Hi all. I was so excited to get my Nebula 2. I loved the original Nebula and never had any problems. The interface on the Nebula 2 is incredibly frustrating, and I wanted to see if anyone else has these issues (or solutions to them). For starters, I am using it with an Iphone to control it (don’t have android phones). Also, while I am very technical (work in information security), I am an Android and Google Play novice. I am frustrated to the point of tears over the fact that this Nebula 2 seems very half-baked. The hardware is amazing and solid, but the firmware and software are full of holes (unless I am just that dumb that I can’t figure it out) So, here goes:
-
No netflix. So I installed a file explorer and somehow navigated to the APK folder, where I found the holy grail, a Netflix APK (still don’t know what APK is, but I guess an install file???). Anyway, I installed it but now the only way for me to launch Netflix is to go back to File Explorer, go to the APK folder, and reload Netflix, and then choose “open” after it finishes reinstalling. This seems super cumbersome. Isn’t there a way to just have Netflix be listed among my apps? Or at the very least, not have to reinstall it every time I want to use it?
-
No facebook - I found something called “facebook watch” which blasted full-volume videos at me the moment I opened it, but where is regular facebook?
-
No Amazon Prime Video???
-
No native Apple Airplay??? What??? Isn’t that a given in today’s 2-state solution world of Iphone and Android? I found a knock-off app, but still…
-
No Chrome browser? Or any browser? How is that possible?
-
So since there is no browser, I can’t simply browse to a downloadable file and well… download it? It seems from other posts that I have to also be a Linux expert to do something (not sure what exactly) on a Linux box, put whatever-it-is on a memory stick, and then do something-else-not-sure-what to install on the Nebula 2. Am I getting this right? There is no emoji to express what I am feeling here… thank goodness I speak yiddish so I can find some choice expressions that will do nicely.
-
How the heck do I delete an app that I realized I don’t want???
-
Autofocus - sometimes works, sometimes does not. Sometimes it re-focuses when you move the projector closer or farther away. Sometimes it doesn’t and you have to hold the remote button for 2 seconds to force it to refocus (no problem there). The phone app doesn’t seem to have the ability to force autofocus. However, sometimes it drifts out of focus even though you didn’t move it (or even touch it). When I tested it out using my large pull-down screen (from about 5-6 feet away), it would not lock in on the focus, it kept autofocusing but ending with a blurry image each time. So, I went into settings to try to use manual focus - except that the manual focus option simply engages the autofocus, instead of giving you a manual focus slider. Earlier today when I was testing the settings, it gave me a manual slider. I exhausted the battery, recharged it, and when I tried playing around with it again, I selected “off” for autofocus, and then selected the manual focus option… but “manual focus” now only causes it to try to autofocus, rather than giving the manual slider. Ugh. That nice, simple, manual focus wheel on the old Nebula is looking pretty good right now.
-
The Capsule Control app, which worked great for the original Nebula, is totally wonky. It makes the Capsule on-screen keyboard pop up as if I am using the remote, when I am actually using the phone app. Then the stuff I type on the iphone keyboard won’t show up on the Capsule screen unless I switch from Mouse to Controller and then back to Mouse… THEN (and ONLY then) will the iPhone keyboard actually interact with the Capsule and my typing shows up. The Capsule on-screen keyboard keeps popping up when I select something that requires typing, regardless of whether my iphone app is in Mouse mode or Controller mode… and it won’t go away unless I select Controller and click elsewhere on the screen. If I want to type using my phone keyboard, I have to do the above routine (switch back and forth from Mouse to Controller and back to Mouse) until the Capsule recognizes my typing from my phone. During the whole time that I am typing on my phone keyboard through the app, the Capsule on-screen keyboard is being displayed, blocking half the display, because for some reason it still thinks I am using the remote control. You would think that something basic, like automatically sensing if you are using the remote control (bluetooth or infrared?) or a phone app (through wifi) would be a no-brainer, and that the on-screen keyboard would adjust accordingly, but hey… what do I know? This whole Capsule to phone app interface is half-baked and not ready for prime time.
Bottom line - I spent a lot of money for (what I thought was) an upgrade from the original Capsule (which I absolutely loved). I agree that the hardware is a significant upgrade - picture quality, brightness, battery, sound… are all amazing. But none of that matters if the darn thing is unusable due to lack of apps and a buggy interface. A consumer should not have to be an Android expert to make this thing work. It should work out of the box, with major apps to support it. Also, a consumer should not be forced to take risks with unapproved apps and grey-market, non-verified downloads from unknown sources, “side-loading”, etc… just to get basic functionality that should have been built in from the start. I have been excited to get this since I bought it for myself on Kickstarter as a holiday gift to myself 6 months ago. I anticipated that if I was in love with the original Capsule, I’d be positively infatuated with this upgrade. Sadly, this is not the case. Anker needs to quickly get the firmware and apps up to speed to do this device justice. The expectations they have for their consumers (to be so tech savvy that they will be able to navigate the bowels of the Android operating system) is completely inappropriate for an end-user consumer toy like this. Anker - I really want to love you again… what do you have to say?
