I currently own the Droid Charge and owned the DX before it. The DX was the best device I've ever owned and sold it for the Charge right before Verizon switched over to tiered data plans, so I could lock in the unlimited data.
Anyway, while I like the Charge I don't love it like I did the DX, for a number of reasons. The AMOLED screen is nice but is too fake, the colors are too vivid. I liked the more "natural" screen on the DX. The build quality of the Charge is a disappointment, feels too cheap, while both the X and X2 feel very solid and well built. The call quality on the Charge is ok... nowhere near as clear as the DX. The power button on the side is very strange, I'm used to it being on the top of the phone like the X and the Incredible before that. The usable RAM on the Charge is only 327 MB, and I've hit this mark several times, whereas I've only hit the maximum RAM allowance on the DX once and it was while testing the ApeX ROM.
Now, the only advantage the Charge has over the X2, yes I know, is LTE. But here's the thing... While 4G is fast and enjoyable, it is only so if you have 4G data signal. I live in Fairfax, VA, outside of DC and it's considered a 4G area, but my 4G connections aren't always that great. Heck, even if I set it to 3G only it still drops out to 1X or nothing at all, just voice only. The 4G-3G handoff is slow as well. I still think Verizon's LTE network is too new at this point and needs to be further enhanced, and better LTE radios installed before it will be very close to 100% reliable. Not only that, but if I'm at home using my phone I can just connect it to wifi, otherwise I have slight to moderate normal data use when I'm out and about, so the speed isn't a deciding factor for me.
I've heard good and bad things about the screen on the X2, and I can vouch for some of them as well. The first time I handled the X2 I was very disappointed at the pixelation of the screen, but for some reason the model I handled this past weekend wasn't as pixelated, and seemed to be ok for me. The colors aren't too cartoonish like the AMOLED screens, but they are rich enough, not washed out like other LCD screens. The only thing that I'm disappointed with is the removal of the camera button... WTF is with that?
So, I'm trying to decide on what to do. I'm still within the 90 return period from Costco so I can take the phone back and do the difference between price. Of course I could always wait for the Bionic to come out, but by that time, there will be another phone with a much better LTE radio and many more upgrades will be on the market.
Anyone a former Charge owner that defected to the X2? Anyone have any opinions or suggestions?
I took the warranty replacement of the Fascinate when it was offered last month. So while I didn't come from the charge, the Fascinate has the Amoled screen and really isn't all that different from the charge. Which is why I ended up on the X2. Samsung just left a rotten taste in my mouth with their software and build quality. I just hated the idea of getting another Samsung right now. I also could have gotten the Incredible 2 but it just felt to small and I didn't like the screen.
As for the screen on the DX2, I have zero issues with it coming from an amoled to this. sure, its not as vibrant. So what, its a phone. If it was a TV I would have been extremely picky but I don't think there's anything wrong with the screen at all. So with that and the fact that everyone I ever talked to or heard of loved the OG DX I took the plunge.
That said the build and call quality of the DX2 is phenominal in my opinion. Yes Blur kinda sucks but until more roms come out its nothing your favorite launcher can't fix. GB runs pretty good even stock but you can easily install the pre-rooted GB that is out and remove what you don't want with no issue. Honestly I love my DX2, and I'm picky as hell.
Orange Terror said:
I took the warranty replacement of the Fascinate when it was offered last month. So while I didn't come from the charge, the Fascinate has the Amoled screen and really isn't all that different from the charge. Which is why I ended up on the X2. Samsung just left a rotten taste in my mouth with their software and build quality. I just hated the idea of getting another Samsung right now. I also could have gotten the Incredible 2 but it just felt to small and I didn't like the screen.
As for the screen on the DX2, I have zero issues with it coming from an amoled to this. sure, its not as vibrant. So what, its a phone. If it was a TV I would have been extremely picky but I don't think there's anything wrong with the screen at all. So with that and the fact that everyone I ever talked to or heard of loved the OG DX I took the plunge.
That said the build and call quality of the DX2 is phenominal in my opinion. Yes Blur kinda sucks but until more roms come out its nothing your favorite launcher can't fix. GB runs pretty good even stock but you can easily install the pre-rooted GB that is out and remove what you don't want with no issue. Honestly I love my DX2, and I'm picky as hell.
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My girlfriend has the Fascinate and you can definitely see the pixelation of the older SAMOLED technology, but the Charge has the SAMOLED Plus which doesn't look as bad. But a lot of GS2 owners are complaining about burn-in and other screen related issues, and I went through two replacement Charges with those exact issues.
I honestly should have gotten the TBolt instead of the Charge, especially with a lot of the kinks worked out in it, but I still want something reliable, that's the most important part. My DX was damn reliable, only had one major issue with it and that was the first time I SBF'ed 2.2 back onto it. As I said, 4G is not a deal breaker for me. When the LTE network is better on both the phones and the network then I'll fork out the money and buy one at retail as long as it's worth it. But until then I want something solid, reliable, clear and fast.
Can X2 owners attest to those main points?
You won't be disappointed with the call quality, speed and reliability. The speed requires rooting and a bit of time in the development section, but I'm happy now. Coming from a DX it feels like home.
Check your PM's triton if your interested let me know
The X2 is kind of lack luster out of the box, but rooted and tweaked it becomes a serious little power house. It just depends on your preference. I love modding my phone so the out of the box performance means nothing to me. The potential is defiantly there, it just needs a good bloat cleaning and a few other tweaks.
Sent from OH MY GOD IS THAT A SQUIRREL!
Thanks folks.
Is it true that even though it has 512 MB of RAM like the X did, it uses DDR memory instead for faster speeds? How's the graphics processing on the X2? I remember getting in the high 20 FPS range with Neocore with the X.
Having come from HTC devices, both Android and, I kno... WinMo 6.1 I have come to love the DX2. Yes there is a lack of development at the moment, but that will change... The graphics on the DX2 are pretty amazing. I get high 40's to 50's in Quadrant on the 2D and 3D video tests. I had never owned a Motorola device before but the phone is solid. I have never held a phone that feels as solid as this one. As stated by others rooting and debloating the phone will make a major difference in speed, stability, reliability, and the overall feel of the phone functionality. I have no problem waiting on development because when it does come there is a load of potential packed away in the deep dark of this phone...
EDIT:: 54.6 on Neocore, 60FPS max in Quadrant, and 52.47FPS in Antutu while on maximum battery saver BTW....
Not bad at all.
Any other X2 owners that came from the Charge?
I've played with the Charge, the Incredible 2, and now the Droid X2. Personally, I think the Droid X2 is awesome. Technically is superior to the Charge except for 4G, because it obviously doesn't have it. The only thing outside of 4G that people question is the screen, and to be perfectly honest, I think it's really nice. I don't even miss SAMOLED. The Droid X2 screen is just so sharp and crisp.
What you need is a comparison, and PDADB is perfect for that. Here is a link to technology comparison between the Droid Charge and the Droid X2. How can you say no to dual-core Cortex A9 processors and a GeForce GPU in your phone? You really can't. Don't be discouraged by the dev community, because it is just getting started. When the Droid X2 gets more and more dev support, it will be awesome. That's why I'm here, to help with that
What exactly is this "3Gturbo" tweak I keep reading about?
How many people said to themselves "Don't do it" when they saw this thread? :0)
Sorry if this is a dumb question. I keep seeing people talk about tiered data plans. Verizon does not have those. I've been checking and I actually would love to switch to save money but there is no such option. What are you all talking about? ??
Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk
See the middle of this page:
http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/plans/?page=single
So... I went down to the local Costco where I bought my Charge and they have a live X2 to play around with. After a fresh reboot, I tested it out and the screen really isn't as bad as I thought. Everything (except Blur of course) was very quick and smooth, voice calls sounded clear. I did a SpeedTest run, only one of those tests resulted in less than 1 mb/sec download, and the last one jumped up to 2.4 mb/sec download with 750k upload speed, pretty damn good for a 3G phone. I put the Charge in 3G only and it couldn't come close.
So needless to say, the Charge will be going back sometime this week and exchanged for the X2. The guy at the Wireless kiosk gave me a weird look when I said I was going to come back and get the X2 instead. I told him "I have my reasons" and smiled.
triton302 said:
So... I went down to the local Costco where I bought my Charge and they have a live X2 to play around with. After a fresh reboot, I tested it out and the screen really isn't as bad as I thought. Everything (except Blur of course) was very quick and smooth, voice calls sounded clear. I did a SpeedTest run, only one of those tests resulted in less than 1 mb/sec download, and the last one jumped up to 2.4 mb/sec download with 750k upload speed, pretty damn good for a 3G phone. I put the Charge in 3G only and it couldn't come close.
So needless to say, the Charge will be going back sometime this week and exchanged for the X2. The guy at the Wireless kiosk gave me a weird look when I said I was going to come back and get the X2 instead. I told him "I have my reasons" and smiled.
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Awesome, welcome aboard. The more brains the merrier.
nitwit said:
See the middle of this page:
http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/plans/?page=single
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Click to collapse
Odd when I log into my account those data plans are not available. Anyway what a rip off, $30 for 2gig a month. At&t data plans are more reasonable.
Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk
Made it official today... returned the Charge and picked up my new Droid X2, with $100 back in my pocket as I was refunded the difference in price. So far so good, screen takes some getting used to but I'm glad to be back to a screen with more natural colors rather than the cartoonish AMOLED colors. Very well built just like the original X I had, miss the camera button though. Updated to Gingerbread and it's running just fine, call quality is much better than the Charge.
Can't wait to get cracking on the modding!
Related
Droid Charge or Thunderbolt??? Which should I get I'm torn between the 2. I don't care about software support or the UI.
My main concerns are camera, battery life, screen, and hackability(custom ROMs)
So main questions being how is the camera in low light situations, and video quality?
How long does the battery actually last for you? Is it comparable to any other smartphone or do I need to get used to carrying a charger with me.
How does the screen compare with others? I have a Fascinate now and the Super AMOLED has spoiled me.
Finally how easy is it to load custom roms on the device. Is it a pain, or is it simple. The Fascinate was very simple.
I don't care about Sense vs Touchwiz as launcher pro or vanilla launcher will be on the device.
Well... no one owns the Charge yet but I can give you my experience with the Thunberbolt.
- The camera sucks but then again I think every cell phone camera sucks. I'm comparing it to my D700 + Zeiss 50/1.4 which I usually have on me anyway. Any cell phone camera in low light is going to be awful unless you use the flash. Even then, it still sucks. Video quality is fine though.
- I'm using the extended battery. I've been at work since 9:30 and it's now 5:00. My battery is at 68% and I've been sending the occasional text and going on Tweetdeck and a few websites. I do have 4G enabled all the time though. I keep my charger with me all the time regardless though.
- The screen is fine. The glass is Gorilla Glass. Some people say that it's not GG and it scratches easily but I don't know what they're smoking. It's the same quality as my Droid X. I find the colors to be way oversaturated but I'm comparing it to a $700 calibrated PC monitor.
- Rooting is easy. There aren't any true one-click methods yet but hopefully in a month or so there will be. Flashing ROMs is as easy as any other device.
I was in a VZW store in San Antonio, Tx this afternoon, and got a little hands on time w/ both phones...
Charge has a GREAT screen and is "light" in the hand next to the TB. I downloaded Speedtest.net from the Market, set both phones to the same server, checked the signal strength (both the same) and ran the test.
The Charge never got above the 10 Mbps mark at any point. The TB never dipped below 17 Mbps. I checked it multiple times while I was in the store for 1.5 hours!
Like the TB, the Charge's battery seemed a little anemic for the demands of the device.
I walked out the TB, not just because the Charge wasn't available, but because I liked the TB experience better.
Devon
I can't speak for the charge... My tbolt will video fireworks at night and take stills pretty well. Megapixels mean everything in pictures. I love my tbolt and hardly ever use the camera. To each their own though...
Here is an article comparing the two. My personal choice would definitely be the Thunderbolt although I've never actually used the charge.
http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/04/28/htc-thunderbolt-vs-samsung-droid-charge-battle-of-the-specs/
Well, do you really need to get a new phone now? If it were me.. I'd wait for the Galaxy S2. That phone is looking it could do some serious damage to all others.
bking_soda said:
I can't speak for the charge... My tbolt will video fireworks at night and take stills pretty well. Megapixels mean everything in pictures. I love my tbolt and hardly ever use the camera. To each their own though...
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Click to collapse
Megapixels actually mean jack ****.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA Premium App
I agree htc will sell phones that have 8mp cams and the quality sucks its the software and lens I think
Sent from my SGH-T959V using XDA Premium App
camera is mediocre. It gets the job done, but as posted earlier, is hardly a photographer's go-to
all 4G phones will have horrible battery life until they figure something out down the line, but for now at least the thunderbolt is capable of running some of the nice LV kernels to save a little battery and downclock etc.
the screen isn't too bad, go play with one at a VZW store and see that for yourself
at the end of the day I got the TB because HTC released the kernel source (actually bought it the next morning) and with the kernels on my D1 I could keep up with the big boys for a lot longer so I hope for the same on the TB. And since I got it, sense has actually grown on me quite a bit, I actually prefer it to the vanilla UI
The phones are almost equal. The Charge has a better screen and a bigger battery and I can't speak to this device but the camera on my Fascinate was the best phone camera I have seen on a phone(who knows if this is comparable.) However consider how long it has taken samsung to roll out updates and compare the development community for the Fascinate to the DInc. The Thunderbolt has more ram, is slightly cheaper, and will have fantastic dev support + updates will come quicker.
On top of that if you stay stock, Sense destroys TouchWiz. et the Thunderbolt or wait for a device that is more different (Play, Bionic etc.)
dbisch said:
Megapixels actually mean jack ****.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True that, the sensor makes much more difference.
Compared to my DX there are a few good things and a few bad. The TB screen sucks. It's been a real pain for me browsing on the TB and that's the main thing I use, its very hard to select a link in the browser to open in new window, it wants to select text instead and I have to zoom all the way in, open page, then zoom out. When I open a page it automatically rooms in and I have to zoom out to see the page. The stock Rom ran super smooth compared to the X but the roms don't seem to help anything, on the X roms would make huge differences in performance (ive only tried a few roms and kernels so far on the TB though). The volume button sucks on the TB also, its so sensitive that you will accidentally change the volume all throughout the day which is extremely annoying.
It seems to have one of the fastest connections on 3g that I've seen, I can't wait for 4g (suppose to be this summer here). The unlocked bootloader has lots of potential, not sure if the charge is unlocked or will be unlocked.
The Thunderbolt is great, but I can't wait to get a stable AOSP rom on it and I hate the screen lighting. Also, battery isn't as big of an issue as everyone says it is. Just turn 4g on when you really need it.
Ive had the Motorola razr for a couple of days and after frequenting these forums I wanted to sort of write a review, from my perspective.
I was split between the resound and razr, it was the rezounds glitchy feel, htc sense and tiny battery and odd exterior that pushed me to get the razr. I got it at best buy, this way I had a month to swap it for the nexus as soon as it was released.
When I layed eyes on its packaging I was floored. I know it sounds kinda dumb. But damn it, the packaging was sweet! Nice low profile, menacing flat black, it was gorgeaous. I was immediately disappointed that it lacked an hdmi cable and earphones. Seriously, it was 300 $. My atrix came with a bloody hdmi cable atleast.
First time I held it I couldn’t believe how light n slim it was. Although shes packing Kevlar and a gorilla glass display, its so thin it makes u feel as if she were fragile. Not a bad thing, I enjoy slim. The side port can be a beyatch to manipulate, getting my 4g sim in there was a hassle. But thats because I bite my nails, if u don’t share this bad habit u wont have a problem at all. As soon as I fired her up the first time I wanted to shut it down immediately just so I can see the boot animation again! Very very cool. I was also glad to see that it doesn’t use motorolas blur services. And although it isn’t vanilla android, I feel motorolas touches were very welcomed. People here have complained about the camera, and yes it isn’t as great as my nokia n8. But its way better then my nexus s. I discovered, the secret to taking a great shot on this phone, is patience. Phone takes longer then it should to focus. Video recording at 720p is outstanding. 1080p is fine, but it has an odd stutter. It just doesn’t feel as fluid as 720p. many have complained about the pentile screen. And before booting the phone I expected an atrix/bionic like experience. Lemme tell u something. I have perfect vision and I am but a youngin. I don’t see jagged edges, artifacts during scrolling or the pin dots unless the phone is 3 inches from my face!!!!! The screen is beautiful, it over saturates the right colors and provides deep blacks. But it’s not as good as sammys super amoled plus. Either way its an outstanding screen. Motorola added a few things into this rom that I love. The ability to resize a widget. Smart actions. And the way qhd was used to fit more of an email on screen, makes zooming in and out of web pages ALMOST a thing of the past too. I have had zero ghasty reboots, she is very stable. The screen is very responsive, as good as it gets really. Battery life on 3g is super, but on 4g its not so hot. Luckily I can go from 50% battery to about 90% with just an hours charge. Im glad the volume buttons and power button are on the same side. I can imagine how it would suck for leftys though.
Calls were crystal clear, typical Motorola. My bathroom is a dead zone. Sprint tmo att Verizon whatever. U go in there u will lose service. The second I walk in my bathroom I was surprised to see that I was still on 4g. I speedtested and pulled in 3mp DL. Impressive considering my bathroom is a bermuda triangle. Texts come in quick and go out as fast too. So does mms. Indoors I fluctuate between 16mb and 20mb DL. Outside im killing at a steady 22mb. I have yet to drop a 4g signal. My friend with a droid charge cant say the same.
I hate the stock pic gallery and music app. I use quickpic and the google music app. Sounds through my cheapo skull candys (the one that costs more then 15 less then 20$) sound great. I do wish we had more equalizer control, but no biggie.
In conclusion, this phones got me spoiled. I really do like it. I hate the fact that I almost didn’t buy it cuz of people on this forum that over exaggerated the pentile screen. Im glad the rezound sucked hard enough to convince me to get the razr. And to tell u the truth, I doubt I will swap it for the nexus. I like it that much.
If ur on the fence feel free to ask a question on the thread, hijacking is welcomed.
Happy thanksgiving all!
Just remember:
Much more people will come on here to ***** and nitpick over something than the ones who are satisfied. The screen is just fine, some people just have way too much time on their hands.
sheek360 said:
I was immediately disappointed that it lacked an hdmi cable and earphones.
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What? really? This sucks, I am in Canada and we do have an HDMI Cable and earphones with it... Maybe you should double-check if it is included or not, was maybe a mistake somehow.. Especially since here, with a 3-year contract, we get it @ 149$... Besides very nice review, I think like you, she is such a hot girl haha
robstunner said:
Just remember:
Much more people will come on here to ***** and nitpick over something than the ones who are satisfied. The screen is just fine, some people just have way too much time on their hands.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Should add that those people who're lurkin in our forums and moaning about the razr, doesn't even own the phone.
Nice review btw.
Thanks for the review Sheek. I just switched from t-mobile to verizon, taking advantage of the 1 cent RAZR deal on amazon as well as the "double data" packages on Verizon. You just made me even more excited to receive my new phone!
brianbrain said:
Thanks for the review Sheek. I just switched from t-mobile to verizon, taking advantage of the 1 cent RAZR deal on amazon as well as the "double data" packages on Verizon. You just made me even more excited to receive my new phone!
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Click to collapse
I was too impatient for the one cent sale. I promise u, ur gonna fall in love!
Btw I called big v. No HDMI cable or earphones for Americans.
Dang this sucks for you guys
dgiaffe said:
Dang this sucks for you guys
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Click to collapse
Yeah..we seem to be getting the short end of the stick these days..thankfully I already have a mini-hdmi cable from my G2X days and some JLab earbuds I doubt I'd replace anyway...still annoying though - earbuds and a cable can't cost more than $10 - that and it's on a device that Verizon is selling for $799 off contract..sheesh.
Don't forget that us poor British get no hdmi and no 16GB microsd!
But we do get some crap looking headphones for our £450
I rate it quite highly a well. I have used many of the motorola phones
Sent from my XT910 using XDA App
brianbrain said:
Thanks for the review Sheek. I just switched from t-mobile to verizon, taking advantage of the 1 cent RAZR deal on amazon as well as the "double data" packages on Verizon. You just made me even more excited to receive my new phone!
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Click to collapse
That is exactly what I did...from TMO to Verizon with the penny deal. My Razr is on the UPS truck for delivery tonight. So anxiously waiting....
Yes IMO Pentile is extremely overblown, on the RAZR anyway.
Over saturated colors are overblown. Seeing the 2 screen technologies side by side, I might actually prefer Amoled now, and I used to love LCD's last year.
All the screens have pros n cons. Anyone who complains about the RAZR screen and claim the screen on whatever phone they or want have is perfect or better...is biased. It may be better to them, but its not better overall. None are.
The perfect screen has yet to be invented.
What type of earphones you guys get in UK or Europe? Here in Asia we got the Rokr brand. No hdmi and sdcard though
Great real world review! I've been reading reviews like a mad man but since you said you have had an N8 and an Atrix...and as I'm currently using an Atrix now and had an N8 before that it only seems logical you would be best the best person to ask a few few questions lol. You touched on my main concerns a little but I'm still hesitant for two reasons. 1.Build quality and 2.Battery life. The N8 to atrix jump left me loathing plastic phones and wishing someone out there was smart enough to shoehorn android onto an N8! My bigger concern is battery. 1930 mah + CM7 + faux's enhanced stock kernel = 30 plus hours of light to moderate use. Now I'm not expecting that but comparatively...What can I expect with say 200 or so texts sent and received, a few 5-10 minute calls, about an hour and a half of music and 15-20 minutes web browsing? I will be using the phone on AT&T so no LTE for me. As long as I can go AT LEAST 12 hours with that kind of usage on a stock rom Expansys has my $624.99. I'm not sure but I believe the unlocked model ships with an unlocked bootloader (correct me if I'm wrong) so it's only a matter of time before the roms start pouring down from the devs and this phone gets even better. Thanks again for posting your review. Any and all feedback is appreciated.
filthyfnj24 said:
Great real world review! I've been reading reviews like a mad man but since you said you have had an N8 and an Atrix...and as I'm currently using an Atrix now and had an N8 before that it only seems logical you would be best the best person to ask a few few questions lol. You touched on my main concerns a little but I'm still hesitant for two reasons. 1.Build quality and 2.Battery life. The N8 to atrix jump left me loathing plastic phones and wishing someone out there was smart enough to shoehorn android onto an N8! My bigger concern is battery. 1930 mah + CM7 + faux's enhanced stock kernel = 30 plus hours of light to moderate use. Now I'm not expecting that but comparatively...What can I expect with say 200 or so texts sent and received, a few 5-10 minute calls, about an hour and a half of music and 15-20 minutes web browsing? I will be using the phone on AT&T so no LTE for me. As long as I can go AT LEAST 12 hours with that kind of usage on a stock rom Expansys has my $624.99. I'm not sure but I believe the unlocked model ships with an unlocked bootloader (correct me if I'm wrong) so it's only a matter of time before the roms start pouring down from the devs and this phone gets even better. Thanks again for posting your review. Any and all feedback is appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Battery should give you nice results, especially if you set up "Smart Actions." I usually turn off mobile data (3G/4G) when I'm not using it, because you can still send/receive texts, as well as calls. This makes your battery last a lot longer, so just put a widget somewhere so it's an easy toggle. It's almost a 1,800mAH battery, which is way better than what you'd get on a Rezound (1,600mAH). Build quality is great, so don't be fooled by it's thin profile and think it's a cheap phone. They also sealed the battery for a reason... there are a lot of people complaining about this, but they sealed it to protect against water splashes, as well as the internals. Overall it's a great phone, just sucks that when I received mine it didn't come with the micro SIM card, so now I need to go back to Verizon.
filthyfnj24 said:
Great real world review! I've been reading reviews like a mad man but since you said you have had an N8 and an Atrix...and as I'm currently using an Atrix now and had an N8 before that it only seems logical you would be best the best person to ask a few few questions lol. You touched on my main concerns a little but I'm still hesitant for two reasons. 1.Build quality and 2.Battery life. The N8 to atrix jump left me loathing plastic phones and wishing someone out there was smart enough to shoehorn android onto an N8! My bigger concern is battery. 1930 mah + CM7 + faux's enhanced stock kernel = 30 plus hours of light to moderate use. Now I'm not expecting that but comparatively...What can I expect with say 200 or so texts sent and received, a few 5-10 minute calls, about an hour and a half of music and 15-20 minutes web browsing? I will be using the phone on AT&T so no LTE for me. As long as I can go AT LEAST 12 hours with that kind of usage on a stock rom Expansys has my $624.99. I'm not sure but I believe the unlocked model ships with an unlocked bootloader (correct me if I'm wrong) so it's only a matter of time before the roms start pouring down from the devs and this phone gets even better. Thanks again for posting your review. Any and all feedback is appreciated.
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Click to collapse
Don't worry about the build quality. Although its a bit on the light side she feels premium as hell and well balanced.
If the GSM version is identical to the let version I can imagine that your battery life will be better then mine. Hspa battery life is typically better then lte battery life.
how's the battery life? considering is a non-removable battery
jl1030 said:
how's the battery life? considering is a non-removable battery
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If 4g is disabled its outstanding! When on wifi I set my smart action to disable 3g n 4g it yields great results. Sadly, 4g will run this bad boy down.
sheek360 said:
Ive had the Motorola razr for a couple of days and after frequenting these forums I wanted to sort of write a review, from my perspective.
I was split between the resound and razr, it was the rezounds glitchy feel, htc sense and tiny battery and odd exterior that pushed me to get the razr. I got it at best buy, this way I had a month to swap it for the nexus as soon as it was released.
When I layed eyes on its packaging I was floored. I know it sounds kinda dumb. But damn it, the packaging was sweet! Nice low profile, menacing flat black, it was gorgeaous. I was immediately disappointed that it lacked an hdmi cable and earphones. Seriously, it was 300 $. My atrix came with a bloody hdmi cable atleast.
First time I held it I couldn’t believe how light n slim it was. Although shes packing Kevlar and a gorilla glass display, its so thin it makes u feel as if she were fragile. Not a bad thing, I enjoy slim. The side port can be a beyatch to manipulate, getting my 4g sim in there was a hassle. But thats because I bite my nails, if u don’t share this bad habit u wont have a problem at all. As soon as I fired her up the first time I wanted to shut it down immediately just so I can see the boot animation again! Very very cool. I was also glad to see that it doesn’t use motorolas blur services. And although it isn’t vanilla android, I feel motorolas touches were very welcomed. People here have complained about the camera, and yes it isn’t as great as my nokia n8. But its way better then my nexus s. I discovered, the secret to taking a great shot on this phone, is patience. Phone takes longer then it should to focus. Video recording at 720p is outstanding. 1080p is fine, but it has an odd stutter. It just doesn’t feel as fluid as 720p. many have complained about the pentile screen. And before booting the phone I expected an atrix/bionic like experience. Lemme tell u something. I have perfect vision and I am but a youngin. I don’t see jagged edges, artifacts during scrolling or the pin dots unless the phone is 3 inches from my face!!!!! The screen is beautiful, it over saturates the right colors and provides deep blacks. But it’s not as good as sammys super amoled plus. Either way its an outstanding screen. Motorola added a few things into this rom that I love. The ability to resize a widget. Smart actions. And the way qhd was used to fit more of an email on screen, makes zooming in and out of web pages ALMOST a thing of the past too. I have had zero ghasty reboots, she is very stable. The screen is very responsive, as good as it gets really. Battery life on 3g is super, but on 4g its not so hot. Luckily I can go from 50% battery to about 90% with just an hours charge. Im glad the volume buttons and power button are on the same side. I can imagine how it would suck for leftys though.
Calls were crystal clear, typical Motorola. My bathroom is a dead zone. Sprint tmo att Verizon whatever. U go in there u will lose service. The second I walk in my bathroom I was surprised to see that I was still on 4g. I speedtested and pulled in 3mp DL. Impressive considering my bathroom is a bermuda triangle. Texts come in quick and go out as fast too. So does mms. Indoors I fluctuate between 16mb and 20mb DL. Outside im killing at a steady 22mb. I have yet to drop a 4g signal. My friend with a droid charge cant say the same.
I hate the stock pic gallery and music app. I use quickpic and the google music app. Sounds through my cheapo skull candys (the one that costs more then 15 less then 20$) sound great. I do wish we had more equalizer control, but no biggie.
In conclusion, this phones got me spoiled. I really do like it. I hate the fact that I almost didn’t buy it cuz of people on this forum that over exaggerated the pentile screen. Im glad the rezound sucked hard enough to convince me to get the razr. And to tell u the truth, I doubt I will swap it for the nexus. I like it that much.
If ur on the fence feel free to ask a question on the thread, hijacking is welcomed.
Happy thanksgiving all!
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Click to collapse
Great job, I am a very happy Thunderbolt owner, S-Off, rooted and running a custom rom of course. Your break down was very good but you left out the most complained about thing on the forums, battery time. I am seriously thinking about picking up this phone but the locked down battery is my only concern. How has it been throughout the day? I am not very happy with the new Nexus hardware, no sd card and coming with only 16 mb of interior memory just isn't going to cut it for me. I think the new Razr with ICS on it would be one hell of a phone.
Thanks,
Go Patriots.
vinnyjr said:
Great job, I am a very happy Thunderbolt owner, S-Off, rooted and running a custom rom of course. Your break down was very good but you left out the most complained about thing on the forums, battery time. I am seriously thinking about picking up this phone but the locked down battery is my only concern. How has it been throughout the day? I am not very happy with the new Nexus hardware, no sd card and coming with only 16 mb of interior memory just isn't going to cut it for me. I think the new Razr with ICS on it would be one hell of a phone.
Thanks,
Go Patriots.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I consider myself a very heavy user. My day consists of 20 - 30 minutes wasted on calls. Maybe 15 minutes worth of xxx browsing (lol). Refreshing Google reader every 3 hours and reading my feeds like a fiend. I fb n tweet like crazy. I video chat about 5 minutes a day too. I send maybe 10 mms n a trillion texts. I also IM too much. And I occasionally take the opportunity to Google something.
Oh I have a smurf ville and angry birds obsession.
My wifi is on at all times. But my 4g is off. I remove the phone from the charger at 6am. By lunch I'm already sitting on 80%. My battery hits about 30% or 40% by 8pm.
Because of the screen the battery dips quickly. I refuse to set brightness to 0% dammit!
When I leave the house I turn off wifi n turn on 4g. The phone sips battery very lightly no matter if your on wifi on 4g, it idles very generously.
But once u stomp on it, u can burn 10% battery on 4g in a matter of 30 - 45 minutes.
PS I YouTube a lot too. Maybe 20 minutes a day.
I was waiting for months for the Galaxy Nexus to come out.
I was using a Droid Charge that was all tweaked out (custom ROM, imoseyon 4.0 kernel, fuju tweaks, Launcher Pro Plus, etc etc etc) that I absolutely LOVED but my Wife wanted that phone and I had at least two lines with upgrades available.
I originally bought the Rezound with the full intention of returning it as soon as the Nexus came out. I have until January 15th to return it and I figured for sure the GN would be out by then. I had a RAZR briefly and absolutely hated it, so I passed it on to a coworker. She uses a phone for more of a cosmetic accessory than an actual tool, so the RAZR was perfect for her but I can't own a phone with four hour battery life and no removable battery.
Now that I have been using the Rezound for a while, I cant see any way I'm returning it. I absolutely love the thing. It's not perfect, I absolutely hate the
flush power button and like everyone else I would like to flash a custom ROM but the phone runs well enough stock that I can live with the stock ROM.
My Charge was almost as fast as the Rezound (mid 2000 quadrant scores) totally lag free and has a screen to die for. I was afraid I might be disappointed with the Rezound as it actually has a slightly smaller screen than the Charge and I do wish it was a little wider, but the Rezound kicks butt in every other way.
Comparing to the Charge, the Rezound GPS locks WAY faster and the radio is way better. The Charge swapped from 4g to 3g so often I had to leave it locked in 3G 99% of the time so it wouldn't kill the battery. I stream audio all day at work using either iheart radio or sirius online and the Charge could not make it through an entire workday on one battery even using the 3500 batteries.
The Rezound has been making it all day plus, doing the exact same things using a 2750 battery and leaving it in 4g all day. I also like the way HTC did the extended battery much better than the Charge setup. The curved back and a silicone cover make it seem like it came from the factory that way.
I have always liked Sense (except it annoys the hell out of me that landscape doesn't work with the home screen) and it runs great in this phone. I also installed Launcher Pro Plus and that REALLY runs well. I swap back and forth between the two when I get tired of one or the other.
After watching all the reviews of the GN and playing with a coworkers Galaxy I don't even want that phone anymore. I will still check it out if VZ ever actually releases it, but I can't imagine switching at this point.
~John
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I just finished playing with the Galaxy Nexus today and I wouldnt trade my rezound for it either. The Gnex is nice, has a nice screen but not as nice as the rezound. Overall feel I like the rezound although I will say the Gnex is a much lighter phone and that is one things i liked about it. I am not a fan of vanilla android though.
I came from a totally tweaked out charge too. But I am a teckie junkie. Got my rezound and I am loving it! Don't get me wrong...I loved the charge too, but the GPS and the camera really are awesome on the rezound. That right there had me sold. I actually like the crisp screen. Hubby has the continuum, I still find myself checking out his screen once in a while.
No regrets here whatsoever. The only thing I never really thought about was having to wait to root and customize this. I got the fascinate after it was out a few months, root access already gained. I got my charge in aug, and had it rooted within 2 days.
But the way this is running stock....personally, I feel that it is faster than the charge running stock.
Now if I could just change the fonts LOL
Quadrant scores mean nothing in terms of performance imo. I don't know why people/reviewers even bother to run it. The scores are easily manipulated and it's not an accurate gauge on how well a phone can run. I can agree running it for fun, but definately not as a "this score means this is how fast your phone will run". You must of have had a good Charge, I returned mine after using it for a few days. Only good thing about that phone was the screen, AMOLED is nice yes, but I feel the colors are too saturated and cartoony. I love the screen on this phone, and the Gnex doesn't have anything on it. The screen on Gnex has been reported as grainy and pixelated for text/browsing. Media they stated not so much of an issue. Now if the Gnex had Super AMOLED + HD instead of some pentile submatrix then it would be in business. But overall I feel this phone is higher quality than the Gnex.
I know that quadrant means little, I just post it because everyone else seems to.
When I say the Charge was damn near as fast as the Rezound that is after comparing the two side by side. I obviously got a good Charge and I'm sure there are some bad ones out there (name a phone that you can't say that about)
What is most important to me is camera quality, sound quality and screen quality. I'm sure the GN will have a nice screen but everything else seems like it will be second rate in the GN.
~John
I came from a "totally tweaked out" Thunderbolt and absolutely hated the thing a side from all the roms available(I enjoyed switching from rom to rom almost every day).
this Rezound is really nice, I just wish it was a bit bigger & didn't have sync issues playing 720P .mkv files.
p.s. I always hated Sense & hope to allah/god/supreme deity/etc that CM9 will come soon.
voxigenboy said:
I came from a "totally tweaked out" Thunderbolt and absolutely hated the thing a side from all the roms available(I enjoyed switching from rom to rom almost every day).
this Rezound is really nice, I just wish it was a bit bigger & didn't have sync issues playing 720P .mkv files.
p.s. I always hated Sense & hope to allah/god/supreme deity/etc that CM9 will come soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have issues playing 720p .mkv files? I had no synching issues while playing a 1280 x 720p mkv.
I currently have a Droid X2 and have enjoyed learning about rooting, custom roms, etc. My upgrade is approaching and I am thinking about getting the Rezound. I've briefly read through the posts here and it seems to be a good phone for development with multiple roms/scripts/mods.
I just wanted to see what you all thought of the phone. Pros & Cons. Any thoughts will be much appreciated. Hope you all have a blessed evening!
Started with the Inc1 at launch and debated between the Inc2 and Tbolt when they both came out. Went with the Inc2 because we didn't have 4G yet and the Inc2 is the perfect size for a phone. After half year I love the Inc 2 but wanted 4G and love to upgrade.
Anyway, love the Rezound. HTC always has problems with their soft keys but overall this is the best built HTC I've ever had. The Inc3 is coming in a few months. If it's 4G, 4" screen, and dual core I'm trading in my Rez.
You won't regret upgrading, I came from an Incredible 2 and I don't miss it at all.
Pros:
* 4G LTE - Crazy fast with great signal
* HD screen - Best display out there
* Tons of ROM's - There are a lot so far and development is just getting started
* Amazing camera - Best camera on any phone I have ever used
* 16GB of internal storage
* 1.5GHz dual core - Fastest dual core out there
* Made by HTC - build quality is incredible and the phone feels solid in your hand
Not so great stuff:
* Screen brightness - the screen isn't all that bright even at full brightness, but its still okay.
* Battery life - Its not great, but it will last an entire day if you use it wisely
Cons:
* External speaker - When playing music its quiet and sounds terrible
* Battery cover - Not really a super big deal, but it creaks a little bit and drives me crazy... yeah, I have mild OCD...
I would say its a good 9/10 phone. Its going to be a good upgrade from a Droid X2 if you decide to get it.
All valid points. Stock with LTE on and auto screen brightness I got 1 day 6 hours on one charge. I was pretty amazed. Regular usage I get maybe 10 hours and that time was light to medium use. Auto brightness keeps my screen pretty dark but at full brightness its insanely bright. Hurts the eyeballs
TB13 said:
* Battery cover - Not really a super big deal, but it creaks a little bit and drives me crazy... yeah, I have mild OCD...
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I took some small strips of electricians friction tape and put them under the battery cover in the spots my extended cover creaked. Fixed it right up.
Really the only thing that bothers me is the auto white balance in the camera isn't very good. I didn't notice it at first but in certain lighting conditions the pics come out with either a blue or orange tint. Selecting another setting will make them better but not always completely accurate. This is especially true for night time indoors where your light is from lamps. Hopefully an update will help this.
Battery life could be better but I expected as much. People are getting great battery life with custom ROMS and kernels now though. I have yet to get mine to be great but I suspect that the second hand of the clock widget I'm using is eating it up. Going to test that out soon.
I have to disagree with the negative comments on the following:
-screen brightness. Plenty bright for me. In fact, I keep mine at about 30% brightness.
-external speaker. considering what it is I find it to be fine. And honestly, for music you should use ear buds or plug it into the stereo! I do listen to podcasts/talk sometimes while I fall asleep and it's totally fine for that. I also use it whenever I talk on the phone as I won't hold it to my ear or use a bluetooth earpiece.
-creaking. I really don't notice any. People have put paper under the cover to get rid of it.
As far as what I love about it... everything! It's my first smartphone though so that might not mean much. But I did research for almost a year before buying it, constantly deciding to wait for the next phone that was coming out and I really think I made the right choice. No second guessing or regrets.
Oh yeah, and I put a 64gb card in and it works fine so another bonus! And yes, the screen is GORGEOUS. I'm amazed at the image quality on this thing.
And... it doesn't look like anyone mentioned that you can do voice and data at the same time! I was talking to a friend who told me about an app and a few minutes later I had it downloaded and installed while I was still talking on the phone!
p.s. Apparently it's also a global phone. There's still a few kinks being worked out but I believe that at this point voice and data are working, but possibly not texts. There's a thread about it though if you want to check up on it.
06stang said:
Started with the Inc1 at launch and debated between the Inc2 and Tbolt when they both came out. Went with the Inc2 because we didn't have 4G yet and the Inc2 is the perfect size for a phone. After half year I love the Inc 2 but wanted 4G and love to upgrade.
Anyway, love the Rezound. HTC always has problems with their soft keys but overall this is the best built HTC I've ever had. The Inc3 is coming in a few months. If it's 4G, 4" screen, and dual core I'm trading in my Rez.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here man, Eris, Inc1, and got Inc2 cos I thought the Tbolt was too big, and I got Inc2 loved it, and now Rezound is awesome, but Inc3 you say?? I would be all over that if it is 4g as well. I have an upgrade waiting for me in april
today is my first day with the Rezound, I just came from Sprint with the Evo 4G, and I'm really happy with it, though I'd be happy with almost anything on Verizion's 4G vs Sprint's 3G lol. Only complaint I'd have so far is the speaker isn't as good as u'd expect, but the sound with headphones is crazy. I think ull be happy with it
Yeah VZW had a meeting recently talking about upcoming phones. Inc3 was mentioned for similar release date as the last two. 4" screen, LTE, and global is all I know. Sounds like a winner to me. Rezound will be short lived for me if this is true.
Yeah depending on the source, I have to turn music down to about 50% volume when using the speaker, it is plenty loud. But I've heard one if the kernels messes with it so that might be the one users problem.
Sent from my Rezound using Tapatalk
Hello, I'm new to the HTC Rezound forum. I have a Droid Charge that is irking me badly with call problems, so Verizon is allowing me to get a Spectrum, Razr, Bionic, or Rezound.
The displays of the Razr and Bionic totally rule out using those phones (can't stand pentile.)
This leaves the Spectrum or the Rezound.
My intuition tells me the HTC Rezound is the better phone.
I consider many factors:
battery life, speed, development, reliability, call quality (headphone jack quality isn't much concern, I have another phone with good HP out), radio quality.
3G reliability in low coverage areas is definitely a concern.
One thing I really like about the Droid Charge is the ability to go back to total stock, is this a problem on the Rezound?
If anybody has any thoughts, I'd love to hear them.
I'm all ears, thanks!
i just got the rezound and i am loving it. HTC usually has better build quality overall in my opinion
Id go for the Rezound. Quality is better and rezound has a nice community.
Sent from my Htc Rezound
Follow me on twitter @lmrtech
xdadevnube said:
Hello, I'm new to the HTC Rezound forum. I have a Droid Charge that is irking me badly with call problems, so Verizon is allowing me to get a Spectrum, Razr, Bionic, or Rezound.
The displays of the Razr and Bionic totally rule out using those phones (can't stand pentile.)
This leaves the Spectrum or the Rezound.
My intuition tells me the HTC Rezound is the better phone.
I consider many factors:
battery life, speed, development, reliability, call quality (headphone jack quality isn't much concern, I have another phone with good HP out), radio quality.
3G reliability in low coverage areas is definitely a concern.
One thing I really like about the Droid Charge is the ability to go back to total stock, is this a problem on the Rezound?
If anybody has any thoughts, I'd love to hear them.
I'm all ears, thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They have basically the same hardware with the spectrum having a bigger screen so it's mostly preferance, IMO the spectrum is quite ugly and the UI looks like it was made in paint. Also I've heard that the ui slows the phone down a TON. The rezound will most likely have more development. Can't say much about battery life except that if you flash some of the custom Roms in here you can get some insane battery
I too came from the charge, although I bought mine... But anywhoo the rezound is so much better, I can't believe it sometimes. The only thing I miss on my old charge is the Super Amoled screen. But aside from that, this phone is just top notch.
Thanks for the input guys. I'm thinking the Rezound is probably the way to go, I'm excited to use ICS and have working VPN!
So it isn't hard to return this device to pure stock if I need to right?
I'm a total Rezound noob, and I haven't done my homework on it yet.
@Dalamar1320
How are you getting along with the display? I like the Charge display, of course, but do you feel like you're missing much? I stared at the Rezound for a while- I thought for LCD it looks pretty good. The pixel density and resolution is great, but coming from the deep blacks and rich colors of the Charge, do you find it lacks much?
*EDIT* Okay, I found that the pure stock cannot be achieved-- bootloader will show status as re-locked
xdadevnube said:
Thanks for the input guys. I'm thinking the Rezound is probably the way to go, I'm excited to use ICS and have working VPN!
So it isn't hard to return this device to pure stock if I need to right?
I'm a total Rezound noob, and I haven't done my homework on it yet.
@Dalamar1320
How are you getting along with the display? I like the Charge display, of course, but do you feel like you're missing much? I stared at the Rezound for a while- I thought for LCD it looks pretty good. The pixel density and resolution is great, but coming from the deep blacks and rich colors of the Charge, do you find it lacks much?
*EDIT* Okay, I found that the pure stock cannot be achieved-- bootloader will show status as re-locked
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can back to stock once they are done with s-off.
The Rezound blows the Spectrum away in development and most likely battery.
You can't go back to total stock until we get S-OFF but pretty close.
Rezound also has one of the best signals in a phone I've seen.
Spectrum has been out for quite some time and still has no forum on XDA. Rezound does have a ton more pixels in it's display which means a clearer display than the spectrum but that could be personal preference.
I'm absolutely loving the Rezound, and believe or not, but sense 3.6 is pretty nice. The phone runs very smooth. The screen is amazing.
I came from a Droid Charge also (although I absolutely LOVED mine after it was all tricked out with custom ROM/Kernel etc). My Wife has the Charge now & she is very happy with it.
I absolutely LOVE the Rezound running the setup in my sig, but I do slightly miss that awesome Charge screen. I use HDMI everyday & that works awesome.
I liked the way the Charge screen is wider, that makes web browsing in portrait easier.
I do miss the deep blacks of the charge screen. But overall its not enough to make me look back
both of them are great phone.
I was on Spectrum, and now I have rezound.
spectrum has better screen (Ah-IPS LCD) and larger (4.5 inch).
I compared those two, spectrum won.
Spectrum is thinner and lighter.
I like my rezound but I cannot say rezound is not bulky.
This is what I do not like on my rez. heavy and bulky.
hardware is same. 1.5g s3 snapdragon, 1gb ram...
Spectrum has less internal space.
spectrum has only 2gb while rez has 16gb.
that's not a big deal since we can switch external sd card.
Spectrum is more laggy.
I was using it when rooting was not released, so i do not know it has better response when bloatware is removed.
but just when I used it, it was very laggy.
the last thing.. I came to rezound because of this reason.
there is NOT spectrum forum in XDA.
no devs, no custom roms, no tweaks.. nothing!
only rooting is available in rootzwiki.
oh, there's one serious bug on spectrum for me.
I always listen to music via bluetooth with my phone.
With spectrum, EVERY TIME, I have to manually connect bluetooth.
I have to get in bluetooth setting menu, and click the bt device on the list.
so annoying!
all of the other phones are not like that.
once connected (registered), they automatically connect each other.
if you do not use bt, it will not a big problem on spectrum.
What did they say in the LG forum?
Thanks for all the input, guys. I ended up with the Rezound. It will be here tomorrow. I figured the display on the Spectrum might eclipse the Rezound. I have heard mixed opinions on the display, with some saying they prefer the Rezound display. I didn't actually go into a Verizon store to find out myself. I have looked at the Rezound display quite a bit, but not the Spectrum.
I thought I was trippin' when I couldn't find a Spectrum forum on XDA, lol. The way I look at it, I still have a Charge with the nice SAMOLED+ display. This go around I want a phone that has reliable radios and is fast. I heard about the lag issues on the Spectrum, which would probably be possible to fix with software if there were development support. Coming from the Charge, it will be a fresh breath of air to have a larger development community (love the Charge community, but it just isn't that big).
I actually had lost nearly all interest in phones because I couldn't find anything else to improve my Charge (and my upgrade isn't until next year). I've tried just about every ROM, kernel, radio, and recovery available. I also have tried many scripts, overclocking, schedulers, governors, etc. It still lags out on occasion.
*EDIT*
I edited out my annoying nube questions. Thanks for all the help guys.