Hello,
I am expecting some biased answers here, but I am trying to decide between the Asus Zenwatch 2 and the Moto 360 1st Gen. I am in the market for a new watch, and I have decided to go with a smartwatch. I figure it will be much more useful. I mainly want it to tell time and to show me notifications. So I care less about any added features, heart rate monitors, etc.
Honestly, I do like the appearance of the Asus Zenwatch 2 more than the 360, when the display is off! The ONLY thing I do not like about the Zenwatch 2 is those damn bezels. If they filled the watch face with display, I would not be typing this right now and I would probably already have the watch.
I am just looking for input on the Asus Zenwatch 2 really. How do you all like it? Are the bezels as annoying in person as they are in real life? The main reason I am deciding between these two is because they are both $150 right now. That is all I am really looking to spend as I don't want one bad enough to spend $300-$400. If I did, I would hands down get the Samsung S2 Classic.
I had moto 360 but returned it due to battery life and performance though I heard some recent improvement due to android wear updates. Currently using zen watch 2 I like it overall and it is more future proof for its spec and speaker built in, I think which look you like more could be your decision factor, the only annoying thing is the range of bluetooth is short for zen watch 2 with my s6 edge+, other than that I am satisfied with it
The bezel is not so bad if you use a black watch face and it should save some battery as well
Zenroid said:
I had moto 360 but returned it due to battery life and performance though I heard some recent improvement due to android wear updates. Currently using zen watch 2 I like it overall and it is more future proof for its spec and speaker built in, I think which look you like more could be your decision factor, the only annoying thing is the range of bluetooth is short for zen watch 2 with my s6 edge+, other than that I am satisfied with it
The bezel is not so bad if you use a black watch face and it should save some battery as well
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did read about the built in speaker, which is a nice addition as I am sure it is there for future support. All I want a smart watch for is to look at the time without having to take my beefy Nexus 6 out of my pocket, and for notifications to see who is calling, text messages, etc. I would care less about anything else. Heart sensors, GPS, none of that matters to me.
So I guess you are right. It ultimately comes down to which looks better to me. It is a toss up though... I do like the Zenwatch 2. If it wasn't for that thick bezel, this wouldn't be so hard for me. The Moto 360 is making it hard for me as well, as I do like the one model Motorola has on sale right now. The champagne with cognac leather is so my style. (I hate metal bands)
Do you know anything about the Sony Smartwatches? Amazon has the Sony SmartWatch 3 on sale from $299 to about $160....
ZenWatch2
Doesn't look like an Oreo
Better processor
No flat tire
Longer support (new vs year old)
/thread
exninja said:
ZenWatch2
Doesn't look like an Oreo
Better processor
No flat tire
Longer support (new vs year old)
/thread
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I still can't make up my mind which smartwatch to get... The Moto 360 1st Gen is out though due to its dated processor and smaller battery life.
Now I am looking at the Fossil Q Founder. I feel this would be the smartest way for me to go, as it is more future proof than any other smartwatch on the market right now. It has an Intel Atom Processor with 1GB of ram. Sure, it does have the "flat tire" but I feel I can put up with the flat tire more than I can the massive bezels of the Zenwatch 2. I really like the overall design of the Zenwatch 2, so don't think I am here to bash it. When I decided I wanted a smartwatch I originally thought that is what I was going to get. The more I looked at it though the more I realized how much I didn't like the bezels. If they would have filled their watch face with display this thread would not be here right now and I would have one on my wrist. I would have paid $300 for an Asus Zenwatch 2 IF the face was pure AMOLED display. No BS! (1GB of ram would of been nice too)
What do you mean by " IF the face was pure AMOLED display"?
Not sure why you'd need 1GB of RAM on a watch.
The drawback of the ZW2 is that even though it has the same specs as nearly all the other watches, something about the software causes lag and underperforms the others in bench tests (there's a bench test thread in the Wear forum). Hopefully some custom ROMs and/or updates can fix that.
As far as the bezel, to each his own. It's understandable (dat bezel doe). Personally I just don't care, and the $130 price with LED display is pretty sweet.
Also...IIRC the Atom processor has historically had high power consumption compared to other mobile processors. Just something to consider.
I'm using the ZW2, after using it for a few days I think it's an amazing watch. First of all, the price is unbeatable. The screen is nice, and if compared to the moto 360, it has a speaker, so it's futureproof. Plus, the battery life is amazing, lasting 2-3 days isn't any issue. Regarding the bezel, I made a digital clock watch face, the numbers appear in white color. So when the watch is in standby, the black screen blends in with the bezel and it looks just great with the white digital clock. Simple and nice. Personally, regarding Android Wear itself, I think there is much room to improve it's functionality, like real notifications (not only links to open app on the phone). Plus, the app list isn't very user friendly.
Yea having owned the LG G Watch, ZW2, and now Hauwei Watch, the Motorola 1st gen is meh. My coworker has it and it is huge. The flat tire kinda would drive me crazy. And the battery on his lasts like half a day (wifi disabled, screen on, 5s standby, 50% screen brightness).
The ZW2 and the Hauwei are the only 2 with a speaker to support the future versions of Android Wear. I'm sure everyone will still get the update but speaker support was the reason why I upgraded.
The original Moto 360 used a TI OMAP processor. The Motorola 360 2 uses the Snapdragon 400, the same as the ZW2 and Hauwei.
I would pick the ZW2 over the first 360 Watch. The ZW2 is a second gen watch. The curved display feels great to "palm" (to turn off the display). It has WiFi and a speaker. It DOES NOT have a heart rate monitor, which are completely stupid in a watch anyway (IMO).
The 360 has a 300mAh battery, the 360 2 has a 400. The ZW2 has a 400. The Hauwei has a 300. Both the ZW2 and Hauwei (and LG G Watch) all had over 50% battery left at the end of the day.
The Motorola watches (1 and 2) both have LCD displays where the ZW2 and Hauwei have OLED. Black is true black. This may not seem that big of a deal, but when you have a "flashlight" on your wrist at night, even in standby mode, it is glaring. The OLED (similar to AMOLED), black is off. So if you have a black theme watch face, most of the pixels will be off = battery savings. Plus Standby mode only displays specific items, not the whole face. This looks much better on an OLED screen.
I can't recommend the Moto unless you simply looking for the cheapest round display watch.
The ZW2 is about $129 (cheaper on newegg). The Hauwei I bought locally for $299 + 10% off at Best Buy @ $269
Rektifying said:
I still can't make up my mind which smartwatch to get... The Moto 360 1st Gen is out though due to its dated processor and smaller battery life.
Now I am looking at the Fossil Q Founder. I feel this would be the smartest way for me to go, as it is more future proof than any other smartwatch on the market right now. It has an Intel Atom Processor with 1GB of ram. Sure, it does have the "flat tire" but I feel I can put up with the flat tire more than I can the massive bezels of the Zenwatch 2. I really like the overall design of the Zenwatch 2, so don't think I am here to bash it. When I decided I wanted a smartwatch I originally thought that is what I was going to get. The more I looked at it though the more I realized how much I didn't like the bezels. If they would have filled their watch face with display this thread would not be here right now and I would have one on my wrist. I would have paid $300 for an Asus Zenwatch 2 IF the face was pure AMOLED display. No BS! (1GB of ram would of been nice too)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The review of fossil founder seems not so good http://www.cnet.com/products/fossil-q-founder/
Figured I would update the thread.
So, I ended up ordering the Fossil Q Founder. I didn't like it. I didn't like the way it fit / felt on my wrist. It was really bulky. The flat tire was worse in person than I thought it was going to be. Also, the report I read that it had an internal speaker was false. It does not have the speaker. So I sent it back. This is what I get for not going with my first instinct. I originally wanted the Zenwatch 2 when I decided to get a new watch / smart watch.
So, I ordered the Zenwatch 2! I ordered the Gun Metal version. (Stainless Steel band) I think it looks very sharp and sleek. I paid $200 shipped, $100 under the Fossil Q Founder! I can't wait to get it and try it out.
Yea but looking at specs it seems comparable to a Moto 360 kinda. Flat Tire LCD screen. Atom processor. 400mAh battery. $299. The only thing I can see is that for the price you would be better off with a Hauwei Watch (what I currently own).
I really can't complain about the ZenWatch 2. It is the thinnest of all the watches, curved screen so it kinda hugs your wrist. $129. Speaker support. Waterproof. Amoled Screen. The charger was great. I can't really recommend any other watch unless you are die hard wanting a round screen, then the Hauwei Watch is the winner there. The Snapdragon chipsets really sip battery.
Related
For the gadget carrier, this is a good grab. I recommend getting it from Amazon or Best Buy ($284 for 32GB).
I usually beta test iOS applications from time to time so I get some value out of owning an iPod Touch. I've honestly grown to liking it.
I've recently upgraded from the Black 4th Generation iPod Touch 8GB to a White 5th Generation 32GB model.
Owning a EVO & an iPod has allowed to juggle tasks & applications between both devices & gain more ground on the battery front for both devices.
While one is charging, I can also switch to the other. (Only recommended in WiFi areas)
Its great for those iOS exclusive moments when you need them, without giving up a superior phone experience from Android, especially as far as Google Voice is concerned.
It also kills the inner fanboy, its a healthy experience.
What I like about the 5th Gen model is:
It forces you into getting a decent amount of storage on it's lowest end configuration.
The cameras have been upgraded significantly & it is a very decent 5 megapixel shooter w/ flash.
The rear is no longer a scratch magnet.
Although the screen is bigger & the build quality is better, the device is lighter & thinner than the previous model.
Wireless performance seems to be x2 as good as before, no sure why it's significantly better but it is & shows. (VOIP / Wi-Fi Tether approved)
This charges insanely fast.
What could be a con:
If you had any Apple accessory investments, they're now screwed by the new connector.
No front mic (sure its not a phone but with Facetime present, a discreet video chat isn't possible on the iPod without headphones w/ mic.
Pricey
Color options: You can't get solid Red, Blue or Lime Green, each has a white front.
Neither Pro or Con:
Earpods (Honestly you should buy/own a pair of Shure, Klipsh, Etymotic, V-Moda etc.) I haven't used or tried them.
Lanya- *cough* "Loop".
Siri
No GPS (uses Wi-Fi triangulation?) If you're tethering to anything it's very accurate, I'm not going to use any Turn by Turn service with it though.
Maps (You have a flagship Android, you should never even open this travesty outside of jokingly playing with it, the location previews are pretty nice & the niceness ends there.)
Thanks for your input! I currently have a 32gb 4th gen black iPod Touch and my girlfriend has the white one. We are both avid Android phone users, have been since launch and never bought an iPhone, but like having the access to IOS at times. Used to be needed more as IOS had many apps/games that weren't available on Android, but Android is catching up VERY fast and I rarely even use my Touch any more! I also have a 16gb iPhone 4 that used to be on AT&T, but it's never been activated by me. I simply used it as another iPod Touch because it has the nicest screen of the two, and having the mic is nice for making free calls with Textfree(now Pinger) when my phone was charging or I was in a game and didn't want to stop playing just for a phone call.
That said, I've been considering selling both and buying the Touch 5. Just don't know if I'll use it as much as I used to use the Touch 4 and iPhone 4. Of course that's a decision I'll have to make. Also considering buying a Nexus 7 with the cash from the sales. Just not sure how much I'll put it to use either though, since I already have an Asus Infinity(TF700T) which is 10". I think I would like having a more easily portable Android tablet though, and its also made by Asus(who I love), like my Infinity and previous Prime, and has the same processor as my Infinity, just clocked to a slower speed. The development community is also great and quite large for the Nexus 7.
I've always thought the Touch 4 has a pretty nice camera. Used it more before getting the Evo 3D, and the LTE, which has a stellar camera! How does the camera of the Touch 5 compare to the 4? Also, is the display really that much nicer? Of course it's larger and has better specs, but is it that noticeable in daily use? Guess I just need to go to Best Buy with my Touch 4 and compare it to the 5.
Anyway, thanks for starting this thread, stating your thoughts, and for answering my questions.
EDIT: Sorry for the super long post!! It's just something I've been thinking about recently and this is the first time I've got it off of my chest, lol.
Sent from my EVO using xda premium
I use it more (new device syndrome) take it with a grain of salt.
The camera is literally 5 times better, its slightly better than the iPhone 4S's camera & its FF camera is better than the iPhone 5's with color.
Performance is definitely noticeable but the screen is more so, as it its the same display as the iPhone 5's screen. Unlike the 4th gen which had its own, cheaper screen.
For support sake & resale value, I highly recommend it as an upgrade.
Sent from my EVO using xda premium
Well i just done it and traded my Note 3 for this beautiful phone and here are my first day impressions
Build Quality : Solid, sleek, beautiful and classy.. Kinda like the White Iphone 4 i got when it was just released and not many people had it yet... i pulled this thing out in the public and people were either in awe or thought i was stupid.. im not sure yet but i notice people tend to look over. I saw alot of reviews saying because it was really thin it's hard to pick up, i tried and really found out they were being nit picky about that kinda stuff (like phones that rock when you touch them).. who cares its easy to pick up its not going to make your life harder.
Cons : As nice as it is, Samsung won me over with the removal back cover and replacement battery. One time i had no idea what was wrong with my phone, i called my friend up and asked him to swap batteries.. turns out my battery died from wiping my phone down with too much water lol. i would of wasted alot of money sending it in if i didn't swap batteries with my friend to see the problem. $15 to replace the battery. On the plus side the Z Ultra is waterproof so i can wipe it down as much as i want now.
Battery Life : Decent, compared to my Note 3 i surfed the net for an hr and a half and ended up with about %70 battery life on max brightness, if i did the same with the Note i would be around %80 and not need to set brightness that high and have even more battery saved.
Screen and Size : When i first saw the screen it didn't blow me away initially because i was used to the over saturated display of the amoled but non the less the more i looked at it the more i realized it was a Beautiful display panel, unsaturated colours bigger and better with better colour accuracy over the Note. It wasn't until i decided to see how good the blacks were was where it was a let down. I loaded up the movie Aliens and tried watching a few dark scenes, the colour skin tones and everything was nice and way better then the Note but the blacks in the dark scenes were not deep enough.. it made the movie feel washed out and faded and was not enjoyable as seeing the dark corners clearly takes away from the movie experience.. This is coming from someone who loves watching movies on projector i can't but notice that flaw..from my eye test it seems to have a 1000:1 contrast ratio which is not good. To the average user i would say the blacks are definitely sufficient for movies but to the trained eye it totally sucks and i was expecting more from sony on the display as i bought this phone only for media purposes. That being said it seems like a big trade off for me since the amoled has the best blacks of any phone and i'm sure their over saturated colours can be corrected with proper tools but can the blacks be fixed on the Sony Xperia Z Ultra? i'll have to see if there are tools for it but the limitations are likely within the panels itself.
Note 3 Display (Amoled) = Deep blacks really good for watching movies,
Cons = Over saturated inaccurate colours
Sony Xperia Z Ulta = Accurate colours,better tones, sharper better to look at
Cons = Blacks are a little washed out and faded (average users may not care or notice)
Games = I have yet to play a game on this but i can tell its going to kick some butt because the screen is so nice and large
Sound = The Speakers on this thing blows.. it sounds like my old Iphone 4 just louder.. and vs modern phones its far too quiet.. don't expect anything more
Pocket test, i'm 5'10 and a half wore skinny jeans with it, to my surprise it didn't stick out of my pocket like everyone. Pocketable for me
Camera = I don't take pictures not a deal for me
Speed = Although the Note 3 has 3 gigs of ram and faster mhz, the Sony felt snappier the moment i used it. Everything felt zippier and just faster overall. Likely due to Samsung touchwiz
Am i going to return/sell this for a Note 3? Probably not, i'll need a week or 2 to decide if i watch that many dark movies for the blacks to bother me enough. Everything about the screen is better except for the blacks as long as you don't mind then go for the SXU. I love big screens and if i could get the Mediapad X1 when it releases i'll buy that but for now the Sony Xperia Z Ultra seems like a fine phone to me.
anonapersons said:
Well i just done it and traded my Note 3 for this beautiful phone and here are my first day impressions
Build Quality : Solid, sleek, beautiful and classy.. Kinda like the White Iphone 4 i got when it was just released and not many people had it yet... i pulled this thing out in the public and people were either in awe or thought i was stupid.. im not sure yet but i notice people tend to look over. I saw alot of reviews saying because it was really thin it's hard to pick up, i tried and really found out they were being nit picky about that kinda stuff (like phones that rock when you touch them).. who cares its easy to pick up its not going to make your life harder.
Cons : As nice as it is, Samsung won me over with the removal back cover and replacement battery. One time i had no idea what was wrong with my phone, i called my friend up and asked him to swap batteries.. turns out my battery died from wiping my phone down with too much water lol. i would of wasted alot of money sending it in if i didn't swap batteries with my friend to see the problem. $15 to replace the battery. On the plus side the Z Ultra is waterproof so i can wipe it down as much as i want now.
Battery Life : Decent, compared to my Note 3 i surfed the net for an hr and a half and ended up with about %70 battery life on max brightness, if i did the same with the Note i would be around %80 and not need to set brightness that high and have even more battery saved.
Screen and Size : When i first saw the screen it didn't blow me away initially because i was used to the over saturated display of the amoled but non the less the more i looked at it the more i realized it was a Beautiful display panel, unsaturated colours bigger and better with better colour accuracy over the Note. It wasn't until i decided to see how good the blacks were was where it was a let down. I loaded up the movie Aliens and tried watching a few dark scenes, the colour skin tones and everything was nice and way better then the Note but the blacks in the dark scenes were not deep enough.. it made the movie feel washed out and faded and was not enjoyable as seeing the dark corners clearly takes away from the movie experience.. This is coming from someone who loves watching movies on projector i can't but notice that flaw..from my eye test it seems to have a 1000:1 contrast ratio which is not good. To the average user i would say the blacks are definitely sufficient for movies but to the trained eye it totally sucks and i was expecting more from sony on the display as i bought this phone only for media purposes. That being said it seems like a big trade off for me since the amoled has the best blacks of any phone and i'm sure their over saturated colours can be corrected with proper tools but can the blacks be fixed on the Sony Xperia Z Ultra? i'll have to see if there are tools for it but the limitations are likely within the panels itself.
Note 3 Display (Amoled) = Deep blacks really good for watching movies,
Cons = Over saturated inaccurate colours
Sony Xperia Z Ulta = Accurate colours,better tones, sharper better to look at
Cons = Blacks are a little washed out and faded (average users may not care or notice)
Games = I have yet to play a game on this but i can tell its going to kick some butt because the screen is so nice and large
Sound = The Speakers on this thing blows.. it sounds like my old Iphone 4 just louder.. and vs modern phones its far too quiet.. don't expect anything more
Pocket test, i'm 5'10 and a half wore skinny jeans with it, to my surprise it didn't stick out of my pocket like everyone. Pocketable for me
Camera = I don't take pictures not a deal for me
Speed = Although the Note 3 has 3 gigs of ram and faster mhz, the Sony felt snappier the moment i used it. Everything felt zippier and just faster overall. Likely due to Samsung touchwiz
Am i going to return/sell this for a Note 3? Probably not, i'll need a week or 2 to decide if i watch that many dark movies for the blacks to bother me enough. Everything about the screen is better except for the blacks as long as you don't mind then go for the SXU. I love big screens and if i could get the Mediapad X1 when it releases i'll buy that but for now the Sony Xperia Z Ultra seems like a fine phone to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your expectations were too high in regard to the black value on the ZXU. The Notes all have amoled, thus the pixels are nearly off when displaying black. Mind you, this is the only screen tech that offers that. Super LCD, IPS, Triluminos don't have that. It's a well known trade off. What you get back in return is better color reproduction, better sharpness, etc. The black value is by no means bad, not different from most televisions actually. A lot of reviewers call the ZXU a mini Sony Bravia TV and that is exactly what it is.
I reckon your eyes really need to get used to the ZXU display, which requires extensive time and movie watching. This makes sense if your eyes have been accustomed to the Note line for a long time now. I have the Note 2 as well and I find the greys/black not that good to be honest, as the contrast doesn't seem to work that well. A lot of times scenes are too dark compared to reference material.
The ZXU remains a marvel, I suggest you spend some more time with it and report back in a while :good:
anonapersons said:
Well i just done it and traded my Note 3 for this beautiful phone and here are my first day impressions
Build Quality : Solid, sleek, beautiful and classy.. Kinda like the White Iphone 4 i got when it was just released and not many people had it yet... i pulled this thing out in the public and people were either in awe or thought i was stupid.. im not sure yet but i notice people tend to look over. I saw alot of reviews saying because it was really thin it's hard to pick up, i tried and really found out they were being nit picky about that kinda stuff (like phones that rock when you touch them).. who cares its easy to pick up its not going to make your life harder.
Cons : As nice as it is, Samsung won me over with the removal back cover and replacement battery. One time i had no idea what was wrong with my phone, i called my friend up and asked him to swap batteries.. turns out my battery died from wiping my phone down with too much water lol. i would of wasted alot of money sending it in if i didn't swap batteries with my friend to see the problem. $15 to replace the battery. On the plus side the Z Ultra is waterproof so i can wipe it down as much as i want now.
Battery Life : Decent, compared to my Note 3 i surfed the net for an hr and a half and ended up with about %70 battery life on max brightness, if i did the same with the Note i would be around %80 and not need to set brightness that high and have even more battery saved.
Screen and Size : When i first saw the screen it didn't blow me away initially because i was used to the over saturated display of the amoled but non the less the more i looked at it the more i realized it was a Beautiful display panel, unsaturated colours bigger and better with better colour accuracy over the Note. It wasn't until i decided to see how good the blacks were was where it was a let down. I loaded up the movie Aliens and tried watching a few dark scenes, the colour skin tones and everything was nice and way better then the Note but the blacks in the dark scenes were not deep enough.. it made the movie feel washed out and faded and was not enjoyable as seeing the dark corners clearly takes away from the movie experience.. This is coming from someone who loves watching movies on projector i can't but notice that flaw..from my eye test it seems to have a 1000:1 contrast ratio which is not good. To the average user i would say the blacks are definitely sufficient for movies but to the trained eye it totally sucks and i was expecting more from sony on the display as i bought this phone only for media purposes. That being said it seems like a big trade off for me since the amoled has the best blacks of any phone and i'm sure their over saturated colours can be corrected with proper tools but can the blacks be fixed on the Sony Xperia Z Ultra? i'll have to see if there are tools for it but the limitations are likely within the panels itself.
Note 3 Display (Amoled) = Deep blacks really good for watching movies,
Cons = Over saturated inaccurate colours
Sony Xperia Z Ulta = Accurate colours,better tones, sharper better to look at
Cons = Blacks are a little washed out and faded (average users may not care or notice)
Games = I have yet to play a game on this but i can tell its going to kick some butt because the screen is so nice and large
Sound = The Speakers on this thing blows.. it sounds like my old Iphone 4 just louder.. and vs modern phones its far too quiet.. don't expect anything more
Pocket test, i'm 5'10 and a half wore skinny jeans with it, to my surprise it didn't stick out of my pocket like everyone. Pocketable for me
Camera = I don't take pictures not a deal for me
Speed = Although the Note 3 has 3 gigs of ram and faster mhz, the Sony felt snappier the moment i used it. Everything felt zippier and just faster overall. Likely due to Samsung touchwiz
Am i going to return/sell this for a Note 3? Probably not, i'll need a week or 2 to decide if i watch that many dark movies for the blacks to bother me enough. Everything about the screen is better except for the blacks as long as you don't mind then go for the SXU. I love big screens and if i could get the Mediapad X1 when it releases i'll buy that but for now the Sony Xperia Z Ultra seems like a fine phone to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup, Gideon is pretty much straight on here. I came from a Galaxy Note so I was used to an AMOLED panel, and let me tell you that I was quite shocked. Deep blacks (in the dark)? Nope. Aaand that's pretty much it. The Note display was darker and more saturated, and I was pretty much surprised when I got the Ultra, except I wasn't.
AMOLED displays do not have a backlight, so black will actually be black. Black will be turned off.
LCD panels do have backlights, so black will still have a backlight, only the light will be dimmed. It's the same thing as your TV. The Ultra uses LED. So yeah, the Ultra is pretty much a Bravia TV.
Audio, yeah... It's not very good. Don't forget that the Ultra is waterproof so the speakers have a membrane that makes it waterproof.
Camera: No flash so it won't take great photos in the dark or even inside your home, bit it's not that bad once you're outside in the daylight.
Overall, the Note 3 is a more "all arounder", but you're paying a lot for a luxury item that doesn't feel like it's what it is. It feels like a plasticy...thing. The Sony is a luxury item that does a lot, but it also feels like a luxury item. It's incredible big, but you also feel that you've paid for a quality glass and aluminium product.
- Note 3: Big plastic phablet
- Z Ultra: Huge glass and metal phablet
Sent from my Z Ultra
I just sold my note 3 and ordered zu gpe I loved the phone but locked bootloader killed it for me cant wait to try this phone!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
gtshiftin6 said:
I just sold my note 3 and ordered zu gpe I loved the phone but locked bootloader killed it for me cant wait to try this phone!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just dumped my day one note2 and ordered stock sony version last night Samsung was driving me crazy with the knox crap lol.
bryce850 said:
Just dumped my day one note2 and ordered stock sony version last night Samsung was driving me crazy with the knox crap lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here... Love the big screen on this beast.
Sent from my C6833 using Tapatalk
I, too, traded in a Note 3 for a Z Ultra, but I bought the Google Play Edition (and of course I bought it a little over a month before they dropped the price to $449). I couldn't be happier with this thing. My only real gripes are:
1. The camera sucks in low light.
2. The headphone jack is on the side. That placement makes it awkward sometimes when I put the phone in my pocket while going out for a walk.
3. I absolutely HATE that anti-shatter film that's on the front and back glass. For starters, it scratches if you look at it (just like any screen protector does), and the oleophobic coating that they put on the front rubs off within the first 3 or so weeks. I would remove it, but I don't really care enough to waste the time, plus you need a razorblade to do it and I don't like getting razorblades anywhere near my phone. This also says nothing of the fact that removing the film also voids your warranty.
These are all pretty minor complaints in the grand scheme of things, at least when I consider my own needs in a phone. When it comes to the important stuff, this phone excels. The hardware is top shelf, it's fast, stock Android runs amazingly well on it, the screen is gorgeous, and it's really the perfect size for me. :good:
oldblue910 said:
I, too, traded in a Note 3 for a Z Ultra, but I bought the Google Play Edition (and of course I bought it a little over a month before they dropped the price to $449). I couldn't be happier with this thing. My only real gripes are:
1. The camera sucks in low light.
2. The headphone jack is on the side. That placement makes it awkward sometimes when I put the phone in my pocket while going out for a walk.
3. I absolutely HATE that anti-shatter film that's on the front and back glass. For starters, it scratches if you look at it (just like any screen protector does), and the oleophobic coating that they put on the front rubs off within the first 3 or so weeks. I would remove it, but I don't really care enough to waste the time, plus you need a razorblade to do it and I don't like getting razorblades anywhere near my phone. This also says nothing of the fact that removing the film also voids your warranty.
These are all pretty minor complaints in the grand scheme of things, at least when I consider my own needs in a phone. When it comes to the important stuff, this phone excels. The hardware is top shelf, it's fast, stock Android runs amazingly well on it, the screen is gorgeous, and it's really the perfect size for me. :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If Z2 Ultra is indeed an oversized Z2, all your complaint will be gone (except maybe the camera, but 13mp one would not hurt just like T2U) then that would really ring my bell..
about headset placement, actually i think i like it on the side. Because the device itself is longer than any general pocket available, so when the jack comes in, it might very well be outside the pocket. Plus when you play it landscape, nothing protrude from the side, hence easier handling. Plus some Bluetooth Companion wouldn't hurt (in fact such device is promoted from the start to be used with XZU)
I came from a Note 1 (GT-N7000) and at the time it was basically price between note 3 and z ultra. The ultra was $100 cheaper and I had a buyer for my N7000 so I went ahead and got the Z.
I agree with the following:
1. Amoled is a superior display, no doubt. However, the 6.4" vs 5.7 makes up for it.
2. Unlocked - I have changed carriers twice since owning this phone. If I bought the t-mobile Note 3, i'd be out of luck (the model I was previously leaning toward), or at the least, had to pay a fee to unlock it.
3. Camera is an absolute joke. I don't take many pictures like the OP, but the ones I do take are just horrid in low light.
4. There are issues with sony software. I get crackle in my text messages, and the phantom touch issue is there sometimes. However, i'd rather have these issues than be faced with KNOX. Plus, I know sony will address the issues eventually.
In the end, i'm glad I got the z ultra over note 3.
Z Ultra
Well, I also just bought the Xperia Z Ultra and as soon as I finished updating and arranging most things, I came here for some extra search for extra work that needs to be done with this device! I am also an owner of the Xperia Z (yuga/C6603) for more than a year and since I had enough to complain issues with it, I was a little bit puzzled about how the big brother Ultra was going to perform! As it has been mentioned, and that's the reason I am posting in this thread, I was between 3 devices including Samsung's Note 3 and LG's G Flex! The reason I didn't go with the Note 3, despite the perfect screen and the faster and bigger RAM, and among the 4K camera capabilities, was that as soon as I hold it in my hand I knew it wouldn't even compare to the Z's quality I've been using for quite long! The plastic leather-alike back cover was quite a lot slippery after you have used the device enough to sweat your hand! Also a drawback I could also see was that its 5.7" display looked tiny next to the G Flex and the Ultra for me, so as to be consider a phablet! It actually felt more like a normal phone like anything else with a little bit oversized screen. And then came G Flex which also astonished me with its design and curved build but I could spot a huge difference in the 720p display next to the Note 3 and the Ultra! I adored though the design and the 32gb built in storage but those couldn't be enough for me to purchase it! I also didn't like so much the coating on the back cover, which also feels and is slippy straight out of the box, although I think it is supposed to be some kind of self healing coating to help with shallow and/or light scratches. After some minor tests I was able to make in a store that had them all for customers to see and play with, when I reached the Ultra and hold it in my hand I knew it was the device I would after all buy since its build quality and its exceptional slim design made me looking around like a retard :laugh: !! So, to end up with, after experiencing these three phabs the weight up of pros and cons for each had come and despite all the camera capabilities both G Flex and Note 3 had over the Ultra the price tags pointed which deserved to be bought, considering what it offered and it could't be anything else than the Ultra! For the records, I bought it in purple(cuz i couldn't find yuga back in 2013 in purple and i was craving for it ) in the awesome price of 325 euros with the G Flex costing 425 euros and the Note 3 being at the price of 460 euros! As it is obvious, I could't even a second think for a reason to spend over 100 euros forone of the other two! After 4 days of heavy usage and insanely lots of recharges I am extraordinarily amazed to find out that Sony has done everything that hasn't for the yuga! No more lags, no more UI glitches, no more stuttering animations and no more scrolling problems within every day apps like Chrome! The only cons I was able to notice that do disappoint me are:
1. Sound quality or at least one more speaker like the one it is already on device would be perfect! (I am searching for sound mods now, hope to find sth good)
2. The camera sensor could have been the same with the Xperia Z (13MP) with a LED (though I wont be taking any pictures with any phablet for now)
3. I would expect a bigger battery, although it has convinced me to be fair enough despite its small, for the screen's size, capacity
4. The phantom touch issue is a bit annoying from times to times
5. The screen should be a a little more dimmer for outdoors use
To conclude with, I'll always find it a lovely device, with great network speed, excellent performance, excellent build quality and excessively excellent and gorgeous design! I hope I made a good choice to choose the Ultra over the other two, but even if I didn't I am still more than a hundred euros richer to consume on accessories!
PS: I was amazed to find out the time I was unboxing that the magnetic dock DK30 was included in the box for free! I really didn't expect that and I was really pleased to find out that Sony saved me about 25 euros for spending on sth else!
I came from the Note 3 and the Note 2 I had before that.
I agree with the removable battery thing, but honestly, battery life is able to last me throughout the day unless I'm heavily using it, so I haven't really been in a bind yet in that regard.
I also agree with the speaker. Flash the sound boost mod, it's mandatory IMO. I've attached it for you. It's like night and day, honestly, but I've found it's a louder boost on 4.3 than it is on 4.4, which is one reason I haven't updated to KitKat. But, if you are using the ZU mainly for media consumption, what are you doing not using a bluetooth speaker!?!? I waited a long time to get one and shouldn't have waited. I researched a lot, pick up an Arctic S113BT off Amazon. It's aptx, got NFC, louder than the Jambox, and 3x less expensive ($40). Only thing that's annoying is the BT audio/video syncing that's always a bit off 90% of the time you first turn it on. Needs some closing of programs and going back to the homescreen to get it to sync up sometimes. I just have the speaker next to me when I'm watching my shows now, it's made everything more enjoyable.
Your gripes and analysis pretty much echoed mine, you'll really get to love the device after a little more time (I should be a rapper, mad rhymes).
SonyMan7 said:
Well, I also just bought the Xperia Z Ultra and as soon as I finished updating and arranging most things, I came here for some extra search for extra work that needs to be done with this device! I am also an owner of the Xperia Z (yuga/C6603) for more than a year and since I had enough to complain issues with it, I was a little bit puzzled about how the big brother Ultra was going to perform! As it has been mentioned, and that's the reason I am posting in this thread, I was between 3 devices including Samsung's Note 3 and LG's G Flex! The reason I didn't go with the Note 3, despite the perfect screen and the faster and bigger RAM, and among the 4K camera capabilities, was that as soon as I hold it in my hand I knew it wouldn't even compare to the Z's quality I've been using for quite long! The plastic leather-alike back cover was quite a lot slippery after you have used the device enough to sweat your hand! Also a drawback I could also see was that its 5.7" display looked tiny next to the G Flex and the Ultra for me, so as to be consider a phablet! It actually felt more like a normal phone like anything else with a little bit oversized screen. And then came G Flex which also astonished me with its design and curved build but I could spot a huge difference in the 720p display next to the Note 3 and the Ultra! I adored though the design and the 32gb built in storage but those couldn't be enough for me to purchase it! I also didn't like so much the coating on the back cover, which also feels and is slippy straight out of the box, although I think it is supposed to be some kind of self healing coating to help with shallow and/or light scratches. After some minor tests I was able to make in a store that had them all for customers to see and play with, when I reached the Ultra and hold it in my hand I knew it was the device I would after all buy since its build quality and its exceptional slim design made me looking around like a retard :laugh: !! So, to end up with, after experiencing these three phabs the weight up of pros and cons for each had come and despite all the camera capabilities both G Flex and Note 3 had over the Ultra the price tags pointed which deserved to be bought, considering what it offered and it could't be anything else than the Ultra! For the records, I bought it in purple(cuz i couldn't find yuga back in 2013 in purple and i was craving for it ) in the awesome price of 325 euros with the G Flex costing 425 euros and the Note 3 being at the price of 460 euros! As it is obvious, I could't even a second think for a reason to spend over 100 euros forone of the other two! After 4 days of heavy usage and insanely lots of recharges I am extraordinarily amazed to find out that Sony has done everything that hasn't for the yuga! No more lags, no more UI glitches, no more stuttering animations and no more scrolling problems within every day apps like Chrome! The only cons I was able to notice that do disappoint me are:
1. Sound quality or at least one more speaker like the one it is already on device would be perfect! (I am searching for sound mods now, hope to find sth good)
2. The camera sensor could have been the same with the Xperia Z (13MP) with a LED (though I wont be taking any pictures with any phablet for now)
3. I would expect a bigger battery, although it has convinced me to be fair enough despite its small, for the screen's size, capacity
4. The phantom touch issue is a bit annoying from times to times
5. The screen should be a a little more dimmer for outdoors use
To conclude with, I'll always find it a lovely device, with great network speed, excellent performance, excellent build quality and excessively excellent and gorgeous design! I hope I made a good choice to choose the Ultra over the other two, but even if I didn't I am still more than a hundred euros richer to consume on accessories!
PS: I was amazed to find out the time I was unboxing that the magnetic dock DK30 was included in the box for free! I really didn't expect that and I was really pleased to find out that Sony saved me about 25 euros for spending on sth else!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very nice post, and welcome!
Sent from my C6833 using Tapatalk
Thanks
LordManhattan said:
Very nice post, and welcome!
Sent from my C6833 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you a lot my friend! Nice to be in such a community, although I am not quite new as of time concerned! On the contrary, it is such a complete this community I really hadn't to create an account to participate! Everything I ever searched for from the times of galaxy ace back to the '06s! Awesome work from anyone here! ??
SonyMan7 said:
Thank you a lot my friend! Nice to be in such a community, although I am not quite new as of time concerned! On the contrary, it is such a complete this community I really hadn't to create an account to participate! Everything I ever searched for from the times of galaxy ace back to the '06s! Awesome work from anyone here! ??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you're a lurker becoming a poster. Good stuff!
Sent from my C6833 using Tapatalk
LordManhattan said:
So you're a lurker becoming a poster. Good stuff!
Sent from my C6833 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll try!
It's pretty clear that the Galaxy Alpha is not being positioned "above" the Galaxy S 5...it's just different. It's smaller, much thinner, but has a lower resolution display (720p vs 1080p) and a smaller battery (1860mAh vs 2800mAh).
So who is this phone for? Would you consider it over the Galaxy S 5, or even the Nexus 5/HTC One M8 for that matter?
Sound off! :victory:
Nope although I love that form factor it lacks some of essential features such as full HD and SD card support.
Also I think the price tag is way too high for the mentioned features.
The mentioned one's aren't alternatives I'll be waiting for the g3 with the snap Dragon 805 maybe they are going to release a smaller one too
The phone is for iPhone users coming over from Apple and direct compression for the z1 compact.
I personally think this is the best looking Samsung phone ever and I want it baaaaadddddd, I know the 720p screen and tiny battery are major drawbacks for most people but I can deal with it, I am by no means a power user. I just think its a great looking powerful phone that's perfect for me I just really hope it has some sort of development here
kayslay21 said:
I personally think this is the best looking Samsung phone ever and I want it baaaaadddddd, I know the 720p screen and tiny battery are major drawbacks for most people but I can deal with it, I am by no means a power user. I just think its a great looking powerful phone that's perfect for me I just really hope it has some sort of development here
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"B***h, please", you tell those "most people". I challenge your eyes to see single pixels with pixel density above 300 ppi. Also, the less pixels to push around = the GPU has it easier = it's easier on the battery... and battery is STILL bigger than any iPhone battery to date. And with the coming of L, battery life is expected to rise even more.
sirobelec said:
"B***h, please", you tell those "most people". I challenge your eyes to see single pixels with pixel density above 300 ppi. Also, the less pixels to push around = the GPU has it easier = it's easier on the battery... and battery is STILL bigger than any iPhone battery to date. And with the coming of L, battery life is expected to rise even more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Considering this is using the Exynos 5430 using 20nm, it should have have battery life between the 801 and 805 if it was 1080p/1440p. if it's only 720p This device will last more than a day easily.
For that reason alone I'll be picking it up. and the fact I hate QHD on phones.
I would get one only if i dont have to throw a extra penny on xchange wid my 1month old nexus 5...
Comparing it to nexus 5
Pros
Slimmer
Metallic body
Better camera
Touchwiz ui (lol pro??)
Better gpu (yes its btr than a330)
Better battery (newer 20nm )
Cons
Touchwiz
Not full hd (i don't give a **** as i find display of 720p grand 2 to be same as that of my n5 wid naked eyes)
Expect late updates and poorer custom rom support.
I would make the sacrifice wid my n5 only if L doesnt makes it a overkill
Considering @svetius ' interest in alpha i guess he would get one tooo...
svetius said:
So who is this phone for? Would you consider it over the Galaxy S 5, or even the Nexus 5/HTC One M8 for that matter?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ummm... me. I'm trim and of average height, not tall or big-boned, etc. I don't have huge hands. I wear 501s much of the time. The S5, G3 and One M8 are a bit too large for my pocket and for one-handed use. A phone is like a sidearm; while the zealots always want bigger and more powerful, if it's inconvenient to carry or use, and so you don't, it's no good even compared to an old flip phone.
But... the Alpha lacks a microSD slot, so it actually fails my requirements. Don't tell me you're selling me a Porsche - small, powerful, expensive - and then cut out the top gear. Charge me another $100 and put in the top gear, and call it a Porsche Xtreme or something silly like that.
As per a report it costs $689 dollars...
Plz throw it in the dustbin ...i am happy wid my sexy nexy...:silly:
I'm interested in getting it. The lack of a microSD card slot (and the price, too, I guess) is a bit of a bummer but who knows...
Deletive said:
Considering this is using the Exynos 5430 using 20nm, it should have have battery life between the 801 and 805 if it was 1080p/1440p. if it's only 720p This device will last more than a day easily.
For that reason alone I'll be picking it up. and the fact I hate QHD on phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
People say that QHD displays are just a gimmick but my g3 is hella crisp and as for battery life its fantastic, easily last all day.
Sent from my LGLS990 using XDA Free mobile app
generalkrank said:
People say that QHD displays are just a gimmick but my g3 is hella crisp and as for battery life its fantastic, easily last all day.
Sent from my LGLS990 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No SD card support..... I'd rather get the G3.
I will get one, if the battery is good enough.
Alpha is almost there
Wotta said:
Ummm... me. I'm trim and of average height, not tall or big-boned, etc. I don't have huge hands. I wear 501s much of the time. The S5, G3 and One M8 are a bit too large for my pocket and for one-handed use. A phone is like a sidearm; while the zealots always want bigger and more powerful, if it's inconvenient to carry or use, and so you don't, it's no good even compared to an old flip phone.
But... the Alpha lacks a microSD slot, so it actually fails my requirements. Don't tell me you're selling me a Porsche - small, powerful, expensive - and then cut out the top gear. Charge me another $100 and put in the top gear, and call it a Porsche Xtreme or something silly like that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. I am in a similar situation -I am what you would call a Power User and need the Phone and nice
Camera for Business but am athletic, active and need the smaller form factor.
I want an Alpha Pro which is thicker with a larger Battery and Larger Camera Sensor like Note 4 ,SD Card for $ 100 more.
Alpha is a fashionable Device.
Alpha Pro would be for Note 4 types who don't want a huge phone.
The "Thinness Race" is surprising to me - I would MUCH prefer a thicker phone with SD Card and larger Battery and less breakable.
This size about 5.2" Tall with 4.7"
screen is perfect for me- and this Camera will be very good for Interior Designers , Real Estate Pros, Artists etc. not replacing a DSLR, but very useful.
Larger screens to me are impractical to carry and more likely to break, but I love the power of a Laptop in my pocket.
The Alpha is close.
The Sony Z3 Compact is close.
I prefer a removable Battery.
If Devs can create an APP that allows direct Storage to USB Stick ,
I could live without SD Card.
Two to Five Millimeters thicker and the Alpha Pro could be the Flagship Compact.
Remember you put a Rigid Case on a 5.6" Tall S5 and it's large and still fragile.
Put a rigid case on the Alpha and it's still pocket sized and less likely to break .
I don't know why it needs to be only 6.7 mm thick and 4 ounces-lol.
Give me the thicker Alpha Pro- a Device I am making up in the hopes it happens....
720p on 4.7" is decent. Even iPhone 6 doesn't have 1080p on their 4.7".
Hmmm I'm divided! I just had the S5 mini for a few days, and the screen on that one is bad. I meen the 720p resolution just doesn't cut it! Even thou the screen is small. It's just as bad as the S4 Mini. You can't read small fonts or read Web pages without zooming.
Soooo....... Does the Alpha has the same problem? I would guess. Even bigger screen with the same resolution. I hope I'm wrong and that Samsung just used a sub par display in the S5 mini. But I'm sceptical of course.
Also not sure if I want to live without the brilliance of a IR blaster in my phone. I use it everyday.
And then finally there is the potential issue about the battery size. Maybe it will be fine, if Sammy has optimized the Alphas HW correct.
So bottom line, I really want to get one, but I'm not to sure! LOOOOOOVE the esthetics!
Should be getting mine this coming Saturday, but stuck deciding what colour to go for...
---------- Post added at 03:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:12 PM ----------
robertkoa said:
Yes. I am in a similar situation -I am what you would call a Power User and need the Phone and nice
Camera for Business but am athletic, active and need the smaller form factor.
I want an Alpha Pro which is thicker with a larger Battery and Larger Camera Sensor like Note 4 ,SD Card for $ 100 more.
Alpha is a fashionable Device.
Alpha Pro would be for Note 4 types who don't want a huge phone.
The "Thinness Race" is surprising to me - I would MUCH prefer a thicker phone with SD Card and larger Battery and less breakable.
This size about 5.2" Tall with 4.7"
screen is perfect for me- and this Camera will be very good for Interior Designers , Real Estate Pros, Artists etc. not replacing a DSLR, but very useful.
Larger screens to me are impractical to carry and more likely to break, but I love the power of a Laptop in my pocket.
The Alpha is close.
The Sony Z3 Compact is close.
I prefer a removable Battery.
If Devs can create an APP that allows direct Storage to USB Stick ,
I could live without SD Card.
Two to Five Millimeters thicker and the Alpha Pro could be the Flagship Compact.
Remember you put a Rigid Case on a 5.6" Tall S5 and it's large and still fragile.
Put a rigid case on the Alpha and it's still pocket sized and less likely to break .
I don't know why it needs to be only 6.7 mm thick and 4 ounces-lol.
Give me the thicker Alpha Pro- a Device I am making up in the hopes it happens....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get what your saying I thought about it too, but something draws me to this device it just looks good and I think its a combination of the thinness and metal frame, anything thicker here I think would detract from its appeal. As long as I can get from 5am to 11pm with some juice left if I need it im happy
No but I would have if a) I was an at&t customer rather than t-mobile customer (for an on-contract deal) or b) it wasn't $192 more to import than the Xperia Z3 Compact. Who knows, if their resale values converge, I may end up having a green Alpha.
I like the style of the phone and hope Samsung uses this as the inspiration for all of their android devices over the next 6 months. I hope the phone sells well as the future of powerful sub 5" androids depends on this and the Z3C succeeding. I really look forward to seeing a January 2015 Tab Alpha 8.4 with the corners like this (and a snapdragon 810 or intel Broadwell). Similarly, I hope the Alpha sets the stage for a different direction for Samsung's phones (Android 5.0 should be more power efficient in a way that makes smaller batteries more viable).
The Alpha is coming to AT&T this Friday
The Alpha is coming to AT&T this Friday ,
And I'm getting one. I'm looking forward to the form factor, but I especially like, that it is not as huge as most phones out there and still has decent specs. I really wish I could have it all. Until then, I'm looking to have a new toy.
In my eyes, The Galaxy Alpha is Samsung’s most beautiful phone ever. Much more beautiful than the galaxy s5, but the size of its 1,860mAh battery worries me. In conclusion, I will choose the HTC M8 as my next flagship phone.
I sold my S5 for the Alpha a couple of days ago and don't regret it at all! It's a small and very powerful phone and probably one of Samsung's better in many years IMO ☺
Skickat från min SM-G850F via Tapatalk
hey,
i have a vr headset for my galaxy s5 and it works pretty well, but some games stutter and lag in places because i think the phone is struggling
it would be great if there were a headset that would suit our tablets because of the larger screen and more horsepower
but i have not been able to find one
is there one around for the shield tablet?
cheers
crispy raing said:
hey,
i have a vr headset for my galaxy s5 and it works pretty well, but some games stutter and lag in places because i think the phone is struggling
it would be great if there were a headset that would suit our tablets because of the larger screen and more horsepower
but i have not been able to find one
is there one around for the shield tablet?
cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Man, don't you think using a tablet on your face is a little exaggerated? Plus, the Shield Tablet is so heavy you'd probably have a neck pain within 5 minutes of use lol
But anyway, I found this http://www.roadtovr.com/vr-viewer-7-inch-tablets-vr-headset-hmd/
And this https://www.durovis.com/product.html?id=5
These are made for 7 inch tablets, but I think they might fit a Sheid.
Alternatively, you could download the Google Cardboard Schemes and make them bigger while using the same size lens. But yeah, still think VR on a tablet isn't a good option. Still, good luck
I agree, shield tablet is too heavy to use for VR Headset, unless you are willing to suffer the consequences of discomfort and neckpain while using the device attached to your head ..
A solution to neckpain (though maybe not discomfort) could be lying on your back. A solution to both could be a gooseneck tablet holder. I have this one though I think this one would be better since the EasyAcc one bounces around like none other when the tablet or gooseneck gets bumped. None of these solutions are ideal though
Redundant links in case you're having trouble with the ones in the text
Amazon Search: http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&fie...dex=blended&link_code=qs&tag=wwwcanoniccom-20
EasyAcc tablet holder (the one I own): http://www.amazon.com/EasyAcc-Goose...92228&sr=8-1&keywords=gooseneck+tablet+holder
TacTronics tablet holder (this one would be better for VR applications): http://www.amazon.com/TaoTronics-TT...92228&sr=8-3&keywords=gooseneck+tablet+holder
You could counter balance it at least the weight would be equally distributed.
Hi,
I'm a Rift DK2 Owner since Aug 14, a Rift CV1 pre-order and into VR since over 2 years.
What I know so far about VR... forget it, that didn't work, never. The main problem alone is the low DPI of the Shield tablet. Use VR lenses and you could count the pixels that you see easily. The Samsung Galaxy S5, that you can use with GearVR, have a much higher DPI and is OLED, what is also much better for VR (low latency and low persistence is only possible with OLED). Only that it is a pentile and not a RGB OLED is a not so good...
The Shield is too big, so the 1200p display have a too low DPI and it is much too heavy. Too bad I can't weight it here, but when I put it on my hands I would say the Shield K1 weight more than my Rift DK2. ^^
That only thing that would be good for VR is the power of the shield, but that is useless without the right display and size of it. The shield have a 8" display, that is over 2" too big for VR (Rift DK2 have a Samsung Note 3 display, that have 5,7", your galaxy s5 have only 5,1").
But I must also say: actually mobile VR is only a gimmick compared to PC VR, the technology on mobile is by far not good enough for right VR experiences. The only really mobile VR experiences that is ok but still far away from PC is GearVR with one of the Samsung S6 models. But even that have no positional tracking, only headtracking and that is too less for real VR.
DrRetro said:
Hi,
The Shield is too big, so the 1200p display have a too low DPI and it is much too heavy. Too bad I can't weight it here, but when I put it on my hands I would say the Shield K1 weight more than my Rift DK2. ^^
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nvidia Shield K1: 356g
Occulus Rift DK2: 380 grams ... make that 440g with the cable included
For some reason you seem to be using a hopelessly heavy VR headset and you still love it, curious.
Hi Everyone,
I thought I'd share some thoughts on this device after having purchased it yesterday afternoon.
I bought this phone because I felt it was the first device that gave me what I had been craving for a long time - an Android version of the iPhone 6s. I like the size, build and feel of the iPhone 6s/7, but not the software or the price.
I think I am in the minority of people who prefer a smaller handset, and even though Android devices tend to fit a lot more screen real estate into smaller bodies, I still feel that the 4.7in screen size is ideal for me.
The only phones that run Android of that size have been the Xperia compact line, and the Galaxy Alpha/A3 2016 models. There have been others, but only these have come close. Unfortunately, they have suffered compromised designs and specs that have left me wanting (I have owned them all, and this is my opinion which others are free to disagree with).
This new handset, however, has me ticking a lot of boxes.
- Size is fantastic. Just a little smaller than the iPhone 6s, and feels great in the hand. Premium materials, solid build quality, great ergonomics, clicky buttons, no camera hump.
- The display is good, not awesome, but vibrant and colourful without being too over the top. Can be tweaked to each user's preference, and gets both very bright and very dim.
- fingerprint scanner is fast and accurate.
- Camera is good, not amazing. An iPhone definitely trounces this setup, but I paid £280 sim free and my usage is not too demanding so it's absolutely fine for me. Daytime shots are actually very pleasant and I think here it punches above its weight; low light is where it struggles, but I feel that most shots at night are not too important for me so it's a compromise I'll happily make.
- Call quality is very good and it holds onto signal well in my area.
- Sound quality out of the side mounted speaker is actually surprisingly good, at least as good as an iPhone 6s. Headphone performance is also excellent .
- Performance has been nothing short of excellent. I feel we have reached a point where there are not that many tasks that we do that actually need a Snapdragon 821 to run smoothly - granted, some 3d games need serious power on tap to run at their highest settings on a quad HD screen, but with a 720p screen, the A3 2017 runs pretty much anything at best quality without delay or hiccup. And everyday operation is smooth as butter without any lag or slowdowns. Granted, this is very early days, but I am hopeful this will continue.
- Battery life is astounding. I charged it on Saturday night and hit 100% at 10.20pm. I took it off charger and only put it back on at 2% while writing this review and I had nearly 9 hrs and 30mins of screen on time over 1 day and 3 hours. That includes 64 mins of voice calls. Please note that I was home all day on Wifi, but still, I have never seen times like that, not least from a 2300 odd mah battery. Awesome. It also charges pretty fast.
- Other stuff - water proofing is great, finally have USB-C, charges really quickly with the included adaptive charging brick, finally has a blue light filter.
And now for the balance of the review:
- Slippery despite its size, so a case or a skin is advisable.
- 16gb of internal memory nearly broke the deal for me, but a 64gb card and some transferring of apps has left me with 3.8gb left to play with internally. Definitely not ideal and a very cheap move from Samsung, but I'm also hoping Nougat brings adoptable storage soon which will eliminate this as an issue (here's hoping!).
- No notification light is something I have to adjust to, but the always on display does help *somewhat* ( I prefer the light as it's something that alerts me from afar, whereas the display is on regardless of whether you have a notification or not).
- Camera as described above has some shortcomings.
- Usual Samsung software compromised with bloatware - lots of useless stuff on here that eats into that 16gb that I cannot delete (Microsoft suite, Samsung junk, usual duplicate apps that we all use the Google version of). I'll keep trying the usual routes to rid the phone of this but I may have to wait a while.
Other than these points, I am really pleased. It feels nice to have paid relatively little for a device that feels so premium. I know there are other phones at relatively low prices that kill this on specs (OP3, Axon 7, Honor 8, etc) but they are generally much bigger handsets, so for anyone looking at something smaller, this is a great buy.
TL;DR, it's great, buy one if you like small phones ?
I always wanted a phone with an small amoled screen and water proofing so i jumped ship from the huge mate 8 to witch i am comparing. I agree with your pros but i found: 1-the camera is average and lacking OIS (need very stable hands), 2- cannot use sd card as default storage (very handy on mate 8), 3- phone very slippery, 4- Design and Screen of a3 2016 seemed better (personal opinion), 5- no stutter but little slow (comparing to mate 8). Only lacks IR blaster to check all boxes but we can't have everything.
Great feedback, thanks guys.
You mentioned not display is good but not awesome, could you elaborate? Is issue clarity or something else? Thanks.
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mario24601 said:
Great feedback, thanks guys.
You mentioned not display is good but not awesome, could you elaborate? Is issue clarity or something else? Thanks.
Sent from my Moto X using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Coming from a larger phone with a quad HD screen, it's never going to look as dazzlingly sharp, but on a 4.7 inch screen 720p still looks great and it is perfectly sharp and clear - if you've ever seen an iPhone screen, this feels much the same. Colours can be adjusted to your preference - I prefer accurate rather than punchy, but you can set it to either or somewhere in between.
I've had everything from a galaxy s6 which has crazy high pixel density to a Moto x, and personally I prefer the 720p smaller screen because it's far more efficient and I don't notice the pixel density difference after an hour or two.
Hope this helps.
Sunil_Kaura said:
Coming from a larger phone with a quad HD screen, it's never going to look as dazzlingly sharp, but on a 4.7 inch screen 720p still looks great and it is perfectly sharp and clear - if you've ever seen an iPhone screen, this feels much the same. Colours can be adjusted to your preference - I prefer accurate rather than punchy, but you can set it to either or somewhere in between.
I've had everything from a galaxy s6 which has crazy high pixel density to a Moto x, and personally I prefer the 720p smaller screen because it's far more efficient and I don't notice the pixel density difference after an hour or two.
Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks!
Sent from my Moto X using Tapatalk
Thanks for sharing this. I am also very happy with this phone so far. It's my second day with it, the battery is at 39% with 4h45 sot and 1d3h total since unplugged. In a night of 9 hours, the phone just lost 3%.
I have noticed though that wifi is constantly detected as running by betterbatterysats, even if it's turned off. Any idea how to fix this?
patci32 said:
I have noticed though that wifi is constantly detected as running by betterbatterysats, even if it's turned off. Any idea how to fix this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you checked in Settings -> Connections -> Location?
There are some wifi settings behind it (in location method and improve accuracy) you can deactivate.
F157 said:
Have you checked in Settings -> Connections -> Location?
There are some wifi settings behind it (in location method and improve accuracy) you can deactivate.
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Click to collapse
Indeed, I didn't know. Thanks, I hope this works.
---------- Post added at 01:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:33 PM ----------
F157 said:
Have you checked in Settings -> Connections -> Location?
There are some wifi settings behind it (in location method and improve accuracy) you can deactivate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also, could you please tell me if you use other settings to improve your battery life?
patci32 said:
Indeed, I didn't know. Thanks, I hope this works.
---------- Post added at 01:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:33 PM ----------
Also, could you please tell me if you use other settings to improve your battery life?
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Mm, nothing special yet, as I'm really happy with battery life so far.
What I did in the past with other devices is for example use the app greenify (needs root) to hibernate apps you don't want to run in the background.
Also, something that really helped me with my old s4 mini was to set mobile network to 2g, and only switch to lte once required.
And as always, use wifi instead of mobile network as often as possible, disable Bluetooth if not needed, etc.
£280?!?! That's highway robbery for a device with 720p, small battery and everything in budget-range. You get this, all the bells and whistles for £150 with a well known Chinese brand. Now I know why I'd never ever get a Slamsug.
iMaterial said:
£280?!?! That's highway robbery for a device with 720p, small battery and everything in budget-range. You get this, all the bells and whistles for £150 with a well known Chinese brand. Now I know why I'd never ever get a Slamsug.
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Please could you elaborate on one of these phones that you can get for £150? I'm pretty clued up but if I've missed something I'd be keen for you to share what you've found for myself and the community - my mother needs a new phone so if you've seen something better than the A3 for less I'd love to buy it
Sunil_Kaura said:
Please could you elaborate on one of these phones that you can get for £150? I'm pretty clued up but if I've missed something I'd be keen for you to share what you've found for myself and the community - my mother needs a new phone so if you've seen something better than the A3 for less I'd love to buy it
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Click to collapse
Which stats are you looking for? Battery? Screen res? SoC power?
Compare, with €150 phones, battery, res, SoC, well anything really part from 10 mm in size.
iMaterial said:
Which stats are you looking for? Battery? Screen res? SoC power?
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Click to collapse
Well I'm referring to your comment that you could get a better phone for £150, so I guess I'm wondering what phone you are saying is better for that price...
The battery life of the A3 is epic, the PPI is still perfectly decent (720p on 4.7 inches is still perfectly usable and arguably 1080p is unnecessary) and the SoC is both fat and frugal.
So really I'm wondering whether you can get something the same or better for less money
I'd be happy with an alternative with same form factor. Any recommendations? The A3 still not available in US.
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mario24601 said:
I'd be happy with an alternative with same form factor. Any recommendations? The A3 still not available in US.
Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
4.5 to 4.7" screen, 720p res. 2015 - today, only 4-5 options comes up.
http://www.gsmarena.com/results.php3?nYearMin=2015&nHeightMax=135&nDisplayResMin=921600&fDisplayInchesMin=4.5&fDisplayInchesMax=4.7
Only A3, Sony X and Z5 compact, Xiaomi Redmi 2 Pro has enough RAM, battery and goodies. LG Spirit and Alcatel Idol 3 only has 1 GB and 1.5 GB RAM, not really a viable option.
Sunil_Kaura said:
Well I'm referring to your comment that you could get a better phone for £150, so I guess I'm wondering what phone you are saying is better for that price...
The battery life of the A3 is epic, the PPI is still perfectly decent (720p on 4.7 inches is still perfectly usable and arguably 1080p is unnecessary) and the SoC is both fat and frugal.
So really I'm wondering whether you can get something the same or better for less money
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Redmi 4 Pro can be had for €150 and its battery life is Epic also, the Redmi 3 Pro is way better than A3 and Redmi 4 Pro, with 720p but alas 5". Redmi note 3 is also really good, for even less than €150. Samsung is priced at least £100 than it should, but the same can be said about Sony and Apple also.
iMaterial said:
4.5 to 4.7" screen, 720p res. 2015 - today, only 4-5 options comes up.
http://www.gsmarena.com/results.php3?nYearMin=2015&nHeightMax=135&nDisplayResMin=921600&fDisplayInchesMin=4.5&fDisplayInchesMax=4.7
Only A3, Sony X and Z5 compact, Xiaomi Redmi 2 Pro has enough RAM, battery and goodies. LG Spirit and Alcatel Idol 3 only has 1 GB and 1.5 GB RAM, not really a viable option.
The Redmi 4 Pro can be had for €150 and its battery life is Epic also, the Redmi 3 Pro is way better than A3 and Redmi 4 Pro, with 720p but alas 5". Redmi note 3 is also really good, for even less than €150. Samsung is priced at least £100 than it should, but the same can be said about Sony and Apple also.
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I agree the Xiaomi phones are compelling - my main issue is the fact that they are all grey imports - many purchasers have reported that they do not get any warranty support whatsoever, they generally require a more experienced android user to side load the Google play store, and they have sketchy android skins which have also been reported to spy on their users.
Don't get me wrong, Touchwiz (or Grace UI as it's now known) is not exactly great, but I'd rather know I can walk into a Samsung store and get a problem fixed than rely on a Hong Kong based website for support.
I think it's only fair to compare this phone to what can be had in Europe, and in that regard, it blows the Sony X Compact, Alcatel and others out of the water.
And given its build quality and design, it's good value compared to phones that retail for double this cost.
Also, most Xiaomi phones don't come with NFC (no android pay), some don't have scratch resistant glass, no quick charging, etc
The A3 also uses a processor built on the 14nm process which is up to date technology, whereas the Xiaomi phones at that price point use outdated processors like the 650 and 616.
The 14nm process is what gives the A3 it's great battery life without needing a 4000mAh battery and heavier construction.
A final point - check out the videos of the Redmi note 3 bend test - not encouraging! (I will add the Redmi 3 pro did significantly better though which is good progress).
Sunil_Kaura said:
I agree the Xiaomi phones are compelling - my main issue is the fact that they are all grey imports - many purchasers have reported that they do not get any warranty support whatsoever, they generally require a more experienced android user to side load the Google play store, and they have sketchy android skins which have also been reported to spy on their users.
Don't get me wrong, Touchwiz (or Grace UI as it's now known) is not exactly great, but I'd rather know I can walk into a Samsung store and get a problem fixed than rely on a Hong Kong based website for support.
I think it's only fair to compare this phone to what can be had in Europe, and in that regard, it blows the Sony X Compact, Alcatel and others out of the water.
And given its build quality and design, it's good value compared to phones that retail for double this cost.
Also, most Xiaomi phones don't come with NFC (no android pay), some don't have scratch resistant glass, no quick charging, etc
The A3 also uses a processor built on the 14nm process which is up to date technology, whereas the Xiaomi phones at that price point use outdated processors like the 650 and 616.
The 14nm process is what gives the A3 it's great battery life without needing a 4000mAh battery and heavier construction.
A final point - check out the videos of the Redmi note 3 bend test - not encouraging! (I will add the Redmi 3 pro did significantly better though which is good progress).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Redmi 4 Pro that I bought for a friend in Jan has the 14 nm Snapdragon 625. I can agree that it might lack a few finishing touches, but I could buy it for €150 inc shipping from aliexpress and get it in 7-9 days. But it's half the price, and I know the Adreno is a better GPU than the Mali.
Both on the Xiaomi and the Slamsug, first thing I would do it TWRP and LAOS ROM, they can keep their crap TW and MIUI, can't stand it.
Never the less, it shouldn't be 2x the price for something that is almost inferior in some points and better on others. Esp not in 2017, maybe some years ago, but every day there are better and better phones for under €200, like the Moto G5 and such, only problem is they are so damn big, and big phones are 99/100 new that are coming out, these days, sadly.
iMaterial said:
The Redmi 4 Pro that I bought for a friend in Jan has the 14 nm Snapdragon 625. I can agree that it might lack a few finishing touches, but I could buy it for €150 inc shipping from aliexpress and get it in 7-9 days. But it's half the price, and I know the Adreno is a better GPU than the Mali.
Both on the Xiaomi and the Slamsug, first thing I would do it TWRP and LAOS ROM, they can keep their crap TW and MIUI, can't stand it.
Never the less, it shouldn't be 2x the price for something that is almost inferior in some points and better on others. Esp not in 2017, maybe some years ago, but every day there are better and better phones for under €200, like the Moto G5 and such, only problem is they are so damn big, and big phones are 99/100 new that are coming out, these days, sadly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can't disagree there - it's frustrating how few phones there are under 5 inches available.
I will say though that besides the Xiaomi phones which look to have a nice build, the Moto G4 is very cheap feeling, as are most of the other phones available here in that price bracket, so I would happily pay a little more for a nice looking and premium feeling device.
If the Samsung we're £220 I think it'd sell by the bucket load as £20-40 above phones like the G4 would likely tempt many up, but at £280 I agree that it's a harder sell for the lay person.
I'm looking at from the other side - it's a mild compromise from an S7 or a iPhone 6s/7 , but it's half the price, rather than double that of a cheaper device.
And it absolutely looks and feels as good as a £5-600 phone.
Sunil_Kaura said:
Can't disagree there - it's frustrating how few phones there are under 5 inches available.
I will say though that besides the Xiaomi phones which look to have a nice build, the Moto G4 is very cheap feeling, as are most of the other phones available here in that price bracket, so I would happily pay a little more for a nice looking and premium feeling device.
If the Samsung we're £220 I think it'd sell by the bucket load as £20-40 above phones like the G4 would likely tempt many up, but at £280 I agree that it's a harder sell for the lay person.
I'm looking at from the other side - it's a mild compromise from an S7 or a iPhone 6s/7 , but it's half the price, rather than double that of a cheaper device.
And it absolutely looks and feels as good as a £5-600 phone.
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Click to collapse
There are so many on this forum and in other places that airs the same frustration, so few options for a mobile ca 130mm lenght and 4.5 - 4.7" screen (720p at least), that I'm starting to wonder if we should do something about it, maybe talk to so manufacturer to make at least 1-2 phones under 5"
The Redmi 4 Pro I used for a few weeks felt no worse in build than the Iphone 6 or 6S I have tried a few times, both in metal around 140 - 145mm size. But for €310 I can get a Xiaomi Mi 5 with 820 and have €100 in change over. I have never held a Moto G, last Motorola I have tried was the 4.3" Razr Maxx and it felt solid as a rock.
The J5 goes for around €180-190 here and I see no reason why this smaller, entry level A3 shouldn't be priced in a similar fashion. These days due to deaths in the family and such I'm so poor that €100 is more than I can spare and my Android mobile that I have now is from 2012 or so, single core with 512 MB RAM and I hate every minute when I'm using it. I'm lucky to have been given a 2009 Sony Ericsson C901 as my main caller.
Just my 1¢ (It used to be 2¢, but due to the recession I've had to make cutbacks)
---------- Post added at 07:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:16 PM ----------
What annoys me a lot is also that this A3 is bigger than the A3 (2016) and the battery is only 50 mAh bigger. They could easily have put a 2500 - 2800 mAh battery in this one, just like the Sony Z3, Z5 or X compact, which is 5 mm smaller.
My last perfect phone was the original moto x. I still use it. I am not a power user but the X just needs lil more power but on cm13 it's not bad.
I don't even mind going with old phone as long as has some custom roms to improve performance.
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