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Ive currently got a Droid Pro and have loved it.
I just went to my local VZ store yesterday because my wife is thinking about leaving sprint. Ive been on a family plan for the last 10 years haha and if I want to start my own family plan VZ will honor my grandfathered unlimited data on the new plan. AND they will honor unlim 4G as well!
So im thinking between the Razr and the Nexus that just came out yesterday.
Pros I see with the Razr
both front/rear camera are better
has hdmi
has sd card
same 1.2 processor
and should be one of the first phones to get ICS
any cons that I should know about?
How do you like your phone? How long have you had it?
Thanks everyone!
battery life during the first couple of days are bad. If you use it in very lite light areas with the screen playing something dimly lit you can see some splotches. seems like other bugs and complaints vary on how you use it. I absolutely love it. I will probably play with the galaxy nexus this weekend, but really would have to be blown out of water to trade it in.
Sent from my DROID RAZR using XDA App
Owned it 3weeks now. I want to sleep with it every night.
Unlock screen itself just make me happy. Like Steve jobs goal on ipad,it makes you want to use it
Sent from my DROID RAZR using XDA App
I love it but i hate it im only getting around 3-4 hours out of a use and as a college student that sucks
Sent from my DROID RAZR using XDA App
I have a launch optus Razr XT910 and i love it. Battery life is fantastic. Though the verizon model doesnt have good battery life apparently.
Some may find the size of the phone an issue, but after a couple of days i got used to it.
Excellent phone, I am more than satisfied. Battery life is by me much better then on my previous htc desire.
Sent from my XT910 using xda premium
I can't live with the battery life it sucks
Sent from my DROID RAZR using XDA App
Battery life on mine is pretty sick. Averaging a full day no problem. Smart Actions help i guess.
I love the the razr, have had it about 3 weeks now. No issues with the screen and the battery is SO much better than my samsung fascinate! I went to check out the Gnex today. first at a verizon store, as I was holding it the security cord thing ripped the back right off. Then I checked it out again at the verizon kiosk in the mall, looked at the back and they had it TAPED on!! I asked if there was an issue with the back coming off (obviously there is, at least with the security device attached) and they played stupid... Other than that it seemed nice for sure, but didn't make me want to trade in. Although I was really digging the white razr Your wife would probably like it too.
The battery life sucks. I can't use 4g at all. The data dropping is enough to make me want to shove this phone down motorolas throat. Since I bought this phone at an authorized agent I can only exchange this phone back where I bought it.
Since I'm a trucker and currently out under a load I can't return the phone for something that works.
Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk
I'm really happy with my Razr. Although, I would probably get the nexus just because of Android 4.0 (if I had the chance, which I don't)
after owning sgs2(sold) and galaxy note(still owned) i don't think i can go back to samsung. razr built quality is exemplary compared to samsung.
it is a solid hardware, comparable to blackberry 9900 (which i also used). the only drawback is battery drain which is probably caused by an app.
I didn't. Buttons are chintsy and often break or stick, body is the size of an S2/Infuse but screen is 35% smaller, batt not replaceable,went through a number of phone replacements in the 3 wks I had one etc. In the end, it's JAP just another low res phone.
been using a mth plus, built Q is far superior den my previous S2 n note unless u like e plastic feel? so far asia unbranded set seems no problem compare to those branded telco set encounter.. luving it!!!
Well so far im pretty much liking what i hear.
The battery life might be an issue. But im assuming with updates and once it gets ICS that it should help with battery life.
no battery problem here
I don't know if it is just me, but I am getting great battery life thanks to juice defender. Use it, it helps.
just root it this afternoon, froze some stuff (there are a lot of background stuff running, no wonder battery is crap), will see what happens..should get better..
one thing is the battery level in 10%..should have been in 1% each..
iwang said:
just root it this afternoon, froze some stuff (there are a lot of background stuff running, no wonder battery is crap), will see what happens..should get better..
one thing is the battery level in 10%..should have been in 1% each..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most stock roms don't render it in 1% increments.
Sent from my DROID RAZR using xda premium
Unbranded GSM RAZR owner here... the phone's hardware is really nice. The build quality feels solid, and the buttons are fine after two weeks worth of use, despite complaints of them breaking quickly by others.
On the other hand... the stock ROM is kinda iffy. The RAZR's RIL likes to cause the Android phone subsystem to FC if the radio is booted in poor signal conditions, and the BLUR apps, such as the Gallery and Music Player, love to freeze, reset themselves and generally misbehave. OTOH, the BLUR contacts app and dialer are fine, Smart Actions and Mobile Hotspot work really well, and Motorola's modified browser is actually marginally faster than the ICS browser on the almost-identically stacked Galaxy Nexus. To be honest, the Gallery and Music Player issues can be almost overlooked, as there are better alternatives on the Market.
Flash is smooth as butter - it's a smoother experience than running it on your average Atom-powered nettop with XP, for sure. Streaming video is no issue, though like in other OMAP4-powered devices, 1080p streaming is a no-no, which may disappoint those looking to hook up over HDMI.
You're going to struggle with battery life for certain in the first few days. It's not going to last more than 8 or so hours on it's first few charges. It's fine after that, and Smart actions will help, especially if coupled with JuiceDefender. This is coming from a GSM user though. I've heard that the LTE radio really takes it's toll on the Droid RAZR.
Overall, this device is a tidy little package, and I'm really pleased with it. I just wish that the BLUR apps weren't so broken. Especially as the Music player sounds so good, it's really annoying at how unstable it is.
This is the best Android phone ever.
I have the nexus but I miss sense. Had the 3d forever liked it but switched to Verizon and liked this phone but, I am so used to all the sense widgets and look. Just debating and looking for feedback on me trading out for rezound... all feedback helps....
These threads should cover it all for you:
Switched from a Nexus to a Rezound
Yet another traded my Nexus for a Rezound post (novel)
Made the Switch
Switching to the Rezound - a few questions...
May switch from nexus...have some questions
I'm about to go the other way. Started on the Rezound... Nexus is probably where I'll end up.
I have compared these two phones rather extensively. We have a VZ corporate account where I work & I am the head of it. We have close to 200 phones on the account & I set up every one of them.
I get my phones free & I can basically have any phone I want at any time. If I wanted a GN, I could have one this afternoon & we have probably 20 of them here on our account.
There is only one thing I like better about the GN(now that the Rezound has been unlocked) & that is the screen size. I like that a LOT, if I could get a phone with a 5" screen I would buy it today. That being said, there is absolutely nothing else I like about the GN compared to the awesome Rezound.
I have owned a TON of phones & the Rezound is by far the best phone I have ever used.
~John
I love my Rezound. When I came from Sprint I bought the Rezound, picked up a GN, and exchanged it after 24 hours for another Rezound.
You can get just about any senselike widget in the market for your gn. I just got rid of my nexus for the resound. It fits in my hand much better. I do miss the large screen, soft keys, aosp roms, and super active forums of the gn though. Other than that, the rezound is just more comfortable in my hand which is the main reason I returned my gn. Oh yeah and the camera sucked on the gn. The rezound has better battery life.
Switched from a Galaxy Nexus 2 weeks ago - still very happy.
I think ICS is a step backward and the GN felt cheap and clumsy to hold. Love the Rezound - just wish it had more game compatibility.
I have both phones. Each has their perks, but the Rezound is my #1.
nexus holds nothing to this phone, IMO. i sell much more of these than nexuses... or nexi. lol
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using XDA App
Yes, still very happy with the phone. Wish it had better game support though. Also, for having an HD screen the picture quality on my Netflix is awful. Would have expected it to be the same or better than my ipad or ipod but it's quite a bit worse. The occasional screen glitch when opening or closing apps is slightly annoying but that could just be an issue with my phone and not every one though.
Overall, very satisfied with this phone. There are some features I would love to have but you could probably say the same thing about any phone.
MarvinPontiac said:
Also, for having an HD screen the picture quality on my Netflix is awful. .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Netflix does not display in HD on the Rezound, that is one place the Nexus is better if you care about that. I use Netflix all the time, but I have an ipad 2 for that so I don't really care.
On the other hand, I am a big time football fan & I absolutely LOVE the VZ NFL app & last I knew that app doesn't work at all in the Nexus.
~John
I was lucky enough to have both phones for several weeks to compare and contrast. I sent the Nexus back to Verizon yesterday in favor of the Rezound. The Nexus has hardware issues that I could not live with. Specifically, the radios, the camera, and overall cheap build quality. Firmware updates and modding will never fix these issues.
I get having the Nexus for true development activities, but in terms of "real-world" functionality, the Rezound is the better device.
well I'm pretty confident I'm gonna switch. I sure appreciate everybody's input.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
I just happen to stumble across this in a comparison of the Nexus & the Rezound. These are not my words, this is copied & pasted from a review online:
Advantages of the Rezound over the Nexus:
1) At first a gimmick, I really like the iBeats and software for casual listening as I travel
2) The camera is much better
3) The hardware (CPU, GPU, Screen) are better IMHO
4) I like the feel of the Rezound much better
5) MASS Storage is possible
6) I moved my Class 10 SDMHC 32GB memory card from my old phone to my new (48GB total)
7) The extended battery is about 500 mAh larger
8) My EVO 4G was very well supported by HTC
9) Highest DPI screen in a phone, ever...
Here are my thoughts on the rezound. I will preface this by stating that I was, prior to my journey to verizon, an iphone (since 2007) user, up to and I still have the 4s on AT&T. I have carried a Verizon mi-fi, 4g hotspot, droid charge (solely for hotspot and unlimited data).
I was waiting to pull the trigger on any phone until the gnex arrived. I was underwhelmed with the phone hardware. While I live in SoCal, I am surrounded by hills and Verizon coverage is weak. All signal indications aside, I couldn't hold a call or a data connection with the Gnex. Loved ICS, it was very smooth and felt "polished" to a large extent.
I finally gave up and traded in for the rezound, because I liked the specs. I also picked up a droid razr to play around with. I am having a hard time between the two. I am spoiled by the iphone's display and I think the Rez is every bit as good, if not better on my eyes. It really is like reading printed material. I like that. But, it is think and I seem to see it switching off more to 3g than the razr. I like the feeling of the razr in my hand. It feels like a mini-tablet, but yet still small enough to be a phone. (does that make sense at all). However, I don't think I can live with seeing the pixelation on the display. Just spent the last 1.5 years without it and I don't think I can go back.
The rez is a great phone, but may be too thick for me and I don't particularly care for sense. I am going to desense it and see if that solves some of my issues. I know enough to know that if I don't enjoy using the phone, I will find something else to complain about (in this case, the thickness).
Just my experience so far. These are simply my opinions, and everyone has different hot buttons.
FYI, I don't really play games or use my phone for much more than some specific apps, email, talking (yes people still do that), and browsing. The iphone did that just fine, but was getting a little long in the tooth from a UI standpoint and I just hate the AT&T network drops and dead zones.
-jason
Headed to Verizon to exchange. Thanks for the responses.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
I'm very happy with mi rezound! I bought the nexus the day it came out after lurking it forever!!!However the phone just didn't do it for me. I'm no developer or anything(never rooted before) so maybe that's why I didn't dig the nexus so much. The battery was horrid, speaker made crazy screeching noises, lost data throughout the day, screen was a bit big/grainy, pictures I took sucked though instant, and also had problems with it rebooting while charging. I miss the sweet notification light, and ICS..thats bout it. I feel like samsung didn't want this phone to be much of a beast like anticipated...look at the comparisons to the galaxy s2.
Funny story with HTC, first time I got a phone it was the motorola droid2...suckked. Being the DINC was out so long, I never even bothered to check it out...though when I returned the droid2 for the DINC I was blown away of how sick HTC is...sorta similar to my second experience when upgrading my phone.
The rezound is great, I like the smaller size and battery life(When I bike, I always put it in my gym short pockets and jam to pandora...this seems nearly impossible to do with the nexus due to its size and short battery life). Quality of pictures are outstanding! The durability of the rezound is also promising. Sense is sweet too though I mainly use goexplorer...The speaker on the rezound is great, goes so loud!(so much better than the DINC2 speaker btw). I was also surprised that the rezound comes with many features that the nexus has(e.g. ability to have no screen lock, panorama picture abilities, slowmo video taking, ability to take screen shots). Basically this phone is an DINC on steroids...or maybe after going through puberty?
Reading these posts makes me glad i got rid of my nexus.
Just installed an HD Netflix app and it works super.
~John
[
jmorton10 said:
Just installed an HD Netflix app and it works super.
~John
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
where did you find that?
I'm most likely leaving AT&T and coming to Sprint. There are 3 good phones on Sprint and it's really hard to decide which one to get. The Evo 4g LTE, SGS3, or the GN for Jelly Bean. If anyone could give me their opinions on those 3 devices (best roms, mods, etc.) that would be great. The GN is now only $99 on Sprint. Ugh. I hate that I can never make a decision.
SkizzMcNizz said:
I'm most likely leaving AT&T and coming to Sprint. There are 3 good phones on Sprint and it's really hard to decide which one to get. The Evo 4g LTE, SGS3, or the GN for Jelly Bean. If anyone could give me their opinions on those 3 devices (best roms, mods, etc.) that would be great. The GN is now only $99 on Sprint. Ugh. I hate that I can never make a decision.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am having a similar issue. Im deciding betwees the s3 and the white evo lte. But I think im going with the evo tomorrow morning. It has better reviews. I have the ps2 for Sprint and the s3 does not seem that much of an upgrade to me.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
There's a couple of other threads with people on similar positions as you guys. Just search around. They are pretty fact driven
Sent from my EVO using xda app-developers app
I just did the exact same move, I had all three phones in the past three weeks.. i ended up with the EVO, and I'm very happy with it. The nexus had subpar battery, and bad signal strength.
Sent from my EVO using xda premium
I have both the S3 and EVO. You can't go wrong with either one. If you need some help deciding go to this great review comparing both
EVO LTE vs Galaxy S3
Sent from my evoLTE
deltawye said:
I just did the exact same move, I had all three phones in the past three weeks.. i ended up with the EVO, and I'm very happy with it. The nexus had subpar battery, and bad signal strength.
Sent from my EVO using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What did you like of the EVO over the sgs3?
Also I looked on Sprint's coverage map and it shows that I am in "fair" territory. Does that mean I'll have poor signal?
I'm in the same boat. I have been an Android user since Day 1 since Oct 2007. I loved it. But I bought the Samsung Vibrant 2 years ago and was very sure that I would never buy another Samsung phone given their sorry upgrade track record and not releasing source code and binaries for their radios. So i was pretty sure I was going to grab the One X. The EVO LTE looks like the best one since it had a micro SD card and a dedicated camera button. The lack of removable battery is a problem, but after reading the reviews on the battery life, I thought I'd risk it.
But two things happened. Samsung released the same S3 model (bar the CPU for the US market) all over the world and they released the source code almost immediately. They don't have a locked bootloader (I know the HTC allows you to unlock it - bit it breaks the warranty). I hated ODIN initially, but it does make the Samsung phones practically unbrickable and they don't lock the bootloader, so I don't lose the warranty if I root it and install a custom ROM. I can always ODIN it back to stock and get a replacement if something goes wrong with the phone.
I haven't been keeping up with the HTC ROMs anymore so I don't know how it's going these days. I have been using ICS on my Vibrant since December. How long have you guys had an ICS ROM for the original EVO?
What's giving me pause in going for the EVO LTE is
1. Would the custom ROM scene on the EVO LTE be as good as the one on the S3? Given that the S3 is practically the same worldwide and Steve Kondik is now a Samsung employee with access to resources that might help CM10?
2. The reports of the multi-tasking on the EVO LTE are worrying. If the reason that the battery life is decent on the One X is because it's aggressively dropping background processes, that's not what I want. If I wanted crippled multi-tasking, I'd have bought an iPhone. How's the multi-tasking? If you load a game in the background, a browser loading a page in the background and switch to the email app, is it responsive? If you go back to the browser, does it start loading the page again? Or has it finished loading the page? I use planetandroid.com as my test case since it gives even Firefox on the desktop a problem (although Chrome on the desktop doesn't have any issues with it).
3. I read that it's because Sense is so resource hungry, they traded the multi-tasking to keep it in memory, but I see that that still doesn't work and Sense does keep getting swapped out and has to restart when exiting email or the browser or some big game. Is this still a problem with Nova Launcher? I read that this has been set at the kernel level. Does Auto Memory Manager help? https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lim.android.automemman
I guess the extra 1 GB on the S3 helps. I have read some comparisons that the S3 is smoother multitasking than the EVO LTE.
I'd love to hear whether these are real problems or a custom ROM would solve them.
Edit: BTW, my biggest problem with the S3 is the display. It looks very dim. The One X simply smokes it!
Thanks guys.
os2baba said:
I'm in the same boat. I have been an Android user since Day 1 since Oct 2007. I loved it. But I bought the Samsung Vibrant 2 years ago and was very sure that I would never buy another Samsung phone given their sorry upgrade track record and not releasing source code and binaries for their radios. So i was pretty sure I was going to grab the One X. The EVO LTE looks like the best one since it had a micro SD card and a dedicated camera button. The lack of removable battery is a problem, but after reading the reviews on the battery life, I thought I'd risk it.
But two things happened. Samsung released the same S3 model (bar the CPU for the US market) all over the world and they released the source code almost immediately. They don't have a locked bootloader (I know the HTC allows you to unlock it - bit it breaks the warranty). I hated ODIN initially, but it does make the Samsung phones practically unbrickable and they don't lock the bootloader, so I don't lose the warranty if I root it and install a custom ROM. I can always ODIN it back to stock and get a replacement if something goes wrong with the phone.
I haven't been keeping up with the HTC ROMs anymore so I don't know how it's going these days. I have been using ICS on my Vibrant since December. How long have you guys had an ICS ROM for the original EVO?
What's giving me pause in going for the EVO LTE is
1. Would the custom ROM scene on the EVO LTE be as good as the one on the S3? Given that the S3 is practically the same worldwide and Steve Kondik is now a Samsung employee with access to resources that might help CM10?
2. The reports of the multi-tasking on the EVO LTE are worrying. If the reason that the battery life is decent on the One X is because it's aggressively dropping background processes, that's not what I want. If I wanted crippled multi-tasking, I'd have bought an iPhone. How's the multi-tasking? If you load a game in the background, a browser loading a page in the background and switch to the email app, is it responsive? If you go back to the browser, does it start loading the page again? Or has it finished loading the page? I use planetandroid.com as my test case since it gives even Firefox on the desktop a problem (although Chrome on the desktop doesn't have any issues with it).
3. I read that it's because Sense is so resource hungry, they traded the multi-tasking to keep it in memory, but I see that that still doesn't work and Sense does keep getting swapped out and has to restart when exiting email or the browser or some big game. Is this still a problem with Nova Launcher? I read that this has been set at the kernel level. Does Auto Memory Manager help? https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lim.android.automemman
I guess the extra 1 GB on the S3 helps. I have read some comparisons that the S3 is smoother multitasking than the EVO LTE.
I'd love to hear whether these are real problems or a custom ROM would solve them.
Edit: BTW, my biggest problem with the S3 is the display. It looks very dim. The One X simply smokes it!
Thanks guys.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After the updates sense no longer reloads, for me anyway. Multitasking aside, the One X has had the best battery life on any phone I've ever had by far. Android or iPhone. I love the One X that's why this is so hard for me to decide. The white Evo LTE looks sick. I'm also starting to like the customization of the sgs3 the more reviews I watch of it.
I just got 3 hours of screen on time on my One X before it got to 50%. By far my best yet.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
SkizzMcNizz said:
What did you like of the EVO over the sgs3?
Also I looked on Sprint's coverage map and it shows that I am in "fair" territory. Does that mean I'll have poor signal?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not necessarily its hard to say tho.
Sent from my EVO using xda premium
I bought the nexus and it was amazing with vanilla ics roms were pretty awesome too, the curve to your hand made it by far the best hand held experience of any phone the only down side to it had sub par battery life I had to carry 2 batteries
I now have bought an EVO LTE and its nice but I think cause of the non curve it feels like a mini tablet atleast to me , but holy carp is it fast and snappy , and super bright, I did like a whole lot better on the nexus was swiping left to right to close out the task menu , sense made it so you can only go up to close them out wich Is slow and they didn't add the feature in the browser like the nexus did
Sent from my EVO using xda app-developers app
If you go with the S3 u will be happy, after I had it for a couple of days all the extra customization of the S3 seemed trivial.and gimmicky, it was cool at first especially the gestures... But I ended up not using them at all. Yes I think the S3 is smoother than the EVO, but not by much. I hated the physical home button, it had way too much lag, and that's even with the S-voice turned off. You don't get full use of the home screen realestate on the stock UX, which was annoying. Those where my only complaints. My past three phones have been sammys, that's another reason I chose the HTC, I just wanted a change, and the build quality(external) and feel of an HTC phone in my opinion is far superior to Samsung. In the end don't beat yourself up with the desicion you will be extremely happy with either phone. Oh and I made the switch to sprint from ATT due to ATT raping me on data charges... Now I have to sacrafice service, but its worth the trade off.
Sent from my EVO using xda premium
deltawye said:
If you go with the S3 u will be happy, after I had it for a couple of days all the extra customization of the S3 seemed trivial.and gimmicky, it was cool at first especially the gestures... But I ended up not using them at all. Yes I think the S3 is smoother than the EVO, but not by much. I hated the physical home button, it had way too much lag, and that's even with the S-voice turned off. You don't get full use of the home screen realestate on the stock UX, which was annoying. Those where my only complaints. My past three phones have been sammys, that's another reason I chose the HTC, I just wanted a change, and the build quality(external) and feel of an HTC phone in my opinion is far superior to Samsung. In the end don't beat yourself up with the desicion you will be extremely happy with either phone. Oh and I made the switch to sprint from ATT due to ATT raping me on data charges... Now I have to sacrafice service, but its worth the trade off.
Sent from my EVO using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With the Evo having source out now do you think it will get jb fairly quick? Same question for sgs3.
Also my One X gets pretty hot and I don't know if it's the battery causing it. I would love to be able to change out the battery. I miss that option.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
SkizzMcNizz said:
What did you like of the EVO over the sgs3?
Also I looked on Sprint's coverage map and it shows that I am in "fair" territory. Does that mean I'll have poor signal?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have "fair" coverage and I needed to get an Airave because I had zero or one bar everywhere in my house and couldn't have a conversation with anyone. Luckily, they gave me an Airave for free so now I have five or six bars everywhere in my house.
Sent from my EVO using xda app-developers app
Get a white EVO LTE and trade me lol I'd pay some cash too
Sent from my EVO using xda premium
I wouldnt get sprint period for atleasr another year
Sent from my EVO using XDA Premium HD app
pbedard said:
I wouldnt get sprint period for atleasr another year
Sent from my EVO using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
More info please....
the NV upgrades near me have been brutal, tons of dropped calls, especially while on the move, but even still while sitting at home. I would also check the NV upgrade schedule to see if they are even coming to your area any time soon...I agree though, wait on sprint until NV is up and running in your area.
The S3 is indeed almost identical as the international version, with the exception that it uses the S4 krait like the ones in the Evo LTE, putting it in the same situation as the LTE and the One X. The One X's community looks to be pretty active, but with a different processor than ours, the roms are not exactly interchangable, so i would expect the same issue to be present for the LTE-specced S3s.
If you're talking about development though then the multitasking and sense issues shouldn't be a problem unless you actually like sense, in which case all i have to say is you're boned .
I chose the Evo because I like how solid aluminum bodied phones feel, and I have never liked the oversaturation that is present on every amoled-based screen that i've looked at. I held off upgrading from my OG Evo because when i held the SGS2 and then the Gnex, they both felt flimsy and cheap in my hands compared to my Evo. I'm sure that they're probably all equally fragile when dropped, but for something where i'm holding it any time i'm going to use it, the feel was very important to me, so i would say it mostly comes down to personal preference, like Mitsu Evo vs Subaru STi, or Cameros vs Mustangs, test drive them both and see which one you'd like best.
lacrossev said:
The S3 is indeed almost identical as the international version, with the exception that it uses the S4 krait like the ones in the Evo LTE, putting it in the same situation as the LTE and the One X. The One X's community looks to be pretty active, but with a different processor than ours, the roms are not exactly interchangable, so i would expect the same issue to be present for the LTE-specced S3s.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. The same issue would be present for the S3 if the CPU is the only change. But I expect that the S3 would be probably be a well supported phone since it would sell so many and many devs would have it. I have been out of the HTC scene for a couple of years so don't know if the EVO has had good custom ROM support. eg. I have been running ICS since Dec/Jan on my Vibrant.
lacrossev said:
If you're talking about development though then the multitasking and sense issues shouldn't be a problem unless you actually like sense, in which case all i have to say is you're boned .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, what does "you're boned" mean? I'm an idiot for liking Sense, or if i use Sense, then the multitasking is a problem? I like the stock Google UI using Nova Launcher. But I haven't seen any definitive answer on whether using Nova Launcher alleviates the multi-tasking problem. If it does, then I'd be okay with not using Sense, although I do like some Sense widgets. But I can live with out them.
lacrossev said:
I chose the Evo because I like how solid aluminum bodied phones feel, and I have never liked the oversaturation that is present on every amoled-based screen that i've looked at. I held off upgrading from my OG Evo because when i held the SGS2 and then the Gnex, they both felt flimsy and cheap in my hands compared to my Evo. I'm sure that they're probably all equally fragile when dropped, but for something where i'm holding it any time i'm going to use it, the feel was very important to me, so i would say it mostly comes down to personal preference, like Mitsu Evo vs Subaru STi, or Cameros vs Mustangs, test drive them both and see which one you'd like best.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have got used to the "flimsy" Samsung phones. I like the lightweight feel of them and they are surprisingly resilient. Check out the CNet's torture test for the S3. http://cnettv.cnet.com/8301-33814_53-57468819-10391737.html It's intense.
os2baba said:
Yes. The same issue would be present for the S3 if the CPU is the only change. But I expect that the S3 would be probably be a well supported phone since it would sell so many and many devs would have it. I have been out of the HTC scene for a couple of years so don't know if the EVO has had good custom ROM support. eg. I have been running ICS since Dec/Jan on my Vibrant.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The S3 is definitely well supported and got a CM10 preview release this morning. The sprint variant has great devs lurking in the background so there's still lots of good stuff to see released.
Sent from my evoLTE
First post here... Sorry if its a bit long
Currently rocking a GSM Unlocked Galaxy Nexus (From Google Play) and while I overall am decently happy, I have a few little problems, The biggest of which which I cant correct through software is that 16gb just isnt enough for me (I thought I could make do, I admit it, its my fault and my failing) and I'm constantly feeling strangled for space on it, I dislike using "The cloud" for music and pictures... I kinda wish the processor was more spritely at times (like watching Flash videos and such) but it works, Im not terribly happy with 4.2 and while I can fix that (Root/rom what have you) I figured perhaps since I have the money why not consider getting a newer phone instead...
The other thing that annoys me on the GNex is the poor speaker volume and poor headphone amplification, Volume+ used to fix these but 4.2 broke that (I know theres likely alternatives...)
I tried out a Galaxy S3 shortly, I was not terribly happy, The biggest problem I had with it was the feel in my hand, it felt cheap and I HATED the single sliver of a button at the bottom which I had issues working, I also detested TouchWiz's entire appearance and the fact it lacked 4.1 out of the box and overall I just didnt feel enough positives to actually keep the thing (Primarily, the sliver "home" button drove me nuts the most, I could not press it worth a dang without using two hands...) The Galaxy Note II is out because its just a bit too big and still has the sliver button and etc...And I'm not a fan of the Nexus 4 (Primarily due to the storage... or rather lack of it)
That leads me to the One X+, I much prefer Sense if I'm going to have a skin, and while I havnt played with the +, I adored the feel of the original X (In fact the ONLY reason I bought the Nexus over it is the fact the Original X had VERY poor storage, 11gb free vs 13gb on the Nexus) 64gb of storage is awesome and Im betting that Tegra 3 feels pretty darn spritely while also being decently future proof (as more apps optimize more for quad core processors) it also is running 4.1 which im completely happy with (I dont see why a skinned phone NEEDS 4.2 given most of the improvements are things that skinned phones already do)
I do have ATT's LTE in my area, When I had the S3 I know my house and surrounding immediate area was very spotty with LTE coverage... When I had LTE I got a maximum of 8mbps on one very lucky run, Average of 6mbps... Compared to my Nexus doing 5mbps on HSPA+... Yes I had to double/triple/quadruple verify I was actually on LTE when I ran Speedtest when I saw the numbers and was not very thrilled when I saw it... HOWEVER since this time ATT has done some work on the towers near my house, Now I pull down 7.5mbps on HSPA+ and have a FAR stronger signal (And it wasnt what I'd call a bad signal before!) so Im willing to see if LTE has gotten better... Worse comes to worse so long as I'm happy with the rest of it I can always just switch LTE off (Or more likely, around my house just use Wi-Fi which uses less battery power)
Now this brings me to why I'm here, I've looked at the threads and everything but I guess I'm still a bit nervous about one aspect on the One X+, Battery Life... Now the GNex is no star when it comes to battery life(Because of the AMOLED Screen primarily), the fact I have had a 3500mah Seidio battery bolted on it since day 3 is a testament to that, With the 3500mah cell i go for about 18h, with 5.5hours of screen on time at about 33% brightness, Now, the One X+ doesnt have to match that, But I am curious just how close it can get... For me, I'd be perfectly happy with an average of 12hours + 4hours screen on time, Looking at the thread here, it seems thats possible, But I just want to pick peoples brains (As paying restocking fees and dealing with ATT screwing my bill up again is not something Im particularly wanting to deal with)
The only other thing I was wondering is if its going to be a pain to unlock/root/etc (I've NEVER done this before, I just want it as an option, I'm fairly techie minded so I dont think its beyond my ability, Just saw no reason to bother on the GNex...) I plan to keep it stock for a while however (Well might root it when i first get it because this wipes the phone)
I use my phone to read manga, read wikipedia a ton, watch youtube videos (I do this a LOT), listen to music, make skype calls(Both video and non), play a few games and text message, Occasionally i make normal phone calls too... But yeah, mostly the above
Ok because TL,DR, What I want:
-Acceptable battery life (12h with 4h screen on time is acceptable)
-Better performance for flash videos, games, and just in general
-Better audio quality
-Ability to EASILY Root/Unlock the thing
-Minimum of annoying bloatware
-More storage space
-LTE would be nice
And of course if any of you think of any other reasons (I know a few of you went GNex to One X+ from looking around) feel free to mention them More info is appreciated
KenjiS said:
First post here... Sorry if its a bit long
Currently rocking a GSM Unlocked Galaxy Nexus (From Google Play) and while I overall am decently happy, I have a few little problems, The biggest of which which I cant correct through software is that 16gb just isnt enough for me (I thought I could make do, I admit it, its my fault and my failing) and I'm constantly feeling strangled for space on it, I dislike using "The cloud" for music and pictures... I kinda wish the processor was more spritely at times (like watching Flash videos and such) but it works, Im not terribly happy with 4.2 and while I can fix that (Root/rom what have you) I figured perhaps since I have the money why not consider getting a newer phone instead...
The other thing that annoys me on the GNex is the poor speaker volume and poor headphone amplification, Volume+ used to fix these but 4.2 broke that (I know theres likely alternatives...)
I tried out a Galaxy S3 shortly, I was not terribly happy, The biggest problem I had with it was the feel in my hand, it felt cheap and I HATED the single sliver of a button at the bottom which I had issues working, I also detested TouchWiz's entire appearance and the fact it lacked 4.1 out of the box and overall I just didnt feel enough positives to actually keep the thing (Primarily, the sliver "home" button drove me nuts the most, I could not press it worth a dang without using two hands...) The Galaxy Note II is out because its just a bit too big and still has the sliver button and etc...And I'm not a fan of the Nexus 4 (Primarily due to the storage... or rather lack of it)
That leads me to the One X+, I much prefer Sense if I'm going to have a skin, and while I havnt played with the +, I adored the feel of the original X (In fact the ONLY reason I bought the Nexus over it is the fact the Original X had VERY poor storage, 11gb free vs 13gb on the Nexus) 64gb of storage is awesome and Im betting that Tegra 3 feels pretty darn spritely while also being decently future proof (as more apps optimize more for quad core processors) it also is running 4.1 which im completely happy with (I dont see why a skinned phone NEEDS 4.2 given most of the improvements are things that skinned phones already do)
I do have ATT's LTE in my area, When I had the S3 I know my house and surrounding immediate area was very spotty with LTE coverage... When I had LTE I got a maximum of 8mbps on one very lucky run, Average of 6mbps... Compared to my Nexus doing 5mbps on HSPA+... Yes I had to double/triple/quadruple verify I was actually on LTE when I ran Speedtest when I saw the numbers and was not very thrilled when I saw it... HOWEVER since this time ATT has done some work on the towers near my house, Now I pull down 7.5mbps on HSPA+ and have a FAR stronger signal (And it wasnt what I'd call a bad signal before!) so Im willing to see if LTE has gotten better... Worse comes to worse so long as I'm happy with the rest of it I can always just switch LTE off (Or more likely, around my house just use Wi-Fi which uses less battery power)
Now this brings me to why I'm here, I've looked at the threads and everything but I guess I'm still a bit nervous about one aspect on the One X+, Battery Life... Now the GNex is no star when it comes to battery life(Because of the AMOLED Screen primarily), the fact I have had a 3500mah Seidio battery bolted on it since day 3 is a testament to that, With the 3500mah cell i go for about 18h, with 5.5hours of screen on time at about 33% brightness, Now, the One X+ doesnt have to match that, But I am curious just how close it can get... For me, I'd be perfectly happy with an average of 12hours + 4hours screen on time, Looking at the thread here, it seems thats possible, But I just want to pick peoples brains (As paying restocking fees and dealing with ATT screwing my bill up again is not something Im particularly wanting to deal with)
The only other thing I was wondering is if its going to be a pain to unlock/root/etc (I've NEVER done this before, I just want it as an option, I'm fairly techie minded so I dont think its beyond my ability, Just saw no reason to bother on the GNex...) I plan to keep it stock for a while however (Well might root it when i first get it because this wipes the phone)
I use my phone to read manga, read wikipedia a ton, watch youtube videos (I do this a LOT), listen to music, make skype calls(Both video and non), play a few games and text message, Occasionally i make normal phone calls too... But yeah, mostly the above
Ok because TL,DR, What I want:
-Acceptable battery life (12h with 4h screen on time is acceptable)
-Better performance for flash videos, games, and just in general
-Better audio quality
-Ability to EASILY Root/Unlock the thing
-Minimum of annoying bloatware
-More storage space
-LTE would be nice
And of course if any of you think of any other reasons (I know a few of you went GNex to One X+ from looking around) feel free to mention them More info is appreciated
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I usually get about a day out of my one X +, I'm using insert coin rom. The only way to have little to no bloat is a custom rom. The performance Imo is pretty good. I used to have a galaxy s2 and the screen, performance, build quality on this phone is far better. The audio quality is pretty good as well. Turning Beats audio on will dramatically increase the volume output through headphones. Rooting and unlocking the device is easy due to the fact that hasoon developed a all in one kit for the device. It is really easy to do with his program. I get around 15+ mbps where I'm at using lte.
Sent from my HTC One X+ using Tapatalk 2
If you are ok with Sense everything else is awesome with One X+ ... Once we get CM it should be great. Also check out the LG Optimus G, that one is fast and buttery smooth phone.
Just to touch on a few points I have the att one x+ and lte is great on it. The battery is gonna be what you make of it. You can adjust the settings and get what you want out of it. Of course with beats audio the audio is good. The rooting is very easy esp. With the tool by hasoon2000. The bloatware comes with every phone esp if you run stock, although a custom Rom can take care of that!
Sent from my HTC One X+ using xda app-developers app
So basically get it, root it, and ill be happy?
theres a link to the Hasoon all in one on the forums i am assuming?
KenjiS said:
So basically get it, root it, and ill be happy?
theres a link to the Hasoon all in one on the forums i am assuming?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes youll be happy and yup here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1994961
Backmankiller said:
Yes youll be happy and yup here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1994961
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! I was just checking out the ROMs, That Elegancia one looks awesome (Black and Blue are my colors on top of it) and the screens im seeing of 17h of battery life are definitely making me feel better...
Is there a handy dandy text guide for doing this? I know, sounding pretty dumb.. I think I might kinda have it.. basically all i need is Hasoon's toolkit thing and the file of the ROM i want to use
-Get hasoon's toolkit
-Unlock Bootloader
-Flash TWRP
-Flash the Kernal
-Enjoy?
Correct enjoy away, I've been enjoying mine the day I rooted mine.
Sent from my HTC One X+ using xda app-developers app
KenjiS said:
First post here... Sorry if its a bit long
Currently rocking a GSM Unlocked Galaxy Nexus (From Google Play) and while I overall am decently happy, I have a few little problems, The biggest of which which I cant correct through software is that 16gb just isnt enough for me (I thought I could make do, I admit it, its my fault and my failing) and I'm constantly feeling strangled for space on it, I dislike using "The cloud" for music and pictures... I kinda wish the processor was more spritely at times (like watching Flash videos and such) but it works, Im not terribly happy with 4.2 and while I can fix that (Root/rom what have you) I figured perhaps since I have the money why not consider getting a newer phone instead...
The other thing that annoys me on the GNex is the poor speaker volume and poor headphone amplification, Volume+ used to fix these but 4.2 broke that (I know theres likely alternatives...)
I tried out a Galaxy S3 shortly, I was not terribly happy, The biggest problem I had with it was the feel in my hand, it felt cheap and I HATED the single sliver of a button at the bottom which I had issues working, I also detested TouchWiz's entire appearance and the fact it lacked 4.1 out of the box and overall I just didnt feel enough positives to actually keep the thing (Primarily, the sliver "home" button drove me nuts the most, I could not press it worth a dang without using two hands...) The Galaxy Note II is out because its just a bit too big and still has the sliver button and etc...And I'm not a fan of the Nexus 4 (Primarily due to the storage... or rather lack of it)
That leads me to the One X+, I much prefer Sense if I'm going to have a skin, and while I havnt played with the +, I adored the feel of the original X (In fact the ONLY reason I bought the Nexus over it is the fact the Original X had VERY poor storage, 11gb free vs 13gb on the Nexus) 64gb of storage is awesome and Im betting that Tegra 3 feels pretty darn spritely while also being decently future proof (as more apps optimize more for quad core processors) it also is running 4.1 which im completely happy with (I dont see why a skinned phone NEEDS 4.2 given most of the improvements are things that skinned phones already do)
I do have ATT's LTE in my area, When I had the S3 I know my house and surrounding immediate area was very spotty with LTE coverage... When I had LTE I got a maximum of 8mbps on one very lucky run, Average of 6mbps... Compared to my Nexus doing 5mbps on HSPA+... Yes I had to double/triple/quadruple verify I was actually on LTE when I ran Speedtest when I saw the numbers and was not very thrilled when I saw it... HOWEVER since this time ATT has done some work on the towers near my house, Now I pull down 7.5mbps on HSPA+ and have a FAR stronger signal (And it wasnt what I'd call a bad signal before!) so Im willing to see if LTE has gotten better... Worse comes to worse so long as I'm happy with the rest of it I can always just switch LTE off (Or more likely, around my house just use Wi-Fi which uses less battery power)
Now this brings me to why I'm here, I've looked at the threads and everything but I guess I'm still a bit nervous about one aspect on the One X+, Battery Life... Now the GNex is no star when it comes to battery life(Because of the AMOLED Screen primarily), the fact I have had a 3500mah Seidio battery bolted on it since day 3 is a testament to that, With the 3500mah cell i go for about 18h, with 5.5hours of screen on time at about 33% brightness, Now, the One X+ doesnt have to match that, But I am curious just how close it can get... For me, I'd be perfectly happy with an average of 12hours + 4hours screen on time, Looking at the thread here, it seems thats possible, But I just want to pick peoples brains (As paying restocking fees and dealing with ATT screwing my bill up again is not something Im particularly wanting to deal with)
The only other thing I was wondering is if its going to be a pain to unlock/root/etc (I've NEVER done this before, I just want it as an option, I'm fairly techie minded so I dont think its beyond my ability, Just saw no reason to bother on the GNex...) I plan to keep it stock for a while however (Well might root it when i first get it because this wipes the phone)
I use my phone to read manga, read wikipedia a ton, watch youtube videos (I do this a LOT), listen to music, make skype calls(Both video and non), play a few games and text message, Occasionally i make normal phone calls too... But yeah, mostly the above
Ok because TL,DR, What I want:
-Acceptable battery life (12h with 4h screen on time is acceptable)
-Better performance for flash videos, games, and just in general
-Better audio quality
-Ability to EASILY Root/Unlock the thing
-Minimum of annoying bloatware
-More storage space
-LTE would be nice
And of course if any of you think of any other reasons (I know a few of you went GNex to One X+ from looking around) feel free to mention them More info is appreciated
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow we are almost in identical situations. I had the Gnex and have hated the phones performance since 4.2. I have been going back and forth between getting a one x+ or a note 2 for a couple weeks now. I love the build of the one x+ but that 5.5" screen was really calling my name, so I picked up the Note 2 from ATT today. I really like the phone, but am still considering exchanging it for the one x+ to get the better in hand feel and also beats audio since I love my bluetooth Beats headphones. The storage isn't a big deal for me as 16 GB has been plenty, but extra is always good to store videos and pics on. I will probably keep my Note 2 for at least a week before making any decisions on an exchange. I really wish the one x+ had 2 gb of ram though to future proof it a little more and also worried that they will come out with a 1080p version on AT&T shortly and make it obsolete within no time. Update the post with your thoughts if you get the one x+, as I'm interested to know how you like it compared to stock 4.2 on Gnex.
KenjiS said:
Thanks! I was just checking out the ROMs, That Elegancia one looks awesome (Black and Blue are my colors on top of it) and the screens im seeing of 17h of battery life are definitely making me feel better...
Is there a handy dandy text guide for doing this? I know, sounding pretty dumb.. I think I might kinda have it.. basically all i need is Hasoon's toolkit thing and the file of the ROM i want to use
-Get hasoon's toolkit
-Unlock Bootloader
-Flash TWRP
-Flash the Kernal
-Enjoy?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Regarding battery, I went for about 40 hours on it Thursday/Friday last week (no screenshot, sorry) when I forgot to charge overnight Thursday. It was fairly light use, but still had over 25% at about 6:30 Friday night. I then had to use the flashlight for a little while (walking home in the dark and wanted cars to be able to see me) and it dropped down to about 15%, but that was to be expected.
scottyb0721 said:
Wow we are almost in identical situations. I had the Gnex and have hated the phones performance since 4.2. I have been going back and forth between getting a one x+ or a note 2 for a couple weeks now. I love the build of the one x+ but that 5.5" screen was really calling my name, so I picked up the Note 2 from ATT today. I really like the phone, but am still considering exchanging it for the one x+ to get the better in hand feel and also beats audio since I love my bluetooth Beats headphones. The storage isn't a big deal for me as 16 GB has been plenty, but extra is always good to store videos and pics on. I will probably keep my Note 2 for at least a week before making any decisions on an exchange. I really wish the one x+ had 2 gb of ram though to future proof it a little more and also worried that they will come out with a 1080p version on AT&T shortly and make it obsolete within no time. Update the post with your thoughts if you get the one x+, as I'm interested to know how you like it compared to stock 4.2 on Gnex.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm shocked I'm seeing others that are.. It makes me feel good at least (or rather better about it) My only debate now is to wait for xmas or to just go buy it now... Nervous that they're going to throw it on sale in a week or something stupid (I remember the original One X dropping price quickly)
But yes, I will be sure to upload my thoughts when i get it
This is about 14 hours from off-charge with 4+ screen time and 33% battery left, running on InsertCoin for att with no mods...
Dottcent said:
This is about 14 hours from off-charge with 4+ screen time and 33% battery left, running on InsertCoin for att with no mods...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Perfectly happy with that! The most I've done on my Nexus (checked my logs) was 18h 6m on battery, 5h 58m Screen on (33% brightness though so the screen lost a lot of its luster) which brought it to 11% life...Thats with a 3500mah extended battery however! (so stock is -half- that)
Theoretically with that number, if i drained the One X+ to 11% (For apples to apples) It sounds like it would be roughly the same...
Just an update, Got my One X+ in my hand right now!
Love it so far, my first reaction is HOLY WHAT THE -expletive- with the speed, This thing -flies-
And the screen is gorgeous
and LTE is nice, However i still dont seem to get a reliable LTE connection at my house Bummer, But unlike the S3 its NOT constantly flopping to the weak LTE signal, instead it seems to prefer the strong HSPA+ connection instead, So kudos to HTC for a better modem software!
I came from a GNex too. I'm liking this phone a lot. Having lte and a better camera are a plus, I miss the on screen nav buttons because it was customizable adding buttons or whatnot, but I'm getting used to it. I was debating between s3 or this, and I was absolutely sick of touchwiz which my old skyrocket so I went with htc. I'd much rather have sense than samsung's touchwiz.
BIGSx420 said:
I came from a GNex too. I'm liking this phone a lot. Having lte and a better camera are a plus, I miss the on screen nav buttons because it was customizable adding buttons or whatnot, but I'm getting used to it. I was debating between s3 or this, and I was absolutely sick of touchwiz which my old skyrocket so I went with htc. I'd much rather have sense than samsung's touchwiz.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I gotta say it blows the S3 out of the water... Only complaint i have is that the volume rocker is a little hard to find (Not a big deal) and it took me a bit to figure out how to turn spellcheck off..
Overall im not hating the Sense look, it looks great to me, The phone is loud (Thank god) and the quality of the external speaker is "meaty" I've watched a youtube video on it and im planning to sit here and drain out my initial charge watching some vids lol..Cant test music yet because i have yet to connect it to Wi-Fi to AirSync to my Doubletwist library...
The Signal strength on it is impressing me, its managing to keep the LTE signal solid in my room despite it not being the strongest signal, if i go downstairs i lose LTE entirely and jump to HSPA+ which isnt bad
As for battery, im using the charge it had on it when i unboxed it, So far so good, it seems to actually be better than the S3 i had, but that could be because HTC's radio optimization (or antenna) are just working a lot smoother, Im not seeing it spasticly jumping from HSPA+ to LTE every 3 seconds
The performance of it has my jaw on the floor though, Google Now is smooth, VERY smooth, the speech to text stuff flies on it, Theres no delay in anything im doing on it and its just amazing me.. I mean i knew itd be fast, but wow, this thing is FAST
-edit- Just put it to charge, no clue what i started with but i brought it down to about 8%, Wanted to drain the initial charge as much asi could before recharging which took about 3.5 hours, So far no complaints, Downloaded the BetterBatteryStats app too so i can get a good read on the battery (As the stock battery info thing isnt as nice as the Nexus' and doesnt show me my screen on time)
KenjiS said:
Just an update, Got my One X+ in my hand right now!
Love it so far, my first reaction is HOLY WHAT THE -expletive- with the speed, This thing -flies-
And the screen is gorgeous
and LTE is nice, However i still dont seem to get a reliable LTE connection at my house Bummer, But unlike the S3 its NOT constantly flopping to the weak LTE signal, instead it seems to prefer the strong HSPA+ connection instead, So kudos to HTC for a better modem software!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What carrier is your phone and what was the update for?
Andrew149 said:
What carrier is your phone and what was the update for?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Huh?
Anyways one problem, Google+ is for some reason not letting me pick who to share with (IE which circles and that) it just sits there loading... Already tried clearing data and reinstalling the app a few times.. didnt work...
-edit- Nevermind, got it working, Turned off fast boot/shutdown and it fixed it for some reason (I read it caused issues with stuff somewhere..)
Still breaking it in, But today was the first day i really used it off the charger
Went from 8am to 10pm, Still had 20% left on it, Around 3 hours of screen on time... Certainly wasnt panicking i was going to run dry if i pulled it out to do something, if i go by the battery stats, i averaged 5-6% per hour.. This was me simulating a "normal" day wherein im not using it constantly, Because you know, That kills just about any phone lol
if its like my Nexus was, the first few charges arent as strong as later ones...
I'm really not finding problems with it either...Still running stock FYI
Love the look of the phone too... Sense definiately looks nice.. and im not seeing it hogging resources or anything... My One X+ is nothing but smooth and silky constantly...
Thanks for the updates. I'm still debating what I want to do. So far I'm loving my Note 2, but size is an issue at times. Its biggest pro and con is the screen. Sounds like the one x+ is a really nice phone though.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2
Shoutouts:
First off, i'd like to thank Neo, Snuzzo, brenuga, Br0ken, Fly, iHWO, Grey, Chad and all the others that have made my time with the HTC Rezound just a complete pleasure.
Special thanks to @brenuga and @Neo for pretty much teaching me everything I know about root, ROMs, flashing etc.
Even if I sold my Rez (which i'm currently not) i'd still follow all these awesome devs
Disclaimer: As of right now I am rooted, Stock VRUAMDK Verizon build. Tons of software tweaks and custom ROMs could surely solve even the most minor Touchwiz annoyances.
Ok, so this isn't an Rez vs. S4 review b/c that would just be unfair. I'd just like to offer my 2¢ on my transition from the Rez to the S4.
I'll be updating this thread periodically with my progress, as of right now, i've had the S4 for about a week.
As for S4 vs. One, I can only offer a few reasons why I didn't buy the One. I really wanted to buy the One, just because the most of the Rez Devs are moving to the One.
I never owned the One, but I tried it in the store a couple times and could not get used to the button layout.
1) Button Layout doesn't have a dedicated menu button-- I need this, since the Rez had one, sorry HTC
2) S4 has Removable Battery and SD Card (this pretty much did it for me)
3) Metal Build: Awesome feel, but can chip and conducts heat very easily
The only other phone i was strongly considering was the rumored Nexus 5, but that is unlocked so anyone can get of off of contract (if needed).
Now to the Actual Review:
I know its a bit long, but i have TL;DR at the end of most sections
Build Quality:
The S4 has gorilla glass 3 on it, so its pretty dam strong. I still put a screen protector on it immediately b/c i'm paranoid. The all plastic is actually a plus for me because I don't like metal phones that conduct heat easily. Some people say the plastic is easy to knick around the edges but i've been very pleased with the build quality so far. The awesome thing about the S4 is that it has a removable battery and SD card, which is great for battery life and storing pictures, respectively.
I'm also a pretty heavy user when it comes to camera, so I'm ordering a 32 GB class 10 micro SD card
TL;DR I'm very satisfied with the S4's build quality, I still use cases and screen protectors out of habit though
Battery Life:
Today I had 15 hours on battery, Screen on for 1 hour, 41 minutes, it's currently 11:27 PM Eastern time and I still have 25% left. Not the heaviest usage but I'm on like day 4 (rooted, stock) and i've had some days with 3 hours screen on time and still 10-15% left at the end of the day. Mostly on Wi-Fi, but 4G in the 2 hours in the car ride to and from work. I'm not the heaviest user, and I only game for maybe 10 mins a day if anything, but i mostly am on Wi-Fi (at school or work) and am checking emails and texts about 2-3 times per hour. So far I haven't needed to play with refresh settings, or disable location services, or flash awesome ROMs because I havent needed to.
TL;DR Battery life is great (in my opinion)
Camera:
I've had nothing but great experiences with the camera. Shutter speed is very fast, and Samsung decided to add a lot of software into Touchwiz. The 13 MP camera is the real deal, although if you're going to take tons of pics in lowlight, the One destroys the S4 in that department. I had family over for the weekend and I took tons of photos, all great quality. They also have some cool features like Action Shot, Best shot (rapid fire 8 photos, you choose the best one), etc... google or youtube for demos.
From what i've heard, both the One and the S4 have awesome cameras, its just a matter of preference.
TL;DR Camera is fantastic
Software:
Surprisingly, I actually don't mind Touchwiz. I ran completely stock touchwiz for like 2 days before feeling the urge to install Nova. Currently Running Nova because its the best launcher out there, but Touchwiz isn't as terrible as I thought it would be. Most, if not all TW annyoances can be solved by rooting and installing custom ROMs.
So far only two annoyances come to mind:
-Tabbed settings (just takes getting used to, some people might like it)
-Pull down notification doesn't provide a preview of a text message, it just say's "New message" Clicking it will obviously open the message, there just isn't that instant preview.
TL;DR Software is great. This is coming from a guy that loves Stock Android.
Rooting:
Rooting is very simple and straightforward for the S4, even for Verizon. When I got mine it came with the VRUAMDK build, which can be easily rooted. After activation, it asked to install a system update to the VRUAME7 build. Cancel this Immediately and stay on the VRUAMDK Build The VRUAME7 build can be rooted, but its bootlocker currently has a $4,000 bounty on whoever can unlock it. I'm sure VRUAME7 will be rootable and bootloader unlockable in the coming weeks though.
Here's the S4 rooting steps http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2381382
TL;DR Rooting is simple, and can be done immediately. Flashing ROMs is awesome, and will likely improve everything, but I haven't felt the urge to (yet) becasue of the Specs. I'll flash later down the line. With Custom ROMs, you can easily get insane battery stats like 24 hours and 4 hours screen on (i just don't need to...yet..)
Longevity:
So i've only had the phone for about a week now, and everything has been stellar. Battery life, build quality, performance has been quite consistant. The only thing that might be iffy is you might get some very slight lag on Stock. This of course can be solved by rooting, removing system apps, removing bloatware, flashing custom ROMs, etc... but they aren't necessary until your phone gets filled up.
Build Quality
(Kinda goes with longevity) I got mine on contract, so i naturally treat it like a baby out of the box, but the plastic build is actually a plus. I haven't dropped it yet, but i've had some small bumps into a laptop, desktop,etc. I've heard that the plastic can scratch easily, but that would be like if you're being reckless with your phone. This phone was not meant to be "rugged" but the plastic absorbes impact very well to keep the internals cusioned (at least thats how I see it).
Extras, Gimmicks, Software Value:
I knew going in that most of Samsung's features were gimmicks and that i was gonna turn them off or completely remove them. However, they're still great to demo in front of the family and to just mess around with for a couple days. Here are the few features I actually found useful:
-IR Blaster: setting it up as a remote control is actually very helpful if you ever lose that remote control
-Added camera features: Action shot is cool, and all the other features in the camera are nice additions. I plan on sideloading both the Touchwiz and the Stock JB Camera so i have the best of both worlds.
-Smart hover: Only when the S4 is on your desk, flat you can hover your hand over the top sensor to preview battery life, notifications, missed calls, etc. This is great if you have dirty hands or if the S4 is on your desk and you need to quickly check
Devs:
So far, everyone in the VZ S4 dev community has been very helpful and there is a plethora of information out there as long as can dedicate some time and effort to reading
The S4 Community is much larger and expansive from the Rez community, which is good in some situations, but not as personal as the HTC Rez community, just by the nature. Don't get me wrong, everyone is super friendly and willing to help, its just naturally a much larger community than the Rez. HTC Rez community was a little more close-knit, personal, and friendly. I'm glad I started out with the HTC Rez community, as it was an awesome introdution to the world of rooting and flashing
TL;DR Both Dev communities are awesome as expected, they're just different.
Conclusion:
In the end I was so close to getting the One just because of the HTC Rez Devs, but I needed that SD card capablity, removable battery/SD card, and dedicated capacitive menu button. I know for sure i'll be following the HTC Rez Devs for quite some time, even though I have the S4. Verizon's lack of support for HTC Devices like the One is dissapointing, but they will release it sooner or later (Mat kearney anyone?)
Thanks for sharing! I appreciate the view... S4 will probably be my landing spot as well as long as the camera is even close to as good as the iPhone 5S will be...
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Sheldor1967 said:
Thanks for sharing! I appreciate the view... S4 will probably be my landing spot as well as long as the camera is even close to as good as the iPhone 5S will be...
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Thanks for reading!I highly doubt the 5S will match the S4 in the camera department, but yeah patience is always a good thing
Glad to see u got yourself w nice phone and are enjoying it. Thanks for sharing your experience on it for us that don't have the phone ( yet )
Sent From My..........REZOUND!!!!!
evilstewie23 said:
Glad to see u got yourself w nice phone and are enjoying it. Thanks for sharing your experience on it for us that don't have the phone ( yet )
Sent From My..........REZOUND!!!!!
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Thanks for reading! Gonna upload some battery stats
Here are some battery stats from today.. still going strong (don't ask me why i was up at 4am because i don't even know)
Widget is battery widget reborn btw
How much screen time is that?
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jagrave said:
How much screen time is that?
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2 hours screen on (so far), 38 percent still left. As of 7 pm, im at 15h total usage time.
This is at home, mostly on Wi-Fi, with only Rooted Stock.
The only root things i did are:
-Remove a couple system apps,bloat,etc.
-Installed and set up Greenify
-Installed and Ran Clean Master
-Fixed Permissions in TWRP
-Wiped Cache and Dalvik Cache
I didn't mess with the Kernel at all, just left everything Stock (for now..)
With a custom ROM, i've seen people get crazy like 5 hours screen on and 1 day total usage
I'm sure things are just as great with the One (maybe better? idk), just reporting what I got with my S4.
Btw, just posted Some tips and tricks I found useful during my time with the Rezound in Rezound General, check it out if you want
gleggie said:
As of 7 pm, im at 15h 3 min total time. With 2 hours screen on so far, 38 percent still left.
This is at home, on Wi-Fi, with only Rooted Stock.
The only root things i did are:
-remove a couple system apps
-Installed and set up Greenify
-Installed Clean Master
I didn't mess with the Kernel at all, just left everything Stock (for now..)
With a custum ROM, i've seen people get crazy like 5 hours screen on and 1 day total usage
I'm sure things are just as great with the One (maybe better? idk), just reporting what I got with my S4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice. with the same usage, but 4G instead of WiFi, how much do you think it would be? And 5 hours is crazy. Lol
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jagrave said:
Nice. with the same usage, but 4G instead of WiFi, how much do you think it would be? And 5 hours is crazy. Lol
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I haven't gotten a chance to test 4G yet, but i'm guestimating maybe 15 hours total usage, 2 hours screen on with only like 15% remaining at the end of the day.
I'll post more stats as I test 4G.
I know you said the camera is really good, but in low light is nowhere near the HTC one. How does it compare to the rezound in lowlight? And I look forward to all your updates.
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jagrave said:
I know you said the camera is really good, but in low light is nowhere near the HTC one. How does it compare to the rezound in lowlight? And I look forward to all your updates.
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I'll try to take comparison pictures this weekend
Also, a quick update, i've been using this device for about a week with only a screen protector. My case has yet to arrive, and its actually been pretty durable so far. I'm not saying i've dropped it because i'm too scared to do that, but its taken a couple little hits from bumping into my desk or laptop and so far it has held up nicely. Still probably not as strong as the all-aluminum One, but its by no means a "cheap" phone as some people make it out to be.
I'll probably do the same thing I did with the Rez. First year with case, second year without. The Rez went through some pretty bad abuse second year lol I've dropped it from waist level with no major damage to the phone (could be just lucky), that's one of the reasons why I like a plastic build--it absorbs the impact a bit. Metal will probably do the job too, but it will knick and dent more easily
gleggie said:
Thanks for reading!I highly doubt the 5S will match the S4 in the camera department, but yeah patience is always a good thing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Look forward to the comparison shots. I've read that the S4 has an excellent low setting.
The comparison shots I saw of the iPhone 5 and S3 weren't even close,but the S4 camera was much better especially in getting color right . . .
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That's good to know. also, how is the screen in sunlight? I've read that's a bad weak spot compared to the one, and just curious if true. And how does it compare to rez since that's what I have to go by? Thanks again.
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jagrave said:
That's good to know. also, how is the screen in sunlight? I've read that's a bad weak spot compared to the one, and just curious if true. And how does it compare to rez since that's what I have to go by? Thanks again.
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Idk how to say this but the Rez kinda has a bold, sharp, aggressive LCD screen feel to it, while my S4 feels just softer on the eyes thanks to the AMOLED display. Black pixels are completely turned off with AMOLED, and with a Matte screen protector, Stark Icon Pack on top of Nova, I love my S4 setup. (i like minimalistic stuff)
S4's display is basically all about color saturation, contrast, and wow is it comfortable on the eyes. Indoors, it actually feels natural to leave the display at about 25% brightness. Outdoors, cloudy day, even 40-50% feels fine. Outdoors, direct sunlight i usually leave it about 75% brighness, so yeah the S4 is very bright.
TL;DR
S4 AMOLED = color saturation,soft,bright
Rez LCD = bold, sharp, aggressive
I personally like the S4 because i love minimalistic displays.
I'll probably keep my rezound till there is absolutely no life left in the motherboard. I've bought an extended battery and made my own extended battery door (which gets great signal out here in the east coast woods lol) as well as replaced the screen myself after it was cracked while working and lifting some heavy steel....this device has been so rock solid for me ever since it ran GB custom firmware. Sadly I can't say the same for the first android I had which was a Kyocera Zio for cricket. My next device was the well famed Droid X. Don't get me wrong it was a great phone but just had so many hardware issues after hardware issues. I baby my phones and have had my Rez since January of 2012 isn't bad at all for life. I know I'll be sticking around and doing stuff to further help develop this great device. From working on themes to working on a few other secret projects that will see the light of day in upcoming times. I respect the decision you made @gleggie as it is a great phone and well laid out review to people who may want to upgrade. As for now...'night my fellow XDA family lol
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REV3NT3CH said:
I'll probably keep my rezound till there is absolutely no life left in the motherboard. I've bought an extended battery and made my own extended battery door (which gets great signal out here in the east coast woods lol) as well as replaced the screen myself after it was cracked while working and lifting some heavy steel....this device has been so rock solid for me ever since it ran GB custom firmware. Sadly I can't say the same for the first android I had which was a Kyocera Zio for cricket. My next device was the well famed Droid X. Don't get me wrong it was a great phone but just had so many hardware issues after hardware issues. I baby my phones and have had my Rez since January of 2012 isn't bad at all for life. I know I'll be sticking around and doing stuff to further help develop this great device. From working on themes to working on a few other secret projects that will see the light of day in upcoming times. I respect the decision you made @gleggie as it is a great phone and well laid out review to people who may want to upgrade. As for now...'night my fellow XDA family lol
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Thanks bro! I wish I was as handy as you, the Rezound is an absolute beast!
Thanks to the awesome developers, they have taken mediocre (by 2013 standards) software and turned it into an absolute tank. Even holding my S4 next to the Rez, the Pixels fluidity of AOSP on the Rez just amaze me, considering the difference between the two phones spec-wise.
You hit it right on with the Family part. Everyone in the Rezound commuity is one big, close knit family. I'll definitely be keeping tabs on the Rez
UPDATE
Cleaned up OP, added dedicated Build Quality section, added:
Minor Touchwiz annoyances that could be solved by flashing custom ROMs:
-Tabbed settings menu (just takes getting used to, some people may actually like it)
-Pull down notification of text messages doesnt have the actual text in it, just a notification saying you have a new text message.
These are on STOCK, VRUAMDK Touchwiz, i'm sure Custom ROMs could easily solve this.
What about the size difference? Do you prefer the larger size? I'm impressed with the stats and reviews of the S4 but I really don't want a mini tablet. I've been thinking about the iPhone 5 or the next iPhone version mainly because I prefer the smaller size. It seems like all of the new and decent android phones are big. I guess that's a positive for most. Sometimes I wish I kept my Incredible because I liked it better than my Rezound.
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