Updated 9/18/2012
I started this post intending to post a few gripes about the Titan after using it for only 24 hours. I thought it was only fair to toss in some things that I like about the Titan. After typing it all out, this is just short of a full review! I'll add to these lists as I continue to use the phone.
Caveats:
This is my second Windows Phone, so I'm being much harder on it than I was on my Focus. On the other hand, aside from the ever-present accidental hits of the capacative buttons, I never really had a problem with my Focus anyway.
This is, ultimately, a considerable upgrade from my Focus. It just feels higher quality build-wise, I love the heft, the massive screen is a dream come true, and the whole package isn't THAT much bigger than my Focus. Further, the software runs noticeably faster. This is the best phone I have ever owned, period.
Finally, I got this from AT&T for one freakin' penny, so I have no room to complain anyway.
Gripes:
CALL QUALITY: I haven't had consistent call quality. I've been told a few times that I sound muffled, but the other party is sometimes on a headset. Jury's still out on this one, as I'm not sure if it's the Titan or the other parties' handsets. UPDATE (12/12): I wanted to give it a few more chances before reporting this problem, but after two weeks I can confirm that the outgoing call quality leaves an awful lot to be desired. It doesn't seem to be as bad as some are reporting (and returning their Titans for), but I'm consistently told that I'm hard to hear on the other end. It may be due to some combination of the way I'm holding it or where I'm holding it, but whether it's up to my ear, on speakerphone or through the [wired] headset, I'm told I'm muffled. CRAPPYPANTS. UPDATE (9/18/12): As you can see from my grin list, I've never had a signal issue with WiFi or cellular service. Unfortunately, the call quality problem never EVER resolved. It's extremely difficult for people to hear me, and I need to repeat myself several times during any given conversation. It was actually made slightly worse, according to some, after I added the simple silicone case, but that doesn't mean it wasn't horrendous before. Worse yet, I recommended the Titan to my dad when it went on sale for a penny. Now I can't understand him and he can't understand me. "What?" "What?" "What?" "What?" GRRR THIS IS LITERALLY THE LAST OUTSTANDING, ANNOYING ISSUE I HAVE WITH THIS PHONE!
KEYBOARD LAG: There is considerable lag each and every time I use the keyboard. This is really weird, but the first key I tap doesn't do anything, and then it always "catches up" right after I type the next key. Subsequent key presses are fine. I know I'm a fast typer, and it only happens on the first key, but it's still annoying. UPDATE (12/5): This behavior has disappeared, presumably after the device has been restarted once or twice over the past few days. UPDATE (12/20): This behavior is BACK, even noticeable on the code input on my lockscreen—I'll push the first two digits before it "catches up." UPDATE (9/18/12): I no longer notice any keyboard lag. Unfortunately, the lock screen lag continues to be an issue.
RANDOM RESTART: The Titan restarted itself when I plugged it in to charge. (This was just 5 minutes ago, and it killed my podcast. Curses.) UPDATE (12/20): This only happened once and hasn't happened since! UPDATE (9/18/12): Like all Windows Phones, stability remains amazing. I'll have a random restart like every 6-8 weeks max. That said, as happy as I am with the stability, there was one crash way back in January that wiped out my phone completely and required a factory reset. I have no idea what caused it, and it hasn't happened again, but it was really sad. Thankfully my WiFi backup ensured I didn't lose any photos or video!
VOLUME LEVEL: The volume is too loud. I was excited that the Titan was going to have higher volume than the Focus, but it never occurred to me that that meant the lowest volume would be louder too. When I want to listen to something quietly through the speaker, 1 is too loud. I actually have to partially cover the speaker grille if I want it at a discrete level. When it comes to listening to things over the headset, things sound pretty good anywhere under 10, but if I'm listening to things in the quiet of my bedroom before falling asleep, even 1 is too loud. I just answered with my wired headset for the first time 2 minute ago and my wife's voice just about blew out my eardrums because the in-call volume was set to 10. Lowered it to 1, and it was tolerable, but I wish I could lower it further. UPDATE (12/5): Put a Christmas channel on Slacker yesterday and propped up the phone on a table where me and family were playing board games. It wasn't pristine sound, but it was sufficiently loud and clear to add to our ambiance. UPDATE (12/20): Volume is great for the AUX input in my car. Sound is pristine. UPDATE (9/18/12): The volume is great through the speaker, the few rare times I use it, but the lowest setting is still too loud, either through headphones or through the speaker. There are times that I turn a caller down all the way and they're still hurting my ears; and these aren't folks with loud voices either.
HEADSET: The AT&T version did not come with a wired headset. CHEAPSKATES! UPDATE (9/18/12): Still no headset. Thank goodness for the Focus headset.
VIBRATE: Maybe it's because this device is so much heavier, but the vibrate on this phone is weak—not nearly as strong as it was on the Focus. As I pretty much only use two settings, silent and vibrate, this is a huge problem for me. I've already missed a half dozen calls because the phone was in my pocket on vibrate, which I should have felt. UPDATE (12/20): This is still a huge issue for me, and I miss phone calls like crazy because I don't always feel the vibrate. UPDATE (9/18/12): Still an issue. I've just gotten used to missing calls.
ATTENTIVE PHONE: Trying out Attentive Phone, I've had a few issues. Flipping the phone over sometimes turns on the speaker, sometimes doesn't. Twice now, however, picking it from face down with speaker on doesn't just turn the speaker off but actually hangs up on the person I'm talking to! UPDATE (12/20): From what I can tell, Attentive Phone also causes the phone to vibrate for an extended length of time while in your pocket (or ring louder). This alleviates my gripe about vibrate (above), but the first few times it happened I thought, "oh crap, my phone is screwing up." UPDATE (9/18/12): I forgot it even had these features. Guess I'll have to try them out again.
Grins:
SPEED: Keyboard lag, screen sensitivity, and random freezes aside, this thing screams. I'm not seeing any software lag. I first noticed it in the camera app, when I took a picture and it was ready to take another picture FAR faster than my Focus would have been.
CAMERA: Speaking of the camera, it is fantastic. I'd say less saturation than my Focus, but again that's probably chalked up to the screen (see above). The extras HTC put in are awesome, and a large part of why I chose this phone (because my point-and-shoot is all but dead, and I intend for this phone to take its place, as my Focus did before it). UPDATE (12/20): Have taken some stunning shots with this camera, but I admittedly took some amazing shots with the Focus too. Please let me know if you'd like me to post any.
CONNECTION SPEEDS: Download speeds seem fine (yay "4G!"), Wi-Fi works well.
TEXT/FONTS/PIXELLATION: I am not experiencing jagged graphics/text or any visible pixellation, even on Internet Explorer with zoomed-out pages (as some have reported). Others have said that it's the icons at the bottom of apps that break down—if you look closely, maybe, but that's a real stretch. I recently noticed how crappy an app icon looked on gMaps, but since all the other apps' icons look fine, I have to pin that on the developer.
GLASS: I'm guessing that the verdict is that this has hardened glass, but not Gorilla Glass. I'm still not even clear what my Focus had, but as long as it's as hardy as my Focus, I'll be happy. After 8 months, my Focus screen was barely scratched. This screen still seems okay, but I'm keeping my eye on it. I've never had a single good experience with screen protectors. UPDATE (12/20): After 3 weeks of use, I've scoured the device and cannot find a single scratch, scrape, or any other kind of damage. It don't have a case or screen protector, and it either lives in my jeans pocket or on my desk in front of me.
STORAGE: Don't care about the storage issues. 16GB (aka 12.5GB) is plenty for me, and Live Mesh keeps everything synced between my computers, so I don't want/need to use this thing as a flash drive. If preventing expandable memory helps speed up the phone by locking down the file system and allowing faster memory, I'm all for it. UPDATE (12/20): Loaded up 1500 Christmas songs for a trip alongside my typical two-dozen podcasts. Phone had no problems.
CAPACITIVE BUTTONS: I haven't experienced nearly as many accidental hits of the capacitive buttons as I did on my Focus. I'm not sure if it's the Titan's size or the button placement, but this is a huge relief.
MANGO: Mango rocks. I'd laundered my Focus before Mango came out, so I've had to watch my wife NOT use all of Mango's cool new features on her Focus. Now that I have it, I'm very, very happy. "Multitasking" is great, and I'm a Contact Group addict. I hope they create App Groups soon.
HTC APPS: Very impressed by HTCs app offering. Makes Samsung's app collection look paltry.
BUILD QUALITY: Just to reiterate and buttons aside, the build is fantastic. I love the heft, I love the metal, I love how the screen and innards sit "inside" the back cover. UPDATE (12/12): Really getting used to the size, heft and materials. Feels great and familiar!
Grins formerly known as Gripes:
SIZE: One-handed operation is difficult, especially reaching for things on the far side of the screen with my thumb. Fine, I have smallish hands and totally expected this. Still annoying. UPDATE (12/12): Really getting used to the size, heft and materials. Feels great and familiar!
GHOSTING: Ghosting is an issue, at least for me. I don't think I'll notice it much, but if you look for it it's very noticeable. Some are saying the text "blurs," but I'm definitely thinking this is genuinely ghosting, as I'm seeing a white "trail" behind my text as I scroll. UPDATE (12/20): As expected, I do not notice this AT ALL.
SCREEN RESPONSIVENESS: Screen is not as sensitive/responsive as my Focus. The surface is smooth, but just seems the tiniest bit "stickier" than the Focus; I'll have to swipe or tap more than once to do one thing more often than I did on the Focus.UPDATE (12/20): I guess I've just adapted, because I'm noticing this less and less.
BUTTONS: The buttons suck. They are all far too flush. Like many reviewers have said, it's all but impossible to feel your way to the power button, and volume rocker isn't much better. UPDATE (12/5): I have to reiterate my complaints about the buttons. On my Focus, I could easily change the in-call volume with my thumb while the phone was held up to my ear. Now I'm using the tips of my fingers to frantically search for a volume rocker I can't feel. I'm still not used to the power button and not sure I ever will be. It's also worth noting that because this phone has so much front "real estate," it's actually tough finding the exact millimeter where the speaker is against your ear.UPDATE (9/18/12): I put a simple case on my phone several months ago, and although the white has turned a dingy yellow, it has raised areas where the buttons are. The buttons are easier to find and push, so I've had no problems since!
BATTERY: A 1950mah battery of the same size has already been found, which is only annoying because it means someone skimped. Right now the Titan seems to have a far shorter battery life than my Focus, but it's brand new, so I've been using it like crazy and know that this isn't a fair assessment! UPDATE (12/5): I have no hard numbers to back this up, but I'm disappointed with the battery thus far. The Focus seemed to last longer, and my WinMo phone from a year ago lasted much longer. I'll have to tweak some things to see if that improves anything. UPDATE (12/20): Two weeks later and I'm doing a complete 180 on the battery. Maybe it's the conditioning or the fact that I'm using it less since it is no longer "new," but this thing lasts forever. I took a five hour car ride and played Zune through my car speakers the whole time and it was only down to seventy-something from a full charge! My wife's Focus dies with much less use. UPDATE (9/18/12): Batter life is better than ever. Occasionally I'll turn on battery saver right away after a full charge if I need my phone to work for a long, long time, or I put airplane mode on if I'll be in a low signal area. The bottom line is that this thing, big screen and all, seems to last forever.
SCREEN COLORS: The only thing I'd heard about the LCD screen was the the blacks weren't as black as the AMOLED screens. True, but that's NOT the only thing different. Overall, the screen is considerably less saturated than my Focus. Not a deal killer, and I might grow to even prefer the more subtle colors, but I just wanted to point it out. Regardless, it is far preferable to the blue tint of the whites on the Focus S screen. UPDATE (12/20): As predicted, I have come to MUCH prefer the color on my Titan to my oversaturated Focus.
FREEZING: I've also noticed a few freeze-ups. Last night the HTC Flashlight app stopped responding all of a sudden; I think I just hit the power button twice and that brought it back. Luckily, none of the freeze-ups have required a restart (and no, these aren't SRS-related freeze-ups). UPDATE (12/20): This only happened once and hasn't happened since!
WINDOWS LOGO LED: Totally forgot this stupid little cosmetic gripe: whatever LED is behind the Windows logo is a smidge too close to the bottom right panel of said window. It's brighter than the other three quadrants, almost to the point of seeing the LED itself. Does that make sense? Maybe it's just my unit, but it's definitely noticeable and off-putting…just the sort of thing that will nag me for the next two years. UPDATE (12/20): Truly this is just a niggle. It's only apparent in low-light conditions, and I just don't notice it any more.
Just got mine today, though I've been using WP7 on my HD2 lately.
I'm sure I'll get used to the buttons, I have had trouble finding the volume keys but I like where they are, at the thumb. The power button was awkward, but in less than a few hours I'm used to it. My hands are small, and I have accidentally activated the search button with my thumb joint while reaching across with my thumb. Already dropped it in the car :/, minor fall, no scrapes or scuffs anywhere.
My only issues so far have been software; I have the zune music pass, I used the dj function and handed it to my sister. It would play 40 seconds of each song before going to the next one. Works fine after a reboot. Then, when using Maps/GPS navigation, it wouldn't advance to the next step automatically; I had to manually push each step... though I might not be using it right. I did press 'start' but it refused to automatically advance as I reached each turn.
I know it's not Super Amoled, but side by side with my HD2 and wow, it's like I've never seen colors before! Blacks are pleasantly black, and I don't have a samsung phone on hand to compare it to, but to my memory this is nearly as good as my friend's samsung captivate.
I agree that even the lowest volume setting is too loud, though I haven't changed my SRS settings yet, as I have had no lag, ever, yet. Internet is fine, no issues here in both wifi and 4G. I hope that the rumors of the focus s having faster speeds are false...
Speaking of 4G, is it actually 4G or did they rebrand H as 4G? I think it is faster, but then again the titan could just have better throughput than the HD2 or my Pure.
I wanted to test out the focus s and titan in store before buying, but I got tired of reading online and being swayed for one or the other with everything I've read... and then the penny sale happened, so I went with my gut and just got the titan. HTC does a better job on build quality than samsung, and afaik the only benefit of a samsung (in practical terms) is the superior screens they craft with magic and rainbows. eh, I have my samsung tv, that's enough. I hope the titan's battery is as good as I've read...
Last; what's with chevron labs 'out of tickets'? Come on! My thought process as I saw this: 'I would have paid $9, but I'm not patient enough to wait microsoft! *tries to send dev unlock cab, fails* guess I have to wait'. there isn't a way to unlock it otherwise, is there?
I am assuming that H is HSPDA+ because Titan does display 3G icon sometime before i pop back to H.
People are complaining that AT&T limit their Titan Bandwidth/ Titan Hardware problem/
I must be the user this phone was designed for. I have not had any issues with one-handed operation, including being able to use the power button. I also don't have any issue with the camera or volume rocker buttons. I can easily type one-handed.
I was very apprehensive about the size of the screen. Now that I have used it for a week, I absolutely love it. I can see what people are calling ghosting, but I really don't think that is an adequate description. Ghosting is more about casting shadows. In the case of this device, it often appears that text is blurring when scrolling. This is something that is easily ignored in my case.
I have not noticed any lag or sound issues or random freezes. As far as screen sensitivity, I find it just about right for me. I also like the smaller capacitive buttons as I do not seem to have issues with hitting them by accident. This has been an issue with every smartphone I have owned with capacitive buttons. I am very happy that this phone is not exhibiting this issue.
I guess, like everything else in life, it is all relative. My hands are apparently large enough to handle this phone without feeling strained. I also get plenty of tactile feedback for my needs. I also LOVE the led. I don't understand why so many devices leave this out of the design.
Returning my ATT HTC Titan Today
Having read the above posts and others, also considering my previous experience with inconsistancies with HTC devices in the past, I am, regrettably, returning my beautiful HTC Titan to the store today.
Inconsistant out bound voice quality (ATT rep couldn't hear me cancelling my order). Fail
Throttling of 4G to below 14Mbs (was actually able to acheive almost 6Mbs in a rural part of Georgia, barely over 1.5 Mbs in metro Atlanta). Fail
Lack of storage. (thought I could live with this, can't!). Fail
Maybe I'll try the Focus S, any ideas?
Focus S doesn't have expandable storage either, though. If you're not in a rush, maybe wait for the nokia line of phones comes out? They have some with LTE in the works.
Back to ghosting: I think naplesbill is right, the people who are claiming to have 'ghosting' are using that term incorrectly. If anything, what we have here is a slightly delayed pixel response in the screen, or perhaps the rendering isn't quite smooth on the software side.
Here is an extreme case of ghosting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0esjdQ4RSuo
Titan battery life is much, much improved over my original Focus on Mango.
everything else about this phone is sooooo much improved over the Focus (a great phone too mind you) it cannot be explained. The OP's detailed info is useful but OCD-like and pretty worthless in regard to choosing a phone.
huge improvements include less accidental clicks with back/serach as well as general feel. The phone is large enough to use and hold properly and no "slipped out of my hand".
Get one.
nycny said:
Having read the above posts and others, also considering my previous experience with inconsistancies with HTC devices in the past, I am, regrettably, returning my beautiful HTC Titan to the store today.
Inconsistant out bound voice quality (ATT rep couldn't hear me cancelling my order). Fail
Throttling of 4G to below 14Mbs (was actually able to acheive almost 6Mbs in a rural part of Georgia, barely over 1.5 Mbs in metro Atlanta). Fail
Lack of storage. (thought I could live with this, can't!). Fail
Maybe I'll try the Focus S, any ideas?
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If you use the headphone to make the call, i am afraid that it has the bug that the phone will have broken noise through out the headphone and it may not even let you call anyone . I experienced that bug myself, that when i plugged in the headphone, it turn out to unable to call anyone or, even receiving a call.
link68759 said:
I'm sure I'll get used to the buttons, I have had trouble finding the volume keys but I like where they are, at the thumb.
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Ha! Even though I'm right-handed, I ALWAYS use phones with my left for whatever reason. It never occurred to me that the Samsung had it backwards and the Titan is better. Maybe it's time to change a long-standing habit!
link68759 said:
I hope that the rumors of the focus s having faster speeds are false...
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Me too. If confirmed, I'll definitely add it to my gripe list. However, WPCentral is reporting that it is false.
Strike_Eagle said:
If you use the headphone to make the call, i am afraid that it has the bug that the phone will have broken noise through out the headphone and it may not even let you call anyone . I experienced that bug myself, that when i plugged in the headphone, it turn out to unable to call anyone or, even receiving a call.
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No headset, just holding the phone normally. I never have a problem hearing. Several people said they couldn't hear me clearly or at all. And then I have had long conversations clearly. Seems if I move the phone ever so slightly toward or away from my chin the outgoing voice quality varies dramatically.
Those of you having issues with battery life, you probably should give your phone some time to get adjusted to its battery or if its been a while already, get a new one.
This phone is lasting so much longer than any other smartphone I've owned. I used to have to watch the battery meter throughout the day, but with the Titan, I no longer have to worry. I can easily get through a full day with moderate to heavy use and still have about 50% - 40% batter remaining depending on use at the end of the day. Its absolutely amazing.
This is with Facebook and Twitter syncing, with Hotmail and Gmail set to 'as items arrive', and with about 3 or 4 tiles/background tasks running throughout the day, on top of my regular use of the phone (checking Twitter, reading news feeds, reading e-mails, browsing the web, using Bing search, playing games, texting, etc.).
Of course I'm sure there are other minor variables involved that make differences for all of us, but this phone has had the best battery life of any smartphone I've owned, period.
Also, not having any of the other issues most other people are reporting. The buttons feel great to me, especially the camera button. I found the volume buttons on my HD7/S were too easy to press, so I was always changing volume, the Titan has a much better built volume rocker. The power button could protrude a bit more, but its still MUCH better than the HD7's power button.
I’m a few days in on mine, upgrading from the Focus and am a bit mixed. I love the size. Was worried about it being too big, but not at all its great.
But beyond that it’s a mixed bag. First and most disappointing is the screen, its big, but I like the way it looks much less than the Focus screen. It seems washed out or muddy looking and the blacks aren’t as dark. I think that really this is just saying that the focus screen is really very good.
Next is the responsiveness. When sliding my finger up and down on the home screen or anywhere else, there is a sponginess when starting to move or changing directions that’s odd to me. This may be there in the focus but is exaggerated in the Titan because of the larger size screen at the same res.
Like others I think the buttons are too hard to press. After a few days I still have to work at it more than I’d like.
And finally I wonder about durability and how this thing will hold up over time. I can’t tell you how much abuse my Focus went through and came through hardly phased. Once I dropped it off the top of a 6’ ladder on to concrete and another time it fell out of my truck and got kicked across concrete several feet among other abuse and the thing still looks virtually new. First day with the Titan and it got knocked off a table onto a concrete floor and the back and camera lens is completely scratched up. So day one this thing looks worse than my year old Focus.
Don’t get me wrong I do like it, I just don’t love it..yet. I think if I was coming from any other device I’d probably be raving about it.
(deleted - all gripes and grins now updated in first post)
willp2 said:
And finally I wonder about durability and how this thing will hold up over time. I can’t tell you how much abuse my Focus went through and came through hardly phased. Once I dropped it off the top of a 6’ ladder on to concrete and another time it fell out of my truck and got kicked across concrete several feet among other abuse and the thing still looks virtually new. First day with the Titan and it got knocked off a table onto a concrete floor and the back and camera lens is completely scratched up. So day one this thing looks worse than my year old Focus.
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Funny you should say this, as three or four times now I've panicked because I've felt my wedding ring scrape against the back panel. I turn it over, and it's just fine. However, this didn't happen to me at all with my Focus. It's like this device is stronger and tougher than my Focus, but strangely more delicate to minor damage, so I'm babying it.
My Focus also always looked new—it was amazing! It even looked new after I put it through the laundry and killed it…
willp2 said:
I think if I was coming from any other device I’d probably be raving about it.
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You took the words right out of my mouth!
drokkon said:
Funny you should say this, as three or four times now I've panicked because I've felt my wedding ring scrape against the back panel. I turn it over, and it's just fine. However, this didn't happen to me at all with my Focus. It's like this device is stronger and tougher than my Focus, but strangely more delicate to minor damage, so I'm babying it.
My Focus also always looked new—it was amazing! It even looked new after I put it through the laundry and killed it…
You took the words right out of my mouth!
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Try getting the invisible shield full body; I haven't installed mine yet, but I put it on everything I own. I expect it to make the phone easier to grip, too.
As for the screen vs the focus.... samsung screens are always better. No one should be surprised here...
link68759 said:
Try getting the invisible shield full body; I haven't installed mine yet, but I put it on everything I own. I expect it to make the phone easier to grip, too.
As for the screen vs the focus.... samsung screens are always better. No one should be surprised here...
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I first thought the same but after watching this,i changed my mind
http://www.wpcentral.com/screen-comparison-samsung-focus-s-and-htc-titan
Titan seems to produce more natural colors;whereas, focus s has blacker blacks. also focus s has a blue tint on it(at least according to this vid)
MaziarAmiri said:
I first thought the same but after watching this,i changed my mind
http://www.wpcentral.com/screen-comparison-samsung-focus-s-and-htc-titan
Titan seems to produce more natural colors;whereas, focus s has blacker blacks. also focus s has a blue tint on it(at least according to this vid)
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This video definitely played into my decision too. When I visited AT&T on the days leading up to my purchase, I checked out the Focus S and confirmed the blue tint. Unfortunately, they didn't have a Titan on-hand for me to take a look at. Since, that was really the last in a long list of little things pointing away from the Focus S and toward the Titan, I took the plunge and ordered the Titan sight-unseen on "Black Saturday."
It wasn't until I had the Titan side-by-side with my wife's Focus that I could really tell how less saturated the Titan's screen was, and I wrote in my first post:
Overall, the screen is considerably less saturated than my Focus. Not a deal killer, and I might grow to even prefer the more subtle colors, but I just wanted to point it out.
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I guess that's what others are calling more "natural" color. It's true, I do like it just as much as my old oversaturated Focus, and possibly a bit more!
one happy user
first time WP user.. and so far enjoying it..
only gripe I have is with speakerphone.. its way too weak compared to its regular speaker (one used for Music and ringer). Regular speaker goes up to 30, while speakerphone goes up tp 10, and even at 10 its very quiet. I also feel needing more volume for regular hands on calls as well.
Titan battery life is great, I am a heavy user through out the day.(Office job, a ton of down time.) My SGS2 ate threw battery like nothing(atleast 1-2 charges a work day) this thing I can get a full day with out a charge.
The ghosting is due to the VA panel used in an SLCD. Basically you are trading pixel response time for lower black levels and better viewing angles, compared to a standard TN panel. The slowest pixel transitions are black to white, so you'll see the most ghosting with black backgrounds. Grey to grey on the other hand is the fastest, with everything else in the middle.
"Some are saying the text "blurs," but I'm definitely thinking this is genuinely ghosting, as I'm seeing a white "trail" behind my text as I scroll."
The OS is most definitely not causing the blurring.
I noticed the same thing on the iPhone. Both phones have their speakers on the bottom of the phone. What does this mean? When you hold the phone in landscape to play games and grip it in gaming grip, the base of your forefinger (first finger) covers the speakers and muffles the sound. I noticed this a lot playing games on my old iPhone. Speaker should be on the back ideally or on the sides.
tboy2000 said:
I noticed the same thing on the iPhone. Both phones have their speakers on the bottom of the phone. What does this mean? When you hold the phone in landscape to play games and grip it in gaming grip, the base of your forefinger (first finger) covers the speakers and muffles the sound. I noticed this a lot playing games on my old iPhone. Speaker should be on the back ideally or on the sides.
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use headphones
I haven't seen one up close yet, but I thought the power plug was on the bottom now. So, would that be in addition to the speakers on the bottom?? or did they move them elsewhere?
eortizr said:
use headphones
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Thank you for your wonderful useful tip. So I am only allowed to play a game with sound when I plug in headphones. Great practical advice from you! I like to see you hold the phone with the headphone plug digging into your finger too! I know because I made a mockup of the phone and held it in gaming grip.
alodar1 said:
I haven't seen one up close yet, but I thought the power plug was on the bottom now. So, would that be in addition to the speakers on the bottom?? or did they move them elsewhere?
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The speakers are on the bottom of the phone on either side of the USB port.
It would be more practical on the back but in terms of design it looks uglier. That's why they put the speakers on the bottom. My Atrix has its speaker on the back and it is much better than when I had an iPhone.
Speakers never bothered me on the iphone 4s when I had it for 6 months so I don't see it as a design flaw here. I am terribly concerned about the size and weight though. I know that the older Lumia phones are thicker but it definitely does not look that way. The 920 looks HUGE and that is saying a lot since I currently have a GS3.
I hope that my concerns disappear after handling or I might have to get an HTC 8x, which I really want to avoid after owning two crappy HTC One X phones.
Personally I kind of like the thickness. Gives it substance. I have held ultra thin phones and think that I'll break them. Speaker placement to me doesn't matter as long as they sound good. I just hope it's more water tolerable than the L900. Saw the torture test on c|net and it wasn't pretty.
Sent from my A100 using Tapatalk 2
tboy2000 said:
The speakers are on the bottom of the phone on either side of the USB port.
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Just on one side, the other side is the mic.
vioalas said:
Just on one side, the other side is the mic.
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No, tboy is right. They are on both sides.
The 800 also has the speaker on the bottom. It doesn't bother me since I have a light grip on it when I play.
Anyway I think there are always some problems with the placement of the speakers. There is just no perfect solution. If you put it on the back then some people will complain that the sound will get muffled while it's placed on it's back e.g on the bed or the couch. If you wanna put it on the side then you are forced to put one on both sides but most windows phones have 3-4 buttons on one side and adding a speaker would make it look really cluttered and one may end up being muffled again. Top has the same problem as bottom and front wouldn't just work because of aesthetics.
I personally think that the speakers on the bottom are the lesser evil compared to the other options.
The speaker is placed on the bottom is actually a good idea.
With the iPhone it was placed on the bottom due to the alarm, so that the sound would not get blocked.
I always place my phone (s3) upside down just to hear my alarm better , Since I'm a deep sleeper.
The Lumia 920 has no flaws. It was designed hand manufactured by the hand of god. Just kidding. Speaker placement is actually very fine with me. It's more of a preference issue that you brought up. Cnet's torture test of the 900 shows that it will die from water. That should be an indication of what to expect. Then again, it's the only phone I know that you can hammer a nail with and still be fine. The 920 is supposed to be even tougher. So if my phone drowns... At lest I'll still be able to fix thins around the house with it. LOL. Most indestructible phone design I've seen so far was the Galaxy S3. Survive a washer cycle with ease.
Sent from my T8788 using Board Express
Hi everyone,
I got my nexus 9 last week from Best Buy. The serial number is HT4C, which means it has been manufactured in December of 2014.
I don't have like any problems with it so far, except the light bleed I think. I was not sure if this is too bad or this is normal and I can't get any Nexus 9 to have better LCD than this, so I decided to attach some pictures so maybe you guys can suggest either I should go and ask for a replacement or just deal with the current one...for comparison I have also put a pic I took in similar condition from my HTC One M8 screen...
Everything else is working fine..the volume button is working great and no problem with back cover...but also sometimes I feel when pressing the multi tasking button there is a delay to show the app, would anyone know how to fix this (is this even a problem?).
Thanks!
arminvm said:
Hi everyone,
I got my nexus 9 last week from Best Buy. The serial number is HT4C, which means it has been manufactured in December of 2014.
I don't have like any problems with it so far, except the light bleed I think. I was not sure if this is too bad or this is normal and I can't get any Nexus 9 to have better LCD than this, so I decided to attach some pictures so maybe you guys can suggest either I should go and ask for a replacement or just deal with the current one...for comparison I have also put a pic I took in similar condition from my HTC One M8 screen...
Everything else is working fine..the volume button is working great and no problem with back cover...but also sometimes I feel when pressing the multi tasking button there is a delay to show the app, would anyone know how to fix this (is this even a problem?).
Thanks!
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Click to collapse
A slight delay every so often when hitting the recent app button shouldn't be any indication of a major issue. Unless you are having major lag, I wouldn't worry about it. It's really hard to judge how bad light bleed is in real world use from pics. My Nexus 9 does have some visible light bleed during boot up while the screen back light is unrestricted, but during use it is not noticeable at all. Even when watching letter boxed movies. I'm sure it would probably look much worse than it is if I took a pic of it during boot up. Honestly, if the only time you can see it is during boot and it isn't giving you issues during use, I wouldn't bother returning or exchanging. This device really has a beautiful display and, although I'm sure there are a few people with really bad screens, I think the issue is being over exaggerated.
GibsonSGJ said:
A slight delay every so often when hitting the recent app button shouldn't be any indication of a major issue. Unless you are having major lag, I wouldn't worry about it. It's really hard to judge how bad light bleed is in real world use from pics. My Nexus 9 does have some visible light bleed during boot up while the screen back light is unrestricted, but during use it is not noticeable at all. Even when watching letter boxed movies. I'm sure it would probably look much worse than it is if I took a pic of it during boot up. Honestly, if the only time you can see it is during boot and it isn't giving you issues during use, I wouldn't bother returning or exchanging. This device really has a beautiful display and, although I'm sure there are a few people with really bad screens, I think the issue is being over exaggerated.
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Thanks.
I agree, this is why I posted this here. However, the problem is there whenever there is something with a black screen, like when watching movies, I can't avoid looking at black stripes on the top and bottom and see the light bleed....which is kind of annoying.
But overall, the display is great, very warm colors and good contrast.
Also, regarding the delay..no I am not experiencing lags, but sometimes when i.e. I play the FiFa ultimate for 2hrs and then come out of the game it takes 1 second or so to home screen get loaded.
arminvm said:
Thanks.
I agree, this is why I posted this here. However, the problem is there whenever there is something with a black screen, like when watching movies, I can't avoid looking at black stripes on the top and bottom and see the light bleed....which is kind of annoying.
But overall, the display is great, very warm colors and good contrast.
Also, regarding the delay..no I am not experiencing lags, but sometimes when i.e. I play the FiFa ultimate for 2hrs and then come out of the game it takes 1 second or so to home screen get loaded.
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I watch a lot of Netflix, etc in bed with the lights off when the wife is sleeping, so it would probably drive me a little crazy if the lightbleed was very noticeable under those conditions.
Taking a second to load the homescreen after two hours of gaming isn't anything to worry about. Some apps will do that, some won't from my experience.
I have one of the first Nexus 9's, a white 32gb. I'm very happy with the screen and have had no performance issues other than what we've come to expect from Android. The only (non)issue with mine si a slightly flush volume up button on the volume rocker. But it still clicks nicely and I've never considered returning mine.
I was playing with two demos at the local best buy the other day and the buttons on the white demo they had were horrible! But the Black demo had the most raised buttons I've ever seen. They were amazing, a made a very firm "click" when pressing them. But, when I went into the settings and started scrolling, the screen started to do this weird purple flickering thing, so what can you do?
As long as you are happy with yours, that's all that really matters.
A couple weeks ago i bought 2 nexus 9's from 2 different best buys. both were December builds. One looked like yours when it booted; it looked really bad IMO. My other one wasnt nearly as bad, there was some bleed in a few spots, mostly upper right, but there was no significant color shift. i returned the bad one. so, you can do better, but its all luck of the draw. depends if it's worth your effort and time and how noticeable it is in normal usage.
Turbo Brian said:
A couple weeks ago i bought 2 nexus 9's from 2 different best buys. both were December builds. One looked like yours when it booted; it looked really bad IMO. My other one wasnt nearly as bad, there was some bleed in a few spots, mostly upper right, but there was no significant color shift. i returned the bad one. so, you can do better, but its all luck of the draw. depends if it's worth your effort and time and how noticeable it is in normal usage.
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During the past two days, after my work, I went to Best Buy store that I got my Nexus 9 from...the first day I opened 3 Nexus 9s all with HT4C serial numbers and 2 of them had awful light bleeds and the third one had bad volume buttons...I ended up with bringing the third one to see if I can deal with the buttons. However,the buttons were so bad and I also saw that this one also has the same color shift but small light bleeds...
Today I went back to BestBuy and asked them to change it again. They give me another HT4C and I checked it over there, the built quality and volume buttons are great and small light bleed...but when I got home I saw that this one still has the color shift problem...
I think all of the high res LCD panels have this problem, because I put my N9 beside my friends iPad mini 2 and surprisingly saw that the iPad has also exactly the same color shift on black screen in Max brightness...So, I think I should deal with it....
BTW, I also called google and they said some light bleed and color shift is normal and probably any replacement device I get is going to have these issues (they didn't call it a issue though and just said ..are going to be like that).
So my question is, could you please take a photo from you N9 in a black screen in Max brightness to I see how it looks?
Thanks.
arminvm said:
During the past two days, after my work, I went to Best Buy store that I got my Nexus 9 from...the first day I opened 3 Nexus 9s all with HT4C serial numbers and 2 of them had awful light bleeds and the third one had bad volume buttons...I ended up with bringing the third one to see if I can deal with the buttons. However,the buttons were so bad and I also saw that this one also has the same color shift but small light bleeds...
Today I went back to BestBuy and asked them to change it again. They give me another HT4C and I checked it over there, the built quality and volume buttons are great and small light bleed...but when I got home I saw that this one still has the color shift problem...
I think all of the high res LCD panels have this problem, because I put my N9 beside my friends iPad mini 2 and surprisingly saw that the iPad has also exactly the same color shift on black screen in Max brightness...So, I think I should deal with it....
BTW, I also called google and they said some light bleed and color shift is normal and probably any replacement device I get is going to have these issues (they didn't call it a issue though and just said ..are going to be like that).
So my question is, could you please take a photo from you N9 in a black screen in Max brightness to I see how it looks?
Thanks.
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You're fretting over nothing. No one uses their device with a black screen with max brightness. Besides, it's an lcd screen, it will never be jet black in that condition.
Sent from my Nexus 9 using XDA Free mobile app
Here it is.
Turbo Brian said:
Here it is. View attachment 3241664
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Thanks.
OK, here is how my story ended yesterday ?, during the past days I swiped 7 nexus 9 tablets from 2 different Best Buy stores! Sounds crazy? But all of them had problems...three of them as I posted here had severe LCD light bleed, the other one had volume bottun problem and two of them had soft back cover problem (!), that was so funny even the best buy costumer service couldn't believe the back panel could be like that when we opened the box!...anyways...finally O got one yesterday (the last one in their store, lol) and thank to god, it has min light bleed...volume buttons are OK and the back cover as far as I checked is fine...some part of the right top of it seem to be soft again but its negligible and since I want to put it in a case I will never notice that...fare enough I think for the money I paid and the fact that got sth that at least looks to be not full of faults...
Here is a photo from its screen, in max brightness...thanks again.
jd1639 said:
You're fretting over nothing. No one uses their device with a black screen with max brightness. Besides, it's an lcd screen, it will never be jet black in that condition.
Sent from my Nexus 9 using XDA Free mobile app
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I know and agree, but when sth has problem and you know that it should not be like that, then I think it is not fretting over nothing...I love nexus..and this is why I swiped 7 N9s to get one without these problems...thanks
When I first got my Nexus 9, I looked very carefully for the light bleeding as I heard it was really common on these devices. And to be quite fair, mine had a lot when you ramp up to max screens brightness (especially on the bottom left corner). But after several months of use, I hardly see it now as it's due to myself not always nitpicking at it. You will eventually grow accustomed to it so in the end, it'll definitely fade into the background of your device
Moomoomania said:
When I first got my Nexus 9, I looked very carefully for the light bleeding as I heard it was really common on these devices. And to be quite fair, mine had a lot when you ramp up to max screens brightness (especially on the bottom left corner). But after several months of use, I hardly see it now as it's due to myself not always nitpicking at it. You will eventually grow accustomed to it so in the end, it'll definitely fade into the background of your device
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The first one I got from Amazon, a early build white 16gb had really bad bleed and the buttons were flush. They sent a replacement with a later build date and it has MUCH less bleed and great buttons. I was fortunate I assume.
I have one of the same models you have I bought from best buy yesterday. I'm really happy with mine. I have no perceivable bleed and the build quality is excellent. The back of the device has no flex. Its much better than the floor model in the store for sure.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app
Let me start by saying that i bought this phone only 3 days ago and these are the problems I've found with it.
1. The Second screen back light issue. This is a common problem among many lg v10 users as i have noticed, and i have that same problem too. to the extreme left of the second display it is brighter than the rest but only when it is off. I do not find this very annoying since i do not use the second display for reading my notifications while it is off. i mostly use it when the screen is on
2. In addition to that, the power button/ fingerprint scanner combo is completely garbage, as in the actual clicking. the button seems loose and when i click it, it squeaks. Also, when i run my finger up and down the power button it wobbles and has the same annoying squeak.
3. The charging port is loose. Not so much that the cable could slide out not in that axis, but it moves side to side freely and up and down. this worries me because i think that if i put too much pressure on the cable the port could break somehow.
4. The steel bezels are nice and stuff but the gaps, are uneven at the bottom left, the metal bezel is like bent and you can easily see through it. also at the back when you pop in the cover it seems like it doesn't align with the bezel. but that might just be my ocd lol
This phone in my opinion is great the best phone I've had. but its just that these things are what let me down. This phone is great but they absolutely ruined it with the quality control. note* my batch is from January 15, 2016
U probably just got a bad one. Sometimes, they make it thru the quality control somehow. I would return it until u get the one ur satisfied with.
Sent from my LG-H901 using Tapatalk
youngpettyboi said:
U probably just got a bad one. Sometimes, they make it thru the quality control somehow. I would return it until u get the one ur satisfied with.
Sent from my LG-H901 using Tapatalk
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Yeah I think I should but I'll wait until the weekend and decide if I should change it.
Probably a good idea. The flaws won't change. I have the lightbleed on the 2nd screen, but I never notice unless it's absolutely pitch black where I am and the screen is off. It doesn't annoy me tho.
Sent from my LG-H901 using Tapatalk
YMartin said:
This phone in my opinion is great the best phone I've had. but its just that these things are what let me down. This phone is great but they absolutely ruined it with the quality control. note* my batch is from January 15, 2016
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I like the phone, maybe I love it. I have the same problem with the residual light on the left of second screen. (phone batch 26 Oct.2015) But, what I dislike the most:
1. The lack of a LED on the front.
2. The second screen, about my opinion is useless until then a developer create an xposed apk for a flashing light on second screen when I loose a call.
3. The fingerprint sensor is useless too for me.
4. Volume of the speaker is not too loud.
But, I like the size and the shape of the phone. It is a catch eyes everywhere I go. Benchmarks are very good for a Snapdragon 808. The screen is very fluid. And the most, the camera and his software are great; you believe or not I compared in photoshop pictures from an expensive Sony semiprofessional DSLR camera with photos made with my V10 and the overall quality are quite the same. It's the best phone I ever had (and I had a lot of top level androids)
I don't want to change it, even on a G5!
H961 dual SIM, rooted, debloated.
The light bleed is a common issue, but everything else sounds like your phone was assembled incorrectly, you should exchange it
Okay so today I was wondering if I could find any more nit picky problems and noticed that the back cover did not sit flush with the buttons and that if I pushed it down it became flushnot a big issue but it bugs me when I'm turning up the volume or turning on the phone
thisisjason said:
The light bleed is a common issue, but everything else sounds like your phone was assembled incorrectly, you should exchange it
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Well I exchanged a week ago and now that the time limit to return it is over, it cracked, not from a drop. It just cracked by itself there is a small hair line crack right by the metal rail and if is so annoying I paid good money and I take care of my phones well even if this was made to be tough. It cracked while I was in the car waiting for someone and then out of no where I heard a little pop and I thought nothing about it but after I finished watching the video I noticed it and got so scared I was like"did I drop it" but I did not idk how it managed to break I haven't dropped my phone yet and it just cracked out of nowhere