Upgrade Time! Opinions? - Hero, G2 Touch Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Okay guys i'm coming towards the end of my contract and will soon be saying goodbye to my beloved Hero. I have short listed either the:
*HTC Desire or *Samsung Galaxy S
Both have amazing specs and the price's don't bother me.
Can anyone help me sway towards one of them! With reasons
Much appreciated

sell the hero and buy both of em.

I am in the same boat as you. I am sort of inclinded towards the Samsung, purely for the following reasons:-
1. Dedicated graphic chip
2. Super Amoled
3. lighter, thinner and battery suppose to be awsome.
4. 2gb rom
5. Source code freely available.
6. Its not HTC - something different.
Possible downsides of samsung
1. Some GPS issues?
2. Touchwiz seems a mixed views.
3. No LED flash
4. No trackpad
5. Seems samsung doesn't have a good track record of updates (ie behold)
gsmarena is usually good for comparing
http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=3115&idPhone2=3077

Frankly, i went the logical way and got myself a Desire, but soon realized i rather have a smaller phone and ended up with x10mini which does 99% of what any other android phone, but weights half as much and takes virtually no space. So may be give it a try or wait for sony x8.
Sent from my E10i using XDA App

Thanks for the respones guys.
@silver2kgti
Haha I wish! If only the Hero sold for a bit more...
@tweedie
I agree the dedicated graphics chip and amoled screen is the reason for my debate!
IMO Touchwiz is inferior to Sense but i'm using LauncherPro atm anyway and yea the lack of flash is a disappointment but apparently it has nightmode and daymode
that actually makes a difference?
@pulpoff
What were your opinions on the Desire? Much the same as the Hero except improved hardware?

actually, I went a head and got myself a samsung galaxy s. and over the moon with it.
It is indeed a really awsome screen, bright and clear. not slow at all, and the boot up is literally seconds! battery life is surprisingly good. Touchwiz isn't too bad actually. some software on there is a bit pointless (like social hub that simply connects to the webpages, Daily Briefing seems american webpages and can't change it). FM radio isn't bad either - still have to connect your headphones but it can play through speakers.
Its incredibly light and thin. It does feel plastiky at the back, and cos its so thin it feels like its gonna break!
So far, the downside is that the GPS doesn't seems that accurate or fast. side by side with htc hero - hero wins.

Related

[Q] X10a or Captivate?

Hey guys, Since ATT just got the X10 I was wondering which is better. My contract expires in a few days so I have some time to see which I like better. Right now I'm using an iPhone and hating it. I want something with android.
I love SE, I bought an original X1 right out of the gates, so I'm leaning a bit towards the X10 but I'm seeing that it might not have any additional benefit over the Captivate other than the awesome camera.
Help please? I travel a lot and will be going to college soon so I need a phone that will keep up with me, all day.
why not the EVO 4g? much better than both, but if you don't like that one go for the captivate
ATT is the best around here. We literally get full bars everywhere lol! Ok, so that's one for the Samsung...
If you're going to be using your phone outdoors a lot, get the X10. Samsung has the better screen, but it's OLED so when you're outside, it maybe really hard to see. But X10 screen is good as well. If you're concerned about aesthetics, I think X10 is the best looking phone there is, otherwise go for the Samsung.
The x10 is a great phone but if the captivate is anything like the galaxy s then i would go for the captivate.
i am also looking at the two phone and also iphone 4 when my contract is expiring.
Things I like about the sony is the physical call and off button. Also, I think the phone has higher res camera and also 2 camera.
I think captivative overall has a better hardware: 802.11n, larger storage space, better music playback software, bluetooth 3.0. android 2.1
I know sony will upgrade to android 2.1 or maybe 2.2 and samsung is coming out 2.2. So I think the software is not a major issue now.
hard to make a choice between the 3 phones.
2 cameras on your x10?
Swyped from my rooted X10i using Tapatalk.
Lord Takyon said:
2 cameras on your x10?
Swyped from my rooted X10i using Tapatalk.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Physical call and off button?
Via Tapatalk
Once they reduce that capital letters SAMSUNG logo in front, I'll recommend it. But for now, I'll say go for White X10, cool design...
No its Super AMOLED and its very visible outside in bright sunlight.
To the OP, just determine what you need in a device and use them both in the store. For the record, the Captivates GPS is broken and there is no camera flash. The Captivate has features that the X10 doesn't have. However the X10 will receive some of those features in a future update such as 720P video recording and Android 2.1. The Captivate has these features out of the box. My advice is to do some research online and dont rely purely on our recommendation.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
the only thing going for the Captivate is the screen...and only when viewing media or playing games etc. As for reading text, the X10's screen is much sharper. The build quality is much higher on the X10 too, the Galaxies get scratched real easy, just read some reviews. For me, the Galaxy Captivate/Vibrant looks like it's trying to be an iPhone which is blasphemous in my opinion lol. Not to mention the fact that everyone in the world will own some form of the Galaxy in the coming months. So if you want to have a unique and very stylish device with amazing hardware, definitely X10 because after the 2.1 update (hopefully Froyo eventually too) the software side of things won't be any different...otherwise you'll be left with a scratched up iPhone wannabe.
Thanks for the advice guys. I played with the X10 and I was very impressed, I guess ATT only offers it in black (sorry man), but I agree it looks damn fine. The camera was awesome and the media features were great. But the thing that sold me was that everything is solid and doesn't feel cheap. Just like my X1i, everything felt good, not gimmicky like my iPhone or the Captivate. I asked the guy in the store and he said go captivate but I real liked the x10. The screen in the cap was almost obnoxiously bright and the icons were cartoonish and silly.
Now, my only concern is android 1.6. Rumor is it'll be updated, but for the next month or 2 can I survive with it? I used to be a WM junkie, but lately I have been spoiled by my iPhone so I don't know how android works :/
BTW, the north American version doesn't have 2 cams, only 1 and there isn't a physical call button. But atleast there is a camera button, I loved that.
well i do not know of any X10 with 2 cameras
I don t get this GPS problem, I dont have it on my Galaxy S, why don t you bring the phone back for repair? (or have you tried that already)
i guess I was wrong about the camera.
Based on what I read, 2.1 is coming soon and Sony may even jump to 2.2 but you never konw. Loosk like manufacturers are a bit slow bringing 2.2 to the market. it's quite surprising to see Sony has not yet release 2.1 or 2.2 at all because Xperia was out like last year as oppose to Captivative that was out reently.
it seems to me that a lot of these phone, the softwrae is wehre it sets one from another. Samsung did a decent job with captivate so is Sony. But sony really neeed to get 2.1 or 2.2 out so it can really take the power of teh hardare.
hiraj_panosian said:
I don t get this GPS problem, I dont have it on my Galaxy S, why don t you bring the phone back for repair? (or have you tried that already)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lot of people are complaining about the GPS problem or low build quality of Galaxy S
Lot of people are complaining about low sound volume in call of X10.
You don't have problems with GPS.
I don't have problems with my X10.
This means this problems are not there?
Well, I bought the Captivate on day 1. I had to replace it on day 3. I just returned it on day 29 and picked up the X10.
My observations on the Captivate:
Great screen
Thin design
Junky buttons (don't like soft buttons so much)
Junky PC software
Serious Lag and general OS issues
The GPS is currently broken (does not work 100% as it should)
My observations on the X10 (2-days in):
Great screen (once you disable auto brightness setting)
Great looking (IMO)
Great buttons
Great media player (on phone)
Great companion software on the PC
I haven't really noticed any lag (either on the stock or unbranded ROM)
The GPS works amazingly quickly and accurately
The bottom line for me, and the reason I returned the Captivate, is Samsung has no real history of resolving issues with devices once they are released. I am fairly confident they will resolve the GPS issue but not so confident they will resolve all the other issues plaguing the device. Random resets, inability to wake the phone from a sleep and mysterious shut downs all happened to me. I also had problems with the battery and I just wasn't feeling too warm and fuzzy about Samsung. It's a shame really, it could be a great device. They also used some abnormal file system that is apparently the biggest cause of all the lag on the device.
The Sony device, on the other hand, seems much better thought out and seems like it will last longer as well. The screen is close enough between the two (for me anyway) that it's not really an issue. It's nice having the light on the camera because I can use it with a flashlight app. The additional fact that the PC companion software is so much better than anything I've seen for Android is also reassuring. It seems to me that Sony did a much more thorough job in the R&D stage and Samsung just designed a product that looks good on paper. I am very glad that I returned the Samsung device for the Sony.
BTW, I am not a Sony fanboy by any stretch of the imagination. I just honestly feel like it's the better device overall. It was a very difficult decision to return the Captivate as it does offer some very impressive specs, but in the end I need a device that is reliable and works.
a quick question for anyone who has used both phone, how are the mp3 players on either phone? Can you import your itune playlist without any issue? Also, can you see the lyrics like what you can do with iphone/ipod?
I am considering consolidate my mp3 player (ipod touch) and phone so I am hoping for one that will do everythign I can with my ipod. I konw iphoen does it but I am looking for options.
I really like XPERIA, Captivate looks cheap to me and I don't recommend.. yeah Android 2.2 will be nice on xperia .. hope Sony updates soon
tuxStyle said:
Lot of people are complaining about the GPS problem or low build quality of Galaxy S
Lot of people are complaining about low sound volume in call of X10.
You don't have problems with GPS.
I don't have problems with my X10.
This means this problems are not there?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didnt have the problem with the low income volume of the X10 after the update .23 either...

[Q] Opinions/reviews on the Amaze 4g?

Okay, trying to find out all of the relevant things about this phone is a lot more difficult that it sounds, getting some real world experiences from the XDA community makes more sense. I am coming from a Samsung Vibrant, a device still without 2.3 from the manufacturer, that has always had pretty bad GPS, and leaves a lot to be desired..
Feel free to offer any of the positives/negatives you've found switching from your old device, compare, contrast.. anything goes. A few of my specific questions:
Battery life? Under heavy use, not just because you have a million apps with notifications every 5 minutes..
The ease of rooting and recovering if something goes wrong? I've never came close to bricking my old phone, but we have software we can flash(odin) the original software with in download mode-- does this phone have protections like that?
Development and community support? I've never owned an HTC, so I am wondering if they are better about updating devices? Does the dev community here have difficulty getting drivers and such to create new roms(or upgrade to ICS)?
Think about the concerns you had before you upgraded to this phone(for those who actually think things out, not the "oh, shiney!" crowd), did this phone fill your expectations, is there another phone you wish you had bought(or one coming out you would hold out for) that works with T-mobile?
The only thing this phone seems to be missing is NFC, and I'm unsure about how the screen quality is versus my amoled galaxy S. The only other phone I'd consider that is out now is the S II, but something about it leaves me underwhelmed..
Please, be positive, no flaming, no telling me I should spend hours/days using search to find outdated answers to my questions- this has the potential to help other people considering the device!
Silentbtdeadly said:
Okay, trying to find out all of the relevant things about this phone is a lot more difficult that it sounds, getting some real world experiences from the XDA community makes more sense. I am coming from a Samsung Vibrant, a device still without 2.3 from the manufacturer, that has always had pretty bad GPS, and leaves a lot to be desired..
Feel free to offer any of the positives/negatives you've found switching from your old device, compare, contrast.. anything goes. A few of my specific questions:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See my signature. This phone suits my needs. The others have been good for what I needed them for (Sensation: similar but the Amaze has better everything; more RAM, better backlit illuminated camera, 2mp front camera, NFC, dedicated video/camera button), (Galaxy Note: has everything I needed, but camera was slightly slower and I have Tmobile and I couldn't handle the EDGE data only) I don't regret getting the Amaze. It is slightly heavier and thicker than the Sensation, but its solid.
Silentbtdeadly said:
Battery life? Under heavy use, not just because you have a million apps with notifications every 5 minutes..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Battery life is not that great if you are a power user. I have 3 batteries and it gets me through the day. I usually do not need to use the 3rd battery. I use the phone for practically everything. Gaming: Shadowgun 30mins-45mins, texting: 30-50 msg, Netflix streaming: Yo Gabba Gabba 30mins, Music playing via bluetooth headphone 1hr at the gym, phone calls via car bluetooth for 30mins, regular phone calls 30mins-1hr, surfing the web 20-40mins, xda forum for 30-40mins. With all those things, I use 2 batteries. If I cut the activities in half, I can use 1battery and it will last me around 12-14hrs. (My rooted sensation did better at 16hrs, but I don't mind the 2hrs sacrifice)
Silentbtdeadly said:
The ease of rooting and recovering if something goes wrong? I've never came close to bricking my old phone, but we have software we can flash(odin) the original software with in download mode-- does this phone have protections like that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
use the search button: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1324177
Silentbtdeadly said:
Development and community support? I've never owned an HTC, so I am wondering if they are better about updating devices? Does the dev community here have difficulty getting drivers and such to create new roms(or upgrade to ICS)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This phone is roughly a little over a month old. Don't expect the community to be brimming with new things, especially with the announcement of ICS. Most developers do not want to dev something that will last only 2 months and then have replaced by a totally new firmware (ICS). So there will be a slight lull during this couple of months. But there are some great developers like Xboarder56, NRGZ28, mike1986 and Revolution that is keep this phone relevant. I really appreciate these guys.
Silentbtdeadly said:
Think about the concerns you had before you upgraded to this phone(for those who actually think things out, not the "oh, shiney!" crowd), did this phone fill your expectations, is there another phone you wish you had bought(or one coming out you would hold out for) that works with T-mobile?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The build quality is top notch (at least initially) for HTC phones. IMO it is definitely better than the current Samsung phones out now. The Galaxy Note was a nice phone but you can totally tell that it did not use premium material for the overall phone. The glass looked nice, but it did not have Gorilla glass.
Silentbtdeadly said:
The only thing this phone seems to be missing is NFC, and I'm unsure about how the screen quality is versus my amoled galaxy S. The only other phone I'd consider that is out now is the S II, but something about it leaves me underwhelmed..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This phone DOES HAVE NFC. Check the specs. (Near Field Communications)
http://htc.t-mobile.com/amaze-camera-phone#/Specs
Having come from the Vibrant:
Great battery life-QS1.5.1
Great build quality
Great camera
Easy to root
Easy to backup
Easy to flash
[CWMR]
you can't really brick this phone because we're stuck with s-on. Usually bricking occurs when you mess with bootloader and radio. However, with s-on we can't change that unless its through an OTA update.
Rooting takes a minute, recovery is done with CWM recovery, so it should be familiar.
btw the vibrant sucks balls.
however the gs2 is supposedly a huge upgrade to all their crappy predecessor so you can check that out too if you're afraid of the change from samsung to htc.
You can always invest in a mytouch 4g or sensation to see how it's like. They're both AMAZING phones har har but of course they lack in hardware specs, but they're both better than any other samsung phones out there except the latest ones.
Best T-Mobile phone going right now!
Let me start by saying I have been with Android since day 1. Started with the G1, then Mytouch 3g, the Nexus One, the Vibrant, the Mytouch 4g, and now the Amaze. I have not had a problem with any HTC phones and they are all still running today. The only phone I had any issue with was the one Samsung (also still running). I am not an HTC "fanboy" if something better came along I would certainly buy that.
The Amaze is the best phone T-Mobile offers right now. Compared to your Vibrant you'll be blown away with the quality of the phone the fact that everything works as it should.
HTC has a good track record of updating their devices OS's (Even the Mytouch 3g got Froyo before the Vibrant) and they do it OTA, no Kies. HTC's have always been quickly adopted by the development community for their relative ease of rooting and overall usage of "common" hardware that allows you to make ROM's for several different devices with very little modification.
Gingerbread is not a huge leap from Froyo. Most everyday users would be hard pressed to find a real difference. What will be different is going to HTC Sense from Samsung's TouchWiz interface. This will be a case of "It's up to you" totally depends on your own personal taste. I personally couldn't stand Touchwiz.
Battery life has been a little better than my MT4g was and seems to be about on par with or maybe a little better than my Vibrant. I have not owned a phone since my Palm Treo 650 that I didn't have to charge at least daily so I don't think there will be any surprise for you here.
Lastly, the screen. It is very nice and smooth. The resolution is higher than SGS2 therefore making it very crisp. It is not AMOLED, however, so you will not have the vibrance and deep contrast of the AMO screens. Your blacks won't seem as black and your bright colors will not jump out of the screen at you like the AMO screen does. Once again this is somewhat of a personal preference but compared to the Samsung devices this may be the only slight disadvantage.
This phone has the best camera ever offered in a smart phone. It has as much or more computing power of any phone on the market. The device is very solid, it just feels high quality and it has all of the bells and whistles that any smart phone out now has including NFC. I can't imagine this phone not exceeding any expectation you would have for a smart phone, unless you need a phone with a battery that lasts several days between charges, then you my friend have un-realistic expectations. Ha!
In a nutshell..
Good -
Sharp and Bright screen. Blacks levels are ok light bleed makes it worse. Still better than GS2 screen because of sharpness and IMO color accuracy.
Very fast camera. Dedicated buttons for camera and camcorder. They also wake the phone which is a huge plus IMO.
Eye pleasing . White model looks great IMO. If this were a super light/thin phone itd be a no brainer.
Bad-
Just big , heavy, and Fn bulky. Simply doesnt feel as good as other phones in the hand.
Lack of support. I give nothing but credit for wonderful work by Xboarder and others but take a gander at GS2 forums , or when Galaxy Nexus drops there forum. I just dont expect this place to ever be buzzing with the number of great tweaks , enhancements , and features other phones may get. ICS ROMS will likely be on other phones much sooner than Amaze.
Galaxy Nexus and its HD screen are going to be available soon. Just something to consider. HD screens will be more prevalent and the Amaze fast camera and gorgeous screen wont be as impressive by weeks end.
Love my Amaze
I've had a Nexus One for over a year (prior to that it was a Droid). I've also used the original Galaxy phone as well as the Evo.
I've been waiting patiently for a Galaxy Nexus for months as a replacement for my Nexus One. After seeing the camera shots - which are identical in shot quality to the (poor) camera on my Nexus One, I knew I could not possibly get a Galaxy Nexus. For me, camera quality is very important, since my phone *IS* my point-and-shoot, and the Galaxy Nexus camera simply blows. So I gave up waiting to get a GN.
I went into the T-Mobile store to play with the GSII side by side with the Amaze. Both are very good. For me, I went with the Amaze.
1. Build quality, IMO, is top notch. Yes the phone is heavy. To me it has a really solid feel. It's like comparing a S300 Mercedes to a Fiat - both may actually provide similar reliability, but the Mercedes feels far better built.
2. The screen is excellent. I suspect the GN will be better, but side-by-side with the GSII the Amaze had the better screen IMO. The GSII's AMOLED "pops" more but the improved resolution on the Amaze made the real difference.
3. The camera on the Amaze took better photos, and I liked the software better. The flash is amazing for a camera phone.
4. Battery life has been a huge improvement over my N1/Cyanogenmod phone. In normal use I go all day easily without charging. If you aren't playing games or heavily using Maps, I suspect you'll never need to "top up."
5. Great network performance. I haven't benched the speed, but the network feels 3X faster than my N1.
6. The new Sense is much better than TouchWiz IMO.
I want to say this is some great quality feedback, definitely hit everything I asked then some. I have a multitude of reasons for wanting to upgrade from my vibrant besides the "oh, shiney!" factor. Not a huge fan of touchwhiz, poor gps performance, lack of updates, no camera button, etc.. The biggest issue I have right now is price, I'm not willing to go contract with tmobile, and I don't want to pay the current full price like I did with my vibrant-- so if anyone decides they want to get a different phone and knock a fair chunk off of their amaze to get rid of it, bookmark me(I'm looking at you deleriousbb!)
The best points for me I've read about so far:
picture quality, I do want a good camera in my phone since it is the device I have with me always, who knows how many pictures I've lost by not having a dedicated button too..
I forgot it DID have a NFC- that was the original thing I was looking for when looking for a phone, trying to find one that is a little more future proof, this phone being the only one that I could find with hardware specs that sounded good.
Hell, it even has FM radio, something I wish I had a few times now..
Heavy- I actually LIKE this, my vibrant felt far too light, I want to have a solid feeling phone, and if it can double as a brick to be used for self-defense-- so be it.
Overall this sounds like a phone worthy of upgrading to(I really want to make sure I am upgrading) from my vibrant, more or less future proof.. the only thing it doesn't have that I see in the near future is a quad core processor, and those only interest me because of the battery savings they are supposed to offer.
I don't know about the s-on thing someone mentioned, that locks the radio too? That would be the only downside I've seen so far, changing radios has been the way I get the best battery out of my phone thus far, but I suppose I can deal(and have something to research). I also don't know much about how the qHD led screen compares to the vibrant, I was looking forward to better battery life because I know amoled screens use more power than most and using black reduced that..
I guess the only question that didn't get answered is if there is a phone out or coming out that people wish they had held out for? I am not impressed by the galaxy nexus- no external sd, no camera button, lower mp camera(yes I understand better quality sensor), and a few other things.. but I am a hardware guy, and this phone is superior in specs, and the feedback makes me feel good about that.
Also, is there anyone who thinks they may be trying to sell their phone anytime soon? I see myself buying this used rather than going contract(I hate contracts), so I am going to have to wait till there is a price I like more..
Thanks again everyone for the great info, besides everything about the phone that sounded so great, it sounds like you guys are pretty friendly, supportive, and overall helpful!
Check out XDA's market there are some pretty cheap phones there. usually range about $400 for amaze. So you can sell your vibrant for iono $150? on CL and pay $250 more for an amaze.. on contract you already pay $200?
So anyways I actually have a gs2 in hand right now so i'll add some things, although it is similar to what manmythlegend said.
the gs2's connectivity is actually on par with the amaze. I would say amaze's gps is slightly faster but gs2's wifi connectivity is a bit stronger and has quicker connection time.
amaze's camera is better, GS2 appears to have more options on the camera and has their own scenes to choose from, BUT it does not compare to the amaze's scenes at all. BTW I love how the amaze's dedicated button works even when phone is locked.
Screen. the super amoled compared to the amaze's screen reminds me of mt4g good and bad displays. gs2 looks awesome when you view it from every angle. Amaze reminds me of an old LCD when you view from different angles the blacks become like gray. However, I hate how gs2 looks all stretched out and it's not as sharp. think iphone 2-3 vs iphone 4. Amaze is defintely more uhh pretty, its like the UI and icons actually pop out at you compared to gs2' where everything looks blended in a bit.
Another factor, I do not like gs2's blue tint when viewing websites or anything with a white background, it actually feels bad for my eyes. oh and amaze's color seems to be more true.
But remember this, Amaze's battery right now is SO SO, so if you're a heavy user make sure to carry a spare or your charger around.
This may seem like a bias review, but I'm actually pointing out what I normally use on a daily basis that the gs2 would not do for me as the amaze would.
keypoints
1. CAMERA (love amaze's camera and its scenes)
2. Web browsing or anything that has to do with a white background (XDA APP ahem), blue tint is no go for me..
3. base on user preference. I like the weight of the amaze. It tells me that my phone is in my pocket and that it's sturdy to carry around. The amaze's curve body makes it feels better in my hand.
There's something about the gs2 that just doesn't feel right. probably the width or depth of the phone, not exactly sure. I have about an average adult male size hands and the width of the phone might be the thing that is bothering me or that it's actually too thin that makes it feel weird, idk grip both phones, you'll see what i mean.
things that will bother you on the amaze:
the light bleed from the bottom (fixed with screen filter or other ways) and possibly the mediocre battery life.
GREAT GREAT reviews here. Just what I was looking for.
My G2 has some wear and tear and TMo said they would do an early upgrade where I could get the Amaze for $250. I went to the store and played with the Amaze, and it was a pretty nice looking phone at face value.
I, too, wanted to wait for the Galaxy Nexus to drop on TMo, but I despise Samsung. If I had to use Odin every time I flash, I'd be pissed. HTC is perfect for people who love to flash roms, and I am that guy.
Really thinking I should do this...only thing that had me thinking, was whoever said that development for this phone would be weak. xboarder is a BEASt, though - dude was in the G2 forum for a few months and had things going.
Should I do this?
enserio said:
GREAT GREAT reviews here. Just what I was looking for.
My G2 has some wear and tear and TMo said they would do an early upgrade where I could get the Amaze for $250. I went to the store and played with the Amaze, and it was a pretty nice looking phone at face value.
I, too, wanted to wait for the Galaxy Nexus to drop on TMo, but I despise Samsung. If I had to use Odin every time I flash, I'd be pissed. HTC is perfect for people who love to flash roms, and I am that guy.
Really thinking I should do this...only thing that had me thinking, was whoever said that development for this phone would be weak. xboarder is a BEASt, though - dude was in the G2 forum for a few months and had things going.
Should I do this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the SGS2 uses CWM recovery to flash too, you only need odin to install the recovery, after that you're golden.
I'm testing out the sgs2 for the day, and i'll update my opinion on it by the end of the day... so far battery life is good, camera is definitely no comparison to amaze, camcorder seems better though. wifi and bt connectivity is definitely stronger and connection time is quicker on the sgs2. HD games, amaze is better (more details). anything with fonts/texts goes to amaze.
It does support NFC btw, and also AT&T 4G bands.
Screen resolution is great, and its better than the S-AMOLED of the SGSII (which has some discoloration issues it seems).
The SGSII S-AMOLED has a very bright and saturated screen so the colors are shot at you, but if you are a pro as I think you are, and not a "oh, shiny!" fella... You know that definition is better and more important than brightness.
Unless you don't care, then that's different.
4G on the phone is pretty fast, and so its installing apps.
The 1.5 dual-core does not score that high on quadrant as the SGSII (especially the Exynos) does, but you know that they are to be taken with grano salis, and in everyday usage its pretty fast.
Camera is amazing, period.
Video quality is great, but sound recording should be much better on a device like this.
The HTC phone itself however, does have downsides:
Reception (its fair, but not amazing).
Battery, with heavy usage on 4G, will last you few hours. On 2G, a bit more. Phone does get warm by the way. Its not something that should worry you, but it is bothersome when you are on the phone playing a video or what have ya, you get a phone call and have to talk to a distance of the device.
The worst aspect is the earpiece. It is UTTER TRASH. It literally silences itself when you talk, and will "turn on" when the other party speaks, however, when that occurs, it will "eat" the first few milliseconds and you will get a broken up phrase (from the other party), 99.9% of the times. Seems to be an HTC issue btw.
The touchscreen is tricky. It seems pretty responsive overall, but I did have doubts sometimes. But overall no big issues for me so far.
The phone also does have an heft. It doesn't seem that big a deal, until you place this 4.3" monster phone in your pocket. Its bothersome, at least to me.
Final words: I am trying to sell the HTC Amaze 4G. It is a great media device, but an horrible communication device. This solely depends on you. I have been using a BB 9700 for the past two years and I went back to it after 8 days of impossible phone calls with the Amaze, battery that lasts nothing (on the Amaze of course), and I personally suck and can't stand typing on screens. Sure, the Amaze thrashes my 9700 on so many levels, but for what I need, the 9700 does a far superior job than the Amaze.
Hope this helped.
Capitan Totti said:
The worst aspect is the earpiece. It is UTTER TRASH. It literally silences itself when you talk, and will "turn on" when the other party speaks, however, when that occurs, it will "eat" the first few milliseconds and you will get a broken up phrase (from the other party), 99.9% of the times. Seems to be an HTC issue btw.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like you have a defected phone or earpiece. From what I know the amaze doesn't come with an earpiece. I use my old mytouch 4g one and i do not get this issue. well good luck with your deals!
edit: that sounded sarcastic lol, I wasn't trying to be haha
The reception on my amaze is light years ahead of my old samsung galaxy s 4g. I would have one bar on the highway to town and the amaze has a full signal. (2g) just amazing.
The worst aspect is the earpiece. It is UTTER TRASH. It literally silences itself when you talk, and will "turn on" when the other party speaks, however, when that occurs, it will "eat" the first few milliseconds and you will get a broken up phrase (from the other party), 99.9% of the times. Seems to be an HTC issue btw.
I don't have this issue at all. It sounds to me (like someone else mentioned) like you have a defective Amaze.
Teo032 said:
Sounds like you have a defected phone or earpiece. From what I know the amaze doesn't come with an earpiece. I use my old mytouch 4g one and i do not get this issue. well good luck with your deals!
edit: that sounded sarcastic lol, I wasn't trying to be haha
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
By earpiece I mean the speaker part.
FranzDages said:
The worst aspect is the earpiece. It is UTTER TRASH. It literally silences itself when you talk, and will "turn on" when the other party speaks, however, when that occurs, it will "eat" the first few milliseconds and you will get a broken up phrase (from the other party), 99.9% of the times. Seems to be an HTC issue btw.
I don't have this issue at all. It sounds to me (like someone else mentioned) like you have a defective Amaze.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, what do I do now? Can I go back to the store and try another one? And see if its defective or not?
Capitan Totti said:
By earpiece I mean the speaker part.
So, what do I do now? Can I go back to the store and try another one? And see if its defective or not?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should have a minimum of 14 days to exchange it from where you purchased it. After that you might have to send it in to HTC for repair/replacement.
enserio said:
GREAT GREAT reviews here. Just what I was looking for.
My G2 has some wear and tear and TMo said they would do an early upgrade where I could get the Amaze for $250. I went to the store and played with the Amaze, and it was a pretty nice looking phone at face value.
I, too, wanted to wait for the Galaxy Nexus to drop on TMo, but I despise Samsung. If I had to use Odin every time I flash, I'd be pissed. HTC is perfect for people who love to flash roms, and I am that guy.
Really thinking I should do this...only thing that had me thinking, was whoever said that development for this phone would be weak. xboarder is a BEASt, though - dude was in the G2 forum for a few months and had things going.
Should I do this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have obviously owned a Nexus S. We don't use Odin. Anyone who uses Odin on any Nexus (from Samsung) is a moron. Rooting and flashing recovery is all performed via fastboot and then make a clockwork backup like normal. The Galaxy Nexus will be the same way. All you need is fastboot.
Sent from my Nexus S using xda premium
Capitan Totti said:
So, what do I do now? Can I go back to the store and try another one? And see if its defective or not?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep if you can't exchange at store anymore then call Tmobile to do an exchange.
Sent from my HTC Amaze 4G using XDA App
14 days are now gone guys...
And when I went back and told them, they said that I had to pay $50 dollars... which I found ridiculous... So I didn't do anything apart from trying to sell the phone.

[Q] Is it the right step?

I really dunno if i'm doing the right thing or not. I'm moving on from an HTC sensation with all the build quality and the sense UI glory; the company has to offer! To a sony xperia S
No doubt the phone rocks with mind-blowing specs :
amazing screen resolution,
advanced camera and finally a dedicated button for it,
an hdmi port,
thank god a usb on the go
and the long awaited nfc option for android
the drawbacks are not that fussy :
no sdcard (handling with built in internal memory avoids lags)
unremovable battery (i guess u change ur phone more often than changing the battery)
port covers (get used to by time)
camera very near to edge (hold the corners when taking pics)
power button near to earphone jack (use ur left hand to awake the device when connected to earphones)
what really concerns me is that sony ericsson devices never attracted me and a lot of people, is it because of the looks? durability? service? the dull timescape UI????? smartphone community interest in comparison with other lines like htc and samsung???
I know sony has divorced ericsson and it provides a new attitude, but the background..... u know what i mean?!
I just need assuring words for me and all the people out there thinking about this change!!
You can't go wrong with Sony phone it has the best speaker phone,phone ringer is loud does the function of a phone well aswell of a smartphone and PlayStation I have bought one in fact I have an iPhone 4s ,galaxy nexus ,Xperia play and a blackberry curve and the best is the Sony
Thanks
Sony/Ericsson never needed the best hardware to make their phones fly. And don't say anything about Timescape, at least in the opinion of a lot of people, it's FAR better then Sense (which I think is crap).
Sony don't need to appeal to giantic screens, or use a fake Beats (which improves a little, but not as much as xLoud), or use AMOLED screens (Bravia provides better colors, AMOLED have yellowish images), neither the best hardware., but they really know how to optimize their software to their hardware.
And, the best thing of all: The best designs. Nothing beats Xperia Arc or NXT Series design.
Sent from Xperia X10 Mini Pro using ICS by paul-xxx
I guess sony problem is perception.reviewer aren't too kind to sony.sony itself have apple "we know what best for you attitude" rather than giving what customer wanted.they won't use bleeding but buggy new tech.and sony sure as hell won't give u all thing in one,even for flagship.the arc have no ffc, sxs don't have white magic.
hardware wise its usually little bit better than the last iphone n nexus..thats turn a lot of people off..why buy single when u have dual core last yr.and why buy dual when u could get quad core this year.(but nvr realised all those power are useless as android os n apps can't utilities it)
What make me coming again n again to xperia is
1) it a phone..it primary use is to make call..however only Motorola n sony have exceptional call quality
2) its a multimedia device. Most important arescreen,sound and camera. Its where the xperia come 2nd to none.(don't know why people find multimedia device with ****ty sound and oversaturated screen is appealing.)
3)design:hardware n user interface have to look good..htc,sammy hardware and touchwizz n sense are damn to ugly for my taste.
4)support:sony are the only company that will upgrade all its 2011 phone.not three out of thousand of galaxy..and it support for developer is good..yes.there's a lack of developer for xperia device..but at least their rom work and aren't wayy too buggy.
Sent from my LT18i using XDA
I came from a Samsung Galaxy S and while the samsung hardware is nice their software is terrible. You really need to tweak a samsung phone to fix the bugs or perform acceptable. Even the SGS2 has buggy stock software imo. With my xperia now I don't have to tweak to get good performance. I only miss root to remove some minor bloatware, block ads and restore backup.
Never had a HTC device because they were always mediocre and I don't like sense. But the new one x does look nice but is expensive and big. And the one s has little storage, lower resolution and a pentile screen. After the pentile screen of the sgs I will never take pentile again .
So my experiance is positive. Stock it runs better then the samsung phones. And in my opinion the ui looks much better then sense and touchwiz.
I think the lack of popularity in general is because of advertising, at least here. I see a lot of htc and samsung adds but no sony ads.
But you should try it out at a store and see if it fits your tastes.
R64 said:
I came from a Samsung Galaxy S and while the samsung hardware is nice their software is terrible. You really need to tweak a samsung phone to fix the bugs or perform acceptable. Even the SGS2 has buggy stock software imo. With my xperia now I don't have to tweak to get good performance. I only miss root to remove some minor bloatware, block ads and restore backup.
Never had a HTC device because they were always mediocre and I don't like sense. But the new one x does look nice but is expensive and big. And the one s has little storage, lower resolution and a pentile screen. After the pentile screen of the sgs I will never take pentile again .
So my experiance is positive. Stock it runs better then the samsung phones. And in my opinion the ui looks much better then sense and touchwiz.
I think the lack of popularity in general is because of advertising, at least here. I see a lot of htc and samsung adds but no sony ads.
But you should try it out at a store and see if it fits your tastes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had SGS 2 before i moved on to the sensation by the way, i dumped it coz i really got fed up from its software in spite of it being a really nice handset in every aspect!
I totally agree about the advertisement part! They should give a great deal of attention to it!
By the way sense is awesome, it's just bulky on a limited ram, but will miss it when i shift to the SXS !!
i changed from sensation to sgs 2 to lg p920 none of those were usable on stock for me, the sensation was ok but the camera ... seriously they call it a camera ? and the sense sucked most of the resources (ram/battery)
i was waiting for the SXS and am truely happy i did cause the phone experience is amazing and am still on stock , no root no custom rom, just stock as good as out of the box and the phone is flawless,
the camera takes amazing, sharp pictures without flash at the darkest nights
the battery lasts for more than a day for me with edge on/wifi on for the entire day with several calls and some casual gaming
and let me tell you about the screen, this is a piece of art, i love watching pics on that screen, its sharp, crisp and colors are amazingly perfect
as for the music , the sound is crisp and clear threw the stock headphones which i like more than any of my previous phones
i even add full HD movies on my phone and connect it to my TV threw HDMI cable and watch it , its fast it doesnt hang which is great and does the job right
plus in gaming am enjoying my old nice games like lane splitter and angry birds space/fruit ninja which runs pretty fast and no lags at all
the os itself is not buggy, i own the phone for 15 days now and i didnt encounter a hang or a bug yet
so i would definitely advise you to swap to one of those
After buying the SXS, I must say IT'S DEFINITELY THE RIGHT STEP!!!!!
Build quality is magnificent, stock software is superb and overall performance is outstanding!!!
Wow!!! Never expected it to be that way!
For all the people out there hesitating to get it, put on your clothes and drive off to the nearest dealer and buy it!!!
Sent from my LT26i using XDA Premium App
sevoflurane said:
After buying the SXS, I must say IT'S DEFINITELY THE RIGHT STEP!!!!!
Build quality is magnificent, stock software is superb and overall performance is outstanding!!!
Wow!!! Never expected it to be that way!
For all the people out there hesitating to get it, put on your clothes and drive off to the nearest dealer and buy it!!!
Sent from my LT26i using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Amazing phone
Sounds crazy but I am really happy there is no extra sd card slot, as this almost more than anything else is the reason why everything slows down. I do not need all my pictures movies and music. As soon as I take a pc or video it's uploaded to my sftp server and dropbox so always have copy. So with everything stored on the Internet ( no minor not the cloud just the Internet) local storage is not an issue.
Its why more devices are moving away from the sd cause of serious drain on resources especially if apps are moved to sd card so temptation is removed >:~}
Sent from my LT26i using XDA
Yeah, the i/o is super fast. My friend with galaxy note tried to load some app and save some stuff and his comments were: huh? Its done?? Wtf??
R64 said:
I came from a Samsung Galaxy S and while the samsung hardware is nice their software is terrible. You really need to tweak a samsung phone to fix the bugs or perform acceptable. Even the SGS2 has buggy stock software imo. With my xperia now I don't have to tweak to get good performance. I only miss root to remove some minor bloatware, block ads and restore backup.
Never had a HTC device because they were always mediocre and I don't like sense. But the new one x does look nice but is expensive and big. And the one s has little storage, lower resolution and a pentile screen. After the pentile screen of the sgs I will never take pentile again .
So my experiance is positive. Stock it runs better then the samsung phones. And in my opinion the ui looks much better then sense and touchwiz.
I think the lack of popularity in general is because of advertising, at least here. I see a lot of htc and samsung adds but no sony ads.
But you should try it out at a store and see if it fits your tastes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I totally agree with the fact that sony doesn't do much advertising actually closer to nothing where I am... But this sets it apart from all the other manufactures and gives individuality to sony phones i.e people who have sony phones.
It's my first Sony smartphone, but i am more than happy of the choice i've made. The software it's so perfect that you really don't need to install anything from the market (i mean tools) The only thing i'm not so happy about is the usb port door...i'm afraid that in time it will break down and after that it will not have such a nice aspect, but if this will happen i will try to find a solution. I adviced already 4 people to buy this Sony smartphone (3 already bought the smartphone...1 to go ) and now i'm thinking of taking a Sony Tablet S gift for my girlfriend birthday. I come from HTC Desire HD and i've made this update because i needed a better camera...and i have to say that this Xperia S camera just blow all my expectations...just WOW !

[Q] Debating whether to get a GS3

Hi there, I'm sure you get these kinds of questions all the time, but please indulge my relative newness. I tried to use the search function; however, it kept timing out before it retrieved any results. Something wrong with my internet, I am sure.
My phone network have given me a choice between some lovely phones (turns out paying bills on time gets you in their good books!) and I am tending towards the GS 3, I was wondering if any owners could tell me if I'm making the right call or a mistake.
My choices are the new Nokia Lumia WP7, HTC One X, Galaxy S 3 and the iPhone 4S.
I like the WP7 because I use the Zune software anyway (I actually use a Zune as my main mp3 player,) but that's just about the only reason. I'm not a massive Apple fan, but if it's the superior phone I would be tempted to go for it. I've been using a Desire S for a while, so am quite used to HTC (as well as liking Sense UI quite a bit, apparently that's contraversial.) The Samsung looks really nice from the reviews I've watched, but I've heard there are some build quality problems as well as Touchwiz UI (not a fan. Apparently that's contraversial too.)
Or is it worth sticking it out for HTC's next inevitable offering?
Any help would be appreciated
Go into a phone shop and ask to try each one out, prod, poke, play, stroke, drool, only you can really decide what's best for you. Don't listen to the guy in the shop, he's almost certainly going to be an Apple fanboy (aren't they always? it's bizarre!)
Lumia - low resolution screen
HOX - poor battery life, as well as a sealed in battery
iPhone 4S - tiny screen
These are just a few areas where the S3 beats all these phones, and that's without going into software. Physically the hardware of the S3 is hands-down the best overall package, screen is great (whether it's the best is debatable), great processor, great camera, great call quality, decent speaker volume. Great audio chip inside too, if you're really into your music like me.
Any minor issues the S3 does have can be fixed NOW with custom ROMs, and/or will be fixed by Samsung later with official updates. The issues mentioned for the other phones CANNOT be fixed at all.
It's really horses for courses - I know many, many people who love their iPhones, but when I show them my S3 with a live wallpaper Facebook/Twitter/weather ticker, scrolling launcher dock with all my main used apps on it, the great photos it takes and how great they look and video looks on the AMOLED screen, and how I *Swype like a boss* (phrase stolen from another XDA user), it's written all over their faces how jealous they are.
The only possible real criticism I can level at this phone is that it's very big, and the difficulty with which you have to operate it one-handed could be a show stopper for many people. Aside from that, I think it's easily the best phone on the market right now.
EDIT: Oh and if you don't like Touchwiz then you can get rid of a lot of how it looks by using a different launcher. Or go the whole way, root and flash a vanilla Android ICS ROM. I haven't looked, but I'm sure there will be a Sense ROM floating around for it soon too, if there isn't one already
EDIT 2: As for build quality problems - the only prob I've heard about was the hyperglaze coating/paint job. The first handset I received had a small imperfection in the finish and I sent it right back. The replacement is perfect.
I have heard about dodgy solder connections inside the HOX which can break if the phone is knocked hard, and disable your wifi, Apparently HTC have admitted it's an issue and resolved it now, but there's still plenty of the dodgy HOXs in stores I would imagine - bit of a gamble to buy one, you might end up having to send it back much later, and that's even if HTC don't refuse you - if it's got any exterior damage from the knock/drop then they could tell you to get stuffed, even though the solder prob inside is a known issue.
I guess it really depends on what operating system you like the best. WP7, ios and android all offer different things and it really is quite subjective so the only person that can answer that is you. Now if you choose android and are trying to decide what phone you want I'm pretty sure everybody here will suggest the SGS3. For obvious reasons..
Sent from my GT-I9300
I also came from an HTC Desire S, just moved to the GS3.
I found some of the SenseUI a bit confusing and find the GS3 more straightforward in that respect.
The GS3 hardware is stunning, especially the GPS which is a million times better than the Desire S.
If you are used to connecting your HTC device as a USB disk drive, then you're going to miss that because the GS3 can't do it. I was dissappointed by this apparent omission at first, but after a few days I have got used to the connection method provided by Samsung and it's no big deal transferring music or videos to the device or SD card.
My GS3 apparently also synchronises contacts, calendar etc to Outlook properly using KIES, which is something that never worked properly for me with the HTC. (It annoyingly kept changing my Outlook contact name format etc)
Big thumbs-up for GS3 from me !
Thanks for your advice! It seems like a really nice device. Tachikoma_kun is right though, got to go and have a look first.
Again, thanks!
If wanna changed to new phone, might as well change network. Loving my sgs3. Highly recommended. Best phone. Period.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
You won't regret getting this phone
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
better hurry before Apple gets it banned for stuff they haven't invented but got the patent for ^^
The phone is awesome, S voice sucks (waiting for JB), it's super fast and responsive and has great features. best phone imho.
Yeah crapple patent troller will ban something obvious as having a touch screen soon
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Co0n said:
better hurry before Apple gets it banned for stuff they haven't invented but got the patent for ^^
The phone is awesome, S voice sucks (waiting for JB), it's super fast and responsive and has great features. best phone imho.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Luckily, the OP is in the UK where we don't have software patents yet. Nothing like competing via the courtroom if you can't compete in the marketplace.
I had the One X and its not a bad phone at all, but the S3 is much better:
- better battery life
- external sd card
- removable battery
- touchwizz 5 has improved a lot and seems lighter on the system than tw 4
- better cpu and gpu
- better camera
- better soundquality and volume
For me the S3 is king
Thanks for all the information again, although with regard to the sound quality: HTC keep touting that they have Beats audio on their phones. I don't know much about it (I normally keep away from things Dr Dre does) but it's supposed to be pretty good, or premium at least. Is Samsung's one really better? I listen to a lot of different kinds of music (from classical to electro to black metal) but it's normally on the heavy rock/metal side. Is Samsung's better for this?
Cheers
The whole "beats audio" thing is just an attempt at a branding gimmick. Bit like a perfume company recruiting Victoria Beckham to put her name to it.
Not sure it's even a good branding exercise. When was the last time Dr dre was relevant? Wasn't his last biggest tune "still dre" back in 1998.
Now if HTC had done a deal with David Guetta.. it might have caught the attention more of their target market.
In short beats audio is nothing to take into account .
Choose anything except Iphone
WP7? Wait for another one year.
Anyway, since you have used HTC for quite some time, why not try Samsung.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Hey guys,
Just wanted to thank you for your advice. Settled on a Galaxy S 3 in white in the end.
Cheers

My LG G2 review - coming from stock Android (Nexus One/S/4/7)

Hi Guys,
After owning several iPhones back in the day (up to the 3GS) and then Nexus One, Nexus S and Nexus 4 (skipped the Galaxy Nexus) and a Nexus 7 tablet, always on (unrooted) stock Android, I couldn't resist the temptation and got myself a 32GB LG G2 (European version).
Why not wait a few weeks for the Nexus 5 ?
The main reason is that the LG G2 has just the perfect hardware specs for me, there is nothing I would realistically want more. The Nexus 5 will have smaller screen and smaller battery. Also, the last 3 versions of Android did not bring any significant useable stuff to the table in order to make me really want to update, so the newest Android update is not so important to have.
The other reason is that I am really bored of stock Android. There are some things that Google will stubbornly never add or change, and I'm not one to install custom ROMs all day. For example, I can't set different sound volumes for the call ringtones and notification ringtones. And the notification LED is so neglected by the stock Android (on phones that have it). I gave my "old" Nexus 4 to my girlfriend, and although she loves to speed over her old Galaxy S Advance, she immediately begun asking where are the "gimmicks" that Samsung included into its software and that she used all the time. This is saying something.
One minor reason is that I have had hardware problems ALL of my Nexus devices, despite the fact that I take great care of them: the Nexus One's power button became loose and broke over time (HTC support really sucks !), the Nexus S capacitive sensor burned in a corner (display assembly replacement), the Nexus 7 speakers broke and now sound is very distorted. The Nexus 4 screen was a bit yellowish when I received it, I read that it's from the glue bonding the glass layers, it improved over time but never had the correct colors, it always had a subtle yellow tint to it.
Why LG G2 ?
Just a quick glance at the competition and my previous experience with various brands made me choose the G2. The iPhone is really out of question due to the microscopic screen and lack of notification LED (it's incredible how a business user can live without a notification LED), the Galaxy S4 and HTC One have outdated hardware (I mean, if I pay the same price, why not get the latest hardware), the HTC One has a microscopic, unusable notification LED (and I don't wish you to need something from the HTC technical support !), the Galaxy Note 3 is really too big. I have never used a spare battery with any of my phones, and never used a microSD card, so these missing features are just not minuses for me. The lack of removable battery (and thus the inclusion of a bigger battery) is in fact a huge plus.
The Motorola MotoX has a very nice notification feature, but it pulsates too slow (indicating battery concerns) and the rest of the hardware is too average and I can't see it as an upgrade over the Nexus 4 (plus it's not available in Europe although I could get it if I really wanted to).
The LG G2 hardware
I will say that the excellent, biggest-in-class display, the impressive battery life and the very small bezels (phone fits in my front jeans pocket !), combined with the killer 'Knock On' feature make this phone an easy choice over any other phone right now, hardware-wise. Not to mention the newest Snapdragon 800 processor. I am even pleased by its camera capability, pictures always look very sharp because of the optical stabilization, although there is too much noise reduction and loss of detail (however resized for web/facebook, pictures look great). The fact that it has an FM radio is a huge plus for me, because I needed a radio to listen to my favorite talk show between the parking lot and my home, and it's proven to do its job great so far
The LG G2 software
Believe me when I say this, the stock Android is extremely boring compared to LGs software. It's so refreshing to see many user-needed features included in their software. I don't care for most of them, but they don't get in the way either. However, some of them are really useful and I never see Google implementing them in their stock Android. For example, I can now set different ringtone volumes for notifications and calls, I can access the phone files from my computer over my home network, I have a very customizable battery saver that kicks in when needed, etc.
There is only one thing that bothers my in LG G2's software: the notification drawer has some items that you can never remove from there, like the screen brightness, ringtone volume and a row with some shortcuts. It's not unbearable, but I prefer that to only be used for notifications. At least they could move their bloatware controls *after* all the notifications instead of before them.
Conclusion
I really like the LG G2. I think it trumps every other phone at this moment, but this is not the important thing. The important thing is that I don't have to charge my phone every day (it sometimes lasts 3+ days !), it has a great screen for web reading and browsing and it's just a well-designed phone.
Good review, vanilla android was a performance necessity when phones weren't power houses. I too enjoy the gadgetry of mfg skins. I still like stock android for my tablet, but for my primary device, I like the bells and whistles.
Sent from my VS980 4G using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Thnx for this review. I love my g2 more lol!
Sent from my LG-D802 using Tapatalk 2
Well i suppose the camera is better than just for facebook and instagram. Its a 13mp for god's sake!
Fille84 said:
Well i suppose the camera is better than just for facebook and instagram. Its a 13mp for god's sake!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The megapixel count really doesn't matter, if you take a picture with an old 5 Megapixel Canon DSLR you will blow any smartphone out if the water. The pixel size / sensor size and lens quality does matter a lot.
The LG G2 camera is quite surprisingly good for a smartphone camera with a 1/3 inch sensor. The lens seems very good. But the resulting image is heavily post-processed to eliminate noise due to small pixel phtosites. Unfortunately fine detail is gone as well, but this is only visible on full-size images. Basically the camera software is optimized for instant picture sharing with little to no user post-processing, which is a correct thing to do in a smartphone.
I for one would prefer a noisier but more detailed image which I could post-process with a dedicated suite like Adobe's Lightroom. But I guess this is what big cameras are for...
Thanks for this review. I like it
Nexus 5 = Crap
This are the technical characteristics of the upcoming Nexuseless 5, I prefer LG G2 ever.
4.95″ 1080p display
32GB and 16GB internal storage
2GB RAM
MSM8974 aka Snapdragon 800 at 2.3GHz
8MP OIS rear camera
1.3MP front camera
2300mAh battery <<<<<<---- Why are they still using this crap battery!!?????
Sensors: Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Proximity/Ambient Light, Pressure
Slimport compatibility
Micro SIM slot
Notification light
Wireless charging
NFC
Bluetooth 4.0 (Bluetooth 3.0 was also listed, but this is most likely an error.)
UMTS/GSM/CDMA/LTE compatibility
More details of the Nexuseless 5 here:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/173744848/LG-D821
I cant make my mind up about the LG g2 or the nexus 5 the nexus 5 looks nicer but the G2 has better specs.
G2 in my opinion looks so sexy and honestly that's one of the many reasons I bought it. Its different with the home button setup on the back and has the specs to last a long time for me. Also running stock and with 5 hour screen time I'm way over 24 hours of use
Sent from my LG-D800 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
blair287 said:
I cant make my mind up about the LG g2 or the nexus 5 the nexus 5 looks nicer but the G2 has better specs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looks is Subjective, IMO Nexus 5 just has two advantages over G2, Price and Timely Updates. That is it.
My views are that personally the phone is just a little to big for me to use comfortably. I would have preferred say 5" screen with the narrow bezzels making the device slightly narrower and easier to hold - but thats just a personal preference. I would have also liked a textued back to the phone (at the moment i am using a skin to give it texture) as this phone is on the maximum edge of what is comfortable to me i dont want to add to the size with a case, i also dont want to lose the look ad feel i have from the device (the 'in the hand feel') you get.
All in all however these were not a deal breaker for me as there was nothing else out for me to consider at the time (like the moto x but not available in uk) so bought the g2 sim free.
After a couple of weeks of use i started to dislike elements of the lg software and its design and just found that adding a launcher just gave me other issues. What is great now is that the dev community is really picking up for this phone and roms are starting to appear so you now have the option to pretty much have whatever you want on your phone. You can go pretty much bare bones android without any of Lg's bloat but you an also add whatever elements of Lgs stuff you like to the vanilla rom so giving you the best of both worlds.
So to sum up.....for me the device has awesome specs, latest processor, excellent camera, amazing battery life, great development options to customize to your personal liking. Only thing for me is the size but maybe thats just because i have short stubby fingers
At the end of the day its all about choices, beauty is that now you have choices so if the hardware tickles your fancy you can customize till your hearts content and end up with your perfect device
hpsauce37 said:
My views are that personally the phone is just a little to big for me to use comfortably. I would have preferred say 5" screen with the narrow bezzels making the device slightly narrower and easier to hold - but thats just a personal preference. I would have also liked a textued back to the phone (at the moment i am using a skin to give it texture) as this phone is on the maximum edge of what is comfortable to me i dont want to add to the size with a case, i also dont want to lose the look ad feel i have from the device (the 'in the hand feel') you get.
All in all however these were not a deal breaker for me as there was nothing else out for me to consider at the time (like the moto x but not available in uk) so bought the g2 sim free.
After a couple of weeks of use i started to dislike elements of the lg software and its design and just found that adding a launcher just gave me other issues. What is great now is that the dev community is really picking up for this phone and roms are starting to appear so you now have the option to pretty much have whatever you want on your phone. You can go pretty much bare bones android without any of Lg's bloat but you an also add whatever elements of Lgs stuff you like to the vanilla rom so giving you the best of both worlds.
So to sum up.....for me the device has awesome specs, latest processor, excellent camera, amazing battery life, great development options to customize to your personal liking. Only thing for me is the size but maybe thats just because i have short stubby fingers
At the end of the day its all about choices, beauty is that now you have choices so if the hardware tickles your fancy you can customize till your hearts content and end up with your perfect device
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what kind of issues did you encounter when adding a launcher? and what launcher?
I appreciate everyone's reviews here!
sdsubball23 said:
what kind of issues did you encounter when adding a launcher? and what launcher?
I appreciate everyone's reviews here!
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You name it i tried it!
Nova, smart launcher, Aviate, Adw.....
To be fair to these launchers though they probably were not really issue's. Just little things that frustrated me about them, could have been the inability to do something or set something up with them, notifications, different custom options etc.
Most people would probably not even have experienced it or have issue with it.
The thing i was leading to really was the fact that now with a good dev community coming on board with this device (been quite overlooked generally in my opinion until now - availabilty in some countries may have been the reason for this though) that there are many choices for people now.
If the hardware of the device fits the bill then you are no longer tied with elements of the stock build you dont like and pretty much change every bit about it one way or another - just means taking that step of rooting and flashing. Dont get me wrong im no developer or expert in this field but as someone who is particularly fussy and difficult to please with phones and software etc (must be my ocd) everyone has options and its really not that difficult once you have done it a few times.
Bottom line is if someone dosent like the stock ui/experience you can change and have whatever you want
I know my comments above may seem obvious to many especially as we are on a developer site however a lot of people come to the site for opinions and information and who may have thought about making changes but never actually taking the final steps. I did and now i have changed the things that frustrated me without the need to just change the device again! Like i said i am major ocd and fussy about phones but it does at least give a little more longevity to the device if these options are here.
Hope this makes sense lol
ps - sorry didnt mean to hijack or step on the thread.
Thanks :good:
hpsauce37 said:
My views are that personally the phone is just a little to big for me to use comfortably. I would have preferred say 5" screen with the narrow bezzels making the device slightly narrower and easier to hold - but thats just a personal preference. I would have also liked a textued back to the phone (at the moment i am using a skin to give it texture) as this phone is on the maximum edge of what is comfortable to me i dont want to add to the size with a case, i also dont want to lose the look ad feel i have from the device (the 'in the hand feel') you get.
All in all however these were not a deal breaker for me as there was nothing else out for me to consider at the time (like the moto x but not available in uk) so bought the g2 sim free.
After a couple of weeks of use i started to dislike elements of the lg software and its design and just found that adding a launcher just gave me other issues. What is great now is that the dev community is really picking up for this phone and roms are starting to appear so you now have the option to pretty much have whatever you want on your phone. You can go pretty much bare bones android without any of Lg's bloat but you an also add whatever elements of Lgs stuff you like to the vanilla rom so giving you the best of both worlds.
So to sum up.....for me the device has awesome specs, latest processor, excellent camera, amazing battery life, great development options to customize to your personal liking. Only thing for me is the size but maybe thats just because i have short stubby fingers
At the end of the day its all about choices, beauty is that now you have choices so if the hardware tickles your fancy you can customize till your hearts content and end up with your perfect device
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Click to collapse
The 5.2" G2 isn't that much bigger then the Galaxy Nexus 4.65". It is thinner but taller/wider by a few millimeters. Not much difference.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
[/COLOR]Awesome to see a "stock android fan" praise LG's UI..Great review from someone who obviously knows what the android experience should be....i have a vid on my channel on how you can keep the notifications down a few lines and stays were you leave it, all as long as you have a few notifications, you never need look at the top part.....some ppl do not realize this : )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaMdxvvZYFE
Ms D.
Cst79 said:
Hi Guys,
Why LG G2 ?
Just a quick glance at the competition and my previous experience with various brands made me choose the G2. The iPhone is really out of question due to the microscopic screen and lack of notification LED (it's incredible how a business user can live without a notification LED), the Galaxy S4 and HTC One have outdated hardware (I mean, if I pay the same price, why not get the latest hardware), the HTC One has a microscopic, unusable notification LED (and I don't wish you to need something from the HTC technical support !), the Galaxy Note 3 is really too big. I have never used a spare battery with any of my phones, and never used a microSD card, so these missing features are just not minuses for me. The lack of removable battery (and thus the inclusion of a bigger battery) is in fact a huge plus.
The Motorola MotoX has a very nice notification feature, but it pulsates too slow (indicating battery concerns) and the rest of the hardware is too average and I can't see it as an upgrade over the Nexus 4 (plus it's not available in Europe although I could get it if I really wanted to).
Conclusion
I really like the LG G2. I think it trumps every other phone at this moment, but this is not the important thing. The important thing is that I don't have to charge my phone every day (it sometimes lasts 3+ days !), it has a great screen for web reading and browsing and it's just a well-designed phone.
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well said...
welcome to the club! (happy owners of G2)

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