New Scanner - Samsung Galaxy Note 4

I've posted about the other scanners I've used so Let me update you on my newest phone. I got the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 at the beginning of 2015. I was trying to hold out for my carrier, Verizon, to release the Nexus 6, but I got to the point where I couldn't wait any longer. And naturally shortly after I bought the Note 4 Verizon released the Nexus 6, but I'm still very satisfied with my choice.

Just as a point of reference my previous the Samsung Galaxy S4. And even after 2 years of use, this phone performed excellent as a scanner. The Note 4 is fast, responsive and absolutely great as an Ingress scanner. I love it.

At first I tried Glyph Hacking using the pen. For me this was a huge failure. My finger was faster and more accurate. But unlike others I'd spoken to I loved completing the glyphs on the bigger screen. Some have said it is a greater distance and costs you time and therefore you have less productive glyph hacks. I have no doubt that is true, but I work better with the larger area. I actually was trying to teach my daughter glymph hacking using her Apple iPhone 4s. For me that was just incredibly small and I didn't like it.

Now the Note 4 has some energy saving features, I however don't use all of them so playing Ingress drains my battery pretty quickly. I have may portable charging pack, but I also had to get a new car charger. I went with the Anker 4.8A / 24W 2-Port USB Car Charger with PowerIQ Technology from Amazon. This was actually my second new charger. My former one which worked great for my S4 didn't put out enough Amps to effectively charge. If I had it on the car charger while playing it would still loose power while on the charger. I bought a different one and the reviews online said it would charge the Note 4. And it probably would slowly charge while not playing Ingress.

So I started shopping for another and I found some really expensive ones out there. Then I found the Anker and based on my experience with their other products I bought this one. I'm really pleased. It not only charges while playing Ingress, but charges rapidly.

So overall this scanner is a hit. DO I have any regrets about not getting the Nexus 6 I was holding out for? Initially I did, but now I have it I love it and one advantage the Note 4 has over the Nexus 6 is that the Note 4 allows owners to expand the memory using a micro SD card. I love this feature too and can see myself potentially getting annoyed about the lack of memory on the Nexus, like my daughter gets with her iPhone 6.  16 Gigs seems like a lot but once you account for Verizon's bloatware and just the minimum space needed to keep the phone running it goes by quickly, so even though it wasn't my first choice, it was the best decision.

...

Stay tuned I'm going to do a write up of the iPhone 6 that my daughter uses.

My Wishlist for Future Ingress Development

Over the past 8 months or so there have been many upgrades and enhancements to not only the game but to the user experience. I'm sure our friends at Niantic have some great enhancements to come. Here's my pie in the sky list of what I'd like to see in some form or another.

Greater Number of Items in Inventory

2000 items seems like a lot, but like many of you I am hitting my inventory cap several times a week. I would like to be able to have more items at my disposal. Now, I don't think I necessarily need more at any given time, but I think it would be nice to have more items in a cache. The trade off could be that once you put something in your cache it would not be available again to you for 4-5 days. 

Greater Functionality from the Intel Map

Well first lets say I've been really disappointed with the functionality of the Intel Map. One of Google's strengths has always been Google Maps. So I was expecting more. 

I'd like to be able to search for portals with multiple criteria. For example I'd like to only be able to see blue, L7 & 8 portals with links in a certain radius of a given location. 

I would also like to see more game interaction from the Intel Map. When I receive an alert of a portal being under attack I'd like to access my portal keys from my desktop somehow and recharge my resonators. 

I think it would also be great if we could access our inventory from the Intel Map including being able to drop and recycle items.

I would also like to have the ability to redeem codes again through the Intel Map like we use to be able to. 

Portal Invisibility 

Imagine a portal mad where you can make a portal invisible to an individual enemy. So you have a pesky enemy agent when you deploy this mod you can enter a players agent name and the portal will not be visible to them. But a portal equipped with this mod wouldn't be available to be linked to other portals.

Instantly Create a Portal of a Certain Level

When you deploy to a neutral portal you select what level portal you create and the correct resonators are deployed instantly to make that portal. The same rules apply so an individual can not create a L8 portal. But say I want to create a L4 portal I just select a create L4 portal button and it is done. 

Instant Portal

Another cool item the game could add that could be even more rare than Jarvis/ADA is an Item where you can instantly create a portal without any approval needed. Now if you give it an inappropriate name or make it inaccessible to the public, then it would be removed. 

Offensive Weapons

Think of how awesome it would be to have a weapon which can directly used against enemy players. You can fire this weapon at an enemy who is physically in proximity to you and disable their scanner for some period of time say half an hour to an hour.

Another offensive weapon idea would to have a weapon that has a range of a certain distance and when an enemy passes within its range it would fire at them and do damage to their XM levels. These weapons wouldn't appear on an enemy's scanner or Intel Map, but could be destroyed with an XMP of proper level in proper range.

Scanner Mods

I mentioned some mods which attack individual players, so to keep some balance we could offer some scanner mods. Like a scanner shield. The shield could mitigate damage done by offensive weapons, but the trade off would be it would lessen the range/ power of your XMPs or Offensive weapons.

Another scanner mod would be one which would be interesting would be a mod which you can increase your likelihood of obtaining a certain type of item (resonators, bursters, cubes, keys) but not exclusively. If you had this mod set up to increase your chance of getting XMPs you would still get other items just at a proportionally lesser amount.

Care Packages

When I was a leveling player I had some L8 agents help me out by dropping items for me. Some of these larger drops could take half an hour or more to transfer items. What I'd like to see is a way to build into a package. So I can in one package transfer hundreds of items if I wanted. It could be as easy as selecting an item then, selecting the quantity you want to add to the package. Then the intended recipient could just pick up the one care package.

This doing things in bulk could also apply to recycling items too. So you could instantly recycle say all of your L4 XMPs at one time.

Portal Transport

Say I have some items I want to transfer to another player. If I am at one portal and the other player is at a different portal then, I can select what portal I want to send items too. The portals must both be under control of the same faction and items not picked up within a short period of time would decay.

Must Have Accessories for the Serious Ingress Agent

Sure, for the casual +Ingress  player all you need is a good smartphone and you'll be out there hacking away in a few short minutes. But for the true Ingress Agents (and if you're reading this you are a true agent) you will certainly need more.

Scanner:
From my experience the Google Play Store will allow phones which just don't have the capability to download Ingress. Ingress is a resource hog. You will not only need a good Android powered smartphone, but you will want one with greater resources. Like some of the latest models from Motorola or Samsung.

Tablet:
A tablet??? I have a cool, awesome and powerful smartphone, why would I need a tablet?

Your cool, awesome and powerful smartphone is great as a scanner, but you will need additional resources. Prime example is the Ingress Intel Map. No matter how powerful your smart phone is, the Intel Map blows from a phone; including the mobile version. For serious missions you will need constant access to the Intel Map.

Additionally, if you are part of a local community and use some form of electronic communication for collaborating missions having a tablet will make things a lot easier for you.

Tablets with GPS and their own wireless internet connection work best. Tablets which you are able to tether to your phone and use your phone's data can also work. Be sure to check with your wireless provider's terms.

Charging System:
Okay, you have a car charger that's a start. But to be a real agent that will not be enough. I've said it a million times before. Ingress is a resource hog on your phone. It will drain your phone's battery very quickly. You will hit some target rich environments which are not car accessible like theme parks, large parks or even some urban areas where the freedom of being on foot (or even bike) will be more productive than being in a car.

I immediately bought a portable charger after my recent trip to Disney World. There were so many portals, so much opportunity, but by lunch time every day my scanner was dead. And when you are really addicted to Ingress there is nothing worse than being in a target rich environment and have a dead scanner.

Later this summer I went to Busch Gardens Williamsburg properly equipped and over the course of the day turned the park which was entirely blue to entirely green. From destroying, hacking (enemy portals), building and linking I earned over 160,000 AP on that trip. A real boost to helping me level up.

So, you will need more power. There are a variety of options out there from the barely useful like this mini USB Charger which may get you one additional charge.

To this monster system created by some Resistance agents which can power 8 scanners at once. 

That's probably overkill for most of us. I got this one from Amazon. It has 4 USB ports of various power levels and can recharge my phone AND tablet multiple times making sure I have all the juice I need to have a productive day and even enough to share.

Others get backup batteries. That works too, but I find it more of a hassle to take off my cover, and switch batteries than just plug into my portable USB charger.

Protective Case:

Were out there walking, running, riding around with our scanner in our hand and not always paying the best of attention to the world around us. We have our nose stuck in our scanner as we try to get either close enough to a portal or get that optimal position to deploy or destroy resonators. Because we're not paying the best of attention, we slip and fall, we drop our scanners, we bump into things and any other number of things. Make sure you have a good protective case, not just a cool decorative one. While Geocaching once with some friends going over some unforgiving terrain I had a friend drop his phone onto a rock and bounce into a puddle. Needless to say his phone was then FUBAR. Quite an expensive accident.

Auto Mount:

First and foremost; do not play and drive! 

But, having an auto mount whether it is a vent, dashboard, or windshield mount is a great tool to have. It assists in navigating to unfamiliar portals or having quick access to hack, deploy or attack when stopped or parked.  

There is a a stoplight on my route to and from work that for better or worse I can go a week or two without catching the light. Only in Ingress are you wishing to catch a light on your way to or from work. But when I do from my windshield mount I can get them both. 

Also, in urban settings where you frequently stop park and hack or attack, then move on to the next target.

Google Glass:

You may have seen +Google Glass  in some Ingress Reports. I specifically remember seeing +Klue S.  wearing one in one report, but they pop up from time to time. If you are not familiar with it, check it out here: http://www.google.com/glass/start/ . You also see +Brandon Badger  wearing one if you follow him on Google+.

I'm not certain how it works with Ingress, but man I'd love to get my hands on one. 

Happy Hacking!

Mid-level Player Player Strategy

So you're a level 4, 5 or 6 agent and want to continue to advance, but it's your finding it hard to. Don't give up.

First, hack, hack, hack! Build that inventory - especially XMP Bursters. At this level your bursters aren't powerful enough to do massive damage to portals your level or higher, so you need to rely on quantity. You will also need a source of XM. So if you are not hacking in a portal rich environment, you will want to make sure you have some power cubes. Hack, for a few days then plan your attack. When you think you have enough items, keep on hacking.

Second, do your research! Get on the +Ingress  Intel Map and take a look at what you have available and what makes a promising target.

Here's what I look for.

1. A portal which is my level or lower. I might do one level higher if the portal is weak
2. Links - The more the better. Links do not have any bearing on the portal's defensive strength, just points for you. You get 187 AP for each link you destroy.
3. Control Fields - Like links the more the better and they don't have anything to do with the portal's defensive strength. You get 750 AP for each control field you destroy.

Here is an example of a portal I'd want to attack as a level 6.

• Level 5 Portal
• 5 Links
• 4 Control Fields

Attacking and flipping this portal would give you 6285 AP

• Destroying 8 resonators at 75 AP each       = 600 AP
• Destroying 5 links at 187 AP Each             = 935 AP
• Destroying 4 control fields at 750 AP each = 3000 AP
• Deploying 8 resonators at 125 AP each      = 1000 AP
• Capturing a portal                                      = 500 AP
• Fully charging a portal                                = 250 AP

This gives you the most bang for your buck.

Here's an example of a portal which is weaker and I might consider for a L3 or even a L@ with a lot of resonators and the ability get more XP through other nearby portals or through power cubes.

Here's a screen shot of a portal I attacked that had 13 links and 8 control fields attached to it. I got 10781 AP for:

Work smarter not harder my friends! This will make your leveling up happen a lot quicker, but does require some planning on your part.

Happy Hacking!

Getting Back in the Game

Today I finally received notice that my new phone has shipped.

I'm really excited not only because of getting to play Ingress again, but I have been dying slowly without my smartphone. Not only that I will have it just in time for the Memorial Day weekend. I hope to be able to do a lot of hacking and get the full feel of using the Samsung Galaxy S4 as a scanner.

As promised a full review will be coming soon.

Sitting on the sideline

You haven't seen any posts from me in awhile.

A few weeks ago I had my car broken into and the SOB's stole my cell phone. Grrrr....

So frustrating because while yes, I had an earlier post about wanting a new phone and waiting for the Samsung Galaxy S4, I wanted a phone in the meantime.

I've gone from someone completely addicted and dependent on my smart phone to someone who now has a standard phone. Luckily in the back of my closet I had an OLD, OLD , OLD standard cell phone that for some reason I never traded in or donated. Even more amazingly, I still had the charger too.

I did go ahead and pre-order the Samsung Galaxy S4 from Verizon. When I receive it I will give a full review of it as a scanner. Verizon has said they will be releasing it by the end of the month.

But back to my car being broken int, there were more and other items in my car of greater value that they didn't touch. Very strange. Also they did not use it once they got it for calls or text, but I did have a high amount of data usage after I last used it and before it got shut off.

Maybe they hacked a nearby portal for me and leveled up???

Your Phone

Your +Ingress  Scanner is your only direct communication with the game. An outdated

I currently have the Motorola Droid 3 through Verizon. This is an okay phone. When it was new it was excellent. But times have changed, new phones have greater memory, storage, speed, 4G and other features. It was never designed with running apps which are so resource intensive like Ingress.

Using a marginally capable phones is frustrating. I cant begin to tell you the number of times I've had it freeze up and need to reboot the phone. Or it will just automatically reboot itself.

Other times it will screw me up when there is a Portal when I'm stopped at a red light hit the portal and select Target. By the time it opens to the portal main page and I get to push Hack, the light is green and I do not get to hack the portal. It is frustrating.

Luckily I am fast approaching my upgrade time. I was looking at the Samsung Galaxy S III, but this weekend I saw reports that the Galaxy S IV will be released in April. So I've decided I'm going to hold out and at least see what the pricing is on the S IV. As of right now no pricing information is available.

If you are frustrated like me in issues playing Ingress, chances are it is not the game it may be your phone. Look into getting an upgrade for a much better playing experience.

Happy Hacking!