
An Experiment: My Life With A Nexus 7 As My Phone - mmastrac
http://www.androidpolice.com/2013/01/05/an-experiment-my-life-with-a-nexus-7-as-my-phone/
======
morsch
It's silly that the 3G models don't do voice calls. You could easily do calls
using the speaker and, more privately, using a (BT) headset. It's great to be
able to _use_ the device while calling instead of holding it to your head like
a neanderthal.

I still don't know what the (or my personal) sweet spot for phone size will
be. You're trading off essential attributes either way you go. 7" might be an
interesting spot if you want to "have" a tablet device and a phone device but
don't want to have to _own both_.

Stashing it is a problem though. I can't imagine lugging it around in my front
pockets. Back pockets might work better but are easily stealable and (the
bigger issue) you have to sit on your phonetablet all the time. Cargo pants
work, but aren't fashionable, and I imagine (from lugging beer^Wwater) that
the weight distribution is annoying. Biking clothes have a bigger pocket in
the small of your back, and having never worn one, I think that's just about
perfect. Or you could do it like Peter Molyneux:
<http://youtu.be/o6-grRsTupA?t=9m35s>

~~~
shimon_e
Any reason why voice can't be added through a custom rom?

~~~
eigenvector
Short answer: no. Long answer: they're working on it.

<http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2025377>

------
guylhem
Recent nexus 7 purchaser (~ 1 week) here, previously disenchanted with
android, who therefore reverted to a Nokia N900 but is now considering using
the nexus 7 in the real life on a daily basis.

There are many great points in the article (and BTW I purchased the same cover
- it has a magnet to turn the screen off when it closes and works a bit like
an ipad cover) but there are some weird points. Well, a big one : no software
phone by default.

Why should we need grooveip?

I have various SIP accounts, and on my laptop, I can use google voice to send
call from the browser. I just wish the Nexus 7 had something better than
"click to call" (to another device)

(and I wish it was possible to connect by SIP to google voice)

Just put some cash on your account and you can also send call.

The form factor is not really a problem - you just use the nexus 7
'differently'.

~~~
detst
> (and I wish it was possible to connect by SIP to google voice)

There was a time when you could connect Google Voice to Gizmo5 (SIP) but then
Google bought them and disabled that functionality.

~~~
btgeekboy
If you have the time to mess around with Asterisk, it's doable on your own.
That's a sizable "if" though.

~~~
brownbat
Wait, why hasn't someone made a kit for this and offered people free home
phone service without a monthly fee?

~~~
justincormack
There are lots of SIP phone services. I use sipgate which covers many
countries and have an old VoIP phone or use my mobile.

------
ChuckMcM
I suspect this is a closer view of the near future than some of the incumbents
would like. Once your voice API crosses a certain reliability threshold
tapping your chest and saying "Kirk to Enterprise" makes a lot more sense. :-)

~~~
FrojoS
This is awesome! Has anyone build something like this already? A bluetooth
button with a mic and speaker, to wear on your chest. When you press it, the
voice recognition software in your phone gets started. You could call it the
Siri-button (or Google Voice/Now button).

~~~
ChuckMcM
Well my current BT headset will pass though a voice call request if I hold the
button. I'm guessing one could hook that into the 'home' button signal for iOS
to pull up Siri, and coding Siri to accept 'my_name "to" <contact>' as a
request to speed dial contact, well that is just a bit of coding as they say.

My guess is that Google could do it trivially by oneboxing the Google Now API
(you know how they intercept a search for recursion to return a specific
result).

Now building a small speaker phone gizmo the size of the Star Trek com-badge
is also pretty doable if you don't mind hacking on a BT headset.

So the pieces are there. I hope someone builds one and submits it to Hackaday.
I'll have to go look and see how hackable the souvenier communicator I got at
the Star Trek Experience is.

------
jbert
The "ear and mouth" part of the phone interface can be a thin strip which you
hold with your hand. Picture something like a short drinking straw, curved in
a good way.

With a little design, that could attach to the side of the tablet (snap in, so
it doesn't get lost - could also charge itself if it needs much juice).

So you want to make a call, just snap off the 'handset' and talk. All the
social cues about phone calls apply.

It might also be possible to engineer it as a stylus, but there may be a
straight/curved issue to resolve there.

~~~
bergie
The Asus PadFone had a combined stylus and headset exactly like that:
[http://asia.cnet.com/hands-on-with-the-asus-padfone-
stylus-h...](http://asia.cnet.com/hands-on-with-the-asus-padfone-stylus-
headset-62215667.htm)

~~~
jbert
Oh, interesting, thanks. There was me thinking I was gifting the world a bit
of prior art :-)

------
driverdan
Let's be honest here. He didn't use a Nexus 7 as his phone. He got rid of his
phone and carried a tablet instead. I think this distinction is relevant
because a data connection is all that matters. The source of the data
connection doesn't.

------
davidbanham
I experimented for a while with a data-only setup on my Galaxy S2 since I got
sick of juggling SIM cards when I traveled. The goal was that as long as I had
IP connectivity, my phone worked as it always did, so everything routed
through voip, etc.

What forced me to switch back was the latency involved in VOIP calls. It was
mostly okay, but sometimes it was downright horrible. I'm super excited for a
Nexus device with nice, low-latency true 4G so I can take another run.

~~~
EwanG
I use a Galaxy Camera with a 4G LTE MiFi from Verizon, and can tell you that a
Nexus with a similar backend should work nicely for you. Advantage of the MiFi
is that I don't have to do anything to tether (no funny business like with a
phone on US Carriers), and I am free to change the phone more often. I
personally use Skype since their codecs give better quality over even 3G
connections. For your consideration...

------
monkeyfacebag
I've also been using a Nexus 7 as my primary (though not exclusive)
connectivity device. Instead of GrooveIP, I use Spare Phone, which has a nicer
icon (and yes, that is why I chose it). The biggest drawback I've encountered
is that talking over the speakers doesn't work well because the other party
can hear his/her voice on a slight delay.

The other thing I've been really surprised by is how much I like using it to
write. Now that the stock keyboard has swipe input, I spend about 1 or 2 hours
a day writing in Google Docs (err... Drive). To be fair, I was never a
particularly fast typist, so I didn't notice the impact to my speed, that
others surely would. Still, I don't find the tablet interface to be much of a
barrier to getting my thoughts recorded, which was a real surprise.

~~~
zanny
The thought of regularly typing on a touch keyboard will give me nightmares
tonight, thanks.

I have a bluetooth keyboard and I got a TF700 exclusively for the physical
keyboard support. Can't stand touchscreen keyboards for anything more than a
URL or my name.

------
mgcross
Neat experiment, but I just couldn't deal with the size. I've put my N7 in my
pocket, because it does fit, but it's usually part of a joke about the
increasing size of phones. Other than the size, the N7 feels quite a bit less
responsive than my Nexus 4. I do prefer the N7 for two-handed reading, typing
and browsing (and to save battery on the N4).

As somewhat of an aside, I love viewing the large screen on the Nexus 4, but
ergonomically, it's just too much. If I can't hit all four corners with my
thumb without changing my grip, it's not optimal. I have large-ish hands, but
my Nexus One is the perfect size for one-handed use.

I'd love to have a modern, vanilla Android phone with a 4" screen. And without
a glass back.

~~~
rayiner
One big reason I'm returning my Lumia 920 for an iPhone 5. It's not even just
the size, it's the weight. It's so much easier to reddit one handed on the
iPhone while e.g. feeding the baby.

~~~
shinratdr
Every time I use a giant-screened Android device I have this feeling. Even now
that I'm used to the operation of one, I still feel like I can move so much
faster with one hand on an iPhone. Like I can't help myself from bringing up
my other hand for something I would do with one hand on an iPhone. Bulky cases
also tend to exacerbate the situation.

Kinda like the App Switcher, it's something iOS & the iPhone get a ton of shit
for, but in practice I'm so much slower at one-handed navigation without it.
That could also be because I'm a lefty, though.

------
shinratdr
IMO this is more like "My life with a tablet instead of a phone". Once
pocketability, actually calling people and one-handed operation are no longer
a concern to you then your options are basically limitless.

For me those are my top 3 concerns, but if they aren't for you then go for it.
Keep in mind though, there is nothing remotely discreet about whipping out a
tablet to check something. Not to mention trying to use it on a crowded
subway/bus.

~~~
bergie
Since the Nexus 7 fits in one hand, it is still more like using a phone or an
e-reader. I usually read something from my Instapaper queue when traveling in
Berlin subway or bus, and haven't ever seen anybody taking any attention to
the device I use. Even at rush hours it is fine to hold the device with one
hand, and hold on to the vehicle with another.

Now, a bigger tablet like iPad or Nexus 10 could be another story.

------
Kiro
"How often when you're sitting around on the sofa would you use your phone to
surf the web when you could also go get your laptop? With my 4.5" last phone,
the answer was never."

For me it's always even when I have the laptop within reach. Using a phone is
just so much more convenient regardless how small it is. I only use my laptop
when working nowadays.

------
orangethirty
Old (as in 1990's old) Nokia phones were more uncomfortable than the flat
Nexus 7. They didn't fit in pockets due to how thick they were. So yeah, your
4.5 phone is actually quite comfortable when compared to what I used to have
back then. And it got better signal. ;)

------
ianfernz
I can't imagine carrying a 7" device in my pocket. Will cargo pants finally
become practical?

~~~
silasb
Fits perfect in the back pockets of jeans.

~~~
Digit-Al
I have no data top back this up, but I think the back pocket is the most usual
place for people to accidentally drop their devices down the toilet from.

------
songgao
Is it possible to direct the notification to bluetooth headset? Some bluetooth
stereo headset can vibrate.

I've been thinking about the same thing for iPad mini (talkatone instead of
GrooveIP), but worried about the notification.

------
gbhn
I'm curious about this. A 7" phone seems a certainty rather soon -- the Note 3
will be close, and shaving the bezel off the N7 would make it more pocketable.

~~~
w1ntermute
I look forward to it. With some changes in pocket design and more wearable
Bluetooth headsets, we may be able to combine phones and small tablets
effectively.

~~~
shinratdr
I feel like the real barrier is less technology and more social attitudes. I
rarely see people using Bluetooth headsets in public, the vast majority still
hold their phones to their ears when receiving a call and only use headsets in
their home or car, if ever. Also, attempting to discreetly text with something
that gigantic is difficult if not impossible.

That combined with how slow battery technology evolves makes me assume vast
majority will be using phones as phones for the next couple decades. There has
always been a niche for VoIP/SIP/Text based solutions to allow you to use
other devices as phones, but I don't see any indication that it's about to
break out of a niche into the mainstream.

The same people willing to experiment with this sort of thing are the same
people that were willing to do so 3-4 years ago. Tech enthusiasts. Everyone
else seems to be maintaining the status quo, and barring an unforeseen shift
in social attitudes I don't see that changing any time soon.

------
vacri
If you wear a belt, get a belt case for the phone. No more pocket troubles.

