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OK, I had fully decided to sit this one out. All week, I've been reading and watching reviews. Though I had a preorder at Radio Shack, I read the reports on launch day and decided to stay home and call in to cancel. I was one of the nay-sayers.
But yesterday, I was shopping next to the Sprint Store, and decided to go in to see it... and I was hooked. Went to Radio Shack, and the girl there saved me the last Evo 3D anyway, knowing I'd come in after all. How funny.
My reaction after having it for awhile? I truly love my OG Evo, but this device is much better in very noticeable ways:
1. The first thing I noticed is a small thing, but the haptic feedback is DRAMATICALLY better. Tighter and more subtle, just as it should be. Haven't heard this in any of the reviews, but I really like it. Makes the whole phone feel better for me, because I'm a fan of the feedback, especially with the keyboard.
2. This think is insanely fast and smooth. No lag, and it feels almost like it can read my mind going somewhere before I think about it.
3. Not a Sense fan, but I like the effects and speed of this. I could see myself staying with Sense if devs are able to improve on it. See gripes below on what I don't like.
4. Camera isn't as bad as I expected. It may even be significantly improved. The app definitely is. Low light stills are better. Video is improved but still awful, and the sound is not improved at all.
5. The 3D? I actually love it. It's fun... really a nice feature. But I can see that you have to have good eyesight and some patience for it. My wife took one look and wanted nothing more of it. Reminds me of the old Viewmaster images, and I was a big fan. Brings back a bit of my childhood. Good app idea is for Viewmaster to revive all its old collections and make them available for download. How cool would that be? Sign me up!
6. As a phone, I love that the speaker is loud enough, and call quality doesn't sound any worse. Not sure it's improved, though.
OK, now for some gripes:
1. Though I generally like the size and weight, the new screen actually feels much smaller. It's narrower, of course, which in combination with the higher resolution makes everything smaller in portrait view. I'm not sure the screen is brighter and better than the Evo as some have said... seems somewhat duller by comparison.
2. My biggest gripe is that the capacitive buttons are TOO FREAKING BRIGHT, and there doesn't seem to be a way to fix that. And they never shut off. Devs need to fix this or give us ways to adjust to taste.
3. The 3D in movies is much harder to see and notice. The movies have tended to make 3D effect more subtle, and therefore it's difficult to see dramatic effect on this smaller screen. That's both good and bad, I guess. Don't imagine I'll be investing in 3D movies on this, but who knows?
4. Small things... a little harder to hold (or maybe I'm not used to it yet), the speaker isn't as good or as loud and there seems to be a bit of vibration.
5. Sense 3.0, though fun and slick, feels confining and incomplete to me. I miss some of the customization I had in CM7, but would love to keep the lockscreen and weather effects. Somebody explain to me the function of that stupid carousel. First time, "whee!" but after just dumb. This phone desperately needs root and the devs to add things that are missing (customizable buttons on the notification bar, GB wink-out effects, custom rosie, etc.).
In conclusion, I expected to hate it, or not like it enough to try it. That was dead wrong. Is it enough for me to keep it? Well, some key improvements are missing for me, like a significantly improved camera (I'm a photographer, and very picky about this). Sure, I have better cameras, but this one is with me all the time. I'd like to remove the SD card without removing the battery.
I'm loving the 3D, but can see how some non-nerds would lose patience with it quickly. I'm guessing that we'll see a service for ordering 3D prints in the future and other sample 3D photos (c'mon, Viewmaster!), and that will be fun.
Bottom line is that it HAS to get root in the next 30 days, or it goes back for sure. I've seen too many improvements on the Evo with custom ROMs, and I've made my phone new again so many times over. Gotta have that. And just think what the devs could do with this phone.
Nice review! Interesting perspective.
Yeah... No clue about the carousel.. it spins to fast to be useful... I love mine too!
The buttons definitely are to bright... They need to dim with the screen.
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA Premium App
I was leary of a launch day buy but I'm really glad I got it.
I really didn't care about 3d but I must admit I'm liking it.
Have to have root though.
Forgot to add.. I hate the app drawer, I want to fling it.
The charge port needs to be on right side.
The bright capacitive buttons where starting to get on my nerves as well. You can turn them off with the "screen filter" app from the market. The its primary feature is to dim the screen, but you can keep the screen at 100% and still disable the buttons' backlight.
Speaking of lights...why the hell would HTC take away my flashlight and give me a mirror? I used that HTC Flashlight all the time! Sure as heck don't need to be looking at my ugly self all the time, lol. I know I can download one, but just saying.
davec1234 said:
The charge port needs to be on right side.
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Click to collapse
You know, I think I like the port where it is. Nice place for my thumb to go. The narrower phone is making holding and thumb typing much more difficult in portrait mode... That's another gripe for me.
Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk
-Apollo- said:
Speaking of lights...why the hell would HTC take away my flashlight and give me a mirror? I used that HTC Flashlight all the time! Sure as heck don't need to be looking at my ugly self all the time, lol. I know I can download one, but just saying.
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Click to collapse
And I look way uglier on that mirror. Development will add that back when we get root. Until then, the Switchpro widget works for me.
Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk
Cubfan99 said:
Video is improved but still awful, and the sound is not improved at all.
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Click to collapse
I'm still on the fence, but I do shoot video with my phone enough (hey, it's always with me) to have this turn me off. I've dealt with the Evo 4G's terrible (and I mean, TERRIBLE!) audio on videos because it's overall a great phone, but I was hoping the next generation would have fixed the problem. Poop.
First thing I noticed was the haptic feedback as well. I told the BB employee that it felt like the Droid X and he said that a few other people had told him that, too.
I didn't notice how bright the capacitive buttons were, so I guess it doesn't bother me.
I hate the app drawer as well! I don't like the "pages." I feel that pages could've been implemented better (um, horizontally maybe?)
As much as I thought I'd be keeping 3d off permanently I've actually had a lot of fun messing around with it.
One other small thing that bugs me is how the clock widget always seems to have to catch up when you go back to the home page from something else. It's frozen on the time it was when you were looking at it last and quickly flips to update. It's minor, and won't matter too much because I plan on not using the sense clock widget anyway.
Cubfan99 said:
And I look way uglier on that mirror. Development will add that back when we get root. Until then, the Switchpro widget works for me.
Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk
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LOL, no doubt! Thanks man, I'll give it a shot.
Flashlight is not lost guys, a member has already posted the apk in the themes and apps section... But here is one that I have... Install like any apk,
http://db.tt/btJ1IwC
Bussin Caps from my 3D shooter
The carousel would make more sense if it took you to the home screen every time you flicked it. You can use that instead of the home button.
Why I would use the carousel to bring me back to the same page I am on makes no sense to me.....
Thanks for the review OP, i think you were head-on with your points.
I do think tho, the narrowness of this device allows me to put a case on it and actually prefer its larger width, i loved that in the OG Evo.
As for the Carousel, kinda lame that once you flick it and it starts spinning, you can't put your finger on it and choose which screen to go to, it always recovers to the screen you flicked from.
Cubfan99 said:
You know, I think I like the port where it is. Nice place for my thumb to go. The narrower phone is making holding and thumb typing much more difficult in portrait mode... That's another gripe for me.
Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm right handed, talking while charging blows plus it stresses the port.
Just extract the flashlight apk from a sense rom in the EVO 4g dev section, it works fine on our phones.
Also I kinda like the narrower size, it fits better in my hand and pocket. I was ready for a new phone and I don't regret picking this one up at all.
phatmanxxl said:
Just extract the flashlight apk from a sense rom in the EVO 4g dev section, it works fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What a good idea. I'll try that.
Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk
ktrotter11 said:
Flashlight is not lost guys, a member has already posted the apk in the themes and apps section... But here is one that I have... Install like any apk,
http://db.tt/btJ1IwC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dang... that's even easier. Thanks!!
mine goes back today.
i am tired of waiting for HTC and Sprint to release a phone that has been properly tested and functional.
ringers and notifications too low even at full volume
camera switch on my phone jiggle (cheap feeling)
occasional screen freeze
lower than desired photo quality
and of course...
locked bootloader
i have no intention of waiting for HTC to get off their asses. i know all the top devs are working hard and its appreciated, but my money will be spent on a different device
^
I came from the Samsung Galaxy S III and before that it was the iPhone 4, and iPhone 3g and before that Blackberry. I have been all over the place with phones and I get very excited when anyone releases the next huge phone. My main plan was to get the Galaxy S IV until it was actually revealed and I felt quite let down but what it was offering. I felt like they 'appled' things up by just making tiny upgrades just to get people to buy more of the same thing.
Then I read about the HTC One and was a bit skeptical. They were raving about the speakers and the Ultrapixel and all the other features and I just couldn't get past the fact it was HTC. My friend had the HTC One X and I saw how it lacked in updates and didn't have expandable storage or a removable battery. On my SIII I had an extended battery and would still manage to burn through it in a day of heavy usage. So even though I LOVED most of the things about the HTC One. I was scared of jumping ship and trying it.
As the weeks went on and the reviews came out I begun scouring the internet for every bit of information I could find on the HTC One. I read every review and I swear I surfed every forum and at the end of the day I was still impressed by the device and figured i could get over the lack of replaceable battery and extra space. So I made the leap and got the HTC One on AT&T.
I've had it a few days now and I'm still as impressed with this thing as I was when I was reading all the reviews on it. Everything from the 'BoomSound' to the 'Ultrapixel' camera was spot on like I read. The names of the cool features might be a marketing gimmick but they really are the things that make this phone stand out and make it unique.
BUILD QUALITY:
Do I even need to touch on this? Every review, every person who ever touched this device all same the same thing. That it truly is a sight to behold. Trying to put it up against my S III makes the S III look like a toy. This is one phone that I don't want to get a case for (and still haven't) because I think everyone needs to see the HTC One because this is how quality phones should be made. If you read the forums and some reviews they do mention there could be a slight gap around the plastic antenna band, and on mine that is also true. But it is SO tiny on mine that I don't even think it's an issue.
BLINK FEED/SENSE 5:
I have never used an HTC phone with Sense before, coming from the Galaxy S III SENSE is a HUGE step up from what Samsung had. I would often through CM10 or AOKP on my SIII just to get rid of the horrid UI on the S III. I read in reviews that blink feed was almost worthless and most people wouldn't use it and so I figured that be the case for me too...but the crazy part is, I actually DO use it! While I am sitting at work waiting for something to happen or I'm at dinner waiting to order I'm actually finding myself unlocking my phone and seeing what is going on with the world through Blink Feed. I LOVE RSS readers and being on top of things and Blink Feed helps with this without me having to even load up a third party app or anything. While Blink Feed is good they do need to open it up to allow me to import my RSS feeds and what not (like flip board, etc). Blink feed isn't perfect but I'm surprised by how much I actually use it.
On to Sense 5 I am quite impressed with it. Typically I'll throw Apex or Nova launcher on top of the UI and be done with it but after putting Nova on it for half a day I actually ended up uninstalling it. Part of it was so I could have Blink Feed back but the other part is I liked the overall look of Sense 5. It was clean and the buttons were nice. I wish I could use the Sense 5 icon for internet on instead of the look of the Chrome button since that's what I use and chrome now sticks out like a sore thumb on the dock, but I can live with that. Sense has done some nice things in the app locker section by letting you easily search for apps/hide apps and even put apps in folders. I've found that I use Blinkfeed as my main screen and the app launcher as my 'second screen'. I don't even bother swiping over any more to show more home screens.
CAMERA
The camera was the real reason I was excited about this phone. It was something different and something that sounded amazing on paper. HTC was doing something radically different and instead of going the way of the MegaPixel war, HTC was bypassing it completely. And for me, their bet has paid off. This camera will not be for everyone. For people who want amazing clear and detailed pictures then 4MP will probably not be enough. But I'm the kind of person who likes capturing the moments through out my day and sharing them with friends on FB or on G+. I like taking pictures during almost everything and the HTC One helps me with that tremendously.
Zoe mode is a nice change of pace where instead of just capturing a still pic it does the still with 3 seconds of video/sound. This allows you to then find the perfect picture in the 3 second period and edit and save that or even do things such as picking the best face from people in the photo and combining it into one, removing objects in the background, actually making peoples faces skinnier and many other tweaks. There are some options I don't think I'll ever use such as the option to make eyes bigger but I've used it to make funny pictures of my family by making them look like aliens!
The highlight reel is pretty neat and I find myself creating them and posting them to facebook. I think it was completely stupid of HTC to only include 4 themes and make it that you can't use custom music/themes but I have my fingers crossed that that functionality is coming. The highlight reel is a lot like the blink feed. It's a great start to something that can really shine, but HTC needs to get off it's butt and finish it to make it stand above the crowd.
The UI for the camera isn't very pretty or intuitive but the amount of options it offers easily makes up for it. Coming from the SIII it's pretty cool to be able to change everything about the camera settings and it allows people who take the time to learn to capture some pretty impressive shots. Even on full auto it takes good pictures but I think that one will need to learn to adjust the settings based on the situation they are in to get the best photos possible.
The lowlight shooting is hands down amazing. I was able to take a shot around 830 at night after the sun set, the cars on the road had their headlights on and the street lights on the side of the road were on, but the HTC One captured enough light to make it look like the sun was still out. It is crazy how much light this camera captures and when you're like me and love capturing photos of your kids in the house and might not always be in perfect lighting, then this phone is fantastic. Thanks to the quick capturing taking pictures of fast moving objects is also quite enjoyable. On the SIII (not so much on the iPhone) capturing moving objects would lead to very blurry photos, that isn't the case on the One.
I know this section got a bit big but I just wanted to run down some things about it. I didn't even mention the slow motion video, the hdr, the video hdr and other things such as the sequence shot. I have used the HDR pictures (there is a tweak out there on custom roms to enable front camera HDR too) and it's QUICK. The slow motion video makes the video quality really bad but it's still a fun effect. The camera is just something you need to use to be able to fully comprehend. I'll take a photo of something and show someone and they look at me like I'm crazy because they don't understand why I'm so excited about the picture. It's hard to describe just how low the lighting was in it and how awesome the One captured the photo.
BOOM SOUND/MICS:
Stupid name, awesome feature. I never understood why phones put the speakers on the back/bottom. It never made sense. The screen is on the front so why would I want the sound coming from a different location?! On the iPhones the speaker was on the bottom and on the S III it was on the back and I'd have to do this weird cupping movement with my hand to get the sound to make it around to the front of the phone just so I could actually hear what I was watching! And if I put the phone down some where then it'd get all muffled and horrible. The One does not have this problem at all. I'd say the front speakers can be on par with some netbooks/tablets if not louder. This makes watching videos/listening to music or even taking speaker calls a very good experience. It also has dual membrane mics that do a great job at making sure that you're recording sounds of things you actually want to record. Apparently the company that made them for HTC is being sued in Europe because they were supposed to wait 12 months to use them in another phone, but HTC isn't being held liable in that because HTC had no idea.
Now most of this review seems like it's all glowing and perfect for the One but it does have some issues. Things such as Blink Feed and the Highlight Reel (2 huge features HTC touted) feeling like they aren't finished. Or the fact the LED is only 2 colors (I miss being able to have the Notification LED on the S III let me know exactly what the notification was for before I even had the phone in my hand). I also know this isn't a big thing but I always feel like I'm going to scratch the phone when I set it down someplace just because of the noise it makes. Hard to describe but when you put something metal down it makes quite a bit of noise. I know it won't scratch or anything, but in my mind I can't convince myself it won't!
At the end of the day, I'm in love with the phone. It fits me and my life style perfectly and it captures why I love smart phones. I don't take pictures of my food but I spend a lot of my day capturing memories and sharing them with the people close to me. The HTC One makes doing that and keeping it organized thanks to events very easy! I would still recommend the S III to anyone that wants a great cheaper phone (specially since the price has dropped on it). But if someone asks me what the best phone in, I will say the HTC One without hesitating.
Same thing was going on with me, but I knew HTC always made high quality build phones. I took the jump from an N4 and haven't looked back. Your review was awesome and right on par with my thoughts about this phone too.
Sent from my HTC One using XDA Premium HD app
Great little review! Thanks for taking the time to write it up. I'm trying to hold off on getting the One, but I don't think I can after seeing it all over the place. The thing just looks too damn nice. I'm also really over the plastic body of the S3.
I got a question for ya though.. How is multitasking on the One? I completely hated it on the One X and even ended up returning the phone. I wouldn't even call it multitasking tbh. Dunno if you ever used the One X, but I was curious if any of the problems still persist.
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda premium
ovoxo. said:
Great little review! Thanks for taking the time to write it up. I'm trying to hold off on getting the One, but I don't think I can after seeing it all over the place. The thing just looks too damn nice. I'm also really over the plastic body of the S3.
I got a question for ya though.. How is multitasking on the One? I completely hated it on the One X and even ended up returning the phone. I wouldn't even call it multitasking tbh. Dunno if you ever used the One X, but I was curious if any of the problems still persist.
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The multitasking was one of the things that turned me off about that phone. From what I heard it'd start closing things after you had one or two things open. With the One I haven't noticed anything like that and when I open my 'Open Apps' by double tapping home it is always full. Now it only shows 9 open apps at any given time. I'm not sure if it closes other apps if you get over that number or not. But if that's the case it hasn't affected my use at all. Maybe HTC wised up after the bad reviews or maybe it's because it has better memory management.
Thanks for the review robamacaf! Well written and very informative.
I have also grown tired of Samsung plastics and gimmicks. My recent devices have been HTC One X, iPhone 5, Galaxy S3, and a Galaxy Note 2.
HTC has always made nice hardware. Dare I say that even the One X had pretty good build quality when compared to the S3.
Like you, I assumed one of the 1st things I would do on the One would be to find a way to rid myself of BlinkFeed. That crazy thing happened to me as well and now I find myself using it and loving it.
Thanks for the awesome review!
Well... I love my phone. I don't know what to say, I mean, I just do! I've been thinking about it and it's like.. why are we so specpical and specific? That's why we loose the technological battle.. we are too specific and detailed. I mean sure there is a microscopic fraction of a pixel that is dark on dead center of my screen and there is a slight gap on the top between the speaker grill and the white rim, but so? We bonded tonight. Don't discriminate again this amazing phone because of such small things that might be strange or slightly f'ed up, because overall, it's the most advanced and speedy pocket cellular device available in the universe.
Sent to you, from me, on my HTC One using xda premium
Even though my device is in mint condition bro I totally agree with u %100
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2
monkboy24 said:
Even though my device is in mint condition bro I totally agree with u %100
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah man, mine is too theres just been complaints about gaps on the top and some thing where there's dead pixels who knows. Haha
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
yes, i agree with that, love is a word, there's no reason can explain:laugh:
You know what made me REALLY love this phone? This morning when I wanted to turn the TV on to watch the news and the remotes were all the way on my computer desk. I picked up my phone and turn the TV on and got my news fix.
This phone is awesome! :good:
I love your phone too.. Can I have it?!? I could always use a spare. lol
I wish I had a chance to check out the remote control features but I don't ever watch TV on a real TV anymore in real-time. I always watch shows on 1channel or tvmuse. I use an app called unified remote to control pretty much everything on my computer. Spotify, Youtube, Netflix even use it as a mouse and keyboard if your laptop isn't on your lap but close by
graffixnyc said:
I love your phone too.. Can I have it?!? I could always use a spare. lol
I wish I had a chance to check out the remote control features but I don't ever watch TV on a real TV anymore in real-time. I always watch shows on 1channel or tvmuse. I use an app called unified remote to control pretty much everything on my computer. Spotify, Youtube, Netflix even use it as a mouse and keyboard if your laptop isn't on your lap but close by
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That was how I've used my previous devices...man was I excited to see the reintroduction of IR though. With 4 kids, remotes are misplaced (or hidden) on an hourly basis, so it's nice to have complete control in my pocket TBH I loved my phone before I even met it... it sleeps closer to me than my wife now
I wish I could love mine.. First phone had a gap I could fit my thumb nail in.. replacement has 8 stuck white pixels, some brighter then others so I'm sure it's like 30 stuck pixels. Thinking about an s4 now
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
graffixnyc said:
I love your phone too.. Can I have it?!? I could always use a spare. lol
I wish I had a chance to check out the remote control features but I don't ever watch TV on a real TV anymore in real-time. I always watch shows on 1channel or tvmuse. I use an app called unified remote to control pretty much everything on my computer. Spotify, Youtube, Netflix even use it as a mouse and keyboard if your laptop isn't on your lap but close by
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Luckily, you don't need to watch much TV to enjoy the remote control. Just visit a local watering hole or restaurant and enjoy the sheer comedy of watching their employees figure out why the TV's keep turning on and off. :highfive:
E-MAC said:
Luckily, you don't need to watch much TV to enjoy the remote control. Just visit a local watering hole or restaurant and enjoy the sheer comedy of watching their employees figure out why the TV's keep turning on and off. :highfive:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Never thought of that..oh man am I going to have fun next time I'm at a bar. I'll change the channel from the sports game everyone is watching to like cspan or the church channel or something. Lol
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2
homeslice976 said:
That was how I've used my previous devices...man was I excited to see the reintroduction of IR though. With 4 kids, remotes are misplaced (or hidden) on an hourly basis, so it's nice to have complete control in my pocket TBH I loved my phone before I even met it... it sleeps closer to me than my wife now
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was always convinced there was a remote troll that used to come and hide your remotes on you so you couldn't find them when you stepped away
It's too awesome to turn on the TV and flip through channels while one of my teachers is giving a lecture.. makes everyone laugh so hard and the teacher gets scared. Haha good times.
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
Hello everyone,
Samsung has released a watch with the Samsung Galaxy S5 as a companion. Here is my full unboxing and review of the watch. Do you think that the watch would be worth your money? Is it a good watch? Is it silly or actually useful? Watch the Review and let me know what you think of the watch!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dtT4dSHxLiU
I like it as I am am wearing a Gear 2 on my left arm and a Fit on my right. At the moment the Fit is my preference assuming I can find a way to increase the band size. Its small...
Earthdog said:
I like it as I am am wearing a Gear 2 on my left arm and a Fit on my right. At the moment the Fit is my preference assuming I can find a way to increase the band size. Its small...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or you're big
Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk
SirLance99 said:
Or you're big
Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
Well in my case every watch I have ever owned fit except the Fit. :laugh:
Earthdog said:
Well in my case every watch I have ever owned fit except the Fit. :laugh:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah it is a bit small.
Earthdog said:
I like it as I am am wearing a Gear 2 on my left arm and a Fit on my right. At the moment the Fit is my preference assuming I can find a way to increase the band size. Its small...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OMG, thats what i want to do. How do you like that setup? Right now, I want it just to have changable watch faces and use the fit as a customizable bracelet.
Im sure ill use the utility of both devices, but for now im more focused on just those two aspects.
Before anyone says anything, $300 is nothing for a watch and $200 is nothing for a bracelt. Just to have them fully customizable is awesome. I will most likey use the watch to take short calls in the field, check a msg at meetings. Use the fit band for the health tracking. Time will tell what utility I will use, but I dont really want to use the cool features as much as some people do, or will perceive me to want to(people think that enough with my N3, N8.0 and NP12.2 lol)
Ugh, what a waste - I wanted to buy one for my wife until I found out it doesn't have the microphone/speaker like the other Gears. She saw me talking on my Gear 2 Neo and mentioned she'd actually use that feature (she wouldn't use bluetooth headsets before because she has a thing about putting things on her ear). It would have been the first smartwatch she would have been open to using if only it had those missing features as she doesn't like the size of most of the other smartwatches.
rEVOLVE said:
Ugh, what a waste - I wanted to buy one for my wife until I found out it doesn't have the microphone/speaker like the other Gears. She saw me talking on my Gear 2 Neo and mentioned she'd actually use that feature (she wouldn't use bluetooth headsets before because she has a thing about putting things on her ear). It would have been the first smartwatch she would have been open to using if only it had those missing features as she doesn't like the size of most of the other smartwatches.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Who wants to talk to their watch in public?
aooga said:
Who wants to talk to their watch in public?
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Click to collapse
Are you always in public? Do you ever use speakerphone? Have a little imagination, will you? It's not like you would do this for every conversation. Did it occur to you that -sometimes- it's handy? ie - when your hands are full, when you're in the car, by yourself, etc. Also the possibility of controlling Google Now/S Voice is gone - which is more what I was interested in for my use and one of the reasons I'm exploring switching from my Pebble (which currently can do way more useful things than my Gear).
Wouldn't you rather have the option to do it and never use it if it doesn't suit you rather than buy a product that was limited by hardware to do more?
rEVOLVE said:
Are you always in public? Do you ever use speakerphone? Have a little imagination, will you? It's not like you would do this for every conversation. Did it occur to you that -sometimes- it's handy? ie - when your hands are full, when you're in the car, by yourself, etc. Also the possibility of controlling Google Now/S Voice is gone - which is more what I was interested in for my use and one of the reasons I'm exploring switching from my Pebble (which currently can do way more useful things than my Gear).
Wouldn't you rather have the option to do it and never use it if it doesn't suit you rather than buy a product that was limited by hardware to do more?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well for me, I would never use it. Car has bluetooth anyway, not really by myself that much, and even if I was, I would still not use speakerphone. I have an HTC One and people complain a lot when I use speakerphone, so I've stopped. It might work for you, but I see it as more of a gimmick than a real feature.
Yeah you can't use google now, but you can't do that on the gear 2 either. Only Svoice to send messages.
aooga said:
Well for me, I would never use it. Car has bluetooth anyway, not really by myself that much, and even if I was, I would still not use speakerphone. I have an HTC One and people complain a lot when I use speakerphone, so I've stopped. It might work for you, but I see it as more of a gimmick than a real feature.
Yeah you can't use google now, but you can't do that on the gear 2 either. Only Svoice to send messages.
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Ok, let's petition all the manufacturers to remove speakerphone from all phones because it doesn't fit -your- use. j/k
See, I agree with you that speakerphone in public is annoying, but wouldn't you feel bad buying a phone in this age that didn't have that feature -even if you never expected to use it? Sometimes I'm roaming my home and it's handy to have a quick convo on the speakerphone of the Neo without taking out and holding my phone or running to get my headset. Wow, it just made my life easier!
MOST of the samsung features are gimmicks, btw. Hell, lots of people consider a smartwatch a gimmick as well - it's all about perspective and being open to capabilities. You know what's a gimmick to me? Making a color screen on a smartwatch but having to keep it off just to save battery - it's annoying looking down and not seeing the time on the watch and being forced to wave my arm/touch the watch to display info.
S-Voice is damn useful on the Neo, though. I just got the weather forecast with it on the watch. Maybe a dev can switch the intent from S-Voice to Google Now (otherwise going for one of the Android Wear watches). My Mom just discovered how much easier her phone is to use w/ voice commands. Voice recognition is moving to the point of being pretty accurate, so as a handsfree interface, it's an awesome option rather than swiping all over the damn watch. This is why -for my use- I wouldn't consider the Fit until they add the mic and speaker back in and any future smartwatch I consider will need to have those as a requirement.
rEVOLVE said:
Ok, let's petition all the manufacturers to remove speakerphone from all phones because it doesn't fit -your- use. j/k
See, I agree with you that speakerphone in public is annoying, but wouldn't you feel bad buying a phone in this age that didn't have that feature -even if you never expected to use it? Sometimes I'm roaming my home and it's handy to have a quick convo on the speakerphone of the Neo without taking out and holding my phone or running to get my headset. Wow, it just made my life easier!
MOST of the samsung features are gimmicks, btw. Hell, lots of people consider a smartwatch a gimmick as well - it's all about perspective and being open to capabilities. You know what's a gimmick to me? Making a color screen on a smartwatch but having to keep it off just to save battery - it's annoying looking down and not seeing the time on the watch and being forced to wave my arm/touch the watch to display info.
S-Voice is damn useful on the Neo, though. I just got the weather forecast with it on the watch. Maybe a dev can switch the intent from S-Voice to Google Now (otherwise going for one of the Android Wear watches). My Mom just discovered how much easier her phone is to use w/ voice commands. Voice recognition is moving to the point of being pretty accurate, so as a handsfree interface, it's an awesome option rather than swiping all over the damn watch. This is why -for my use- I wouldn't consider the Fit until they add the mic and speaker back in and any future smartwatch I consider will need to have those as a requirement.
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Thats why Samsung made both
One works for some people and the other works for other people. I chose the fit because the neo is a bit too big for my tastes as well as the battery is supposed to be better on the fit. I didn't know svoice could be used for things other than just replying though. Seems interesting. I'm probably going to pick up a Android Wear watch too when they come out...depends how big they are. I hate having a dinner plate on my wrist.
aooga said:
Thats why Samsung made both
One works for some people and the other works for other people. I chose the fit because the neo is a bit too big for my tastes as well as the battery is supposed to be better on the fit. I didn't know svoice could be used for things other than just replying though. Seems interesting. I'm probably going to pick up a Android Wear watch too when they come out...depends how big they are. I hate having a dinner plate on my wrist.
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If Samsung makes a Android Wear that is in the Fit form factor (maybe call it the "Fit Pro") I'd buy 2 on release day for my wife and myself. S-Voice is not Google Now, but it actually does a lot of what I need already. This will change as Google fleshes out what Google Now can do and integrate with. Also, making it "always listening" without having to touch the watch would be key - as that demo with "open garage door" in the Android Wear video got me really excited about it.
Being a happy Pebble user, it was the Fit form factor that tempted me to switch as no one has made such a unique and appealing form factor, yet. I've seen a band that is just pretty much a glorified bluetooth speakerphone on your wrist and that's not the same. It's a shame they crippled the current Fit by keeping off the mic and speaker because the more I use that on my Neo I'm realizing voice control immensely increases the smartwatch's fun and usefulness, IMO.
I have speaker and mic on the Galaxy Gear, I almost never used them.
I understand people want them, they could still get a Galaxy Gear(cheap), Neo or Gear 2.
If anybody likes a speaker and mic, why buy the fit? Samsung did not hid the fact the watch has no speaker or mic.
Sure you may like how the fit looks (I do) but you need to decide what is more important the style of the watch or the speaker/mic.
I like the style with the Gear Fit, it is very light.
I still get notifications, weather and now a step counter and heart beat sensor (even though they are not great)
AstroDigital said:
I have speaker and mic on the Galaxy Gear, I almost never used them.
I understand people want them, they could still get a Galaxy Gear(cheap), Neo or Gear 2.
If anybody likes a speaker and mic, why buy the fit? Samsung did not hid the fact the watch has no speaker or mic.
Sure you may like how the fit looks (I do) but you need to decide what is more important the style of the watch or the speaker/mic.
I like the style with the Gear Fit, it is very light.
I still get notifications, weather and now a step counter and heart beat sensor (even though they are not great)
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But that's the thing, it's such a missed opportunity to not have a version in the gorgeous form factor of the Fit w the mic/speaker. After testing the Neo for a few days, that's the main reason I didn't return it immediately, as my Pebble already did a lot of what I wanted w/ the exception of the janky pedometer/HRM. I could even forgive that the Neo is only controlling S Voice and not Google Now, because it's handy enough. You would think that with the Fit's smaller form factor and the fact you have less screen to interact with, supplementing the control scheme with the mic/speaker would make sense.
Again, it's not the phone conversations that are attractive to me, it's the immediate access to S Voice. It is a major factor of convenience on your wrist once you realize the potential. I still come back to how great the Fit looks, especially for females who don't really have a lot of options in the Smartwatch arena. But there's no way I would invest in a smartwatch w/o the mic now - it's just not complete without one.
Please go here for any further discussion, thanks...http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2709343
so I'm going to try out the Virtual Reality experience. Getting the Google Daydream View ($80 on Amazon).
Choosing the Google ones so that I can cast the video on my TV via chromecast so that others can see what I'm seeing.
Anyone have any experiences with these (or other goggles) that may be helpful?
thanks!
nobody? really? wow. i guess the VR goggles are more unpopular than I thought.
well, got mine last night and tried them out. pretty cool. still some bugs though like keeping the pointer centered, video streaming, lack of content. I can really only stand 15-20 minutes of it, otherwise my eyes begin to hurt. my kids tried them out and loved them.
my phone did get hot, and it did use a lot of battery.
had some difficulties with the initial setup, as I did not realize that I had to enable NFC on the phone, and charge the pointer first. i think it uses a bluetooth connection to the pointer (I already have bluetooth enabled, so keep that in mind).
but after a while, I can see myself getting used to it. watching the shark videos was pretty cool, as both my wife and I actually jumped when shark swam by.
casting the experience on my TV is a nice plus so that others can be involved too (as well as help navigate them).
I like the Daydream better than the Gear VR. I don't use either a or the because it's so isolating and I don't have old dogs that constantly need to go in and out doors. [emoji16]
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I've spent a lot of time in both. I like the Gear better, but only because I have a wide face, with my eyes a bit wider apart than most. Daydream is the cooler version, nicer to touch and look at. Gear is a bit clunky, but if you have a wide face or glasses, the Daydream gets uncomfortable quickly. Sammy's library is much bigger, but much of it is shovelware. Both ecosystems have their exclusive highlights.