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I'm in the market to upgrade my Touch Pro2. I want badly to get the Vibrant, but I was wondering what you guys think.
I've kind of narrowed it down to Vibrant and the Defy. I like the Vibrant screen, I've heard its speaker is clear, the reception is good and the camera is nice. I absolutely love the 4 inch screen size.
I'm tempted by the Defy because of what I've read about call quality, battery life, and toughness. It seems it's classified as a mid-range phone because of processor speed, which I think can be overclocked to put it on par with Vibrant speed.
I'm interested in the mt4g and G2 but I hear the speakerphone sucks and the camera is mediocre and the reception is spotty.
Am I right in the good stuff I've heard about the Vibrant? I know about the lag and the gps--is it so bad I'd hate the phone?
Would you recommend the defy or one of the htc's?
Thanks.
Defy.
If I had it to do over, I'd get the Defy.
I was going insane trying to get out of San Francisco this evening b/c the GPS & lag is so ****ty.
-bZj
It really depends, If I could've done it again I would have waited for the Nexus S, which may or may not have the same GPS issues, or even the G2 (if you can do without super amoled screen). I've also heard the G2 is $50 on a contract and will be one of the first phones to get gingerbread (after nexus s and nexus one).
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
So two Vibrant owners respond and both say skip the Vibrant. Is that the general consensus on this board?
Thanks guys for your honest.
Gabe
I love this phone anyone who doesn't want the one they have can give them to me
GabeJ said:
So two Vibrant owners respond and both say skip the Vibrant. Is that the general consensus on this board?
Thanks guys for your honest.
Gabe
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Click to collapse
Well, the vibrant is like any other phone.
Yes, it has problems.
Does it give you the moments when you go "DAMN MY PHONE MUST BE THE BEST ONE OUT THERE?" yes.
If your one of the Travelling type and uses GPS, i suggest you skip this phone, BUT i have been hearing they changed teh gps so it works perfectly now.
I say you get the Vibrant, overall its a perfect device, but if you want you can get NEXUS S which is the same thing, but with a few differences which kind of make it a little better.
Defy or Vibrant?
Vibrant.
My personal choice, i haven't used teh Defy so.. i wouldn't know.
I've got an earlier Vibrant so my GPS is a bit flaky, but its still good enough for an occasional GPS-guided trip for me. Lag.. Occasionally. I ran some fixes earlier on that I felt improved things. But then I see others using their different models of phone and waiting, waiting.. I think its a "grass is always greener" sort of thing. Overall, while I wish I had native AOSP and a FFC (stock, not modded), I also wish I had a million bucks .. Can't get it all, right? I'd buy Vibrant again.
So, if I bought a new Vibrant it might not have a GPS issue, but it will definitely still be laggy? And the lag fixes don't completely alleviate the problem?
I'm sorry for all the questions. I live 1 hour away from any Tmobile store and I'm stuck in snow, so I can't just go play with them.
RE lag, if you're going on what I was saying -- My point was that it may have some lag, but no phone doesn't. I don't think it has excessive lag, and there are plenty of tweaks you can try out if you just need to eke out every last bit of speed.
Oh, and I feel your pain. I'm also an hour out, and I don't particularly like that store - few hours further to get a good one. Ordered on the phone personally. Call 'em up and tell the IVR you're checking your contract dates.
I have an older Vibrant and am in love with the phone, but got fed up with the gps. Just an hour ago talked to TMO and without any effort they decided to send me a replacement. Apparently (fingers crossed) these days the replacements they are shipping are retail units (newer batches), not refurbs.
On another thread we discussed how it looks like phones built on or after october do better GPS-wise. So, a week from now if I get a new one, I will be able to compare them side by side.
Btw, check my signature. Being a fervent Nexus One user, was very excited to get a G2, but less than a week was enough for me to dislike it in every possible aspect (to me the G2 is the direct sucessor of the N1 so I had assumed that I would love it as well). I did get the mega-download speed but had the very same 3G issues my N1 up to this day has, where gets stuck switching to HSUPA or something like that. Very annoying when using maps or navigation.
Of all the choices around, if I had to choose, I'd get another vibrant even though I'm a hardcore HTC fan. To top it off, looks like we will be able to run Gingerbread sooner than later. Much sooner. Supercurio has it already running and has already published the files to do so (pretty useless right now, but it has been 36h since he started).
So, I was going to get a Nexus S but after such development, looks like I'll be able to have gingerbread *and* sd card slot, on a non-banana shaped phone...lol. Ah, on the same thread someone ran this benchmark (don't remember the name, the one that shows a comlarative graph at the end) and the gingerVibrant ranked a tad faster than the Nexus One with Froyo, which is the fastest according to that particular program. In other words, faster than any other. Looks like JIT on the Hummingbird is here to stay. Also, seems the gingerVibrant does not have any lag issues, as apparently it is natively EXT4
Hope this helps you in your decission process.
Sent from my Ideos S7 using XDA App
GabeJ said:
So, if I bought a new Vibrant it might not have a GPS issue, but it will definitely still be laggy? And the lag fixes don't completely alleviate the problem?
I'm sorry for all the questions. I live 1 hour away from any Tmobile store and I'm stuck in snow, so I can't just go play with them.
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Click to collapse
It WON'T have gps issue i can say that for if you live near Dallas Texas.
I was just at the mall and went to Tmobile store, saw a vibrant, GPS is working, i asked them and they said they're shipping new ones with fixed GPS issues.
Not sure about where you live though.
Lag? What lag? I've never had a lag problem, only if your doing like EXCESSIVE things, like running music, facebook, email checking every second, downloading bunch of apps etc, yes it will lag, but it shouldn't, and even if it does and your planning on Flashing Custom Roms, the new froyo roms have NO lag what so ever, even with my heavy use.
I'll recommend you get a Vibrant anyday.
I'm a G2 Nexus one, blackberry pearl, curve and iPhone 3, 3GS, 4 user.
Vibrant has filled all my needs, G2 is pretty good too, i just hate call quality.
The call quality issue is big for me. I need a good speakerphone, good reception and voice quality. Those don't seem like I'm asking much, but from what I've heard, and experienced (I'm a Touch Pro2 user), htc falls short there. The G2 included, correct.
Thanks
Bought two Vibrants a week or so ago, one for me, one for the wife... Wanted the G2 but when I got it in my hands, I had reservations about the spring and she wanted the Vibrant. The T-Mobile sales rep actually sent me to WalMart and they had the Vibrant for $50 (T-Mobile store $199.99)!!
Hers is stock and I'm running the Nero v1 ROM. She gets 6 hours of battery life (the first two days before I rooted mine was the the same) with normal use, and I get about 16. Even though its not a "4G" phone we're both getting some pretty great speeds. Neither of us have had lag or gps issues.
All in all it seems like a solid phone. It's fast, call quality is good, and the display is amazing. The speaker is good, I noticed at full volume the G2 sounded distorted and tinny, and this isn't so much the case with the Vibrant, although it does happen slightly.
There are roms out there to really let you customize it to your liking, and to address some of the phones shortcomings . Glad I didn't get the G2 because I'm lovin the Vibrant so far.
Spaternitejr,
Is the GPS working correctly/quickly on both new vibrants? Was the walmart deal for upgrades or new customers?
GPS is working just fine on both. They acquire quickly and consistently. We did upgrades, but believe it was the same price for either.
I just got my vibrant from walmart for 50...all of walmarts advertised prices are for upgrades and add a lines.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Out of curiosity, why not get the Nexus S instead of the Vibrant?
Chalup said:
Out of curiosity, why not get the Nexus S instead of the Vibrant?
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Click to collapse
Cheaper, SD card, broken GPS...lol, and something I just posted in another thread:
Looks like it can do 3G in AT&T (!!!). Awaiting confirmation by anyone who has an unlocked Vibrant and AT&T service. Details are here but still awaiting confirmation...
If that turns out to be true, then it would be the first phone I know of that can do 3G on both major carriers in the States (!).
fosormic said:
Cheaper, SD card, broken GPS...lol, and something I just posted in another thread:
Looks like it can do 3G in AT&T (!!!). Awaiting confirmation by anyone who has an unlocked Vibrant and AT&T service. Details are here but still awaiting confirmation...
If that turns out to be true, then it would be the first phone I know of that can do 3G on both major carriers in the States (!).
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From what I remember reading, the Vibrant radio is only compatible with one of ATT's 3G frequencies, so in some 3G areas you can only get edge.
Chalup said:
From what I remember reading, the Vibrant radio is only compatible with one of ATT's 3G frequencies, so in some 3G areas you can only get edge.
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I would tend to agree, but just checked on my phone (on that secret menu) and found that it has both 850 and 1900 (both for 3G and plain GSM) in addition to the 1700 and 2100 TMO uses. This is AT&T's band map: http://cellularmaps.com/att_850_1900.shtml
EDIT: I confirmed what Chalup said. Only worked as 3G in one of the bands for me. Here.
I've read many complaints about the Vibrant, but those were from several months ago and may very well be fixed. I've seen a lot more results from searching "vibrant sucks" than "hd2 sucks" but again, they might be obsolete now.
With that said, would you rather have the vibrant or hd2(with android) for the long term if you could not buy another phone for 3-4 years? I am currently trying to make a decision soon--never owning a smartphone before, i know very little so i hope your input can help me out--among bold9780, hd2, or vibrant. dont plan on getting a data plan soon and want to keep the phone for a few yrs (so dont want a phone thats on the decline, getting replaced soon by newer project phones).
I noticed the HD2 pales in specs in comparison with the vibrant, so I came here for an opinion. I figure the Vibrant is more expensive so i can sell to get an HD2 if i want to in the future. Of course, the BBerry is somehow priced higher than all of them.
Feedback from real users is welcome! Thanks for your time.
the vibrant sucks rants were because we did not get the 2.2 update from samsung/tmobile on time. Now that we have vibrant should be your clear choice, amazing amoled screen and great hardware
if u clubb allot dont get hd2 i pulled mine out and it lit up the dance floor thing is big , i traded to a vibrant until i started flashing cusom roms i hated it so much i wannit to throw against the wall but 300 price tag on it stopped me , get the vibrant imo now that 2.2 ficgggyial froyo is out its lil bit less lagg and its fun as u find tons of apps on market too btw phone overclocks to 1.4 ghz and playstation emulator is on its way too
thank to both of you for the quick response! what a great forum and community of members!
its nice to know that there are no major complaints then if those were of the past. couldn't they have 'flashed' android 2.2 onto their vibrant? not sure if i am using the term correctly.
@bartek, hard to understand some parts of your post but thanks! dont understand the club+hd2 stuff.
what are the current CONS of the Vibrant, from the vibrant users, then? so far I believe GPS was a big issue.
You should just wait for the Vibrant 4G.
Cons of the Vibrant so far: GPS, that's pretty much all I know of, I'm telling you man, when Samsung releases the source code for 2.2 this phone will be amazing, I was thinking about trading my Vibrant for an hd2 because the hd2 had more updates than the Vibrant, even had Gingerbread, but as known, it's not native, and will never run as good as the vibrant will, but the design of the hd2 is way better than the Vibrant, and if you like flash, then the hd2 is your choice, the only reason I haven't traded is because I get this feeling that I'm taking a step back in technology, instead of moving forward.. I'm not sure why though.
I will say I love my vibrant even though I see a lot of people selling theirs. I had an hd2 and the digitizer went out. Though it was fun at first I got tired of trying to manage the battery. I have to admit this was before nand came out.
The support that we do have on the vibrant is top notch. Ive tried every rom out there and they all do well I just decided to stick with team whiskey.
I often ask myself would I rather have another hd2? The answer is no. fantastic phone but I love the vibrant so much more. Its a beast of a phone with a great cpu and gpu. The hd2 while versatile is dated. A lot of people had hardware buttons fail I wasnt looking forward to that at all. The ease of bring this thing back from a brick is a total plus. While It does feel cheap at first I have come to respect it as a phone.The vibrant can have a forward facing camera while the hd2 will never have one.
(so dont want a phone thats on the decline, getting replaced soon by newer project phones).
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Both phones are already declining, with the Vibrant getting replaced by the Galaxy S 4G (basically a Vibrant with 4g radio, FFC, and 1gb internal but 16 external sd card)
anthonys2r said:
Both phones are already declining, with the Vibrant getting replaced by the Galaxy S 4G (basically a Vibrant with 4g radio, FFC, and 1gb internal but 16 external sd card)
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I dont think its worth it to choose the galaxy s personally. I dont get much use out of 3g as it is and a ffc mod is 20 bucks minus having the offical warranty. And if i read you correctly It no longer has 16 gig internal? That just blows.
anthonys2r said:
Both phones are already declining, with the Vibrant getting replaced by the Galaxy S 4G (basically a Vibrant with 4g radio, FFC, and 1gb internal but 16 external sd card)
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He already said he's not looking forward to get data plan anytime soon so hw should be fine with vibrant. I had mytouch 4g after a week or so u never use ur front facing camera unless ur taking a pic of ur self...the video chat is hella buggy and no one has it..
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
thanks everyone for their responses. isnt galaxy S and vibrant same thing? i have considered waiting for the newest version of the vibrant, which should come out in a month or so? im actually getting a phone for free from a family plan sign up, so i dont know if the new vibrant will be available. i wont be getting a data plan, so i dont know if that completely nullifies the new phone benefits (especially if it costs more).
what other phones have better specs than the vibrant thus far? hope it can stand up to the new phones in terms of specs for several years
yeah. my vibrant is godly. 4g? what 4g? whats that!? why do i need 21mbps speeds when 5-7mbps is fast as hell already. and what? $10 extra!? NO thanks!
You can get a smartphone with no data???? how?
uhh family plan. 3 people, 1 new phone. my parents already have usable ones and cant figure out technology anyways. i went with 2 other people who had their own plan and i think part of the deal was they couldnt get new phones either. big sacrifices
I still have my broken hd2. I do not suggest getting one. The phone wouls freeze often and I had a custom rom that did nandroidot help the situation. I did put androis on it and it worked flawlessly for about 10 then suddenly my touch screen started to crap out. I thought it was due to the known issue of running android on an hd2 but the actual digitizer would not respond. I reaf on the hd2 forums it was due to android causing the phone to overheat. Long story short. A friend hooked it up with the vibrant and I have been very happy. Its not perfect but what "smart" phone is? I would wait for the galaxy s 4g like everyone else is suggesting.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Coming from HD2 with android NAND (Clockworkmod), I can readily say that Vibrant(with froyo, custom or official) is much much better than the HD2 in terms of sheer performance. The video recording capability blows the HD2 out of the water. And the superamoled screen is such a treat. And the TV-out functionality is a big plus as well - you can mirror your phone activity, including HD video playback, with HD TV's
I have both, Vibrant and HD2... I'm running NAND Gingerbread on HD2 and it's slow and laggy... Snapdragon should be called Lagdragon...
That being said I don't know if I would buy another Samsung product either...
I have a HD2 Like it it has a bigger screen, sense by HTC is nice........... That's it
Way worse battery, op system is no longer supported by Microsoft. I have Android loaded via dual boot, but this means it is ported through the sd card...... slower buggy and has soft lock/boot problems from time to time.
The Vibrant,,,,,, WAY EASIER to customize, better screen, better battery life more custom things you can load, hard to really brick so it is a good phone for a novice.
And, it is so much like the Nexus S ...........that means we will be able to port their leaks to this phone..........
Vibrant is just WAY better
LMFAO.
I sold my POS HD2 a long time ago.
I haven't looked back since.
Vibrant hands down
I sent back my first smart phone which was the HD2. It was hella-laggy and buggy. The clunky Windows OS just destroyed this phone's potential.
Ordered the Vibrant, and was pleased....
ROOTED AND Installed a custom ROM and was VERY PLEASED!
I just got a Thrill 4G and Im thinking about trading it in for an Atrix. The phone is great but the battery life sucks, and I cannot see the 3D screen with sun glasses on. I live in AZ so they are on every time I go outside so that is an important deciding factor for me.
The Atrix is $49 today so Im thinking about getting one. I'd love to hold out for the SGS2, but who knows when it will be out and it will prob be $199.
So, would you buy an Atrix again if you had to do it over again?
If I wouldn't of had to sell my first ATRIX I wouldn't have. My fave phone!
Tapped from my ATRIX.
No-brainer imo --- the atrix is FAR superior; I'll admit that with stock gingerbread the phone is kinda meh....still an awesome phone but nothing mindblowing. I assume since you're here you'll be unlocking and flashing it...which makes the phone AMAZING. The 3-D stuff just seems so gimmicky to me and won't be perfected/well-implemented for a good amount of time to come.
As far as the SGS2, on paper it looks like an amazing phone but I'll have to wait to see - I had the captivate and was so disappointed with it (anyone that had that phone from the beginning knows how horrendous Samsung's support was). I hope that Samsung has learned a lot since the beginning of the GS line because a phone with such amazing hardware shouldn't have so many problems.
kisnerct said:
No-brainer imo --- the atrix is FAR superior; I'll admit that with stock gingerbread the phone is kinda meh....still an awesome phone but nothing mindblowing. I assume since you're here you'll be unlocking and flashing it...which makes the phone AMAZING. The 3-D stuff just seems so gimmicky to me and won't be perfected/well-implemented for a good amount of time to come.
As far as the SGS2, on paper it looks like an amazing phone but I'll have to wait to see - I had the captivate and was so disappointed with it (anyone that had that phone from the beginning knows how horrendous Samsung's support was). I hope that Samsung has learned a lot since the beginning of the GS line because a phone with such amazing hardware shouldn't have so many problems.
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Click to collapse
I actually know exactly what you mean because I bought my Captivate a couple days after it was released. I still have it, dont use it, but I was really happy with it after flashing ROMS on it. The development forum on that phone is fantastic.
Yes, I would never have a stock phone. Did they ever get the bootloader unlocked on this phone? I know that was the major reason that people hesitated to get it.
i love my atrix. nothing out there is better to me. im running CM7 beta on it right now. so fast.
With CM7 , everything is happy
Love it, fast, nice camera, nice speaker, good gaming performance with THD games, great community.
timbrendelaz said:
I actually know exactly what you mean because I bought my Captivate a couple days after it was released. I still have it, dont use it, but I was really happy with it after flashing ROMS on it. The development forum on that phone is fantastic.
Yes, I would never have a stock phone. Did they ever get the bootloader unlocked on this phone? I know that was the major reason that people hesitated to get it.
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Click to collapse
There's an automatic bootload unlocker in this very forum I won't bash you because I missed it myself, hahaha. It worked like a charm for me though.
Here is the link::
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1182871
kisnerct said:
There's an automatic bootload unlocker in this very forum I won't bash you because I missed it myself, hahaha. It worked like a charm for me though.
Here is the link::
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1182871
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I didn't miss it because I wasn't looking for it. I don't have an Atrix and was asking a question.
Everything I've read says that the Atrix also has poor battery life. I saw a thread on a battery calibration and mod that is supposed to help. I dont want to trade ina phone with bad battery life for another phone with bad battery life.
Both have a dual core CPU but the Atrix has 1GB of RAM which is nice IMO. I cant see the Thrill 3D screen with sunglasses on which sucks to me. The 3D is very gimmicky and hurts my eyes, lol. And there is only one ROM and the dev's seems to be bailing on this phone so I don't see a very good future in the Thrill dev threads.
timbrendelaz said:
I didn't miss it because I wasn't looking for it. I don't have an Atrix and was asking a question.
Everything I've read says that the Atrix also has poor battery life. I saw a thread on a battery calibration and mod that is supposed to help. I dont want to trade ina phone with bad battery life for another phone with bad battery life.
Both have a dual core CPU but the Atrix has 1GB of RAM which is nice IMO. I cant see the Thrill 3D screen with sunglasses on which sucks to me. The 3D is very gimmicky and hurts my eyes, lol. And there is only one ROM and the dev's seems to be bailing on this phone so I don't see a very good future in the Thrill dev threads.
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Click to collapse
Bad battery life reports are the vocal minority. Most of us here consider the battery to be one of the Atrix's strong points. I can get 2 1/2 days with light usage on mine with CM7 installed on it. Thats with wifi set to never sleep, and with GPS and 3G/HSPA enabled.
I love the Atrix. Literally the only problem I have with it is the pentile display, and even then its a very minor issue.
It has a 1930mAh and all the review sites i've read say the battery life is very good. Flashing a custom rom will make it even better! People have been getting like 16-24 hrs with Wifi and everything on, constantly browsing the internet and playing games (read it on youtube)
This is my first Android phone. Came from 4 years with the iPhone. Ill tell you this...not looking back. This phone was great stock. Now running cm7, this thing is fuggin amazing... battery and performance are nothing short of great.
Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk
timbrendelaz said:
I just got a Thrill 4G and Im thinking about trading it in for an Atrix. The phone is great but the battery life sucks, and I cannot see the 3D screen with sun glasses on. I live in AZ so they are on every time I go outside so that is an important deciding factor for me.
The Atrix is $49 today so Im thinking about getting one. I'd love to hold out for the SGS2, but who knows when it will be out and it will prob be $199.
So, would you buy an Atrix again if you had to do it over again?
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Click to collapse
The Atrix is an incredibly solid device. Gotta give AT&T credit for getting a top-notch device out of Motorola.
well it sounds like you guys are quite happy with it. If the battery life is that great then it's a no-brainer for $49.99. I do believe hat Im gonna return my thrill today. It a cool phone, but im a power user and ROM flashing addict so it seems i'll fit right in.
timbrendelaz said:
well it sounds like you guys are quite happy with it. If the battery life is that great then it's a no-brainer for $49.99. I do believe hat Im gonna return my thrill today. It a cool phone, but im a power user and ROM flashing addict so it seems i'll fit right in.
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Click to collapse
Good choice. The only HTC that is a solid Atrix competitor on AT&T (candybar Android w/o keyboard) is the Inspire4G, but honestly, after several HTC devices and several Moto devices, HTC may come up with cool designs and features, but Moto is great at implementing reliable, high-performing designs. I've never gotten the "oh, that is cheap" feeling with a Moto phone, while Samsung and HTC . . . meh!
Typically find out people who are complaining about battery life have heavy usage that would have even worse battery life on other phones. You had a captivate like I did, so I can tell you this phones battery kicks the **** out of the captivates....and will be even more amazing should you decide to UV it.
If you want to see a GOD AWFUL battery, **** around with an HTC inspire for about 6 hours lol.
Anyway, I think you should at least give the Atrix a try and worst case scenario you don't like it you bring it back within the 30 day window (assuming you will have one).
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
I guess I'm the lone dissenter here. I'm not a fan of the Atrix. Maybe I got a lemon but it seems like there are a lot of problems.
The build quality is suspect. Dust and even a very small piece of cat hair has gotten under the screen. The back plate/battery cover feels cheap and creaks when I hold it. The GPS is rarely able to get a lock on my position, rendering it useless. Also, bluetooth connection is unreliable. I've tried 2 vehicle systems and 3 headsets. They are all able to pair fine, but lose connection in the middle of phone calls.
And if you've done research on the Atrix I'm sure you've read all about Motoblur and how ugly it makes the UI. It's all true. I'm on gingerbread and I have to say its hideous. The stock in-call screen, dialer and photo gallery all look like something designed by an elementary student.
Can you flash it and fix the ugliness of the UI? I'm not a techy but from what I've read the answer seems to be mixed. It would appear yes you can just as long as the OTA update of gingerbread has not been installed on the phone. If it has, you're either screwed or prepare to spend the next 3 years of your life reading up on how to hack the device.
On the positive side, believe everything you've seen about the Atrix's speed. By far the fastest phone I've ever used. The screen is nice and bright as well.
landoftherich said:
Can you flash it and fix the ugliness of the UI? I'm not a techy but from what I've read the answer seems to be mixed. It would appear yes you can just as long as the OTA update of gingerbread has not been installed on the phone. If it has, you're either screwed or prepare to spend the next 3 years of your life reading up on how to hack the device.
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Click to collapse
It sounds like you might have got a lemon. But, I had the ota update and flashed it the very same day with no problems at all so it honestly isn't that difficult.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
landoftherich said:
I guess I'm the lone dissenter here. I'm not a fan of the Atrix. Maybe I got a lemon but it seems like there are a lot of problems.
The build quality is suspect. Dust and even a very small piece of cat hair has gotten under the screen. The back plate/battery cover feels cheap and creaks when I hold it. The GPS is rarely able to get a lock on my position, rendering it useless. Also, bluetooth connection is unreliable. I've tried 2 vehicle systems and 3 headsets. They are all able to pair fine, but lose connection in the middle of phone calls.
And if you've done research on the Atrix I'm sure you've read all about Motoblur and how ugly it makes the UI. It's all true. I'm on gingerbread and I have to say its hideous. The stock in-call screen, dialer and photo gallery all look like something designed by an elementary student.
Can you flash it and fix the ugliness of the UI? I'm not a techy but from what I've read the answer seems to be mixed. It would appear yes you can just as long as the OTA update of gingerbread has not been installed on the phone. If it has, you're either screwed or prepare to spend the next 3 years of your life reading up on how to hack the device.
On the positive side, believe everything you've seen about the Atrix's speed. By far the fastest phone I've ever used. The screen is nice and bright as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are many options to get rid of the stock gingerbread Motoblur look. The obvious choice is CM7, which will do away with Blur entirely, and make your phone quite a bit quicker. Most themes available in XDA will get rid of the Blur look, and there is a huge selection in the App and Theme section. I use the ext4 Homebase Rom with his Honeycomb theme, and it significantly speeds up my phone.
I would recommend the Atrix over other Android phones for a few reasons. The biggest reason why I like it so much is because of the form factor. I like the 4 inch screen more than 4.3 or 4.5 or 9.3. Battery life has been pretty good, at least as good as I can reasonably expect from a smartphone. The hardware specs are comparable to any other Android device, and if you're willing to root and flash custom Roms, you will notice a marked improvement over stock performance (which I think is true of any Android phone). What really makes this phone as slick as it is are its accessories. I just bought the lapdock from Vancouver Craigslist for $150 and I love it. I knew when I bought it that it was kind of gimmicky (like the 3D from your Thrill), but for what I need this tool for, it's been outstanding. Nothing beats watching Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad on my hour commute to work while simultaneously charging my phone!
I love my Atrix, and it's a shame the phone got such a bad wrap off the bat due poor implementation of Blur on 2.2, and encrypted bootloader. Now with the unlocked bootloader and better blur, in addition to more and more custom roms being built, this phone is coming closer to its potential. I wish it had a metal back plate, but I understand the potential of worse reception and getting hotter than the plastic cover. All in all, the only phone I would remotely consider exchanging my Atrix for would be the Sensation, and even then I think I'd really have to be sold on the idea. I hope this helps with your decision.
Cm7 is a must on the atrix. I've tried other roms but none ever worked quite right. Annoying fc & other errors - but thanks to those devs for putting in the time & effort. Blur is complete crap: I couldn't even listen to my mp3s without the music stuttering bcuz the phone was busy searching for "suggestions" of similar songs I may like. Damn you, for the unwanted marketing on my device, at&t & Motorola. For a while, I very much regretted trading in my iPhone. But now all is well. Thank you cm7 devs!
So I just got my Atrix
It has 1.2.6 as a build on it, and from reading I'm not finding too much information on that build. I don't think that I want to do the OTA to 4.1.57 though because I keep reading about bricks. I'm going to put a ROM on it, more than likely CM7 so Im not sure what good it would do to update OTA. I'll have to root it though so I guess I can get on that first but all of the root guides are for 1.8.x and up.
I live in a poor radio reception area, so I'm thinking of streaming internet radio stations over WiFi while doing yard work. Sort of a WiFi walkman.
An iTouch would work, but I have tons of android apps & games.
The galaxy player is nice, but that's kinda overkill.
So I thought a used smartphone would be a perfect choice.
One that has good WiFi range, and enough power to run games.
Nothing heavy gaming wise, I have a Nook Color running 99% of the games I like just fine, so anything comparable would do.
After looking around, the Galaxy S family seemed to be a pretty good choice, and lots of used Fascinate phones are on ebay for around $100.
So here I am, with a few questions...
Is the (Verizon) Fascinate a good choice, or are there better (or cheaper) versions from other carriers? Keep in mind I'm not ever going to use this as a phone, so even a bad ESN would work for me, right?
How about wifi range?
Are there any problems I haven't thought of.... if I flash something like CM7, can I run apps, media, etc. without Verizon ?
In other words, will this run apps, Market, like my CM7 Nook Color?
Is there a better place than ebay to look for one?
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Howdy!
First off, I use the Galaxy S Fasciante, and it is a pretty decent phone. I picked it up for $90 used, had some scratches on the screen, and dings, but not too shabby. [Ended up having to get the main board replaced a week b4 the warranty ended, but that is another story]
Unfortunately, from what I've experienced so far [owned the fascinate for maybe 1.5 months], my fascinate does not seem to do as well for wifi as my previous Droid X2, and, I am not sure, [Need to do a side-by-side comparison] my iPod touch 4.
That being said, I would suggest flashing either JT's vanilla GB, or maybe TSM Pool Party [I am still experimenting with the latter as of last week], because the stock is bloated.
You can still use the Market, Gmail, and all that by flashing the gapps package after flashing the rom. But if you decide the stock rom is good enough, I believe it should be fine as far as using it without a cell phone plan.
One thing though, if you wipe the data, and it's not on a plan, it will prompt you to "activate your phone"
Of course, it will fail, and will not let you into the os until it's active. So what I did when I was in this situation was look up the code to bypass activation. Just google "fascinate bypass activation" and you will find threads with the number you dial. cool beans
oh and as far as where to look for one, yes, ebay is fine, also you might check Craigslist. That's where I bought 2 android phones, and 2 laptops within 12 months.
and one more thing on the wifi, I am not sure if my wifi is just abnormally weak, or if that's how it is. anyone else care to elaborate how their wifi experiences have been?
Thanks mvmacd, that's just the info I needed!
I just went ahead and ordered a Fascinate on eBay a couple hours ago.
Reading other posts, the weak WiFi was mentioned, but I'm hoping it's not a hardware issue, and can be improved with a ROM.
If all else fails, I might get by with dusting off an old Linksys WRT54G router and using it as a repeater.
That tip on the activation bypass is something new to me, as this is the first phone I've messed with. All WiFi tablets up till now.
I assume that only applies to the stock Fascinate, so if I flash CM7, I won't have to worry about activation, right?
cm7 based Roms which were ported mostly by jt1134, have a lot of reverse engineering hacks for the phones hardware because there is no source code for that type of stuff. There are also Touchwiz based roms which run on the stock hardware configuration from Samsung, and are rooted, debloated, and there are kernels for those roms with voodoo Lagfix which make the phone about 3x faster than factory. It could have better wifi range with the stock hardware drivers than with jt's. With what you're going to use it for a Touchwiz ROM is best imho as the battery life was also superior when compared to CM7 roms on this phone.
Also the fascinate has very good headphone hardware, which supercurio turned into a audiophile quality experience with voodoo sound. When I move on to the galaxy nexus I will be keeping my fascinate for music.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using xda premium
Wow! you guys have given me a lot if good info.
I'm getting a clearer picture of the Fascinate/Samsung hardware ROM development now.
Like I said, I'm new to phones. Different animals from the WiFi tablets I'm used to (Viewsonic Gtablet and BN Nook Color).
I'll look for a Touchwiz ROM with lagfix then.
BTW, other posts concerning the weak WiFi mentioned an app called WiFi Fixer.
Looks promising. Lots of positive reviews.
Makes me wonder, does this have to do with the ROM choosing to switch to 3G, and apps like WiFi Fixer just lock on to WiFi?
Maybe I'm cynical, but knowing Big Red, maybe their software is partial to a paid data plan over WiFi.
My Fascinate has a weaker signal.compared to 2 of my iPod touch 2g and 4g, My iPod touches would have 4 bars while my fascinate would only have 2. Never tried using any app or hacks to boost the signal since I use 3g but I know that EH03 gave me better signal as a phone compared to the older radios.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
Also. If you want to pack a sd card full of music, and don't care what version of Android you have. I will suggest the dj05 superdark ROM. It is eclair "before Froyo". But I would go a full 8 hour day at work listening to music and still have 80% battery when I got home. wifi would drain a little faster, but any ROM in the dj05 service release is well known to have seemingly impossible battery life. at least by anyone who had the phone that early. If it was not for the want of running apps that require newer versions of Android I would still be on that ROM.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using xda premium
SpinKix said:
Thanks mvmacd, that's just the info I needed!
I just went ahead and ordered a Fascinate on eBay a couple hours ago.
Reading other posts, the weak WiFi was mentioned, but I'm hoping it's not a hardware issue, and can be improved with a ROM.
If all else fails, I might get by with dusting off an old Linksys WRT54G router and using it as a repeater.
That tip on the activation bypass is something new to me, as this is the first phone I've messed with. All WiFi tablets up till now.
I assume that only applies to the stock Fascinate, so if I flash CM7, I won't have to worry about activation, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you probably won't need it, but just for reference, here's how to bypass activation on stock rom:
press emergency call button,
then at the dialer,
press *#83786633,
then press the Home key
As far as the rest of the roms, I do believe the other roms have a "Skip activation" button, so you do not have to worry about it.
Oh, one more thing. Developers are working on an ICS port [Android 4.0] for the fascinate! They released Build 6 just two days ago, and I am seriously considering trying it out.
edit: the ICS rom is epic. Not sure if I am getting worse battery life or not, but it is stable and looks way cooler.
Just got the phone... and it turns out I needed the code right off the bat.
Also every time I power it back on.
You saved the day!
Now I'm trying to get my head around all the Roms, Kernels, Voodoo, Red, Blue, GEEWIZ, KGB, ODIN, Heimdall, DJ05, EH03, Deodexed......... ARRRRgh!!
Like cramming for a final, I've been through glossaries, acronyms, guides, tutorials, faq for days.
Tablets were easy, just load a file on the sd card and restore.
I never knew you could mix roms, & kernels.
I'm going to start with ODIN, get rooted and load CWM and do a nandroid backup.
Also get ADB tested just in case. I also have a rough idea about voodoo rewriting the file system to ext4, and not flashing non voodoo stuff.
I'm a noob at this stuff, so I'm sure I'll take me a while.
As for the phone, I'm really impressed with the screen and how smooth it operates. Nice hardware. It can stream CNN video where the Nook stuttered. Can't handle CNN HD though.
All in all, the used phone is in pretty good condition for $89. Couple scratches on the screen, but not too bad. Naturally, the chrome bezel looks rough, but the headphone jack is perfect, and the sound is impressive.
Still take this over an itouch any day.
I can tell this is going to take up a lot of my spare time, but it's fun.
Thanks for all your help... off I go!
Ahh you know I was kind of wondering if you would need to enter the code after each reboot..
Yeah, at first I was really confused about android, roms, kernels, and all that.. Just take it easy, and eventually you will have it all down.
If you like bleeding edge software, you might wanna take a look at this Android 4 [Ice cream sandwich] rom here. I have it running on my fascinate, and I like it
Some friendly advice..
Never use anything marked for Telus
When using Odin, always use PDA PDA PDA..... Never phone!
Nandroid only when you get a sweet setup, before flashing something new.. If the new theme, kernel, etc messes things up. nandroid restore to the rescue.
Never mix Mtd stuff with BML (Touchwiz) stuff.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using xda premium
How many of you are still using a Rezound?
I still am and it's my first and only smartphone I've ever owned. Still working great! Of course I wish some things were better (like the battery and lag) or that I had a better phone, but the Rezound has been good for me. I may get an S5 or might wait it out a little longer until the 64-bit chips come.
Still rockin' the Rezzy
I'm in about the same boat. The Rezound is my third smartphone. I had a Touch Diamond and an Ozone before, both HTC. I really like the build quality of HTC, but I'm hesitant to get another one because of the update timing questionability and the nonremovable battery trend. I am happy they added the external SD card option back with the M8, though. I don't want to risk my unlimited data and I can't afford to buy a new phone at full price right now, so I'll be sticking with the Rezound for a good time (probably at least until the end of the year) longer. Mine i is working fine still, so no worries here.
I just retired mine after a 2 1/2 year run, picked up a G2 on swappa to keep my unlimited. My Rezound was still working fine, just got tired of the poor battery life on it.
Still using my rezound, can afford to replace it but don't want to, so long as it's still usable.
Sent from my Rezound on Tachyon using xda app-developers app
mjones73 said:
I just retired mine after a 2 1/2 year run, picked up a G2 on swappa to keep my unlimited. My Rezound was still working fine, just got tired of the poor battery life on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just bought an extended battery for my Rez and running a custom build of LiquidSmooth 3.0, I'm quite happy with it for now. Yes, there's more capable hardware out there. But this still meets my needs for now.
We have two Rezounds that are about 2 years old and we still love them. These are our first smartphones and with the developer community doing such fine work to keep them up-to-date I can see no reason to change. The battery life has been decent enough and switching to larger screen phones isn't something we want to do. I like the extra screen real estate, but don't want the larger form factor when lugging it around.
Bill
Still using the rezound here. I too is trying to stick with this phone as long as I could with my unlimited data. But at the same time I'm long over due for a new phone.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk
I still use the Rezound. Not for calling+texting+data-ing like I did for a while not so long ago, but just as my game phone for games that are too laggy on my Rugby Smart (my current actual phone for calling, texting, etc.). On a good day I can get about 1.5 hrs of battery in game play, but It's plugged into either the wall or the computer most of the time anyway so that doesn't really bother me. If my Rugby were to ever break (HIGHLY UNLIKELY, it was designed to do QUITE THE OPPOSITE), the Rezound would be my next option for a backup until I would either fix the Rugby or replace it with a device that has better battery life compared to the Rez (everyone else has nicknames for it, this is mine).
I could just get an extended battery for it, but that's like 10 whole dollars. That is 2/3 of what I paid for this phone, so it's not even worth it to me to replace anything that still works (the camera glass was a different story, i just HAD to replace that). I originally got the thing as a see-if-I-can-fix-it phone from a friend who thought it was broken forever and was able to fix the darn thing with the help of XDA. And of course, I was pleasantly surprised when I found out GSM was a hidden feature on it. Anyway, if I got an extended battery my rubber case I got with it would be too small and I'd hate to see such a nice case go to waste.
Still using the rezound and hoping to get an xperia z2 soon. Might switch carriers to T-mobile, anyone have opinions on t-mobile?
I am happy with tmobile. I got the unlimited everything plan for 45/month and coverage is great. They even let you tether to other devices! Tmobile says you only get like 500mb of tether data, but if you root your phone and use an app like Barnacle Wifi Tether you can get around that limit.
Sent from my Rugby Smart SGH-I847 on the official XDA app!
Still using my Rezound, kind of fed up with it but nothing seems worth committing to yet. The M8 is close to perfect but I'm still hesitant.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using xda app-developers app
I just upgraded to the S5 (keeping unlimited plan). I'm not holding my breath on getting a root for it - seems like the guys over there are panicking already.
I just really feel like my ReZound is still up and running because I was able to swap out the battery - the original isn't lasting much more than 8 hours on minimal use today. I feel the next phone I get needed to have a battery I could swap out as well - and the only one that currently meets that need is Samsung (unfortunately). Here's hoping that in two years, when I'm eligible for upgrade again - that HTC brings back a phone with an interchangeable battery and expandable memory or maybe even whatever Google ARA comes out as.
I am still using my rezound and plan to for a little longer right now I cant decide between htc m8 and the galaxy s5 Im trying to figure out how to keep my unlimited data. I just went to best buy and they said I cannot do the line swap to keep it so I am exploring other options. I might have to upgrade sooner than I thought though because my screen just died on my phone. I took it apart and looks like I missed some corrosion from when I dropped it in a lake 6 months ago. I ordered a replacement screen so I hope that will fix it.
it was a great short run
moved on from the rezound after only 5 months of owning it (just died in my pocket no bump on over clock normal cm11 )
great phone doe other wise in every way thank you neo and suzzo for all your works and sun dream .Got me the g pro and i am pleased with it in all areas except camera picture saturation fixed by fv5 anyway
I'm still on mine and went to Sun Dream's Rom running sense 4+4.1+5 and it is super snappy,solid and beautiful...I tried AOSP ROMs that were running 4.3+ but they were too buggy for me.
I have a hairline crack across my phone but I'm trying not to be anal and replace it...thinking about upgrading but see no good options for data plans...
Huachipato said:
I just upgraded to the S5 (keeping unlimited plan). I'm not holding my breath on getting a root for it - seems like the guys over there are panicking already.
I just really feel like my ReZound is still up and running because I was able to swap out the battery - the original isn't lasting much more than 8 hours on minimal use today. I feel the next phone I get needed to have a battery I could swap out as well - and the only one that currently meets that need is Samsung (unfortunately). Here's hoping that in two years, when I'm eligible for upgrade again - that HTC brings back a phone with an interchangeable battery and expandable memory or maybe even whatever Google ARA comes out as.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do you like the S5 compared to the ReZound?
It is different - but I like it. The screen is beautiful. The interface is different - not bad or good - just not what I'm used to. I do like the home button though - long press to get Google Now and double press to get S-Voice. There are quite a bit of Samsung apps that I'm enjoying. S-Health is nice, but there is a widget that shows how many steps you have taken in the day - and for some reason it motivates me to walk more. The Smart Remote is very complete - including remote codes for my WD-Live box and drop down for every room I have in the house. There is another app call BeepNGo - where you can put all your club/membership cards on (Tom Thumb, AutoZone, etc...). The screen will show the bar code and it can be scanned at the register. There are coupons in that app as well.
NFC actually works. Verizon activates ISIS - which is like Google Wallet. There are deals on it and where it can be used. Google Wallet works as well - which is nice. I've heard in the past that Verizon locked it down - so it is nice to see it up and running.
Camera is absolutely amazing IMO. It struggles a bit in low light, but it really is a champ everywhere else. The software allows you to download more picture taking options - including now the sphere mode. The effects sometimes take a little time to correct - but at least the camera works to it's fullest (yes - taking a little jab at ReZound camera issues in Kit-Kat)...
Everything I wanted in a phone - it has it. I managed to drain the battery one day of really heavy use - but otherwise the battery does a great job. I'll be getting a spare at some point.
The root is still not found - and as a result I'm missing the native WiFi Tether - which was really cool to have on the ReZound. There is a way to get the connection using the USB cable and PDA+Net software - but it really is a backwards hack to get it up and running.
A lot of people complain about the look & feel of the phone. Quite honestly - I don't care for - the first thing I did was buy a case for it. If I had the M8 - I'd do the same thing. I will always want a cover to keep the phone from getting scuffed and better protect the screen and camera lens.
Bottom line - I like the phone a lot. I'm not going to trade the replaceable battery for the ability to root (which I feel is the current trade off at the moment).
Huachipato said:
It is different - but I like it. The screen is beautiful. The interface is different - not bad or good - just not what I'm used to. I do like the home button though - long press to get Google Now and double press to get S-Voice. There are quite a bit of Samsung apps that I'm enjoying. S-Health is nice, but there is a widget that shows how many steps you have taken in the day - and for some reason it motivates me to walk more. The Smart Remote is very complete - including remote codes for my WD-Live box and drop down for every room I have in the house. There is another app call BeepNGo - where you can put all your club/membership cards on (Tom Thumb, AutoZone, etc...). The screen will show the bar code and it can be scanned at the register. There are coupons in that app as well.
NFC actually works. Verizon activates ISIS - which is like Google Wallet. There are deals on it and where it can be used. Google Wallet works as well - which is nice. I've heard in the past that Verizon locked it down - so it is nice to see it up and running.
Camera is absolutely amazing IMO. It struggles a bit in low light, but it really is a champ everywhere else. The software allows you to download more picture taking options - including now the sphere mode. The effects sometimes take a little time to correct - but at least the camera works to it's fullest (yes - taking a little jab at ReZound camera issues in Kit-Kat)...
Everything I wanted in a phone - it has it. I managed to drain the battery one day of really heavy use - but otherwise the battery does a great job. I'll be getting a spare at some point.
The root is still not found - and as a result I'm missing the native WiFi Tether - which was really cool to have on the ReZound. There is a way to get the connection using the USB cable and PDA+Net software - but it really is a backwards hack to get it up and running.
A lot of people complain about the look & feel of the phone. Quite honestly - I don't care for - the first thing I did was buy a case for it. If I had the M8 - I'd do the same thing. I will always want a cover to keep the phone from getting scuffed and better protect the screen and camera lens.
Bottom line - I like the phone a lot. I'm not going to trade the replaceable battery for the ability to root (which I feel is the current trade off at the moment).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your feedback.
How is the data and voice reception compared to the Rezound? I've been thinking about getting the S5, but I don't want reception issues, especially with data because where I work, the overall phone reception is less than other places, but my rezound does ok at work depending on where I place myself.
sdsubball23 said:
Thanks for your feedback.
How is the data and voice reception compared to the Rezound? I've been thinking about getting the S5, but I don't want reception issues, especially with data because where I work, the overall phone reception is less than other places, but my rezound does ok at work depending on where I place myself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's about the same. Maybe slightly stronger, but not much of a difference.
Still using mine, hope it lasts until I get a OnePlus One.