What do yo guys like and dislike about the phone?
Being the first dual core phone from sprint, being this fast is a huge leap forward. Love the qHD screen, and HDMI out. The radio in this phone is ridiculously powerful, have full service where I has 0-1 bar previously. The only downside, which isn't that bad, is playing all the new tegra zone games. I am burning through battery life...so time to carry a second battery. So far best phone I've had yet.
second dual core.. i believe the EVO 3D is the first that Sprint has offered. That being said, I definitely prefer Sense 3.0 to BLUR, but that will be short lived until the ulocked bootloader is released.. i'm looking forward to rooting this beastly device.
Likes:
qHD screen
Double yellow flash LEDs make a great flashlight
All the stuff you already know about from the specs, like GSM world phone, kickstand, etc.
Dislikes:
Pixelation caused by PenTile display
Tegra 2 is smooth, but could be smoother
Locked bootloader
The artist formerly known as Motoblur is still only okay, and was quickly replaced by Launcher Pro by me
No 5Ghz 802.11n
Received the phone first thing Friday morning, have a early launch day EVO 3D as well. Purchased this for travel use, so will be using it for a while before I re-activate the 3D - even longer if it grows on me more than the 3D did. Initial impressions from weekend of use:
Like:
- Kickstand is back (original EVO owner). It's still a bit "wobbly" but the bonus is that it's software functional (pulling it will activate landscape viewing and even bring the phone out of sleep) and the phone can be flipped horizontally on either side - the stand will not collapse (but the surface + volume rocker + camera button may get scraped up)
- Camera shutter button
- Data encryption options (have to look into this more, though)
- LED lights up in multiple colors
- GPS radio is faster than my 3D - can get an accurate lock in moments.
- Reception/antenna seems stronger. Many more bars showing, and downloads seem faster (than my 3D).
- Lots of built in memory (weird that it appears as SD Card, though)
- Speakerphone is loud as hell.
- Ear speaker is clearer than my 3D.
- Grooved/textured volume rocker and camera button.
- Back cover snaps on TIGHT, has soft touch 'rubbery' finish
DISLike:
- Kickstand is a pain to "kick out". On the upside it's snug in there and won't flip out unintentionally. Then again, the EVO's never did, either.
- Camera shutter button is one-stage only
- CANNOT shut off shutter sound. WTF.
- The stock gallery app is pure garbage. You can't even view the folders that contain photos in an overview. It's literally view all photo files, view all camera photos, view by location or view by tag.
- LED does not light up when charging. WTF?
- No included SD card
- Back cover is HARD to get off. You'll feel like your nail is going to flip off or you're going to damage the slot you're pulling on.
- Even with the soft touch back cover, phone still feels very slippery...
- Pentile display is horrible. Just pixels - all I see are pixels. I didn't even know what pentile was until I Googled to find out what the heck was up with this display. Colors seem "off" and all edges I see are jagged. Text appears blurry due to 'pixelation'.
- Stock launcher seems choppy/laggy. Is this a frame-rate issue? Not sure but using something like Go Launcher is smooth as butter.
Coming from an Epic, so some of my observations are from that perspective...
Bugs:
- Only one I've run across so far is I'm not sure if my light sensor is doing what it's supposed to do. It works according to various sensor tests, but the phone doesn't seem to automatically change brightness as it should, and the "in-pocket protection" thing doesn't lock my phone when I, well, stick it in my pocket.
Pros:
- Call quality is excellent, much better than the Epic and probably the best I've ever had. Incoming audio is great on both the earpiece and speakerphone, and I'm being told I sound great on the other end.
- Speed seems outstanding. I'm not experiencing any lag whatsoever, on the home screens, opening apps, scrolling, etc. Everything just happens exactly as I expect it to. Many of the frustrating lags I experienced with the Epic, like the switch from portrait to landscape and back, are smooth as glass on the Photon. Absolutely loving performance so far.
- Screen is fine for me. Plenty bright, more natural colors than the Epic, and I see absolutely none of the PenTile weaknesses others are hating. I really think this is a person-by-person thing, because I've heard people complaining about the same thing on the Epic and I never saw it there, either. For me, the screen is not only good enough, but downright pleasant to use. Oh, and Netflix looks fine to me, not sure what others are seeing. I played Toy Story 3 as a test, and it was lovely.
- I like the software better than on the Epic. Email, messaging, social network integration, transitions (I like the flow in changing orientation rather than Samsung's abrupt switch), etc. is all nice and makes me happy with my decision to go with the Photon. I really don't like Samsung's flavor, I'm finding, and simply like Motorola's better. This makes me very hesitant indeed to even consider switching to a Within if it's out within (no pun intended) 30 days no matter what kind of crazy specs it has.
- Love how you can dismiss individual notifications.
- Configuration options are better on the Photon, such as the ability to define battery states and such. The Epic was lacking in some things I didn't know were possible on Android devices.
- The Photon car dock is heads and shoulders better than the Epic's equivalent. There's far less interference when nothing's playing (just a tiny bit that I have to listen for, vs. the screech-in-my-ear interference with the Epic's dock), and I like that the Photon dock can be customized a bit. It's nice to be able to add my music apps and launch them directly from the dock, rather than going through the launch-first-then-start-dock gyrations I had to go through with the Epic. The Photon is also easier to add to the dock than the Epic was, in terms of getting the USB port lined up.
- It's a small thing, but I love the kickstand mode. I'm actually using it when the phone sits on my desk, which I didn't reall expect. Kind of nice.
- Phone and 3G radios seem roughly equivalent to the Epic, maybe a bar better in most cases on the Photon. Although I've been noticing better service in some place where I got no service at all with the Epic (like my favorite place for Indian food, which is in a black hole for the Epic but where the Photon got three full bars and 3G).
Cons:
- Can't turn off the shutter sound on the camera. I hate that.
- Motorola widgets are kind of plain and 2-dimensional.
- Getting worse wifi reception with the Photon. Where I had a single bar of wifi in my home office in the garage with the Epic, I'm not getting a single bar with the Photon. And it translates to performance, where I get some disconnects with the Photon that I never saw with the Epic. It's not a dealbreaker by any means, but something to keep an eye on.
- The battery only increments by 10% until you get to 15% left, then it goes in increments of 5%. Seems silly to me to not know if I'm at 99% remaining or 91%. So, yes, that should be fixed.
Bottom line:
I'm probably missing some things, but those are my initial impressions.
Overall, I like the Photon MUCH better than the Epic so far, and if the Within will have the same basic software features as the Epic, then I'm not interested in it even if it has a theoretically faster processor. I like the screen on the Photon well enough to not make me salivate for the SAMOLED Plus screen on the Within. Very happy with the Photon.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
fordhighlander said:
Being the first dual core phone from sprint, being this fast is a huge leap forward. Love the qHD screen, and HDMI out. The radio in this phone is ridiculously powerful, have full service where I has 0-1 bar previously. The only downside, which isn't that bad, is playing all the new tegra zone games. I am burning through battery life...so time to carry a second battery. So far best phone I've had yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doiiii. Evo 3d.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA Premium App
I love it, I work for sprint and played with it over the weekend and it performed much better then my 3d. The netflix app works perfect no bad picture like I have on my evo 3d. The kickstand is hard to open but I hope over time it will get easier. The speaker volume is a lot better then the 3D. Con is motoblur is not that great yet, but with launcher pro not that big a deal. Also I miss the quick settings in notification bar like the 3D has. Also Sprint ID but its optional on this phone. And all the junk widgets on it when you first get it takes a few mins to remove and put up what you want. The optional dock to use is amazing and with the bluetooth keyboard makes it a computer on your big screen. The lack of SD isn't that big a deal to me since I always use the 16gb one I have had for awhile, if it had one I would just take it out and replace it with mine anyway. Over all in my personal opinon its the best phone sprint has and best phone I have played with.
predwing said:
I love it, I work for sprint and played with it over the weekend and it performed much better then my 3d. The netflix app works perfect no bad picture like I have on my evo 3d. The kickstand is hard to open but I hope over time it will get easier. The speaker volume is a lot better then the 3D. Con is motoblur is not that great yet, but with launcher pro not that big a deal. Also I miss the quick settings in notification bar like the 3D has. Also Sprint ID but its optional on this phone. And all the junk widgets on it when you first get it takes a few mins to remove and put up what you want. The optional dock to use is amazing and with the bluetooth keyboard makes it a computer on your big screen. The lack of SD isn't that big a deal to me since I always use the 16gb one I have had for awhile, if it had one I would just take it out and replace it with mine anyway. Over all in my personal opinon its the best phone sprint has and best phone I have played with.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed! The build quality on this phone is top notch. The speaker is loud and sounds great. Volume and power buttons are clicky and love the ridges. The beveled glass is a beautiful touch. Gives the screen depth and you can tell its gorilla glass
Sent from my MB855 using XDA Premium App
Biggest problem I have are three things
1st. Battery percentage is only in increments of 10 percent, wtf?
2nd SwiftKey x I can't get the audible key press to work
3rd the pentile screen is pixel hell
Other than that it's better than the 3d
Sent from my MB855 using XDA App
I went from an Epic to the Evo 3D and decided to do the 30 day swap to the Photon to give it a try while I wait on the galaxy s II.
PROS:
Tegra 2 processor is very powerful. Access to the Tegra Zone games on a phone is really cool. Most of the games I have on my Xoom run on the Photon.
As said before, the speaker on this phone is really good. The Evo 3D was whisper quiet.
I really like the shiny, glossy smooth finish although it is a bit slippery
The display is extra dark somehow. I believe there is a filter in there making it darker. OLED > LCD but this phone eases that pain.
Moto blur or whatever it's called is garbage but then again Sense is a memory hog and touchwiz sucks. In any case it's all about ADW for me anyway.
The kickstand and docking options are really nice to have. Most manufacturers overlook the dock aspect but Moto has been really good about it.
Lots of memory available. Thankfully they also included an sd slot.
CONS:
No access to quick settings in the notification tray. This really bothers me. I guess I've been spoiled by having this. If you are in the middle of using an app it's such a pain to have to go back to the home screen to bring up the app drawer to find settings - wireless - and turn on wifi.
Video compatibility is lackluster. Don't expect to encode an mp4 and just have it work. I have to spend some time figuring out what is wrong. The Galaxy S played anything I threw at it. This photon and my xoom are both very fickle about codec support.
Google music bug. My (cloud) songs will just keep playing after they reach the end. So a 3 minute song will have played twice once it hits 6 minutes and so on until I skip the track. This happened on my Epic but was not a problem on the Evo3D.
I love the phone other than one thing:
The location of the HDMI and USB port. If I want to use the kickstand and charge at the same time, no go. Pretty much forces you to buy the dock.
pajinki said:
I love the phone other than one thing:
The location of the HDMI and USB port. If I want to use the kickstand and charge at the same time, no go. Pretty much forces you to buy the dock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not true. Flip out your kickstand, and try setting it down with the volume rocker and camera shutter button on the bottom. You will see that you can, which allows you to have the two ports plugged in.
Really? That is one firm kickstand if that's the case! I just tried flipping my Evo like that and the kickstand snaps back into the phone.
dfin13 said:
Really? That is one firm kickstand if that's the case! I just tried flipping my Evo like that and the kickstand snaps back into the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ya when it's open, it's open. Works GREAT
Sent from my MB855 using XDA Premium App
Digitaltigre said:
[*]No access to quick settings in the notification tray. This really bothers me. I guess I've been spoiled by having this. If you are in the middle of using an app it's such a pain to have to go back to the home screen to bring up the app drawer to find settings - wireless - and turn on wifi.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Give Quick Settings in the market a try, works great, other than the 3G/4G toggles not working yet.
I can't believe Google hasn't built this in yet. It's a really horrible user experience having to go into settings to deal with wifi and other frequently toggled settings.
Which is all the more reason I'm stunned HTC didn't include a kickstand on the 3D. Considering the EVO 4G with kickstand was the flagship device, it seemed pretty bizarre to me to remove the one thing that differentiated it from other devices.
The Photons kickstand is super strong. It doesn't flip out as fast as the EVOs but I haven't had the phone long enough to find a quick way to do it or a one hand approach.
As far as the Pentile screen or screen door affect as others call it; I haven't seen that. Its been reported if you turn screen brightness down, the screen becomes bearable. Out-the-box, I thought my screen was pretty decent.
Its hard to know a phones pro/cons based on 5-10 minutes play time in a store. I purchased the EVO 3D so I could decide for myself if it was the next best thing...IMO, it wasn't. Got the Photon for same reason. Currently the Photon is a keeper but on the other hand, I've only had mine since last night- not long enough to give detailed opinion on.
I did have ONE issue which turned out to be user error. My pics were all dark and blue. I forgot to remove the blue protective strip off the back of the lens.
Digitaltigre said:
Video compatibility is lackluster. Don't expect to encode an mp4 and just have it work. I have to spend some time figuring out what is wrong. The Galaxy S played anything I threw at it. This photon and my xoom are both very fickle about codec support.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What issues are you having? Mine has played almost everything I've thrown at it that doesn't have anything over 2 channel audio. It will not play 5.1 or DTS encoded files. Also, it doesn't seem to like high profile encodes (4.1) either.
Additional Pros:
Gingerbread UI elements are here. The old tube television screen off animation I had on the Nexus S but they took away from the Evo 3D is here.
Additionally, the subtle color cues when you hit the edge the screen or menu - if you continue to pull or push the screen the color cue fades more into the screen real estate.
Encryption option is awesome. I tested it for a while today on both the internal and SD card memory.
Additional Cons:
The color scheme is unfortunate - light/baby blue? Really? It's this way on the Verizon Droid X2, also. I wish they at least allowed a way to change it to something else. It's not even that it's not a masculine color - it's that it's hard to see. The color cue I mentioned above when you hit the edges of screens and menus is BARELY visible when it's baby blue.
Encryption is seemingly all or nothing. If you want to simply copy photos you've taken to your desktop for backing up... well, I don't know how you'd handle this yet. Once you encrypt, everything to move to and save to one ot he encrypted locations is locked up tight.
The trick on the kickstand is to push down on the hinge end with the grooves cut in it with your thumb nail...this pops out the other end to grab with your index finger
(motorola photon rule seem to be "grooves cut in it" = "push here")
Related
OK, I had fully decided to sit this one out. All week, I've been reading and watching reviews. Though I had a preorder at Radio Shack, I read the reports on launch day and decided to stay home and call in to cancel. I was one of the nay-sayers.
But yesterday, I was shopping next to the Sprint Store, and decided to go in to see it... and I was hooked. Went to Radio Shack, and the girl there saved me the last Evo 3D anyway, knowing I'd come in after all. How funny.
My reaction after having it for awhile? I truly love my OG Evo, but this device is much better in very noticeable ways:
1. The first thing I noticed is a small thing, but the haptic feedback is DRAMATICALLY better. Tighter and more subtle, just as it should be. Haven't heard this in any of the reviews, but I really like it. Makes the whole phone feel better for me, because I'm a fan of the feedback, especially with the keyboard.
2. This think is insanely fast and smooth. No lag, and it feels almost like it can read my mind going somewhere before I think about it.
3. Not a Sense fan, but I like the effects and speed of this. I could see myself staying with Sense if devs are able to improve on it. See gripes below on what I don't like.
4. Camera isn't as bad as I expected. It may even be significantly improved. The app definitely is. Low light stills are better. Video is improved but still awful, and the sound is not improved at all.
5. The 3D? I actually love it. It's fun... really a nice feature. But I can see that you have to have good eyesight and some patience for it. My wife took one look and wanted nothing more of it. Reminds me of the old Viewmaster images, and I was a big fan. Brings back a bit of my childhood. Good app idea is for Viewmaster to revive all its old collections and make them available for download. How cool would that be? Sign me up!
6. As a phone, I love that the speaker is loud enough, and call quality doesn't sound any worse. Not sure it's improved, though.
OK, now for some gripes:
1. Though I generally like the size and weight, the new screen actually feels much smaller. It's narrower, of course, which in combination with the higher resolution makes everything smaller in portrait view. I'm not sure the screen is brighter and better than the Evo as some have said... seems somewhat duller by comparison.
2. My biggest gripe is that the capacitive buttons are TOO FREAKING BRIGHT, and there doesn't seem to be a way to fix that. And they never shut off. Devs need to fix this or give us ways to adjust to taste.
3. The 3D in movies is much harder to see and notice. The movies have tended to make 3D effect more subtle, and therefore it's difficult to see dramatic effect on this smaller screen. That's both good and bad, I guess. Don't imagine I'll be investing in 3D movies on this, but who knows?
4. Small things... a little harder to hold (or maybe I'm not used to it yet), the speaker isn't as good or as loud and there seems to be a bit of vibration.
5. Sense 3.0, though fun and slick, feels confining and incomplete to me. I miss some of the customization I had in CM7, but would love to keep the lockscreen and weather effects. Somebody explain to me the function of that stupid carousel. First time, "whee!" but after just dumb. This phone desperately needs root and the devs to add things that are missing (customizable buttons on the notification bar, GB wink-out effects, custom rosie, etc.).
In conclusion, I expected to hate it, or not like it enough to try it. That was dead wrong. Is it enough for me to keep it? Well, some key improvements are missing for me, like a significantly improved camera (I'm a photographer, and very picky about this). Sure, I have better cameras, but this one is with me all the time. I'd like to remove the SD card without removing the battery.
I'm loving the 3D, but can see how some non-nerds would lose patience with it quickly. I'm guessing that we'll see a service for ordering 3D prints in the future and other sample 3D photos (c'mon, Viewmaster!), and that will be fun.
Bottom line is that it HAS to get root in the next 30 days, or it goes back for sure. I've seen too many improvements on the Evo with custom ROMs, and I've made my phone new again so many times over. Gotta have that. And just think what the devs could do with this phone.
Nice review! Interesting perspective.
Yeah... No clue about the carousel.. it spins to fast to be useful... I love mine too!
The buttons definitely are to bright... They need to dim with the screen.
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA Premium App
I was leary of a launch day buy but I'm really glad I got it.
I really didn't care about 3d but I must admit I'm liking it.
Have to have root though.
Forgot to add.. I hate the app drawer, I want to fling it.
The charge port needs to be on right side.
The bright capacitive buttons where starting to get on my nerves as well. You can turn them off with the "screen filter" app from the market. The its primary feature is to dim the screen, but you can keep the screen at 100% and still disable the buttons' backlight.
Speaking of lights...why the hell would HTC take away my flashlight and give me a mirror? I used that HTC Flashlight all the time! Sure as heck don't need to be looking at my ugly self all the time, lol. I know I can download one, but just saying.
davec1234 said:
The charge port needs to be on right side.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You know, I think I like the port where it is. Nice place for my thumb to go. The narrower phone is making holding and thumb typing much more difficult in portrait mode... That's another gripe for me.
Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk
-Apollo- said:
Speaking of lights...why the hell would HTC take away my flashlight and give me a mirror? I used that HTC Flashlight all the time! Sure as heck don't need to be looking at my ugly self all the time, lol. I know I can download one, but just saying.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And I look way uglier on that mirror. Development will add that back when we get root. Until then, the Switchpro widget works for me.
Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk
Cubfan99 said:
Video is improved but still awful, and the sound is not improved at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm still on the fence, but I do shoot video with my phone enough (hey, it's always with me) to have this turn me off. I've dealt with the Evo 4G's terrible (and I mean, TERRIBLE!) audio on videos because it's overall a great phone, but I was hoping the next generation would have fixed the problem. Poop.
First thing I noticed was the haptic feedback as well. I told the BB employee that it felt like the Droid X and he said that a few other people had told him that, too.
I didn't notice how bright the capacitive buttons were, so I guess it doesn't bother me.
I hate the app drawer as well! I don't like the "pages." I feel that pages could've been implemented better (um, horizontally maybe?)
As much as I thought I'd be keeping 3d off permanently I've actually had a lot of fun messing around with it.
One other small thing that bugs me is how the clock widget always seems to have to catch up when you go back to the home page from something else. It's frozen on the time it was when you were looking at it last and quickly flips to update. It's minor, and won't matter too much because I plan on not using the sense clock widget anyway.
Cubfan99 said:
And I look way uglier on that mirror. Development will add that back when we get root. Until then, the Switchpro widget works for me.
Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL, no doubt! Thanks man, I'll give it a shot.
Flashlight is not lost guys, a member has already posted the apk in the themes and apps section... But here is one that I have... Install like any apk,
http://db.tt/btJ1IwC
Bussin Caps from my 3D shooter
The carousel would make more sense if it took you to the home screen every time you flicked it. You can use that instead of the home button.
Why I would use the carousel to bring me back to the same page I am on makes no sense to me.....
Thanks for the review OP, i think you were head-on with your points.
I do think tho, the narrowness of this device allows me to put a case on it and actually prefer its larger width, i loved that in the OG Evo.
As for the Carousel, kinda lame that once you flick it and it starts spinning, you can't put your finger on it and choose which screen to go to, it always recovers to the screen you flicked from.
Cubfan99 said:
You know, I think I like the port where it is. Nice place for my thumb to go. The narrower phone is making holding and thumb typing much more difficult in portrait mode... That's another gripe for me.
Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm right handed, talking while charging blows plus it stresses the port.
Just extract the flashlight apk from a sense rom in the EVO 4g dev section, it works fine on our phones.
Also I kinda like the narrower size, it fits better in my hand and pocket. I was ready for a new phone and I don't regret picking this one up at all.
phatmanxxl said:
Just extract the flashlight apk from a sense rom in the EVO 4g dev section, it works fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What a good idea. I'll try that.
Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk
ktrotter11 said:
Flashlight is not lost guys, a member has already posted the apk in the themes and apps section... But here is one that I have... Install like any apk,
http://db.tt/btJ1IwC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dang... that's even easier. Thanks!!
mine goes back today.
i am tired of waiting for HTC and Sprint to release a phone that has been properly tested and functional.
ringers and notifications too low even at full volume
camera switch on my phone jiggle (cheap feeling)
occasional screen freeze
lower than desired photo quality
and of course...
locked bootloader
i have no intention of waiting for HTC to get off their asses. i know all the top devs are working hard and its appreciated, but my money will be spent on a different device
^
I think i want to switch over to the 3d but I dont know if it would be worth it to me. Do you guys use the 3d that often? Do you miss the Kickstand from your old Evo4g?
shalkith said:
I think i want to switch over to the 3d but I dont know if it would be worth it to me. Do you guys use the 3d that often? Do you miss the Kickstand from your old Evo4g?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While I have had almost no problems from the OS and underlying hardware there is a lot of software that is not the OS that I have had tons of problems with...like the camera. Also the 3G reception completely and totally blows comparatively. Especially if you are in a fringe area...or even close, apparently.
The 3D was a feature that I ridiculed from the first mention of it months ago...but it ends up that I miss that feature the most.
Miss it? Yeah, that radio sucked so bad that I just couldn't justify keeping that phone. Miss a couple business calls in a workday and suddenly everything else is far less easy to rationalize.
No business calls to worry about? That might have changed everything for me.
Here's to hoping the bootloader gets unlocked and the radio gets an update to fix this. Though from my experience the radio will get tons of updates, none of which have any apparent affect on signal strength.
daneurysm said:
While I have had almost no problems from the OS and underlying hardware there is a lot of software that is not the OS that I have had tons of problems with...like the camera. Also the 3G reception completely and totally blows comparatively. Especially if you are in a fringe area...or even close, apparently.
The 3D was a feature that I ridiculed from the first mention of it months ago...but it ends up that I miss that feature the most.
Miss it? Yeah, that radio sucked so bad that I just couldn't justify keeping that phone. Miss a couple business calls in a workday and suddenly everything else is far less easy to rationalize.
No business calls to worry about? That might have changed everything for me.
Here's to hoping the bootloader gets unlocked and the radio gets an update to fix this. Though from my experience the radio will get tons of updates, none of which have any apparent affect on signal strength.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be fair all of the radios aren't bad. I've had no problems with mine. As a matter of fact i sold my original EVO to my roommate and we were sitting in his room. He asked me if i could get reception cause his kept going in and out. I had full bars
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA App
jadoe05 said:
To be fair all of the radios aren't bad. I've had no problems with mine. As a matter of fact i sold my original EVO to my roommate and we were sitting in his room. He asked me if i could get reception cause his kept going in and out. I had full bars
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I could have swapped through a few phones... but I like the chicks that run that radio shack and wanna stay on their cool side...I even got my gift card back in cash. they made sure my upgrade got reversed and everything....and they have limited stock of everything and opening up every box and breaking open the seal on every phone (which is impossible to put back together) would probably have complicated their lives.
...and I also suspect it is a regional thing based on roaming agreements and protocols... My phone was perfect and I had been in all-bars situations, and most of the time even though the meter was way low I had no problems--most of the time. I can't risk missing work calls, which never ever ever happened with my 4G....and I can't even imagine an E4G getting no signal and my E3D getting full bars even being possible.
I do hope this all gets sorted out cuz I'm wary about getting a Samsung anything. I'm a huge fan of HTC hardware...and I have no reservations about marching back into that same Radioshack and buying the same exact phone over again.
As you may know the Evo 3D may have an updated PRL than that of the original Evo so it is very possible to have much improved connection to the cell towers with the newer model. Any PRL changes?
i loved my OG evo, which my wife now has. rooted and running MikG 2.2.
i am learning to love the E3D. my take on the upgrade:
1. Battery: E3D blows the rooted OG out of the water. surfing the internet for 20min on my OG evo would drop 20% battery easy (yeah, I could sleep for hours without losing 1%, but use the thing and it was like a fat chick eating twinkies). The E3D stock I can surf the web, play games, 30min goes by and I've lose a couple to a few percent. outstanding. used to keep plugged in when I woke up in the morning checking my email and websites in bed, now I just unplug the dam thing, and don't even bother plugging it back in when I go to shower. Also, no 10% drop off the charger when it's been on too long. looks like the E3D goes up and down between 95% and 100% while on the charger, actually showing you the actual percent (unlike the OG evo, which showed 100% all the time when it could be anywhere between 88 and 100% in reality). I no longer think about wasting battery or when I can charge, it's quite freeing.
2. Speed: E3D is much faster, yes; some say instantaneous, but I don't think it is that fast. you'll definitely notice it using it. even the internet seems faster loading web pages and downloading apps from the market (I know, it's just processing stuff faster, it's the same internet lolz).
3. Sense 3.0: I don't note a huge advantage over the OG evo running MikG with sense 2.1 and elements of sense 3.0, to be honest. definitely flipping screens is more responsive, but speed aside, I was happy with sense on MikG.
4. screen resolution: much prettier at qHD. I have one of the screens that whites show up a little cream, and can especially notice it beside my OG evo, but oh well.
5. camera button: a waste. I was hoping that it would change the picture taking experience, but the half press to focus takes FOREVER. much faster to touch the screen to focus (I turn autofocus off, and just touch the screen for my focal point). pressing hardware button fully is to capture takes exactly the same amount of time to capture as pressing the screen button, but causes a touch of shake. I end up just being happier touching the screen than using the button. hoping there is a camera update (read: dev solution) that can give faster focus with a half press of the hardware camera button, otherwise I'll just be pimping it out using a third party app to open messaging or something (better yet, maybe I'll use it to open the camera).
6. 3D: i agree with daneurysm, I ridiculed 3D as well before release, but it actually turns out to be pretty cool. love taking 3D pics. it will be the rage of the future, guaranteed, and we have it first.
7. radios: I have had none of the radio issues (wifi signal drop, poor signal reception). I have had my 3G not want to turn off or on, but toggling airplane mode fixes it for me usually. I don't have wimax in my area so can't speak to that. my 3G was initially very slow, but ran the proxy hacks and it seems better; I don't use 3G enough to really say much more (almost always covered by wifi).
8. voice call quality: when I first got the E3D, first thing I did was make a phone call to my wife who I had just been talking to from the exact same spot on my OG evo. she called it a night and day difference, with the E3D sounding very muffled. I found myself raising my voice just so she could make out what I was saying. I have since run the EVRC-B hack, I think my voice call quality is probably comparable to the OG Evo now. A little disappointing considering it is supposed to have a noise cancelling mic, but what can you do.
9. Camera: 3D pics aside, just roughly, I think pics are at least as good as my OG evo in good lighting. the OG evo took great pics in great light, it was mid and low light where it sucked. the E3D, I feel, takes much better 2D pics in low light. so a win for the E3D in my book on all fronts, plus you have 3D pics. I don't care about 1080p video recording, ::shrug::. the E3D vs OG evo camera argument will rage on, just my 0.02.
other small things: my phone is HW 002, and has great build quality. no light leak, no dead/stuck pixels, no light holes at the bottom. the build quality is definitely better than my OG evo. the power button is much easier to press (find myself struggling to turn on my OG evo now, lol), and I have not had problems turning it on inadvertenly as some have. I do press the camera button accidentally all the time, but it does nothing if the camera app is not open. occasionally if I open the camera app with the 2D/3D selector already in the 3D position, it will actually be in 2D mode, but a quick resetting the switch and it is good to go. it sits nicer in the hand in one-handed portrait mode, but the OG Evo sat better in two handed portrait (for sure) and landscape (closer to a draw here). definitely easier typing in landscape in with the OG Evo due to the difference in screen dimensions, but i'll get used to it; I type mostly two-handed portrait anyways, which I am also still getting used to (I was much faster on the OG Evo, but it's just a matter of getting used to the new narrower screen width in portrait). I never really used the kickstand on my OG Evo, so I don't miss it. External speaker was definitely louder on the rooted OG Evo, but there were all sorts of volume hacks on most ROMs; probably the stock speaker volume was better on the OG. Has not been an issue for me, but I notice myself having to make sure the speaker is facing me/up when using speakerphone with volume all the way up.
My personal take home after a week of use: outstanding battery, better camera, faster processor; it's a win. You'll be pleasantly surprised by the 3D pics/vids, you'll wonder why they put the camera button on there, and it'll take a little to get used to typing fast again.
Ultimately, you won't regret upgrading from the OG EVO.
tatnai thank you very much for taking the time to write out that very informative post. I found it very useful myself so thank you.
I now am waiting for this handset to be lauched in the UK. The date was first rumoured to be the 11th of July, now rumoured to be the 6th August. I am waiting very impatiently for this but I know the wait will be worth it.
Great review. Sums it up for me exactly, except for the kickstand. I used it quite a bit.
Evo3D
I'd like to share my thoughts on moving to the Titan from my Focus over this past weekend.
My I was one (as most here probably) that added a 32GB microSD card to my Focus. It has performed flawlessly over the last year that I have owned it with very few exceptions.
The main reasons I switched:
(1) Size matters - The 4.7" screen
(2) The build quality (so far) - The unibody aluminum build feels great in the hand
(3) The upgraded spec's (less the reduction of memory)
I should say that I do have a peeve on why Windows Phones (or any phone) don't have a microSD slot in today's world. In a world where your phone is going to be your "one in all" device, a memory card slot should be a no brainer.
Display:I was a little weary about moving from the SAMOLED screen to the S-LCD screen. Let me give you peace of mind on this one. This screen is absolutely beautiful. It doesn't have the deep blacks like the Focus but the other colors pop and seem more realistic. Also, my impression is that the display is more crisp than the SAMOLED.
Memory:As noted above, the lack of a microSD slot is really a shame for this phone. I'm going to live with it until someone cracks this baby open to confirm that it doesn't have a slot under the cover somewhere. But, alas, I heard rumors of this being a SS memory chip instead. On the bright side, this does make it run faster if it is a memory chip.
Build
The body on this is made of solid aluminum. The feel when it is in your hand is one that makes you know it was built with care. I know they stated in press releases that they are going to minimize this type of build in the future, I just hope they just remember to have enough real substance there to "feel" like quality and not plastic.
One note on the body. When removing the back cover to access the battery and sim card slot the ENTIRE aluminum case around the screen and everything comes off, too. So, you end up with two pieces. One that includes the screen and components, the other the aluminum casing. It was odd to remove it the first time.
There are more reasons like...
- notification LED's (i missed this from my Tilt2)
- battery life (woohoo! almost all day on a charge now)
- noise cancelling mic's
- faux 4G (you can tell the speed difference) [waiting to see about this throttling bit]
Things I don't like...
- Lack of accessories (come on Otterbox)
- With the larger screen, I wish I could update the number of columns from 2 to either 3 or 4. This phone has the space to do it and it would be a great update to have. (I know, this is OS and not phone but the screen size makes it an option now)
- The headset plug doesn't fit as far into the phone jack and so it looks like it's not plugged all the way in when it actually is. (maybe this is a preference instead that it go in until the jacket hits the phone)
One last thing about the size of the phone. The phone, surprisingly, is not that much bigger that the Focus. I was thinking going from 4.0 to 4.7 that it would be huge to hold in the hand but it really is a non-issue in general.
Anyway, I'm still transfering my goodies and reinstalling apps. Will post if anyon has any questions...
Cyber
My progression:
Old Junk -> Tilt -> Tilt 2 -> Captivate -> Focus -> Titan
cyberstrategist said:
I'd like to share my thoughts on moving to the Titan from my Focus over this past weekend.
My I was one (as most here probably) that added a 32GB microSD card to my Focus. It has performed flawlessly over the last year that I have owned it with very few exceptions.
The main reasons I switch:
(1) Size matters - The 4.7" screen
(2) The build quality (so far) - The unibody aluminum build feels great in the hand
(3) The upgraded spec's (less the reduction of memory)
I should say that I do have a peeve on why Windows Phones (or any phone) don't have a microSD slot in today's world. In a world where your phone is going to be your "one in all" device, a memory card slot should be a no brainer.
Display:I was a little weary about moving from the SAMOLED screen to the S-LCD screen. Let me give you peace of mind on this one. This screen is absolutely beautiful. It doesn't have the deep blacks like the Focus but the other colors pop and seem more realistic. Also, my impression is that the display is more crisp than the SAMOLED.
Memory:As noted above, the lack of a microSD slot is really a shame for this phone. I'm going to live with it until someone cracks this baby open to confirm that it doesn't have a slot under the cover somewhere. But, alas, I heard rumors of this being a SS memory chip instead. On the bright side, this does make it run faster if it is a memory chip.
Build
The body on this is made of solid aluminum. The feel when it is in your hand is one that makes you know it was built with care. I know they stated in press releases that they are going to minimize this type of build in the future, I just hope they just remember to have enough real substance there to "feel" like quality and not plastic.
One note on the body. When removing the back cover to access the battery and sim card slot the ENTIRE aluminum case around the screen and everything comes off, too. So, you end up with two pieces. One that includes the screen and components, the other the aluminum casing. It was odd to remove it the first time.
There are more reasons like...
- notification LED's (i missed this from my Tilt2)
- battery life (woohoo! almost all day on a charge now)
- noice cancelling mic's
- faux 4G (you can tell the speed difference) [waiting to see about this throttling bit]
Things I don't like...
- Lack of accessories (come on Otterbox)
- With the larger screen, I wish I could update the number of columns from 2 to either 3 or 4. This phone has the space to do it and it would be a great update to have. (I know, this is OS and not phone but the screen size makes it an option now)
- The headset jack doesn't fit as far into the phone and so it looks like it's not plugged all the way in when it actually is. (maybe this is a preference instead that it go in until the jacket hits the phone)
One last thing about the size of the phone. The phone, surprisingly, is not that much bigger that the Focus. I was thinking going from 4.0 to 4.7 that it would be huge to hold in the hand but it really is a non-issue in general.
Anyway, I'm still transfering my goodies and reinstalling apps. Will post if anyon has any questions...
Cyber
My progression:
Old Junk -> Tilt -> Tilt 2 -> Captivate -> Focus -> Titan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Congrats on your new phone
Have you noticed any ghosting on the screen or any lag in the OS/games ?
I have not noticed any ghosting or lag at this point. I've had it only a couple days now and will add some more apps tonight to test it some more. So far, though, I have been pleased with the phone.
Storage
You said you had a 32GB card in your Focus. What are you doing about your music/videos. I have a bunch of music that isn't in Zune Pass. Tried the Sky Drive option, but it isn't that great.
bennyj71 said:
You said you had a 32GB card in your Focus. What are you doing about your music/videos. I have a bunch of music that isn't in Zune Pass. Tried the Sky Drive option, but it isn't that great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't yet decided on this. I'm not one to put my personal items in the cloud knowing it's not all that secure just yet (if it ever will be). So I'm manually manipulating what's on the phone vs not. It's tedious at times but until I know my data is secured enough [military encryption maybe?] then I may start doing it...
I switched too. I am missing my dark blue I used on my Focus. Can't unlock yet since Chevron has no tokens right now. If I can get screen capture, my color blue and unlock the internet sharing without that annoying AT&T notice I will be a happy camper.
MaziarAmiri said:
Congrats on your new phone
Have you noticed any ghosting on the screen or any lag in the OS/games ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I notice ghosting.
OP: Sounds like we have similar experiences making the same switch from Focus > Titan!
drokkon said:
I notice ghosting.
OP: Sounds like we have similar experiences making the same switch from Focus > Titan!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have a specific ghosting scenario that makes it stand out most? I can tet it on my Titan and see what I come up with...
cyberstrategist said:
Do you have a specific ghosting scenario that makes it stand out most? I can tet it on my Titan and see what I come up with...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's actually quite simple: the full program list on a black theme should do it. When you scroll, the words quite clearly "stretch" or blur slightly, and they blur in the opposite direction (eg - downward blur when the font is moving up), which leads me to agree with those who call it "ghosting." It's subtle enough that someone could easily convince me that this is an "effect" and intended by the UI.
That said, I don't notice it one bit. I also don't notice any pixellation on the large screen and prefer the natural (eg - less saturated) colors of the screen as compared to the Focus.
All in all, the screen is beautiful and I have zero complaints.
drokkon said:
It's actually quite simple: the full program list on a black theme should do it. When you scroll, the words quite clearly "stretch" or blur slightly, and they blur in the opposite direction (eg - downward blur when the font is moving up), which leads me to agree with those who call it "ghosting." It's subtle enough that someone could easily convince me that this is an "effect" and intended by the UI.
That said, I don't notice it one bit. I also don't notice any pixellation on the large screen and prefer the natural (eg - less saturated) colors of the screen as compared to the Focus.
All in all, the screen is beautiful and I have zero complaints.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will +1 that!
I also upgraded from a Focus to a Titan.
I like everything about the phone (finally got LED notifications again, large screen, beautiful build, slim design, light weight, GREAT call quality, better reception so far, no more fingerprint smudges all over the back, love the sound-enhancer, and over-all faster).
The only thing that really gets me so far is the lack of an Super AMOLED screen. Putting it next to my Focus, the difference is so obvious. If this phone had a Super AMOLED it would be perfect...
hg23 said:
I also upgraded from a Focus to a Titan.
I like everything about the phone (finally got LED notifications again, large screen, beautiful build, slim design, light weight, GREAT call quality, better reception so far, no more fingerprint smudges all over the back, love the sound-enhancer, and over-all faster).
The only thing that really gets me so far is the lack of an Super AMOLED screen. Putting it next to my Focus, the difference is so obvious. If this phone had a Super AMOLED it would be perfect...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DO you get led notifcations for sms? Thats what im missing from my titan
meandu229 said:
DO you get led notifcations for sms? Thats what im missing from my titan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll post about it once I get a text, still haven't gotten one yet
meandu229 said:
DO you get led notifcations for sms? Thats what im missing from my titan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hg23 said:
I'll post about it once I get a text, still haven't gotten one yet
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LED notification for SMS and emails - isn't built in for WP7 yet. There are no apps either that can do it.
However, this is a requested and highly voted feature for next update. I think you guys should vote for it too!
Got my Titan yesterday. Wow. I haven't thought about touching my Focus since I powered up the Titan. I synced my apps and music and now I have 600megs free. :[ I'm really gonna have to trim some fat as that is just music and apps. Other than that the phone is awesome.
On a side note, there is a big difference in performance using older SIM cards. I have two Titans. I have a two month old SIM in mine. My nephew has a 1 year old SIM. His phone keep losing signal, and was unable to connect websites on multiple tries. I thought it was his phone, so I swap my SIM and everything was blazing. I'm getting another as the newest ones are slightly slimmer than mine.
Hope this helps you guys out.
Sent from my PI39100 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
I can confirm the LED appears to only indicate power charging. Interesting about the SIM card. I'll see if my old one makes a difference.
Sent from my TITAN
I also upgraded from a focus to a titan. But on my titan the camera button stopped working after <24 hours of use and I have to send it in to HTC for repairs. But even with the short amount of usage time (I used the phone almost exclusively as the power in my area had been out for four days) the build quality and speed were phenomenal. I was also surprised at how well the titan fit into various pockets and how the nice the screen was.
hg23 said:
I can confirm the LED appears to only indicate power charging. Interesting about the SIM card. I'll see if my old one makes a difference.
Sent from my TITAN
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LED also blinks on missed calls.
So I know there is a never ending stream of Nexus vs Rezound threads; so I apologize if this is redundant but for those of you considering switching or moving up to a 4g phone I thought maybe my experience would be of some interest.
I have had an HTC Incredible since launch. Love it especially after rooted and CM7 was added.
And frankly I would have kept it but I was just jealous of all the 4G action and thought the Nexus was going to be so great. Waited week after week, rumor to rumor. and picked it up the morning of Launch.
Almost immediately I was disappointed. Eventually I returned it (reasons below) and but I still wanted 4G and liked the Rezound but it was so thick (at least thats what I read) so I figured I would try the Rezound expecting that I wouldnt like it and I'd go back to the Dinc.
Well I was wrong - I really like the Rezound - it isnt too thick, in fact the GN is too thin (it is really awkward to hold) and it isnt too heavy. It feels frankly amazing in the hand. The way I would sum up my experience (so far) with the Rezound is that it is a super-sized 4G Dinc. And that is no way a knock - I loved the Dinc, think Gingerbread (I use Go Launcher) is terrific and really love the phone. Obviously the camera and sound is far better, and it is much more responsive But on the negative it is locked (so far), I havent figured out yet how to remove bloatware and most odd, alot of the good games I bought are not available for Rezound. so in short great phone with a few little nits
Here is why I got rid of Nexus:
1. UI is frankly terrible. I dont know who all these reviewers are. One of the things that I loved about Android (vs iOS) is Buttons. And ICs tries to eliminate this feature. It isnt so much the soft buttons (although they arent necessary) but it is the loss of the Menu/Options button and the Search button.
Its not like they could eliminate the options button (people complain that it isnt standard enough across apps, but I never found that anyway) instead it is more or less the same button, just placed in different spots all over the UI depending on the app - so f'ing annoying.
And they got rid of the search button - why - it is a great resource and replaced it with a button to show recently running apps. Why - was holding down the home button too complicated??? And the honeycomb screenshots are god awful.
Widgets in the tray - Why? What is more intuitive than pressing the screen and holding it where you want to add something. But that isnt it. You can only slide L/R in tray to go through apps and widgets. Well when you have to go through alot of apps or widgets this requires a million swipes. On every other android version you could just scroll real fast down and up and then stop in the vicinity of the app you wanted. Alas no scrolling option - asinine. and even if you only have a few apps, the widget tray will always have a ton of screens because it gives you a useless preview of each widget and therefore only can fit a few per screen. God help your thumb when you have a widget that begins with the letter Z.
In sum ICS is a disaster IMHO and I predict that when the Kool-aid wears off, reviewers will begin to admit this. (Just like what happened with Honeycomb btw)
2. the phone feels awful - it is too wide, too thin and too slippery. I like to go sans case - except for a screen protector, and there is zero doubt in my mind that the way the phone is, it will be dropped. It is thin in all the wrong places (overall in real life not really that much thinner than the Rezound but where you hold it it just doesnt fit my hand right. One handed typing is impossible and trying it will undoubtedly result in a dropped phone. I think this is a function of the width. Rezound is just the opposite - fits perfectly. case of thickness helps (...thats what she said)
3. battery life is horrific - 5 hours! Look I am an Android guy, I know Battery life is always an issue (seems like Ios 5.0 is joining us) and I am more than willing in fact happy to keep an extra battery in my wallet. But 5 hours really - that is insane. the biggest issue is that there is no way currently to toggle 4g off. On Wifi the thing has reasonable battery life (about 12 hours) but I am used to (and Rezound seems to be same as incredible) 24hrs on Wifi only. And at least on Rezound you can do a rough hack to make it run 3G only - which gets you back to reasonable battery) On the GN - nothing; so unless you are in a wifi area alot - you are looking at unacceptable battery life. Why dont the carriers put a clean toggle on the damn phones (even the rezound isnt a clean switch)
4. Apps dont run. Now this isnt necessarily the phones "fault" but some of my most used apps dont run right. Most distressing is that I listen to alot of podcasts and use Doggcatcher with Presto (to speed them up) - no go - with the screen off it cracks and pops and then eventually it crashes the entire phone. This isnt the only app with issues (although the only one I had that kills the phone) Dolphin didnt run (was updated today), WSJ app didnt run right, etc, etc.
5. No USB Mount - sorry but quick and easy mount is an android feature. MTP is a poor substitute (and took me like 1hr to even get working on my PC)
6. Then there are a few other annoying things I noted.
-wifi reception is very weak (compared to other phones and devices)
-Headphone jack on bottom? USB on bottom. Both placements are bad for me.
-The back plate is cheaply made but it doesnt feel that way - the problem is that when you take it off, getting it back on makes you feel like you will break it - and likely you will (HTC system isnt much better - but it is better)
-Cant shut off the camera shutter sound
-NFC is useless (Verizons fault to be sure but still)
-taskbar notifications are so small you cant see them (I'm not old)
Anyway there maybe a few other things but I think I hit all the points.
To sum it up. I love Android and it seems that (at least with the GN) most of the Android pluses have been killed or mangled with ICS and then put into ill suited hardware. So I am going back to the Android I love in a nice solid package - Rezound.
appreciate your take on the Nexus.
As far as a 3g/4g switch, I think its more complicated than that. There are more than one choice for 3g and 4g, especially with at&t getting lte now. Canada also has at&t. It would have to be device specific for a switch to work.
Now, it would be nice for the carriers to have this as their add on though.
I pretty much agree with you review. I too came from an AMOLED Incredible.
The Nexus feels ok without a case, but far to slippery. I bought the phone with an Incipio case, and that makes the phone feel too big. I like that I can use my Incredible with one hand. Have you compared the screens side by side? I actually like the Incredible's screen more. I find that on the Nexus, even slightly tilting it, a blueish tint shows. Reading text on what should be a completely white background isn't great either.
As far as apps from the market, I've had one that's a little buggy with the task switcher, and one that took a few days to work with ICS. ICS is still new, and I'm sure it'll be a little before it gets better, but I prefer CM7 over plain ICS.
The MTP thing sucks too. This is because we don't have a real sdcard. I tried to copy mp3s to a certain folder, and they ended up in an other folder automatically. So I have to manually move them from the phone itself after.
I don't expect awesome battery life from the Nexus, or the Rezound, but I get 2 full days out of my Incredible on the stock battery.
Not only do I find reception weak compared to my Inc, but in an area with good service, 3G is about half of what my Inc could do. Only plus is wifi file tranfer seems faster. I don't have 4G coverage yet.
I've played a little more with the Rezound, and even with a case on it, it doesn't feel that much bigger than an Incredible 2.
So I might trade for a Rezound, just have to get used to SLCD.
You're making some great points about ICS here. It scares me because these changes seem pretty broad and potentially hard to fix. I guess we will have to see what CyanogenMod eventually does with it.
It seems like the soft buttons were one of your primary concerns with ICS. I wonder... because the rezound still has its 'hard' placed soft buttons, if that will take care of the issue you are seeing with ICS and the gnex. I was also concerned that the complete removal of the buttons actually a hindered the usage, it looks like it does.
I think the rezound with ICS will , by design, solve some of the problems we are seeing with the gnex and ICS. I trust that HTC will do it right.
I agree with the 'too thin' feeling. I had the droid charge before the rezound, so i know the what you are talking about. I constantly dropped the charge for the very reasons you mentioned. too slippery, too thin, the backplate always felt like it was going to break.
I think its a samsung thing to make the phones feel like that..
did you get a chance to try out the GPS, that has been the one thing that has kept me away from samsung more than anything else. Their damn GPS is essentially useless. It takes forever to lock, IF it locks at all.. There were times when I was using the charge that I could not get to the place I was trying to get too becuase the GPS would simply not cooperate (and I had that GPS fix crap too.. worthless)
I owned 4 droid charges in the 5 months or so that I had it, and -ever- -single- -one- had the problems i mentioned.
A friend of mine has the samsung captivate and has the EXACT same complaints. My neighbor has a samsung windows phone (not sure what model), and she complains of much the same thing (hard to hold, cheap feeling) and her GPS is WORSE than mine!!!
Samsung makes great screens, and thats about it. The Gnex should have been made by HTC and then Id be all over it, but as it stands now.. I stay away from samsung devices, they just dont seem to have the same solid design as HTC or even (gasp) motorola
1. ICS is not a disaster, just because it is new does not make it bad. Yes missing a search button is bad but there are already mods out there to correct this. There are two separate sections of the app drawer and if you don't like it get a new launcher, simple as that. ICS will take some getting used to as it is integrating larger Tablets with our smaller phones, things aren't going to be as similar as they were between the older OS's.
2. I actually strongly disagree here, the phone feels amazing in my hand. It is .1 inches wider than the Rezound, I find it hard to believe that that makes a huge difference. Also, the back is textured so I don't get how you think it is too slippery. Just because it doesn't fit right in YOUR hand doesn't mean the device has a terrible design.
3. Not even going into this, you cannot tell a devices battery life in the first week of owning it, it takes time to get it even'd out. Also, the Nexus's battery is almost 10% bigger (In terms of MAh) while still keeping the slimmer profile.
4. Apps dont run. Now this isnt necessarily the phones "fault" but some of my most used apps dont run right. Most distressing is that I listen to alot of podcasts and use Doggcatcher with Presto (to speed them up) - no go - with the screen off it cracks and pops and then eventually it crashes the entire phone. This isnt the only app with issues (although the only one I had that kills the phone) Dolphin didnt run (was updated today), WSJ app didnt run right, etc, etc.
This is going to be the same thing with the Rezound when they update it to ICS. Get used to it until the Dev's start to update their apps. I understand the apps you use don't work on ICS, write the developer and tell them to get their ass in gear, as the Rezound will be getting ICS soon too.
5. No USB Mount - sorry but quick and easy mount is an android feature. MTP is a poor substitute (and took me like 1hr to even get working on my PC)
Can use my phone/USB card at the same time while copying stuff over. I like it. Also, it's plug and play so I don't get how it took you an hour to get it to work.
6:
6.A.Wifi is better than on my old HTC Device (Thunderbolt) but cannot compare to Rezound so you may be right.
6.B.Again another user preference, I prefer them there as it makes it easier to use the device while charging
6.C. Completely agree here, the Verizon rep almost broke my back plate off while putting it on, couldn't even watch while this was going on. Much better on HTC devices
6.D. Sure mods will take care of this
6.E. Just because YOU do not have a need for it doesn't mean other people don't. Used it probably 5 times in the 4 days of owning the device.
6.F. Fine for me, maybe you are?
Some phones just aren't for some people, glad you like your Rezound as it sounds like I am as happy as you but with my Nexus.
Just read someone talking about the useless GPS on the Nexus. Takes me at most 20 seconds to lock INSIDE. Couldn't even find satellites on my HTC phone while inside. Used it today for actual driving and it got me where I needed to go on a 45 minute drive through Pittsburgh.
I tried the GPS once. I let it follow my random driving. It seemed to do ok. I wouldn't say the on screen buttons hinder operation, but they can be inconsistent between apps as far as placement, or if they're hidden for full screen apps. The task/recent button should be configurable in some way. If I use a lot of apps, every single app I used is in that list, even after I closed it.
miketoasty said:
Just read someone talking about the useless GPS on the Nexus. Takes me at most 20 seconds to lock INSIDE. Couldn't even find satellites on my HTC phone while inside. Used it today for actual driving and it got me where I needed to go on a 45 minute drive through Pittsburgh.
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not Useless GPS on the gnex, Useless GPS on samsung devices in general.
i know not all people have the same experiences with things. But you can google for Samsung GPS problems and find more articles on it than you can read.
My buddies captivate.. we can drive for 30 min across town and his phone will search for GPS signal the entire time. If we stop, and dont move for a few min, it will eventually lock, but when we start moving again, it drops.
Hes had 3 replacement captivates and they all do the same thing. I had the same exact problem with my Samsung charge, and my neighbor has the same problem with her winmo samsung phone.
Maybe the fixed it in the Gnex, I don't know. I don't have a gnex, all I do know is that all the Samsung phones I have seen and used have this problem, and it is corroborated by others all over the net.
the gnex might be a totally revolutionary device that has none of the problems of any other phone in the Samsung line. It might be that some people just have different tolerances for things that do or dont work.
for example, a friend of mine has the droid bionic, I look at his screen and it looks fuzzy and grainy and just.. ugly. He things it looks great, and cant stand the look of the rezound screen.
Really, all you can do is go with the masses for overall opinion, and then look at something yourself to make a true determination of what you do or don't like. Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one, and nobody ever wipes good enough
Toasty mike, it's that mans opinion. Why's your tone attacking him? Relax, you like it and he didn't.
Sent from a Rezound, crappie camera included.
miketoasty said:
Just read someone talking about the useless GPS on the Nexus. Takes me at most 20 seconds to lock INSIDE. Couldn't even find satellites on my HTC phone while inside. Used it today for actual driving and it got me where I needed to go on a 45 minute drive through Pittsburgh.
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Click to collapse
20? takes me less than 5 to pickup my signal INSIDE on my rezound.
blestsol said:
Toasty mike, it's that mans opinion. Why's your tone attacking him? Relax, you like it and he didn't.
Sent from a Rezound, crappie camera included.
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If it was hostile I apologize, as I stated at the bottom (Sort of) it is his opinion and I am stating mine. Sorry to the OP, as always, different people have different opinions.
blestsol said:
Sent from a Rezound, crappie camera included.
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you don't like the camera??
~John
jayochs said:
20? takes me less than 5 to pickup my signal INSIDE on my rezound.
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Vid or it didn't happen. Lol, jk. Somewhat stupid remark by me as everyone's "Inside" can be drastically different.
miketoasty said:
Vid or it didn't happen. Lol, jk. Somewhat stupid remark by me as everyone's "Inside" can be drastically different.
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videos are actaully a good idea
I might do that lol. im bored as hell on xmass break
jayochs said:
20? takes me less than 5 to pickup my signal INSIDE on my rezound.
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yeah, I usually have a lock before the map app finishes opening...
jmorton10 said:
you don't like the camera??
~John
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Nah, spoiled by my epic 4g touch.
OK i tested signal and GPS on my Rezound vs the G - Nexus... Here are the conditions and results.
First the GPS lock...
Rezound smoked the gNex, Although I did not measure the time I woudl say the Rezound caught GPS about 15 seconds faster. Not a whole lot. And if your trip is hindering on 15 seconds then you might as well call yourself late... But the Rezound WAS faster....
Next Speedtest.net 4G transfer rate
Once again the Rezound smoked the gNex. Not sure why but the gNex was stuck at 3 to 4megabit download and 3 meg up.
The Rezound was hitting 10 to 12 down and 4 up.
All in all the connectivity on the Rezound is notably better. Just my two cents...
To make it fair I leveled the playing field before I tested:
To test the Nexus I stood right next to a 4G tower
To test the Rezound, I dug 150 deep 12 by 12 whole in my bak yard and filled it with cement... Rezound somewhere in the middle of all that cement... Connected using a remote control app...
Ok maybe thats not entirely the test circumstances...
I was actually in a VZW store and had them side by side, lol
My only other Samsung GPS experience was with the Omnia. With VZ Nav, lock was almost instant, with Google maps, lock was anywherw from 5 min to never.
blestsol said:
Nah, spoiled by my epic 4g touch.
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Hmm any sample pictures? Nvm I'll just google them derp.
Go here if you want to remove the bloat.
Super easy.
http://www.theandroidsoul.com/htc-rezound-bloatware-removal-tool-─-cleantool-1-1/
---------- Post added at 07:12 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:03 AM ----------
I like my rezound way better than my nexus.
But I think, from a software point, it's too early to compare the two. This is the first time for ICS. There are going to be a lot of things that need to be ironed out. Google is going to learn a lot from the release of the Nexus. So until these little idiosyncrasies get ironed out you're bound to have some hickups on the nexus.
And sitting here with these two phones I can fully say that the nexus is more a developer phone and the rezound is more a consumers phone.
The nexus is really great for those that want to get in deep with customizing, romming modding whatever you call it. Rezound, with its super high PPI screen and Beats (whether you think its a gimmick or not) was designed for people that like to do a lot of media on their phone and watch videos without that jersey shore orange skin tone that amoleds give you.
There are some things with the nexus I don't get. Like why it doesn't have an SDCard... and why they chose to go with the camera that they did. But whatever... it's not THAT bad of a phone (cheap feeling build aside).
Once there are some more updates to ICS I think the Nexus will come into its own. And those of us that own a Rezound should be thankful ICS is getting a good run on the Nexus before we get the OTA "early next year" (yeah right HTC...)
There are somethings that just blew my mind away, when it came to Dinc4G over the Dinc2 and I was very happy with the new phone. Then, there are some things that I find a bit annoying in comparison with the Dinc2 and I feel there were several design issues.
The performance is exceptional, with Stock Sense 4.1 being super smooth. I can't believe this is how Sense 4 is supposed to be like, and the Sense 4 ROMs on the Dinc2 haven't prepared me enough for the buttery smooth performance here... And apps run fast. Then there is the 4G, which is the first time I actually tasted it, and boy oh boy do I feel like I am in the 21st century. No more having to yell at the screen while 3G takes forever to load some web pages. Now, I may ACTUALLY use some of my data plan rather than running to wifi.
I like the fact that the phone is narrower and that the screen has the 16:9 aspect ratio. Further the camera is much nicer than the Dinc2 camera, both stills and video. However, it is kinda lame that the senor makes that aweful noise when focusing. Is that supposed to be cool? That makes such a pop in the recorded video. Luckily, I don't record video on my phone, like ever.
The negative aspects are:
1) Due to the way SD card is accessed, many apps, including Google Music, can't see my data from the SD card. I cannot figure out how to make Google Music app see music available on the External SD card.
2) The notification LED is not in the speaker grill but behind the glass. That is not a problem, however, the notification LED appears to be substantially dimmer than on the Dinc2. It is so subtle that many times in the day time, I can't see the amber light glowing. And even at night, the LED is way too subtle, unless you see it perpendicular to the screen.
3) The build quality is definitely subpar. The back is much like the Dinc2, but the front is Plastic, glossy one at that. I already noticed very minor blemishes on the finish of this glossy plastic. The metal on the Dinc2, on the other hand, took a lot of beating before showing signs of wear. And might I add, that piece of metal is immune to cracks or dents unless you want it to break.
4) HTC messed up with the hardware button idea. They should have either gone for 4 hardware buttons (an extra button for menu) or simply gone the software button route. They decided to go for the 3 hardware, 1 software button. Sheesh. Many apps including games render a pointless software button wasting precious space on the screen.
On the other hand, the headphone jack is better designed compared to the Dinc2. In the Dinc2, my earphones constantly unplugged in my pocket, but here the earphone jack fits in very tightly and securely. So, that is one definite plus.
Apart from a random reboot, and some software design flaws, there seems to be no problem with this phone thus far. It is so smooth and good that I don't care for any ROMs except for some tweaks to Sense 4 like toggles etc. This shows how far ahead Android jumped from GB to ICS and finally justifies the scenario of not caring for updates anymore. A phone that I can see myself using stock for a long time to come!
Rant mode off.
i dont have any problem with google music accessing the albums on my sd card. i did uninstall the updates when i first got it and redownloaded and it picked up all my files just fine. i think this is an issue with google music because a lot of people had issues on the inc 2 as well with it finding their music on the sd card.
i agree with the metal bezel on the inc being better quality. that thing was tough, this plastic already has dents in it and i havent dropped it at all. i also hate the weak notification led and that its barely able to be seen. i do not like the wake button compared to the inc 2. i have to hit it multiple times once in a while before it wakes or turns the screen off.
i had no problems with my headphone jack on the inc 2. it was always snug. the inc 4g is no different for me.
MJL99 said:
i dont have any problem with google music accessing the albums on my sd card. i did uninstall the updates when i first got it and redownloaded and it picked up all my files just fine. i think this is an issue with google music because a lot of people had issues on the inc 2 as well with it finding their music on the sd card.
i agree with the metal bezel on the inc being better quality. that thing was tough, this plastic already has dents in it and i havent dropped it at all. i also hate the weak notification led and that its barely able to be seen. i do not like the wake button compared to the inc 2. i have to hit it multiple times once in a while before it wakes or turns the screen off.
i had no problems with my headphone jack on the inc 2. it was always snug. the inc 4g is no different for me.
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Yes. The power button was another thing I wanted to mention. It seems to be very difficult and awkward to press... I should reinstall Google Music or something.