Yes, yes, it's possible to love a phone. Heck, you sleep next to it, don't you? Rate this thread to indicate your love for the Sony Xperia E4, all things considered. A higher rating indicates that the Sony Xperia E4 is an incredible phone that you enjoy tremendously. You love it.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
Xperia E4, in 2018.
OK, I borrowed this thing from my friend. I needed a spare phone while my Redmi Note 4 was being serviced. Straight to the topic.
3 years ago, that phone was really pleasant to use. I was jealous of it, when I was sitting with my Lumia 532 which kept breaking.
Build quality is really good. This phone is so durable it would survive a nuclear attack, and after the apocalypse, would be the only usable phone on the world besides the Nokia 3310. No, not the 3G one. The old one. Even when something breaks, parts are cheap. A big plus.
Camera. It sucks. Next.
Audio. It sucks too, but it's still better than MSM821x Lumias. Next.
Let's go to the software. It's 2018, and it's stuck with KitKat. It has no XDA support whatsoever, and the only root solution is Kingo (yet). Everything because of Sony's policy. What Sony did to this phone deserves a retribution in hell. No sources, no Android updates, Sony ELF32 with FOTAkernel. In terms of development, it was dead-end on the release day.
OK, in terms of speed. It has a cheap Mediatek CPU, which particularly isn't that bad. Surprisingly, it still can supply a decent amount of horsepower for non-sophisticated tasks. BUT, of course, Google had to complicate everything. To be honest, even when it carries most of the tasks well, I would avoid using Google services. Why? The same reason why we shouldn't do this, for instance, on LG L7 II.
All things considered, as a spare phone, it's pretty decent. But, if you want to use it for daily basis, it's not a good idea. Grab an old Galaxy S3, you will be more satisfied of it.
HOWEVER, this phone was unloved during its lifetime. I think that that's the moment we should resurrect development on it. Even in the simplest means.
Related
Saw the phone featured on engadget as a great low end device
LG Optimus One
This may come as a bit of a surprise considering the publication I write for, but I don't always feel an urgent need to upgrade to the latest and greatest devices. My main computer is a non-unibody MacBook Pro that's still going strong (it's the last model before Apple switched to the current design, and its keyboard still trumps any performance needs), and my phone is a decidedly not-high-end LG Optimus One (mostly identical to the Optimus T in the US).
I bought it over a year ago because at $150, it was one of the best reasonably priced options to be had off-contract; here in Canada, smartphones are generally sold with agreements lasting three years, not two, which has caused me to studiously avoid contracts altogether. I also figured it'd be a relatively short-term solution to tide me over until something swayed me enough to take the plunge into contract-land, or shell out for a pricier off-contract option.
Since then, I've come to like the Optimus One quite a bit. It's small (something I still consider a plus), solid and its performance remains surprisingly good for most basic tasks. It also finally received a Gingerbread update not too long ago, which provided a welcome improvement (albeit at a slight expense to battery life). Of course, there are some considerable downsides. The camera is lackluster, and the low resolution 3.2-inch screen is fast becoming a deal-breaker as more and more apps become tailored to higher-res displays (not to mention the many games that are simply incompatible). But for a $150 phone (now available for even less) it's hard to complain, even though I can't quite give it the same recommendation I would have a year ago.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/02/irl-voltaic-spark-lg-optimus-one-and-the-galaxy-nexus/
The Lg Optimus is a tank man.. It's an amazing phone I've had a couple of them and still love em for there price.. Just can't beat it.
tried two different fones, but after two weeks or so i switched back to my loved P500 ;-)
I can only agree - i've had this phone for about a year (bought it as is without a contract), and its still very usable. Surely its not the fanciest or fastest phone out there by far, but for the money it still provides good functionality - virtually every app works, albeit a bit slower than on more expensive handsets.
Personally i'd dont want to carry around a $500+ handset. I like to take them when i go out, during travel etc., and worrying about it getting damaged, lost or stolen all the time isnt that comfortable either.
If it ever did get lost or destroyed i'd seriously consider just buying another one
I couldn't agree more! I've also had it for more than a year (again bought without contract) and everything is still enough for me.
I have to mention that one strong advantage of O1 that many people overlook is it's battery life. I just compared mine with my friend's newest galaxy nexus (GN). O1's battery capacity is 1500 mAh, while that of GN is just 1750 mAh. But you know that GN is a much more high-end phone, with 1.2 dual core processor, high-res screen, and more. The results turn out that he is always frustrated about the short battery life.
And, of course, another advantage is it's awesome price that makes everyone feel comfortable. My friend always worries that I'll drop his GN when I ask to try it hands-on
O1 is really a very good phone. I'm happy that it's mentioned as a great phone on engadget.
Correction
I'm not against anything, as i too own this kickass cellphone. I just wanna clarify that engadget has a periodical posting called In Real Life (IRL) from its writers about their currently in use tech and in this case, the staff member named Don Melanson describes about his point of view.
And by the way, we have been outdated by Optimus Net (as of in India) and the team like Engadget doesn't recommends outdated tech.
My HAM2 arrived yesterday and all I can say is that it's an extremely nice phone. I don't see why everyone says it a behemoth. I don't think it's that big. It fits in my hand nicely. In fact, my Moto G now feels like a toy phone in size. Like some others here have said before me, I'm not going back to a small phone again. I can actually read the screen comfortably. I still have apps to move on to it, but it's mostly set up. Pairs up well with my bluetooth devices. I hope we can get a developer interested in root. As I expected, most of my programs don't have the option to be moved to the SD card. Root will be lovely. I love my HAM2.
You are going to live the battery life as well, it's amazing. I've made upwards of 90 hours on one charge!!! There is no other phone out there that can compete with that.
Sent from my MT2L03 using XDA Free mobile app
Hehe cant wait to see this phone in action
in love with a phone I can't even pronounce its brand... lol
Still, dreamy, and my selfies have never look more beautiful!!!!
:victory:
I get mine Monday; I can't wait!
I couldn't agree more. The HAM2 is a fantastic phone, and I think it deserves more credit. I change phones quite often, but now I'm finding it hard to move away from the HAM2. It's a little bigger than the Note 3, but I think the HAM2 has better build quality. It just feels more solid in the hand. The battery life is incredible, the performance is smooth, and the 720p resolution is fine for most applications. The EmotionUI is a little wonky, but I use NovaLauncher so I never even see it. I love the way the Phone Manager app cleans up memory/unused files, and warns me when a battery intensive app is running. The other thing I love is the HAM2 gives me the broadest range of compatibility with the PlayStore, whereas I've had to use MarketHelper on other phones simply to install an app. It seems like Huawei focused on the things people really care about with this phone rather than create new features they don't really need.
Huawei just announced the HAM7 at IFA, and it is starting to appear in online stores. The HAM7 is similar in size to the HAM2, but with several improvements, including: metal body, bigger battery, 1080p display, fingerprint ID, etc. The only problem is none of the newly released HAM7 models support LTE bands in the USA, so we can only get 3G/HSPA. I certainly hope Huawei decides to sell the HAM7 with US LTE bands, or something similar to it as a follow up to the release of the MT2-L03 in the US.
Review of HAM2:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4qfSJ8WGrs
I love mine!
Got mine the middle of July. LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT!
The battery kicks butt, build quality I would put on par with Samsung, HTC, Sony.
I heard a lot of negatives about no updates, not the top specs bla bla bla.
Big deal! I'll take a snappy STABLE, mid tier device, that runs everything I need,
without glitches, and a big battery, and a very affordable price ANY DAY over the
high priced "flagships" that have to be updated all the time, batteries that get maybe
one day, that are carrier locked, bloated.
The best sleeper smartphone out there right now is the Mate2, hands down!
I've been using my Mate 2 for about a week now. Rooted, Nova Launcher, Auto Hide soft keys. I have to say for the specs, that even though it may not be equal to the latest flagship devices, it's a great performer because it's just so well optimized compared to the massive crap bogging down the flagships. The screen is awesome. 720p is fine for a phone. You wouldn't notice the difference with type because that's scalable vector graphics, and pictures really have to be blown up to see the difference. That's all market hype, don't fall for it. Battery life amazing. As for not having KitKat on it, I'm not sure we would benefit all that much because all the newer features have been incorporated into the apps now and the optimal performance upgrades for older devices are for phones with less RAM then the Mate 2 ART with L would probably be a noticeable improvement. I prefer it to my LG G3. That phone just sits in a drawer now.
Sent from my MT2L03 using XDA mobile app
Yes, yes, it's possible to love a phone. Heck, you sleep next to it, don't you? Rate this thread to indicate your love for the Sony Xperia L1, all things considered. A higher rating indicates that the Sony Xperia L1 is an incredible phone that you enjoy tremendously. You love it.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
I do dig this device, and it seems much higher end than the price tag would indicate. I do, however, have some questions for Sony, namely why isn't this device listed at all on the Developer World forums? Why isn't there a branch on github for this device? Why does it seem like the L1 is the bad son in the Sony smartphone lineup?
The best thing about this phone is that it's spurring me to dive into Android development, as I've been strictly relegated to MatLab and various engineering softwares. I miss coding because I'm a glutton for punishment, but I digress.
Of course I have no delusions about anyone from Sony actually reading this, as they are clearly in a hands full situation over on the Developer World beat, but in the event one of you drop in to test your smart spectacles, I have a penny for your thoughts, and that, friends, is just my $0.02 for the day.
My LG G4 is dying.
I need a Verizon based phone to work with the Verizon MVNO I contract air access from.
How does the MotoZ vzw version handle unlocked bootloader? Is it possible?
I'm real keen on custom rom usage, whats the best custom roms available for the moto Z?
Any cons I should be made aware of?
What type of sim card ? ie: nano....................
I am done with the Asian phone manufacturers, unfortunately I have had bad experience with HTC and now LG.
Paid flagship prices for crap, sorry to say. My most favored phone was a motorola flip phone, maybe I return to motorola.
ty
Motorola = Lenovo = Chinese [emoji6]
I've had the MotoZ after the LG G4. Only short time. Since one year on Galaxy S8 and happy. Maybe a LG V30 as alternative?
I cannot say anything about a Verizon phone since I have no clue if they "tainted" the Moto Z too, making it different from global variants.
As for simply being worth it:
If you are paying less than 450$, it's definitely worth it.
The phone is snappy, hysterically thin for a phone ( it's as thick as an iPhone when you put a bulky case on it, otherwise it's only 5.2mm thick ), has a good camera, a great display and you will love the UI if you're a fan of stock Android.
However, if you can pay more than 450$, consider something like a Oneplus 5.
Battery is AWFUL. The phone is mostly smooth but if you use it for prolonged periods, it heats up and then starts lagging due to throttling.
Camera is reasonable at most but the camera lens get scratched easily, so the image quality could degrade over time.
Mods are funny at some point but are extremely expensive and there are chaper alternatives that work on any device, not being necessary to have a Z phone to use them.
Fingerprint scanner works but it's not the fastest and misses sometimes, and it get's really annoying when you have to try 4 or 5 times to unlock it.
Motorola has abandoned this phone, which hasn't received a security update since December and god knows when it'll get Oreo, and even worse, god knows what sort of bugs Lenovo interns will give us when Oreo finally arrives.
Doesn't have a headphone jack.
My particular unit developed severe burn-in after only 7 months of usage, but every display is different, so your mileage may vary.
Phone is so thin that it's unconfortable to hold without a mod attatched or a case, which is a bummer because the phone is good looking without anything on it. Also slippery as hell.
There are not many developers for the Moto Z, so there isn't many custom roms available compared to Samsung or even Sony. There are some unofficial builds from big projects like Lineage but there are some bugs here and there.
So, take it with a grain of salt because this is my experience, but beware because I'm not the only one reporting those issues. Just check out Lenovo forums and see how many battery drain topics are there, which got even worse after the 7.1.1 update.
Forget those awesome flip phones Motorola once built, because that company is dead. Motorola is just a brand name now, everything is Lenovo. When you boot the Moto Z there is a big ass Lenovo logo so you don't forget it. If I were you, I would go for the OnePlus 5 . Your experience may be worse with Motorola.
The phone uses nano sim though.
Moto Z= bored device + screen burn + ugly battery life
Sent from my [device_name] using XDA-Developers Legacy app
One plus is an Asian brand too xD
Z2 Play or bust
spyknee said:
maybe I return to motorola.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't. Battery life is awful, and Motorola does not support this device any more.
Mine got broken (bluetooth died), I sent it to Motorola for repair three months ago, and they refuse to fix or refund it, despite still being under warranty.
I see a lot of salty people here.
I've had my Moto Z since October 2017. I upgraded from Nexus 5x, which got bootloop. Is it worth it?
That depends on the price. I've got mine for 350$ and I'm pretty satisfied. The battery is similar to the one I've had in 5x (needs a recharge at the end of the day). However, with Incipio power pack it lasts a full day of heavy use.
No burn-ins whatsoever.
It was lagging a little bit at the beginning, but now its really snappy, miles better than my crap Nexus. I've played Vice City quite a lot and no major throttling issues happened to me (maybe some fps drops once a while, but it's not something drastic).
Motorola still supports this phone. Fast updates are long gone from the Google days, but they're still pretty average.
I really like this phone, but if I were you I would wait a little bit more for the Nokia 7 Plus. 2018 version looks amazing.
And stay away from any LG. They can't fix bootloop problems since G4. G6 and V30 are too young to judge if they're fine. They still may bootloop in the near future.
I forgot to add: Fingerprint sucks. Nexus 5x was better in that term.
My Samsung note 4 has just died and now looking for a new phone. The specification looks fantastic and the price at the moment makes it very tempting. However, the reports of excessive bloatware and no headphone socket is a bit of a turn-off. I see there is an option to root the phone, but not something I would consider in the first year of ownership, so would appreciate the views from current owners on how they are managing with the Huawei interface.
Not if you live in the USA. #abandoned #noupdates #brokenupdates #noGPUTURBO
I like it, and the price is good too
I don't see the hate on the GPU Turbo thing... the phone was a good phone before people knew about it, it hasn't changed to become a bad phone now that they don't have it
But I have the mate 10, non-pro, I wanted front fingerprint sensor and headphone jack
edit: I don't see much in terms of bloatware. But you can ADB uninstall it without using root so it isn't a big issue either way. I mostly considered swiftkey the only bloatware that came with phone, and the facebook system apps. But ADB took care of them without any issue. The Huawei apps might be bloatware to you? I don't mind them and they work well enough that I don't have another app instead (like the video/file manager)
Edit: Back to ranting on the #nogputurbo thing, it's no different than the #no3rdcameralikep20 to me, the phone didn't come with it, make your decision based on what it has and no what another phone has or buy that one instead
rdann said:
My Samsung note 4 has just died and now looking for a new phone. The specification looks fantastic and the price at the moment makes it very tempting. However, the reports of excessive bloatware and no headphone socket is a bit of a turn-off. I see there is an option to root the phone, but not something I would consider in the first year of ownership, so would appreciate the views from current owners on how they are managing with the Huawei interface.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get the non pro if youre looking for a headphone jack
Other than that keep in mind Huawei's record of updating is a little on the downside especially if youre in the US(like me)
But quite honestly IDGAF about the lack of updates, the phones plentiful, enjoy the phone as it is, I dont regret the purchase of my M10 Pro, but if I were you do more research, especially its already Q3 of 2018, and there will be more phones releasing later this year if the Mate 10 Pro or Non Pro doesnt tick your boxes
Tough to beat the hardware for the price. Love the battery life, best I have ever had. Came from a S8 +, and it's noticably faster IMO. Camera features are a big plus. Have had a lot of fun with all the modes, manual, and great B&W. Don't really notice much difference with screen, lower resolution, but it's not as over saturated as a Samsung panel. Updates may be an issue at some point US model is way behind some of the other variants. Not much in the way of custom ROM support, and not likely to change. Still, I am very happy with the phone.