http://imgur.com/a/Hs0kz
dude2k5 said:
http://imgur.com/a/Hs0kz
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the pics
Duke,
My Prime arrives tomorrow. I see where yours was a Best Buy preorder on 12/2 same as mine. Any input you would be willing to provide as to overall opinion/quality/satisfaction? It would appear as if you have a stable in which to compare!
I am not sure if the shipment we are receiving is still the first batch or what but curious about light bleed, wifi, gps, does it appear to have been taken apart and reassembled does it charge? You know the run of the mill shakedown!
I really am not overly cynical just have a few more concerns today than I did a week ago after reading so many posts indicating some issues. My luck seems to run in spurts and hoping it is turned on when my Prime arrives tomorrow. This is my first tablet and I hope it to be a good experience out of the box. That said, if there are issues I will get another Prime and do so until I get a good one. Just hoping I am one of the lucky ones from the start and curious of your opinion of your Prime since your order is so close to mine.
Thanks
techjunkie9194 said:
Duke,
My Prime arrives tomorrow. I see where yours was a Best Buy preorder on 12/2 same as mine. Any input you would be willing to provide as to overall opinion/quality/satisfaction? It would appear as if you have a stable in which to compare!
I am not sure if the shipment we are receiving is still the first batch or what but curious about light bleed, wifi, gps, does it appear to have been taken apart and reassembled does it charge? You know the run of the mill shakedown!
I really am not overly cynical just have a few more concerns today than I did a week ago after reading so many posts indicating some issues. My luck seems to run in spurts and hoping it is turned on when my Prime arrives tomorrow. This is my first tablet and I hope it to be a good experience out of the box. That said, if there are issues I will get another Prime and do so until I get a good one. Just hoping I am one of the lucky ones from the start and curious of your opinion of your Prime since your order is so close to mine.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I first opened it, I was amazed how light it was. The whole thing is so well put now, it feels like a real netbook/laptop. I can probably fool anyone super easily. Looks just like a Zenbook. Speed, everything is super smooth, super nice. The OS has a few enhancments on the status bar and whatnot, like power mode (save, balance, normal), and you can close apps now from the recent apps list. Probably a few others, but Just getting more use to it again, love it so far, best tablet out there.
Dont see any noticable light bleed, wifi works fine so far, gps seemed to find real fast, dont see any indication of them opening it up and changing anything. No defects that Ive seen so far! Ill try to keep things updated if I find any.
So far, my experience has been superb so far (except for the delay). I have not seen anything wrong with it so far, but it's only been an hour so far ^_^
I love it though, super fast, super sexy, so light, less than 2.5 lbs docked.
Which screen is better you think (overall, so colours etc.) the TP or the 1st gen Transformer?
flight777 said:
Which screen is better you think (overall, so colours etc.) the TP or the 1st gen Transformer?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Brightness wise, the tfp is brighter than the first, and thats without IPS+ mode on, which makes it crazy bright. Great for outdoors. Color wise, looks pretty much the same I guess. Goes darker than the other one too I think
720 as well as 1080 work very smoothly, can skip through parts too (had choppy lag and force close with original TF)
dude2k5 said:
When I first opened it, I was amazed how light it was. The whole thing is so well put now, it feels like a real netbook/laptop. I can probably fool anyone super easily. Looks just like a Zenbook. Speed, everything is super smooth, super nice. The OS has a few enhancments on the status bar and whatnot, like power mode (save, balance, normal), and you can close apps now from the recent apps list. Probably a few others, but Just getting more use to it again, love it so far, best tablet out there.
Dont see any noticable light bleed, wifi works fine so far, gps seemed to find real fast, dont see any indication of them opening it up and changing anything. No defects that Ive seen so far! Ill try to keep things updated if I find any.
So far, my experience has been superb so far (except for the delay). I have not seen anything wrong with it so far, but it's only been an hour so far ^_^
I love it though, super fast, super sexy, so light, less than 2.5 lbs docked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have me looking forward to the arrival of my Prime tomorrow a little more. Hopefully my experience is as good as yours!
dude2k5 said:
Brightness wise, the tfp is brighter than the first, and thats without IPS+ mode on, which makes it crazy bright. Great for outdoors. Color wise, looks pretty much the same I guess. Goes darker than the other one too I think
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Click to collapse
Ok, thanks So no yellowish and washed out colors like some users report? I owned a 1st gen transformer but after 5 unsuccessful repairs by ASUS, I had to return it to them to have my money back and I'm already waiting a few months on the TP. The screen on the original Transformer was gorgeous, so if you say the TP is the same and even better in some areas, I'm very relieved to hear that after all those negative comments.
dude2k5 said:
you can close apps now from the recent apps list.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, thanks, how the hell did I miss that? I was just thinking it will be great when ICS gives us that ability
flight777 said:
Ok, thanks So no yellowish and washed out colors like some users report? I owned a 1st gen transformer but after 5 unsuccessful repairs by ASUS, I had to return it to them to have my money back and I'm already waiting a few months on the TP. The screen on the original Transformer was gorgeous, so if you say the TP is the same and even better in some areas, I'm very relieved to hear that after all those negative comments.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I heard about yellow screens, but I have none of that. Pure white, real nice. Havent seen anything like that so far. Screen is so clear compared to the first, not sure, but I want to say it's even a little more fingerprint resistant.
aawshads said:
Wow, thanks, how the hell did I miss that? I was just thinking it will be great when ICS gives us that ability
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah lenovo thinkpad tablet had it on theirs, so it was there, we were able to finally get it.
Related
Well people, it's official. I got mines preordered at GameStop just now. Put $50 dollars down on it for and guaranteed to get it on Dec. 19th for in store pickup. Yeahhhh!
The display model was off when I saw it. I powered it up and it hasn't been charged n less than 2% battery power left SMH hence the quick hands on..lol. For starters, this is the thinnest tablet I've ever held. It's amazing how thin this is. I'm a tall guy, 6'4 so any tablet really thin to me. But I have an iPad also and this thing is wayy thinner and lighter than it. It felt solid but weird to me considering how thin it was. Thin like a sheet of paper..lol After power up, I feasted my eyes upon the most beautiful and detailed display on a mobile device I've ever seen. This was in regular IPS mode also. I cut on Super IPS+ and this thing is bright and detailed as a Mofo! Swiped through the home screens and it was like slick as oil. The fastest and smoothest screen transitions I've seen. Even faster than my iPad. No signs of slowdown at all swiping through various screens or bringing up menus or apps. I check the about section in settings and it is running honeycomb 3.2.1.
I checked through the apps and saw the games thats been on all the reviews shown on TF Prime. First one I played was RipTide. Now mind you I also have the iPad version and seen tegra2 version also. This tegra3 optimized version has a lot more done to it than some added water and blur affects. This game really looked great compared to other versions. It looked more high quality or detailed. Looked like a regular home console game. The framerate was very fast also compared to my iPad version. Definitely impressed with the improvements on that game.
Then I saw the infamous Glowball game. I started it up and realized the volume was off or down n couldn't hear anything. So I cut the volume up to max. Once level started this thing was loud and clear as a Mofo n I had to cut it down. Too loud for in the store. The graphics and special lighting fx in this game was killer. With the high screen resolution and super IPS+ mode on, this game really popped out the screen. The videos reviewers showed on this can't do this game enough justice. Playing and seeing it in person is amazing to see. Haven't seen any ipad1 or ipad2 games yet that can produce this kind of high quality lighting fx and graphics. This tegra3 has really set the bar high for next generation tablets.
To conclude, truly impressed overall with tablet. Even for the brief moments I messed with it. Still hard to believe how thin it really is and how beautiful and high definition looking the display is. I'd say we have a winner here with the Asus Transformer Prime and I cant wait to pick mines up on the 19th. From GameStop.
Thanks, was especially interested to hear your comments of the physical size, thickness, and weight, compared to an iPad.
Awesome, glad to see someone say the colors popped off the screen. I was really concerned about this coming from a Xoom which has some of the most bland colors I've seen. Comparing the display to an Ipad2, do the colors look as vibrant and beautiful as on that tablet? I think I'm getting a TF Prime for Christmas, and I'm getting my fiance an Ipad 2... I don't want to give her any bragging rights lol. Thanks.
This sounds like everything I've imagined it would be and more. Now that I know my GameStop location has a demo in-store, I'm definitely giving it a test. I'm delighted to hear about the fast-screen transitions and that it is indeed running Honeycomb 3.2.1.
The tough part will be leaving the store...
Yeah when I held it too it was remarkably thin. I even touched the galaxy tab 10.1 that was next to it compare the thinnest; Prime looked twice as thin as the Tab. There was a Shooter game on it as well I think called Shadowgun or something. Looked good but didn't play it all that much. There were 2 apps that looked like they needed the internet to work. I believe all the apps are on the video that one guy took when he was in gamestop, on one of these threads in here.
I, TF, sent this on behalf of my owner
That's all i needed to hear!!! Gamestop will get my $50 this week...Thanks for your review!!!!
eL_777 said:
Awesome, glad to see someone say the colors popped off the screen. I was really concerned about this coming from a Xoom which has some of the most bland colors I've seen. Comparing the display to an Ipad2, do the colors look as vibrant and beautiful as on that tablet? I think I'm getting a TF Prime for Christmas, and I'm getting my fiance an Ipad 2... I don't want to give her any bragging rights lol. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On paper and in person, the Prime display is clearly the best of all tablets. I've seen ipad2 displays and they are nice but not as nice as what I saw. Plus the prime has a higher screen resolution and uses a more higher quality/advanced IPS display. Ipad2 uses IPS display. The prime uses Super IPS + display. That's 2 grades higher than iPad 2 display. Very rich in details and colors and definitely bright as a Mofo with super IPS+ mode on. Reason ipad2 display colors look vibrant is because the color palette it uses is ver saturated looking. Cartoon looking. The prime has more natural looking colors and it still pops out very much. Almost 3d looking cuz it looks so good n clear.
So annoying that Gamestop's in my area are so tiny and have no tablets on display. Heck, our Gamestop's are so small, they don't even have demo video game systems either.
so theres no sound issues?
blaziner18 said:
so theres no sound issues?
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Click to collapse
Sounded loud n clear while I was playing Glowball. Actually too loud n had to cut it down.
demandarin said:
Sounded loud n clear while I was playing Glowball. Actually too loud n had to cut it down.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thats great to hear, i used my ipad for nothing but youtube and music.
Pretty much just sold me even more on the Prime. I can't believe how much people like this thing in its old state. I can't even begin to think of how fast it will be and how high its benchmarks will be on ICS. ICS will bring both hardware acceleration and optimized multi-core support, so I can't even predict how fast the Prime will be then.
My thoughts so far have been: if the TF Prime is being hailed as the best Android tablet in its short-lived launch state with Honeycomb, what will it be like with ICS?
Ok thanks for you review. I am sold!
demandarin said:
For starters, this is the thinnest tablet I've ever held. It's amazing how thin this is. I'm a tall guy, 6'4 so any tablet really thin to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL, so things seem thin when you are tall? I figured things would seem short
I'm curious as we all are BUT
hell even my Compaq Ipaq looked great when I tried it in store somewhat 10 years ago.
But I can count with one hand how often I used it cause it was terrible.
Sure we know the Android user experience and so can somewhat guess what is coming.
But still you don't know the specifics of the Prime hardware.
What if all have those Wifi issues or anything else.
It is just to early to lift this on a throne. Calm down people and come to your minds
Thanks demandarin. I did my pre-order from in-store on Saturday too. It was a store that had a tablet section, but no TF201 on display, nor did they know what I was talking about when I asked about it. They thought it was a console game of some kind.
Luckily, the GameStop directly across the street from my work in downtown Boston has one for display, supposedly. I'm going to swing by at lunch to see if I can get some hands-on time as well.
The Janitor Mop said:
I can't even begin to think of how fast it will be and how high its benchmarks will be on ICS. ICS will bring both hardware acceleration and optimized multi-core support, so I can't even predict how fast the Prime will be then.
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Click to collapse
Looks like any speed increases from ICS will come from optimization and not from ICS being inherently better at hardware acceleration than Honeycomb.
https://plus.google.com/105051985738280261832/posts/2FXDCz8x93s
I'm not even sure the ICS will improve all that much over Honeycomb in terms of multi-core support, but I don't remember seeing anything on that.
Not saying ICS won't be great, just not sure that we're going to see the kind of improvement over Honeycomb that some folks are expecting.
jimtong said:
Ok thanks for you review. I am sold!
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Click to collapse
No problem. I wish I would've spent more time with it but had my woman n daughter waiting in the car for me. It's been a very long time since I preordered something to get it release day. I think the last time I did so was when NBA jams tournament edition came out for the Sega Genesis..lmfao.
Still amazed at how thin it was. I definitely have to find a nice case for it. The Asus widgets like myzine looked pretty nice also. I have some sick wallpapers I'd love to put on that beautiful display. I might wait till after ICS to root although I'll be able to root as soon as I take it out the box. It will be hard though. I just don't want to root now then ICS comes out OTA and it throws up some b.s. That it can't install. I think I can be patient enough to wait. My main reason for rooting my phone was to get wireless tether and barnacle working. This tablet is wifi only so not as pressed. Unless developers come up with a sick rom to over clock this Mofo to like 2GHz or more per core
I spent some time with one at GameStop tonight. The browser isn't nearly as fluid as it is on my iPad 2 but I'm going to hold out hope for some magic with ICS.
I played with some of the other tablets in the mall - Galaxy Tab 10.1, and the 8.9 with the 1.5Ghz dual core, and they felt very sluggish compared to the Prime. The Prime is very smooth in the UI, so it feels like they have headroom for some browser optimizations.
UI looked unfettered with the typical oem crap, and the hardware was beautiful.
Will it replace my iPad 2 for casual use? Hard to say, I'm crazy in to Infinity Blade II right now, and don't (yet) see anything comparable in the Market, but this is unquestionably the best android tablet yet, and I'm really excited to get mine and get to know post-Gingerbread Android.
fraeone said:
I spent some time with one at GameStop tonight. The browser isn't nearly as fluid as it is on my iPad 2 but I'm going to hold out hope for some magic with ICS.
I played with some of the other tablets in the mall - Galaxy Tab 10.1, and the 8.9 with the 1.5Ghz dual core, and they felt very sluggish compared to the Prime. The Prime is very smooth in the UI, so it feels like they have headroom for some browser optimizations.
UI looked unfettered with the typical oem crap, and the hardware was beautiful.
Will it replace my iPad 2 for casual use? Hard to say, I'm crazy in to Infinity Blade II right now, and don't (yet) see anything comparable in the Market, but this is unquestionably the best android tablet yet, and I'm really excited to get mine and get to know post-Gingerbread Android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do you feel the Transformer Prime display fares against the ipad 2 display? Does it look colorful and vibrant in a way similar to the ipad 2? Looked at the original transformer display in a store the other day and wasn't all that impressed. Thanks for you input.
Got mine last night from Best Buy (Ordered 12/23). Here are my first impressions.
Ill preface this by saying Ive never had a tablet and dont even know if Ive ever even used one for more than 5 seconds. I had been thinking about getting one, and when I saw that Best Buy was taking orders, I jumped on it figuring I could always return it. I was a little worried reading about all the issues on the forums before I got it.
Build quality is nice, Im impressed. I havent had any ports fall out or cables breaking. The thing just looks nice, and feels quality in your hands. I did notice people complaining that the screen was coming off in the top left. Mine has this "issue", though I dont think its really an issue. The little gap that seems "unglued" is directly above the volume rocker and HDMI port. The screen isnt coming up here if you look at it from the side, but if you push on it theres a little give. I think this is just the way its built, there probably isnt anything to adhere the screen to in that little spot where the buttons are. No big deal to me, I think everyones overreacting about it. I havent seen any backlight bleeding issues either, and I was looking for it. Another issue people have been talking about is the Asus logo "glitching" on the boot screen. I looked for this too and it doesnt happen on mine.
The screen is amazing. Not much else to say about it. Its super clear and bright.
My wifi works fine. I get a crappy signal because I live in a basement, but the speeds were very close to what I was getting on my HTC Incredible and Macbook Pro all side by side. I tried using the GPS for about 1 minute, unsurprisingly I didnt get a signal because Im in a basement. Ill test it more later, but honestly if this thing didnt come with GPS at all I wouldnt really care.
I played some GTA III on it, it was awesome. The controls are much better than I would have expected, though I think it would still suck on a small phone screen. Really badass that a full game like this can be played on a tablet, I hope more stuff like this comes out.
I only briefly toyed with the camera, seems more than adequate. Pretty quick shutter speed.
Asus gives you a little microfiber in the box, and it wiped off all finger prints and smudges quickly and easily.
The keyboard is pretty annoying to use in landscape as you might expect. I picked up SwiftKey Tablet X for like $5, and its a big improvement. The split keyboard is great, and visually the keyboard is much nicer looking than the stock stuff.
As far as speed and performance, it seems nice to me but as I mentioned before this is the first tablet Ive ever used. Its a little laggy at times, but nothing terrible at all and could just be the nature of Honeycomb. I cant wait to get ICS on this thing, its only going to get better!
Overall Im really impressed. This is a badass gadget. I dont think Ill be returning mine
sectachrome said:
Got mine last night from Best Buy (Ordered 12/23). Here are my first impressions.
Ill preface this by saying Ive never had a tablet and dont even know if Ive ever even used one for more than 5 seconds. I had been thinking about getting one, and when I saw that Best Buy was taking orders, I jumped on it figuring I could always return it. I was a little worried reading about all the issues on the forums before I got it.
Build quality is nice, Im impressed. I havent had any ports fall out or cables breaking. The thing just looks nice, and feels quality in your hands. I did notice people complaining that the screen was coming off in the top left. Mine has this "issue", though I dont think its really an issue. The little gap that seems "unglued" is directly above the volume rocker and HDMI port. The screen isnt coming up here if you look at it from the side, but if you push on it theres a little give. I think this is just the way its built, there probably isnt anything to adhere the screen to in that little spot where the buttons are. No big deal to me, I think everyones overreacting about it. I havent seen any backlight bleeding issues either, and I was looking for it. Another issue people have been talking about is the Asus logo "glitching" on the boot screen. I looked for this too and it doesnt happen on mine.
The screen is amazing. Not much else to say about it. Its super clear and bright.
My wifi works fine. I get a crappy signal because I live in a basement, but the speeds were very close to what I was getting on my HTC Incredible and Macbook Pro all side by side. I tried using the GPS for about 1 minute, unsurprisingly I didnt get a signal because Im in a basement. Ill test it more later, but honestly if this thing didnt come with GPS at all I wouldnt really care.
I played some GTA III on it, it was awesome. The controls are much better than I would have expected, though I think it would still suck on a small phone screen. Really badass that a full game like this can be played on a tablet, I hope more stuff like this comes out.
I only briefly toyed with the camera, seems more than adequate. Pretty quick shutter speed.
Asus gives you a little microfiber in the box, and it wiped off all finger prints and smudges quickly and easily.
The keyboard is pretty annoying to use in landscape as you might expect. I picked up SwiftKey Tablet X for like $5, and its a big improvement. The split keyboard is great, and visually the keyboard is much nicer looking than the stock stuff.
As far as speed and performance, it seems nice to me but as I mentioned before this is the first tablet Ive ever used. Its a little laggy at times, but nothing terrible at all and could just be the nature of Honeycomb. I cant wait to get ICS on this thing, its only going to get better!
Overall Im really impressed. This is a badass gadget. I dont think Ill be returning mine
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool. Thanks.
Okay guys, here we go with some impressions of a non american prime.
Today, I got my 32GB gray Prime + the gray dock from the first german batch.
I have to say that I never owned a tablet myself before and I currently use a Desire HD as my development phone.
Hardware:
Good:
Build quality is perfect, period. On my Prime there is absolutely nothing i don't like about it.
It's super thin and not too heavy
Power and volume buttons are nice, but not metal
Keyboard dock build quality is on the same superior level.
The screen is absolutely awesome, super bright, perferct viewing angels and the colors are super good too, no yellow hue for me.
The speaker(s) are hands down the best thing I've ever heard on any mobile device. They are loud, they are clear and they have bass . I tried to completely cover it -->not possible with my hand, it still sounds the same
No comment on batterylife yet, it's my first charge
Camera is really good for a tablet, the pictures look much like iPhone pictures look. Really good when zoomed out and pretty strange when zoomed in.
The screen is very easy to clean, no comparision to my phone.
Bad:
Wifi is pretty weak, I can clearly see that it is way weaker than my DHD (it actually doesn't even see my network where my phone connects without any issue)
I won't say anything concerning the actual speed because I am not used to Wifi devices having a better speed than 10Mbps.... One word though: it's slower than my phone.
After the .33 update Wifi speeds are really good, 25-30Mbit/s
It's pretty sad we got only one speaker, you clearly notice the sound comes only from one side
The charging cable somehow feels really cheap. It also doesn't have any kind of snapping thing which prevents unwanted removal of the plug. The connector is like a USB-plug, you plug it and you un-plug it without any button or so to press. The charger itself feels okay.
Keys on the dock could need a bit more travel distance
Screen is finger print magnet, but I actually havenÄt compared this to other tablets
Software
Good:
Hmm, yea what to write here...?
HC runs smoother on the Prime than on my girlfriends Xoom...
Asus Supernote is a pretty decent note taking app. If they add palm rejection it's the best note app out there.
Haven't tested much of the other Asus apps so far
Ah, the Asus quicksettingsmenu is cool too, it's fast and just works
Bad:
HC just sucks, it's not well optimized at all. There are bugs random slowdowns and hangs everywhere
My GPS is broken too (more on this later)
Touchscreen sucks (I put this to software because I don't think it's hardware related). The touchscreen isn't always working properly. It's the same "ghost touching" reported earlier. Also it sometimes just doesn't register at all. You need to tap 2 or even more times.
Touchscreen working perfectly after the .33 update, no more issues at all.
Usage
I love the keyboard, i actually work a lot with that tiny mousepad I never saw me working with a mouse on android
Battery (still first charge of Prime and dock) seems to be pretty good, I am currently on 11 hours of constant usage (webrowsing, a movie, listening to music playing games, etc)
using the touchscreen while docked is a bit hard because the device is very top heavy, you need to hold the dock while working with your finger on the screen
You need to activate the ASUS onscreen keyboard in order to get a QWERTZ keyboard while using the dock. Otherwise it's a QWERTY. That's the most annoying thing I found so far
The "GPS-issue":
Now I had the chance to actually test it myself, so here are the results.
My Prime doesn't lock onto satellites as most others here too.
It barely sees any satellites at all. Where my phone sees 10 sats (all with good reception) the Prime sees from time to time exactly one with near zero reception...
I really think this is software related (or maybe I just want to believe that? ). Read why:
In my opinion we have so many issues with the Primes because ASUS didn't intend to release the Prime with Honeycomb at all.
I think they developed this device only with ICS and once they realized that they can't finish ICS they hurried up to slap HC on it.
Unfortunately the actual testing of the software was more or less forgotten or better suspended due to time constraints.
If I am right we will see a nicely running more or less issue free ICS soon. If this is not the case ASUS really screwed up this time...
Conclusion
All in all I think the Prime is a awesome device which will get perfect once the bugs are gone. I am still happy with my Prime and I'll keep it.
If they fix the GPS and the touchscreen I got a perfect device for my use. Weak Wifi is not really a problem for me
Update
Okay a little update mainly about battery life:
I used the Prime all day now until it reached 2% I got about 9 hours of constant heavy usage, including webbrowsing, downloading lots of things, watching a movie, listening to music playing games, etc.
Then i plugged the fully charged dock and continued using the Prime the same way as before. Currently I am near 12 hours of usage, 23% left in the dock and Prime got recharged by dock to 31%.
I guess the Prime will go up to about 40-45% (all while using it), before the dock gets empty.
So far I am pretty impressed by the batterylife. (remember this is the first charge for both Prime and dock)
See also the added section about the usage.
Second Update
I just got the .33 OTA and it installed fine without any problems.
The touchscreen is super responsive now, no more issue at all in this case.
Wifi seems to be faster too, GPS hasn't changed at all (as expected)
Diamondback2010 said:
The "GPS-issue":
Now I had the chance to actually test it myself, so here are the results.
My Prime doesn't lock onto satellites as most others here too.
It barely sees any satellites at all. Where my phone sees 10 sats (all with good reception) the Prime sees from time to time exactly one with near zero reception...
I really think this is software related (or maybe I just want to believe that? ). Read why:
In my opinion we have so many issues with the Primes because ASUS didn't intend to release the Prime with Honeycomb at all.
I think they developed this device only with ICS and once they realized that they can't finish ICS they hurried up to slap HC on it.
Unfortunately the actual testing of the software was more or less forgotten or better suspended due to time constraints.
If I am right we will see a nicely running more or less issue free ICS soon. If this is not the case ASUS really screwed up this time...
Conclusion
All in all I think the Prime is a awesome device which will get perfect once the bugs are gone. I am still happy with my Prime and I'll keep it.
If they fix the GPS and the touchscreen I got a perfect device for my use. Weak Wifi is not really a problem for me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting point you raise and something that I was thinking about also, maybe the drivers for the GPS were intended to work only with ICS (I don't know enough to comment on this) and that's really why we're getting such shoddy reception. However the fact that ASUS are now removing all traces of the device having GPS in the specs list does suggest that it may well be hardware related.
I'm expecting a statement pretty soon from them.
Thanks for the short review! Do you have the 64GB Prime?
JoeyLe said:
Thanks for the short review! Do you have the 64GB Prime?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, the 32GB + dock bundle in gray.
Diamondback2010 said:
Nope, the 32GB + dock bundle in gray.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Those already out in Germany? You're lucky there! Will be another week or 2 before it will come out in Holland.
Doktaphex said:
However the fact that ASUS are now removing all traces of the device having GPS in the specs list does suggest that it may well be hardware related.
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Click to collapse
I haven't seen this mentioned before. Is this true?
I see it still lists GPS here:
http://www.asus.com/Eee/Eee_Pad/Eee_Pad_Transformer_Prime_TF201/#specifications
ModestMuse23 said:
I haven't seen this mentioned before. Is this true?
I see it still lists GPS here:
http://www.asus.com/Eee/Eee_Pad/Eee_Pad_Transformer_Prime_TF201/#specifications
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Click to collapse
Yeah, here it still is too: http://eee.asus.com/eeepad/transformer-prime/specification/
Gps is still listed in specs on Asus global site.
Diamondback2010 said:
Okay guys, here we go with some impressions of a non american prime.
Today, I got my 32GB gray Prime + the gray dock from the first german batch.
I have to say that I never owned a tablet myself before and I currently use a Desire HD as my development phone.
Hardware:
Good:
Build quality is perfect, period. On my Prime there is absolutely nothing i don't like about it.
It's super thin and not too heavy
Power and volume buttons are nice, but not metal
Keyboard dock build quality is on the same superior level.
The screen is absolutely awesome, super bright, perferct viewing angels and the colors are super good too, no yellow hue for me.
The speaker(s) are hands down the best thing I've ever heard on any mobile device. They are loud, they are clear and they have bass . I tried to completely cover it -->not possible with my hand, it still sounds the same
No comment on batterylife yet, it's my first charge
Camera is really good for a tablet, the pictures look much like iPhone pictures look. Really good when zoomed out and pretty strange when zoomed in.
The screen is very easy to clean, no comparision to my phone.
Bad:
Wifi is pretty weak, I can clearly see that it is way weaker than my DHD (it actually doesn't even see my network where my phone connects without any issue)
I won't say anything concerning the actual speed because I am not used to Wifi devices having a better speed than 10Mbps.... One word though: it's slower than my phone.
It's pretty sad we got only one speaker, you clearly notice the sound comes only from one side
The charging cable somehow feels really cheap. The charger itself is okay
Keys on the dock could need a bit more travel distance
Screen is finger print magnet, but I actually havenÄt compared this to other tablets
Software
Good:
Hmm, yea what to write here...?
HC runs smoother on the Prime than on my girlfriends Xoom...
Asus Supernote is a pretty decent note taking app. If they add palm rejection it's the best note app out there.
Haven't tested much of the other Asus apps so far
Ah, the Asus quicksettingsmenu is cool too, it's fast and just works
Bad:
HC just sucks, it's not well optimized at all. There are bugs random slowdowns and hangs everywhere
My GPS is broken too (more on this later)
Touchscreen sucks (I put this to software because I don't think it's hardware related). The touchscreen isn't always working properly. It's the same "ghost touching" reported earlier. Also it sometimes just doesn't register at all. You need to tap 2 or even more times.
The "GPS-issue":
Now I had the chance to actually test it myself, so here are the results.
My Prime doesn't lock onto satellites as most others here too.
It barely sees any satellites at all. Where my phone sees 10 sats (all with good reception) the Prime sees from time to time exactly one with near zero reception...
I really think this is software related (or maybe I just want to believe that? ). Read why:
In my opinion we have so many issues with the Primes because ASUS didn't intend to release the Prime with Honeycomb at all.
I think they developed this device only with ICS and once they realized that they can't finish ICS they hurried up to slap HC on it.
Unfortunately the actual testing of the software was more or less forgotten or better suspended due to time constraints.
If I am right we will see a nicely running more or less issue free ICS soon. If this is not the case ASUS really screwed up this time...
Conclusion
All in all I think the Prime is a awesome device which will get perfect once the bugs are gone. I am still happy with my Prime and I'll keep it.
If they fix the GPS and the touchscreen I got a perfect device for my use. Weak Wifi is not really a problem for me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
great first impressions. I also believe this has the best sound out of any mobile device I've heard before. in the themes and apps section there's a thread on an app called Volume+. its a volume booster that uses a speaker mod to accomplish this. let me tell you, IT WORKS GREAT. my prime now is wayyy louder than stock and has more bass to it also. I confirmed this with a decibel meter testing the speaker mod off vs. on. definitely a dramatic increase in sound and quality. has various profiles and even advanced ones so you can use equalizer if you feel up to it. that thread had link to marketplace for it. its a paid app. but he also says, in description, you can get that same app for free from his website. which he lists in app description also. just thought I'd spread the word as the sound now is unbelievable for the most part.
glad to hear you liking your Prime. hopefully it'll serve as a great developement tool for you also.
Thanks for the review. Surprised that the WiFi isn't as strong as the Desire HD I would have thought it would be. Maybe this can be improved, certainly sounds like it would be better with optimized ICS as well.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
ModestMuse23 said:
I haven't seen this mentioned before. Is this true?
I see it still lists GPS here:
http://www.asus.com/Eee/Eee_Pad/Eee_Pad_Transformer_Prime_TF201/#specifications
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
JoeyLe said:
Yeah, here it still is too: http://eee.asus.com/eeepad/transformer-prime/specification/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
acidus. said:
Gps is still listed in specs on Asus global site.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its true. check out the GPS issues thread n You will see. they began to remove it first from the U.S. Asus site. they probably in process now of trying to remove all traces of it..lol
demandarin said:
great first impressions. I also believe this has the best sound out of any mobile device I've heard before. in the themes and apps section there's a thread on an app called Volume+. its a volume booster that uses a speaker mod to accomplish this. let me tell you, IT WORKS GREAT. my prime now is wayyy louder than stock and has more bass to it also. I confirmed this with a decibel meter testing the speaker mod off vs. on. definitely a dramatic increase in sound and quality. has various profiles and even advanced ones so you can use equalizer if you feel up to it. that thread had link to marketplace for it. its a paid app. but he also says, in description, you can get that same app for free from his website. which he lists in app description also. just thought I'd spread the word as the sound now is unbelievable for the most part.
glad to hear you liking your Prime. hopefully it'll serve as a great developement tool for you also.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, nice never tried that app before, but it works perfectly
Thanks for that tip
demandarin said:
its true. check out the GPS issues thread n You will see. they began to remove it first from the U.S. Asus site. they probably in process now of trying to remove all traces of it..lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, no trace of GPS on german site...
First batch in Poland and gps works perfectly.
Wysłane z mojego Transformer Prime TF201 za pomocą Tapatalk
Diamondback2010 said:
Okay guys, here we go with some impressions of a non american prime.
Today, I got my 32GB gray Prime + the gray dock from the first german batch.
I have to say that I never owned a tablet myself before and I currently use a Desire HD as my development phone.
Hardware:
Good:
Build quality is perfect, period. On my Prime there is absolutely nothing i don't like about it.
It's super thin and not too heavy
Power and volume buttons are nice, but not metal
Keyboard dock build quality is on the same superior level.
The screen is absolutely awesome, super bright, perferct viewing angels and the colors are super good too, no yellow hue for me.
The speaker(s) are hands down the best thing I've ever heard on any mobile device. They are loud, they are clear and they have bass . I tried to completely cover it -->not possible with my hand, it still sounds the same
No comment on batterylife yet, it's my first charge
Camera is really good for a tablet, the pictures look much like iPhone pictures look. Really good when zoomed out and pretty strange when zoomed in.
The screen is very easy to clean, no comparision to my phone.
Bad:
Wifi is pretty weak, I can clearly see that it is way weaker than my DHD (it actually doesn't even see my network where my phone connects without any issue)
I won't say anything concerning the actual speed because I am not used to Wifi devices having a better speed than 10Mbps.... One word though: it's slower than my phone.
It's pretty sad we got only one speaker, you clearly notice the sound comes only from one side
The charging cable somehow feels really cheap. It also doesn't have any kind of snapping thing which prevents unwanted removal of the plug. The connector is like a USB-plug, you plug it and you un-plug it without any button or so to press. The charger itself feels okay.
Keys on the dock could need a bit more travel distance
Screen is finger print magnet, but I actually havenÄt compared this to other tablets
Software
Good:
Hmm, yea what to write here...?
HC runs smoother on the Prime than on my girlfriends Xoom...
Asus Supernote is a pretty decent note taking app. If they add palm rejection it's the best note app out there.
Haven't tested much of the other Asus apps so far
Ah, the Asus quicksettingsmenu is cool too, it's fast and just works
Bad:
HC just sucks, it's not well optimized at all. There are bugs random slowdowns and hangs everywhere
My GPS is broken too (more on this later)
Touchscreen sucks (I put this to software because I don't think it's hardware related). The touchscreen isn't always working properly. It's the same "ghost touching" reported earlier. Also it sometimes just doesn't register at all. You need to tap 2 or even more times.
The "GPS-issue":
Now I had the chance to actually test it myself, so here are the results.
My Prime doesn't lock onto satellites as most others here too.
It barely sees any satellites at all. Where my phone sees 10 sats (all with good reception) the Prime sees from time to time exactly one with near zero reception...
I really think this is software related (or maybe I just want to believe that? ). Read why:
In my opinion we have so many issues with the Primes because ASUS didn't intend to release the Prime with Honeycomb at all.
I think they developed this device only with ICS and once they realized that they can't finish ICS they hurried up to slap HC on it.
Unfortunately the actual testing of the software was more or less forgotten or better suspended due to time constraints.
If I am right we will see a nicely running more or less issue free ICS soon. If this is not the case ASUS really screwed up this time...
Conclusion
All in all I think the Prime is a awesome device which will get perfect once the bugs are gone. I am still happy with my Prime and I'll keep it.
If they fix the GPS and the touchscreen I got a perfect device for my use. Weak Wifi is not really a problem for me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
where in Germany are these available?
The whole thing is just an incredible failure by Asus. They obviously rushed and keep rushing an unfinished product to market in order to beat the new ipad launch in January. Its nothing more than a big FU to the consumer. Return for refund, dont let them get away with this BS.
Sent from my my i9000 running CM or MIUI
jotka2 said:
First batch in Poland and gps works perfectly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lucky you. Got mine yesterday, yes same batch in Poland distributed by Euro RTV AGD, and can confirm that the GPS reception is of very low signal. Long time for first lock, and looses the signal very easily.
Side by side comparison with my TF101 clearly suggests problems with GPS of the TF201.
Diamondback2010 said:
[*]The charging cable somehow feels really cheap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is. It look like the same cable as the one in TF101. Mine chipped on the corner - on itself, just while I was plugging it.
It also doesn't have any kind of snapping thing which prevents unwanted removal of the plug.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's actually a good thing, so if you trip on the cable, the device will hopefully unplug and not crash.
Magnesus said:
It is. It look like the same cable as the one in TF101. Mine chipped on the corner - on itself, just while I was plugging it.
It's actually a good thing, so if you trip on the cable, the device will hopefully unplug and not crash.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Never thought about it this way, but you are right
Just kinda unhandy when you are doing things with it while charging (maybe the initial charge is the only time this happens at all )
Diamondback2010 said:
32GB gray Prime + the gray dock from the first german batch.
where in Germany did you get yours??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Received my prime today and so happy to report that the tablet have
No light bleeds even in complete darkness
No poor wifi signal
No GPS issues , connects offline in 5min.
No yellow screen color
No lcd screen separation
IT'S JUST PERFECT!
Should i return it ? This is not normal it should have a defect for it to become a full pledge prime.
mywingtophone said:
Received my prime today and so happy to report that the tablet have
No light bleeds even in complete darkness
No poor wifi signal
No GPS issues , connects offline in 5min.
No yellow screen color
No lcd screen separation
IT'S JUST PERFECT!
Should i return it ? This is not normal it should have a defect for it to become a full pledge prime.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Posts like this are like putting a "kick me" sign on your back...
Mine is fine too think I had light bleeding when it first setup but there's none now
Sent from my HTC Vision using Tapatalk
BarryH_GEG said:
Posts like this are like putting a "kick me" sign on your back...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
now we plan a robbery, and the tablet will be ours
Mine's perfect. No light bleed or pixel issues. No issues wifi or gps. Absolutely love the new design. It looks rich and feels like your holding something very solid. I think it feels much thinner and a little lighter. Gonna be a late night tonight.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
BarryH_GEG said:
Posts like this are like putting a "kick me" sign on your back...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
shut it, this is what people are complaining about on these forums. theres no positive posts about the primes. If there was more people willing to post that they have good primes people wouldn't be walking away from the prime.
blaziner18 said:
shut it, this is what people are complaining about on these forums. theres no positive posts about the primes. If there was more people willing to post that they have good primes people wouldn't be walking away from the prime.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When eVer I see a post showing doubt on the prime, I usually try to interject my positive experience with it. this is a great device. my Ipad just sits now. been using this device nonstop since I got it on 12/22
The only thing that bugs me about mine is that transferring files thru the usb cable is really slowbor gives errors. I have to use swiftp instead. Aside from that everything is great
cyi1 said:
The only thing that bugs me about mine is that transferring files thru the usb cable is really slowbor gives errors. I have to use swiftp instead. Aside from that everything is great
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can transfer large files between my phone and computer by USB, I don't see why the prime should be any different. could it be a defect, or maybe you don't have your settings right?
demandarin said:
When eVer I see a post showing doubt on the prime, I usually try to interject my positive experience with it. this is a great device. my Ipad just sits now. been using this device nonstop since I got it on 12/22
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
except you have had it one more day then me
blaziner18 said:
shut it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you re-read what I said, it's not negative. The same could and does apply when someone posts an all negative thread. Taking any absolute position on a public forum is the equivelant of "kick me."
Transformer Prime
Have had no problem with mine. Everything works. Happy, Happy! Because of it being a tablet some of my phone apps don't work but I have found new ones. Have been transferring things between desktop, laptop and Transformer using ES File Explorer and have not needed to use usb. Speed of transfer has been good. Only problem has been some of the older apps have not been able to find the MicroSD card. Move the data to the internal storage and everything works.
Like it, still playing with it.
Mine seems to be perfect, as well.
I am in NH
Ordered 12/23 Best Buy
Received 12/28 (was shipped from Fresno, CA)
I am just wondering if it is possible to discern whether the good ones/bad ones where concentrated geographically? Or perhaps by retailer?
Mine also works perfectly.one tiny spot of light bleed but can only see it in the dark. No dead or stuck pixels. GPS locks with and without wifi, even though I doubt I will use it at any point I wanted to see if it worked. Wifi is strong for normal usage though I haven't tested it with any apps it does have better range than my Droid charge does. No seperating glass issues or yellow colors.
I love it so far!
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
I have issues with the stock browser and WiFi/GPS, but everything else is perfect.
Gotta throw mine into the "working great" bin. I got it Dec. 22 in El Paso, Texas. Gamestop. GS employees were generally cool and helpful. I got it before I left back to Central America on the December 29 so while annoyed with the release of the Prime it wasn't more than that.
No light bleed or Wi-Fi issues. Same reception as iPad (I haven't tried ipad2) . Just used it in several airports while on my way back home. Was really please with its performance on that trip, which had lots if delays but battery handled it without problem.
This is my first tablet so I'm discovering new things every day.
demandarin said:
When eVer I see a post showing doubt on the prime, I usually try to interject my positive experience with it. this is a great device. my Ipad just sits now. been using this device nonstop since I got it on 12/22
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same date of acquisition, same experience. I am burning some vacation time, and originally thought I was having less than optional battery life, then realized I was just playing too much with it. Working great here.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
I was amazed to find that mine was perfect out of the box as well. For a first tablet this is certainly setting the bar high for me.
Bimboy said:
Same date of acquisition, same experience. I am burning some vacation time, and originally thought I was having less than optional battery life, then realized I was just playing too much with it. Working great here.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know what you mean. for the people enjoying the device, we are using it like crazy. probably taxing the system more than reviewers did on battery tests..lmao. either way, even with nonstop heavy use, this gets great battery life. still amazed at how thin the Prime is and how great the display looks.
I need a case badly for this though. anyone know if any brick n mortar stores like Best Buy or Gamestop got any accessories or cases in yet? I really hope targus makes a case. I have the targas Truss case for my Ipad and it provides maximum protection, high quality leather, and great functionality options.
demandarin said:
I know what you mean. for the people enjoying the device, we are using it like crazy. probably taxing the system more than reviewers did on battery tests..lmao. either way, even with nonstop heavy use, this gets great battery life. still amazed at how thin the Prime is and how great the display looks.
I need a case badly for this though. anyone know if any brick n mortar stores like Best Buy or Gamestop got any accessories or cases in yet? I really hope targus makes a case. I have the targas Truss case for my Ipad and it provides maximum protection, high quality leather, and great functionality options.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
im going to look for a case this weekend so ill keep you updated on which one i pick!
as for the device i am in love with it, its perfect best battery life better than i expected and it functions like a beast and is so powerful and gaming on this thing is insane i have not put it down
Got the phone a couple days ago, wanted to share some first impressions as everyone (or most) here has been so helpful.....
1. Screen
One of the major reasons I upgraded. Obviously much sharper, rendering the nytimes in desktop mode is my de facto test and is quite glorious compared to the s3 indeed, though chrome seemed to have difficulty rendering the smaller text. I have the display set to dynamic, auto adapt off, auto correct tone off and the white point with these settings is definitely preferable to the s3. Initially I looked at my s3 and my first thought was, WOAH !, that the s4 screen was way too warm but then I looked at my desktop lcd and realized the s4 screen was very similar to lcd white balance. I guess our brains, or mine at least kind of calibrates to different white sources.
I was a little concerned about the brightness when browsing sites with high APLs (mostly white pages) as Samsung seems to have programmed in a bit of trickery with the auto brightness to save on battery. I can definitely confirm that firefox has a substantially brighter white luminance than either the stock or chrome browsers. Much brighter than I was able to achieve with the s3. It's nice to be able to crank it and hurt your eyes once in a while when your on the couch lol.
Outdoor viewing was surprisingly good considering it's an often used attack on the amoled screens, a notch or two better than my old s3, and that one was no slouch either.
Oh yeah, and the screen is dead black at night, kinda freaky as I feel like the phone if off, the s3 kinda gave me a vague glow in similar conditions.
2. Battery
Yeah, my s3 was giving me problems with this for some reason. I could get 2-3 hrs screen time max. Yesterday I got around 5 with high brightness, mostly wifi, and only a few of the samsung features turned on. Today was a bit more of a mix 80% wifi, 20% 4g, mostly max brightness and I am at 2 hrs 45 min with 45% remaining. I am cautiously pleased so far, especially considering all of the downloading and installing that was going on.
3. System interface :/
So I am using nova prime and that's helping a lot but like a few others here, I am noticing some strange hiccups/stutters in daily use that are pretty foreign to me coming from the s3. After turning off the samsung feature set, maps of all things is still hiccuping along when zooming or moderate panning. This is worse with a tilted satellite view but still noticeable even with just the road layout. Viewing photos in the gallery has a slight chop as well, using quickpics has been a temporary solution. I hoping for some kind of software update.....
Not a huge of the fan of the redesigned dialer, contacts list. Black themes should be a mandatory option (lol) with these oled phones.
One of feature that originally generated some excitement which was mercilessly quashed after reading reviews but then rekindled with the unit in hand was air hover. Using this in mail, messages with the haptic setting on is surprisingly smooth and useful, not to mention pretty cool. Your finger doesn't even need to be particularly close. Not sure about the air gestures, they seem pretty consistent but need to be used to add different functionality. I can imagine some neat implementations if developers decide to hop on board.
Design
Well I think I need some time to adjust to this but I can tell you that my observant roommate (who is a techie and just got the one) hasn't realized i got the new phone yet and I've been talking about it for a while. Even with all the installation beeps and ringtones that come with a new phone and him sitting on a nearby couch for hours he hasnt said anything. I ll see how long I can pull this off.
For me it definitely feels different in hand, not as slippery due to the less tapered edges which is good but also a bit less curvaceous and flirty (which I kind of liked in the s3). This feels more like a passat and the s3 more like a jetta I guess. Let me say that I do appreciate really well designed things in general and this phone doesn't make me cry so......
Last thing, I bought this phone off contract at full price and my purchase experience at the verizon store was really bizarre. Of course they must make less money when someone buys it outright but the salesman was like," why do you want to upgrade from the s3??" ,"The battery might be a bit better than your used to but don't count on it."..."So you're gonna like play around with the screen "(in mocking tone cause I told him I was interested in the new display) . That place sucks and the one out in the surburbs was even worse. Like used car salesman or something...
. Anyone else have this kind of experience?????
Also, anyone using lightflow with this device? In case you haven't guessed I love to freakin tweak thingszzzz...
best to yall.....
I came from the s3 yesterday.. picked up the s4 and couldn't be happier. I've had the phone for about 24 hours.. first thing I noticed was how clear the screen was. Not much if a difference over the s3 but it's there. Battery life as been great on stock un rooted rom. Compared to my s3 which was rooted running slim bean and a custom kernel overclocked and uv. I wanna say s4 is better. I like the feel of the s4 better other than the s3's rounded edges. Overall I'm happy... Will root soon!
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda premium
I just upgraded yesterday as well. So far I am liking it. Initially I wasn't impressed but I shattered my s3 screen and figured since I had an upgrade on my other line I would go ahead and get it instead of spending $100 just to get another s3. I have already rooted and froze most of the bloat with titanium backup. I have never flashed any roms but since my s3 is still functional, I plan on using it to learn. I am already having fun with the irblaster changing channels on random TVs lol. Overall I'm happy so far.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
Battery and other things
The battery is like night and day. Yesterday around dinner time my battery was at about 85%, and I use my phone constantly. On my SIII, I'd be lucky if it went the whole day without dying. That is one feature that I did not think would vary as much as it did, and am very happy with that.
I love the screen. It seemed a bit flickery (that's the best way I can describe it) for the first couple of days, but whatever was causing that (perhaps my imagination) has stopped.
The infrared sensor is much more useful than I had initially anticipated. Aside from being able to use it with multiple TV/set top box setups, I can screw with people in restaurants. :silly:
As a smartphone in general I have been very impressed so far.
Why would using Quickpic be temporary? First thing I do is set Quickpic as the default and hide gallery.
Frankly, I never really notice the stutters that other people talk about. When using an app that is reflowing from the net, there is no way to separate device issues from network issues, and I always notice it is these sorts of apps people complain about (maps, browsers, etc.).
yeah, quickpic was actually my goto image app on the s3 now that I think I about it....
The stutters and what not are definitely a little more pronounced on the maps app with the s4 than the s3 on the same
wifi network. Maybe it's the fact that the s4 is moving 2.5 times the pixels, maybe it's an early bug yet that will be fixed shortly,
maybe it's the way the snapdragon throttles the cpu too aggressively according to some thread I remember reading over or maybe I am just expecting too much buttery perfection
yeah just tried the ir blaster. 3 of my housemates were so seriously into watching the final episode of "top of the lake" about an hour ago and I was tempted to spoil the moment but I hadn't programmed the phone for that tv. oh well......
I've been skeptical of purchasing a samsung device because I don't generally fall for overly marketed items. That being said, I went ahead and pulled the trigger coming from HTC Rezound and I couldn't be happier about this device. It is no doubt a winner among users as long as you root and get rid of the bloat coming with it.
I love this phone... I mean love this phone, but had I not been having mad GPS problems with my S3 I would never have made this upgrade. It's just not a compelling upgrade over the S3, which is still an awesome phone. Most of the new features are very gimmicky. I have pretty much everything with the prefix "Smart" turned off and almost everything with the prefix "Air" turned off. The hovering trick is pretty much the only one I don't feel is a gimmick.
About Quickpic - that has been my go-to gallery app since the Thunderbolt but I actually like the S4 gallery better. The GUI is very slick and the hover image preview is actually useful.
I agree with a few of the topics covered coming from the S3
The screen is awesome, definitely noticeable to me, battery life seems to be up, GPS works perfectly, and the camera is pretty awesome; really like the wider angle on the front camera as well. Pretty motivational upgrade if you ask me..
However, I am noticing some UI lag, as mentioned maps as well as chrome. This could be that I was using cleanrom on the S3 and that rom is amazing! made the phone much snappier and fluid. Its out for the S4 now so will be giving it a try soon. Also apex launcher helped some.
and little things like the smaller notification led seems cheaper. the colors dont mix well. the power button isn't as clicky as Id hope for either.
I'm really happy with the battery life. My galaxy nexus went tops 4 hours on a charge. I can easily to 8 - 9 on this.
I have a lot of apps running that kill battery for me specifically Touchdown for work which It hink is one onf the biggest offendors. Maybe i should download gsam and follow it a little more closely.
I agree that the display is amazing, and the camera too, but the device seems no faster and radios no better.
From normal viewing distance, the display does not stand out either, but is better if you view closer. It is the size of the display that minimizes the higher def effectiveness.
I only have 6gb free on my S3 32gb, so do not see enough improvement to sacrifice the storage. I still want the S4, but only if a 32gb is ever released.
orangelight99 said:
Last thing, I bought this phone off contract at full price and my purchase experience at the verizon store was really bizarre. Of course they must make less money when someone buys it outright but the salesman was like," why do you want to upgrade from the s3??" ,"The battery might be a bit better than your used to but don't count on it."..."So you're gonna like play around with the screen "(in mocking tone cause I told him I was interested in the new display) . That place sucks and the one out in the surburbs was even worse. Like used car salesman or something...
. Anyone else have this kind of experience?????
best to yall.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha, I got mine with a new contract (Coming from Sprint, never had Verizon before). When the guy asked me if I wanted the insurance for $199 and I told him no, he was straight-up BEWILDERED. He literally could not comprehend how in the world I would not want to pay $200 to replace my phone if I smashed it. And then he was like, "Well, let's go look at cases now," as if he had just assumed I would, of course, want a case. But I didn't want a case. He was so flabbergasted. His eyes went as wide as possible and he just stared at me for a good 10 seconds before saying, "What if you drop it? What then?!"
It was more funny than weird, to me. I've never bought insurance for any phone I've ever had, and I've never regretted it. I honestly could not tell if the guy was seriously just that crazy, or if it was just some really stupid sales technique that, of course, did not work on me.
Ayesuku said:
Haha, I got mine with a new contract (Coming from Sprint, never had Verizon before). When the guy asked me if I wanted the insurance for $199 and I told him no, he was straight-up BEWILDERED. He literally could not comprehend how in the world I would not want to pay $200 to replace my phone if I smashed it. And then he was like, "Well, let's go look at cases now," as if he had just assumed I would, of course, want a case. But I didn't want a case. He was so flabbergasted. His eyes went as wide as possible and he just stared at me for a good 10 seconds before saying, "What if you drop it? What then?!"
It was more funny than weird, to me. I've never bought insurance for any phone I've ever had, and I've never regretted it. I honestly could not tell if the guy was seriously just that crazy, or if it was just some really stupid sales technique that, of course, did not work on me.
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Because one out of five people react to the bewildered face and get the insurance They ARE sales people, you know.
jimmiem said:
I love this phone... I mean love this phone, but had I not been having mad GPS problems with my S3 I would never have made this upgrade. It's just not a compelling upgrade over the S3, which is still an awesome phone. Most of the new features are very gimmicky. I have pretty much everything with the prefix "Smart" turned off and almost everything with the prefix "Air" turned off. The hovering trick is pretty much the only one I don't feel is a gimmick.
About Quickpic - that has been my go-to gallery app since the Thunderbolt but I actually like the S4 gallery better. The GUI is very slick and the hover image preview is actually useful.
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Is it possible to get quickpic to show the pics in internal memory without being rooted? I'm only seeing the pics on my SD card.
Super Sam Galaxy said:
I love the screen. It seemed a bit flickery (that's the best way I can describe it) for the first couple of days, but whatever was causing that (perhaps my imagination) has stopped.
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When you saw the screen flicker, were you outside by any chance?
I have noticed that when I am inside then step out into direct sunlight, the screen flickers while it ramps up to full brightness, then it stabilizes.
mutelight said:
When you saw the screen flicker, were you outside by any chance?
I have noticed that when I am inside then step out into direct sunlight, the screen flickers while it ramps up to full brightness, then it stabilizes.
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Actually, I hate to say it as I'm sure this will not help you diagnose any issues you may have been experiencing, but I don't think that I was. If I remember correctly it was mostly when I was in my apartment. I remember this because I have an overhead light that is florescent and I remember at least on one occasion wondering if that was what was flickering.
Sorry if that doesn't help.
Super Sam Galaxy said:
Actually, I hate to say it as I'm sure this will not help you diagnose any issues you may have been experiencing, but I don't think that I was. If I remember correctly it was mostly when I was in my apartment. I remember this because I have an overhead light that is florescent and I remember at least on one occasion wondering if that was what was flickering.
Sorry if that doesn't help.
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Oh, no worries! The only time I have seen the screen flicker was under the scenario I described or if I look down at the display with a pair of my active shutter 3D glasses.
I can see the PenTile dithering in the display however, so my eyes are fairly sensitive.
mutelight said:
Oh, no worries! The only time I have seen the screen flicker was under the scenario I described or if I look down at the display with a pair of my active shutter 3D glasses.
I can see the PenTile dithering in the display however, so my eyes are fairly sensitive.
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Oh, I see! Well I would assume in my case it was just the fluorescent lighting. My eyes are not all that sensitive, so I may not notice small flickers like that. The part that confused me is that it stopped! But I think that also suggests it's just the light, because sometimes they seem to flicker depending on how they are sitting, and if you tap them a bit they stop. Either that, or it actually was flickering, but to such an unnoticeable extent that I got used to it very quickly. It was one of those undefinable things where you feel like you saw it flicker but if you have to explain exactly what part flickered, you wouldn't really be able to.
elucid said:
Is it possible to get quickpic to show the pics in internal memory without being rooted? I'm only seeing the pics on my SD card.
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I didn't install it because I like the S4 Gallery better. You should be able to, though. Just poke around in the settings and look for included folders.