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cnet reviews has a rating system for all of the electronic gadgets it rates, a scale of 1 to 10 on each of the following categories: design, features, and performance. They rated the GT 10.1 as 8, 6, and 8 respectively.
I was wondering how you all would rate the GT 10.1 based on those categories and the same scale.
I gotta say, I disagree with their assessment, especially when the ipad 2 got 9, 8, and 8 respectively. It's funny that they call out all the similarities between the 2 in terms of design with the only difference being the backing (GT 10.1 uses a plastic backing whereas ipad 2 uses aluminum)--& that is worth a whole point difference. I don't know.
I think that review is a little outdated, but I'm curious to see how everyone on here would rate it.
My rating would be a 9 (I don't think a plastic-backing is enough to knock off a point), 7, and 8 at least.
How I would rate the GT 10.1
design: 9 its the thinnest lightest tablet on the market.
features: 7 it isnt where androids phones are as far as apps and development but google has shown us that ti can and will be there.
performance: 9 the tab, even though is not refined yet i would still say it is blazing fast. only time i see lag is when i type in forums online.
HawaiianLaker said:
How I would rate the GT 10.1
design: 9 its the thinnest lightest tablet on the market.
features: 7 it isnt where androids phones are as far as apps and development but google has shown us that ti can and will be there.
performance: 9 the tab, even though is not refined yet i would still say it is blazing fast. only time i see lag is when i type in forums online.
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Hate to piggy back on your review but that how exactly I feel. Only difference between I pad and this is that this will get better as more devs get involve. Pershoot is doing great job getting it started.
They gave the ipad2 more for performance? They should check the Tegra2 converted Ipad2 games and recalculate. Compare Galaxy on Fire 2, the Tegra2 Version has more Polygons and still more FPS.
And features 8 for Ipad2? Well, they never surf the web and miss some kind of flash, including browser games? That is a huge problem. And how to watch movies on ipads? Movies are 16:9 not 4:3, so you have to strech or to watch thick black borders reducing your effective tablet size down by 3-4 inches.
The only valid argument for an ipad2 are the offered apps - everything else is below 10.1. Oh and the metal backplate.
I'd have to go 9,7,9 too.
9 for design. Love it
6 on features. I only say this because i cant play any music on it that i transfered from my computer. and beleive me i have tried everything to fix it. Google music just closes right after being opened. Or if im lucky enough to have it not auto exit out it wont rexognize my music thats on the phone.
8 for performance. Some times it lags out super hard like a over loaded computer from the 90's. Yes i make sure memery ram is atleast half emtpy and fresh restarts but idk. Lags hard 1/3 of the time.
BUT the web browsing almost makes up for all of this. Id rather brows on my tab then my $1800 custom build desk top. Next to non on web! Hope they update software and fix this stuff. Cause i know the hardware is amazing. Just need to work the kinks out and get some more apps and widgets and ill be in the 10's and 10's all around !
Design: 8
Thin and light, looks really good. Pleasure to hold.
Features: 6
No micro SD on an Android tablet, seriously? Even the optional keyboard dock and media dock don't include SD or USB ports.
Performance: 6
Tegra 2 is weak at video decoding. Android 3.1 is sluggish and unresponsive at times. Lots of room for improvement.
Design: 9 (10 because I have the google i/o edition!)
It's amazingly thin, it has a widescreen (wtf ipad?) and with a nice case it goes along nicely with a backpack.
Features: 7
No sd card slot. Proprietary ports. Missing some key apps like netflix and so on.
Performance: 7
My issues with performance are more of an issue with honeycomb. Slow web browsing, unable to hide the bottom bar completely, sometimes lags/crashes.
My biggest issues are really with honeycomb, it does feel like a beta product. But in comparison the ipad wouldn't fair to well in MY scoring system. The only thing the ipad has is iOS feels more stable and it has more apps. Everything else it performs much worse. From design to features.
Ravynmagi said:
Design: 8
Thin and light, looks really good. Pleasure to hold.
Features: 6
No micro SD on an Android tablet, seriously? Even the optional keyboard dock and media dock don't include SD or USB ports.
Performance: 6
Tegra 2 is weak at video decoding. Android 3.1 is sluggish and unresponsive at times. Lots of room for improvement.
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Totally agree with you.
Another 9-7-9
hmm, seems like the fellas at cnet need to read these forums... thanks for the comments -- keep em coming. this is definitely an interesting read
tghockey07 said:
I'd have to go 9,7,9 too.
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Count me in this boat as well. I wouldnt trade it for any other tablet, including the Toshiba. The performance, combined with the build quality & form factor, and the sexiness of this device has me all-in.
Love it. I almost didnt buy it after the whole microSD craze, but even though I'd love to have it, that was wuhayyy overblown. There's so many ways to create extra storage and to interconnect devices easily.
9-7-9
Not bothered about micro sd, if we didn't have that propriety port then 9-9-9.
I can't understand why developers choosing to make more iOS apps counts against the 10.1 in ratings. It shouldn't be held against the tablet if developers prefer to write for the iPad more than the Android.
Design: 9
Very thin and light, however is hard to grab without a cover. (too thin lol)
Features: 8
No micro SD is fine for me, everything else was OK.
Performance: 4
I wouldn't feel happy with the performance at current state, it doesn't feel smooth when switching screen. You can see the widget jiggling from side to side when you pull the screen slowly but it does feel great if you tab the side to flip around. My iPad1 was way more smooth compared with 10.1.
I still couldn't find any reading app in honeycomb that is able to turn a page as smooth as iPad1.
9.5 /9/6
Only a tard would give it an 8 in first category. Unless I'm comparing to the future this thing is amazingly designed. No corners, no typical metallic back ,really thin bezel but not so thin that it interferes with screen use. 16:9 gorgeous hd screen. Great speaker placement and quality.
Only shortcomings of course are lack of built in ports... but with sd usb hdmi all possible via attachment its a plus that you end up with the best of both worlds.
(I'm only talking to aesthetics not value)
No portrait only home button.
Good quality cameras on both sides.
Only actual hardware issue that easy to pick at is tegra 2s awful codec playback.
( Most people blame honeycomb for the lag, google blames tegra2)
Eventually most tablets will be thinner and or lighter. But as of today no tablet has better hw than galaxy tab. Its not even a discussion.
If the tab and the ipad2 were *both* running web os or windows 8 you'd be a fool to pick up an ipad.
Performance of Honeycomb is obviously annoying many. Google's non chalant attitude of blaming hardware and not addressing ux issues is troublesome. The lack of apps bothers most people at some point. Choppy video and laggy browser typing remain unfixed on the tab.
So again say what you want about honeycomb....but the hardware is best in class.
Performance dropped a lot with 3.1 + TouchWiz compared with 3.0.1.
I've also noticed that the quality of font rendering on system components (like the url textbox on the browser) is worse with 3.1 + TouchWiz.
TouchWiz brings a bunch of system changes and I suspect it's responsible for many of the lag/quality issues.
that's why people made adw.launcher and launcherpro.
touchwizz is just a one time shot to fool people that samsung has awesome support.
in reality, 90% of all customers prefer plain android. touchwiz should be an optional app, not a replacement.
better they improve their update politics, would be much more usefull. but instead they delay everything just for tochwizz - and it still fails
I'm assuming you mean 10.1 v ?
Design: I would rate it a 10, maybe 10.1 , considering how fast Samsung reacted to the ipad2.
Features: probably a 6 or 7, no micro sd and only ok-ish cameras.
Performance: 7. For the most part performance is great, but in any view that's not the normal landscape, you can see that the UI and browsers arn't quite as smooth. That's a big negative for me because I like holding it like a book sometimes.
Firstly, let me preface this article by stating that I have been an avid HTC owner for nearly a decade. That said, I have always been partial and loyal to the HTC brand from PPC to WP7; So, when it came to my first Android device the stars aligned and the HTC Vivid became the first Android device I personally purchased. I have several Android Devices, all slates, and as a road warrior I missed having a device with a hardware keyboard.
As far as AT&T's Android line up, there isn't much choice in the upper mid-level to high end device line up that includes a keyboard. A family member on Verizon recently purchased a Samsung Stratosphere & I was underwhelmed to say the least. Naturally I was hesitant when the Captivate Glide was released. I gave my SkyRocket as a gift & stuck with the Vivid, even though community development was stifled, because the Vivid just is built solidly & overall a superior device in my view.
Recently, I picked up a Samsung Captivate Glide as it was the first Android Device at AT&T with a hardware keyboard and decent specs.
At first touch, I was immediately reminded of the different materials used in manufacturing and I prepared to be disappointed as the Glide just felt cheap to me because of the plasticity. I am a tall guy with big hands & like a solid feel, even a little heft in my device designs. This is one of the reasons I truly enjoy the HTC Vivid, it's fresh, elegant, solid and minimalist design. The pure elegance in it's simplicity along with it's solid frame and metallic back was refreshing to me in a world of soft touch plastic coated devices & chromed plastic bezels.
While the Captivate Glide definitely is part of the standard light plastic design of recent Samsung devices, what's inside is just as important, if not more so, to many users. In this, I must admit, I was pleasantly surprised with Glide. While it is not the hottest eye grabber on the market, it outperforms many devices and is in my opinion the best qwerty slider on the market.
While I wish the back cover wasn't a truly flimsy piece of plastic with small hook tabs, the rest of the device, including the slide mechanism, is decently constructed. The device display is amazing in low light environments, particularly when viewing dark colors. The biggest disappointment regarding the display is that it is only 4 inches. It would have been really nice to have a 4.3 or even a 4.5 inch display.
Aside from the items I mentioned above, there are also some real pros on the list, some of which you just won't find on any HTC device.
I'll start with one of the most important features/accessories, that truly affects everything with the device...The battery.
While both the Vivid & the Glide come with a 1650mah l-ion battery, the Glide gets more time and use out of it's 3.7 volts than the Vivid by a matter of several hours if properly configured.
The camera (front 2.3MP and back 8MP) is nice and fast and equal to the camera on the Vivid or Rezound. It also captures 720p video.
The display has both pros and cons, being amoled. While there is no doubt it saves power over super LCD, bright light colors sometimes get washed out & light letters on a light background can be difficult to read at times. This is particularly evident outside on a sunny day. For the most part though, the display is sharp with wonderful contrast. The 4 inch screen size however makes no sense to me, especially when the device is DIVX HD certified & can easily handle heavily coded DIVX and XVID files at a resolution of 720p.
The device is powered with a 1GHz dual core Tegra 2. Video and games perform admirably while watching HD content or heavily encoded music files.
Another pro, the Glide will natively handle heavily encoded .flac files, unlike HTC, as well as all the other popular media codecs.
Another really great feature, the wifi radio, is wireless-n capable on both 2.4 and 5.0GHz frequencies which is nice when watching Netflix on the tube while surfing my favorite sites. The wireless range is about equal to the HTC devices I compared, which includes a Vivid, Sensation and Rezound.
Obviously all these devices are acceptable and which is for you depends on your preferences.
I happen to like Sense, I find it intuitive & easy to use. Overall, I prefer the design and feel of the Vivid of all the devices available in todays market. But if you enjoy a smaller screen or need to have a hardware keyboard (or just like to have a qwerty backup device), I would definitely recommends looking at the Captivate Glide. It is miles away from the Stratosphere Slider and its issues.
In conclusion, if a qwerty slider is a must in your stable, the Glide nicely accommodates those users.
Now if we could just get HTC to implement some of these feature...I particularly like having the ability to use the 5GHz wifi band, since not every device can utilize it, I usually find ample bandwidth there. I also love the DIVX HD support & being able to play all my media without having to buy or download half a dozen market apps.
I'm trying to decide if price is playing a huge factor between these two phones. I will also do another post in the Verizon Note 2 forum and see if adding a sd card slot and removable battery to the DNA would get people to change their minds.
I much prefer HTC over Samsung. IMHO, everything from the radios to build quality is better. Having said that, if I hadn't liked what HTC came out with this fall, I would have bought a GS3.
For me it comes down to storage, the Droid DNA only has a 16gb model and no Micro SD, it writes the device off no matter how good it is.
If it had a Micro SD slot at least then both devices are pretty much equal and it all comes down to which one you like the look of and if an extra 0.5 inch matters to you in a screen. Tbh nothing makes the GN2 stutter so I don't care about specs at this point, though the Droid DNA is more powerful on paper. Cameras are about the same, speakers are the same, mics are the same. I personally prefer TouchWiz, Samsung add so many good features standard Android doesn't have and I feel like everyone is playing catch up to Samsung. I mean the Pen has great features like being able to pull it out mid call and write a phone number down, which is a feature I've always wanted, it makes it so seamless. I love the Picture in Picture TouchWiz has and I love the multiple Windows you can have open in the GN2.
You ain't gonna complain with either device tbh...
GN2 has a removable battery, 0.5 inch extra screen size, pen, large storage + Micro SD
Droid DNA has the latest specs but only 16GB and no Micro SD
Really when it comes to screen quality, you wont complain with either, I don't buy into the PPI hype, you don't notice any difference above 250PPI when held from a normal distance.
I would go for note 2 because of the battery... DNA lasts for just 5 hrs
Sent from my GT-I9001 using xda premium
I would still get the DNA: Not a fan of SAmoled screens, Note II would be too large, love HTCs phones and Sense.
yajur1995 said:
I would go for note 2 because of the battery... DNA lasts for just 5 hrs
Sent from my GT-I9001 using xda premium
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Not completely true. It depends on usage.
Playing 5 hours straight or 1080p video will definitely kill the battery. But then again that's 5 hours of 1080p video, can't complain there.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using xda premium
I vote Note 2.
The S-pen on the Note 2 is incredibly useful compared to the Note 1.
The Note 2 has true multi-window multitasking, you can watch a video, open up the browser and surf the web while looking at photos in the gallery. All on the same screen. It's actually quite awesome the first time you use it.
Note 2 has flash support in the browser.
The battery life on he Note 2 is hailed as probably the best in the business, lasts about twice as long as the DNA on a single charge.
removable battery is a plus on the Note 2 also.
expandable storage is another great feature of the Note 2. Slap in a 64GB card and you got 80GB of combined storage.
The screen on the Note 2 is quite beautiful, it is non-pentile so it is extra sharp and clear. Honestly I don't think you will be able to tell much difference between the two screens when using it day to day. Like someone said, it's hard to tell after 250ppi.
The Note 2's resolution should be much more compatible with more apps and games in the playstore. The 1080p on the DNA already has issues running many apps and games according to a few reviewers.
The DNA has a bettery cpu/gpu combo but it's pushing a lot more pixels, so I think that any performance advantage is cancelled out.
So it seems like the Note 2 is the much better device.
Everything is awesome about DNA except the battery. I'm a hardcore user i play lots of games. I don't understand HTC.. they didn't learn anything from One X. On the other hand Note 2 is very good but i don't like the Exynos cpu and 267 ppi pixel density is too low. So folks please help me what to choose. I'm driving myself insane.
This is the way I see it. Both phones doing extremely well on benchmarks so I wont comment about speed.
Note II Pros:
- Spen
- Multiwindow
- Battery life + removable
- MicroSD
- Bigger screen
- Available on all carriers
Note II Cons:
- too big, not comfy to hold
- looks ridiculous when held up for phone calls
- slippery plastic build quality
- amoled screen
- cell radio
DNA Pros:
- build quality
- excellent size, same width as SGS3 so its easy to hold
- 1080p screen + SLCD3
- wide angle front camera (pics with wife + video chat, very useful to me)
- best camera software
- waterproof rating is good (i've dropped 2 phones in the water)
DNA Cons:
- no microsd
- 16gb internal storage
- sense + verizon bloat (can both be fixed by roms and disabling)
- Verizon exclusive, works on some other GSM but no HSPA+ afaik
- battery not removable
For me personally I choose DNA. I've decided that the 16gb will do just fine for me since my current phone only has 8gb and is barely full. The rest of the Cons don't bother me at all as everything software side can be customized or fixed through roms. The battery is more than sufficient, especially if its better than SGS3 battery which most reviews seem to be saying.
The Note II is a great phone but the build quality, size, slippery feel and cell radio are things that cannot be changed. I sure as hell would not add a case to make it even bigger. I also would feel like an idiot holding that thing up to my face. Just my opinion though, I'm sure its a great phone for the right person, Lebron James.
Well its difficult to compare a phone and a phablet. Since DNA is almost the same size as S3 it would be like comparing S3 with Note 2.
That said. I dont know but everyone misses out on the Beats functionality in DNA. I have tried One X in ATT with beats headphones and my Nexus with beats head phones and for me the difference was huge.
DNA all the way for me. I've always been a fan of HTC, mainly because of their higher build quality and better radios. In this case, the screen is also better than the Note II, and for me that's among the most important pieces of the puzzle, since that's what you look at and poke with your fingers.
Guys you might want to see this: http://www.starkinsider.com/2012/11/oh-no-htc-droid-dna-battery-lasts-only-425-hours-in-test.html
Vadrieldur said:
Guys you might want to see this: http://www.starkinsider.com/2012/11/oh-no-htc-droid-dna-battery-lasts-only-425-hours-in-test.html
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That is nothing new, he was going off the info from The Verge's review. Doing that same test the SGS3 got around 20min LESS than the DNA.
pottersam said:
This is the way I see it. Both phones doing extremely well on benchmarks so I wont comment about speed.
Note II Pros:
- Spen
- Multiwindow
- Battery life + removable
- MicroSD
- Bigger screen
- Available on all carriers
Note II Cons:
- too big, not comfy to hold
- looks ridiculous when held up for phone calls
- slippery plastic build quality
- amoled screen
- cell radio
DNA Pros:
- build quality
- excellent size, same width as SGS3 so its easy to hold
- 1080p screen + SLCD3
- wide angle front camera (pics with wife + video chat, very useful to me)
- best camera software
- waterproof rating is good (i've dropped 2 phones in the water)
DNA Cons:
- no microsd
- 16gb internal storage
- sense + verizon bloat (can both be fixed by roms and disabling)
- Verizon exclusive, works on some other GSM but no HSPA+ afaik
- battery not removable
For me personally I choose DNA. I've decided that the 16gb will do just fine for me since my current phone only has 8gb and is barely full. The rest of the Cons don't bother me at all as everything software side can be customized or fixed through roms. The battery is more than sufficient, especially if its better than SGS3 battery which most reviews seem to be saying.
The Note II is a great phone but the build quality, size, slippery feel and cell radio are things that cannot be changed. I sure as hell would not add a case to make it even bigger. I also would feel like an idiot holding that thing up to my face. Just my opinion though, I'm sure its a great phone for the right person, Lebron James.
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I have to agree with you HTC's phones all have amazing build quality and that is a major factor for me when buying a phone, unfortunately I hate sense. The S-pen and multiwindow is what does it for me, as for screens I can't really say until I can test both of them, I honestly can't tell the difference between a retina display and my Droid Incredible's Amoled screen (unless I hold it within an uncomfortable range of my eyes).
pottersam said:
That is nothing new, he was going off the info from The Verge's review. Doing that same test the SGS3 got around 20min LESS than the DNA.
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That's a relief.. I'm sticking with DNA then.
pottersam said:
This is the way I see it. Both phones doing extremely well on benchmarks so I wont comment about speed.
Note II Pros:
- Spen
- Multiwindow
- Battery life + removable
- MicroSD
- Bigger screen
- Available on all carriers
Note II Cons:
- too big, not comfy to hold
- looks ridiculous when held up for phone calls
- slippery plastic build quality
- amoled screen
- cell radio
DNA Pros:
- build quality
- excellent size, same width as SGS3 so its easy to hold
- 1080p screen + SLCD3
- wide angle front camera (pics with wife + video chat, very useful to me)
- best camera software
- waterproof rating is good (i've dropped 2 phones in the water)
DNA Cons:
- no microsd
- 16gb internal storage
- sense + verizon bloat (can both be fixed by roms and disabling)
- Verizon exclusive, works on some other GSM but no HSPA+ afaik
- battery not removable
For me personally I choose DNA. I've decided that the 16gb will do just fine for me since my current phone only has 8gb and is barely full. The rest of the Cons don't bother me at all as everything software side can be customized or fixed through roms. The battery is more than sufficient, especially if its better than SGS3 battery which most reviews seem to be saying.
The Note II is a great phone but the build quality, size, slippery feel and cell radio are things that cannot be changed. I sure as hell would not add a case to make it even bigger. I also would feel like an idiot holding that thing up to my face. Just my opinion though, I'm sure its a great phone for the right person, Lebron James.
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Just how many of you who really used note 2? Many of the cons you listed are not valid.
Note II Cons:[/B]
- too big, not comfy to hold : now this is subjective call. But I rarely see note 2 user who complaint about the phone being too big after using it for a couple if days. Testing the phone on the store won't do it justice, unless you really hate big phone.
- looks ridiculous when held up for phone calls : since I used note 1 last year, there is only a few people who told me how big my phone is. Of course it will be different on each neighbourhood. But big phones are common nowadays. You won't be looked ridiculous when you use note 2 for phone calls. Using 7 inches tablet however is a different story
- slippery plastic build quality : I very much agree on this. But for me personally, I'd take removable battery and micro sd over superior build quality any day of the week
- amoled screen : past amoled screens have burn ins and black crush. not with note 2. Check the poll results in note 2 thread.
- cell radio : no comment on this. I don't have this problem
That said, I never used DNA yet. So I might change my mind when i get my hands in it.
Judging from the reviews, it looks to me that DNA is One X with superior speeds.
I got a Note 2 because Samsung's software advancements. Plus I sold my tablet, the multi tasking caught my eye. I hwen't used a Samsung phone since the first Epic. Touchwiz is smooth for once compared to sense.
I upgraded from a HTC One S, even-though Sense is elegant it does not have as many productive settings to make your life easier like the S 3 or Note 2 I Find myself doing less steps to complete simple task than I did with my One S. Like making a phone call. Zooming in and out with motion. Sure I look like a fool moving my phone around in the air but it is simple.
The AMOLED burn-in issue is what worries me the most about this phone.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2
Note 2 is a great phone and I have nothing against it, had it been 5 inches and same dimensions as dna I would hands down get it. It is just simply too big for my hands I have held one and I wanted to put it down right away.
Now people talking about htc sense, sense has come a long was from being a system hog, it is no longer the same sense it used to be and much more efficient.
Although HTC has absolutely failed when it comes to multitasking, I mean can we please have some features similar to samsung or even LG, seems like HTC has settled in on sense and focused more on hardware design totally forgot about innovation on software side. I hope they are working on improving their multitasking.
It seems like HTC is learning a lesson when it comes to updating sense. They used to never update the sense version on the older phones and you used to have to get new htc phones to get improvements of sense interface, but it seems that they have learned a lesson and all the one series are being updated to sense 4+, its about time they learned from samsung that you cant just update the OS version and leave the new sense version out because that really doesn't count towards a great user experience.
azhurvadal said:
Just how many of you who really used note 2? Many of the cons you listed are not valid.
Note II Cons:[/B]
- too big, not comfy to hold : now this is subjective call. But I rarely see note 2 user who complaint about the phone being too big after using it for a couple if days. Testing the phone on the store won't do it justice, unless you really hate big phone.
- looks ridiculous when held up for phone calls : since I used note 1 last year, there is only a few people who told me how big my phone is. Of course it will be different on each neighbourhood. But big phones are common nowadays. You won't be looked ridiculous when you use note 2 for phone calls. Using 7 inches tablet however is a different story
- slippery plastic build quality : I very much agree on this. But for me personally, I'd take removable battery and micro sd over superior build quality any day of the week
- amoled screen : past amoled screens have burn ins and black crush. not with note 2. Check the poll results in note 2 thread.
- cell radio : no comment on this. I don't have this problem
That said, I never used DNA yet. So I might change my mind when i get my hands in it.
Judging from the reviews, it looks to me that DNA is One X with superior speeds.
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Yep, like I said in my post, It's all my personal opinion. I could get used to using a Note II for calls just like I can get used to using a Nexus 7 for calls, but it doesn't necessarily mean I want to. In my experience with using a Note II I could feel my hand straining a bit while I griped it, while the S3, One X and GNex felt nice. I would say I have average size hands, 6ft tall and can 1-hand grip a basketball.
I don't mean to sound offensive, but a phone nearly the size of a tablet does look a little interesting during calls. Here's a few examples:
Example 1
Example 2
Example 3
But again, just my opinion, maybe its because I'm in california where most people have iphones.
And regarding the amoled screen, as a photographer my main beef with it is color accuracy. If I didn't care as much about using the phone as a mobile portfolio, it wouldnt matter as much. I'm sure the colors could be tweaked, but afaik SLCD3 > Amoled
They're 2 completely different devices.
I don't know why people insist on comparing the DNA to the Note. The DNA is the phone, its not even 5mm taller than the S3. Compare it to that. Compare it to the Optimus G, the Nexus 4, etc.
Just cause it hit some magical 5in screen size its now a direct competitor to the Note? If the DNA were 4.9in would these threads even exist? When Samsung starts with their 5in phones will people be comparing the S4 to the Note? I'm guessing not, since by then it'll be common place.
The DNA is a phone, not a 'phablet', there is no direct competition to the Note at this moment, besides that LG thing.. Which isn't much competition.
For the gadget carrier, this is a good grab. I recommend getting it from Amazon or Best Buy ($284 for 32GB).
I usually beta test iOS applications from time to time so I get some value out of owning an iPod Touch. I've honestly grown to liking it.
I've recently upgraded from the Black 4th Generation iPod Touch 8GB to a White 5th Generation 32GB model.
Owning a EVO & an iPod has allowed to juggle tasks & applications between both devices & gain more ground on the battery front for both devices.
While one is charging, I can also switch to the other. (Only recommended in WiFi areas)
Its great for those iOS exclusive moments when you need them, without giving up a superior phone experience from Android, especially as far as Google Voice is concerned.
It also kills the inner fanboy, its a healthy experience.
What I like about the 5th Gen model is:
It forces you into getting a decent amount of storage on it's lowest end configuration.
The cameras have been upgraded significantly & it is a very decent 5 megapixel shooter w/ flash.
The rear is no longer a scratch magnet.
Although the screen is bigger & the build quality is better, the device is lighter & thinner than the previous model.
Wireless performance seems to be x2 as good as before, no sure why it's significantly better but it is & shows. (VOIP / Wi-Fi Tether approved)
This charges insanely fast.
What could be a con:
If you had any Apple accessory investments, they're now screwed by the new connector.
No front mic (sure its not a phone but with Facetime present, a discreet video chat isn't possible on the iPod without headphones w/ mic.
Pricey
Color options: You can't get solid Red, Blue or Lime Green, each has a white front.
Neither Pro or Con:
Earpods (Honestly you should buy/own a pair of Shure, Klipsh, Etymotic, V-Moda etc.) I haven't used or tried them.
Lanya- *cough* "Loop".
Siri
No GPS (uses Wi-Fi triangulation?) If you're tethering to anything it's very accurate, I'm not going to use any Turn by Turn service with it though.
Maps (You have a flagship Android, you should never even open this travesty outside of jokingly playing with it, the location previews are pretty nice & the niceness ends there.)
Thanks for your input! I currently have a 32gb 4th gen black iPod Touch and my girlfriend has the white one. We are both avid Android phone users, have been since launch and never bought an iPhone, but like having the access to IOS at times. Used to be needed more as IOS had many apps/games that weren't available on Android, but Android is catching up VERY fast and I rarely even use my Touch any more! I also have a 16gb iPhone 4 that used to be on AT&T, but it's never been activated by me. I simply used it as another iPod Touch because it has the nicest screen of the two, and having the mic is nice for making free calls with Textfree(now Pinger) when my phone was charging or I was in a game and didn't want to stop playing just for a phone call.
That said, I've been considering selling both and buying the Touch 5. Just don't know if I'll use it as much as I used to use the Touch 4 and iPhone 4. Of course that's a decision I'll have to make. Also considering buying a Nexus 7 with the cash from the sales. Just not sure how much I'll put it to use either though, since I already have an Asus Infinity(TF700T) which is 10". I think I would like having a more easily portable Android tablet though, and its also made by Asus(who I love), like my Infinity and previous Prime, and has the same processor as my Infinity, just clocked to a slower speed. The development community is also great and quite large for the Nexus 7.
I've always thought the Touch 4 has a pretty nice camera. Used it more before getting the Evo 3D, and the LTE, which has a stellar camera! How does the camera of the Touch 5 compare to the 4? Also, is the display really that much nicer? Of course it's larger and has better specs, but is it that noticeable in daily use? Guess I just need to go to Best Buy with my Touch 4 and compare it to the 5.
Anyway, thanks for starting this thread, stating your thoughts, and for answering my questions.
EDIT: Sorry for the super long post!! It's just something I've been thinking about recently and this is the first time I've got it off of my chest, lol.
Sent from my EVO using xda premium
I use it more (new device syndrome) take it with a grain of salt.
The camera is literally 5 times better, its slightly better than the iPhone 4S's camera & its FF camera is better than the iPhone 5's with color.
Performance is definitely noticeable but the screen is more so, as it its the same display as the iPhone 5's screen. Unlike the 4th gen which had its own, cheaper screen.
For support sake & resale value, I highly recommend it as an upgrade.
Sent from my EVO using xda premium
I read a lot of reviews and opinions here about the Z5C that are from people that were or still are using a Sony device. The Z5C is usually compared in terms of the Z3C or even the Z1C. Those comparisons are good if you own those devices, but I have no prior contact with Sony. My current device is a Moto G (1st Gen).
So I'd like to know what people who had no prior contact, or at least not in the past years, with Sony say about the phone. How does it feel and how much "crap" is on a Sony phone compared to a Nexus or Motorola phone? How good/bad are the Sony-Apps ? What "oddities" do Sony phones have?
Thanks for your opinions.
I came from a Moto G (2nd Gen) to the Z5C which is my first Sony phone. So a similar path to what you are considering. It comes with way more "crap" on in than the Motorola did. Where my Moto G (2nd Gen) might have had 5 Motorola utilities, the Z5C has maybe 30. Many of them are app/tools that seemingly connect you into the Sony Sphere. PlayStation stuff, Dinosaur images pop up in the camera you can stamp on your photos and super cheesy Japanese schoolgirl emoticons for your text input.
If you like the clean native Google apps such as Gmail, Calendar, Photos messaging and so on you will find yourself having to disable the Sony versions.
One oddity my Z3C has is that is is fussy about which micro USB cable will charge it. So if like me you have a collection of micro USB cables and chargers from previous phone they may not all work. I guess this may be due to tighter tolerances required water proofing the charge port. Not a biggy but worth knowing.
I find the Xperia Keyboard gesture input (aka Swype input) to be a PITA. Miss rate is too high and deleting errors is tedious. Shame becuase it works very well on other phones.
Small size is great. Can easily slip it in a front trouser pocket.
BUT I have yet to feel "vibrate on for calls" when it is my pocket. When someone does call when Z5C in pocket when I am doing somehting noisey like mowing a lawn, I dont feel the vinration alert, it seemingly wakes the phone and thereafter movement leads to random screen presses. So when I eventually retrieve it form my pocket an hour later the screen is still on and it is in some weird screen such as the camera or emerg dialer. Perhpas I am missing something here though. Oh and definitely don't buy it for the camera if you are expecting a point and shoot with a high % of great shots.
That's my thoughts.
Coming from a nexus 5, I love this phone! Never charge it from the mains only from my car every day(1 hour commute each way) and it keeps going strong! Pretty quick and feels good.
Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk
Coming from Samsung S3
This Z5 is very bad...unstable sw, no optimization, really slow...bleah! I think i will never buy again a sony device. Oh...customer care is bad too.
Camera is slow and poor quality, GPS is very inaccurate, BT disconnet and reconnect every 15 secs (i think the problem is trhow but i can't disable it...)
So...i'm not a satisfied user..
Thank you all for your replies.
logger said:
I came from a Moto G (2nd Gen) to the Z5C which is my first Sony phone. So a similar path to what you are considering. It comes with way more "crap" on in than the Motorola did. Where my Moto G (2nd Gen) might have had 5 Motorola utilities, the Z5C has maybe 30. Many of them are app/tools that seemingly connect you into the Sony Sphere. PlayStation stuff, Dinosaur images pop up in the camera you can stamp on your photos and super cheesy Japanese schoolgirl emoticons for your text input.
If you like the clean native Google apps such as Gmail, Calendar, Photos messaging and so on you will find yourself having to disable the Sony versions.
One oddity my Z3C has is that is is fussy about which micro USB cable will charge it. So if like me you have a collection of micro USB cables and chargers from previous phone they may not all work. I guess this may be due to tighter tolerances required water proofing the charge port. Not a biggy but worth knowing.
I find the Xperia Keyboard gesture input (aka Swype input) to be a PITA. Miss rate is too high and deleting errors is tedious. Shame becuase it works very well on other phones.
Small size is great. Can easily slip it in a front trouser pocket.
BUT I have yet to feel "vibrate on for calls" when it is my pocket. When someone does call when Z5C in pocket when I am doing somehting noisey like mowing a lawn, I dont feel the vinration alert, it seemingly wakes the phone and thereafter movement leads to random screen presses. So when I eventually retrieve it form my pocket an hour later the screen is still on and it is in some weird screen such as the camera or emerg dialer. Perhpas I am missing something here though. Oh and definitely don't buy it for the camera if you are expecting a point and shoot with a high % of great shots.
That's my thoughts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually never use the original cables since I have set up a "charging station". Which cables does the Z5C not accept? Is there a pattern?
And I'm not buying this for the camera, I have a DSLR for that
Tuonorosso said:
Coming from Samsung S3
This Z5 is very bad...unstable sw, no optimization, really slow...bleah! I think i will never buy again a sony device. Oh...customer care is bad too.
Camera is slow and poor quality, GPS is very inaccurate, BT disconnet and reconnect every 15 secs (i think the problem is trhow but i can't disable it...)
So...i'm not a satisfied user..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have the newest firmware ? AFAIK a few things should have been fixed with the latest update. What experience do you have with the customer care ?
ricostuart said:
Coming from a nexus 5, I love this phone! Never charge it from the mains only from my car every day(1 hour commute each way) and it keeps going strong! Pretty quick and feels good.
Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How was the Z5C in terms of "snappiness" compared to the Nexus ?
nazgoul said:
Do you have the newest firmware ? AFAIK a few things should have been fixed with the latest update. What experience do you have with the customer care ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, last fw: 32.0.A.6.152
Customer care have reset the phone 4 times. Each trial did not resolve the problem. In the end they told me to bring it to service but they had no idea of the repair time and they not given me any temporary phone.
My phone has only one month and i need it for work...i can't stay weeks without it. For a 600$ phone i think this is unacceptable.
At this time i have the same initial problems...
I hope in Marshmallow ...
Coming from Moto G first Gen (falcon)
Coming from Moto G 1st Gen. This is my first Sony Phone.
I am loving the Z5C.
Few things to note that that will give you an idea between the two phones
1. The flash on the moto g is noticeably brighter and warmer. Idc about cameras, but I find I use the flashlight a lot
2. The chip on the Z5C does feel much faster. Not sure how to describe it other than the UI on the Z5C being more "fluid"
3. The chip on the Z5C does get noticeably warm (but not hot) on the back under certain loads. E.g. running long sessions of RDP or installing lots of apps in quick succession or recording 4K video. Under normal use like browsing the web or watching youtube it does not get warm.
4. The camera is way better than the Moto G
5. The hardware feels really solid. It feels dense. I like it
6. The battery life is significantly better. At my usage, the Moto G will die at about 8pm or 9pm (taking off the charge at 7am). I have yet to kill the Z5C in a single day in my normal use
(my normal use usually has a few hours of music, and at least 4 hours of screen time)
7. The stereo speakers are much nicer, but the stereo effect is small, and they aren't not as loud as the moto g's single speaker
8. The max brightness of the Z5C's screen is about the same as the one on the Moto G. The min brightness is on the Z5C is lower though.
9 The physical dimensions of the Z5C is smaller in width and height. The Z5C does feel thicker because of its more boxy shape though
In terms of bloatware, there is quite a bit. I have a lot of apps disabled from settings or hidden (I use Apex)
There are some features that sony added that are nice though.
1. Built in screen recording
2. "Small Apps" - a bit like floating widgets
3. Nice audio optimizations that make my music experience nicer
4. Being able to customize the quick settings in the notification center
5. Battery percentage in the status bar (this is important to me )
6. The screen colours can be calibrated to your liking
Other things to consider
- The fingerprint sensor is pretty bad, but that could be just my fingers.
- The phone is really slippery compared to the Moto G. A case is highly recommended.
- Stamina mode - I havent tested if this has a positive effect on battery life, but i'm letting the placebo effect take place
- The microsd slot is nice for future proofing, although given that I had a 8GB moto g, and the Z5C comes with 32GB, Im not going to need a microsd in the near future.
- Water proofing
- Of the 32GB, about 10GB is taken up by the android system, and thus we cannot use for our own stuff
- I found the volume button placement on the Z5C wierd until I got used to it in less than a week. Unless you actively need access to it all the time, its not annoying
- I find that everything on screen is too large for my liking, so I have my DPI set to 280, the same as what I had on my Moto G
In response to some of the things said above:
- Bluetooth works fine for me. It has never lost connection to my Microsoft Band when I needed them to be connected
- I've used my Z5C with 3 different usb cables, none of them have a problem.
- Camera does launch slow if Photo Analyser Service is not disabled. The camera launches quite fast now (but admittedly not as fast as say an iPhone 6s)
- The GPS locks quicker than the Moto G, and has yet to be inaccurate for me.
I am really looking forward to Marshmallow
I hope that answers your questions. Sorry for long response lol
I have both nexus 6p and z5 compact. Previously had nexus 6.
I went for the z5c as it had wifi calling, and is a pretty small but powerful phone.
Notables, z5c is under-clocked, could be because heat dissipation on small device yielded unsatisfactory result, could be another one of those battery optimisation things.
It also seems to be on a conservative or power save profile, making it slow to start, but if you launch a game it gets into gear.
It was stuttering even with the OTAs of which i had received two, just a few days ago, even with factory resets it did not go away.
I used the sony PC companion to do a full firmware flash, not an incremental OTA and it became pretty smooth and slick to use again with all 0.5 speed animations and about 20 apps installed. I also disabled all of the original media apps and extra Sony stuff and use my own, poweramp and mxplayer is all i really need.
Pretty good experience to use now. Too bad about it using some sort of powersave profile even with stamina disabled. Good thing i have an nexus 6p to play with too.
you5urf said:
I used the sony PC companion to do a full firmware flash, not an incremental OTA and it became pretty smooth and slick to use again with all 0.5 speed animations and about 20 apps installed. I also disabled all of the original media apps and extra Sony stuff and use my own, poweramp and mxplayer is all i really need.
Pretty good experience to use now. Too bad about it using some sort of powersave profile even with stamina disabled. Good thing i have an nexus 6p to play with too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you know how to disable throw?
Coming from the N5:
Disadvantages:
- Much less free RAM (N5X also has this issue, I think it's related to Android 64 bits).
- Much lower photo quality
Advantages:
- 200% or much more battery life.
- overall quality
- vídeo quality
Sent from my E5823
I am coming from the HTC One M7 which can be considered an old phone now I guess.
Good:
-Battery life finally gets me over the day and sometimes into the second.
-Better camera, but by far not great.
-Better display brightness
Bad:
-Sonys Android design looks like a toy. It lacks the beautiful HTC Sense look and features.
-Even with the latest firmware and fresh format its doesnt feel any fast than the old HTC One. Sense had a nicer flow overall.
-In general, switching between apps is not faster, once in the app, the processor surely shows its power. Antutu gave me 31k on HTC One and 62k on Z5C, so technically twice as fast.
-Having the phone in the front pockets of your jeans just looks stupid with the hard edges. The HTC one with its beautiful round design was basically invisible in your pocket.
The HTC One was far from perfect and had its issues, but my heart is still with that phone and I dont beleive I am gonna buy another Sony phone. I wanted a small powerful phone, but its not easy to like this phone I am afraid.
eivissa said:
I am coming from the HTC One M7 which can be considered an old phone now I guess.
Good:
-Battery life finally gets me over the day and sometimes into the second.
-Better camera, but by far not great.
-Better display brightness
Bad:
-Sonys Android design looks like a toy. It lacks the beautiful HTC Sense look and features.
-Even with the latest firmware and fresh format its doesnt feel any fast than the old HTC One. Sense had a nicer flow overall.
-In general, switching between apps is not faster, once in the app, the processor surely shows its power. Antutu gave me 31k on HTC One and 62k on Z5C, so technically twice as fast.
-Having the phone in the front pockets of your jeans just looks stupid with the hard edges. The HTC one with its beautiful round design was basically invisible in your pocket.
The HTC One was far from perfect and had its issues, but my heart is still with that phone and I dont beleive I am gonna buy another Sony phone. I wanted a small powerful phone, but its not easy to like this phone I am afraid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm also coming from a HTC ONE M7 and I'm feeling exactly as you. I have had the phone for 5 days now and I'm seriously considering to sell it and keep using my M7 since I'm seeing the same things than you see.
I have great expectations for this phone but now that I have it, I'm a little bit disappointed...I don't know if it's cause I'm so use to my old phone or cause my old phone is sooo good that I don't see anything new or improved on the z5c...maybe expect for the waterproofing things.
I'll give it another week to see If I can fall in love with it...maybe when the custom roms start showing up I'll start to see the advantages of changing.
I've been used some HTC and got a Z1c and S6. Guys plz give sometime to this phone, my S6 also took a couple of months to improve before got satisfy result. I believe Android 6.0 will give a new life to this phone.
I've only experienced Apple's devices so I came over from an iPhone 3G, iPhone 4S and then an iPhone 6S. I absolutely LOVE this sucker. And I must have gotten very lucky because I haven't seen any of the issues that others have.
Pros:
1. Fascinated by the Android OS. There's just so much you can do with it! So much more freeing than Apple's IOS. They both have a few positive and negative quirks, but I'm not really missing IOS that much. I did miss the Safari left/right swipe browser initially, but found out about the Rbrowser app with built in ad-block and the swipe feature, and couldn't be happier.
2. The device is quick. Compared to my iPhone devices haven't experienced nearly as much lag even under load.
3. I love the camera and video. Takes far better pictures and video than any camera I've ever used before, and with the latest update, the menu selection is so easy to use. I think the side button to open the camera app is a genius. I also never experienced the blur issue that a lot of others complained about.
4. The size and look of the device totally compliments me. I find modern phones like the Galaxy S6 and the iPhone 6S way too big and clunky. This device is exactly the right size. Slightly larger than my old 4S, but still comfortable to hold, and type one handed with. I also absolutely love the sharp right angles on the phone. I dig the thickness of the Compact, and I love the bright punky yellow of the case color I selected.
5. The fingerprint scanner is so fun to use. I had one on the 6S that worked maybe slightly better, but that's only because there was more surface area to press, but still having a fingerprint reader makes me feel like a spy a bit.
6. I haven't had any issues with the heat of the phone. It gets warm, but after a month of use, I've never experienced it getting warmer than the 4S or the 6S even while playing graphic intensive games, using the GPS, or recording video. It never gets warm while browsing websites, or doing day to day smartphone things.
7. The device did have a little bit of bloatware, but then, so did Apple's devices. Removing/disabling the bloat was easy to do.
8. So far no unexpected surprises. The alarm works. the phone rings and vibrates as it ought. The apps all open fine. I get all my expected alerts and then some. Messaging works fine. The screen is bright and easy to read and watch. I love the little FM radio app (though I don't use it too much). Haven't had any issues with the GPS. Everything does what it's supposed to do.
Negatives:
1. Coming from devices with only one bottom speaker, I thought that having two front facing stereo speakers would make this device monster loud....it isn't. In fact, it's slightly quieter than the 6S (though louder than the 4S). That said, I do love the stereo effect, and I think having so many audio controls is awesome. I just wish the device was a bit louder. Hopefully when the device becomes rootable I can find a fix for that.
2. The boot up time on this device is pretty slow. From powered off, the 6S starts up in a matter of a couple seconds. It takes like half a minute or longer for the Z5 to start up. Course, this isn't much of an issue most of the time since the device doesn't usually need to be powered off or restarted.
3. The iPhone 6S 3D touch is pretty amazing, and I can see them doing some cool things with it over time. There was nothing about it that was super amazing while I had it. No apps to really take too much of an advantage of it yet, but I can see that it'll be awesome to have some time down the road.
4. The voicemail was a bit odd to set up. I'm used to Apple's easy voicemail integration that just works out of the box. For this device I had to download and setup a "visual voicemail" system that I'm not used to, and that I found a bit annoying.
My first Android phone was a Sony xperia mini. Was worse than Motorola Milestone (gsm droid) that replaced it. I since moved onto Samsung original Galaxy S and then Galaxy Nexus. Then the original Moto X dev edition which is the same size as this Z5C. I love the form factor. Ever since the Nexus 6 which I have one of those, Moto is obsessed with phone size. The Nexus 6 was named Shamu for a reason. I am hoping the just under 5" phones are not s dying breed because this device is the perfect size for me. I also like the subtle tweaks Sony does with their ROM compared to vanilla stock. Its also a fast device and I like the build quality compared to the Samsung devices I have owned. Those are my thoughts anyway.