Late-night survey: Dual-core or quad-core?

With all speeches of quad-core vs. dual-coreand see the performance of the two in the same phone, we want to know.  You want a chip dual-core or quad-core in your next device?  Last year at this time we were starting to see emerging dual-core phones manufacturers.  They have all promised the best performance in a mobile device you ' ve never seen.  And they were right.  The Tegra 2, and later the OMAP 4 and Exynos were all strong performers.  Then came the quad-core.  The same promises have been made.  And yet again, they proved to be true.  Tegra 3 (otherwise known as Kal - El) put dual-core chips in recent years to shame.

We now have Qualcomm shooting with a dual-core chip, the S4.  They make the same promise.  Best performance, improve the battery life.  As we have seen in Phil ' s review (gotta love the header!) a x, they are usually right.  However, some people still have a spot of soft for more than carrots, and performance is the same.  While tell you, dear reader? Tell us about tonight's ' s survey!

Late-night poll: Do you use, or want to use, the FM radio feature?

Tonight's poll comes thanks to our lovable forums Admin Cory Streater, who brought up a great question on episode 93 of the Android Central podcast -- I wonder how many people really use the FM radio? None of us were any help (we can't ever agree on anything) but you guys sure can be. 

I get why people use it. It's subscription free, doesn't use data, and has a bigger selection of music that you could ever hope to have in your personal cloud or on the phone itself. Maybe the best reason I've ever heard is that it's great for listening to the news while on the treadmill at the gym. The other side of the coin -- wired headphones suck, radio stations suck, commercial music sucks, etc. People have just as many reasons why they don't use it as those who do use it.

I'm somewhere in the middle. I don't use it, but I do see the appeal. And not everything on the radio sucks. But asking you guys is a much better idea, so tell us all in the poll, and fire away in the comments to let us know why you voted the way you did.

Late-night poll: Would you buy a tablet because it was Google branded?

There's a lot of speculation about a Google branded tablet in the news recently, and we're all paying close attention to the rumors. A 7-inch tablet with decent internals, running ICS at the right price strikes home for some of us. But there's another thing to think about -- it's still a plain vanilla 7-inch tablet. We've seen ASUS and ACER can push out updates to their tablets, so being on the latest version isn't a question any longer.You're likely to get better customer service from a consumer-oriented company that you would from Google as well.

We love Android tablets. Most of you guys and gals reading this will as well. We're Android enthusiasts. But let's face it, Android on a tablet has been a bit slow to take off. Even as enthusiasts, we have to admit that. Is Google putting their name on the box the trick to make them sell?

That is the question, you have the answers. Would you buy an Android tablet solely because it was backed by Google? Tell us in tonight's poll.

Late-night poll: It's all about the kickstand!

We got wind of a new rumor about what may be next in the EVO line this afternoon, and some of the best reactions were about the kickstand. Yes, it's rumored to have one, and yes, lots of folks are happy about it. I understand, because I am, too! To me, of all the things that were great about the original EVO 4G (and there are a lot of them) the kickstand always stood out the most. The OG EVO not only changed the game with it's big screen, but having a method to lean it back and watch a movie or two was huge. It was a stroke of genius, other phones have come with one since, and many of us are hoping HTC and Sprint bring it back.

Of course, there's likely just as many folks who don't give a hoot, and even some who think we're a bit crazy to love the kickstand so much. Maybe they're right. But that isn't about to change anyone's mind now is it? Whether you love the kickstand, hate the kickstand, or just don't care, let us know in the poll.

Late-night poll: Do you run a custom ROM?

OK guys and gals -- I'm doing a little leg work here for a project I have in the works. You might have seen my question on Google+ asking folks with a stock Android phone if they use a custom ROM (if you haven't seen it, and you can answer, please do!). Tonight I'm tapping the collective mind of our AC faithful and asking a similar question:

Do you run a custom ROM on your phone?

The poll is below, and whether you do or don't, or even if you're not the rooting type, let me know. Share the link with your friends who use Android, they can vote as well. I need as much data as possible. If you have anything to add, by all means let me know in the comments!

My answer? Yes. On a stock vanilla device I usually just run stock AOSP, which technically counts as a custom ROM, and on devices that aren't stock I'll pick one of the great Android developers out there who has stripped out the bloat and cleaned up the base and use his or her work. I do it because I can, I'm nerdly like that. Now let me know what you all do.

Late-night poll: Do you let other people use your phone?

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AppId is over the quota

Our Android phones are pretty personal things, full of personal information. Some of us can be very protective, and don't much care for other folks getting too comfortable with them. Besides the risk of breakage, there's also a chance someone will see something you'd rather they didn't. For others, it's not a problem, family and friends can feel free to pick up your phone off the table and fire it up. And of course, many fall squarely in the middle and are OK with a select few folks touching our Androids.

I'm OK with someone picking up my tablet (just don't lose my page in the Nook app please), but my phone? Between us I don't even like it when my lovely wife uses it for more than a few minutes. I can't explain it, it's just my precious. What about you folks? Sound off in the poll.

 

 

Late-night poll: Do you fill out crash reports?

Android app developers work hard. They deliver us a lot of good apps and we all love using them, and I think I speak for everyone when I say thanks to all the hard working folks who make our phones "funner" to use or more productive. But software is never bug free, and crashes happen -- it's a fact of life for all programmers. Add in the fact that the Android platform allows for almost endless customization, and you make it even harder for developers. But they carry on and deliver.

When those inevitable crashes happen, we usually get a chance to report what went on. I think this is pretty important, and I fill them out, as well as include any extra info to help. But I understand not everyone feels that way. It takes time, and some of us aren't comfortable with sharing some log data. As usual, when I get curious what other folks are doing, I ask. Let me know in the poll.