Switch from Focus ... Thoughts - HTC Titan

I'd like to share my thoughts on moving to the Titan from my Focus over this past weekend.
My I was one (as most here probably) that added a 32GB microSD card to my Focus. It has performed flawlessly over the last year that I have owned it with very few exceptions.
The main reasons I switched:
(1) Size matters - The 4.7" screen
(2) The build quality (so far) - The unibody aluminum build feels great in the hand
(3) The upgraded spec's (less the reduction of memory)
I should say that I do have a peeve on why Windows Phones (or any phone) don't have a microSD slot in today's world. In a world where your phone is going to be your "one in all" device, a memory card slot should be a no brainer.
Display:I was a little weary about moving from the SAMOLED screen to the S-LCD screen. Let me give you peace of mind on this one. This screen is absolutely beautiful. It doesn't have the deep blacks like the Focus but the other colors pop and seem more realistic. Also, my impression is that the display is more crisp than the SAMOLED.
Memory:As noted above, the lack of a microSD slot is really a shame for this phone. I'm going to live with it until someone cracks this baby open to confirm that it doesn't have a slot under the cover somewhere. But, alas, I heard rumors of this being a SS memory chip instead. On the bright side, this does make it run faster if it is a memory chip.
Build
The body on this is made of solid aluminum. The feel when it is in your hand is one that makes you know it was built with care. I know they stated in press releases that they are going to minimize this type of build in the future, I just hope they just remember to have enough real substance there to "feel" like quality and not plastic.
One note on the body. When removing the back cover to access the battery and sim card slot the ENTIRE aluminum case around the screen and everything comes off, too. So, you end up with two pieces. One that includes the screen and components, the other the aluminum casing. It was odd to remove it the first time.
There are more reasons like...
- notification LED's (i missed this from my Tilt2)
- battery life (woohoo! almost all day on a charge now)
- noise cancelling mic's
- faux 4G (you can tell the speed difference) [waiting to see about this throttling bit]
Things I don't like...
- Lack of accessories (come on Otterbox)
- With the larger screen, I wish I could update the number of columns from 2 to either 3 or 4. This phone has the space to do it and it would be a great update to have. (I know, this is OS and not phone but the screen size makes it an option now)
- The headset plug doesn't fit as far into the phone jack and so it looks like it's not plugged all the way in when it actually is. (maybe this is a preference instead that it go in until the jacket hits the phone)
One last thing about the size of the phone. The phone, surprisingly, is not that much bigger that the Focus. I was thinking going from 4.0 to 4.7 that it would be huge to hold in the hand but it really is a non-issue in general.
Anyway, I'm still transfering my goodies and reinstalling apps. Will post if anyon has any questions...
Cyber
My progression:
Old Junk -> Tilt -> Tilt 2 -> Captivate -> Focus -> Titan

cyberstrategist said:
I'd like to share my thoughts on moving to the Titan from my Focus over this past weekend.
My I was one (as most here probably) that added a 32GB microSD card to my Focus. It has performed flawlessly over the last year that I have owned it with very few exceptions.
The main reasons I switch:
(1) Size matters - The 4.7" screen
(2) The build quality (so far) - The unibody aluminum build feels great in the hand
(3) The upgraded spec's (less the reduction of memory)
I should say that I do have a peeve on why Windows Phones (or any phone) don't have a microSD slot in today's world. In a world where your phone is going to be your "one in all" device, a memory card slot should be a no brainer.
Display:I was a little weary about moving from the SAMOLED screen to the S-LCD screen. Let me give you peace of mind on this one. This screen is absolutely beautiful. It doesn't have the deep blacks like the Focus but the other colors pop and seem more realistic. Also, my impression is that the display is more crisp than the SAMOLED.
Memory:As noted above, the lack of a microSD slot is really a shame for this phone. I'm going to live with it until someone cracks this baby open to confirm that it doesn't have a slot under the cover somewhere. But, alas, I heard rumors of this being a SS memory chip instead. On the bright side, this does make it run faster if it is a memory chip.
Build
The body on this is made of solid aluminum. The feel when it is in your hand is one that makes you know it was built with care. I know they stated in press releases that they are going to minimize this type of build in the future, I just hope they just remember to have enough real substance there to "feel" like quality and not plastic.
One note on the body. When removing the back cover to access the battery and sim card slot the ENTIRE aluminum case around the screen and everything comes off, too. So, you end up with two pieces. One that includes the screen and components, the other the aluminum casing. It was odd to remove it the first time.
There are more reasons like...
- notification LED's (i missed this from my Tilt2)
- battery life (woohoo! almost all day on a charge now)
- noice cancelling mic's
- faux 4G (you can tell the speed difference) [waiting to see about this throttling bit]
Things I don't like...
- Lack of accessories (come on Otterbox)
- With the larger screen, I wish I could update the number of columns from 2 to either 3 or 4. This phone has the space to do it and it would be a great update to have. (I know, this is OS and not phone but the screen size makes it an option now)
- The headset jack doesn't fit as far into the phone and so it looks like it's not plugged all the way in when it actually is. (maybe this is a preference instead that it go in until the jacket hits the phone)
One last thing about the size of the phone. The phone, surprisingly, is not that much bigger that the Focus. I was thinking going from 4.0 to 4.7 that it would be huge to hold in the hand but it really is a non-issue in general.
Anyway, I'm still transfering my goodies and reinstalling apps. Will post if anyon has any questions...
Cyber
My progression:
Old Junk -> Tilt -> Tilt 2 -> Captivate -> Focus -> Titan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Congrats on your new phone
Have you noticed any ghosting on the screen or any lag in the OS/games ?

I have not noticed any ghosting or lag at this point. I've had it only a couple days now and will add some more apps tonight to test it some more. So far, though, I have been pleased with the phone.

Storage
You said you had a 32GB card in your Focus. What are you doing about your music/videos. I have a bunch of music that isn't in Zune Pass. Tried the Sky Drive option, but it isn't that great.

bennyj71 said:
You said you had a 32GB card in your Focus. What are you doing about your music/videos. I have a bunch of music that isn't in Zune Pass. Tried the Sky Drive option, but it isn't that great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't yet decided on this. I'm not one to put my personal items in the cloud knowing it's not all that secure just yet (if it ever will be). So I'm manually manipulating what's on the phone vs not. It's tedious at times but until I know my data is secured enough [military encryption maybe?] then I may start doing it...

I switched too. I am missing my dark blue I used on my Focus. Can't unlock yet since Chevron has no tokens right now. If I can get screen capture, my color blue and unlock the internet sharing without that annoying AT&T notice I will be a happy camper.

MaziarAmiri said:
Congrats on your new phone
Have you noticed any ghosting on the screen or any lag in the OS/games ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I notice ghosting.
OP: Sounds like we have similar experiences making the same switch from Focus > Titan!

drokkon said:
I notice ghosting.
OP: Sounds like we have similar experiences making the same switch from Focus > Titan!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have a specific ghosting scenario that makes it stand out most? I can tet it on my Titan and see what I come up with...

cyberstrategist said:
Do you have a specific ghosting scenario that makes it stand out most? I can tet it on my Titan and see what I come up with...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's actually quite simple: the full program list on a black theme should do it. When you scroll, the words quite clearly "stretch" or blur slightly, and they blur in the opposite direction (eg - downward blur when the font is moving up), which leads me to agree with those who call it "ghosting." It's subtle enough that someone could easily convince me that this is an "effect" and intended by the UI.
That said, I don't notice it one bit. I also don't notice any pixellation on the large screen and prefer the natural (eg - less saturated) colors of the screen as compared to the Focus.
All in all, the screen is beautiful and I have zero complaints.

drokkon said:
It's actually quite simple: the full program list on a black theme should do it. When you scroll, the words quite clearly "stretch" or blur slightly, and they blur in the opposite direction (eg - downward blur when the font is moving up), which leads me to agree with those who call it "ghosting." It's subtle enough that someone could easily convince me that this is an "effect" and intended by the UI.
That said, I don't notice it one bit. I also don't notice any pixellation on the large screen and prefer the natural (eg - less saturated) colors of the screen as compared to the Focus.
All in all, the screen is beautiful and I have zero complaints.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will +1 that!

I also upgraded from a Focus to a Titan.
I like everything about the phone (finally got LED notifications again, large screen, beautiful build, slim design, light weight, GREAT call quality, better reception so far, no more fingerprint smudges all over the back, love the sound-enhancer, and over-all faster).
The only thing that really gets me so far is the lack of an Super AMOLED screen. Putting it next to my Focus, the difference is so obvious. If this phone had a Super AMOLED it would be perfect...

hg23 said:
I also upgraded from a Focus to a Titan.
I like everything about the phone (finally got LED notifications again, large screen, beautiful build, slim design, light weight, GREAT call quality, better reception so far, no more fingerprint smudges all over the back, love the sound-enhancer, and over-all faster).
The only thing that really gets me so far is the lack of an Super AMOLED screen. Putting it next to my Focus, the difference is so obvious. If this phone had a Super AMOLED it would be perfect...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DO you get led notifcations for sms? Thats what im missing from my titan

meandu229 said:
DO you get led notifcations for sms? Thats what im missing from my titan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll post about it once I get a text, still haven't gotten one yet

meandu229 said:
DO you get led notifcations for sms? Thats what im missing from my titan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hg23 said:
I'll post about it once I get a text, still haven't gotten one yet
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LED notification for SMS and emails - isn't built in for WP7 yet. There are no apps either that can do it.
However, this is a requested and highly voted feature for next update. I think you guys should vote for it too!

Got my Titan yesterday. Wow. I haven't thought about touching my Focus since I powered up the Titan. I synced my apps and music and now I have 600megs free. :[ I'm really gonna have to trim some fat as that is just music and apps. Other than that the phone is awesome.
On a side note, there is a big difference in performance using older SIM cards. I have two Titans. I have a two month old SIM in mine. My nephew has a 1 year old SIM. His phone keep losing signal, and was unable to connect websites on multiple tries. I thought it was his phone, so I swap my SIM and everything was blazing. I'm getting another as the newest ones are slightly slimmer than mine.
Hope this helps you guys out.
Sent from my PI39100 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App

I can confirm the LED appears to only indicate power charging. Interesting about the SIM card. I'll see if my old one makes a difference.
Sent from my TITAN

I also upgraded from a focus to a titan. But on my titan the camera button stopped working after <24 hours of use and I have to send it in to HTC for repairs. But even with the short amount of usage time (I used the phone almost exclusively as the power in my area had been out for four days) the build quality and speed were phenomenal. I was also surprised at how well the titan fit into various pockets and how the nice the screen was.

hg23 said:
I can confirm the LED appears to only indicate power charging. Interesting about the SIM card. I'll see if my old one makes a difference.
Sent from my TITAN
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LED also blinks on missed calls.

Related

Initial Impressions: Photon Pros and Cons

What do yo guys like and dislike about the phone?
Being the first dual core phone from sprint, being this fast is a huge leap forward. Love the qHD screen, and HDMI out. The radio in this phone is ridiculously powerful, have full service where I has 0-1 bar previously. The only downside, which isn't that bad, is playing all the new tegra zone games. I am burning through battery life...so time to carry a second battery. So far best phone I've had yet.
second dual core.. i believe the EVO 3D is the first that Sprint has offered. That being said, I definitely prefer Sense 3.0 to BLUR, but that will be short lived until the ulocked bootloader is released.. i'm looking forward to rooting this beastly device.
Likes:
qHD screen
Double yellow flash LEDs make a great flashlight
All the stuff you already know about from the specs, like GSM world phone, kickstand, etc.
Dislikes:
Pixelation caused by PenTile display
Tegra 2 is smooth, but could be smoother
Locked bootloader
The artist formerly known as Motoblur is still only okay, and was quickly replaced by Launcher Pro by me
No 5Ghz 802.11n
Received the phone first thing Friday morning, have a early launch day EVO 3D as well. Purchased this for travel use, so will be using it for a while before I re-activate the 3D - even longer if it grows on me more than the 3D did. Initial impressions from weekend of use:
Like:
- Kickstand is back (original EVO owner). It's still a bit "wobbly" but the bonus is that it's software functional (pulling it will activate landscape viewing and even bring the phone out of sleep) and the phone can be flipped horizontally on either side - the stand will not collapse (but the surface + volume rocker + camera button may get scraped up)
- Camera shutter button
- Data encryption options (have to look into this more, though)
- LED lights up in multiple colors
- GPS radio is faster than my 3D - can get an accurate lock in moments.
- Reception/antenna seems stronger. Many more bars showing, and downloads seem faster (than my 3D).
- Lots of built in memory (weird that it appears as SD Card, though)
- Speakerphone is loud as hell.
- Ear speaker is clearer than my 3D.
- Grooved/textured volume rocker and camera button.
- Back cover snaps on TIGHT, has soft touch 'rubbery' finish
DISLike:
- Kickstand is a pain to "kick out". On the upside it's snug in there and won't flip out unintentionally. Then again, the EVO's never did, either.
- Camera shutter button is one-stage only
- CANNOT shut off shutter sound. WTF.
- The stock gallery app is pure garbage. You can't even view the folders that contain photos in an overview. It's literally view all photo files, view all camera photos, view by location or view by tag.
- LED does not light up when charging. WTF?
- No included SD card
- Back cover is HARD to get off. You'll feel like your nail is going to flip off or you're going to damage the slot you're pulling on.
- Even with the soft touch back cover, phone still feels very slippery...
- Pentile display is horrible. Just pixels - all I see are pixels. I didn't even know what pentile was until I Googled to find out what the heck was up with this display. Colors seem "off" and all edges I see are jagged. Text appears blurry due to 'pixelation'.
- Stock launcher seems choppy/laggy. Is this a frame-rate issue? Not sure but using something like Go Launcher is smooth as butter.
Coming from an Epic, so some of my observations are from that perspective...
Bugs:
- Only one I've run across so far is I'm not sure if my light sensor is doing what it's supposed to do. It works according to various sensor tests, but the phone doesn't seem to automatically change brightness as it should, and the "in-pocket protection" thing doesn't lock my phone when I, well, stick it in my pocket.
Pros:
- Call quality is excellent, much better than the Epic and probably the best I've ever had. Incoming audio is great on both the earpiece and speakerphone, and I'm being told I sound great on the other end.
- Speed seems outstanding. I'm not experiencing any lag whatsoever, on the home screens, opening apps, scrolling, etc. Everything just happens exactly as I expect it to. Many of the frustrating lags I experienced with the Epic, like the switch from portrait to landscape and back, are smooth as glass on the Photon. Absolutely loving performance so far.
- Screen is fine for me. Plenty bright, more natural colors than the Epic, and I see absolutely none of the PenTile weaknesses others are hating. I really think this is a person-by-person thing, because I've heard people complaining about the same thing on the Epic and I never saw it there, either. For me, the screen is not only good enough, but downright pleasant to use. Oh, and Netflix looks fine to me, not sure what others are seeing. I played Toy Story 3 as a test, and it was lovely.
- I like the software better than on the Epic. Email, messaging, social network integration, transitions (I like the flow in changing orientation rather than Samsung's abrupt switch), etc. is all nice and makes me happy with my decision to go with the Photon. I really don't like Samsung's flavor, I'm finding, and simply like Motorola's better. This makes me very hesitant indeed to even consider switching to a Within if it's out within (no pun intended) 30 days no matter what kind of crazy specs it has.
- Love how you can dismiss individual notifications.
- Configuration options are better on the Photon, such as the ability to define battery states and such. The Epic was lacking in some things I didn't know were possible on Android devices.
- The Photon car dock is heads and shoulders better than the Epic's equivalent. There's far less interference when nothing's playing (just a tiny bit that I have to listen for, vs. the screech-in-my-ear interference with the Epic's dock), and I like that the Photon dock can be customized a bit. It's nice to be able to add my music apps and launch them directly from the dock, rather than going through the launch-first-then-start-dock gyrations I had to go through with the Epic. The Photon is also easier to add to the dock than the Epic was, in terms of getting the USB port lined up.
- It's a small thing, but I love the kickstand mode. I'm actually using it when the phone sits on my desk, which I didn't reall expect. Kind of nice.
- Phone and 3G radios seem roughly equivalent to the Epic, maybe a bar better in most cases on the Photon. Although I've been noticing better service in some place where I got no service at all with the Epic (like my favorite place for Indian food, which is in a black hole for the Epic but where the Photon got three full bars and 3G).
Cons:
- Can't turn off the shutter sound on the camera. I hate that.
- Motorola widgets are kind of plain and 2-dimensional.
- Getting worse wifi reception with the Photon. Where I had a single bar of wifi in my home office in the garage with the Epic, I'm not getting a single bar with the Photon. And it translates to performance, where I get some disconnects with the Photon that I never saw with the Epic. It's not a dealbreaker by any means, but something to keep an eye on.
- The battery only increments by 10% until you get to 15% left, then it goes in increments of 5%. Seems silly to me to not know if I'm at 99% remaining or 91%. So, yes, that should be fixed.
Bottom line:
I'm probably missing some things, but those are my initial impressions.
Overall, I like the Photon MUCH better than the Epic so far, and if the Within will have the same basic software features as the Epic, then I'm not interested in it even if it has a theoretically faster processor. I like the screen on the Photon well enough to not make me salivate for the SAMOLED Plus screen on the Within. Very happy with the Photon.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
fordhighlander said:
Being the first dual core phone from sprint, being this fast is a huge leap forward. Love the qHD screen, and HDMI out. The radio in this phone is ridiculously powerful, have full service where I has 0-1 bar previously. The only downside, which isn't that bad, is playing all the new tegra zone games. I am burning through battery life...so time to carry a second battery. So far best phone I've had yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doiiii. Evo 3d.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA Premium App
I love it, I work for sprint and played with it over the weekend and it performed much better then my 3d. The netflix app works perfect no bad picture like I have on my evo 3d. The kickstand is hard to open but I hope over time it will get easier. The speaker volume is a lot better then the 3D. Con is motoblur is not that great yet, but with launcher pro not that big a deal. Also I miss the quick settings in notification bar like the 3D has. Also Sprint ID but its optional on this phone. And all the junk widgets on it when you first get it takes a few mins to remove and put up what you want. The optional dock to use is amazing and with the bluetooth keyboard makes it a computer on your big screen. The lack of SD isn't that big a deal to me since I always use the 16gb one I have had for awhile, if it had one I would just take it out and replace it with mine anyway. Over all in my personal opinon its the best phone sprint has and best phone I have played with.
predwing said:
I love it, I work for sprint and played with it over the weekend and it performed much better then my 3d. The netflix app works perfect no bad picture like I have on my evo 3d. The kickstand is hard to open but I hope over time it will get easier. The speaker volume is a lot better then the 3D. Con is motoblur is not that great yet, but with launcher pro not that big a deal. Also I miss the quick settings in notification bar like the 3D has. Also Sprint ID but its optional on this phone. And all the junk widgets on it when you first get it takes a few mins to remove and put up what you want. The optional dock to use is amazing and with the bluetooth keyboard makes it a computer on your big screen. The lack of SD isn't that big a deal to me since I always use the 16gb one I have had for awhile, if it had one I would just take it out and replace it with mine anyway. Over all in my personal opinon its the best phone sprint has and best phone I have played with.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed! The build quality on this phone is top notch. The speaker is loud and sounds great. Volume and power buttons are clicky and love the ridges. The beveled glass is a beautiful touch. Gives the screen depth and you can tell its gorilla glass
Sent from my MB855 using XDA Premium App
Biggest problem I have are three things
1st. Battery percentage is only in increments of 10 percent, wtf?
2nd SwiftKey x I can't get the audible key press to work
3rd the pentile screen is pixel hell
Other than that it's better than the 3d
Sent from my MB855 using XDA App
I went from an Epic to the Evo 3D and decided to do the 30 day swap to the Photon to give it a try while I wait on the galaxy s II.
PROS:
Tegra 2 processor is very powerful. Access to the Tegra Zone games on a phone is really cool. Most of the games I have on my Xoom run on the Photon.
As said before, the speaker on this phone is really good. The Evo 3D was whisper quiet.
I really like the shiny, glossy smooth finish although it is a bit slippery
The display is extra dark somehow. I believe there is a filter in there making it darker. OLED > LCD but this phone eases that pain.
Moto blur or whatever it's called is garbage but then again Sense is a memory hog and touchwiz sucks. In any case it's all about ADW for me anyway.
The kickstand and docking options are really nice to have. Most manufacturers overlook the dock aspect but Moto has been really good about it.
Lots of memory available. Thankfully they also included an sd slot.
CONS:
No access to quick settings in the notification tray. This really bothers me. I guess I've been spoiled by having this. If you are in the middle of using an app it's such a pain to have to go back to the home screen to bring up the app drawer to find settings - wireless - and turn on wifi.
Video compatibility is lackluster. Don't expect to encode an mp4 and just have it work. I have to spend some time figuring out what is wrong. The Galaxy S played anything I threw at it. This photon and my xoom are both very fickle about codec support.
Google music bug. My (cloud) songs will just keep playing after they reach the end. So a 3 minute song will have played twice once it hits 6 minutes and so on until I skip the track. This happened on my Epic but was not a problem on the Evo3D.
I love the phone other than one thing:
The location of the HDMI and USB port. If I want to use the kickstand and charge at the same time, no go. Pretty much forces you to buy the dock.
pajinki said:
I love the phone other than one thing:
The location of the HDMI and USB port. If I want to use the kickstand and charge at the same time, no go. Pretty much forces you to buy the dock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not true. Flip out your kickstand, and try setting it down with the volume rocker and camera shutter button on the bottom. You will see that you can, which allows you to have the two ports plugged in.
Really? That is one firm kickstand if that's the case! I just tried flipping my Evo like that and the kickstand snaps back into the phone.
dfin13 said:
Really? That is one firm kickstand if that's the case! I just tried flipping my Evo like that and the kickstand snaps back into the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ya when it's open, it's open. Works GREAT
Sent from my MB855 using XDA Premium App
Digitaltigre said:
[*]No access to quick settings in the notification tray. This really bothers me. I guess I've been spoiled by having this. If you are in the middle of using an app it's such a pain to have to go back to the home screen to bring up the app drawer to find settings - wireless - and turn on wifi.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Give Quick Settings in the market a try, works great, other than the 3G/4G toggles not working yet.
I can't believe Google hasn't built this in yet. It's a really horrible user experience having to go into settings to deal with wifi and other frequently toggled settings.
Which is all the more reason I'm stunned HTC didn't include a kickstand on the 3D. Considering the EVO 4G with kickstand was the flagship device, it seemed pretty bizarre to me to remove the one thing that differentiated it from other devices.
The Photons kickstand is super strong. It doesn't flip out as fast as the EVOs but I haven't had the phone long enough to find a quick way to do it or a one hand approach.
As far as the Pentile screen or screen door affect as others call it; I haven't seen that. Its been reported if you turn screen brightness down, the screen becomes bearable. Out-the-box, I thought my screen was pretty decent.
Its hard to know a phones pro/cons based on 5-10 minutes play time in a store. I purchased the EVO 3D so I could decide for myself if it was the next best thing...IMO, it wasn't. Got the Photon for same reason. Currently the Photon is a keeper but on the other hand, I've only had mine since last night- not long enough to give detailed opinion on.
I did have ONE issue which turned out to be user error. My pics were all dark and blue. I forgot to remove the blue protective strip off the back of the lens.
Digitaltigre said:
Video compatibility is lackluster. Don't expect to encode an mp4 and just have it work. I have to spend some time figuring out what is wrong. The Galaxy S played anything I threw at it. This photon and my xoom are both very fickle about codec support.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What issues are you having? Mine has played almost everything I've thrown at it that doesn't have anything over 2 channel audio. It will not play 5.1 or DTS encoded files. Also, it doesn't seem to like high profile encodes (4.1) either.
Additional Pros:
Gingerbread UI elements are here. The old tube television screen off animation I had on the Nexus S but they took away from the Evo 3D is here.
Additionally, the subtle color cues when you hit the edge the screen or menu - if you continue to pull or push the screen the color cue fades more into the screen real estate.
Encryption option is awesome. I tested it for a while today on both the internal and SD card memory.
Additional Cons:
The color scheme is unfortunate - light/baby blue? Really? It's this way on the Verizon Droid X2, also. I wish they at least allowed a way to change it to something else. It's not even that it's not a masculine color - it's that it's hard to see. The color cue I mentioned above when you hit the edges of screens and menus is BARELY visible when it's baby blue.
Encryption is seemingly all or nothing. If you want to simply copy photos you've taken to your desktop for backing up... well, I don't know how you'd handle this yet. Once you encrypt, everything to move to and save to one ot he encrypted locations is locked up tight.
The trick on the kickstand is to push down on the hinge end with the grooves cut in it with your thumb nail...this pops out the other end to grab with your index finger
(motorola photon rule seem to be "grooves cut in it" = "push here")

First Impressions on your new Nokia 800

Lets start a thread purely about your first thoughts on the Nokia 800 and woudl you recommend us to upgrade to one of these phones..
My first impression was wow that screen looks amazing with windows pone. The black really is true black and the ever so slight curve at the edges means it so nice to swipe. My only gripe is the 16gb though i use my zune for music so not that bad and that the screen could of streched a tad more to the edges of the phone. Saying that though i dont mind 3.7 i think its actually a nice size. The other think i notice is that yes it may be a "plastic" phone it feels so solid in the hand. My desire or hd7 have not felt so well put together.
Oh i forgot another design flaw is that all the buttons are down one side making it really hard to find a car dock that does not press the power.
loving my lumia 800, very pleased with it. just upgrded from an n900 which was amazing. its very different to the n900 and there are a few improvements needed but still loving the lumia.
agreed with the lacking in memory or card slot.
not being able to use the phone as a mass storage device is a huge massive fail and going to cause me problems at work.
Very Impressed
I've had this for 3 days now, and it's just a dream to use.
I previously had an HTC Desire (rooted and running the latest CM Mod on 2.3.7), which I found was pretty decent, but the lack of internal storage was driving me crazy, (system, internal storage only, apps were updating and getting bigger forcing me to uninstall apps that I actually wanted!).
Even though the screens of these 2 phones seem the same on paper (3.7" AMOLED, 800x480 resolution), the Nokia's just looks leaps and bounds better, there's no pinkish tinge on low brightness settings and the colours just pop. Also, whatever Nokia have done to make it work better in outdoor lighting has worked too. On my Desire, I could not see anything on the screen outside on a bright day, even with screen brightness at full. The Nokia is still clear outside, even at medium brightness.)
The only gripes I have are OS related, and are not that significant. I was surprised to see that I was unable to change the browser home page for example, but the most annoying thing is not being able to scrub through audio tracks. Having to hold down the next track button, especially on long tracks is pretty poor. It seems to work on some locally stored videos, but not on the YouTube site for example, also, I'm surprised that there is no dedicated YouTube app, (glorified bookmark != app)!
I'm very happy with it in general, and the guys at the office are suitably impressed too.
k4kya said:
The only gripes I have are OS related, and are not that significant. I was surprised to see that I was unable to change the browser home page for example,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
pin the start page to the home screen and launch using that instead of the browser icon.
andy_con said:
not being able to use the phone as a mass storage device is a huge massive fail and going to cause me problems at work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is this your first foray into WP7? This limitation is by no means a fail on the part of Nokia. WP7 does not allow for hot swapping of memory cards and also does not allow for USB Mass Storage function due to the way that it treats external memory as internal memory.
anseio said:
Is this your first foray into WP7? This limitation is by no means a fail on the part of Nokia. WP7 does not allow for hot swapping of memory cards and also does not allow for USB Mass Storage function due to the way that it treats external memory as internal memory.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I still dont get what is wrong with a memory stick on your keys. Its easier and more practical and as an IT tech i would deffo say i would rather give the emplies them then use mobile phones. I agree it would be better to have more files supported by zune but to get into the file system is no benefit then to break it.
I am new user in WP7
I think Lumia 800 is great. I love its shape and the screen.
But seems the battery life is not really long (even compare to my existing Android Nexus one)
I love it too and will be my next phone as soon as I can buy one unlocked and unbranded. So far no one seems to be selling them this way.
17-apg said:
I love it too and will be my next phone as soon as I can buy one unlocked and unbranded. So far no one seems to be selling them this way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try this one mate, it's going for £470 sim-free.
http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/mobiles/mobile-phones/NOKIA-LUMIA-800/HANDSET&clearance=false
Seems to be in stock (black).
http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/mobiles/choose-tariff/NOKIA_LUMIA_800/HANDSET/NEW
Regards Dousan...
I'm loving it, the battery seems to be a bit hit and miss but hopefully the update that's due out will sort that out
Sent from my Nokia Lumia 800 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
Dousan said:
Try this one mate, it's going for £470 sim-free.
http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/mobiles/mobile-phones/NOKIA-LUMIA-800/HANDSET&clearance=false
Seems to be in stock (black).
http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/mobiles/choose-tariff/NOKIA_LUMIA_800/HANDSET/NEW
Regards Dousan...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try Phones 4U! Sim-free £399
Its brilliant, much faster and better looking than my old phone, a Sony Ericsson X1. The battery seems to only just last a day, hopefully the update will fix that.
andy_con said:
not being able to use the phone as a mass storage device is a huge massive fail and going to cause me problems at work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that is possible to do that, but I'm not sure if Dev Unlock is needed or not...
I have some questions i hope you guys can answer me.
Do the Lumia have a blue tint when you tilt the phone on the screen like the N9 have. That was really not nice looking on The N9 and annoyed my eye (very visual and need things to be clear and sharp and continious colour wise)?
Also do the txt and white/light backgrounds/icons have that magenta edge on the left side like the N9?
If yes is it as bad as on the N9?
Regards Dousan...
ale07 said:
The battery seems to only just last a day,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A day is good considering Android phones tend to be half a day and iPhone 4s is also around 14 hours for many users.
Dousan said:
I have some questions i hope you guys can answer me.
Do the Lumia have a blue tint when you tilt the phone on the screen like the N9 have. That was really not nice looking on The N9 and annoyed my eye (very visual and need things to be clear and sharp and continious colour wise)?
Also do the txt and white/light backgrounds/icons have that magenta edge on the left side like the N9?
If yes is it as bad as on the N9?
Regards Dousan...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In my experience no and no. The screen looks pretty much perfect from all angles and I've noticed no issues with magenta tinting. I thought I did at first but it was confirmed as being nothing by a few other people
Agreed, the phone screen is bang on, had a Omnia 7 before my lumia 800 and the screen is just as good, also the screen doesn't appear to attract anywhere near the amount of fingerprints as the Omnia 7 outdoor work is easy too, screen works very well.
Sent from my Lumia 800 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
Guys, more impressions please! Very interested in this device
And please, check the phone vibration level. Is it ok to use it on vibro mode in pocket?
Love this phone. Moving on from android and the windows 7 UI just looks so much fresher. I love the WP7 people hub integration with social networks.
But on to the phone. The Nokia design is really nice and even with the phone case that was provided free with it, it has very good styling. The screen is so black that you can't tell where it ends and the case begins because the glass stretches all the way across the front.
Camera seems to be good. However, I did take some pics yesterday and found that if you tap the screen to focus and take a shot it sets the shot to macro which was annoying. That's probably a WP7 "feature"
I don't really like the power button on the side to be honest but can see why it has been put there. When it's in my car dock, I can't activate the phone because of the way it is held in the cradle. Will have to rethink that.
Call quality is what you would expect from Nokia. I don't know if the signal quality is any better than anything else. I have tried the speaker phone and it is good as well. Nice and clear.
Not sure I can comment on any more Nokia specific features as I've only had the phone for 5 days. Do give the battery a chance to condition as it is getting better each day for me. Remember to do a full charge.
Stu

Titan Gripes and Grins

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?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.

Reviews

Here's a light review of the phone from Clove:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbFeUoVyT9Q&feature=youtu.be
Preorders up today as well.
Unboxing vid. Looks like they went with a nicer packaging this time.
VS. an iPhone 6 vid
VS. the Z5 Compact vid
i have bought yesterday the white x compact. unfortunately its a bit larger than the z3c. well im a bit disappointed but not because of the sd 650. the performance is quite good. its definately responsive and quick for a compact. but the bezel on the bottom is bigger than at the top. looks like a design fail. vibration motor is veeery strange imo. at start you dont feel him when typing but the faster you type the more the motor is vibrating. this behavior is very hard to accept. maybe for some people a minor thing but for me when i got used to my z3c this not ok. the whole left side beside the display has a gap between display and frame. on the right side there is no gap. dust and dirt wil again find a nice place there. this was the reason why i have replaced my white z3c with a black one after the motherboard was dead on the white one. it seems sony has not learned from their mistakes. fingerprint button has also gaps and looks like a bit deplaced but works very well. on the back side there you have gaps on top and bottom. i really do not understand sony. this phone costs 450€ and it seems they have no QA before packaging. camerawise i can see some improvements. focus is much faster than z3c. but the camera quality nowhere comparable to a galaxy s7. its ok but not that i would say wow. front cam is better than z3c. no softskin blur effect more but when it gets dark the front cam is not very good. generally i was expecting more from sonys camera system.
the best thing at this phone is the display. the black values and color reproduction is very good. looks like amoled but is probably a very good ips. but i think its displaying to much red. adjusting whitebalance helps. generally much better than z3c. due to the 2D glass curves it seems that display is almost printed regardless the 720p.
but there is also somehting that is causing me headache with the display. it seems that due to the curved glas the letter "P" is sometimes not very responsive. especially if you are trying to hit the letter from the right side throught the curved area of the display. from top no prob but from the side its sometimes not reacting. tested with google keyboard.
loudspeakers are a bit louder probably due to the lack of water resistance. they sound better.
the phone goes back as i have got massively used to have root. i'm still on kitkat with root and xposed and several changes through xposed. loosing all this to a non perfect phone makes no sense for 450€.
the biggest problem is that there are no smartphones at 4,6inch with good quality anymore. i was even thinking about iphone but no thanks. i dont want to be a slave of itunes and pay more than 750€ for a phone. SE is too small. z5c is overheating, bulky & too rectangle. A3 2016 is 4,7inch and therefor longer. could be ok. BUT it has no fuc*** notification LED. major fail by samsung as this is inacceptable in 2016. but generally the build quality by samsung has raised. the galaxy s7 in a size of 4,6inch would be perfect. im remembering the times with my galaxy s1. fantastic phone and it was undestroyable. well if you have any questions you can ask me until i have still the phone. currently im thinking of testing an s7. but i hate to to do strange things with my thumb just to be able to reach the back button on the bottom of the phone. the s4 mini was perfect size.
So you are returning the phone?
I will give this phone a try but your build quality comments concern me. I should have it this week, so I'm hoping I get a good one. Does the plastic, glossy shell feel as cheap as it looks?
True, it's sad that these phones are the only game in the 4.6" size. I kinda don't consider the 4.6" iPhone in this size class because its just as big as a 5" screen phone because of the home button. I'm hoping Samsung comes out with an S7 mini which I would get in a heartbeat.
uchosen said:
So you are returning the phone?
I will give this phone a try but your build quality comments concern me. I should have it this week, so I'm hoping I get a good one. Does the plastic, glossy shell feel as cheap as it looks?
True, it's sad that these phones are the only game in the 4.6" size. I kinda don't consider the 4.6" iPhone in this size class because its just as big as a 5" screen phone because of the home button. I'm hoping Samsung comes out with an S7 mini which I would get in a heartbeat.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try it. the plastic glossy shell is not the problem. its nice to look at, looks a bit like ceramic and not so slippery as i thought but the build quality is again not the best. i hate the unsymetric gaps between frame. they just cant place the display equally into the frame. on the black (which is not true black, its more dark blue) you wont see them so much as on the white one.
i was hoping for a s7mini but it seems that samsung has changed the mini series into the A3 line which is really sad unfortunately in the stores theres always the anti thief thing on the back which prevents to get true feeling of the normal S7. i need to test if a S7 would somehow be operational with one hand for me. but i dont think so. :/
the display of my z3c is peeling of on the top left edge which was the reason iw as looking for a different phone. i need to repair this. sony would need to much time for this.
x10isrooted said:
..vibration motor is veeery strange imo. at start you dont feel him when typing but the faster you type the more the motor is vibrating. this behavior is very hard to accept...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i didn't realize that with swift key. but you are right. if you set to system vibration you have that issue. but me, i am using swift key where you can set you individual vibration duration and that works like a charm.
x10isrooted said:
the whole left side beside the display has a gap between display and frame. on the right side there is no gap...
fingerprint button has also gaps and looks like a bit deplaced...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
on my xxc the gaps are all the same size and nothing is deplaced.
x10isrooted said:
..but there is also somehting that is causing me headache with the display. it seems that due to the curved glas the letter "P" is sometimes not very responsive. especially if you are trying to hit the letter from the right side throught the curved area of the display. from top no prob but from the side its sometimes not reacting. tested with google keyboard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
can't confirm that too.
the 'p' works just fine. (swift key)
x10isrooted said:
the phone goes back as i have got massively used to have root. i'm still on kitkat with root and xposed and several changes through xposed. loosing all this to a non perfect phone makes no sense for 450€.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i hope, root is just a question of time. i hope very soon. can't wait for it to make all my customisations i am used to.
i found a way posted here but its written so weird. i dont know if its reliable.
http://www.sadroid.com/root-sony-xperia-x-compact-5-minutes/
the individual vibration is the same. the often and quicker you are pressing a button the more the motor of the vibrator gets crazy. sound like a bee on Speed.
You must try to press the letter p probably from the right side. a bit through the curved glass. the galaxy s7 and z3 compact touchscreen is much more responsive and sensitive. for me it was often not reacting when i was not thinking to touch more precisely in the middle of the letter P. maybe a defect on my device but i think the whole touchscreen production will be affected by this. i have tested the Xperia X and it has the same behavior. i will have to test another device in store if this is the case there as well.
this website is untrusted. dont download anything from that. you will get a virus. nothing else. when a root is availbale someone will for sure post it here first. but i doubt that it will be soon. x compact has not the best specs. all the famous and talented devs have other phones currently. xxz0o was the person that developed a root for z3c after half a year i think.
ok. now i found the issue with the vibration. your duration seems to be set pretty long. i set it to 35ms and that works absolutely fine. but if you set it to f.e. 60ms you have that issue. but why would you like to have it that long?
i mean its obvious that it can be a prob. if your next press is in the range of the 60ms there is no other way for the phone to vibrate permanently. are other phones adjusting the vibration if you press faster than the setted duration?
but i am a slow writer. maybe i will never understand that problem. i just found that issue while pressing complete randomly on the keyboard. i could never write that fast.
jeah, as i thaught. the page is very weird. i would also only try a root from a page i know pretty good.
ohh. half a year? thats sad. but hope never dies.
i like the phone. maybe there are some others
x10isrooted said:
try it. the plastic glossy shell is not the problem. its nice to look at, looks a bit like ceramic and not so slippery as i thought but the build quality is again not the best. i hate the unsymetric gaps between frame. they just cant place the display equally into the frame. on the black (which is not true black, its more dark blue) you wont see them so much as on the white one.
i was hoping for a s7mini but it seems that samsung has changed the mini series into the A3 line which is really sad unfortunately in the stores theres always the anti thief thing on the back which prevents to get true feeling of the normal S7. i need to test if a S7 would somehow be operational with one hand for me. but i dont think so. :/
the display of my z3c is peeling of on the top left edge which was the reason iw as looking for a different phone. i need to repair this. sony would need to much time for this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The S7 mini would be perfect, but it will never be created. The S7 is about the same size as the iPhone 6, so if any of your friends have one, just try using it and you'll quickly realize how much harder it is to reach the top of the phone with your thumb. I'm sticking with my Z3C for another year to see if anyone (not just Sony) releases a 4.5-4.7" flagship device. The XC just doesn't meet my expectations for an "upgrade".
Phone Arena review:
http://www.phonearena.com/reviews/Sony-Xperia-X-Compact-Review_id4256
The AndroidCentral Review is up, one note the lack of a fingerprint scanner is US only, the rest of the world has the fingerprint scanner available!
http://m.androidcentral.com/sony-xperia-x-compact
All of these first reviews to be released seem to be very shallow in depth. They don't go into any real analysis of the phone and use very general statements to describe the user experience. In fact, these read more like unboxings than actual reviews. There's a lot of talk about what the phone looks like, the specs it comes with, and way too much of it sounds like they're reading a press release. If I was in the market for a new device. I'd wait another month for real reviews to be released.
Android Authority review:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uullDQFq5W0
I sure do not have those build quality issues. gaps?! display is dead flush, heck everything is. I am very impressed with the build quality, very sturdy. I do not have trouble with coming in from the right and typing 'p' either, but if you display is not flush it would probably influence it. I am more than sure you were unlucky and got a bad apple (heh). as for the key vibration issue; if you type faster than the vibration delay is set, you are of cause going to have it vibrate all the time while typing, odd btw that you guys was set to 60ms mine was set to 25ms as default.
Hey everyone, just wanted some feedback regarding an issue I began having this week with my X Compact.
Issue: The phone is not as responsive during the unlocking process as it once was. I used to simply swipe to unlock and the phone would immediately unlock with a simple swiping motion. Now, the phone requires a harder swipe before it unlocks.
Any ideas?

No Notification LED

The Made by Google Twitter account confirmed the P3 does not come with a notification light! That's insane and takes away one of the great advantages that Android has over iOS. I can't tell you how many times I was unaware of messages and voice mail on my work iPhone because it doesn't give any indication of a missed notification.... For hours and even days!
This is unacceptable!
This really sucks. I have it configured to give me so much information with just a glance. They probably saved $0.01 per phone leaving it off.
They probably think we all want to use AOD to see our notifications! I've never used it myself, why, BECAUSE THE LED LIGHT WORKS GREAT! Good grief!!
Hopefully they moved the "blink" functionality to the AMOLED screen. There is really no need for a separate LED if they move that functionality into the screen. And preferably add the options that lifghtflow offers.
But knowing Google they probably just removed the feature altogether. It's sad that they can't add all of the options that the Nexus 5 had 6 years ago, which launched for half the price. And then they have the nerve to call it a premium device.
arby80 said:
Hopefully they moved the "blink" functionality to the AMOLED screen. There is really no need for a separate LED if they move that functionality into the screen. And preferably add the options that lifghtflow offers.
But knowing Google they probably just removed the feature altogether. It's sad that they can't add all of the options that the Nexus 5 had 6 years ago, which launched for half the price. And then they have the nerve to call it a premium device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you remember, the Nexus 6 had one but it wasn't implemented by the factory. It took a tear down before it was found and a clever programmer figured out how to make it work!
It doesn't need one with an OLED display. You can display notification indicators on the display like you could with an led.
I am standing in front of the pixel 3 display and can confirm there is no notification led! Not even in the settings!
what happens with a missed call? does a flashing dot appear on a black screen?
djy said:
what happens with a missed call? does a flashing dot appear on a black screen?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know, but it's a terrible idea to remove the only way to see missed notifications without turning on the screen.
It doesn't need one with an OLED display. You can display notification indicators on the display like you could with an led
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you see the OLED display from a distance, and its colour to tell what type of notification it is? That's the advantage of an LED
scoobiesnacks said:
Can you see the OLED display from a distance, and its colour to tell what type of notification it is? That's the advantage of an LED
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I personally will not use the always on feature, so walking the screen will be my only way of seeing missed notifications. Just like the iPhone, Google is forcing you to interact with your phone the way they want, and leaving us without choice.
Passive notifications are no more. ?
This sucks. Its not a game changer but I do use led to see what I got, very useful
The usual reviewers aren't helping. Focusing on how pretty the phone is instead of functionality. I'm coming from an S5 which has a multi-color notification LED, SDcard slot, removable battery with durable lightweight removable plastic back, wireless charging, IR transmitter, headphone jack, unlocked bootloader with official lineage support, water resistance, and flat display with no rounded corners. For $1000+ the reviewers and consumers should expect and demand these features plus new stuff. Unfortunately most people don't know or care enough about the hardware or software. Never felt this bitter/unexcited about a $1000 luxury purchase before.
4 GB of ram and 128 GB of storage is not on par with the competition. Not sure why consumers are making excuses for all the shortcomings? I'm buying for stock android, camera, stereo front facing speakers, IP68, wireless charging, and a much faster chip than my current phone. They could easily make it 50% fatter and stuff a massive battery in it with a removable plastic cover with an elastomeric seal but they want us to buy a new one every year or two.
I'm nervously waiting to see if it can be rooted and flashed. If not, there's much better options for the same cost.
djy said:
The usual reviewers aren't helping. Focusing on how pretty the phone is instead of functionality. I'm coming from an S5 which has a multi-color notification LED, SDcard slot, removable battery with durable lightweight removable plastic back, wireless charging, IR transmitter, headphone jack, unlocked bootloader with official lineage support, water resistance, and flat display with no rounded corners. For $1000+ the reviewers and consumers should expect and demand these features plus new stuff. Unfortunately most people don't know or care enough about the hardware or software. Never felt this bitter/unexcited about a $1000 luxury purchase before.
4 GB of ram and 128 GB of storage is not on par with the competition. Not sure why consumers are making excuses for all the shortcomings? I'm buying for stock android, camera, stereo front facing speakers, IP68, wireless charging, and a much faster chip than my current phone. They could easily make it 50% fatter and stuff a massive battery in it with a removable plastic cover with an elastomeric seal but they want us to buy a new one every year or two.
I'm nervously waiting to see if it can be rooted and flashed. If not, there's much better options for the same cost.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pixel phones purchased direct from Google can all be bootloader unlocked in developer settings. It's easier than just about any other device. Root access will be gained shortly after the phone is released into the wild, and hopefully, Magisk can be used to pass safety net for Google pay. I totally understand your other concerns, but rooting shouldn't be one of them.
No LED totally sucks. I don't use AOD because of increased battery drain and increased burn in. So no way to see if there are notifications without picking up the phone. Weak battery was already bad enough.
I understand it's probably not the biggest deal in the world or anything but for me personally if the notification led is gone, I'm probably going back to Apple.
And this isn't the be-all-end-all reason, Google just seems less and less interested in truly making their devices/software unique and if it's going to essentially be the same thing as an iPhone, then I may as well just have an iPhone.
Kinda OT, but I have to say it's weird that the only other phone i've had that did AOD really good was the OG Moto X. I'll get used it on the P3. I really don't depend on it that much on my P2.... if a notification goes off, I usually hear it or feel the vibration first anyway. Rare are the times I'm spotting a led color "from across the room" lol..
I never have my sound on, drive a truck and use the notification light exclusively for notifications. Forcing me to pick up the phone (as with any professional driver) is ridiculous. Changing colors of the light allowed you to see exactly what or who the notification was from and very private. AOD is distracting and less informative. Makes 0 sense.
I've always used the notification led with my OG Pixel, so now I'm getting used to the aod.
My question for you guys is do you have aod turned on and is there noticeable battery drain from it or any other potential downside? Or do you have it where the aod only turns on from lifting the phone or double tapping?
I'm trying to pick what's the ideal way to go with this. I realize it'll probably be a personal preference deal, I've just never had an aod phone before. Thanks!
I thought that if notification comes in, screen flashes once in a while, but it doesn't seem to do that.

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