Got the phone a couple days ago, wanted to share some first impressions as everyone (or most) here has been so helpful.....
1. Screen
One of the major reasons I upgraded. Obviously much sharper, rendering the nytimes in desktop mode is my de facto test and is quite glorious compared to the s3 indeed, though chrome seemed to have difficulty rendering the smaller text. I have the display set to dynamic, auto adapt off, auto correct tone off and the white point with these settings is definitely preferable to the s3. Initially I looked at my s3 and my first thought was, WOAH !, that the s4 screen was way too warm but then I looked at my desktop lcd and realized the s4 screen was very similar to lcd white balance. I guess our brains, or mine at least kind of calibrates to different white sources.
I was a little concerned about the brightness when browsing sites with high APLs (mostly white pages) as Samsung seems to have programmed in a bit of trickery with the auto brightness to save on battery. I can definitely confirm that firefox has a substantially brighter white luminance than either the stock or chrome browsers. Much brighter than I was able to achieve with the s3. It's nice to be able to crank it and hurt your eyes once in a while when your on the couch lol.
Outdoor viewing was surprisingly good considering it's an often used attack on the amoled screens, a notch or two better than my old s3, and that one was no slouch either.
Oh yeah, and the screen is dead black at night, kinda freaky as I feel like the phone if off, the s3 kinda gave me a vague glow in similar conditions.
2. Battery
Yeah, my s3 was giving me problems with this for some reason. I could get 2-3 hrs screen time max. Yesterday I got around 5 with high brightness, mostly wifi, and only a few of the samsung features turned on. Today was a bit more of a mix 80% wifi, 20% 4g, mostly max brightness and I am at 2 hrs 45 min with 45% remaining. I am cautiously pleased so far, especially considering all of the downloading and installing that was going on.
3. System interface :/
So I am using nova prime and that's helping a lot but like a few others here, I am noticing some strange hiccups/stutters in daily use that are pretty foreign to me coming from the s3. After turning off the samsung feature set, maps of all things is still hiccuping along when zooming or moderate panning. This is worse with a tilted satellite view but still noticeable even with just the road layout. Viewing photos in the gallery has a slight chop as well, using quickpics has been a temporary solution. I hoping for some kind of software update.....
Not a huge of the fan of the redesigned dialer, contacts list. Black themes should be a mandatory option (lol) with these oled phones.
One of feature that originally generated some excitement which was mercilessly quashed after reading reviews but then rekindled with the unit in hand was air hover. Using this in mail, messages with the haptic setting on is surprisingly smooth and useful, not to mention pretty cool. Your finger doesn't even need to be particularly close. Not sure about the air gestures, they seem pretty consistent but need to be used to add different functionality. I can imagine some neat implementations if developers decide to hop on board.
Design
Well I think I need some time to adjust to this but I can tell you that my observant roommate (who is a techie and just got the one) hasn't realized i got the new phone yet and I've been talking about it for a while. Even with all the installation beeps and ringtones that come with a new phone and him sitting on a nearby couch for hours he hasnt said anything. I ll see how long I can pull this off.
For me it definitely feels different in hand, not as slippery due to the less tapered edges which is good but also a bit less curvaceous and flirty (which I kind of liked in the s3). This feels more like a passat and the s3 more like a jetta I guess. Let me say that I do appreciate really well designed things in general and this phone doesn't make me cry so......
Last thing, I bought this phone off contract at full price and my purchase experience at the verizon store was really bizarre. Of course they must make less money when someone buys it outright but the salesman was like," why do you want to upgrade from the s3??" ,"The battery might be a bit better than your used to but don't count on it."..."So you're gonna like play around with the screen "(in mocking tone cause I told him I was interested in the new display) . That place sucks and the one out in the surburbs was even worse. Like used car salesman or something...
. Anyone else have this kind of experience?????
Also, anyone using lightflow with this device? In case you haven't guessed I love to freakin tweak thingszzzz...
best to yall.....
I came from the s3 yesterday.. picked up the s4 and couldn't be happier. I've had the phone for about 24 hours.. first thing I noticed was how clear the screen was. Not much if a difference over the s3 but it's there. Battery life as been great on stock un rooted rom. Compared to my s3 which was rooted running slim bean and a custom kernel overclocked and uv. I wanna say s4 is better. I like the feel of the s4 better other than the s3's rounded edges. Overall I'm happy... Will root soon!
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda premium
I just upgraded yesterday as well. So far I am liking it. Initially I wasn't impressed but I shattered my s3 screen and figured since I had an upgrade on my other line I would go ahead and get it instead of spending $100 just to get another s3. I have already rooted and froze most of the bloat with titanium backup. I have never flashed any roms but since my s3 is still functional, I plan on using it to learn. I am already having fun with the irblaster changing channels on random TVs lol. Overall I'm happy so far.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
Battery and other things
The battery is like night and day. Yesterday around dinner time my battery was at about 85%, and I use my phone constantly. On my SIII, I'd be lucky if it went the whole day without dying. That is one feature that I did not think would vary as much as it did, and am very happy with that.
I love the screen. It seemed a bit flickery (that's the best way I can describe it) for the first couple of days, but whatever was causing that (perhaps my imagination) has stopped.
The infrared sensor is much more useful than I had initially anticipated. Aside from being able to use it with multiple TV/set top box setups, I can screw with people in restaurants. :silly:
As a smartphone in general I have been very impressed so far.
Why would using Quickpic be temporary? First thing I do is set Quickpic as the default and hide gallery.
Frankly, I never really notice the stutters that other people talk about. When using an app that is reflowing from the net, there is no way to separate device issues from network issues, and I always notice it is these sorts of apps people complain about (maps, browsers, etc.).
yeah, quickpic was actually my goto image app on the s3 now that I think I about it....
The stutters and what not are definitely a little more pronounced on the maps app with the s4 than the s3 on the same
wifi network. Maybe it's the fact that the s4 is moving 2.5 times the pixels, maybe it's an early bug yet that will be fixed shortly,
maybe it's the way the snapdragon throttles the cpu too aggressively according to some thread I remember reading over or maybe I am just expecting too much buttery perfection
yeah just tried the ir blaster. 3 of my housemates were so seriously into watching the final episode of "top of the lake" about an hour ago and I was tempted to spoil the moment but I hadn't programmed the phone for that tv. oh well......
I've been skeptical of purchasing a samsung device because I don't generally fall for overly marketed items. That being said, I went ahead and pulled the trigger coming from HTC Rezound and I couldn't be happier about this device. It is no doubt a winner among users as long as you root and get rid of the bloat coming with it.
I love this phone... I mean love this phone, but had I not been having mad GPS problems with my S3 I would never have made this upgrade. It's just not a compelling upgrade over the S3, which is still an awesome phone. Most of the new features are very gimmicky. I have pretty much everything with the prefix "Smart" turned off and almost everything with the prefix "Air" turned off. The hovering trick is pretty much the only one I don't feel is a gimmick.
About Quickpic - that has been my go-to gallery app since the Thunderbolt but I actually like the S4 gallery better. The GUI is very slick and the hover image preview is actually useful.
I agree with a few of the topics covered coming from the S3
The screen is awesome, definitely noticeable to me, battery life seems to be up, GPS works perfectly, and the camera is pretty awesome; really like the wider angle on the front camera as well. Pretty motivational upgrade if you ask me..
However, I am noticing some UI lag, as mentioned maps as well as chrome. This could be that I was using cleanrom on the S3 and that rom is amazing! made the phone much snappier and fluid. Its out for the S4 now so will be giving it a try soon. Also apex launcher helped some.
and little things like the smaller notification led seems cheaper. the colors dont mix well. the power button isn't as clicky as Id hope for either.
I'm really happy with the battery life. My galaxy nexus went tops 4 hours on a charge. I can easily to 8 - 9 on this.
I have a lot of apps running that kill battery for me specifically Touchdown for work which It hink is one onf the biggest offendors. Maybe i should download gsam and follow it a little more closely.
I agree that the display is amazing, and the camera too, but the device seems no faster and radios no better.
From normal viewing distance, the display does not stand out either, but is better if you view closer. It is the size of the display that minimizes the higher def effectiveness.
I only have 6gb free on my S3 32gb, so do not see enough improvement to sacrifice the storage. I still want the S4, but only if a 32gb is ever released.
orangelight99 said:
Last thing, I bought this phone off contract at full price and my purchase experience at the verizon store was really bizarre. Of course they must make less money when someone buys it outright but the salesman was like," why do you want to upgrade from the s3??" ,"The battery might be a bit better than your used to but don't count on it."..."So you're gonna like play around with the screen "(in mocking tone cause I told him I was interested in the new display) . That place sucks and the one out in the surburbs was even worse. Like used car salesman or something...
. Anyone else have this kind of experience?????
best to yall.....
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Click to collapse
Haha, I got mine with a new contract (Coming from Sprint, never had Verizon before). When the guy asked me if I wanted the insurance for $199 and I told him no, he was straight-up BEWILDERED. He literally could not comprehend how in the world I would not want to pay $200 to replace my phone if I smashed it. And then he was like, "Well, let's go look at cases now," as if he had just assumed I would, of course, want a case. But I didn't want a case. He was so flabbergasted. His eyes went as wide as possible and he just stared at me for a good 10 seconds before saying, "What if you drop it? What then?!"
It was more funny than weird, to me. I've never bought insurance for any phone I've ever had, and I've never regretted it. I honestly could not tell if the guy was seriously just that crazy, or if it was just some really stupid sales technique that, of course, did not work on me.
Ayesuku said:
Haha, I got mine with a new contract (Coming from Sprint, never had Verizon before). When the guy asked me if I wanted the insurance for $199 and I told him no, he was straight-up BEWILDERED. He literally could not comprehend how in the world I would not want to pay $200 to replace my phone if I smashed it. And then he was like, "Well, let's go look at cases now," as if he had just assumed I would, of course, want a case. But I didn't want a case. He was so flabbergasted. His eyes went as wide as possible and he just stared at me for a good 10 seconds before saying, "What if you drop it? What then?!"
It was more funny than weird, to me. I've never bought insurance for any phone I've ever had, and I've never regretted it. I honestly could not tell if the guy was seriously just that crazy, or if it was just some really stupid sales technique that, of course, did not work on me.
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Click to collapse
Because one out of five people react to the bewildered face and get the insurance They ARE sales people, you know.
jimmiem said:
I love this phone... I mean love this phone, but had I not been having mad GPS problems with my S3 I would never have made this upgrade. It's just not a compelling upgrade over the S3, which is still an awesome phone. Most of the new features are very gimmicky. I have pretty much everything with the prefix "Smart" turned off and almost everything with the prefix "Air" turned off. The hovering trick is pretty much the only one I don't feel is a gimmick.
About Quickpic - that has been my go-to gallery app since the Thunderbolt but I actually like the S4 gallery better. The GUI is very slick and the hover image preview is actually useful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it possible to get quickpic to show the pics in internal memory without being rooted? I'm only seeing the pics on my SD card.
Super Sam Galaxy said:
I love the screen. It seemed a bit flickery (that's the best way I can describe it) for the first couple of days, but whatever was causing that (perhaps my imagination) has stopped.
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Click to collapse
When you saw the screen flicker, were you outside by any chance?
I have noticed that when I am inside then step out into direct sunlight, the screen flickers while it ramps up to full brightness, then it stabilizes.
mutelight said:
When you saw the screen flicker, were you outside by any chance?
I have noticed that when I am inside then step out into direct sunlight, the screen flickers while it ramps up to full brightness, then it stabilizes.
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Click to collapse
Actually, I hate to say it as I'm sure this will not help you diagnose any issues you may have been experiencing, but I don't think that I was. If I remember correctly it was mostly when I was in my apartment. I remember this because I have an overhead light that is florescent and I remember at least on one occasion wondering if that was what was flickering.
Sorry if that doesn't help.
Super Sam Galaxy said:
Actually, I hate to say it as I'm sure this will not help you diagnose any issues you may have been experiencing, but I don't think that I was. If I remember correctly it was mostly when I was in my apartment. I remember this because I have an overhead light that is florescent and I remember at least on one occasion wondering if that was what was flickering.
Sorry if that doesn't help.
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Click to collapse
Oh, no worries! The only time I have seen the screen flicker was under the scenario I described or if I look down at the display with a pair of my active shutter 3D glasses.
I can see the PenTile dithering in the display however, so my eyes are fairly sensitive.
mutelight said:
Oh, no worries! The only time I have seen the screen flicker was under the scenario I described or if I look down at the display with a pair of my active shutter 3D glasses.
I can see the PenTile dithering in the display however, so my eyes are fairly sensitive.
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Click to collapse
Oh, I see! Well I would assume in my case it was just the fluorescent lighting. My eyes are not all that sensitive, so I may not notice small flickers like that. The part that confused me is that it stopped! But I think that also suggests it's just the light, because sometimes they seem to flicker depending on how they are sitting, and if you tap them a bit they stop. Either that, or it actually was flickering, but to such an unnoticeable extent that I got used to it very quickly. It was one of those undefinable things where you feel like you saw it flicker but if you have to explain exactly what part flickered, you wouldn't really be able to.
elucid said:
Is it possible to get quickpic to show the pics in internal memory without being rooted? I'm only seeing the pics on my SD card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't install it because I like the S4 Gallery better. You should be able to, though. Just poke around in the settings and look for included folders.
Related
So I know there is a never ending stream of Nexus vs Rezound threads; so I apologize if this is redundant but for those of you considering switching or moving up to a 4g phone I thought maybe my experience would be of some interest.
I have had an HTC Incredible since launch. Love it especially after rooted and CM7 was added.
And frankly I would have kept it but I was just jealous of all the 4G action and thought the Nexus was going to be so great. Waited week after week, rumor to rumor. and picked it up the morning of Launch.
Almost immediately I was disappointed. Eventually I returned it (reasons below) and but I still wanted 4G and liked the Rezound but it was so thick (at least thats what I read) so I figured I would try the Rezound expecting that I wouldnt like it and I'd go back to the Dinc.
Well I was wrong - I really like the Rezound - it isnt too thick, in fact the GN is too thin (it is really awkward to hold) and it isnt too heavy. It feels frankly amazing in the hand. The way I would sum up my experience (so far) with the Rezound is that it is a super-sized 4G Dinc. And that is no way a knock - I loved the Dinc, think Gingerbread (I use Go Launcher) is terrific and really love the phone. Obviously the camera and sound is far better, and it is much more responsive But on the negative it is locked (so far), I havent figured out yet how to remove bloatware and most odd, alot of the good games I bought are not available for Rezound. so in short great phone with a few little nits
Here is why I got rid of Nexus:
1. UI is frankly terrible. I dont know who all these reviewers are. One of the things that I loved about Android (vs iOS) is Buttons. And ICs tries to eliminate this feature. It isnt so much the soft buttons (although they arent necessary) but it is the loss of the Menu/Options button and the Search button.
Its not like they could eliminate the options button (people complain that it isnt standard enough across apps, but I never found that anyway) instead it is more or less the same button, just placed in different spots all over the UI depending on the app - so f'ing annoying.
And they got rid of the search button - why - it is a great resource and replaced it with a button to show recently running apps. Why - was holding down the home button too complicated??? And the honeycomb screenshots are god awful.
Widgets in the tray - Why? What is more intuitive than pressing the screen and holding it where you want to add something. But that isnt it. You can only slide L/R in tray to go through apps and widgets. Well when you have to go through alot of apps or widgets this requires a million swipes. On every other android version you could just scroll real fast down and up and then stop in the vicinity of the app you wanted. Alas no scrolling option - asinine. and even if you only have a few apps, the widget tray will always have a ton of screens because it gives you a useless preview of each widget and therefore only can fit a few per screen. God help your thumb when you have a widget that begins with the letter Z.
In sum ICS is a disaster IMHO and I predict that when the Kool-aid wears off, reviewers will begin to admit this. (Just like what happened with Honeycomb btw)
2. the phone feels awful - it is too wide, too thin and too slippery. I like to go sans case - except for a screen protector, and there is zero doubt in my mind that the way the phone is, it will be dropped. It is thin in all the wrong places (overall in real life not really that much thinner than the Rezound but where you hold it it just doesnt fit my hand right. One handed typing is impossible and trying it will undoubtedly result in a dropped phone. I think this is a function of the width. Rezound is just the opposite - fits perfectly. case of thickness helps (...thats what she said)
3. battery life is horrific - 5 hours! Look I am an Android guy, I know Battery life is always an issue (seems like Ios 5.0 is joining us) and I am more than willing in fact happy to keep an extra battery in my wallet. But 5 hours really - that is insane. the biggest issue is that there is no way currently to toggle 4g off. On Wifi the thing has reasonable battery life (about 12 hours) but I am used to (and Rezound seems to be same as incredible) 24hrs on Wifi only. And at least on Rezound you can do a rough hack to make it run 3G only - which gets you back to reasonable battery) On the GN - nothing; so unless you are in a wifi area alot - you are looking at unacceptable battery life. Why dont the carriers put a clean toggle on the damn phones (even the rezound isnt a clean switch)
4. Apps dont run. Now this isnt necessarily the phones "fault" but some of my most used apps dont run right. Most distressing is that I listen to alot of podcasts and use Doggcatcher with Presto (to speed them up) - no go - with the screen off it cracks and pops and then eventually it crashes the entire phone. This isnt the only app with issues (although the only one I had that kills the phone) Dolphin didnt run (was updated today), WSJ app didnt run right, etc, etc.
5. No USB Mount - sorry but quick and easy mount is an android feature. MTP is a poor substitute (and took me like 1hr to even get working on my PC)
6. Then there are a few other annoying things I noted.
-wifi reception is very weak (compared to other phones and devices)
-Headphone jack on bottom? USB on bottom. Both placements are bad for me.
-The back plate is cheaply made but it doesnt feel that way - the problem is that when you take it off, getting it back on makes you feel like you will break it - and likely you will (HTC system isnt much better - but it is better)
-Cant shut off the camera shutter sound
-NFC is useless (Verizons fault to be sure but still)
-taskbar notifications are so small you cant see them (I'm not old)
Anyway there maybe a few other things but I think I hit all the points.
To sum it up. I love Android and it seems that (at least with the GN) most of the Android pluses have been killed or mangled with ICS and then put into ill suited hardware. So I am going back to the Android I love in a nice solid package - Rezound.
appreciate your take on the Nexus.
As far as a 3g/4g switch, I think its more complicated than that. There are more than one choice for 3g and 4g, especially with at&t getting lte now. Canada also has at&t. It would have to be device specific for a switch to work.
Now, it would be nice for the carriers to have this as their add on though.
I pretty much agree with you review. I too came from an AMOLED Incredible.
The Nexus feels ok without a case, but far to slippery. I bought the phone with an Incipio case, and that makes the phone feel too big. I like that I can use my Incredible with one hand. Have you compared the screens side by side? I actually like the Incredible's screen more. I find that on the Nexus, even slightly tilting it, a blueish tint shows. Reading text on what should be a completely white background isn't great either.
As far as apps from the market, I've had one that's a little buggy with the task switcher, and one that took a few days to work with ICS. ICS is still new, and I'm sure it'll be a little before it gets better, but I prefer CM7 over plain ICS.
The MTP thing sucks too. This is because we don't have a real sdcard. I tried to copy mp3s to a certain folder, and they ended up in an other folder automatically. So I have to manually move them from the phone itself after.
I don't expect awesome battery life from the Nexus, or the Rezound, but I get 2 full days out of my Incredible on the stock battery.
Not only do I find reception weak compared to my Inc, but in an area with good service, 3G is about half of what my Inc could do. Only plus is wifi file tranfer seems faster. I don't have 4G coverage yet.
I've played a little more with the Rezound, and even with a case on it, it doesn't feel that much bigger than an Incredible 2.
So I might trade for a Rezound, just have to get used to SLCD.
You're making some great points about ICS here. It scares me because these changes seem pretty broad and potentially hard to fix. I guess we will have to see what CyanogenMod eventually does with it.
It seems like the soft buttons were one of your primary concerns with ICS. I wonder... because the rezound still has its 'hard' placed soft buttons, if that will take care of the issue you are seeing with ICS and the gnex. I was also concerned that the complete removal of the buttons actually a hindered the usage, it looks like it does.
I think the rezound with ICS will , by design, solve some of the problems we are seeing with the gnex and ICS. I trust that HTC will do it right.
I agree with the 'too thin' feeling. I had the droid charge before the rezound, so i know the what you are talking about. I constantly dropped the charge for the very reasons you mentioned. too slippery, too thin, the backplate always felt like it was going to break.
I think its a samsung thing to make the phones feel like that..
did you get a chance to try out the GPS, that has been the one thing that has kept me away from samsung more than anything else. Their damn GPS is essentially useless. It takes forever to lock, IF it locks at all.. There were times when I was using the charge that I could not get to the place I was trying to get too becuase the GPS would simply not cooperate (and I had that GPS fix crap too.. worthless)
I owned 4 droid charges in the 5 months or so that I had it, and -ever- -single- -one- had the problems i mentioned.
A friend of mine has the samsung captivate and has the EXACT same complaints. My neighbor has a samsung windows phone (not sure what model), and she complains of much the same thing (hard to hold, cheap feeling) and her GPS is WORSE than mine!!!
Samsung makes great screens, and thats about it. The Gnex should have been made by HTC and then Id be all over it, but as it stands now.. I stay away from samsung devices, they just dont seem to have the same solid design as HTC or even (gasp) motorola
1. ICS is not a disaster, just because it is new does not make it bad. Yes missing a search button is bad but there are already mods out there to correct this. There are two separate sections of the app drawer and if you don't like it get a new launcher, simple as that. ICS will take some getting used to as it is integrating larger Tablets with our smaller phones, things aren't going to be as similar as they were between the older OS's.
2. I actually strongly disagree here, the phone feels amazing in my hand. It is .1 inches wider than the Rezound, I find it hard to believe that that makes a huge difference. Also, the back is textured so I don't get how you think it is too slippery. Just because it doesn't fit right in YOUR hand doesn't mean the device has a terrible design.
3. Not even going into this, you cannot tell a devices battery life in the first week of owning it, it takes time to get it even'd out. Also, the Nexus's battery is almost 10% bigger (In terms of MAh) while still keeping the slimmer profile.
4. Apps dont run. Now this isnt necessarily the phones "fault" but some of my most used apps dont run right. Most distressing is that I listen to alot of podcasts and use Doggcatcher with Presto (to speed them up) - no go - with the screen off it cracks and pops and then eventually it crashes the entire phone. This isnt the only app with issues (although the only one I had that kills the phone) Dolphin didnt run (was updated today), WSJ app didnt run right, etc, etc.
This is going to be the same thing with the Rezound when they update it to ICS. Get used to it until the Dev's start to update their apps. I understand the apps you use don't work on ICS, write the developer and tell them to get their ass in gear, as the Rezound will be getting ICS soon too.
5. No USB Mount - sorry but quick and easy mount is an android feature. MTP is a poor substitute (and took me like 1hr to even get working on my PC)
Can use my phone/USB card at the same time while copying stuff over. I like it. Also, it's plug and play so I don't get how it took you an hour to get it to work.
6:
6.A.Wifi is better than on my old HTC Device (Thunderbolt) but cannot compare to Rezound so you may be right.
6.B.Again another user preference, I prefer them there as it makes it easier to use the device while charging
6.C. Completely agree here, the Verizon rep almost broke my back plate off while putting it on, couldn't even watch while this was going on. Much better on HTC devices
6.D. Sure mods will take care of this
6.E. Just because YOU do not have a need for it doesn't mean other people don't. Used it probably 5 times in the 4 days of owning the device.
6.F. Fine for me, maybe you are?
Some phones just aren't for some people, glad you like your Rezound as it sounds like I am as happy as you but with my Nexus.
Just read someone talking about the useless GPS on the Nexus. Takes me at most 20 seconds to lock INSIDE. Couldn't even find satellites on my HTC phone while inside. Used it today for actual driving and it got me where I needed to go on a 45 minute drive through Pittsburgh.
I tried the GPS once. I let it follow my random driving. It seemed to do ok. I wouldn't say the on screen buttons hinder operation, but they can be inconsistent between apps as far as placement, or if they're hidden for full screen apps. The task/recent button should be configurable in some way. If I use a lot of apps, every single app I used is in that list, even after I closed it.
miketoasty said:
Just read someone talking about the useless GPS on the Nexus. Takes me at most 20 seconds to lock INSIDE. Couldn't even find satellites on my HTC phone while inside. Used it today for actual driving and it got me where I needed to go on a 45 minute drive through Pittsburgh.
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Click to collapse
not Useless GPS on the gnex, Useless GPS on samsung devices in general.
i know not all people have the same experiences with things. But you can google for Samsung GPS problems and find more articles on it than you can read.
My buddies captivate.. we can drive for 30 min across town and his phone will search for GPS signal the entire time. If we stop, and dont move for a few min, it will eventually lock, but when we start moving again, it drops.
Hes had 3 replacement captivates and they all do the same thing. I had the same exact problem with my Samsung charge, and my neighbor has the same problem with her winmo samsung phone.
Maybe the fixed it in the Gnex, I don't know. I don't have a gnex, all I do know is that all the Samsung phones I have seen and used have this problem, and it is corroborated by others all over the net.
the gnex might be a totally revolutionary device that has none of the problems of any other phone in the Samsung line. It might be that some people just have different tolerances for things that do or dont work.
for example, a friend of mine has the droid bionic, I look at his screen and it looks fuzzy and grainy and just.. ugly. He things it looks great, and cant stand the look of the rezound screen.
Really, all you can do is go with the masses for overall opinion, and then look at something yourself to make a true determination of what you do or don't like. Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one, and nobody ever wipes good enough
Toasty mike, it's that mans opinion. Why's your tone attacking him? Relax, you like it and he didn't.
Sent from a Rezound, crappie camera included.
miketoasty said:
Just read someone talking about the useless GPS on the Nexus. Takes me at most 20 seconds to lock INSIDE. Couldn't even find satellites on my HTC phone while inside. Used it today for actual driving and it got me where I needed to go on a 45 minute drive through Pittsburgh.
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Click to collapse
20? takes me less than 5 to pickup my signal INSIDE on my rezound.
blestsol said:
Toasty mike, it's that mans opinion. Why's your tone attacking him? Relax, you like it and he didn't.
Sent from a Rezound, crappie camera included.
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Click to collapse
If it was hostile I apologize, as I stated at the bottom (Sort of) it is his opinion and I am stating mine. Sorry to the OP, as always, different people have different opinions.
blestsol said:
Sent from a Rezound, crappie camera included.
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Click to collapse
you don't like the camera??
~John
jayochs said:
20? takes me less than 5 to pickup my signal INSIDE on my rezound.
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Vid or it didn't happen. Lol, jk. Somewhat stupid remark by me as everyone's "Inside" can be drastically different.
miketoasty said:
Vid or it didn't happen. Lol, jk. Somewhat stupid remark by me as everyone's "Inside" can be drastically different.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
videos are actaully a good idea
I might do that lol. im bored as hell on xmass break
jayochs said:
20? takes me less than 5 to pickup my signal INSIDE on my rezound.
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Click to collapse
yeah, I usually have a lock before the map app finishes opening...
jmorton10 said:
you don't like the camera??
~John
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Click to collapse
Nah, spoiled by my epic 4g touch.
OK i tested signal and GPS on my Rezound vs the G - Nexus... Here are the conditions and results.
First the GPS lock...
Rezound smoked the gNex, Although I did not measure the time I woudl say the Rezound caught GPS about 15 seconds faster. Not a whole lot. And if your trip is hindering on 15 seconds then you might as well call yourself late... But the Rezound WAS faster....
Next Speedtest.net 4G transfer rate
Once again the Rezound smoked the gNex. Not sure why but the gNex was stuck at 3 to 4megabit download and 3 meg up.
The Rezound was hitting 10 to 12 down and 4 up.
All in all the connectivity on the Rezound is notably better. Just my two cents...
To make it fair I leveled the playing field before I tested:
To test the Nexus I stood right next to a 4G tower
To test the Rezound, I dug 150 deep 12 by 12 whole in my bak yard and filled it with cement... Rezound somewhere in the middle of all that cement... Connected using a remote control app...
Ok maybe thats not entirely the test circumstances...
I was actually in a VZW store and had them side by side, lol
My only other Samsung GPS experience was with the Omnia. With VZ Nav, lock was almost instant, with Google maps, lock was anywherw from 5 min to never.
blestsol said:
Nah, spoiled by my epic 4g touch.
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Click to collapse
Hmm any sample pictures? Nvm I'll just google them derp.
Go here if you want to remove the bloat.
Super easy.
http://www.theandroidsoul.com/htc-rezound-bloatware-removal-tool-─-cleantool-1-1/
---------- Post added at 07:12 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:03 AM ----------
I like my rezound way better than my nexus.
But I think, from a software point, it's too early to compare the two. This is the first time for ICS. There are going to be a lot of things that need to be ironed out. Google is going to learn a lot from the release of the Nexus. So until these little idiosyncrasies get ironed out you're bound to have some hickups on the nexus.
And sitting here with these two phones I can fully say that the nexus is more a developer phone and the rezound is more a consumers phone.
The nexus is really great for those that want to get in deep with customizing, romming modding whatever you call it. Rezound, with its super high PPI screen and Beats (whether you think its a gimmick or not) was designed for people that like to do a lot of media on their phone and watch videos without that jersey shore orange skin tone that amoleds give you.
There are some things with the nexus I don't get. Like why it doesn't have an SDCard... and why they chose to go with the camera that they did. But whatever... it's not THAT bad of a phone (cheap feeling build aside).
Once there are some more updates to ICS I think the Nexus will come into its own. And those of us that own a Rezound should be thankful ICS is getting a good run on the Nexus before we get the OTA "early next year" (yeah right HTC...)
My contract is already up,and I have some questions about the note. For those of you using the note for a while. Is the note's size an issue or is it totally worth having even though the note is a very big phone? Screen quality how is it? Is it a fast phone? If you didn't have the note, would you buy it again? Call quality? I'm thinking about buying one tomorrow, and I wanted your input on the phone. Feel free to add any info that could be useful about the phone. Thanks guy's.
lildoggs said:
My contract is already up,and I have some questions about the note. For those of you using the note for a while. Is the note's size an issue or is it totally worth having even though the note is a very big phone? Screen quality how is it? Is it a fast phone? If you didn't have the note, would you buy it again? Call quality? I'm thinking about buying one tomorrow, and I wanted your input on the phone. Feel free to add any info that could be useful about the phone. Thanks guy's.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The size is really overblown on a lot of web reviews. It is comfortable to hold, fits into all of my pants pockets just fine, is really awesome when browsing the web, and the size allows for the larger battery.
I have had the Note for a month now and do no ever see myself returning to a smaller screen.
The resolution is beautiful, but there are some issues with gradients and dark scenes in movies so be sure to walk into a store when buying it so that you can run some tests on the phone they are going to sell you. There is a thread here about black clipping with a lot of great tests to try out. Some Notes are worse than others.
I love the call quality on the Note. The only downfall is that you really have to lower the volume while in a call unless you don't mind folks around you hearing it. The ear speaker is very loud.
As far as speed goes...that really depends on your phone. I have seen posts where people are experiencing lag even though I haven't personally experienced any of it.
I started off with the white Note, but returned it due to the soft keys having bad light bleeding at night. They can be turned off, but it bugged me so now I have the black/blue one.
Also, try out the stylus. I didn't realize it until I exchanged my Note, but the stylus on the first one was really laggy and unresponsive. I thought it just sucked until I got the second Note. It should be snappy and precise.
I am now running DAGr8's ICS rom and have turned the DPI down to 240. It really enhanced the phone by making the resolution smaller which in turn gives you more space for widgets, icons, etc.
lildoggs said:
My contract is already up,and I have some questions about the note. For those of you using the note for a while. Is the note's size an issue or is it totally worth having even though the note is a very big phone? Screen quality how is it? Is it a fast phone? If you didn't have the note, would you buy it again? Call quality? I'm thinking about buying one tomorrow, and I wanted your input on the phone. Feel free to add any info that could be useful about the phone. Thanks guy's.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes. The Note is large, yes, but very easy to hold and get used to due to how thin it is. Screen quality is unmatched by anything out there in my opinion. The combination of Gorilla Glass, Super AMOLED, and 720p resolution are really awesome. Some people say they have lag, but I have not had or used a faster Android device. Also, if you are in an LTE area, you get that awesome speed too. If I didn't have it, I would still be drooling over it. I got lucky and got it for half off, but if I hadn't, I would still be waiting a couple months until summer to buy it, which I definitely would again. Call quality is also great, and speakerphone is also loud and clear.
Now for the other things I highly commend the Note for. The SPen is awesome. You may think it's gimmicky, but you would be wrong. It's great for jotting down quick notes while on a call. Great for making funny captions on pictures before you send them. Great for navigating the phone. Great for Swyping with the tablet Swype beta. Great for taking screenshots. Also, we now have ICS, which brings some new and exciting features, my favorite being face unlock. I really can't recommend this phone enough. People may say, wait for the gs3 or one x, but I don't see the attraction. We already have ICS, and those other phones are small compared to the Note, and won't have the SPen. You may think the size is too big, but you get used to it really easy, and my nope had now ruined any smaller of a device. Also, battery life is the best I've experienced on any Android, besides the RAZR MAXX, but who wants a Moto phone anyways?
Really, the only way I would upgrade to another phone is when the Note 2 comes out. I don't have a single complaint, and this screen is killer.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk
To answer your questions.
Is the note's size an issue or is it totally worth having even though the note is a very big phone?
I came from a Streak, I'm a BIG guy and the phone sits well in my hands. My gf has freakishly small hands and she says it's too big for her hands, but loves the fact that she can put it into her purse and can easily find it. It does look silly holding up to your head and talking though.
Screen quality how is it?
Personally I think the screen quality is great for a 5.3" device. A lot of people are complaining about black crush (there's a good thread on it) and while it's there, personally it isn't enough to bug me, I've watched low res videos for a long time and it just doesn't bug me anymore.
Is it a fast phone?
A lot of people are complaining about lag on their phones and yes I can see it there from time to time but I run 2 RSS feed readers, 5 email accounts, 2 weather widgets, and quite a few other things. The device is speedy, I can play games like shadowgun without the hint of lag, when i tell the phone to do something it might think about it for an 1/16 of a second then away it goes. So is the phone fast? I say yes it is.
If you didn't have the note, would you buy it again?
In a heartbeat
Call quality?
I love it, it's clear and easy to hear people, except my gf, she has the original droid and that thing has a TERRIBLE mic and speaker. a lot of our fights have been caused by her phone . Again it does look silly when you hold it to your head, but I've never been one to shy away from looking silly.
In short, depending on what you want to do/replace with the phone I'd say buy it. I use mine to manage 100 servers and RDPing into them while on the move which it does a great job on. I can read docs on the go and pull up webpages to prove people wrong and they can read them without having to hold my phone.
Lastly, if you're in one of those great states that charge you tax on the full price of the phone (in this case 700 smackers), look for a Sam's Club. I bought my phone on release day from them for 260 and with tax it was under 300.
Thanks for posting these questions. I have my upgrade available later this month and I am strongly considering the Note.
What I want to know is, as far as anyone can tell, is there a color or build location that seems to have fewer problems overall? I have seen a few places that people seem to think the white ones are less laggy. There was some speculation that the China Notes have less black crush. I'm pretty color neutral on these. I just want to be able to look at the box and get a sense that the one they give me has a better chance of being issue free.
How in the hell would the color of the plastic around the phone affect performance? :what:
That's like painting flames on your car to make it go faster.
Black crush is fixed in ics
studacris said:
How in the hell would the color of the plastic around the phone affect performance? :what:
That's like painting flames on your car to make it go faster.
Black crush is fixed in ics
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First, Black Crush is not fixed in ICS, they just lowered the point of full black so it would appear better. The dropoff is still severe, but it is less noticeable. I don't own the device but I have been following these things very closely.
Second, I did not come up with the color thing. It is based off what I was reading. In this case it is not at all like painting flames and expecting something to go faster. They very well might come off different assembly lines with different QA and different physical runs of parts. I know its a longshot, but that is why I am asking if anyone can verify. I realize it is more likely that the Chinese vs. Korean Notes may exhibit some differences. Again, I am asking in the Q&A section to be sure.
knight4led said:
First, Black Crush is not fixed in ICS, they just lowered the point of full black so it would appear better. The dropoff is still severe, but it is less noticeable. I don't own the device but I have been following these things very closely.
Second, I did not come up with the color thing. It is based off what I was reading. In this case it is not at all like painting flames and expecting something to go faster. They very well might come off different assembly lines with different QA and different physical runs of parts. I know its a longshot, but that is why I am asking if anyone can verify. I realize it is more likely that the Chinese vs. Korean Notes may exhibit some differences. Again, I am asking in the Q&A section to be sure.
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Click to collapse
From what I've read the only issue that seems different between the white and black is the micro crack that people have in the white ones. It seems spread wide on who has a good one and who has a bad one. So to be fair I can understand where studacris is coming from on the color. As for the black crush, I can't say either way as I'm running completely stock non-rooted, but I'd imagine that if it's hardware related then no it wouldn't be fixed with ICS, if it's software related, other phones would be experiencing the same issue. Lastly I guess a good question would be who bought their phone where and if it's running poorly or not to see if there's a correlation with the batches.
Hey guy's thank-you for posting your opinions and thoughts about this phone. If you have anything else to post please do so and I'll be here checking out this thread as the day rolls on.
I had a Streak for over a year, and I wouldn't have replaced it with a device with a smaller screen. Think about what you do/want to do with your mobile device. If you mostly use it for talking on, than maybe the Note is not for you. But if you do a lot of email, Web surfing, navigation, playing games, etc. than after you've used a Note for a week you'll never want to use a smaller device again, and you'll wonder how you ever did before
I have a white one and my phone rarely shows any lag, and my quadrant scores ate just as high as anybody's...not that wouldn't means much, but people seem to obsess over it. There isn't any difference between the two except that micro crack thing, although I'm sure that could also be a problem with the black version. I say that, because a similar crack would be nearly impossible to see in black plastic. When I had my old iPhone 3g, I exchanged it multiple times due to the problem that they had with cracking around all of the ports, and it was really only visible with the white ones. I looked at multiple black ones that friends had, and they all had the cracks, but you basically had to look at them with a magnifying glass in the right light to see the cracks. Therefore, I think it may be the same case with the Note.
Really, I can't recommend this phone enough. I dare a manufacturer to try and top it, because that would be a hell of a feat in my eyes.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk
Because I promised
Quick background: I've had iPhones until earlier this year when i took the plunge and nabbed an Unlocked Galaxy Nexus GSM, Great phone, but some things with it I just couldnt get past (16gb of storage and the EH audio amplification...Also i want fond of 4.2 on it) which lead me to search for another phone, Tried the Galaxy S3 but was disappointed and returned it, And now about a weekish or so ago I got myself the One X+, So lets delve into my opinion on the device for anyone on the fence
First Impressions, Build, Ergonomics and Screen
The build of the One X+ is fantastic, Far better than the S3 or Galaxy Nexus, it feels nice solid and most importantly for a $200-on-contract smartphone, premium, The grippy texture to the finish makes it a delight to hold and I never feel like im going to drop the bloody thing at the drop of a hat, The Capacitive buttons are also in my opinion much nicer than the hard button on the S3 (One of the major stumbling blocks with the S3 was the fact i found that button WAY too hard to work) Though I think the Galaxy Nexus' on screen buttons are still the most elegant solution... If I had one little complaint in regards to the ergonomics its that the volume buttons sit flush and undefined on the chassis of the phone, which has taken me a bit to get used to, Id prefer them to be raised a bit, but its a minor complaint. Overall the fit and finish of the phone is the best of any other phone I've ever owned, it feels solid and like its going to hold up to 2 years of use
Moving on, the screen is one of the most important bits of ANY smartphone and the One X+ doesnt disappoint, its easily got the nicest screen I've ever seen on a smartphone (And i did LOVE the AMOLED on my GNex so thats high praise!) its big, its bright, colors are saturated and the black level is nothing to scoff at, Albeit not as inky black as an AMOLED, Text is sharp and easily readable as well, and unlike the AMOLED screen on my GNex it doesnt chug my battery flat, it also stays looking nice even at lower brightness levels, The multitouch on it works well and accurately... Other nice things are the nicely beveled edges at the screen which makes swiping, say to another page of the homescreen or to move icons from one screen to another, a real treat and the fact it stays pretty clean and comes clean easily (Its not a fingerprint magnet the way my iphone or the S3 was, The S3 was actually terrible because i couldnt clean the fingerprints off worth a darn...)
Sense/Software
This is my first experience with Sense and only the second Skinned android version I've used and I gotta say I'm in the group that likes Sense, I get the reasons folks dislike it, but I'm finding I actually prefer many aspects of it over stock Android, in particular I do like the messaging app on it which just seems to work a bit better than the one on my GNex, and I do rather like more than one of the widgets it comes with (The small 4x1 Weather + Clock widget for instance) but I do see how these things could drain the battery or processor... I like how it asked me after dismissing one tutorial if i wanted it to keep bringing tutorials up and when i said no it never brought up another one (Unlike Touchwiz which would NOT stop bringing up tutorials even after i told it to knock it off)
The music app has rapidly become my favorite music app, I just like it, I dont like Google Play Music and Doubletwist had its problems in my opinion (Namely it tended to mess up if someone sent me a text or called me and wouldnt resume playing until i completely exited it and reloaded it, Not to mention it did NOT play well with 4.2, also the random thing i had to toggle on and off a few times everytime i started played music or it just continued the same "random" assortment of songs from the last play through..) by comparison the Sense music app just works better, looks pretty attractive and is easy for me to navigate, Also the included ringtone maker is a VERY nice touch that removed the need to install an app to do so...
The phone and Calendar apps are also very very nice, far better than the stock Android counterparts.. I love how the lock screen works as well with only ONE complaint, I dont think theres a way to launch Google Now from the lock screen... (If you know a way please tell me)
Google Now is better than it was on the GNexus shockingly, it transcribes my voice a lot quicker and more accurately than my GNex ever did..
I pretty much disabled all the AT&T crapware on my One X+ as soon as I got it, and I recommend you do as well, I know from many reports here one of the apps will chew up your battery if you dont disable it so yeah, The only ATT App I have on there and use is the Visual Voicemail one, Beyond that theres a demo of Mass Effect Infiltrator installed which is actually nice, its a game I bought on a friend's iPad and while I liked the concept, their old iPad ran it like junk and i felt the game was more suited to a phone screen over a tablet, Im not sure I'll drop $3.99 to unlock the full version, but as a demonstration of what the Tegra 3 could do in terms of graphics I found it a lovely demonstration
The stock browser is pretty nice as well and supports flash, Performance on it is VERY good, Seems on par with my Flash-browser of choice on my GNex (Dolphin) theres a really stupid and annoying toolbar enabled by default but 5 seconds in the settings menu banishes it to nothingness, Of course for non-flash sites I use Chrome, but the stock browser is the nicest stock browser I've ever used
About the only complaint i can throw at Sense is the keyboard, Which is pretty bad for me personally, Lots of typing errors and problems... But to be honest thats a minor complaint given how many alternate keyboards there are for Android
Performance
Performance wise this phone is a powerhouse, I have not had any issues with it stuttering, slowing down or anything no matter how hard i push it, No games have had noticable framerate problems (The GNex had problems with a couple games I played) the interface works smooth and buttery and it definitely feels like the most powerful Android device I've owned, Flash works smooth and buttery and gives me no issues as well which is VERY nice
Gaming I havnt found a single game it cant run perfectly(Albeit, i havnt done TOO much gaming on it)
As for other performance, the radio and antenna seem to be excellent, Unlike the S3 my One X+ doesnt hop on and off between HSPA+ and LTE every 2 seconds schizophrenically (Which made my S3 lose 20% of its battery in a 20 minute long errand and signalled the final nail in the coffin that lead me to return it), My One X+ hasnt lost connection even when I've taken it to the places I know have poor coverage so I'm quite happy with that bit of it
LTE performance will vary on your area but I get around 8mbps in my house (Which is 2-bar bordering the edge of LTE territory) to a high of 36mbps i got when i was out of the house at a 4-bar LTE location, Which is certainly nothing to scoff about, Wi-Fi works well for me, and I've yet to notice any problems with my Wi-Fi dropping at night or when its been locked for a long time like other users have reported...
Call quality is excellent, People are loud and clear, The speakerphone is also the first one i've found i can actually USE in a car and hear the person...
Camera
I'm the worst person to ask about camera quality on smartphones, For what I use them for even the "Bad" Galaxy Nexus camera was great for me, I carry my EOS 7D with me just about everywhere so if I want to take a nice picture I will pull that out instead..
That said, the cameras are very nice, I love how responsive it is with pretty much no shutter lag, it focuses quickly and very accurately and tends to do a good job with exposure as well, Photos have a good amount of detail to them and skintones are rendered pleasingly, Theres plenty of artsy filters if thats your thing as well, Only complaint is the focal length of the front facing camera seems a bit long for a self portrait, i have more problems framing it than with other smartphones I've owned, But the quality is also far superior to the other phones I've had
The stock sound effects for it are REALLY FREAKING ANNOYING however
Audio Quality
Obviously one big reason I picked up the One X+ was to get something with better audio quality than the GNex, The GNex isnt THAT shabby, but it does lack "oomph" and struggled to drive even my mobile headphones (I had to have it cranked to 100% all the time to get them decently audible and even then it was eh...) Volume+ helped a bit but 4.2 broke Volume+ leaving me in a bit of a rut...I also personally felt it made the phone sound "Strained" at times to deliver the volume i desired... The external speaker was also frequently barely audible, I usually heard the phone vibrating over the actual ringer...
Thankfully the One X+ is worlds apart from the GNex in that department, The external speaker is LOUD and easily heard, its also of surprisingly good quality and is actually one of the best little built in speakers I've heard, it also has a good amount of "depth" to it and renders low frequencies admirably for what it is, Overall the external speaker impressed me
But that pales in comparison to the headphone output, Which has simply left my jaw on the floor and exceeded my expectations, the headphone output is easily the best I've heard of any smartphone or MP3 player I've owned, it has exceptional clarity and detail to it with or without the Beats optimizations on... Speaking of those optimizations I was actually shocked I liked them and I did find they made a very noticeable difference in the output quality, Now note... they are simply a set of equalization curves they may not work for everyone due to differences in music and headphones... but in my case they've worked well and further enhance the music and video watching experience
For the record I've tried my One X+ with three sets of headphones, a set of Shure IEMs, a pair of Klipsch Image Ones and a pair of Sennheiser HD280s, Only the HD280s gave it a bit of trouble... they still sounded good, albeit not to their full potential (For the record the HD280s are a set of cans that REALLY need something meatier than a smartphone to drive them..) My primary music listening is Rock and Metal, with a bit of electronic, pop and other things thrown in there for good measure, So far I havnt found anything that the One X+ doesnt excel at playing back
Oh and the headphone output will also go VERY loud, I dont even turn it up past halfway except with a couple very low volume songs i have...
Battery Life
And now onto the massive elephant in the room whenever folks talk about the One X+... Battery life... The best way I've found it is "Jekyll and Hyde"... Let me explain
Use the phone normally, for phone calls, text messaging, maybe reading a webpage or checking email and the battery life is superb, Even some light gaming, like a little Cut The Rope or some such and the battery is VERY good and should easily get most folks through a day, Even watching a youtube video or two, either using the Youtube app or the stock browser and desktop youtube website doesnt excessively drain the battery...
....But fire up say, Mass Effect Infiltrator and watch your battery life burn...
Which seems very "No crumb sherlock" but it was definitely surprising to me after coming from the Galaxy Nexus where the screen, not the processor, was the worst offender to my battery life, Which simply means it didnt much matter what i did on the GNex if it involved the screen, the battery was going to drain at the same rate
Truthfully in my experience, the One X+ is as good as the S3 I had, Primarily because of that aforementioned issue the S3 had with staying connected to a tower, Its actually equal to my GNex's stock battery as well, which is very impressive considering this phone is packing LTE and a Quad Core processor in its svelte package
In terms of numbers, according to GSam my average battery life is 14h 40m, The most I've run it for was 16h with almost 3 hours of screen on time, To me, this is perfectly fine considering the rest of the phone and for most folks, you should easily be able to get through the day without a problem, I am connected to Wi-Fi pretty much all day, but even using LTE didnt seem to impact the battery life all that much...
Now a note, I dont really try for battery saving either... I have my phone syncing to gmail, syncing to google now, location services on, GPS on, i have that little weather widget thingy i mentioned up above on too which uses battery.. Screen is fixed at 33% brightness.. I just use it, like i usually use it, so a mixture of a bunch of things depending on what im doing that day...
One nice thing I also noticed is unlike the GNex, when the battery hits 20% its not a panic moment, 20% on my GNex meant "Find a charger in 20 minutes or im dead, Jim", on my One X+ 20% means i still have a few hours left and theres no need to rush... Which is nice, I had to buy an extended battery for my GNex, for this? I dont really feel I need one (I might get a battery case however)
Do I wish it had a 3500mah battery? Of course, But it doesnt, and thats fine, For me its an acceptable sacrifice
Quick Comparison To Other Phones For AT&T and Why I Didnt Buy Them
Galaxy S3, I technically actually bought one of these and returned it, theoretically it has better battery life, but only a dual core phone, also it runs TouchWiz which i found naggy annoying and way too like iOS for my tastes, it has a MicroSD slot, but that just adds an extra $20 to the price tag to get a 32gb card (and if you want 64gb you're looking at an extra $60 to that price tag) , not built as well and ergonomically it was a pain in my hand and i constantly felt i was about to drop the dumb thing when i was using it, in my case the battery life was completely atrocious because it could NOT hang onto a signal and would scizophrenically bop between HSPA and LTE every 2 seconds which made doing things on it virtually impossible, I also didnt feel it was all that fast over the GNex running 4.1 (At the time however, the S3 only had 4.0 so.. I guess this isnt entirely fair) Also I feel the blue color looks like someone colored it with a Bic pen... Really my ownership of the S3 went from initial jubilation over a brand new shiny smartphone to finding problem after problem before i even got home with the darned thing...
Galaxy Note II, Bigger screen, bigger battery, cool S Pen features, but it runs TouchWiz which I consider worse than Sense and the ergonomic problems I had with the S3 are even worse because of it, its also a bit too big to fit in my pocket comfortably and I was way too worried Id end up dropping it, I tried it out in the store even and it just wasnt comfortable for me, and a bunch of the things i just rattled off about the S3 are likely true about the Note as well... So yeah
LG Nexus 4, Better processor, stock Android 4.2, better battery life (I think?) and a great price ($350 no contract) however it only has, at best, 16gb of storage and that just wasnt working for me as it was, Plus theres no LTE on it as well which is a negative when you have LTE available where you live
Summary/TL;DR
Overall the One X+ is easily my favorite smartphone on the market right now, I'm immensely happy with my purchase and I dont see another phone I'd rather have right now, it would be my number one recommendation to anyone looking at a phone on AT&T, it just has a great combination of features and in my opinion the only real big drawback is the so-so battery life, But even then I'd call the battery life "Average" and not bad, The only phone I've seen with truely spectacular battery life is the Droid Razr Maxx HD.. Which isnt available on AT&T... Personally I can live with the battery life, Im never too far from an outlet and even if i was, the phone seems to do just as good as most of the other smartphones I've owned, I've tried so hard to find little problems with it and honestly, I gave up, I'm really not having problems with it (Well except the bloody keyboard..) and just constantly finding new things to love about it...
The only reason I'd caution against it for some folks would be if they were really intending to play intense 3D games on the thing constantly, Because thats going to murder your battery stupidly fast... And people who do need VERY good battery life are best looking at a different phone as well, or considering a battery case for it...
I gotta give it to you, Kenji, that's like one of those high-end-in-depth reviews one would read from many of tech sites...nicely approached and couldn't find many typos I'm sure people looking to buy 1X+ Will find it helpful, thanks, as you promised
Sent from my HTC One X+ using Tapatalk 2
Dottcent said:
I gotta give it to you, Kenji, that's like one of those high-end-in-depth reviews one would read from many of tech sites...nicely approached and couldn't find many typos I'm sure people looking to buy 1X+ Will find it helpful, thanks, as you promised
Sent from my HTC One X+ using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you, I do my best, I was worried it was WAY too long but I wanted to be as complete as possible and make sure I mentioned everything I could think of
I was also concerned I was going to catch flak for railing on the S3 and Galaxy Nexus
KenjiS said:
Thank you, I do my best, I was worried it was WAY too long but I wanted to be as complete as possible and make sure I mentioned everything I could think of
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Click to collapse
I'd say 99% of us enjoy reading positive reviews of our fave devices, so the longer the read and more in-depth info the better.
KenjiS said:
I was also concerned I was going to catch flak for railing on the S3 and Galaxy Nexus
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Click to collapse
You posted in the right device thread so you'll only get positive criticism here
Sent from my HTC One X+ using xda premium
I found the radio in the SGS3 to be pretty poor myself. HTC seems to make phones that can catch and hold a signal when you're out in the boonies and I've only found Motorola radios to be better. And the better it can keep a signal, the less battery you loose so all the better!
As for dumping on the SGS3 and the Note 2, you are preaching to the choir here Kenji, but your review puts it through the same paces as the bigger tech blogs. We like our HOX+ here and, while you can always argue for the Samsung phones because they are good in many ways, they're just not "right" for folks like me.
Thanks guys
I'm kinda regretting not applying when one of the Android blogs recently put up a Google+ Post saying they were looking for writers
As a side note, I installed Swiftkey, I'm enjoying it, though im really not used to auto correction (It DOES work very well in this instance because its learning some of the stuff i type)
Second note is that today's battery life is currently at 2.5 hours screen on, 13 hours 18 minutes total, 17% left (Roughly another 2-3 hours standby/light usage for me) I really have to say the battery life is not atrocious and thats more than enough to last me the day obviously (Took it off the plug at 9:30 this morning, its now almost 11 at night..) That included some Radiant Defense in there (Not the most demanding game, but i enjoy it! Its a shame Neon Defense which was my favorite now doesn't function 100% right because OpenFeint is no more... At least thats what im assuming is the problem...)
I wonder if my lack of using Facebook/Twitter on my phone is why im getting such great battery life..
Anyways, my only debate is to sell my Galaxy Nexus (Which likely will cover what i paid for my One X+) or keep it around as a modding toy...
Now this is me being VERY bad with my battery:
Basically nothing but Youtube and PlagueInc for 3.75 hours.. Not really sure how many other phones would beat this (Even my GNex with the extended battery might, MIGHT have gone to 5 or 6 doing this, but still, Thats with a 3500mah extended..)
I buy a lot of devices and I almost always find something I don't like about one and move on. I did all of my research and watched every video available and honestly thought I was prepared for the size of this thing. I have a Lumia 1520 and briefly had a Mega, so I'm no stranger to larger phones.
Size - When I first opened the box and saw how gigantic it was in person, I thought "I have made a terrible mistake". However, after taking it out of the box and using it for a few days, I couldn't be more wrong. I'm not sure if it's the thinness or the weight, but it just doesn't feel as cumbersome as I expected. I really enjoy the screen real estate and it actually feels nice in the hand, more so because the sides are squared off and not rounded. The Lumia 1520 never felt right in my hand.
Screen- I know it's probably just me, but the screen looks a little washed out. It gives me much the same impression that the Nexus 5 did before I sent it back. When I use it on its own for a while, it looks nice, and I'm sure it's color accurate, but there are times when it just doesn't look good to me. I think it's the AMOLED effect, coming from oversaturated screens like the Note 3, Moto X, and LG G2, but I guess I'm a sucker for saturation. I also find the brightness to be a little on the low side. Much like the LG G2, I feel like I have to have it at around 80% for it to look right to me. On a better note, I was expecting the shatterproof film to bother me, but it doesn't.
Camera - I was prepared for the disappointment that is the camera on this device. Just about every review panned it. I love the camera features, but the image quality does leave something to be desired, even in daylight. I have tried all kinds of manual settings and lighting conditions. It's still a passable camera, but I can't help but feel that I'm missing out on better photos when I use it. It's probably my one biggest gripe with this phone. I found a flash diode you can install in the headphone jack for low light shots, but since photos aren't that much better in daylight, I doubt it would make much difference. I wish they had at least included the 13mp camera from the Xperia Z.
Overall, despite the negatives (for me) listed above, I really like this device overall. I like it way more than I thought I would. I'm still fighting battery life a little and trying to figure out how to use Stamina mode to best benefit, but I don't regret my purchase at all. I'm pretty sure I'll be keeping it and my next project is to find a nice clear case that shows off the beautiful purple back.
Congrats and welcome!
Regarding the battery, it'll get better after a couple of cycles (typically around a week). Stamina helps a fair bit with the standby time, so be sure to not whitelist everything, or else there won't be any reason to use it. I'm on the GPe ROM now (Google Play Edition), but when I run the stock ROM, I only whitelist important stuff like Gmail, Pushbullet etc. You may want to whitelist your IM app of choice too, but keep in mind that they all use a lot of battery.
Sent from my C6806_GPe using Tapatalk
LordManhattan said:
Congrats and welcome!
Regarding the battery, it'll get better after a couple of cycles (typically around a week). Stamina helps a fair bit with the standby time, so be sure to not whitelist everything, or else there won't be any reason to use it. I'm on the GPe ROM now (Google Play Edition), but when I run the stock ROM, I only whitelist important stuff like Gmail, Pushbullet etc. You may want to whitelist your IM app of choice too, but keep in mind that they all use a lot of battery.
Sent from my C6806_GPe using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! Yeah, I only whitelisted a few (Gmail, Telegram, etc), but it still seems to be draining a bit much on standby. Exchange services seems to be partly to blame. I have 2 exchange accounts set up on push and I'm seeing around 8% drain from Exchange Services. While not much, it typically doesn't show up on the battery stats of any of my other phones, so I'm not sure if it's a bug or what.
greyhulk said:
Thanks! Yeah, I only whitelisted a few (Gmail, Telegram, etc), but it still seems to be draining a bit much on standby. Exchange services seems to be partly to blame. I have 2 exchange accounts set up on push and I'm seeing around 8% drain from Exchange Services. While not much, it typically doesn't show up on the battery stats of any of my other phones, so I'm not sure if it's a bug or what.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm, that might be something.. or not. It's a little early to tell. You should get fairly good battery life though, so keep an eye on it. You should get between 5 and 8 hours of screen time depending on usage, but your battery is brand new, so it'll get better in a few days.
Sent from my C6806_GPe using Tapatalk
greyhulk said:
I buy a lot of devices and I almost always find something I don't like about one and move on. I did all of my research and watched every video available and honestly thought I was prepared for the size of this thing. I have a Lumia 1520 and briefly had a Mega, so I'm no stranger to larger phones.
Size - When I first opened the box and saw how gigantic it was in person, I thought "I have made a terrible mistake". However, after taking it out of the box and using it for a few days, I couldn't be more wrong. I'm not sure if it's the thinness or the weight, but it just doesn't feel as cumbersome as I expected. I really enjoy the screen real estate and it actually feels nice in the hand, more so because the sides are squared off and not rounded. The Lumia 1520 never felt right in my hand.
Screen- I know it's probably just me, but the screen looks a little washed out. It gives me much the same impression that the Nexus 5 did before I sent it back. When I use it on its own for a while, it looks nice, and I'm sure it's color accurate, but there are times when it just doesn't look good to me. I think it's the AMOLED effect, coming from oversaturated screens like the Note 3, Moto X, and LG G2, but I guess I'm a sucker for saturation. I also find the brightness to be a little on the low side. Much like the LG G2, I feel like I have to have it at around 80% for it to look right to me. On a better note, I was expecting the shatterproof film to bother me, but it doesn't.
Camera - I was prepared for the disappointment that is the camera on this device. Just about every review panned it. I love the camera features, but the image quality does leave something to be desired, even in daylight. I have tried all kinds of manual settings and lighting conditions. It's still a passable camera, but I can't help but feel that I'm missing out on better photos when I use it. It's probably my one biggest gripe with this phone. I found a flash diode you can install in the headphone jack for low light shots, but since photos aren't that much better in daylight, I doubt it would make much difference. I wish they had at least included the 13mp camera from the Xperia Z.
Overall, despite the negatives (for me) listed above, I really like this device overall. I like it way more than I thought I would. I'm still fighting battery life a little and trying to figure out how to use Stamina mode to best benefit, but I don't regret my purchase at all. I'm pretty sure I'll be keeping it and my next project is to find a nice clear case that shows off the beautiful purple back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Usually my target time is 2.5-3 hours of screen time when battery reaches 50%. That is without gaming.
Sent from my C6802 using xda app-developers app
hansip87 said:
Usually my target time is 2.5-3 hours of screen time when battery reaches 50%. That is without gaming.
Sent from my C6802 using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
I think the office I work in is what kills my battery. Seems to be consistent throughout most of my devices. Might be a reception issue, even though I'm usually on Wifi. I also removed my Exchange accounts and now battery life seems to be better. I added one back to day and Exchange Services has yet to show back up in my battery stats.
I'm still really impressed with this device. I still really want a Z2, but this thing kicks way more ass than I thought it would and I'm really digging the size more than I expected.
greyhulk said:
I think the office I work in is what kills my battery. Seems to be consistent throughout most of my devices. Might be a reception issue, even though I'm usually on Wifi. I also removed my Exchange accounts and now battery life seems to be better. I added one back to day and Exchange Services has yet to show back up in my battery stats.
I'm still really impressed with this device. I still really want a Z2, but this thing kicks way more ass than I thought it would and I'm really digging the size more than I expected.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You may want to try and kick it into 2G mode while you're at work? You're on WiFi at work, so you don't need 4G speeds, and 2G is basically everywhere - while 4G is not, so you'll probably get great reception. I don't know where you are located though, but i'm guessing some place within the US?
LordManhattan said:
You may want to try and kick it into 2G mode while you're at work? You're on WiFi at work, so you don't need 4G speeds, and 2G is basically everywhere - while 4G is not, so you'll probably get great reception. I don't know where you are located though, but i'm guessing some place within the US?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm in Texas. I actually get great reception here, but the building I work in seems to block the signal pretty bad. Almost every phone I have used here seems to struggle with a signal (slow download speed) inside the office. I was kind of hoping that the Stamina mode would help with that, since it doesn't allow the data connection when the screen is off.
Is there an easy way to bump it down to HSPA+, or is it a code in the phone menu?
Go to Settings -> More... -> Mobile networks and see if there are any better options in there. Or I guess you'll have to quit your job. It's the only logic thing to do.
Sent from my C6806_GPe using Tapatalk
LordManhattan said:
Go to Settings -> More... -> Mobile networks and see if there are any better options in there. Or I guess you'll have to quit your job. It's the only logic thing to do.
Sent from my C6806_GPe using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hahahaha! Option B all the way! :highfive:
I just got my Z Ultra on Friday. I bought the Google Play Edition from the Play Store and I'm absolutely blown away by this phone after using it for the last few days. The screen is gorgeous, stock Android screams on that hardware, and it's just HUGE. I've always liked big phones, plus I have big hands, so the size doesn't bother me at all. So far, my biggest complaint is that the headphone jack is on the side. Kinda makes it annoying when I'm out on a walk and have the phone in my pocket. Minor complaint, though. I also don't like the fact that I had to use a toothpick to get the SIM card tray out when I took it out of the box.
I'm not sure how fast the retail variants are with Sony's Timescape UI, but man, I've never seen stock Android run so fast in my life. This phone was worth every penny. I do believe this will be the one that finally gets me away from my Google Play Edition Galaxy S4 that I've been using as a daily driver for the last ~6 months. So far, so good. I know that Sony phones are wildly popular in Europe, Australia and Japan, but they have almost no presence in the US market. Because of that, this is my first introduction to Sony's mobile products, and it's left me with a very good first impression. The Z Ultra certainly isn't for everyone, but I'd recommend this thing to anyone who loves big phones.
greyhulk said:
I buy a lot of devices and I almost always find something I don't like about one and move on. I did all of my research and watched every video available and honestly thought I was prepared for the size of this thing. I have a Lumia 1520 and briefly had a Mega, so I'm no stranger to larger phones.
Size - When I first opened the box and saw how gigantic it was in person, I thought "I have made a terrible mistake". However, after taking it out of the box and using it for a few days, I couldn't be more wrong. I'm not sure if it's the thinness or the weight, but it just doesn't feel as cumbersome as I expected. I really enjoy the screen real estate and it actually feels nice in the hand, more so because the sides are squared off and not rounded. The Lumia 1520 never felt right in my hand.
Screen- I know it's probably just me, but the screen looks a little washed out. It gives me much the same impression that the Nexus 5 did before I sent it back. When I use it on its own for a while, it looks nice, and I'm sure it's color accurate, but there are times when it just doesn't look good to me. I think it's the AMOLED effect, coming from oversaturated screens like the Note 3, Moto X, and LG G2, but I guess I'm a sucker for saturation. I also find the brightness to be a little on the low side. Much like the LG G2, I feel like I have to have it at around 80% for it to look right to me. On a better note, I was expecting the shatterproof film to bother me, but it doesn't.
Camera - I was prepared for the disappointment that is the camera on this device. Just about every review panned it. I love the camera features, but the image quality does leave something to be desired, even in daylight. I have tried all kinds of manual settings and lighting conditions. It's still a passable camera, but I can't help but feel that I'm missing out on better photos when I use it. It's probably my one biggest gripe with this phone. I found a flash diode you can install in the headphone jack for low light shots, but since photos aren't that much better in daylight, I doubt it would make much difference. I wish they had at least included the 13mp camera from the Xperia Z.
Overall, despite the negatives (for me) listed above, I really like this device overall. I like it way more than I thought I would. I'm still fighting battery life a little and trying to figure out how to use Stamina mode to best benefit, but I don't regret my purchase at all. I'm pretty sure I'll be keeping it and my next project is to find a nice clear case that shows off the beautiful purple back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what is the biggest difference you find switching from 1520 to ZU?
I have ZU and always been curious to try out 1520..
i welcome your thoughts on the ecosystem switch experience
corrado85 said:
what is the biggest difference you find switching from 1520 to ZU?
I have ZU and always been curious to try out 1520..
i welcome your thoughts on the ecosystem switch experience
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i also bought a xperia z ultra from a guy and it has doa issue and i can't fix it,tried with all ftf's and not working same error with screen,but i'm loving my xperia it's the best.
I'm mostly excited about the screen. Hoping for the best with the battery.
On a side note: I'm tired of fake bidders on ebay bidding my S5 up to silly high prices.
J3ff said:
I'm mostly excited about the screen. Hoping for the best with the battery.
On a side note: I'm tired of fake bidders on ebay bidding my S5 up to silly high prices.
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Click to collapse
Well the section seems pretty nice so far. Not a lot of posts though. I hope it gets better over time.
It will. Especially since only a handful of people have the device. When everyone gets it this place will blow up
Sent from my VS985 4G using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
jreed2560 said:
It will. Especially since only a handful of people have the device. When everyone gets it this place will blow up
Sent from my VS985 4G using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just thinking about tomorrow...
Mine just delivered to my company!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
mediumraresteak said:
Mine just delivered to my company!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
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Click to collapse
Nice - be sure and come back and tell us about it!
J3ff said:
I'm mostly excited about the screen. Hoping for the best with the battery.
On a side note: I'm tired of fake bidders on ebay bidding my S5 up to silly high prices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually find the display on the S5 a lot better. More contrast and brightness with less battery use compared to the G3. G3 display looks dim unless cranked above 80% brightness. S5 only needs 40% to look the same and this is due to the power need of Qhd.
One big trump though is the G3 has twice the app storage. If "forced" to pick, the storage has the edge for me on the G3, but I do not find the Qhd display as a positive reason to buy. Would have preferred a great 1080p display for better contrast, brightness and more battery life.
Spent three hours with the G3 and besides the design, the biggest thing for me is the full screen mode and how it manages the display nav bar. MUCH better than any previous device besides the similar UI design of the G2. LG did a GREAT job mitigating Google's stupid display nav bar from taking space.
rushless said:
I actually find the display on the S5 a lot better. More contrast and brightness with less battery use compared to the G3. G3 display looks dim unless cranked above 80% brightness. S5 only needs 40% to look the same and this is due to the power need of Qhd.
One big trump though is the G3 has twice the app storage. If "forced" to pick, the storage has the edge for me on the G3, but I do not find the Qhd display as a positive reason to buy. Would have preferred a great 1080p display for better contrast, brightness and more battery life.
Spent three hours with the G3 and besides the design, the biggest thing for me is the full screen mode and how it manages the display nav bar. MUCH better than any previous device besides the similar UI design of the G2. LG did a GREAT job mitigating Google's stupid display nav bar from taking space.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Meh, I run mine at 100% all the time.. as long as it charges wireless we'll be all good.
So far really liking it :good:
Very light, screen brightness is not an issue indoors next to a large sliding glass door, haven't tried direct sunlight yet. Battery drained pretty quickly from from 50% to 10% but I was on the phone for about an hour and installing a bunch of apps over wi-fi, hopefully that improves with a few battery cycles.
phone is much nicer and smoother then I thought it would be. these forums made me very nervous to get it but i am glad i made the jump. I love the bigger screen compared to my m8. i can even see the screen outside. lol
How would you say the sound compares shawnten to your M8? Good to know you can see outside, alot of reviews had me nervous about getting.
tia
So I've been playing with the phone for a good 4 hours or so. Let me tell you this screen will spoil your eyes (in a good way). I'm upgrading from a GS3 so I don't know if it is as big a jump for those of you with a 1080p screen, but I just happened to turn on my old phone and man what a difference!
For those of you who have been playing with your G3's for a while, go back and take a look at your old phone really quick. it will really make you appreciate this screen.
I remember getting the same feeling with my retina macbook pro. yeah it looks pretty nice when you start using it, not a huge deal. But after using it for a week and getting used to it, if you go back to 1440x900 laptop it hurts to look at something so low res.
I preordered this phone and then began regretting it after reading people's issues with the screen, battery life, hissing noises through headphones, and auxiliary problems.
I'm glad I didn't back out. I've been constantly playing with this thing and I'm over 8 hours from a full charge and am at 35%. Coming from a pitiful gnex battery life, I'm thrilled.
The screen is gorgeous. No halo effect like others have said. Brightness is not an issue at all.
The sound through my headphones is really good. I wish it had a better built in equalizer, but I can deal with that. Absolutely no hissing sound in the left channel as others noted. I used the Bluetooth through a vehicle with no hitch and tried and aux cable I had without any problems either.
This is only day 1, but I'm seriously impressed by how simple this thing works.
Wife went into the Verizon store while I was at work, and picked up two LG G3s to replace our Galaxy S 3's.
Just finished rooting with IO Root, installing Titanium, and giving this thing a whirl.
So far, I'm really loving the screen and the feel and size of the phone. No heat issues here. I've seen a little UI lag here and there, but that's only because I'm LOOKING for it. Intend to throw on Nova Launcher anyway, so that doesn't bother me.
Looking forward to spending the rest of the evening, getting this bugger set up. No regrets so far!
I ordered mine Monday. Got an email Tuesday afternoon saying they were shipped (1 each for the wife & I). Verizon shipped them earlier than the 7/17 date they had advertised AND upgraded everyone to next day, instead of 2 day shipping(supposedly). Got it at 6pm yesterday(Wednesday). Worked night shift last night so I was tinkering with it all night and all I can say is WOW! Amazing phone. Haven't experienced any lag or the other issues that have been reported. Screen is brilliant. I watched this week's episode of Last Ship and it's night and day compared to my former Note 2. Crisp resolution, brilliant colors. Just perfect.
The camera's pictures come out as if you were looking at the actual scene with your own eyes.
Love the form factor. It's screen is as big as the Note 2 yet it's nearly a 1/4" smaller on all 4 sides. Can't wait to get it in a case though. I'm babying it like it were a crystal vase. When you work in a plant environment, double layer protection is a necessity.
Lastly... Verizon's network is STRONG! Never had speeds like this on Sprint 4G (Sprint let us out of our contract because the new house I moved to 6 months ago is in what Sprint calls a "fringe zone" between two towers and I couldn't get reliable service at all) . First thing I did was run some speed tests in my house. Got anywhere from 36-48mbps in 5 tests in a 10 minutes window. My charter Internet wifi was averaging 15-22mbps in that same time. The last tests I ran on my Sprint service yesterday was . 09mbps. Unreal!
Very happy with my choice of the G3.
First Impressions...
Due to the larger size, it feels immensely lighter than the S4 I am coming from. However, I thought the same thing when I moved from my Bionic to the S4, so no big deal. As someone stated earlier, after playing with it for a few hours, a quick glance back to my S4 is amusing. The difference in size, especially in terms of text, is painfully obvious. While the screen is not as bright as my old device, I appreciate the relatively natural color representation as opposed to Samsung's general explosion of color. Dropped all the animations down to .5x and switched over to ART. So far I'm only noticing a little lag here and there, but nothing different from the S4 I am leaving behind before I slapped Hyperdrive on it.
Speaker sounds pretty good for a mobile device (thankfully I've not had the chance to be spoiled by the HTC One), though I need to test both my headphones and my aux jack before I know for sure. I'm already in love with having the headphone jack on the bottom of the device. Reminds me of my old Zune HD. As Kellex over on Droid-Life is so fond of saying, I really don't see why all manufacturers haven't adopted this yet. It makes so much sense.
The camera appears to be much more responsive than I've become used to. As far as how the pictures come out, I'll have to take a few side by side shots with my S4 and load them on to my laptop to get a better idea of accurate color reproduction. Something tells me the G3 will win out all day long.
One odd thing that is bugging me: The WiFi connection seems to be slower than my S4 when it comes to downloading/updating apps. Hopefully this is just a quirk with it being a new, never used device that will settle down in a day or two.
Call quality/Cell Reception cannot be tested for another 12 hours or so unfortunately. That's when I'll head to Verizon and have them move the device to my line. I'm hopeful though, given the rather abysmal signal I seemed to have with my S4 at times. Granted, I was rocking a Motorola before the Samsung, and I still swear by their radios above all other manufacturers.
Also, as someone else mentioned on the general forum: Leo's Fortune looks absolutely amazing on this device.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS (M8 user)
I picked mine up last night after trading in my M8(Edge). First thing I noticed was the build quality and weight of the G3. It doesn't have that premium heft I've grown accustomed to, but it doe have a very nice fit and finish despite having a faux aluminum backplate. Its light weight is a nice plus when compared to the M8 though.
One thing I will miss are the front facing speakers of the M8. Those puppies are LOUD and they made quite a difference when playing games or watching something on YouTube. Not a deal breaker by any means, but you'll definitely notice it. The G3 speaker isn't bad by any stretch and unless you're coming from a One, it'll sound clear and crisp.
The screen is PHENOMENAL to say the least. While there isn't much in the way of 2k content yet, the resolution is definitely appealing. Words, pictures, videos, everything is SHARP and vibrant. The colors have a more natural tone and aren't as warm as the M8; neither a good nor bad thing unless you prefer slightly saturated tones.
The camera is another area where the differences become more apparent! The G3 camera is better in EVERY possible way you can imagine. I didn't know what I was missing out on until this morning when I took my first few snaps. Seriously, not even a close race here. I know some of the review sites will say that isn't true and the UltraPixel camera is fine, but believe me when I say that it's WEAK. Pictures on the M8, come out nicely outside or in well lit areas, but those 4mp just don't do it justice. The G3 autofocus is insanely quick, probably the fastest I've seen to date. Being able to tap anywhere on the screen to take a picture is also a nice touch as well.
One problem I've noticed it that there is a little lag with animations. Not sure why that is, but it doesn't feel as fluid as the M8(stock or GPE). Slides, the keyboard, animations, just feels slightly off. Could just be my imagination, but it does seem that way.
All in all you WON'T be disappointed in the phone! It's a great device and improves on the G2 in every single way.
Sent from my VS985 4G using XDA Free mobile app
Ok so here goes. Most recently using M8, S5(which up for sale).
Build:
Device has a pretty decent build and falls somewhere in between the M8 and S5. Not as heavy and premium feeling as the M8, but is more balanced in the hand.
Screen:
Looks great--not as bright as M8 or S5, but I don't think it needs to burn my retina with brightness. Looks crisp and sharp and is completely visible this morning in the bright direct sun of Colorado(very bright and close). I'll pay close attention to this later when I'm outside.
Performance:
This is where it's letting me down so far. Jittery, stuttery and not fluid. I see it in the apps, menus and homescreens. To me this is even worse than the S5 was out of the box and isn't even in the league of the smoothness of the m8 or iPhone 5s. I've disabled a lot of bloat already and it looks like it'll need to be rooted much like the s5 to reach potential unless it's purely due to pushing the extra pixels. I enabled ART and that was even worse so I'm back to Dalvik runtime.
Camera:
Only taken a handful of photos, but they look pretty great and should be on par with the better camera phones. Not sure if it'll top the s5, but maybe it will.
Speakers:
Loud and clear--easily hear alerts/ringtones.
Hopefully some of the fluidity issues can be addressed via dev or by LG because clearly this device has a lot of potential.
cdd543 said:
Ok so here goes. Most recently using M8, S5(which up for sale).
Build:
Device has a pretty decent build and falls somewhere in between the M8 and S5. Not as heavy and premium feeling as the M8, but is more balanced in the hand.
Screen:
Looks great--not as bright as M8 or S5, but I don't think it needs to burn my retina with brightness. Looks crisp and sharp and is completely visible this morning in the bright direct sun of Colorado(very bright and close). I'll pay close attention to this later when I'm outside.
Performance:
This is where it's letting me down so far. Jittery, stuttery and not fluid. I see it in the apps, menus and homescreens. To me this is even worse than the S5 was out of the box and isn't even in the league of the smoothness of the m8 or iPhone 5s. I've disabled a lot of bloat already and it looks like it'll need to be rooted much like the s5 to reach potential unless it's purely due to pushing the extra pixels. I enabled ART and that was even worse so I'm back to Dalvik runtime.
Camera:
Only taken a handful of photos, but they look pretty great and should be on par with the better camera phones. Not sure if it'll top the s5, but maybe it will.
Speakers:
Loud and clear--easily hear alerts/ringtones.
Hopefully some of the fluidity issues can be addressed via dev or by LG because clearly this device has a lot of potential.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm also coming from an S5.
The screen def did NOT blow me away like I was hoping.. I don't get it... the icons are HUGE, why have such a high res screen if they arent going to take advantage of it..
It's also not as BRIGHT as the S5 and I feel like the blacks are blacker on the S5..
I'm already missing the side keys for volume.
I sure hope that the phone gets its act together and cuts out the choppiness, it's very noticable and I'm not really impressed with how fast it is either. I guess this completely needs to be rooted and rommed. I sold my S5, so I'll be sticking with this one for a while.
The size is perfect though. Exactly what I wanted!