[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] mikeyxda:
This is not a Google issue! It's an HTC issue. The Google (Jelly Bean) architecture supports separate ring and notification volumes. HTC simply removed the code from Sense and Sense links the two volumes together in the framework. Since it has been removed (as opposed to just disabled), it would take a lot of work to put the code back. On the Note 2 for example, they are separate and no additional software is needed to change the volumes separately. Maybe Samsung is less worried about Apple's patents because you don't need things like fapple on the Sammy either: it does what it should out of the box. Who know... I don't follow the politics of this stuff too closely but maybe that's why Samsung lost that Apple lawsuit last year. But whatever the case, Samsung thankfully seems to still be in defiance of Apple BS patents. ;)

I still have both phones and I've finished the initial push on the Note 2 as MeanBean is running well now. I like the Note 2 as much as the ELTE, more if you consider my preference for larger screen size. The Samsung screen is not quite as sharp but it makes up for it in other areas: for example, the viewing angles on the Sammy are ridiculous. Much better than the HTC and you can actually watch someone else demo something or watch someone else play a game from extreme angles without the screen looking washed out. But all in all, I'd rate both phones as top notch.

That said, I hope I didn't make a big mistake by getting another contract and trying to support another device. I was getting enough donations here to pay my Sprint bill and maybe buy me a tank of gas each month. Ever since focusing on the Note 2, donations here have stopped completely and I've gotten one donation from the Note 2 side of the house. So my idea that I could expand the meanness to other people and maybe earn enough to pay for my new Verizon contract may have been a bad business decision. Someone here mentioned that the Samsung crowd seemed tweak happy and that they'd need time to appreciate my work which will always focus on performance and stability and near-stock look/feel. So we'll see. Not sure where this new venture will take me.

But I can say one thing for sure. No way I can go back to Sprint! When I take my son and daughter to my son's baseball games, my daughter and I use our phones while waiting for the game to start and on her ELTE/Sprint, she's got 1x and even that's not solid. She tries to download the latest 4 Pics 1 Word from the play store and it times out with "no connection". She sees me doing the same on my phone and it downloads so fast you can't even see the download bar: it goes straight to "installing" and she's like WTF! Still no sign of any Sprint work in my area. I can't even hold a call to her there in the ballpark when she walks off with a friend for a while. All this in a heavily populated area... not in the boonies. Nobody in this area can even make a reliable call on Sprint any more. It didn't use to be this bad until they started doing the Nextel conversion last summer. Now it's unusable.

So that's the scoop and what's been going on. I check back here from time to time to see what you guys are doing but you're all doing a great job supporting each other so no much "interference" needed from me. BTW, now a little more than halfway into the first billing cycle, I've used 0.1 GB of the 2GB limit so I doubt I'll ever come close to the limit. And I probably use more than most because I get a LOT of push emails while I'm out and on 4G. Even if I tethered on 4G several times a month for short periods, I'd still be under the limit, and 4GB is only $10 more. I also find myself using the cell to make calls more often now since Verizon has unlimited talk minutes and because I can actually make calls on that phone now without them dropping. :)

Mike