I can't find ANYTHING on the popularity of this phone, not that I care, but from what I can see, XDA doesn't care about this phone, but if you go to the Note 4, it's full of threads, and custom roms are there already!
Please guys, support this Alpha, it's such a lovely device! I just wish I could throw in a custom ROM so I can delete the crappy UI and the bloatware. Amazon, Computrace, Google+, etc.
+1
MazingerZed said:
I can't find ANYTHING on the popularity of this phone, not that I care, but from what I can see, XDA doesn't care about this phone, but if you go to the Note 4, it's full of threads, and custom roms are there already!
Please guys, support this Alpha, it's such a lovely device! I just wish I could throw in a custom ROM so I can delete the crappy UI and the bloatware. Amazon, Computrace, Google+, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why don't you just root and you'll have access to plethora of customization options. You can debloat, uninstall unnecessary apps and even install a louncher of your choice. You can also install exposed and also have thousands of options/customizations
As per CM, i think we will not see any build amytime soon as our device having exynos processor is not supported by CM
Probably not going to get much support in the US, since its exclusive to ATT, which hardly advertises the alpha and makes it unrootable. No one I know knows what the Alpha is.
If its not popular here it kinda means it's not a great phone.
They try to imitate apple but without the quality (os) at almost the same ridiculous price tag, Samsung must think the more I ask for this phone the more it sells...
Here is a comparison with the build cost of an Iphone 6
http://www.businessinsider.com/teardown-parts-price-samsung-galaxy-alpha-2014-10
This phone is only on att with a locked bootloader of course there are not many roms the notes 4 is on every carrier
Gray44 said:
If its not popular here it kinda means it's not a great phone.
They try to imitate apple but without the quality (os) at almost the same ridiculous price tag, Samsung must think the more I ask for this phone the more it sells...
Here is a comparison with the build cost of an Iphone 6
http://www.businessinsider.com/teardown-parts-price-samsung-galaxy-alpha-2014-10
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If its not popular it doesnt mean its not a great phone. i had the choice to pick between all latest flagship fone but I picked the Alpha. Its not well advertised thats why its not popular
Similar situation here. Came into at AT&T because I couldn't decide between a Note 3 (Didn't feel the Note 4 was a huge upgrade) and an LG G3. Saw the Alpha hiding in between and fell in love with it instantly. The S3 was the last Samsung phone I liked. No regrets so far.
I was impressed by Alpha when I saw and played with it.
Still wish it was also available as Alpha Pro with Note 4 specs..etc.
But may get Apha over Sony Z3 C.
Not for AT&T, for use on METRO PCS/TMO
Discovered the Canada Bell Alpha which has PERFECT
BANDS for Metro PCS /TMobile USA and the 2500 Mah
Battery Kit, should be a good functioning phone.
IF I could choose between about 10 Different Sony Z3
Compacts , I could find better Camera and Speakers but
I need to send emails, proposals , presentations and can not mess around with faulty Keyboard Input, spotty MMS messages etc.
Z 3 Compact seems a bit buggy , right ?
Also Alpha is MUCH more durable.
My theory is that Sony, not being on many Carriers has not been forced to optimize software for Texting,
Keyboard, etc etc, now on TMobile , they will somewhat.
Love what Sony is doing I hope Z4 and Z4C are amazing
and rock solid but I am a bit nervous about the Z3 C not functioning well for simple tasks, like Keyboard Input, Texting, Slideshow Presentations, Emails through Google Desktop..etc.
MazingerZed said:
I can't find ANYTHING on the popularity of this phone, not that I care, but from what I can see, XDA doesn't care about this phone, but if you go to the Note 4, it's full of threads, and custom roms are there already!
Please guys, support this Alpha, it's such a lovely device! I just wish I could throw in a custom ROM so I can delete the crappy UI and the bloatware. Amazon, Computrace, Google+, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
w ell u lucky they made thread for alpha .. for ours Huawei Honor 6 they cand be arsed make separate thread for it .. !
if u wanna delete all apps just root it and delete it .. change wallpapers .. and that is it
The exynox powered phones are not very popular here because samsung do not release the source codes for processor and everything else. But the device is very very nice and works well and the sound quality seems to be over S5 and Note 3 and you can actually use it with one hand...., the build quality is on top, I guess nothing to complain here. We are lucky to have root. After root you can do a lot of customisation. Enjoy your phone
Popularity of Alpha Pro ! Or Galaxy A 100.
IF Samsung made a Thicker Alpha Size Device with a 3000 Mah battery, better screen, thoughit is good now.
SD Storage, Camera from Note 4 ( killer Camera ) , Larger louder speaker for Music, Gaming, Multimedia, 3 GIG RAM, 805 CPU, key business features from Note 4 .would be HUGE if advertised.
1) The Ultimate Phone for Work or Play.
2) Gaming, Music (fat sounding, loud speaker ), Multimedia Champ,Movies, Browsing.
3) Business Pros who don't want to carry large phone, Athletes, Gym Enthusiasts,
Architects, people who need to send Presentations, Slideshows etc etc.
Ads could address all this the ultimate Pocket Power Device for work and Play.
And FINALLY to make reviewers go nuts with enthusiasm
Scaleable Touchwiz by Category, go from Touchwiz to Stock Android in different
Categories depending on Preferences !
As Big as S 5 , maybe not, but VERY BIG seller.IMO.
robertkoa said:
IF Samsung made a Thicker Alpha Size Device with a 3000 Mah battery, better screen, thoughit is good now.
SD Storage, Camera from Note 4 ( killer Camera ) , Larger louder speaker for Music, Gaming, Multimedia, 3 GIG RAM, 805 CPU, key business features from Note 4 .would be HUGE if advertised.
1) The Ultimate Phone for Work or Play.
2) Gaming, Music (fat sounding, loud speaker ), Multimedia Champ,Movies, Browsing.
3) Business Pros who don't want to carry large phone, Athletes, Gym Enthusiasts,
Architects, people who need to send Presentations, Slideshows etc etc.
Ads could address all this the ultimate Pocket Power Device for work and Play.
And FINALLY to make reviewers go nuts with enthusiasm
Scaleable Touchwiz by Category, go from Touchwiz to Stock Android in different
Categories depending on Preferences !
As Big as S 5 , maybe not, but VERY BIG seller.IMO.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yup, Samsung S6:laugh:
Related
I had HTC Desire for nearly 3 years, and it is a great phone, but I think it is time to upgrade, because:
- it is annoyingly slow with my regular set of programs installed, even on fastest available roms
- it doesn't have kernel 3.0, and because of that JB roms have shortcomings
- a little bit too small screen for GPS navigation
- really crappy camera
- somewhat short battery life
Some time ago I had a chance to look at Galaxy S2 in person and it looked like a perfect phone (at least for 2 minutes I had it in my hands).
Somewhat bigger screen, more internal storage, kernel 3.0.
I use custom roms, so big development community is important for me. I have been spoiled by Desire as it (still) has a large one.
Galaxy S2 would cost me around 170-200 euro to get it.
Then there is S3, which looks like a better phone alltogether, even if more expensive (~350 euro).
But the doubts about that one after reading user opinions are:
- quite dark screen, worse than One X
- bad build quality
- flimsy home button
- external speaker on pair with Desire
I would welcome SGS3 owners views on the above.
My general requirements (compared to HTC Desire):
- larger screen (not necessarily much larger)
- solid build quality
- large development community
- noticeably faster CPU than Desire (Dual+ core would come in handy)
- microUSB
- good/very good camera
- good battery life
- have a good and loud external speakers for listening to podcasts
- would be nice if it had FM transmitter (not receiver) but it is not necessary
- it must by BLACK or therebout
the s3 fits each one of those requirements.....
Hi there. I was an owner of HTC Desire for 2 years. I loved that device and still have it in my drawer. I recently bought a Galaxy S3 to upadgrade my old DS. The transfer from Desire to Desire S was something logical to me back then. Almost the same device but newer software. I was searching for a new phone and I thought that one X was the only road for me. I had a chance to compare one X with SGS3 side by side. The screen on one X has more natural colors for me and I think the sound quality is better. Honesty I picked the SGS 3 cause of the community that has here in xda the removal battery the sd card slot and I think the camera quality is better. Im still new here and haven't managed to explore the hole forum but I found a lot of things and I'm amazed by the community
Sent from my GT-I9300 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
There are better options market than s3 at this point of time
sent from the state where marijuana is NOT illegal !
kangerX said:
There are better options market than s3 at this point of time
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this informative post. Could you share those better options?
I am not going to pay more than 350 euro for it, so unless those better options are the same price or cheaper than SGS3, mentioning them is pointless.
impactor said:
Thanks for this informative post. Could you share those better options?
I am not going to pay more than 350 euro for it, so unless those better options are the same price or cheaper than SGS3, mentioning them is pointless.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get the S4 i9505. Better dev support due to no exynos. Get 2nd hand
Got to be honest, if i was in your shoes, i wouldn't. Not for 350€. Would be a different thing if you had an awesome deal at hand, but if you're just getting them from a regular store, for the full price, no.
I've seen you don't require neither external sd nor an removable battery so i'd easily go with a nexus 4 if i could. Around same price point, best bang for the buck specs wise. Also, you get updates directly from google instead of waiting forever for samsung
If you're not into the nexus 4 (which isn't easy to come by for every country) you may want to take a look at the oppo find 5. Seems a fantastic phone, has even better specs than the nexus and therefore a bit more expensive. Easy to get in europe and they even throw in a few extras like NFC tags and a (flip?) cover for your phone. Also the developer openly encourages custom roms so there shouldn't be a problem having updates.
Moar ram (this is REALLY important on the S3 since 1Gb is not nearly enough for a samsung rom), no-bul**** touchwiz with a lightfast pure aosp rom (with the nexus) or anything close with the oppo and no exynos with closed sources, making custom roms not being able to be all they can. You won't get some somewhat useless bells and whistles (smart stay, camera effects, multiwindow, etc) but that can almost all be reinstated with 3rd party apps if needed. Samsung has a bad history of kind of neglecting their phones who're not flagships anymore - by this i mean they say they will update but only when convenient to them and that means waiting forever with no ETA at all. Not to mention you may get a unit with the screwed up chip which is apparently not in danger of suddently dying anymore but it's fix has been reported causing severe lag. It's not a bad phone at all, it's just there are better alternatives out there.
The S2 though is still a fantastic phone and it's probably the cheaper you'll get. It's just it's old and most likely not supported (or about to be, not sure) by samsung by now.
kaynpayn said:
i'd easily go with a nexus 4 if i could. Around same price point, best bang for the buck specs wise.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a really good point.
I think the price points are still a little high
You should expect after September 5 or so, and then check prices for:
- i9300 unlocked new and second-hand; IMHO the best thing about it is the form factor + huge availability of ROMs; major downside = only 1 GB RAM
- i9305 unlocked new and second-hand; it fixes the problem with just 1 GB and also has LTE, but much less development and fewer ROMs to choose
- N7100 (note 2) unlocked new and second-hand; IMHO a good choice that fixes most problems with i9300 and i9305, BUT creates a new one - size; that one is a deal killer for me
- also look at the prices for note 3 (will be launchd around September 4-5) and i9505 (might drop a little, eventually the i9506 might become available).
Thanks guys.
- I never used stock rom on any android phone I had. I root and install custom rom instantly, so I am no bothered by Sense or Touchwiz or whatever bloat there is in stock.
- Nexus 4 has one major flaw - only 16gb, and not expandable. In my Deisre, I have a 16gb card and btween GPS maps, podcasts and backups, I am almost constantly out of space. Plus, it has lesser camera, and screen.
- SGS3 would be in silicon cover anyway, so I don't care much about the build quality EXCEPT for the front panel/home button.
impactor said:
Thanks guys.
- I never used stock rom on any android phone I had. I root and install custom rom instantly, so I am no bothered by Sense or Touchwiz or whatever bloat there is in stock.
- Nexus 4 has one major flaw - only 16gb, and not expandable. In my Deisre, I have a 16gb card and btween GPS maps, podcasts and backups, I am almost constantly out of space. Plus, it has lesser camera, and screen.
- SGS3 would be in silicon cover anyway, so I don't care much about the build quality EXCEPT for the front panel/home button.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SGS3's problem is that AOSP devs cannot make ROMs as quickly (or make the "fully functional" as quickly) due to having an Exynos CPU. I personally would look for an S4 i9505 2nd hand if I wanted a good phone with AOSP support. It has no Exynos.
S4 is way to expensive for me.
How about HTC One X?
impactor said:
Thanks for this informative post. Could you share those better options?
I am not going to pay more than 350 euro for it, so unless those better options are the same price or cheaper than SGS3, mentioning them is pointless.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What would be pointless is buying a exynos device paying 350 euro.. N4 / oppo find 5 great devices / or second hand i9505 / one x
sent from the state where marijuana is NOT illegal !
impactor said:
S4 is way to expensive for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In the UK I found a 2nd hand i9505 for £330, 384 Euros on buy it now (ebay).
Wait a month or two, it will be lower. Worth considering. Or look for an auction instead. I'm confident it can be done.
Oh you didn't mention the need for more than 16gb. That actually weights in a lot. The oppo finder 5 should be a good candidate then, I believe it's the best price you can get for a phone with those specs that already brings 32gb (if bought new)
If you understand and don't mind the exynos, the 16gb+sdcard lte s3 is also an option (2gb ram), not sure about prices though.
Also, for what's worth, I've compared the camera of my s3 with the n4. Didn't think it was all that different apart from effects I don't really use. Phones are cool for the casual shot (and actually take very decent ones) but if it's serious quality I'm after, nothing beats a good, dedicated camera.
Edit: oops didn't realise you couldn't spend more than 350. I still wouldn't get the s3 and would wait out for the prices to get lower. Still, if you must change your phone now, for that price point, with your requirements is probably the best bet.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
---------- Post added at 02:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:24 PM ----------
rootSU said:
In the UK I found a 2nd hand i9505 for £330, 384 Euros on buy it now (ebay).
Wait a month or two, it will be lower. Worth considering. Or look for an auction instead. I'm confident it can be done.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Main issue I find with ebay uk sellers, they won't send to any other country, even if its their neighbor Portugal few miles below
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
kaynpayn said:
Main issue I find with ebay uk sellers, they won't send to any other country, even if its their neighbor Portugal few miles below
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wasnt suggesting buying from Ebay UK. It's just an example.
rootSU said:
SGS3's problem is that AOSP devs cannot make ROMs as quickly (or make the "fully functional" as quickly) due to having an Exynos CPU. I personally would look for an S4 i9505 2nd hand if I wanted a good phone with AOSP support. It has no Exynos.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not sure what is the problem with S3 cpu. S3 seems to have great support community, a lot of roms, etc. I do not really care if I have the newest subversion of Android available on my phone 5 days after the newest Android was released.
I just want it to work, and I couldn't care less if I have to wait a month, or 3 months for Android 4.3, if I have fully workin 4.2.2, with great battery life, photograps, excellent GPS, screen, and pretty great for a mobile audio quality (headphones, and speakerphone).
Considering that, would you still disadvice me an S3? I looked at prices of S4 and even 380 euro is a bit of a stretch, considering I wanted to spend 200 euro initially, and 300 for S3 is already a significant budget enlargement.
And what about HTC One X? Would that be better than S3?
Exynos documentation lacking. No sources. Poor camera. All devs complain including cyanogen. Read their threads, posts and blogs. Research. Or buy blindly. You choose
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rootSU said:
Exynos documentation lacking. No sources. Poor camera. All devs complain including cyanogen. Read their threads, posts and blogs. Research. Or buy blindly. You choose
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here are results of my research:
1. Stable CM10.2 available on S3
2. S3 camera is one of the best among mobile phones
3. Considerable amount of roms available for S3.
I just don't see the point you are making. I do not want to get S3 blindly, but neither do I want to blindly reject it.
impactor said:
Here are results of my research:
1. Stable CM10.2 available on S3
2. S3 camera is one of the best among mobile phones
3. Considerable amount of roms available for S3.
I just don't see the point you are making. I do not want to get S3 blindly, but neither do I want to blindly reject it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Cyanogen refused to release 10.1 as "stable" release. Remains nightly build forever due to lack of exynos sources and documentation. Same with 10.2
2. Touchwiz rom camera great. Since samsung didn't release camera HAL, aosp camera not very good.
3. Loads of aosp roms. None meet their own potential due to the issues mentioned above.
4. Battery life poor on aosp roms.
S3 is great of you're happy with touchwiz. Bloated and slow but good pics and great battery life. But if you know you'll be using aosp roms, its a poor choice - and im sure any aosp dev would agree with that. Yes there's lots of choice. I even use aosp all the time but it cannot exploit the devices potential.
Also a lot of devs are starting to move on now. Kernel development for aosp is down to about 3 or 4 good ones.
Im trying to be Frank and save you buying a dying devices thinking it will be as good as you think it is. I wish I had known about the exynos issue before buying. Would I have held out and bought something else? Probably not. It was the only device that met my requirement 14 months ago. That said, would I recommend it now? No.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 4
Hello everyone.
I want to buy a new phone and I'm stuck between Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and the HTC One.Next, I will tell you what I like and what I don't like about these 2 smartphones.
Samsung Galaxy Note 3.
I like the specs.I mean with 3 GB Ram and a quad-core/octo-core of 2,3 GHZ who wouldn't ? I also like the S-Pen a lot but I'm not sure I will use him on a daily basis.
What I don't quite like is the screen size.I understand that it is a phablet, but I think it will be awkward to hold a phone of that size at my ear.
HTC One
Here, I like the design a lot, I think it has the best design on the market, it is very elegant and classy.The aluminium is also a big plus, compared to Samsung's plastic.The screen size it's perfect and I don't see how you will make a bad impression with such a nice phone in your hand.
What I don't like is that you can't remove the battery so if you damage it you can get rid of the phone, and I also don't like that it doesn't have a slot for the memory card.
Here in Romania, the Note 3 is aprox. 965 $ while the HTC One is 785 $, which is a big difference if you ask me.
So, does the Samsung deserve all the praise and the extra 200 $ ? To be honest with you, I'm not that rich and I can't afford a phone this expensive every year or every two years, so my fear is that if I buy the HTC, in a two years time the phone won't be able to support the new applications anymore.The Note 3 comes like I said with 3 GB Ram and a strong processor, so I think that the era of 2 GB Ram phones will come to an end, like it happened to the 1 GB Ram phones also, and I also think that the Note 3 is a road opener for the next generation of smartphones.Am I right here or it is just a stupid affirmation ?
Please take your time because I really need some good pieces of advice, thanks to everyone who will read and answer to this.
The Note 3 does have quite a bit on its side- the 3GB of RAM, 4.3 out of the box, an insane clock speed and so on.
Not to mention the removable battery and the expandable storage. On my current device (Galaxy S, whch has both) both are pretty invaluable to me. A spare battery's saved me in quite a few situations and the expandable storage is always nice, an extra 8GB for media.
The One however has its design. If design does matter to you, then go for the One. Plus apparently the Boomsound speakers are beyond amazing, so again, audio quality (though the Note III does have a Wolfson speaker which are also said to produce really good quality). Sense 5 also seems to be more simplistic and minimalistic than Touchwiz (though I've never used a One so I have no idea).
Its really a matter of what you think you would be using the phone for. If you think it'll be the standard texting, calling, browsing, Facebook etc then either device would be good, probably the One if you don't plan on using the extra features the Note III has. If you do intend on using them, Note III, definitely.
tl;dr,
Note III:
-RAM
-Features, if you want to use them
-Removable battery + expandable storage
-Processing power
-Touchwiz
HTC One:
-Beautiful design
-Audio quality
-Sense 5
-Still pretty damn good processing power + RAM
Bear in mind both are going to get reasonably good update support, so at least you won't have that problem for a good while.
(By no means is this reply indicative of anything because I've never used either device, anyone who has will be able to answer the question better)
Sent from my GT-P7510 using Tapatalk HD
Thanks a lot for taking your time to answer this.
Talking about the Note 3 Ram and Processing power, I'm not a business man or something like that, I will soon start my first year at the Engineering University, so I don't know if I will use the Note 3 at his real power.But being a future engineer makes me think that I could use the S-Pen at the University, I'm not sure at what though, but it looks pretty handy.
Also, when you talked about the Notes 3's Features, you meant exclusively the S-Pen or other things also ? Can you please give an example ?
Basically, I will use the phone for applications, games, browsing, facebook, twitter, youtube etc. and that's why I'm not sure I will use all the power the Note 3 has, maybe just the S-Pen who really excites me.
I think that if you're about to start uni, the planning features that the Note III provides might help, I know they would in my case Action Memo seems like it would help a lot for quick jotting down of notes. There are quite a few
The Note III's features beyond the S-Pen include pretty much everything else found on the S3 and S4- S-Voice, Direct Call, Smart Stay, Smart Rotate to name just a handful. Some might not be very helpful- Smart Scroll (tilt the phone to scroll) seems to be hit and miss ad
The major selling point's obviously going to be the S-Pen though, and if you think you need to have those, then the Note III would probably be the better choice.
For your usage, either the Note III or the HTC One will run fine, so really its whether you think you'll use at least some of the Note III's features or not.
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Hi Guys,
After owning several iPhones back in the day (up to the 3GS) and then Nexus One, Nexus S and Nexus 4 (skipped the Galaxy Nexus) and a Nexus 7 tablet, always on (unrooted) stock Android, I couldn't resist the temptation and got myself a 32GB LG G2 (European version).
Why not wait a few weeks for the Nexus 5 ?
The main reason is that the LG G2 has just the perfect hardware specs for me, there is nothing I would realistically want more. The Nexus 5 will have smaller screen and smaller battery. Also, the last 3 versions of Android did not bring any significant useable stuff to the table in order to make me really want to update, so the newest Android update is not so important to have.
The other reason is that I am really bored of stock Android. There are some things that Google will stubbornly never add or change, and I'm not one to install custom ROMs all day. For example, I can't set different sound volumes for the call ringtones and notification ringtones. And the notification LED is so neglected by the stock Android (on phones that have it). I gave my "old" Nexus 4 to my girlfriend, and although she loves to speed over her old Galaxy S Advance, she immediately begun asking where are the "gimmicks" that Samsung included into its software and that she used all the time. This is saying something.
One minor reason is that I have had hardware problems ALL of my Nexus devices, despite the fact that I take great care of them: the Nexus One's power button became loose and broke over time (HTC support really sucks !), the Nexus S capacitive sensor burned in a corner (display assembly replacement), the Nexus 7 speakers broke and now sound is very distorted. The Nexus 4 screen was a bit yellowish when I received it, I read that it's from the glue bonding the glass layers, it improved over time but never had the correct colors, it always had a subtle yellow tint to it.
Why LG G2 ?
Just a quick glance at the competition and my previous experience with various brands made me choose the G2. The iPhone is really out of question due to the microscopic screen and lack of notification LED (it's incredible how a business user can live without a notification LED), the Galaxy S4 and HTC One have outdated hardware (I mean, if I pay the same price, why not get the latest hardware), the HTC One has a microscopic, unusable notification LED (and I don't wish you to need something from the HTC technical support !), the Galaxy Note 3 is really too big. I have never used a spare battery with any of my phones, and never used a microSD card, so these missing features are just not minuses for me. The lack of removable battery (and thus the inclusion of a bigger battery) is in fact a huge plus.
The Motorola MotoX has a very nice notification feature, but it pulsates too slow (indicating battery concerns) and the rest of the hardware is too average and I can't see it as an upgrade over the Nexus 4 (plus it's not available in Europe although I could get it if I really wanted to).
The LG G2 hardware
I will say that the excellent, biggest-in-class display, the impressive battery life and the very small bezels (phone fits in my front jeans pocket !), combined with the killer 'Knock On' feature make this phone an easy choice over any other phone right now, hardware-wise. Not to mention the newest Snapdragon 800 processor. I am even pleased by its camera capability, pictures always look very sharp because of the optical stabilization, although there is too much noise reduction and loss of detail (however resized for web/facebook, pictures look great). The fact that it has an FM radio is a huge plus for me, because I needed a radio to listen to my favorite talk show between the parking lot and my home, and it's proven to do its job great so far
The LG G2 software
Believe me when I say this, the stock Android is extremely boring compared to LGs software. It's so refreshing to see many user-needed features included in their software. I don't care for most of them, but they don't get in the way either. However, some of them are really useful and I never see Google implementing them in their stock Android. For example, I can now set different ringtone volumes for notifications and calls, I can access the phone files from my computer over my home network, I have a very customizable battery saver that kicks in when needed, etc.
There is only one thing that bothers my in LG G2's software: the notification drawer has some items that you can never remove from there, like the screen brightness, ringtone volume and a row with some shortcuts. It's not unbearable, but I prefer that to only be used for notifications. At least they could move their bloatware controls *after* all the notifications instead of before them.
Conclusion
I really like the LG G2. I think it trumps every other phone at this moment, but this is not the important thing. The important thing is that I don't have to charge my phone every day (it sometimes lasts 3+ days !), it has a great screen for web reading and browsing and it's just a well-designed phone.
Good review, vanilla android was a performance necessity when phones weren't power houses. I too enjoy the gadgetry of mfg skins. I still like stock android for my tablet, but for my primary device, I like the bells and whistles.
Sent from my VS980 4G using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Thnx for this review. I love my g2 more lol!
Sent from my LG-D802 using Tapatalk 2
Well i suppose the camera is better than just for facebook and instagram. Its a 13mp for god's sake!
Fille84 said:
Well i suppose the camera is better than just for facebook and instagram. Its a 13mp for god's sake!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The megapixel count really doesn't matter, if you take a picture with an old 5 Megapixel Canon DSLR you will blow any smartphone out if the water. The pixel size / sensor size and lens quality does matter a lot.
The LG G2 camera is quite surprisingly good for a smartphone camera with a 1/3 inch sensor. The lens seems very good. But the resulting image is heavily post-processed to eliminate noise due to small pixel phtosites. Unfortunately fine detail is gone as well, but this is only visible on full-size images. Basically the camera software is optimized for instant picture sharing with little to no user post-processing, which is a correct thing to do in a smartphone.
I for one would prefer a noisier but more detailed image which I could post-process with a dedicated suite like Adobe's Lightroom. But I guess this is what big cameras are for...
Thanks for this review. I like it
Nexus 5 = Crap
This are the technical characteristics of the upcoming Nexuseless 5, I prefer LG G2 ever.
4.95″ 1080p display
32GB and 16GB internal storage
2GB RAM
MSM8974 aka Snapdragon 800 at 2.3GHz
8MP OIS rear camera
1.3MP front camera
2300mAh battery <<<<<<---- Why are they still using this crap battery!!?????
Sensors: Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Proximity/Ambient Light, Pressure
Slimport compatibility
Micro SIM slot
Notification light
Wireless charging
NFC
Bluetooth 4.0 (Bluetooth 3.0 was also listed, but this is most likely an error.)
UMTS/GSM/CDMA/LTE compatibility
More details of the Nexuseless 5 here:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/173744848/LG-D821
I cant make my mind up about the LG g2 or the nexus 5 the nexus 5 looks nicer but the G2 has better specs.
G2 in my opinion looks so sexy and honestly that's one of the many reasons I bought it. Its different with the home button setup on the back and has the specs to last a long time for me. Also running stock and with 5 hour screen time I'm way over 24 hours of use
Sent from my LG-D800 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
blair287 said:
I cant make my mind up about the LG g2 or the nexus 5 the nexus 5 looks nicer but the G2 has better specs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looks is Subjective, IMO Nexus 5 just has two advantages over G2, Price and Timely Updates. That is it.
My views are that personally the phone is just a little to big for me to use comfortably. I would have preferred say 5" screen with the narrow bezzels making the device slightly narrower and easier to hold - but thats just a personal preference. I would have also liked a textued back to the phone (at the moment i am using a skin to give it texture) as this phone is on the maximum edge of what is comfortable to me i dont want to add to the size with a case, i also dont want to lose the look ad feel i have from the device (the 'in the hand feel') you get.
All in all however these were not a deal breaker for me as there was nothing else out for me to consider at the time (like the moto x but not available in uk) so bought the g2 sim free.
After a couple of weeks of use i started to dislike elements of the lg software and its design and just found that adding a launcher just gave me other issues. What is great now is that the dev community is really picking up for this phone and roms are starting to appear so you now have the option to pretty much have whatever you want on your phone. You can go pretty much bare bones android without any of Lg's bloat but you an also add whatever elements of Lgs stuff you like to the vanilla rom so giving you the best of both worlds.
So to sum up.....for me the device has awesome specs, latest processor, excellent camera, amazing battery life, great development options to customize to your personal liking. Only thing for me is the size but maybe thats just because i have short stubby fingers
At the end of the day its all about choices, beauty is that now you have choices so if the hardware tickles your fancy you can customize till your hearts content and end up with your perfect device
hpsauce37 said:
My views are that personally the phone is just a little to big for me to use comfortably. I would have preferred say 5" screen with the narrow bezzels making the device slightly narrower and easier to hold - but thats just a personal preference. I would have also liked a textued back to the phone (at the moment i am using a skin to give it texture) as this phone is on the maximum edge of what is comfortable to me i dont want to add to the size with a case, i also dont want to lose the look ad feel i have from the device (the 'in the hand feel') you get.
All in all however these were not a deal breaker for me as there was nothing else out for me to consider at the time (like the moto x but not available in uk) so bought the g2 sim free.
After a couple of weeks of use i started to dislike elements of the lg software and its design and just found that adding a launcher just gave me other issues. What is great now is that the dev community is really picking up for this phone and roms are starting to appear so you now have the option to pretty much have whatever you want on your phone. You can go pretty much bare bones android without any of Lg's bloat but you an also add whatever elements of Lgs stuff you like to the vanilla rom so giving you the best of both worlds.
So to sum up.....for me the device has awesome specs, latest processor, excellent camera, amazing battery life, great development options to customize to your personal liking. Only thing for me is the size but maybe thats just because i have short stubby fingers
At the end of the day its all about choices, beauty is that now you have choices so if the hardware tickles your fancy you can customize till your hearts content and end up with your perfect device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what kind of issues did you encounter when adding a launcher? and what launcher?
I appreciate everyone's reviews here!
sdsubball23 said:
what kind of issues did you encounter when adding a launcher? and what launcher?
I appreciate everyone's reviews here!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You name it i tried it!
Nova, smart launcher, Aviate, Adw.....
To be fair to these launchers though they probably were not really issue's. Just little things that frustrated me about them, could have been the inability to do something or set something up with them, notifications, different custom options etc.
Most people would probably not even have experienced it or have issue with it.
The thing i was leading to really was the fact that now with a good dev community coming on board with this device (been quite overlooked generally in my opinion until now - availabilty in some countries may have been the reason for this though) that there are many choices for people now.
If the hardware of the device fits the bill then you are no longer tied with elements of the stock build you dont like and pretty much change every bit about it one way or another - just means taking that step of rooting and flashing. Dont get me wrong im no developer or expert in this field but as someone who is particularly fussy and difficult to please with phones and software etc (must be my ocd) everyone has options and its really not that difficult once you have done it a few times.
Bottom line is if someone dosent like the stock ui/experience you can change and have whatever you want
I know my comments above may seem obvious to many especially as we are on a developer site however a lot of people come to the site for opinions and information and who may have thought about making changes but never actually taking the final steps. I did and now i have changed the things that frustrated me without the need to just change the device again! Like i said i am major ocd and fussy about phones but it does at least give a little more longevity to the device if these options are here.
Hope this makes sense lol
ps - sorry didnt mean to hijack or step on the thread.
Thanks :good:
hpsauce37 said:
My views are that personally the phone is just a little to big for me to use comfortably. I would have preferred say 5" screen with the narrow bezzels making the device slightly narrower and easier to hold - but thats just a personal preference. I would have also liked a textued back to the phone (at the moment i am using a skin to give it texture) as this phone is on the maximum edge of what is comfortable to me i dont want to add to the size with a case, i also dont want to lose the look ad feel i have from the device (the 'in the hand feel') you get.
All in all however these were not a deal breaker for me as there was nothing else out for me to consider at the time (like the moto x but not available in uk) so bought the g2 sim free.
After a couple of weeks of use i started to dislike elements of the lg software and its design and just found that adding a launcher just gave me other issues. What is great now is that the dev community is really picking up for this phone and roms are starting to appear so you now have the option to pretty much have whatever you want on your phone. You can go pretty much bare bones android without any of Lg's bloat but you an also add whatever elements of Lgs stuff you like to the vanilla rom so giving you the best of both worlds.
So to sum up.....for me the device has awesome specs, latest processor, excellent camera, amazing battery life, great development options to customize to your personal liking. Only thing for me is the size but maybe thats just because i have short stubby fingers
At the end of the day its all about choices, beauty is that now you have choices so if the hardware tickles your fancy you can customize till your hearts content and end up with your perfect device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The 5.2" G2 isn't that much bigger then the Galaxy Nexus 4.65". It is thinner but taller/wider by a few millimeters. Not much difference.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
[/COLOR]Awesome to see a "stock android fan" praise LG's UI..Great review from someone who obviously knows what the android experience should be....i have a vid on my channel on how you can keep the notifications down a few lines and stays were you leave it, all as long as you have a few notifications, you never need look at the top part.....some ppl do not realize this : )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaMdxvvZYFE
Ms D.
Cst79 said:
Hi Guys,
Why LG G2 ?
Just a quick glance at the competition and my previous experience with various brands made me choose the G2. The iPhone is really out of question due to the microscopic screen and lack of notification LED (it's incredible how a business user can live without a notification LED), the Galaxy S4 and HTC One have outdated hardware (I mean, if I pay the same price, why not get the latest hardware), the HTC One has a microscopic, unusable notification LED (and I don't wish you to need something from the HTC technical support !), the Galaxy Note 3 is really too big. I have never used a spare battery with any of my phones, and never used a microSD card, so these missing features are just not minuses for me. The lack of removable battery (and thus the inclusion of a bigger battery) is in fact a huge plus.
The Motorola MotoX has a very nice notification feature, but it pulsates too slow (indicating battery concerns) and the rest of the hardware is too average and I can't see it as an upgrade over the Nexus 4 (plus it's not available in Europe although I could get it if I really wanted to).
Conclusion
I really like the LG G2. I think it trumps every other phone at this moment, but this is not the important thing. The important thing is that I don't have to charge my phone every day (it sometimes lasts 3+ days !), it has a great screen for web reading and browsing and it's just a well-designed phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well said...
welcome to the club! (happy owners of G2)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPqS_xJ7jnE
I can't believe this! It comes with a pre-installed Stock Android mode! How awesome is that!
I am quiet hesitant to buy this mobile at this point ...not sure whether custom roms will be made for this mobile
svvv said:
I am quiet hesitant to buy this mobile at this point ...not sure whether custom roms will be made for this mobile
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i know what you mean..k900 suffers from the same situation.
Root
Sorry to be offtopic, but Kingo ROOT is working for Lenovo VIBE Z2 Pro
majrul said:
Sorry to be offtopic, but Kingo ROOT is working for Lenovo VIBE Z2 Pro
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Majrul. Do you have this phone? I'm considering buying it. Can you give a quick first impressions?
Thanks.
Review Z2 Pro vs. the Best Damn Devices
Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro (Dual SIM)
One of the most un-imaginable 6 inch (Phablets) phones that one could buy is available at a price point of Rs. 32,999 which makes it one of the lowest costing QHD devices available in the market today. I have spent ample time ‘googling’ the device and looking for international reviews and quite disappointed to find none. The phone has been completely ignored which leads to either the question that this is a another Chinese import with some customization here and there, or that this has not been marketed enough and thus, comes as a surprise Diwali deal for all.
I have used pretty much every device you can think of from the ios Apple – iPhones (entire series), to the Android Samsung S (entire series), to the Notes (everything), Nexus (entire series) all the way to the Microsoft bred Nokia Lumia 1020 and 1500 and more. The Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro would be the last of my options, except that this year I was fascinated by it’s specs and features. For a 6 inch phablet (Phone + Tablet) this seemed to have quite a lot of things on it’s positives. Right now, the top end Galaxy’s and iPhone are fighting each other with 13 MP to 16 MP Cameras, and HD Displays, whereas the Vibe Z2 Pro enters the arena silently with 16 MP Professional Camera (some compare it the Nokia 1020’s 41 MP PureView camera), which undoubtedly can not be true. However where the Z2 Pro shows dominance is with it’s 4K recording ability and QHD screens making it an interesting device at it’s price point. Also interesting enough it houses a secondary 5 MP camera compared to most devices fighting with 2 MP front face cameras. Designed to look “expensive” and slim, the device is supposed to be quick with a 2.5 Gz Snapdragon 801 Quad Core Processor, which even today doesn’t make me feel that fast with any device except the Nexus 5! Armed with 3 GB RAM, this baby should be as fast my computer – or so I would have imagined. Yet with so much bloat being installed by companies for OEM and Custom UI’s you generally don’t get more than 700 MB of free RAM. I would have personally liked having Android Stock UI, no bloat ware and at least 2 GB RAM all for myself ! Now that would be a real “Snap-Dragon” !
No expandable memory card was an instant turn off for me, and having 32 GB minus the whooping 6 GB OS used storage was a kick in my ass. Leaving me with hardly 24 GB of free storage after deducting other in built apps and files, and no memory card – I felt bloated already. There is OTG support, which means using custom cables you can connect your phone’s charging port to a USB cable (OTG) which will allow you to again connect mass storage drives such as pen drives, flash drives, etc. to your phone. I don’t like the idea because it makes things look messy.
What the Z2 Pro does though – is 6 GB includes an option to switch between the Android UI and it’s custom UI – this is a first in my book’s for a dual mode GUI option which allows people like me switch to Androids GUI. I would imagine that this move, should or would free me up to 1.8 to 2GB’s of RAM, but I need to really check to see if it works. I would personally have hoped to be able to delete the entire Lenovo custom UI and free me up another 2-3GB of space which would probably let me fit a good deal of my music collection and some books to read on my 6 inch…. (no pun intended)…. screen.
Now let me compare some top end devices with the Z2 Pro for you to give you an idea of what kind of a “dragon” this could be. The LG 3 – one of the only qHD phones available is priced similarly at Rs 32,999 has similar specs but a smaller 5.5 inch screen.The LG3 has 550 ppi density because of it’s half inch smaller frame, whereas the Z2 Pro has 490 ppi resolution, which for the extra half inch is noteworthy. Having said that, the Z2 Pro’s quality should be good enough since the human eye can not differentiate screens with higher than around 320 ppi. Where companies have begun new competition is brightness to confuse the user on higher ppi scales. So knowing the Z2 Pro supports 490 ppi for a 6 inch screen sounds wonderful. 3GB Ram sounds like a real treat, since companies like LG and Samsung install GUI and Application bloatware that eventually gives you around 500-600 MB of Free RAM. I personally hate slow phones and with all the things these companies put nowadays, the Samsung S5 was one of the fastest phones to exit my pockets permanently. Now where the Z2 Pro does suffer is – lack of stereo speakers like the Sony Z3 and lack of water proof or water resistant bodies. I would have loved knowing that the Z2 Pro with it’s supposedly professional camera could get into fresh water swimming pools for some fun photos. That’s not the case as the Z2 Pro can’t really do that.
However, it does have a professional camera mode which allows it do use custom camera (manual settings) and really take vivid photographs. Now on a positive note – the Sony Z3 costs Rs. 46,000 while the Z2 Pro as I repeatedly have mentioned is Rs. 32,999 (33,000) which is a Rs.13,000 savings immediately. Also on a side note – the Sony Z3 is a said to be breaking it’s screen fairly quickly, speakers damage when submerged into water is causing problems to Sony’s water proof claims too. When compared to an iPhone – the Z2 Pro runs a different operating system, but if you went straight to the tech specs – Z2 Pro has more RAM, a higher end camera and seems to be made more expensive than the iPhone – however this is yet to be seen as my new iPhone 6 Plus is yet to arrive.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 which is expected to launch this week, will be priced around Rs. 52,000 and has a PPI of 515 thanks to it’s super-amoled display. However if you look at the difference between 515 and 490 ppi – it doesnt seem a great deal. That’s where the Z2 Pro which – let me remind you is a 6 inch phablet might be better than the Note 4, which is a 5.7 phablet for a lower price! However, the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 does include a pen, and has writing capabilities which almost no other phone has – which continues to make it unique. That being said, to keep this review fair – the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 has a lower battery life than the Z2 Pro which interesting offers dual sim support, whereby one sim supports 3G/4G/LTE support – but quite surprisingly doesn’t support India’s Airtel LTE network. The second sim card sadly doesn’t support 3G and is good for only 2G networks. The Samsung Note 4 includes the new Snapdragon 805 chipset, which makes it the first device to run the new updated hardware. The new chipset mitigates issues of handling 4K recording as well as QHD screens. The Samsung Note 4 has a 16 MP camera (Front) and a 3.7 MP rear camera, whereas the Z2 Pro has a 16 MP font camera, with a mightier 5 MP rear camera.
Just to remind everyone – higher Mega Pixels are not important for personal photographs whereas the focus lens size is more important for detailed photographs. The MPs come into play only when you want to shoot large images (scenery from a bridge or a hill) or want to take photos for large banners or bill boards. There is no description mentioned around on the Lens of the Z2 Pro and I suspect the camera might be a bit substandard and so mentioning it was neglected. The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 does indeed have a finger print sensor which the Z2 Pro does not have, but interestingly the finger print sensor has not really found any place or value on devices till date. Both devices include NFC and bluetooth. Finally, the Galaxy Note 4 does support expandable memory cards up to 128GB which would therefore allow a 32GB model to store up to 160 GB of data including it’s OS, GUI and other proprietary apps and data. I don’t know if the Note 4 is worth paying the extra Rs. 20,000 premium cost but then again the Note 4 is in a league of it’s own.
My opinion to this is, if you have a budget for a high quality premium device – I would recommend either of the two devices – Lenovo Z2 Pro or the upcoming Nexus 6. Since the Nexus 6 is still not available. I will try to make it easier for you – Lenovo Z2 Pro is a great choice till then.
Disclaimer: This review was written by me on my blog and since there are a few questions being asked, I thought I'd share it with you all.
Thanks for the review, rdosti.
I have a few questions I hope you can answer.
Have you rooted your phone? If yes, did you use the Kingo app?
Do the phone have any heat issues?
I heard that it can be difficult to install new apps because of the security app that comes preinstalled. Do you have the same experience?
I will receive my phone in a coupe of weeks. Can't wait!
Why would you root the phone? --- You get stock rom (android) included as an option. You need to enable it through Developer Options in Settings (and you can reboot the phone in Stock android GUI).
No over heating issues have been experienced.
No issues installing Apps. Not sure what Security App you are talking about. Are you referring to "Secure Zone" which is already available on most android smart devices which allows you to separate business and home apps and screens?
"In Vibe Z2 Pro, we have two zones: open zone and secure zone. Every app can be run in open zone while only trusted app will be run in secure zone to protect sensitive application & data for user. User can easily switch between open zone and secure zone by only "one click". In secure zone, it is safer, freer and easier." Reference: https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/Lenovo...-is-coming-in-Lenovo-Vibe-Z2-Pro/td-p/1702177
Thanks: additional question
Thanks:
1. whether we can install & run apps from OTG devices
2. MHL support is not mentioned, is it a software option later can be tweaked
3. DUAL sim 3G/4G is it an software tweakable option
4. who is the winner among IUNI 3, K920 & 64 bit VIBE Z2
5. how is lenovo after sales support, i am ****** with micromax service with A210 [very poor service]
6. is there a promise for Android L or cyanogen mod!
is there a phone you suggest with dual GSM sim, removable battery, 2-3GB RAM, 13+ BSI, dual LED, future ready performer at least FHD 5inch
rdosti said:
Why would you root the phone? --- You get stock rom (android) included as an option. You need to enable it through Developer Options in Settings (and you can reboot the phone in Stock android GUI).
No over heating issues have been experienced.
No issues installing Apps. Not sure what Security App you are talking about. Are you referring to "Secure Zone" which is already available on most android smart devices which allows you to separate business and home apps and screens?
"In Vibe Z2 Pro, we have two zones: open zone and secure zone. Every app can be run in open zone while only trusted app will be run in secure zone to protect sensitive application & data for user. User can easily switch between open zone and secure zone by only "one click". In secure zone, it is safer, freer and easier." Reference: https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/Lenovo...-is-coming-in-Lenovo-Vibe-Z2-Pro/td-p/1702177
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi will try to answer as many as I can.
- I am getting my OTG Flash Drive today so will be able to let you know by tomorrow.
- Micro USB to HDMI should work.
- Dual SIM (SIM Slot one is for 4g/3g/2gb & SIM Slot two is for 2G). By the way I am impressed that both SIMS go into a single tray which has been made so you can fit two sim cards. Excellent design. Sadly second slot is clearly marked for only 2G.
- Vibe Z2 Pro stands out in all my tests
- I have been lucky enough never to need it. I think support of all companies except Apple "suck". Apple's replacement system is unbeatable.
- Lenovo have said that their flagship will get updates - however I will take that with a pinch of salt since there is no guarantees on that.
One of the things I was depressed about was the Camera is not as great as I would have hoped or imagined. Though many reviewers have said it is great, I took photos this morning in day light as well as night time and minor zooming of the photos taken already, were quite grainy. In my opinion the camera is a let down.
I would suggest the Z2 Pro which is quite reasonably priced. The lack of marketing and brand ambassadors have allowed them to allow them to price themselves at a fairly competitive price. The only single sim competitor is the Nexus which is speculated to be announced tomorrow. There is no dual sim competitor worth comparing this device too at this price point.
Photoneutron said:
Thanks:
1. whether we can install & run apps from OTG devices
2. MHL support is not mentioned, is it a software option later can be tweaked
3. DUAL sim 3G/4G is it an software tweakable option
4. who is the winner among IUNI 3, K920 & 64 bit VIBE Z2
5. how is lenovo after sales support, i am ****** with micromax service with A210 [very poor service]
6. is there a promise for Android L or cyanogen mod!
is there a phone you suggest with dual GSM sim, removable battery, 2-3GB RAM, 13+ BSI, dual LED, future ready performer at least FHD 5inch
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
---------- Post added at 11:03 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:58 AM ----------
By the way - Regarding the secure app - You can force stop and disable it. I did just that. There is an inbuilt antivirus which got the same treatment from me. Those memory hogging antivirus do nothing and waste valuable resources in my opinion. Force Stop - Disable is the way to go !
I also removed some apps and games I wasn't planning to use to free up some space on the phone.
I was able to easily get 1.5 GB Free RAM (out of 3 GB) which is one of the best performing devices I have seen. That allows me to load and run high end QHD videos as well as Games without worrying about RAM issues or lack of available RAM. 50% RAM free is like a God Send for people who really want to take it on for gaming!
I had around 24-25 GB of free internal storage immediately, which gives me quite a lot of space to fill up with things I need or want. OTG always remains a second option.
MY recommendation is load all your apps on the internal storage for faster "read" speeds, and put all your media on the OTG flash drives or any free space left on your internal storage.
I would not recommend apps being put on OTG for a very simple reason, you will find a lag or a every so tiny lag which reduces the fun of having such a beautiful device.
The Brightness makes the Nexus 5 look like crap!
Thanks a lot for your time & strouble.
I am in a dilemma whether to wait for MTK 6595 [vibe X2] or MTK 6795 phones? or to go for 64 bit Snapdragon?
Photoneutron said:
Thanks:
1. whether we can install & run apps from OTG devices
2. MHL support is not mentioned, is it a software option later can be tweaked
3. DUAL sim 3G/4G is it an software tweakable option
4. who is the winner among IUNI 3, K920 & 64 bit VIBE Z2
5. how is lenovo after sales support, i am ****** with micromax service with A210 [very poor service]
6. is there a promise for Android L or cyanogen mod!
is there a phone you suggest with dual GSM sim, removable battery, 2-3GB RAM, 13+ BSI, dual LED, future ready performer at least FHD 5inch
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
rdosti said:
By the way - Regarding the secure app - You can force stop and disable it. I did just that. There is an inbuilt antivirus which got the same treatment from me. Those memory hogging antivirus do nothing and waste valuable resources in my opinion. Force Stop - Disable is the way to go !
I also removed some apps and games I wasn't planning to use to free up some space on the phone.
I was able to easily get 1.5 GB Free RAM (out of 3 GB) which is one of the best performing devices I have seen. That allows me to load and run high end QHD videos as well as Games without worrying about RAM issues or lack of available RAM. 50% RAM free is like a God Send for people who really want to take it on for gaming!
I had around 24-25 GB of free internal storage immediately, which gives me quite a lot of space to fill up with things I need or want. OTG always remains a second option.
MY recommendation is load all your apps on the internal storage for faster "read" speeds, and put all your media on the OTG flash drives or any free space left on your internal storage.
I would not recommend apps being put on OTG for a very simple reason, you will find a lag or a every so tiny lag which reduces the fun of having such a beautiful device.
The Brightness makes the Nexus 5 look like crap!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your review man, Really appreciate it.
1.). I would like to know specifically in the Google UI Mode, is the sercurity app(I mean the Antivirus App and NOT the Secure Mode App) still installed and running ?
Is it possible to disable and force stop them? Because in whatever little videos i have seen on-line, most have the security app in the Notification drawer which is kinda annoying and
frustrating? Also i read somewhere that the Lenovo Antivirus App(Security App) is soo ingrained in the OS that it starts to mess around with whatsapp and other Apps when Disabled
or Force stopped and it re enables itself after sometime.
2.). Also how much ram usage in Google UI mode?
3.). Does the phone feel less bloated and snappier when in Google UI mode?
4.). Any particular features you feel are missing in the Google UI Mode that are there in the Vibe UI mode?
5.). Would you root the Phone to remove all the unnecessary apps like the Security app , Secure zone, SyncIT, ShareIT apps and all the other useless apps?
Sorry , Too many questions.
If this is any motivation Z2 Pro just released a stability update today of 60 MB.
K920_ROW_S133_141010
Gives you an idea that they are updating things.
To viruscmotu -
1. You can disable (force stop and disable) the app. I did that the moment I got my device.
2. Surprisingly and sadly, the free RAM is almost the same in both UI's which begs the question - WHY ? I actually began to like Lenovo's UI by the way - its kind of like the iPhone - everything's on the home screens + Widgets! I have already mentioned in previous posting's you get around 1.5 GB Free RAM.
3. Google UI mode feels only a very tiny bit (very cautious) faster. I think the Google UI mode has been tweaked by Lenovo since many minor but catchable things are not "true stock".
4. Yes, there is one feature which I think is extremely shocking not there in Google UI - The "OTA Update" feature. This has got me really disturbed about the device. I have to reboot back into Vibe UI to actually look for any new update (we got one last night ) which I would have missed had I stayed in the Google UI permanently.
5. Honestly, I don't see any reason to remove it since it doesn't take up too much space and you can easily disable it. It does not pop up or bother you ever again. Without root you can perform most of the disable actions and if you just want to be sure - you can download "Clean Master" - a free ware and very popular app to disable those preinstalled apps you wish to.
Regarding the question whether to wait for the X2 , etc... The snapdragon is a way better chipset in all reality that any others seen today. The Note 4 and Nexus 6 run on Snapdragon 805 (latest) , though the LG3 and this device run on 801 (which is in my opinion fairly great too).
I would personally not move to any device that is not snapdragon.
Stupid question?
Hello rdosti,
I've been reading this thread about Vibe Z2 Pro, as it looks to be my next phone (hopefully). I have it already pre-ordered, but I am still waiting, as it is not so easy to get on of those devices.
Perhaps this would be a stupid question, but I thought that as you have "stock" android version on the Vibe Z2 Pro, that for example update for Android 5.0 would be pretty straightforward. Can you confirm / decline / comment on that?
I have been using WinPhone for quite some time ,but I've got pretty bored with the lack of the applications in WP store, si I am looking to switch to Android. This Phone would suit me perfectly as it has everything that I need.
Only thing that keeps me hesitating is this Stock / Lenovo version of Android and prospect of new Android upgrades in the upcoming time.
Many thanks for the update &
My best regards
petfro
You have to wait till Lenovo offers an update for Lolipop (Android L). Its still a Lenovo ROM at the end of the day.
Only the Android One phones and Nexus devices are offered immediate upgrades to the new Android OS.
No other phone no matter what ROM its on gets an immediate upgrade. You need to wait patiently
O my god! I am so glad that i found this thread! Ive been in the fence whether to buy vibe z2 pro or mate 7. But after reading this, this made me choose the z2.pro.
Thanks rdosti for your review and answering the questions!
Just one question, rdosti. In the reviews i saw at youtube, i cant help but notice that the lenovo ui in the vibe z2 pro is not that snappy. Is that really the case?
....
Thank you for the answer rdosti.
So it means, taht it is nice that phone have stock android, but still Lenovo has to make upgrade for newer versions of OS.
For the price, they are asking for this device it is still worth to buy it, since Nexus 6 is much more expensive.
You personally thinks that software upgrade will be available for this device in the future? as I am not that familiar with Lenovo phones, I do have Lenovo laptop and I am more then happy with it.
I heard some rumours about overheating of the device on the internet, and also some complains about software buggs, like wallpapers disappearing, screen lock is not working, random factory resets and so on. Is this true? Any comments on that?
Sorry for being pesky and asking a lot of questions, but I was not able to find any review on the web (neither from my country - SVK nor international). Phone was introduced in my country just recently, I mean like 12 days ago.
Thank you &
Best regards.
While in the stock UI, Will the lenovo camera app be available? Or will it be the stock camera app with very basic functionality?
Sent from my HTC One max using XDA Free mobile app
Hello, I have this phone for more than a week. I can answer some of your questions.
hobitt14: The Vibe UI feels great, not bloated but with a lot of additional useful settings. I did NOT notice any lag or overheating.
sacthegreat: There is Lenovo camera app available in the stock UI.
The phone feels great. Love the thin bezels and metallic brushed-wave unibody design. It's really thin and the display is gorgeus. My previous phone was Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and I was deciding between VIBE Z2 Pro and Galaxy Note 4.
Hello,
I'm thinking of buying a small phone, since I find it uncomfortable those that exceed 5 inches.
I was watching and analyzing those who have good battery, camera and features and I think the best that there are currently on the market are these 2: the Iphone SE and the Sony X Compact.
I'm not going to use it for games of any kind. What I most look for is that it has good battery life, a good rear camera (selfies do not bag) and, if possible, you can hear well with the headphones on.
Obvious that it is 2 different operating systems and, leaving aside that, since I like to use IOS or Android, from their own experience, comments or whatever: with which would they stay?
From now, thank you for you help!!
salocin82 said:
Hello,
I'm thinking of buying a small phone, since I find it uncomfortable those that exceed 5 inches.
I was watching and analyzing those who have good battery, camera and features and I think the best that there are currently on the market are these 2: the Iphone SE and the Sony X Compact.
I'm not going to use it for games of any kind. What I most look for is that it has good battery life, a good rear camera (selfies do not bag) and, if possible, you can hear well with the headphones on.
Obvious that it is 2 different operating systems and, leaving aside that, since I like to use IOS or Android, from their own experience, comments or whatever: with which would they stay?
From now, thank you for you help!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't ever owned an SE so I can't really comment on it vs the compact. However I do know that the compact has more picture storage potential due to the SD Card slot (SE doesn't have one). The SE uses a 12 megapixel shooter vs the Compact using a 23. I am note a huge taking pictures kinda guy so no complaints from me on the camera but I guess that's not saying much. Anyway below is a link to a video comparing the two. It's a little outdated as it has the compact running marshmallow (it has Nougat now) but does a decent job of comparing the two. https://youtu.be/U5g7LTCJqaY
Sony. Water resistance, SDcard. That's about it lol.
The SE may perform smoother as it is powered by the 6S internals.
Sent from my SM-G930T using XDA-Developers Legacy app
If you're not bothered about customizing then buy an iPhone, if you want customization then buy any Android.
iphone fails
- missing notification led
- no customizing and no jailbreak in sight, closed source system
- no slight to unlock (stupid doubble press home button to unlock since apple removed slide to unlock)
- less ram, no sd card, memory not expandable
- 1600 mAh vs 2700 mAh and no quick charge
- smaller display hurts your eyes,
- ligning connector incompatible (how many cables do we need ?)
- easy scratches on alu frame,
- banana bending,
- design from 2012
- steve jobs is dead
etc
-
How is the dev community for this phone though?
There doesn't seem to be any official Lineago OS builds and only one AOSP ROM ...
I would buy this phone in a heartbeat with Lineage OS support but without it seems like one would be dependent on one single developer for ROMs on this phone.
andTab said:
How is the dev community for this phone though?
There doesn't seem to be any official Lineago OS builds and only one AOSP ROM ...
I would buy this phone in a heartbeat with Lineage OS support but without it seems like one would be dependent on one single developer for ROMs on this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are welcome to join the dev community and help to bring LineageOS to this device. Otherwise buy yourself a Nexus...
ondrejvaroscak said:
You are welcome to join the dev community and help to bring LineageOS to this device. Otherwise buy yourself a Nexus...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nexus phones have ****ty hardware, so no thank you. Then I will get an iPhone.
Don't need a phone with a manufacturing defect that has thousands of phones failing and Google telling you that you are sadly 21 days out of warranty.
Problem solved
I have owned both of them and I found the iPhone SE to be the absolute perfect size for 1 hand use. The X Compact is good but there are still times where the opposite corner can be hard to reach. The SE also feels great in hand and is built with high quality materials. I inevitably returned mine and got a X Compact instead. They are both great phones and if OS doesn't matter to you, I would go with the SE, but I personally prefer Android and it's customization so I returned it.
switcher said:
iphone fails
- less ram, no sd card, memory not expandable-
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well you're comparing two different Systems, iOS doesn't require as much RAM as Android.
Aviad1928 said:
Well you're comparing two different Systems, iOS doesn't require as much RAM as Android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
maybe in the old days, but have you seen IOS 10.3 on the SE today ? Compared to the SE the XC performs much better
and the iphone 7+ is shipped with 3gb for a good reason
switcher said:
maybe in the old days, but have you seen IOS 10.3 on the SE today ? Compared to the SE the XC performs much better
and the iphone 7+ is shipped with 3gb for a good reason
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
haha honestly I haven't seen an iPhone since 2012, maybe you're right
I own both, they both have positives and negatives. I actively swap between the two because of that! The iPhone is smooth and beautiful, great quality hardware, but iOS feels much more restricted and the screen is very small (even for a small phone fan like myself). Camera is awesome; super quality and quick in all conditions, although selfie camera is only 1.2mp. Not that big a deal though since the pics still look good. X compact on the other hand has a much more vibrant screen which is bigger (but not too big!), very snappy and excellent performance compared to other androids, the system is overall much more customizable, great camera too with wider lens and better selfies. But overall the phone feels cheaper in hand (plastic body), and like all android phones it doesn't have the super polished behaviour, look and feel of apple. As I said, positives and negatives for both! For me I use Google Apps for everything, which is more restricted on iphone obviously, and I like being able to read news clearly on my commute on the larger brighter screen, so I use the x compact more. But sometimes I go back to the iPhone se just because of the smooth shiny experience
Hello, I really wanted a powerful and fast phone with clean interface, so I bought an iPhone 7 as the first non-Android phone in 7 years, so I'm very experienced with Android. I just wasn't impressed with with the Pixel for it's price. I also have a SE. I need some functionality in Android that's missing on the 7 and looking for a companion small phone that I can alternate with if needed, so I'm looking to get rid of my SE to fund for the Compact.
What I do learn from using iOS is that it's more primitive than I thought, despite the clean smooth experience. Somethings are just a joke on it I don't know how they get away with it when millions people are paying for it. But it has it's benefits as well, I do enjoy the A10 chip performance and not spending many hours to setup my phone. And some things just work better, like the Fine my iPhone. On the Honor 8, I could just bypass that lost phone screen . I see too many bugs on Android with skinned devices, and giant devices, which made me really tired of dealing with them. The Pixel just doesn't do it for me in term of pricing, all the issues I'm hearing about, the availability. I would say the Android market abandoned me, not the other way around, and this pushed me to iPhone.
My last Sony phone was the Xperia Play. I'm hoping the current Sony's OS is not too far away from stock Android.
I bought the X Compact for my wife as a Christmas gift - the other phone I was looking at was the iPhone SE.
After she tried out a loaner iPhone for about three weeks she decided she preferred Android, chiefly due to more free apps being available/costing less than the iOS version.
From everything I gathered from the numerous reviews, it essentially comes down to which platform you prefer. The iPhone SE has a slightly better camera in low light (night), but that looked like the only hardware advantage. If you go with the x-compact, try to wait until B&H photo has it on sale for $270. It's done that 3 times in the last five months.
switcher said:
iphone fails
- no customizing and no jailbreak in sight, closed source system
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was also seriously considering the SE, but that is the big reason I got the X compact. The Sony open devices program is a major plus for me. I look forward to actually owning my own device and have freedom of messing around with it, maybe even trying out Jolla's SailfishOS when it's available.
The only thing that concerns me about Android is there seems to be vulnerabilities exposed on the net or viruses (adware that calls back to someone's server in the background and monitors SMS messages) through legitimate apps.. seems there's a security flaw announced once a week. How is development for security patches on it, given the frequency of malware?
Not sure about ios but I kinda like having open source android., So long as devs are on top of things and not just adding feature fluff.
volcolm said:
The only thing that concerns me about Android is there seems to be vulnerabilities exposed on the net or viruses (adware that calls back to someone's server in the background and monitors SMS messages) through legitimate apps.. seems there's a security flaw announced once a week. How is development for security patches on it, given the frequency of malware?
Not sure about ios but I kinda like having open source android., So long as devs are on top of things and not just adding feature fluff.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android now have built in permission management so you can deny that app from accessing your personal info. It would be nice to have a built in feature to block internet access outright, but generally only MIUI based roms have that. I don't see it as an issue aside from people who download dubious apps or sideloading from questionable sources.
If you are that concerned you should get a phone that is promised monthly security updates, which is a Google Pixel. https://source.android.com/security/bulletin/ I was surprised the X Compact (international version) have timely monthly security updates.
I would say the closed source nature of iOS potentially makes it more insecure, with open source at least you have much more developers looking at it and alerting the issues.
eksasol said:
Android now have built in permission management so you can deny that app from accessing your personal info. It would be nice to have a built in feature to block internet access outright, but generally only MIUI based roms have that. I don't see it as an issue aside from people who download dubious apps or sideloading from questionable sources.
If you are that concerned you should get a phone that is promised monthly security updates, which is a Google Pixel. https://source.android.com/security/bulletin/ I was surprised the X Compact (international version) have timely monthly security updates.
I would say the closed source nature of iOS potentially makes it more insecure, with open source at least you have much more developers looking at it and alerting the issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It'd have been easier to state that the XC already gets monthly (security) updates as the GP, but I digress. This is good, probably better than most manufacturers in that regard. My last phone was a buy once, throwaway after a couple months because Huawei decides "Want latest Android, your phone is obsolete -- buy a new Mate instead". Before folks say "Wait, they update their Mate line now!" - watch a "beta" ROM come online from Huawei after a year of not releasing any updates for months (once new phones are around the corner), the poof, scrapped ROM/patch (and now your phone is obsolete/vulnerable) because hey go buy new shiny phone to get the latest "update". It's infuriating, a phone should be "supported" for at least 3 years. Usually the good XDA developers make a phone last much longer than that!