currently on without having to wade through hundreds of channels on the cable box's guide is amazing. Then I can just hit the tune button on the phone and it's playing on my TV in seconds.
It's so much more convenient because I typically have my phone nearby when I go to bed but could have left the remote anywhere in the bedroom. This way I have access to a better guide and I don't have to hunt for the remote in the dark.

Best feature few know about. While the app is open you can use the volume rockers for TV volume control. Great for when you have to hold the phone out for control and it rotates on you

Also pleasantly surprised with it. I didn't think I'd use it but it's really versatile and easy to use so I found myself using it about as much as my actual remotes, which is nice.
Even the interface and features are surprisingly good - with one gripe: I wish I could add a device that wasn't either a TV, a Topbox or a Home Cinema amp.

Ambious said:
Also pleasantly surprised with it. I didn't think I'd use it but it's really versatile and easy to use so I found myself using it about as much as my actual remotes, which is nice.
Even the interface and features are surprisingly good - with one gripe: I wish I could add a device that wasn't either a TV, a Topbox or a Home Cinema amp.
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You can! At least you could let it learn from every remote you have. Just go to the remote app, swipe to the very most right called "more", and hit the + button.

charly-whiskey said:
You can! At least you could let it learn from every remote you have. Just go to the remote app, swipe to the very most right called "more", and hit the + button.
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Yeah, but it's button-by-button and is implied to be of a certain existing device, it's possible just annoying.
Still, all-in-all an excellent program.

You can download remote apps on the play store that work well. I downloaded one for my Apple TV and it works great
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

IR blaster

N5 didnt have it, although kitkat supported it. I thought google will make it norm with next nexus.

devesh38 said:
N5 didnt have it, although kitkat supported it. I thought google will make it norm with next nexus.
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Well you thought wrong, apparently.

devesh38 said:
N5 didnt have it, although kitkat supported it. I thought google will make it norm with next nexus.
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I think that they're in the same boat as me in thinking it more as a novelty feature. My notes have had it as well as my G3 but they're all pretty weak on the software side and the blaster is always finicky on range and the angle at which you point it. If you want a real universal get a normal remote with a proper blaster. Unless you're trying to show off or screw around with the TVs at the bar, it's kind of pointless.

I use mine alllllll the time. I have 2 kids and 2 dogs that love to play hide and seek with them lol. I literally have all my TV's, blue ray/dvd players, cable boxes, and sound systems programed on my Note 3 and love it! I also travel (I literally am gone 6 months+ a year) and much prefer my phone over most hotels eco-remotes. I would have loved to seen this as a feature personally as well.

The best is using it at sports bars and start turning off their tv

If there a device you can connect to via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi that will convert to infrared to control TVs?
Sent from my XT1053 using Tapatalk

biggiestuff said:
If there a device you can connect to via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi that will convert to infrared to control TVs?
Sent from my XT1053 using Tapatalk
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The Peel is the only one I know of.

biggiestuff said:
If there a device you can connect to via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi that will convert to infrared to control TVs?
Sent from my XT1053 using Tapatalk
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Logitech Harmony Smart Control
http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Harmony-Control-Smartphone-Simple/dp/B00BQ5RYI4
I got it today
Works well but app is iffy

Honestly I love IR blasters and it's a shame this phone doesn't come with one! :crying:

Yeah an IR blaster would have been nice, it is actually quite useful.
Sent From my Nokia Lumia 635

That's one thing I forgot about that I'll miss from my g2. I didn't use it often but when I did it was handy. (It's fun shutting the projectors off in classes that are boring lol.
Sent from my LG-VS980

I liked having one on my HTC One M7 but barely used it after the first week. I also had one on my GS4 Active, but the remote software was nowhere near as good as HTC's so I never used it. It's not something that I've missed since getting rid of those phones. It would be cool to have, but it's more novelty than anything.

I have it on my Note 3. I used it once, much like multi window, to be able to say oh neato. Then never used it again. I'm glad they didn't waste time or money putting it into the N6.

There was a funding available for an IR blaster that plugs into the 3.5mm headphone jack on any phone.
http://www.pozible.com/project/181262
Just going to be an extra thing to carry with you if you're going to miss not having it built in the phone.
http://www.hi-remote.com/

brian117 said:
There was a funding available for an IR blaster that plugs into the 3.5mm headphone jack on any phone.
http://www.pozible.com/project/181262
Just going to be an extra thing to carry with you if you're going to miss not having it built in the phone.
http://www.hi-remote.com/
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Says only for apple devices. But that looks really nice. If I really missed it I'd buy one but probably won't miss it much
Sent from my LG-VS980

abdel12345 said:
Says only for apple devices. But that looks really nice. If I really missed it I'd buy one but probably won't miss it much
Sent from my LG-VS980
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No it's for both Android and iOS.
http://d3nm4kec9k9dav.cloudfront.net/uploads/04-2014/1398700326.jpg
http://d3nm4kec9k9dav.cloudfront.net/uploads/04-2014/1398703362.jpg
Though I can't seem to find anything regarding their app on the Play Store.

Once I purchased smart ir remote in the play store, this feature is a must have. I will stick with my GPE M8 for now. May get a Nexus 6 off swappa in a few months

There ARE alternatives out there. You just need to search "3.5mm IR" on Google/Google Images and you'll find some methods. I found these as well.
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=151442539783&alt=web
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=151430164069&alt=web
http://m.tinydeal.com/product/35mm-infrared-cellphone-remote-control-for-tv-ac-etc-132738

brian117 said:
There ARE alternatives out there. You just need to search "3.5mm IR" on Google/Google Images and you'll find some methods. I found these as well.
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=151442539783&alt=web
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=151430164069&alt=web
http://m.tinydeal.com/product/35mm-infrared-cellphone-remote-control-for-tv-ac-etc-132738
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Click to collapse
might look into that sennheiser one but do you know of any that connect to your phone via bluetooth or wifi and can transmit IR signal? I'd like to avoid having to attach a device to my phone everytime i want to use the TV. Chromecast can turn on one of my TVs but the other it can't. I wish they'd put a turn off feature in the chromecast.

Interesting that your Chromecast will turn on the TV, but you are looking for a way to turn it off. I've got a smart TV that I can't turn on by Chromecast or otherwise from my phone but I can turn it off!
I recently got a Google cardboard VR package from tinydeal that I was satisfied with. I ordered the emitter from them--it's less than a dollar, with free shipping, so I'm not out too much if it doesn't work out for me!

Can i used LG Quick Remote APK on my rooted Tmobile Note 4

Will this work the default remote app is horrible and intrusive with their stupid reminders and ads.

jedisurfer said:
Will this work the default remote app is horrible and intrusive with their stupid reminders and ads.
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Give it a try. Let us know.

The only reason I could see it not working is if the LG IR sensor is able to record commands as well as send them... no idea if that's the case.
I agree 1000% on the stock Samsung remote, just awful. I haven't seen LG's app, but an absolutely fantastic universal remote app is Smart Remote/Anymote (I see it called both, not sure why it has two names but it's the same app). The app does cost a few bucks, but it's so worth it. You can make custom 'floating' remotes incorporating as many devices as you'd like, it has a massive library of pre-programmed remotes in any category you can think of, I can't even recall the other features but there are a ton of awesome ones. If you use the IR emitter a lot I'd strongly recommend checking it out in addition to the LG apk :good:

jazzmachine said:
The only reason I could see it not working is if the LG IR sensor is able to record commands as well as send them... no idea if that's the case.
I agree 1000% on the stock Samsung remote, just awful. I haven't seen LG's app, but an absolutely fantastic universal remote app is Smart Remote/Anymote (I see it called both, not sure why it has two names but it's the same app). The app does cost a few bucks, but it's so worth it. You can make custom 'floating' remotes incorporating as many devices as you'd like, it has a massive library of pre-programmed remotes in any category you can think of, I can't even recall the other features but there are a ton of awesome ones. If you use the IR emitter a lot I'd strongly recommend checking it out in addition to the LG apk :good:
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+1 on anymote/smart remote. 100% better than any remote app, and well worth the few $s spent. I've been using it for some time now and haven't found anything that's even close.

Just a quick heads up with anymote I do agree that it is a fantastic app however it was missing some profiles for my home theatre equipment which sucked and I had to request a refund, I've started using sure universal remote which works awesome for me and had all of the remote profiles I needed including the ones for the ac in the house and the roomba, I now play with that little vacuum like an rc car when I get bored lol
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On older devices such as lg g2 and galaxy s4 the apps were not interchangeable because of the different ir hardware. I would assume that's still the case since Samsung uses one way ir. I agree with smart remote being the best though, I use it on my note 4 and gear 2.

Thanks for all the input yes anymote is a lot better.