Hey guys,
I am interested in buying this phone but I can see mixed reviews on gsmarena and a lot of other sites.
Can some of you please provide the pros & cons associated with this phone?
Thanks in Advance.
banjara said:
Hey guys,
I am interested in buying this phone but I can see mixed reviews on gsmarena and a lot of other sites.
Can some of you please provide the pros & cons associated with this phone?
Thanks in Advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you want from this phone? What do you want to do with it?
Iff you want to useit like phone with this super batery 4000ma is an super phone.
I do not play games on the phone. GPS IGO Primo super ok, Agenda more then enough, useit like stick for 8,16,32 gb super ok, useit on this forum super ok , watch movies super ok, listem music super ok, doing your own custom rom super ok, lanterna, compass super on, camera ok for me, record your call super ok ......
I want to use it as a regular phone for everyday usage. Little bit of everything you mentioned there
banjara said:
I want to use it as a regular phone for everyday usage. Little bit of everything you mentioned there
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then is a very good phone. :good:
I comandet another one for my wife. Must come from china any time now. I have this phone for 8 month and he never dissapointed me, and LiFe ROM for 7 month. Works fine.
stympy said:
Then is a very good phone. :good:
I comandet another one for my wife. Must come from china any time now. I have this phone for 8 month and he never dissapointed me, and LiFe ROM for 7 month. Works fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your positive responses.
I will wait for few more reviews and then will make up my mind.
I'd say it depends where you live.
Pros:
- Battery life. There is not even competition. +2 hours of web browsing, 4 hours of watching movies, 4 hours of playing music, 1 hour of youtube HQ video watching, navigation software for 45min, some sms and calls, some emails. Both SIM cards on, one with 3G. Data connection on all the time.Google, whatsapp,viber,facebook sync on. Wifi was off even. Did all of this in 16 hours of time, and as you see, all of it require screen on and the web browsing+Youtube typically uses a lot of radio power., and ended up with 55% of battery left. My girlfriend on an S3 did about the same and it took out all her battery + again 40% of battery after recharge.
I typically do 1 hour of web browsing, some emails + whatsapp + viber + 1 hour of Youtube video, and an hour of music. In the evening, I have 70-75% left so my biggest problem is to recharge or let it go another day
This was my main reason for buying this phone and so far, it has not let me down.
- Performs well. Not the fastest on the market, but it performs well, stable, applications are fast. I don't use it for games, but I did install Ingress to test, and my performance was not worse than an HTC M8... For the normal use, as you and stympy are planning, it's more than sufficient.
- Price : under $250 is a bargain for what it has to offer you
- Modifications : it's pretty easy to flash your phone with a new ROM
- Magnetic case recognition : it's a stupid little thing, but I got a MOFI magnetic case with it, which automatically turns the screen on/off if you open/close the case (even unlocks it). I got instantly used to it, and love the feature. Only seems to work on stock ROM though...
- Back camera : works well, fast, and takes good quality pictures. Lot of filters in built-in SuperCamera app.
Cons:
- 3G Signal quality. That's why I'm saying it depends on where you live. If it's in a city, and you are almost always there, with good 3G, no problems. But if you go places where the signal coverage is less, then 3G is gone really fast. (I compared to other phones, and while they typically have 2-3 bars on 3G, I'm already falling back to G(Edge). This might be because the Chinese version lacks 900Mhz 3G support, and if I flash a modem with 2100-900Mhz, my second SIM card doesn't work anymore (and not sure if it really does 3G 900).
However, the 2G signal on both SIM1 and SIM2 is holding the same as any other phone I compared it with.
Also, sometimes 3G H+ speed is all of a sudden capped at 30 or 50K/s, switching the data connection off and on again solves it, but it can be annoying. Might be related to my modem version too...
- MTK related issues: this chipset has some issues that can be solved, but you need to be a bit of a tweaker to do it. Mainly GPS and modem require some problem solving. Right now my modem is good enough, and my GPS gets a fix in under 20 seconds, but out of the box, my GPS didn't work well at all, and I had bad call quality.
- ROM support: the device isn't that popular outside China and Russia, so English ROMs are not updated that frequent. KitKat ROM available but unstable. The Chinese ROMs are well maintained and pack a lot of extra features (VIBE, Stock) as compared to ROW, but I don't speak Chinese Coming from an HTC phone, I'm used to a lot of XDA support, frequent CyanogenMod updates and fixes and so on. I might have been spoilt
- Community support : XDA has the basic forums for this phone, but nothing compared to 4PDA. So if you read Russian or Chinese, there is a lot out there. For English speakers, it's hard to find answers to some questions. However, a lot of issues you might encounter are typically chipset issues for MTK6589, and what works for other phones with this chipset, usually also works for the P780.
- Heavy : if you have an S2 right now, and switch to this one, it will feel like a brick in your pocket. You get used to it straight away, but if you pick up another phone like S2 or S3, they feel like they weigh nothing
- Front camera : only 0.3M, and that is really noticeable. Quality of front camera pictures is ..well...bad. Selfies are not worth it, and video chat is ok but was better on my 4 year old HTC phone. People notice that quality is low when video chatting with them.
Interesting software for this phone:
- Keeping my screen on while using the phone (Smart Reading) : standard in VIBE, but on other ROMS, I have Gravity screen which works a lot better actually.
- XPosed+GravityBox support : tweak your phone any way you want
- Lenovo SecureIt : nice features, and although I think I don't need it, it's quite good. Chinese version even better (with built-in ad blocker!), but I don't understand it
- Lenovo PowerManager : great tool for monitoring your power consumption, with a lot of features like freezing apps, and detailed overview and estimations are pretty accurate (I also use GSAM because it gives me better statistics)
- MobileUncle tools : you cannot have this phone without this app. It lets you tweak everything, like GPS settings, Headset volume (because the default max. volume is too silent for me), and so many other settings no other tool gives you access to. It is a must.
- SuperCamera and SuperGallery (built-in) : really great apps, camera has many features and takes great pictures (main camera that is)
Conclusion : if you know what rooting and flashing is, and have no problem doing that, then this phone is awesome. It's an ok phone out of the box, but tweaking it turns it into a great phone. You will probably have to overcome some nasty issues you wouldn't get on an HTC or a Samsung.
If that is ok for you, go for it and you'll not regret it. Given the low price, if it really, really doesn't work out, you're not out $600 at least...
I just love, love, love that I never have to worry about using it a lot and running out of battery. Even after using it to charge my girlfriends S3, there's plenty juicy left
I wish I could thank your post more than once. Thanks a lot for such awesome review :thumbup::thumbup:
I wanted a phone for my wife which should be hassle free. I have ripped my s2 with custom roms, kernels and modems but wifey doesn't appreciate if I try to do the same on her phone.
There are few issues mentioned by you which would need tweaks and without them it's daily operations will be affected e.g. call quality.
So this phone is a no go for me. Will have to look at Samsung or the sony ones. Moto g is another good option.
Anyways, thanks again for taking time to thoroughly enlighten me. Appreciate it.
banjara said:
I wish I could thank your post more than once. Thanks a lot for such awesome review :thumbup::thumbup:
I wanted a phone for my wife which should be hassle free. I have ripped my s2 with custom roms, kernels and modems but wifey doesn't appreciate if I try to do the same on her phone.
There are few issues mentioned by you which would need tweaks and without them it's daily operations will be affected e.g. call quality.
So this phone is a no go for me. Will have to look at Samsung or the sony ones. Moto g is another good option.
Anyways, thanks again for taking time to thoroughly enlighten me. Appreciate it.
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Click to collapse
Hi, well, I described the worst case scenarios here, and maybe scared you too much
I had my phone 5 minutes and flashed it already, causing a lot of the issues described. I went from Chinese to ROW (almost bricking it in the process btw), and immediately tried to get 900Mhz 3G working, which was problematic.
Right now, my girlfriend is actually jealous of my phone, and whenever she uses it, is loving it. It took me indeed some time to get there, but now it's all good.
ROMs like Life are excellent, and well supported. For me personally, it's not what I was looking for, but maybe for you it's all you need.
Installed Cyanogen om my girlfriends phone, but she hated it, although it worked better and was superior to the stock ROM.
So in terms of buying it for your girlfriend, I'll tell you what my girlfriend (dis)likes:
Pros:
- Big screen that is very good quality
- Nice design
- Magnetic case
- Doing stuff on it all day and have enough battery
- Fast
- 2 SIM cards for calling everybody
- Auto beautify function on camera (not that she needs it, but it's quite amazing how well it works )
- record a call
Cons:
- a bit heavy
- the data connection issues (sometimes when switching from WIFI to data or when data seems capped, you have to switch off/on data and it's annoying)
- the bad front camera for selfies and mirror app for checking makeup and video chatting
- never an excuse to not call me because the battery was dead
As an alternative, if you are really looking into another one, the OnePlus One is being released starting from $300. It's high end hardware (similar to S5 and HTC One), partnered with CyanogenMod, but for a ridiculous low amount of money.Only downside is no SD card, but the 64Gb model is supposed to cost only $50 more...
If I had to choose right now between my P780 and another phone...I'd still choose my P780. Yes, I don't like the 3G being a bit iffy, I don't like the bad front camera, but I love all the rest. And it's cheap. And soon a modem for it might be released that gives excellent 3G results.
Right now, after my modding and flashing, I have a really stable phone (had to reboot it 1x in the last 3 weeks and that was partially my fault ), good call quality, does whatever I want how I want it. It's just a bit more difficult to get to that point...
For me, being able to install different ROMs and battery life are crucial, and I'm happy with it.
Would I recommend it to my girlfriend? Yes and no. Yes because she'll be happy with it, but it's more of a geek phone that you have to hack and maintain a bit more than another model to get/keep it in good shape.
Good luck
As you mentioned it would require some hacking to make it perfect, and that's where my wife won't allow me to touch it. If I was buying it for myself, it would be a different story altogether.
Related
I have been watching HD2 over videos since about a month now. Is it the best smartphone in the market as of today? Is it worth buying it (i will need an unlocked phone) or is there anything better in the market for Unlocked GSM phones?
Thanks for all the help
xprav said:
I have been watching HD2 over videos since about a month now. Is it the best smartphone in the market as of today? Is it worth buying it (i will need an unlocked phone) or is there anything better in the market for Unlocked GSM phones?
Thanks for all the help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had a Nexus One for 5 months and I am happy I made the switch since the Hd2's screen size is amazing and the Hd2 allows me to pair my bluetooth keyboard up to type reports on it.
The only thing I miss about Android is how Google Maps Voice Navigation is just a tinsy bit better than Bings Maps Voice Navigation when it comes to viewing options. Other than that Windows Mobile is just as good as Android and the HD2 has better specs.
ap3604 said:
I had a Nexus One for 5 months and I am happy I made the switch since the Hd2's screen size is amazing and the Hd2 allows me to pair my bluetooth keyboard up to type reports on it.
The only thing I miss about Android is how Google Maps Voice Navigation is just a tinsy bit better than Bings Maps Voice Navigation when it comes to viewing options. Other than that Windows Mobile is just as good as Android and the HD2 has better specs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks AP
I was confused over choosing HD2 or Desire. Though both are different as one uses WIN6.5 and other Android, and HD2 obviously has a bigger screen. But a lot of people told me that the only thing good about HD2 is the screen size and everything else is not as good.
Sorry if i am asking a lot of Qs, but is it the best pick when compared to any GSM handsets, be it Desire or be it iPhone?
xprav said:
Thanks AP
I was confused over choosing HD2 or Desire. Though both are different as one uses WIN6.5 and other Android, and HD2 obviously has a bigger screen. But a lot of people told me that the only thing good about HD2 is the screen size and everything else is not as good.
Sorry if i am asking a lot of Qs, but is it the best pick when compared to any GSM handsets, be it Desire or be it iPhone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had an iPhone 3gs before my Nexus One so I'm used to both Android and iOS but I'd have to say if I had to give up all of my phones and I had the choice of a new one it would STILL be the Hd2. It really is the perfect phone for me since it fulfills every single one of my needs beautifully:
- Free Bing turn by turn GPS voice directions (iPhone doesn't)
- I access my Google Voice account for free text messaging through the browser m.google.com/voice to send free text messages
- I can pair up a bluetooth keyboard with my Hd2 and type reports on Word or Excel in my college classes (I looked forever but there is NO way to do this with Android yet unless you want to pay an extra $120 for a freedom bluetooth keyboard... the only keyboard that will work with Android)
- Its on T-mobile (so I have the best prices without having to sign a contract and I can sell it anytime without having to pay an ETF)
- I can play playstation emulators on it with my wiimote
- The camera is amazing
- The screen is amazing
- I can record my voice lectures in class with it
- I can tether my computer with it
- I can carry a tiny spare battery to last all day if I am going to be using it heavily (iPhone cant)
I was hoping the Nexus One would be my all in one device and fulfill all of the above needs but it failed in one crucial regard: The bluetooth keyboard support. Since the HD2 actually did all of these PLUS the screen is bigger made the decision quite easy for me.
Thanks again AP...
so this narrows down me to HD2 or Desire (leaving out Nexus one and iPhone 3GS).
I hope someone using Desire can post about Desire vs HD2 soon
thanks again
xprav said:
Thanks again AP...
so this narrows down me to HD2 or Desire (leaving out Nexus one and iPhone 3GS).
I hope someone using Desire can post about Desire vs HD2 soon
thanks again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You welcome
I was in the same boat so I know how it feels. Hope you find the perfect phone soon
HD2 or ...?
Please suggest, am still waiting to hear from any one of you...
the most important question to u.. u ever used a winmo device?
D4rkSoRRoW said:
the most important question to u.. u ever used a winmo device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, i have always been using Nokias till date (worst phones for business i guess). But as i am into software business and move more frequenty these days, i need a phone which can carry my mails and documents etc. Also could test my web applications on the device.
My bro is getting android, my partner has android and another partner has got iPhone. But i thought i could get more expert reviews here. Havent got to use the iPhone and Andriod myself as they are not in the same country as me.
I would suggest to wait a little longer before making your choice. This fall starting the end of September new phones will roll up and you will have more options to choose from. Check this out
http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/24/exclusive-htcs-windows-phone-7-equipped-t8788-breaks-cover-for/
http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/09/htcs-4-3-inch-desire-hd-shows-up-on-video/
http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/21/dell-thunder-explodes-android-with-4-1-inch-oled-screen-promise/
http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/21/dell-lightning-the-ultimate-windows-phone-7-device-leaks-out/
hd2 has its flaws like any other device most notably the battery life is appaling..i
prior to the hd2 have been accustomed to nokia/symbian devices so going to winmo6.5 was a massive jump in terms of o/s..my general point of view is that most devices i.e iphone come out of the box fully functional however the hd2 involves alot of tweaking/customising to how you want it which is a great feature to have imo..you talked about android ,there are plenty of roms available and more to come im sure, stable or not and even one day we got winmo7 to look forward to not officially thou..i love my hd2!
Moschino02 said:
hd2 has its flaws like any other device most notably the battery life is appaling..i
prior to the hd2 have been accustomed to nokia/symbian devices so going to winmo6.5 was a massive jump in terms of o/s..my general point of view is that most devices i.e iphone come out of the box fully functional however the hd2 involves alot of tweaking/customising to how you want it which is a great feature to have imo..you talked about android ,there are plenty of roms available and more to come im sure, stable or not and even one day we got winmo7 to look forward to not officially thou..i love my hd2!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Moschino02 said:
hd2 has its flaws like any other device most notably the battery life is appaling..i
prior to the hd2 have been accustomed to nokia/symbian devices so going to winmo6.5 was a massive jump in terms of o/s..my general point of view is that most devices i.e iphone come out of the box fully functional however the hd2 involves alot of tweaking/customising to how you want it which is a great feature to have imo..you talked about android ,there are plenty of roms available and more to come im sure, stable or not and even one day we got winmo7 to look forward to not officially thou..i love my hd2!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In your sig, I see you use a stock ROM.
From my personal experience , I had a pretty bad battery life at first when using stock ROMs, but since I use cooked ROMs, my battery life is much better (some ROMs are better than others of course).
If I don't charge the phone every night (which I usually do by habit and because it's better for the battery), it usually lasts between 2 and 3,5 days with normal use.
Normal use =
- Around 15-30 minutes calls.
- 3-4 e-mails.
- 15-20 minutes surfing.
- 30-40 minutes doing various stuff (checking oMarket, downloading, installing and testing an app or 2, taking and watching pictures, checking the weather, my e-mails, my appointments, twitter, etc...).
- 20-30 minutes GPS with iGo Primo (not charging in the car).
- Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are off most of the time.
- 3G Data (HSDPA) always on, weather + twitter + 2 mail accounts checking every hour.
Usually at the end of a full work day, I still have between 75 and 85% battery.
Doing the same thing with the stock ROM left me with around 25% battery at the end of the day.
When the phone is in standby, it uses about 1% every 2-3 hours (Today was a quiet day, my phone still has 94% battery and it's been running for 9 hours).
So if the battery life is really a problem for you, you might want to try that
Mithrandir007 said:
In your sig, I see you use a stock ROM.
From my personal experience , I had a pretty bad battery life at first when using stock ROMs, but since I use cooked ROMs, my battery life is much better (some ROMs are better than others of course).
If I don't charge the phone every night (which I usually do by habit and because it's better for the battery), it usually lasts between 2 and 3,5 days with normal use.
Normal use =
- Around 15-30 minutes calls.
- 3-4 e-mails.
- 15-20 minutes surfing.
- 30-40 minutes doing various stuff (checking oMarket, downloading, installing and testing an app or 2, taking and watching pictures, checking the weather, my e-mails, my appointments, twitter, etc...).
- 20-30 minutes GPS with iGo Primo (not charging in the car).
- Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are off most of the time.
- 3G Data (HSDPA) always on, weather + twitter + 2 mail accounts checking every hour.
Usually at the end of a full work day, I still have between 75 and 85% battery.
Doing the same thing with the stock ROM left me with around 25% battery at the end of the day.
When the phone is in standby, it uses about 1% every 2-3 hours (Today was a quiet day, my phone still has 94% battery and it's been running for 9 hours).
So if the battery life is really a problem for you, you might want to try that
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can I ask, which ROM are you using? I just started and I'm trying to find one like yours that gives great battery
Thank you for letting me know.
007,
2.5 to 3days??are you serious?..thanks for the tip what rom do you use ? im pretty content with stock except for battery life but after what you have stated i might have to consider it(i have not flashed b4)
ap3604 said:
Can I ask, which ROM are you using? I just started and I'm trying to find one like yours that gives great battery
Thank you for letting me know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I currently use Touch X-Treme by Smaberg :
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=631049
This ROM is very fast and stable, with great battery, though Smaberg discontinued the series, so it's not the latest build of WM6.5 and Manila (though that's not a problem unless you like to flash often just to get the latest versions).
The only problem I had is the fact that when running Android on it, I have the robotic voice (if you've tried Android builds, you might know what it is).
I'm still just testing out Android from time to time, but I'm thinking of trying the Omega ROM series.
Once I've tested that one, I'll post the results here if you want.
Btw, after installing a new ROM (any ROM), the battery life won't be too good for the first 2 charges or so, buy after that, it's much better.
still not clear if i should get an HD2 or wait for Desire HD or Dell devices with WIN7...
will really appriciate any help in this direction...
dude, i have HD2 and its aaa-mazing
its the best phone on the market right now, its way beyond our older phones and much more sophisticated. the only issue is the storage cards and winmo7.
hd2 wont be able to run winmo7 and the new storage cards with 64+ gb capacity wont work with hd2.
if you ask me im okay with it, im pretty satisfied with winmo6.5 with htc sense. the storage card thing is a bummer, but well **** happens
i heard a rumor about htc's new project HD3. and if thats real man, wow. you might want to wait for it, cause rumor says it will be unveiled later this year.
but right now. HD2. is. awesome.
xprav said:
still not clear if i should get an HD2 or wait for Desire HD or Dell devices with WIN7...
will really appriciate any help in this direction...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you even read the posts,they say go and get it,but you have to do some tweaks probably many tweaks,they are all here in the first and second threads , by the time you do that, you will become an expert in WM and HD2 tweaking and will never let it go,at least, easily.
I got mine 6 months ago,my wife also got one last week despite having an Iphone,she seems to have discovered that watching the Two And Half Men series is an awsome experiance comparing to Iphone's smaller screen !!,and this weekend my son is going to get one too, looks like he is done with Nokias and doesnt like the Iphone much.!!
BTW we are still on stock ROM.1.66 and 1.48.
Rurph said:
I would suggest to wait a little longer before making your choice. This fall starting the end of September new phones will roll up and you will have more options to choose from. Check this out
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That 4th dell freaks me out Rurph.
It looks amazing.
Somehow i like touch and physical keyboard in to one
It,s gonna be a great winter for a new phone
Greetz.
wait for the desire HD! definitly!
Hi guys,
If you have or have had the X10 aswell as the Samsung Galaxy S, please give me some feedback in this thread.
Thanx
- Martin
my advice x10 coz sony ericsson more trusted mark and not big different in specifications
regards
I took a look to the thread,and everybody is saying the Galaxy is way faster and 100 times better, so there is no point for us X10 user to go there and tell that the X10 is better.There are a lot of threads here about the X10 Vs. Samsung ,Desire etc. I choosed the X10 with the best build,design,and almost if not the same specs as the other phones around.(and multitouch is not an issue for me).
So choose what you like.
Being a thread in the Galaxy S forum, I am aware that people there might be a bit biased. However, I must say that the Samsung does feel snappier so apparantly the better hardware aren't just there to look good on the specs. The display also looks good but I'm a tad worried about the pixel density on the Samsung after being an X10 owner (which I still am, for that matter).
However, you don't get better tests than from people using it every day, so I was wanting to hear pros and cons from people who have or have had both devices.
- Martin
EDIT: In the other thread, I've made a list of what I think are the pros and cons of each phone. However, I've only read about the Galaxy S and spend a little time with one in a store.
I'd wait for the 2.1 upgrade and see how they compare then.... I'm anticipating some significantly noticeable improvements...
My contract ends on september the 26th, so I can't get the new phone until the day after. I hope the 2.1 update is release at least a week before that. The same goes for the 2.2 update for the Galaxy, which is to be released soon(ish) aswell.
Hi if you put the thread in galaxy s forum I'm sure you will get mainly positive answers. I have a galaxy s and I will just list what I think.
First the bad
GPS is currently not very good, sometimes it works well and usually gets a fix very quickly but all too often it will randomly put you facing the wrong way if you stop in a queue and sometimes will not get a signal or lose signal
The screen although perfect size and excellent multitouch response uses a strange subpixel layout which when you look closely you can see the individual leds this makes the text fuzzy when small and also makes edges fuzzy (most people don't seem to notice this but I look close at my screen)
no camera flash - night vision mode is good though and prob gives better pics of outdoor night images than most - not good for close/indoor night stuff
The good
Im not gonna say a lot here (I'm sure you have already heard loads) but I will say this is the fastest phone I have used, no other android I've used is as fast, good at playing games and general use. It's a nice size - seems small even though it has a large screen (which contary to what I say above is the best screen I have used on any phone - just wanted to let you know it is not perfect - all amoled screens seem to have that effect)
Another big plus is that it's just about the most popular android phone there is and likely to be very well supported by Samsung and all of us.
It also has a few bonuses which you are unlikely to see on most other phones (tv out, free good apps from samsung, dlna, wifi tethering etc)
As you can tell the galaxy isn't perfect but it's the one I waited for so that's where my vote lies (especially if like me you like to play a lot of games many of the best need multi touch)
still you may have different needs than me, I suggest reading all the reviews you can find and trying them out if you can (try gsmarena for reviews I find them nice and detailed and generally unbiased)
EDIT - Just looked at your other post and see you already have a x10, my advice then would be to wait for the 2.1 update coming soon and see what you think, unless you have lots of money or can do an exchange relatively cheap then you might just wanna do that. Otherwise you might wanna hold out and see if anything even better comes out soon, im thinking 4.3" super high res dual core or 2ghz I'm sure they can't be too far off and your x10 should do until they do
badasschris said:
Hi if you put the thread in galaxy s forum I'm sure you will get mainly positive answers. I have a galaxy s and I will just list what I think.
First the bad
GPS is currently not very good, sometimes it works well and usually gets a fix very quickly but all too often it will randomly put you facing the wrong way if you stop in a queue and sometimes will not get a signal or lose signal
The screen although perfect size and excellent multitouch response uses a strange subpixel layout which when you look closely you can see the individual leds this makes the text fuzzy when small and also makes edges fuzzy (most people don't seem to notice this but I look close at my screen)
no camera flash - night vision mode is good though and prob gives better pics of outdoor night images than most - not good for close/indoor night stuff
The good
Im not gonna say a lot here (I'm sure you have already heard loads) but I will say this is the fastest phone I have used, no other android I've used is as fast, good at playing games and general use. It's a nice size - seems small even though it has a large screen (which contary to what I say above is the best screen I have used on any phone - just wanted to let you know it is not perfect - all amoled screens seem to have that effect)
Another big plus is that it's just about the most popular android phone there is and likely to be very well supported by Samsung and all of us.
It also has a few bonuses which you are unlikely to see on most other phones (tv out, free good apps from samsung, dlna, wifi tethering etc)
As you can tell the galaxy isn't perfect but it's the one I waited for so that's where my vote lies (especially if like me you like to play a lot of games many of the best need multi touch)
still you may have different needs than me, I suggest reading all the reviews you can find and trying them out if you can (try gsmarena for reviews I find them nice and detailed and generally unbiased)
EDIT - Just looked at your other post and see you already have a x10, my advice then would be to wait for the 2.1 update coming soon and see what you think, unless you have lots of money or can do an exchange relatively cheap then you might just wanna do that. Otherwise you might wanna hold out and see if anything even better comes out soon, im thinking 4.3" super high res dual core or 2ghz I'm sure they can't be too far off and your x10 should do until they do
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very unbiassed reply..i'd like you to wait for some time... and compare both phones with upgrades.. every device has its pros and cons.. so know what you want out of a device and make your decision. possibly by that time something better than these two may come out in the market... theres no ending for this..
Id have to say that if the Samsung S had a decent flash (why they wouldn't include one is crazy), i would be pretty tempted to jump ship. They've already ported CM6 to it so the guys at Cyanogen must think its a worth while device and there support would be good enough for me.
galaxy is way better in almost every way. co-worker has it. played with it and from the first few minutes i knew that the galaxy s was a better phone. no question.
and every phone that came out or recently came out this year is moving on to 2.2 or even to gingerbread. x10 only going to 2.1? while 2.1 is better than 1.6, i'm still a bit disappointed.
The news of a psp phone intrigues me. If you like games I'd wait to hear more about that.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
I cant speak for the actual Galaxy S model but I did have the Captivate for 28 days. I loved the screen and it did play Asphalt HD very well. The GPS was mostly uses less and I wasnt crazy about the soft buttons. The lack of a camera led or notification led is a real bummer.
I have to be honest though. The Captivate was the buggiest Android (oem build) I have ever used. There are ways to "fix" some of the bugs but the GPS and shut down/reboot seem to persist.
Every phone has issues but the Captivate had a couple that I just couldnt live with.
The X10 has been a completely different experience for me. Very well built and very stable OS. I am not sure if this is thanks to AT&T having a newer build or not. I have no regrets with switching to the X10.
Sent from my X10a using XDA App
naplesbill said:
I cant speak for the actual Galaxy S model but I did have the Captivate for 28 days. I loved the screen and it did play Asphalt HD very well. The GPS was mostly uses less and I wasnt crazy about the soft buttons. The lack of a camera led or notification led is a real bummer.
I have to be honest though. The Captivate was the buggiest Android (oem build) I have ever used. There are ways to "fix" some of the bugs but the GPS and shut down/reboot seem to persist.
Every phone has issues but the Captivate had a couple that I just couldnt live with.
The X10 has been a completely different experience for me. Very well built and very stable OS. I am not sure if this is thanks to AT&T having a newer build or not. I have no regrets with switching to the X10.
Sent from my X10a using XDA App
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+1 The led light and the notification led are very important to me. I agree with everything naplesbill said. Just to add a few more things, the screen on the x10 i think produces more realistic colors and thats with 16k atm so should be even better with 2.1 and 16m also text is sharper on the x10 vs the galaxy so if you browse and read things alot that is somthing to consider. The x10 is very stable and no lag like the samsung, its very well build and its beautiful. Overall great powerfull stable phone with unique looks. X10 hasnt let me down.
So, a little background.
Currently I have a Galaxy S. But for my own reasons I'm sick of it. I have been looking at midrange android phones that I can afford to buy so I don't have to sign a contract and the Ace stuck out to me.
Now, I understand that it will not be as fast or big as my S, but how is it for the money?
The things I'm looking for are like
GPS
Stability
Speed (though I know it won't be top of the line)
Everyone's favorite question: battery life
and if there are any specific limitations to the device.
Basically, is it a good all around phone that I can email, text, tweet, Google+, and listen to music during the day and not have to worry about it dieing during my lunch break?
Thanks.
I don't understand you but that's ok for me ;-)
The Ace when delivered has good hardware and with the help of this Forum I got a nice phone running!
Everything in Stock Roms is working already but after some fixes here and there it's, for the price, a very good phone.
The Batterylife isn't to amazing but a day from 7 to 7 with normal use as you suggested is well possible.
I'm using the Ace about 3 months now and still happy with it. My Son's Defy has obviously better Hardware but caused many Problems already so he stopped laughing at my "can't find HD games " Phone
Sent from my GT-S5830 using XDA App
uhhh i wouldnt ever recommend u ace if u come from sgs, u'll be highly disappoint. stay away. the battery is horrible. u can literally see the battery drops when it just sit there idling doing nothing.
btw how about galaxy w?
comparing it to ace, it had better resolution, slightly bigger screen, more internal memory, more ram, better cpu, better gpu, better battery and the list go on. best part is its priced at the same price as i buy my ace 5 months ago. lol
and my personal opinion is that for current android lineup, its the best value for each buck u spent on it.
Well, naturally I will wait and allow more response, but from what you two are saying I am a more hesitant as battery is one of my main concerns. I will need it to last a majority of the day at least as currently I only make it from 9a to about 5:30p before I'm forced to juice up. That is with gmail, a few texts, a call or two, Web, and about 30 min of music. And I will need it to perform well passed 5.a
Thanks for the quick responses and honest opinions.
it'll definitely stay alive at the end of the day if u dont use wifi and 3g data connection. but without both two, it wouldnt be a smartphone isnt it?
seriously when u start enabling wifi or data connection, u can see battery drops in minutes.
the longest my ace had ever survived without recharge is just 1.5 day. that when i dont receive or make calls, just couple of sms and maybe half an hour on market using wifi. just siting there idling doing nothing and it can just survive 1.5 day max.
the truth does hurt, but i need to admit that ace's batterylife is horrible.
A lot of people out there say that battery life is good, that they get more than 24 hours one charge. Well, it isn't good. With normal use for me (facebook, twitter, whatsapp and email; wifi or 3g always on) I get 10 hours max. And I need to be careful, I don't use it as much as I'd like it to.
If you are looking for a phone with good battery life, the ace isn't your phone. If I had known this, I wouldn't have bought it, that's for sure.
BUT: If we forget about battery life, it isn't a bad phone at all.
(Ah, wifi sucks big time)
The battery life problem is on all android phones buy on ebay battery with 1600 or better mAh and live without problems
I bought sga, not sgs because its android, iphone size, it have led, the photo quality is 3x better than sgs but sgs is little bit faster in android games(on all another apps they are identical) and it can record videos on 1080p and play movie files without lags but it dont have led and its big and it takes really bad photos
The gps and all other stuff are identical on speed etc
evilxdeadly said:
The battery life problem is on all android phones buy on ebay battery with 1600 or better mAh and live without problems
I bought sga, not sgs because its android, iphone size, it have led, the photo quality is 3x better than sgs but sgs is little bit faster in android games(on all another apps they are identical) and it can record videos on 1080p and play movie files without lags but it dont have led and its big and it takes really bad photos
The gps and all other stuff are identical on speed etc
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By led you mean camera flash?
The Ace is almost on every count, inferior to Galaxy S Captivate. OP you are a funny guy.
Having owned this phone for roughly two months I don't think I can recommend you switching from your SGS.
As a phone i.e call quality and general connectivity it is fine. GPS seems reasonably quick.
This isn't your first Android phone so you know the battery tricks - you will need them.
However, I reall advise against getting this. The two main readons are the MDPI screen and the woeful amount of RAM. The processor is somewhat lacking by todays standards too.
The Ace is, to all intents and purposes, now a low end phone. When it was released it was a reasonable mid-range device. Not so much anymore.
There are better optiond. I have a Huawei u8800 and a ZTE Blade as well as the Ace and would recommend both of those above an Ace. The ZTE Blade is superiour to the Ace in every respect apart from the processor but if that matters o/c. The u8800 is comparable to the Desire HD.
The Ace is functional, but obsolete. We will struggle to keep up to date software wise. CM aren't supporting the N1 so our chances are small and we would struggle because of hatdware limitations anyway. So basically I'm recommending you look elsewhere.
Yes camera flash, only for photo reason,size and led i bought sga not sgs..for author i can now recommend htc desire because its now cheaper than sgs and more expensive than sga
When i bought sga, then desire was more expensive than sgs, 90$
I dont have the Battery Problems, using my Ace at Home most time with Wlan, using Facebook Client Socialjogger and Friendcaster, little Call -activities much Xda app, Worldwar and sometimes FarmFrenzy, using Miren Browser for Inet researches sometimes and I always get my Ace over the day.
But I don't overclock and use Kernel from Ketut, Battery Saver and Governor "ondemand "
I am on KS9 Firmware.
Sent from my GT-S5830 using XDA App
Really appreciate all the comments. I knew I should stop by here before taking the plunge.
Thanks again.
Get Xperia Ray - the best midrange phone I've ever held.
Thanks for all the info & posts.
I recently bought the THL 2015 and since there are battery production faults I'm am again searching for a new phone. But before I buy one again I want to know whether there are problems with this phone or other reasons to absolutely not buy this phone. How is the software support from Xiaomi for de Redmi Note 2 and has the hardware any problems?
Thanks!
Well, i just have one month with this device, and I never have had a xiaomi, but i can tell you my experience. First of all, i dont like how miui launcher looks like, but you can fix it installing a new one. Beside of this, miui has some nice features like a lock button in notification area, the posibility of unlock your phone with volume buttons, the phone vibrate when you are making a call and they answer so you dont have to put it over your ear, etc. But, something bad about miui is its bad Ram memory management. And about hardware, its a nice phone, but it doesnt have premium materials, and it isnt the best looking phone, but its helio x10 and 2gb of ram make a nice combination for just 150 EU. The only thing I dont like of this phone, is the lack of gorilla glass in screen, it seems that could be broken if you arent carefull. So, in my final opinion, its worth 150 EU, but the strong fact of this phone is its processor, so if it isnt what youre looking for, you better look for another one
adaltavo said:
Well, i just have one month with this device, and I never have had a xiaomi, but i can tell you my experience. First of all, i dont like how miui launcher looks like, but you can fix it installing a new one. Beside of this, miui has some nice features like a lock button in notification area, the posibility of unlock your phone with volume buttons, the phone vibrate when you are making a call and they answer so you dont have to put it over your ear, etc. But, something bad about miui is its bad Ram memory management. And about hardware, its a nice phone, but it doesnt have premium materials, and it isnt the best looking phone, but its helio x10 and 2gb of ram make a nice combination for just 150 EU. The only thing I dont like of this phone, is the lack of gorilla glass in screen, it seems that could be broken if you arent carefull. So, in my final opinion, its worth 150 EU, but the strong fact of this phone is its processor, so if it isnt what youre looking for, you better look for another one
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There is only one developper on this phone so this is the problem
I am also a former THL 2015 user and changed to this smartphone and I like it much more than the THL 2015 (dark grey - currently with Delirium AOSP v3).
On the Redmi Note 2 they use a similar glass like gorilla glas (dragontrail glass) but you can also buy a screen protection (Makibes Toughened Glass 0.33mm Screen Protector Film Cover Arc Edge For XIAOMI Redmi Note 2, very nice ~5$).
And as @adaltavo mentioned miui is not to everyones taste (has some ios feel to it and I missed the app drawer).
Differences to the THL 2015:
- from my point of view it didn't got as hot as the THL 2015
- no touch id (maybe if you wait a little longer you can buy the Redmi Note 2 Pro which features a touch ID - that's what the rumours say)
- Redmi Note 2 has better sound quality
- LED which features more than a red color xD
- better main camera (focuses better and better quality, similar speed to the THL 2015 to catch a picture)
- features "fast charging" (use a 5V 2A charger)
- Android L (THL 2015 has Kitkat) (I like Android L - I got used to it)
- ...
Hmm, as far as I am aware at least my phone Redmi Note 2 Prime does not support fast charging (the soc should support it, but obviously not enabled). For me the most serious issue is battery life.
Which rom are you using?
Just my 2 cents: I changed the MIUI with an AOSP ROM and I am satisfied.
The phone is great for the money and I don't have a cheap feeling especially having the great feature to replace completely the cover.
I found very few phones with that feature + 2 sims + external sd card ...
Thanks for your opinions. Since I have received a spare battery I will continue to use my THL 2015 for a while and wait for the Mi5 or the next generation of the Redmi Note. Or if the battery dies before any of those phones get released I will probably buy this one. I personally like MIUI so this isn't a problem and as for the battery life: I have an external power bank so I can charge it during the day if the battery gets to low. As you said there are a lot of good features like the dual sim and the external sd card slot so I guess for the price it is a good phone. Thanks a lot!
droidaem said:
Which rom are you using?
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Hello, well similar battery performance on all roms I have tried. I think like no more than 4.5 hours on WiFi, and no more 3.5 hrs 3G mostly web browsing. I am not sure what is sucking the battery so much, as MTK HELIO X10 is used in so many devices and battery seem ok on them. So it's either that, or the screen which in my case is TYANMA.
Try 5.10.22 dev ROM. I keep recommending it as it has been the best update so far. Just yesterday I got 6:17 SOT on wifi, and that's with watching streams on Twitch for a good chunk of time.
Sent from my Redmi Note 2
it's a good phone. not the best, but considering 150euro...
the most important feature i want from this phone is removable battery and external sd.
i figure the fixed battery is just a strategy feature they use to force you to change your device every 2 years(the battery will wear out). and in my opinion, an extra battery is always better than a bank.
the most disappointing about this phone is the battery life. it seems X10 is not that easy to handle. so if you get this phone, the rom i highly recommended is the 10.22. it has the best Soc control so far.
and now i am looking for a good battery life ASOP rom.
and in addition, there seems to be a seal problem at the front, which makes the front cam easy to have dust inside. not big problem since i barely use the from cam.
I agree with you man and I would add that the ability to replace completely the body is another feature non easy at all to find in a smartphone. if you don't break/scratch the screen you can replace battery and back cover and have a brand new phone when you want !
Yeah, but the thing is the replaceable battery phone is so rare these days. So I can almost see my day of compromise...
You see, I am used to be a milestone fan, If you know what I mean....
For me, the battery is no worse than any other phone that I have ever used. I can get 2 full days of moderate usage on a single charge. Mind you, I have Greenify running, and also 360 Security, both of which have battery saving features. Wakelock Detector will show you which apps/services are using up your juice - and you can "Freeze" the system apps that you don't need (with great caution). For example, I have frozen the system launcher (I use Nova), the Google Keyboard (I use SwiftKey), and the Documents app (which I don't need). I may yet freeze some more when I am feeling a bit braver....
DarthJabba9 said:
For me, the battery is no worse than any other phone that I have ever used. I can get 2 full days of moderate usage on a single charge. Mind you, I have Greenify running, and also 360 Security, both of which have battery saving features. Wakelock Detector will show you which apps/services are using up your juice - and you can "Freeze" the system apps that you don't need (with great caution). For example, I have frozen the system launcher (I use Nova), the Google Keyboard (I use SwiftKey), and the Documents app (which I don't need). I may yet freeze some more when I am feeling a bit braver....
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so which rom do you use right now? i am pretty much like to try it
MIUI V7 5.11.5 from MIUI France - http://www.needrom.com/download/miui-v7-5-11-5-redmi-note-2/
thanks a lot dude. i will try it soon.
it's france miui so i assume it is with gapps already?
sunbriel said:
Try 5.10.22 dev ROM. I keep recommending it as it has been the best update so far. Just yesterday I got 6:17 SOT on wifi, and that's with watching streams on Twitch for a good chunk of time.
Sent from my Redmi Note 2
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Better than any of the 5.11.xx updates? I see a lot of people saying good things about the 5.11.5
man0315 said:
thanks a lot dude. i will try it soon.
it's france miui so i assume it is with gapps already?
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Yes, it has gapps.
Probably the lack of NFC, that is, if you use it.
Oh, and I really don't think the red buttons look all that good. But a great phone otherwise.
i wanted to buy umidigiz pro but i did not have 250$ so i decided to ask you about z pro.is it worthy to buy(just camera lens)or i should buy umi z?and an other question:do umi z or z pro have a good software?i asked about it and i got different answers! plz answer me with your experience.ty
I have the Z, having had several HTC including the 10, and the Samsung Note Edge I have a good set to compare with.
Its plain Android as far as the software goes and with latest ROM update seems perfectly stable ,not had any of the issues you read about, I'd put most down to the user to be fair as plain android does not hold your hand like the HTC, Samsung or other skins/mods.
Camera gets a lot of comment but see UMI forums with so great examples and I can get great shots that are just as good as any from my other phones , yes the dual focus sometimes needs to be worked with , but so long as you use it correctly its a good camera , if you want to point and shoot switch the focus mode to phase only and you would be fine , my experience anyway.
Speed is great, don't see any lag or slow down in games etc.
Battery seems great, everything left on I get a full day with moderate to heavy use. No issues here.
Screen is good , clear and sharp, colours,seem correct, all can be adjusted anyway.
Sound fine, perhaps headphone a little quiet compared to others but great quality .
East to root, update etc, xposed works fine, mods to plain android seem to work as expected.
All in all a good phone , no idea if pro camera is better , I suspect for some situations it will be, but only if used correctly .
Look inn by forward to nougat update ,just to add some nice bits as I loved that on my note edge,
Just buy it , value for price is amazing , build quality is great ..Good phone
kfasheldon said:
I have the Z, having had several HTC including the 10, and the Samsung Note Edge I have a good set to compare with.
Its plain Android as far as the software goes and with latest ROM update seems perfectly stable ,not had any of the issues you read about, I'd put most down to the user to be fair as plain android does not hold your hand like the HTC, Samsung or other skins/mods.
Camera gets a lot of comment but see UMI forums with so great examples and I can get great shots that are just as good as any from my other phones , yes the dual focus sometimes needs to be worked with , but so long as you use it correctly its a good camera , if you want to point and shoot switch the focus mode to phase only and you would be fine , my experience anyway.
Speed is great, don't see any lag or slow down in games etc.
Battery seems great, everything left on I get a full day with moderate to heavy use. No issues here.
Screen is good , clear and sharp, colours,seem correct, all can be adjusted anyway.
Sound fine, perhaps headphone a little quiet compared to others but great quality .
East to root, update etc, xposed works fine, mods to plain android seem to work as expected.
All in all a good phone , no idea if pro camera is better , I suspect for some situations it will be, but only if used correctly .
Look inn by forward to nougat update ,just to add some nice bits as I loved that on my note edge,
Just buy it , value for price is amazing , build quality is great ..Good phone
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ty for your help and just an other question:will this phone have hardware issue in future because it has no service man here because its not a known brand?
Well its a £200 phone , guess it can be serviced but seems reliable so far, umi will service if you send back to China I guess , of course supplier will provide 1 year normally , but if local techs can service depends on issue . of course out of warrantee costs for major brand phones is often more than the cost of this phone
pou_gh2 said:
i wanted to buy umidigiz pro but i did not have 250$ so i decided to ask you about z pro.is it worthy to buy(just camera lens)or i should buy umi z?and an other question:do umi z or z pro have a good software?i asked about it and i got different answers! plz answer me with your experience.ty
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Click to collapse
Do yourself a favor and don't buy this phone. Wireless and Wifi connection is bad, gyroscope sensor is bugged, camera is not as good as it could be, scroll feeling is laggy, temperature issues.
Add 100 $ and buy a mi5s or something similar, but don't buy this piece of electronic trash. I will sell mine as fast as i can.
selling mine too. huge disappointment. buggy as hell. it was not worth the time I had to spend with flasing it over an over which is their universal answer to any kind of issues.
nullinger said:
Do yourself a favor and don't buy this phone. Wireless and Wifi connection is bad, gyroscope sensor is bugged, camera is not as good as it could be, scroll feeling is laggy, temperature issues.
Add 100 $ and buy a mi5s or something similar, but don't buy this piece of electronic trash. I will sell mine as fast as i can.
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Don't really seem to have Wifi connection issues here. Use gyroscope works well. They updated the software to fix it maybe u didn't have it installed. I can't complain about camera. It's a cheap phone don't expect it to be top notch here. But for the cheap price it does hell beat lots of other devices in the same price range.
Sent from my Z Pro using Tapatalk