It's strange that I feel I don't have most of the discussed problems in this forum. But let me tell you my reasons, why I decided to return the Poco F1.
1. Buggy microphone: the hands free mode has huge problems. There seems to be an unfixed problem with the internal microphones which makes it impossible to have understandable conversations in hands free mode (Skype, WhatsApp). This problem also occurs in the internal voice recording app in interview mode. This probably will be fixed in future versions, but as by now (9.6.14.0, European version) it just doesn't work and I need that function almost every day.
2. The MicroSD slot doesn't help much if I can't allocate the card to the internal drive. I have an ultra fast U3 SanDisk extreme card with 128 GB, but I can't merge it with the internal drive. Some would say: who cares? Just use it as an external card, whats the point? But just think of losing your phone and someone else has access to all your data on the memory card. Allocating the MicroSD to the internal drive encrypts everything on the card. I do understand the arguments of the manufacturer (speed issues because of fricking slow crappy sd cards), but I don't understand, why they won't leave that function open to experienced users (e.g. within the developers menu).
3. Can't get rid of Google Apps. I don't need and want certain Google Apps, but I can't disable them. I am not even asking for uninstalling, I just want to disable them, but Xiaomi won't let me. It just feels that I don't have control over the phone.
4. The rounded corners are strange: when watching a video you have one side with rounded corners, the other one with, well, normal corners.
5. The task switcher is a step backwards. I was used to switch between apps very quickly using the vertical task switcher. The task switcher on the Poco F1 works horizontally. Seriously? Phones are becoming longer and longer, not wider. I need much more time to switch between apps because I simply don't have a good overview of the open apps.
6. No HD-Streaming on Netflix and Prime.
7. Bad frequency coverage. Check the specs and compare them to your former phone (I used phonearena). I was shocked when I saw that the Poco F1 has really bad coverage of the available frequencies. I travel to Hong Kong and Japan a couple times a year and use local SIM cards. But looking at the very few supported frequencies, I am afraid I won't have a good reception anymore.
Remark: I have had the Poco F1 for about a week and will return it to the shop. I had a Moto G5 Plus before and will switch back to it again. I am aware of that certain points might not be bugging for some people. I consider myself as an experienced user which some major requirements about functions of a smartphone. If a phone doesn't match most of these requirements, I consider it as crap. This has nothing to do with the manufacturer. Ah, and I don't like custom roms. I went through that stuff so many years and spend so many weekends on that. I am not willing to spend my leisure time anymore trying out new roms because something is always not working well.
FTPFreezer said:
It's strange that I feel I don't have most of the discussed problems in this forum. But let me tell you my reasons, why I decided to return the Poco F1.
1. Buggy microphone: the hands free mode has huge problems. There seems to be an unfixed problem with the internal microphones which makes it impossible to have understandable conversations in hands free mode (Skype, WhatsApp). This problem also occurs in the internal voice recording app in interview mode. This probably will be fixed in future versions, but as by now (9.6.14.0, European version) it just doesn't work and I need that function almost every day.
2. The MicroSD slot doesn't help much if I can't allocate the card to the internal drive. I have an ultra fast U3 SanDisk extreme card with 128 GB, but I can't merge it with the internal drive. Some would say: who cares? Just use it as an external card, whats the point? But just think of losing your phone and someone else has access to all your data on the memory card. Allocating the MicroSD to the internal drive encrypts everything on the card. I do understand the arguments of the manufacturer (speed issues because of fricking slow crappy sd cards), but I don't understand, why they won't leave that function open to experienced users (e.g. within the developers menu).
3. Can't get rid of Google Apps. I don't need and want certain Google Apps, but I can't disable them. I am not even asking for uninstalling, I just want to disable them, but Xiaomi won't let me. It just feels that I don't have control over the phone.
4. The rounded corners are strange: when watching a video you have one side with rounded corners, the other one with, well, normal corners.
5. The task switcher is a step backwards. I was used to switch between apps very quickly using the vertical task switcher. The task switcher on the Poco F1 works horizontally. Seriously? Phones are becoming longer and longer, not wider. I need much more time to switch between apps because I simply don't have a good overview of the open apps.
6. No HD-Streaming on Netflix and Prime.
7. Bad frequency coverage. Check the specs and compare them to your former phone (I used phonearena). I was shocked when I saw that the Poco F1 has really bad coverage of the available frequencies. I travel to Hong Kong and Japan a couple times a year and use local SIM cards. But looking at the very few supported frequencies, I am afraid I won't have a good reception anymore.
Remark: I have had the Poco F1 for about a week and will return it to the shop. I had a Moto G5 Plus before and will switch back to it again. I am aware of that certain points might not be bugging for some people. I consider myself as an experienced user which some major requirements about functions of a smartphone. If a phone doesn't match most of these requirements, I consider it as crap. This has nothing to do with the manufacturer. Ah, and I don't like custom roms. I went through that stuff so many years and spend so many weekends on that. I am not willing to spend my leisure time anymore trying out new roms because something is always not working well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most of the stuff you mentioned are related to MIUI and can be fixed by flashing a stock rom ( custom) which will be available soon. For notch, you've to deal with it as most of the upcoming phones including Moto One includes Notch. Give credit to Apple for this stupid notch. I'm used to it as my main phone is iPhone X so I've been using notch phone from a long time now. Yes, rounded corners on one side sucks.
No hd streaming is still in que to be fixed by Xiaomi. Though I've no idea why people complain about it, I can't really tell difference between the quality what it streams on Amazon Prime and Netflix without HD. May be I'm used to watching videos on iPad so can't tell the difference on small screen.
Coverage is excellent here with this ph. I used to get less than 1mbps with Redmi Note 5 Pro and now I easily get 10-12mbps on 4G.
I don't use microsd card, remind me this is 2018 na? People still use microsd when OEMs offer 128/256gb phs. I've purchased Poco 128GB may be that's why I never thought this ph supports microsd.
No buggy microphone here. May be it's issue with your phone.
Since you're not into custom roms, get One Plus 6 or upcoming 6T. I bet you'll still find reasons to complain about that phone too. That's just human nature. Everybody wants top end hardware by spending less money, nobody realise when you pay less for such hardware you're going to get compromise somewhere be it notch, hd streaming, touch issues, camera etc. No phone is perfect not even the iPhone X.
Good luck with the return.
Ermm which brand phone allowed micro SD to be main drive ?
Aimara said:
Ermm which brand phone allowed micro SD to be main drive ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No the main drive, but merged with the main drive. My Moto G5 Plus allows that. It is, as far as I understood, a normal function of Android (since 6.0?) but can be disabled by the manufacturer.
FTPFreezer said:
No the main drive, but merged with the main drive. My Moto G5 Plus allows that. It is, as far as I understood, a normal function of Android (since 6.0?) but can be disabled by the manufacturer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see, this option goes way back then android 6 ,where micro SD card can be the main ,didn't know it's a android feature to merge storage
Sorry but way to much crying about this phone everywhere.
What do u expect for 300 euro in this price range and with those spec u don't find a phone with widevine.
I come from Oneplus and now I know why are people always laughing about the Xiaomi community always complaining.
Maybe it is the price range.. I don't know.
It is not a offensive post to u personally, but everywhere I look there are complains.
Good luck with the return.
Thank you for your feedback. I understand, that people might think that complaining about a 300 USD phone is exaggerated, but on the other side there's also kind of a hype about that phone, so I thought I just let people know what my expectation were and how I feel about the phone.
I intentionally didn't mention the positive things about the phone (and there, fur sure, are good ones). I believe it isn't a bad phone at all. It just doesn't suit my very specific expecations well.
My focus was set on some key features I thought some other people would also want to know about, so this hopefully help them to decide whether to buy the phone or not.
@FTPFreezer, surprised to read a few points in your post - perhaps most surprised when I came to read that you are shifting back to a G5+. I moved from a G5, a bit slower than your phone, granted, but when I came to shift some files from my G5 earlier today after a week with the F1 I was stunned by how sluggish it was. Really, there's no comparison.
Adoptable storage has been a pain in the ass rather than a boon - mine has not failed in the way many G5 users have experienced, but getting data off the card to switch phones is misery. The F1 camera is worlds better. There's no comparison in terms of build quality, the G5 feeling like a toy. Until today I never realised the G5 screen is as poor as it is. Battery life is obviously incomparable.
Miui is not to my taste, but Rootless pixel launcher makes it tolerableme features done nicely. I'll still probably move to a custom ROM, but likely not if it means losing the face unlock.
Face unlock - reminds me how shockingly poor the G5 fingerprint reader is; the Pocophone is bang on every time.
Good luck with the switch back, but I really don't appreciate your reasoning.
Easily disable from playstore head to help and feedback then select delete or disable app and you can disable
FTPFreezer said:
Thank you for your feedback. I understand, that people might think that complaining about a 300 USD phone is exaggerated, but on the other side there's also kind of a hype about that phone, so I thought I just let people know what my expectation were and how I feel about the phone.
I intentionally didn't mention the positive things about the phone (and there, fur sure, are good ones). I believe it isn't a bad phone at all. It just doesn't suit my very specific expecations well.
My focus was set on some key features I thought some other people would also want to know about, so this hopefully help them to decide whether to buy the phone or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Should've just bought a more expensive phone if you have such specific needs. Most people are satisfied with what they got.
teddyanuj said:
Easily disable from playstore head to help and feedback then select delete or disable app and you can disable
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried this by yourself or do you just contribute something without knowledge? This is simply not possible on the Poco F1. You can just uninstall all updates, but you are not able to deactivate the app.
Undead_Son said:
Should've just bought a more expensive phone if you have such specific needs. Most people are satisfied with what they got.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why do you say this? Which of my points are related to a higher price? The only one I could think of is the frequency coverage, but other thread in this forum suggest, that Xiaomi might just block them by software.
FTPFreezer said:
Have you tried this by yourself or do you just contribute something without knowledge? This is simply not possible on the Poco F1. You can just uninstall all updates, but you are not able to deactivate the app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did it.. just follow step and disable them
teddyanuj said:
I did it.. just follow step and disable them
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then it could be a region related issue. My region is set to HK (because otherwise face unlock isn't possible in Germany). It definately doesn't work like you said. But anyways, I gonna return the phone today, so it doesn't matter much anymore. I'll just keep the G5 Plus for some while.
FTPFreezer said:
Then it could be a region related issue. My region is set to HK (because otherwise face unlock isn't possible in Germany). It definately doesn't work like you said. But anyways, I gonna return the phone today, so it doesn't matter much anymore. I'll just keep the G5 Plus for some while.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whether u take or let it go...it doesnt matter to anyone here . M trying to help u out just this ..
LOL with adb you can uninstall all you want
FTPFreezer said:
Why do you say this? Which of my points are related to a higher price? The only one I could think of is the frequency coverage, but other thread in this forum suggest, that Xiaomi might just block them by software.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A more expensive phone is more likely to match those major requirements of yours, that's all.
@FTPFreezer thank you for your review. I, for one, enjoyed your critique of the product. It's these kinds of review I like to search for before buying a product.
Only the Google Apps thing worries me, personally. I will still be getting the poco phone.
1. Buggy microphone
can't verify that, mine is good
2. The MicroSD slot doesn't help much if I can't allocate the card to the internal drive
why would you want to do that? if you have to format data even everything on SDcard is gone, UFS is anyway much faster
3. Can't get rid of Google Apps
yes, you can - just use a custom ROM
4. The rounded corners are strange
I have to admit the corners are big but I'm not playing games, so I can live with it
5. The task switcher is a step backwards
not an issues on custom ROM
6. No HD-Streaming on Netflix and Prime
for what? do you really see a difference at a 6.2" panel? regarding bandwith L3 is enough for me
7. Bad frequency coverage
can't verify that, works good here in austria
I can't help but laugh. This is a 300 hundred dollar phone. This is not the S9+ even though the Poco is faster.
I installed the SD before setting my F1. During setup of Miui 10, it asked me if I wanted to use it for app storage or just as portable storage.
If you were rooted, you could get rid of any app you want. Not sure why this is even an issue. All OEM's stop you from removing apps bundled like Google Duo, play movies etc.
There are hacked versions of Netflix out there that let you play ultra HD shows. The problem is on a 6" screen, not sure what the big deal is.
I get no 4g here in the US on T-Mobile but I've had no issues with sound quality whatsoever.
Sounds to me like a nice S9+ is what u want. Heck, it's only 600 dollars more
Let me say it again, this is an amazing phone for 300 bucks. People will always find negative things to say about any phone.
Related
Wow, now I remember why I dont buy sony products. Whoever decided to make the sd card slot usless should get a tab up side the head.
Sd card: useless compared to non crippled slots
Micro usb? really? thats the best you could cram into a tablet this size... fail
No hdmi? major fail
The charger is the worst piece of crap I have ever seen
Bravo sony, you wanted to create a tablet that you had to cut by 100$ and a tablet that is crippled and missing its leggs.
Even some 7inch tabs have hdmi, full size usb and a charger that doesnt sound like metal teeth being snapped.
As for power and gpu, my samsung galaxy NOTE gt-N7000 runs circles around this failure.
If you love it, good for you, I require more.
Rant over
First of all, of course you galaxy note runs circles around it. It's clocked at 1.4ghz vs the sony s's 1ghz. Not really sure what your basis for the claims of the GPU performance are.. they should be fairly similar though, so if the Galaxy Note does indeed outperform it then your right that it's pretty crappy of Sony.
I agree with you for most of the other parts though. Can't really justify the need for downsizing the USB port when it's such a large case up there. Hell they could have fit two there! HDMI would have been great, but there are plenty that don't have it on the market, at least this one offers DLNA. I don't have a problem with the charger.. seems to me that it would be much, much more durable than the micro USB's android phones ahve been strapping.
Plus some people pay hundreds for a universal remote, and this has one with great form and function. Like anything it has it's pro's and cons.
The two things that stung me about it that got me after purchase is the SDcard storage thingo, and lack of support from gameloft :\.
But hey, could be worse and just not have an SD card slot like some do. Now that is a fail.
DreadPirateDan said:
First of all, of course you galaxy note runs circles around it. It's clocked at 1.4ghz vs the sony s's 1ghz. Not really sure what your basis for the claims of the GPU performance are.. they should be fairly similar though, so if the Galaxy Note does indeed outperform it then your right that it's pretty crappy of Sony.
I agree with you for most of the other parts though. Can't really justify the need for downsizing the USB port when it's such a large case up there. Hell they could have fit two there! HDMI would have been great, but there are plenty that don't have it on the market, at least this one offers DLNA. I don't have a problem with the charger.. seems to me that it would be much, much more durable than the micro USB's android phones ahve been strapping.
Plus some people pay hundreds for a universal remote, and this has one with great form and function. Like anything it has it's pro's and cons.
The two things that stung me about it that got me after purchase is the SDcard storage thingo, and lack of support from gameloft :\.
But hey, could be worse and just not have an SD card slot like some do. Now that is a fail.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The gpu plays as big a roll as the cpu in terms of render. I had a 154$ tablet that used an all winner cortex9 with a mali-400 gpu and it destroys the sony tablet. Of course at 154$ it had a ****ty 7inch screen. After my iphone 4 and 4s, i cant go back to hiddeous pixel screens. I found the perfect middle ground in my Samsung Note. It has the muscle to back up its amazing screen.
BTW, that cheap tablet with the amazing cpu/gpu had hdmi, usb and a micro sdhc slot. Its the now gone Ainol Novo 7 Advanced (not the the basic model).
I must say, the sony tablet screen look terrible compared to my Note but if i hold it far enough away, the pixels dont jump out at me as much.
Mind you its apples to oranges because the Note's display is an ips super amoled with an almost retina ppi.
I called sony today to pass on my thoughts. They sound ignorant. Their sales reflect that. Maybe if they drop it another 100$ people will stop returning it when the insert their sd card and haul the charger out of the box with a tractor.
The card works fine with any 3rd party app quickpic mx player etc thanks for playing technical genius
Who uses stock apps anyway
Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk
wintermute000 said:
The card works fine with any 3rd party app quickpic mx player etc thanks for playing technical genius
Who uses stock apps anyway
Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bitterness ages a face ;-)
Oh, and try to download a movie on your sony tablet directly to you sd card.... oh right, crippled
Regarding the "crippled" SD Card slot, as far as I can tell its only crippled with Sony apps. If you use any standard Android app the SD card slot is fully usable and accessible. I've got a 32 gig sd card in there and have no problem playing videos/music/open files directly off it. No speed issues or anything. I never transfer anything...
pfcwintergreen said:
Regarding the "crippled" SD Card slot, as far as I can tell its only crippled with Sony apps. If you use any standard Android app the SD card slot is fully usable and accessible. I've got a 32 gig sd card in there and have no problem playing videos/music/open files directly off it. No speed issues or anything. I never transfer anything...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nowhere did I refer to playback. Try to download natively to your sd card with your tablet. Crippled. Playback is useless if you cant get the media on the card in the first place. Maybe run out and buy a real tablet to do the muscle work and use the sony for the pansy playback?
Did Sony kill your parents? Good Lord, let it go. You don't like the Tablet S, but a lot of us do. Who cares? Don't buy it! I like PS3 controller compatibility and universal remote features. They build different tablets for a reason, just like how they make different phones, different TVs, furniture, cars, ice cream flavors, etc...
You can use dolphin browser ( and many other browser ) to download file into sd card directly.
unclespoon said:
Did Sony kill your parents? Good Lord, let it go. You don't like the Tablet S, but a lot of us do. Who cares? Don't buy it! I like PS3 controller compatibility and universal remote features. They build different tablets for a reason, just like how they make different phones, different TVs, furniture, cars, ice cream flavors, etc...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, because you've never bought something ad ranted. I always love the holier than thou type.
roticagas said:
You can use dolphin browser ( and many other browser ) to download file into sd card directly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes thank you. Too bad dolphin crashes on my sony tab and it only downloads certain things. I download movies and stuff on my samsung note with torrent apps. Sony s will only download to its own memory. But thanks
BeamMeUpStreaky said:
Yes thank you. Too bad dolphin crashes on my sony tab and it only downloads certain things. I download movies and stuff on my samsung note with torrent apps. Sony s will only download to its own memory. But thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sell your sony and use your samsung if is better than a workstation.
Sony s runs android, so " Sony s will only download to its own memory " is a meaningless phrase.
david8 said:
Sell your sony and use your samsung if is better than a workstation.
Sony s runs android, so " Sony s will only download to its own memory " is a meaningless phrase.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anything I say will be meaningless to you for the simple fact that you are limited to your own opinion. I however dont get frustrated when other people are not acting as my clone.
"Sony s runs android"?? do you think my more capable Note runs windows 7??Obviously they both use android.
On most tablets and my Note, "I" decide where my downloads go ie to the units memory or to the memory card I have installed. Sony s makes that choice for you. Its not my opinion, its a fact. Kinda runs in the face of what android lovers seem to hold so dear... "freedom".
I may sell my crippled tablet for a capable one, or just give it to my 5 year old nephew to play with.
I will pick up a galaxy tab, as far as I can see, looks better.
Dont hate on people, life is too short ;-)
lifes too short to go moaning on a forum about a problem thats arguable negligible to most usage scenarios, then writing snarky 'witticisms'.
your really need more hobbies if you're resorting to torrenting on tablets and complaining about not being able to do so on one model.... (who the heck does that?!!).
BeamMeUpStreaky said:
Anything I say will be meaningless to you for the simple fact that you are limited to your own opinion. I however dont get frustrated when other people are not acting as my clone.
"Sony s runs android"?? do you think my more capable Note runs windows 7??Obviously they both use android.
On most tablets and my Note, "I" decide where my downloads go ie to the units memory or to the memory card I have installed. Sony s makes that choice for you. Its not my opinion, its a fact. Kinda runs in the face of what android lovers seem to hold so dear... "freedom".
I may sell my crippled tablet for a capable one, or just give it to my 5 year old nephew to play with.
I will pick up a galaxy tab, as far as I can see, looks better.
Dont hate on people, life is too short ;-)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you are crazy boy.
He's only making points that have been made time and time again by most of you, just he's not willing to just accept it and be happy with the tab. No real reason for everyone to start flaming
It's very true that sony has imposed too much of there own influence. Not only that, but made it so there is currently no possible way to root it and make the changes we want done.
roticagas said:
You can use dolphin browser ( and many other browser ) to download file into sd card directly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly, I would write the same.
I Don't understand this kind of posts, what helps? We need to improve the usability of this tablet until the root is not available...
DreadPirateDan said:
He's only making points that have been made time and time again by most of you, just he's not willing to just accept it and be happy with the tab. No real reason for everyone to start flaming
It's very true that sony has imposed too much of there own influence. Not only that, but made it so there is currently no possible way to root it and make the changes we want done.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for being helpful. I knew i wasnt the only person to ever complain here about the sd problem. I wasnt harping on it, simply replying to people who took the time to talk with me about it.
I too look forward to a root and i hope that the sd problem is software not hardeware and that sony might wake up to at least match 150$ tablets in that regard.
Im not a fan of honeycomb so ics would be nice. Cheers
rimsilva said:
Exactly, I would write the same.
I Don't understand this kind of posts, what helps? We need to improve the usability of this tablet until the root is not available...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My 3rd party apps that download video or music content are restricted to the 16GB internal. There is zero way to make anything go to the sd card because the tablet treats the sd card as if it wasnt even there. The only thing the tablet can do is transfer files to and from the sd card.. Period.
As for dolphin, what would you download with that?
On a side note.. you can download with atorrent and specify the the destination can't you? The only problem I had with it was wifi going into sleep mode.. so I was pretty dissapoinnted to wake up and find it only downloaded 1.2%. lol.
Basically I knew what I was buying hardware wise when I bought it - aside from the creaks I discovered later. Then was massively let down software wise due to the restrictions.
I feel asthough if we got it rooted, we could just rename sdcard1 to sdcar2, and vice versa. Hopefully such a switcharoo would work and then it would continue on as it has, but with much more memory there .
It's going to be a real shame if Sony's take on ICS leaves us in the same boat, can't be rooted, can't be downgraded, and then someone discovers a root for HC
Many are going bla bla bla about only having limited storage options .... well 11gb to be exact ! .... So what do you think - are you rejecting this masterpiece for this sole reason as of now ?
To me it ain't a deal breaker even 8gb nexus sells !
nikufellow said:
Many are going bla bla bla about only having limited storage options .... well 11gb to be exact ! .... So what do you think - are you rejecting this masterpiece for this sole reason as of now ?
To me it ain't a deal breaker even 8gb nexus sells !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course the 8GB Nexus 4 will sell! Dirt cheap price for a top of the line device with no contract = win. For me the storage isn't a huge issue, mainly the locked bootloader and tons of VZW crapware on the phone. Who knows if HTC will offer the dev unlock for this device..They have been bending over to Verizon a lot as of late. Hopefully this doesn't turn into the old troll Rezound forum.
nikufellow said:
Many are going bla bla bla about only having limited storage options .... well 11gb to be exact ! .... So what do you think - are you rejecting this masterpiece for this sole reason as of now ?
To me it ain't a deal breaker even 8gb nexus sells !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm definitely still purchasing it. 16gb is enough.
Sent from my CM9 HTC Thunderbolt from Tapatalk 2.4
Exactly i will also be getting it soon enough if all goes well - even if it doesn't have much development its okay as i believe HTC can be trusted with updates at least for their flagship and 2gb gives enough room sense ! - am a great fan of sense widgets cheap market replacements can never substitute the original feel .
Moreover i don't play games so - couple of games plus songs amendment your memory is freakin full argument doesn't stand for me !
nikufellow said:
Exactly i will also be getting it soon enough if all goes well - even if it doesn't have much development its okay as i believe HTC can be trusted with updates at least for their flagship and 2gb gives enough room sense ! - am a great fan of sense widgets cheap market replacements can never substitute the original feel .
Moreover i don't play games so - couple of games plus songs amendment your memory is freakin full argument doesn't stand for me !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I love sense but I would also love to have like venomrom or viperrom
Sent from my CM9 HTC Thunderbolt from Tapatalk 2.4
For me it is but that's just me. On my rezound I currently have 1gb free on internal storage and 3gb free on a 32gb sd, so for me I'm using alot. On the flipside, phone does sound like it will be a beast.
djwalter said:
For me it is but that's just me. On my rezound I currently have 1gb free on internal storage and 3gb free on a 32gb sd, so for me I'm using alot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah its understandable different people have different use cases !
Btw can anybody tell whether an unlocked version will be available any time soon ?
nikufellow said:
Yeah its understandable different people have different use cases !
Btw can anybody tell whether an unlocked version will be available any time soon ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But I'm starting to think I may have to change how I use my phone though as it appears adding your own sd card might be getting phased out.
djwalter said:
But I'm starting to think I may have to change how I use my phone though as it appears adding your own sd card might be getting phased out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well in my case i got used to it fist one x and now this ! All these years i have had my reasons to avoid Samsung phones - guess that played a vital role .
nikufellow said:
Well in my case i got used to it fist one x and now this ! All these years i have had my reasons to avoid Samsung phones - guess that played a vital role .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hear you, this is off topic but love the Ezio avatar. Are you playing the new one?
djwalter said:
I hear you, this is off topic but love the Ezio avatar. Are you playing the new one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol you know what i created an off topic thread for dna following the traditions and i am myself spamming other threads going off topic !
Nah am waiting for pc release
It'd be fine for me now - I only need to put apps on it. What I'm worried about is if it will be enough for the next 2 years. I can see a lot of games and apps getting substantially bigger if they take advantage of the adreno 320.
flaring afro said:
It'd be fine for me now - I only need to put apps on it. What I'm worried about is if it will be enough for the next 2 years. I can see a lot of games and apps getting substantially bigger if they take advantage of the adreno 320.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mate if you game a lot then am afraid 11gb is too small even by todays gaming standards and like you said if newer games are to take advantage of all the horse power under the hood then i suppose we are going to find it very difficult to fit in least two decent games !
nikufellow said:
Mate if you game a lot then am afraid 11gb is too small even by todays gaming standards and like you said if newer games are to take advantage of all the horse power under the hood then i suppose we are going to find it very difficult to fit in least two decent games !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have to try to figure out how much I will want to. It's tough to tell as I don't like most games out now, but if Assassin's Creed gets a real pc like release like GTA3 etc then I might want to a decent amount. Then again, maybe the controls on the phone will be annoying and I won't ever really want to and could get by with N64oid in situations where I have to sit around for a bit. I'd feel dumb giving up the amazing camera and screen if I don't end up using more space. I miss the good old upgradability of desktops and laptops.
I dont know why people are saying that
The general theme in this particular forum is that the sd card slot is getting phased out. How exactly did people come up to that conclusions. Samsung note II will have a slot supporting up to 64 gb straight out of the box. So does the s3.
The nexus line has long kept to that tradition because google like ppl to use their cloud services.
Just because HTC decided to bend over to verizon , doesn't mean that its the new technology standard.
Between limited data and limited storage , i feel like they are really suffocating the user here.
What amazes me is that we keep moving backwards as time goes by because of corporate greed.
we lost unlimited data and now space on our phones and all happening legally and we sit and just watch.
I dont see any benefit what so ever from limited sd card capacity. it has no stability or performance impact at all.
They said lets limit data to protect our network, and users swallowed it , now what is their rationale for limiting the sd card?
jmichaels1982 said:
The general theme in this particular forum is that the sd card slot is getting phased out. How exactly did people come up to that conclusions. Samsung note II will have a slot supporting up to 64 gb straight out of the box. So does the s3.
The nexus line has long kept to that tradition because google like ppl to use their cloud services.
Just because HTC decided to bend over to verizon , doesn't mean that its the new technology standard.
Between limited data and limited storage , i feel like they are really suffocating the user here.
What amazes me is that we keep moving backwards as time goes by because of corporate greed.
we lost unlimited data and now space on our phones and all happening legally and we sit and just watch.
I dont see any benefit what so ever from limited sd card capacity. it has no stability or performance impact at all.
They said lets limit data to protect our network, and users swallowed it , now what is their rationale for limiting the sd card?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Verizon taking away unlimited data wasn't them trying to be evil, it was a business decision that allowed for them to quickly expand a 4G network that will be anywhere 3G was by the end of next year. If people still had the same unlimited data plans, verizon wouldn't have been able to spend as much on the network upgrades, and the 4G network might had speed issues by a lot of people using it as their home internet. Everyone complains about Verizon being expensive, but then wishes other networks had coverage and speeds of verizon. Considering how much people use and rely on their smartphones, their plans aren't that bad.
Now if you go into the old days of all the networks charging people for texts which literally take up 0 resources, that's a different story.
flaring afro said:
Verizon taking away unlimited data wasn't them trying to be evil, it was a business decision that allowed for them to quickly expand a 4G network that will be anywhere 3G was by the end of next year. If people still had the same unlimited data plans, verizon wouldn't have been able to spend as much on the network upgrades, and the 4G network might had speed issues by a lot of people using it as their home internet. Everyone complains about Verizon being expensive, but then wishes other networks had coverage and speeds of verizon. Considering how much people use and rely on their smartphones, their plans aren't that bad.
Now if you go into the old days of all the networks charging people for texts which literally take up 0 resources, that's a different story.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
maybe, just maybe (and no i will not be holding my breath), once vzw gets their 4g fully deployed they might bring unlimited data back
You're kidding, right?
jmichaels1982 said:
The general theme in this particular forum is that the sd card slot is getting phased out. How exactly did people come up to that conclusions. Samsung note II will have a slot supporting up to 64 gb straight out of the box. So does the s3.
The nexus line has long kept to that tradition because google like ppl to use their cloud services.
Just because HTC decided to bend over to verizon , doesn't mean that its the new technology standard.
Between limited data and limited storage , i feel like they are really suffocating the user here.
What amazes me is that we keep moving backwards as time goes by because of corporate greed.
we lost unlimited data and now space on our phones and all happening legally and we sit and just watch.
I dont see any benefit what so ever from limited sd card capacity. it has no stability or performance impact at all.
They said lets limit data to protect our network, and users swallowed it , now what is their rationale for limiting the sd card?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As a loyal Verizon Wireless Business customer, I'm completely dumbfounded. One of the main reasons I left the iPhone was due to no SD card.
On my Rezound, the internal storage is FULL with apps only and the 32GB SDHC is half+ most of the time. HD video and 8mp pics will fill up your storage fast. Love it or hate it, the Rezound can replace my laptop 95% of the time. That's freedom baby!
I guess if you only use your phone to call, text, web searches or simply to show off to your friends then this is the perfect phone for you but if your phone is a business necessity rather than a show pony then you will agree that the numbers just don't add up. I thought it odd that Verizon promotes their phones with adds about streaming movies over the 4G LTE network and at the same time eliminating the unlimited plan. Do they really think people will spend $10 in data charges to watch a movie? We would switch to another network tomorrow but only Verizon has the coverage we need even though we have unlimited data grandfathered in on most of our phones.
I want a 1080p phone just as bad as everyone else but this defies all COMMON SENSE!!!
Maybe I'm only one person but I will only reward a business with my cash for giving me what I want and need.
Just say NO...
treadwayj said:
maybe, just maybe (and no i will not be holding my breath), once vzw gets their 4g fully deployed they might bring unlimited data back
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can see them (or another carrier) within a few years having a 4G LTE home plan that's unlimited for all of your devices. Then you just put your phones on and some mifi hotspot devices in your home. Verizon has already mentioned that they want to move away from FIOS to something wireless because of the expense of setting up and maintaining the cords. This is all I'd need since I never use cable anyways, and within a few years I'd bet almost all channels have their own internet live streaming and/or watching shows when you want. Were already getting there.
Not sure but I heard it's VZW's fault because they force HTC to have low mem with no sd which means using clouds which means using data and some don't have unlimited which means more money for VZW.
Also they do sell usb to micro usb cords to plug your usb into your phone as an external harddrive I guess and store games on there. Just plug it in when you want to play a game I guess. The thing is don't know if DNA supports this. I know GSIII does as well Note II I think.
I was a bit worried, coming from a Nexus 5, that this phone would be laggy and that I wouldn't be satisfied with the screen resolution. Also about getting JUST a 16 GB phone in late 2014 when 32 GB should be the minimum standard.
I slapped a 64gb SD card in - it worked perfectly. Although I almost have it filled and just ordered a 128 GB card.
I actually use a LOT of apps as I have very diverse interests. After loading the apps I use weekly if not daily, I have about 2.5 GB left on internal storage - bottom line is that this phone meets my app needs.
The screen is absolutely beautiful. I have no problems with it - in fact it is fine and I like it.
There is NO lag on anything I have thrown at it.
Battery. Goodness! THERE IS NOTHING ELSE OUT THERE THAT WILL GET THIS TYPE OF USAGE ON A BATTERY CHARGE. I was injured and had to lay up on the couch and I got 3 days of use on a single charge. 3 days! AND still had 23% battery left! And this was heavy usage browsing, email, movies, read a book, etc. Coming from a Nexus 5 when you had to recharge every time you used it, this is a breath of fresh air and makes the phone well worth what I paid for it. Simply amazing! And I had gps, wi-fi, bluetooth all turned on the whole time and good screen brightness.
I also set it up as a wi-fi phone and data phone with Google Hangups and Dialer - works well.
To sum it up, don't hesitate to get this phone if you want a stable, large really nice screen, longest lasting battery, GREAT user experience phone.
edit: Just found out that this phone is no longer supported by the manufacturer. With this in mind my suggestion is, even though it could have been an awesome device, with no support it is a dead end. I think they just kicked themselves out of the USA market.
I too felt the same way about my mate 2 when i got it three weeks ago. Perfect in so many ways, flaunting it to everybody. But now this.
I agree, for a new owner of this device the news that it won't receive upgrades is total rage bait.
On the other hand, what exactly are we missing out on by not getting kit Kat? With a device lasting me an average two years (OK months, who am I kidding?) How drastically will android change from jelly bean in that time? Should I just toss the phone out now? Is that what owners of other admittedly higher specced and priced devices did when their supposedly more reliable manufacturer announced an upgrade dead end (or said nothing at all). Pretty much every phone manufacturer is guilty of this, and we haven't seen the end of it.
I'm going to use the living s#!+ out of this phone, squeeze every last drop of utility out of it. But when I'm done with it I will not be going back to huawei. Nope, nope, nope. Never again.
Is there any other option?
I just ordered an ascend mate. 2. It just arrived and haven't even opened it... Now, obviously I am pissed that there will be no software update, but I still don't see any other option for 299 dollars! Do you think I should return it? Do you advise a different device?
Yonimarcus said:
I just ordered an ascend mate. 2. It just arrived and haven't even opened it... Now, obviously I am pissed that there will be no software update, but I still don't see any other option for 299 dollars! Do you think I should return it? Do you advise a different device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I returned mine.
It depends what you are using it for. As a phone and apps device it is awesome. But if you want to do the things the newer operating system brings - like Google Wear devices, return it. IMO it is atrocious that a manufacturer would abandon a same year device and I spoke my dissatisfaction by returning it.
I agree that it is shameful that huawei would abandon a same year device... But can you think of any other device for that price? I can return it but for what other phone? And plus, assuming I root the phone and put the cm10.1 on it, what is the difference if they offer a software update?
Yonimarcus said:
I agree that it is shameful that huawei would abandon a same year device... But can you think of any other device for that price? I can return it but for what other phone? And plus, assuming I root the phone and put the cm10.1 on it, what is the difference if they offer a software update?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've done some research and I'm thinking if you are looking for a phone with the same specs and screen size or slightly better at the same price pretty much your only option is buying something like the HTC one max from Swappa. It's well supported by both by updates and 3rd party development. It will get Lollipop in March according to HTC.
I'm holding out for a Nexus 6.
Sent from my MT2L03
This is a new 2048x1536 clone from Best Buy. It has Rockchip RK3288 processor with a Broadcom BCM4350 WiFi AC/BT4.0/FM radio. It came with Android 5.0.1. As usual from the Chinese, the SW leaves much to be desired. In fact the Regulatory Information page is for the N9. It went the FCC as MID7802 and pictures and user manual are post there. I grabbed one for $150. I was interested since it supports HEVC/H.265. It plays them flawlessly. It scored 785 on AnTuTu video test v3.0. The speed test was 38005. Screen looks good. Now for the bad.
1. Won't turn on when off and charger connected.
2. Adaptive brightness doesn't use the control. Really bright and drains battery.
3. SDcard only accessible for stock apps. ES3 or Kodi can't see it. Probably mounted root only.
4. Camera app is really primitive. No option to record as HEVC even though HW encoding supported.
Any thoughts on this tablet and how easy or hard it would be to get a good ROM on it?
Hmm, the bad looks like stuff that could be fixed with a software update. Though I've yet to see an adaptive brightness option that was any good. I almost always adjust manually. I never really use camera functions on my tablets. The part where it won't turn on while charging is a bit disturbing though.
Battery drains while screen sleeps like crazy
decent tab
I managed to pick the flex elite 7.85" tablet up @ my local Best Buy yesterday for a discounted price of only $90 and so far very happy with it for the cost. Not sure I would be so happy at the full $150...maybe so though.
Battery life isn't the greatest even with a good battery saving app. Doesn't bother me to much though because I usually have my tabs plugged into the wall outlet.
Some things I like are the beautiful display and greatly bright lighting, makes it easy to use outside or in. Also like the quick responsiveness and sensitive touch screen. It's not so sensitive that you're accidentally hitting things you don't want to but plenty sensitive to pick up on the intentional hits. I like the thin style (only 0.3" thin, I think). Although it's plastic it feels solid and higher end in the hands. All in all it's just a decent tab for the average user...although maybe not so much for the enthusiast.
A couple things I don't like are that there are no accessories available for it at all. I'm rough on electronics (drop alot) and a good, solid case is near necessity for me. Still ticked off about dropping my Sero 7 PRO and killing it last year...man, was that ever a nice tab?!
Another thing I am a bit disenchanted with is no root instruction yet available and no ROM that I know of...been searching and hoping. I also read somewhere that it's not possible to write to the micro SD card from the tablet...if true, that really sucks! Though I rarely use a micro SD card with tabs, it's nice to be able to use them to keep onboard space freed up. I still need to buy a micro SD to test this last statement for myself, so can't guarantee the accuracy of the statement.
Anyway, decent tab that will probably fulfill my web browsing, shopping and WordPress needs for the next year so can't complain for a $90 investment. I don't expect any updates to the firmware over it's lifetime and really not to hopeful for a root instructional to be written but still pretty decent out of the box so far....I'll let you know about the possible microsd issue once I find out for myself.
OK, so I found out that the microsd card is difficult to get mounted and working correctly on this tablet (unfortunately I'm no geek). But I was finally able to use an app to xfer files after formatting the SD card to ntsf instead of fat32. Still a pita but got it working.
Now if only someone would make an easy root instructional for this thing I might actually keep it for a while
Alrighty, got one of these and so far it's been good for its price.
I can turn it off and on while charging, both sleep/wake and full power off/power on.
The brightness seems fine to me, but again I've not used adaptive as I've never had a tab with a worthwhile adaptive brightness, and I've had Nexus 7 and 9, Galaxy Tabs pro and S, and a half dozen others.
Getting an SD later today for it.
Battery life isn't great, but I'm not seeing the sleep drain I keep reading about.
As has been mentioned the SD is only visible to system apps. Unless you format it NTFS, then it can be found by other apps. Need to figure out how to make shortcuts/symbolic links so it can be reached from areas other than /mnt as I think some apps expect it to show up in the storage folder and other places.
It's fast and snappy. Display is crisp & nice and bright and is the perfect size. I too am seeing unexpected battery drain overnight (losing 50% of battery) while the tablet is sleeping. I wish the battery lasted longer on standby as my needs are to read to fall asleep and then wake up and study - the Tab A has a longer lasting battery than this. Takes a long time to boot up if it's entirely shut down. It refuses to run Netflix either in the Netflix app nor in the browser. I have all the latest updates of the OS plus Netflix but it's not working. It's a shame but I am today returning it to BestBuy due to the Netflix issue which I consider a core app. WINS: Display is awesome and CPU speed is very good! CONS: Won't play Netflix, battery life is weak, takes long to boot up.
still no sign of 4rd party rooms?
in the market for something to replace my POS dell 8 tablet. can anyone say how insignia is on updates? will this get 6?
Oma has made a rom for it at arctablet.com
bbobb said:
Oma has made a rom for it at arctablet.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
link?
cannot post links.
google 'insignia flex elite oma root'
should be top result.
Got to page 4, post 49.
micro sdcard should be formatted ntfs
i just bought this tablet used
i think my rom is hosed, it has a system process kill at startup and it is very laggy. it also shuts down is left to sleep for more then 5min. a factory reset doesnt change anything... but ive seen this before... nothing short of a full rom wipe fixes it. that's the real danger of chinese tablets, if you hose the os there is no way to fix it...
im trying to root it and put oma rom on it, to see if that fixes the software issues. i dont think its hardware, because once im in a game or app it runs lightning quick. even games like mortal kombat with their high end graphics run smooth... its really somethin on this screen.
boot time SUCKS on this tablet. like, 4min or something. what the hell insignia? you cant optimize this rom even a little bit?
I like the tablet. I have seen several software updates (didn't check the build numbers) before I flashed Oma's ROM. It still has a long boot time, but if you go to the developer options, and turn off the animation options, it feels pretty fast (definitely faster than anything that is even close to this price range). Oma's current rom doesn't fix the Netflix app issue. Maybe an update can figure out what the conflict is?
superhumvee said:
I like the tablet. I have seen several software updates (didn't check the build numbers) before I flashed Oma's ROM. It still has a long boot time, but if you go to the developer options, and turn off the animation options, it feels pretty fast (definitely faster than anything that is even close to this price range). Oma's current rom doesn't fix the Netflix app issue. Maybe an update can figure out what the conflict is?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just got one yesterday. I didn't update to the December update, but I flashed oma's rom (pretty sure I did?), rooted with king root and then replaced with super su and the boot up time is much much faster than stock. I want to say less than a minute vs. close to 3 or 4 before.
I bought two of these used off eBay, both seem to suffer from sound stutter/slight freeze ups once in awhile. I've reset both and made sure they are running the current OTA update.
It seems to mostly do it for Youtube and YouTube for Kids, but notice it once in awhile during some more graphic intense games. Which surprises me as from the specs at least this should be a pretty decent budget tablet.
I just picked up a "seller refurbished" on from Ebay -- there are a *ton* of them up there at the moment. It actually looks pretty decent. The battery life is *horrible* (about 4 hours of SOT for reading or web surfing), but the rest of the flaws can be worked around.
First off was setting the window animations to zero, as suggested here earlier, followed by KingRoot and SU substitution (also as suggested). Then, from the Store:
- SDFix:KitKat Writable MicroSD and
- Folder Mount
combined to let me store app data on the microSD.
- FlashFire did a great job of installing Xposed Framework and from there I can tweak to my hearts' content (Greenify, GravityBox, and XSSID Indicator so far)!
Right now, it looks like your best bet would be Oma's rom that someone mentioned earlier, which would be rooted and let you do some customization. I don't use KingRoot because there's some report that the software collects data on you without your consent. What with all the rumors about Xiaomi snooping on you and China's officially-sanctioned practices in cyber space, you don't want to assume unnecessary risks. Bad enough that Uncle Sam is looking over your shoulder, but China?? Do the math!
Back to the matter at hand. Looks like your tab will be stuck with Lollipop forever (1) because the sales of this model is low enough not to stimulate any interest in developing custom roms; (2) manufacturer's support is non-existent (I mean literally non-existent); (3) if you get a representative to answer, the person doesn't know enough to say anything beyond what's in the manual; and (4) they categorically refuse to release even a stock rom for the user to restore where the tab is bricked by their own OTA updates!!! What sets them apart is that I know of no other reputable manufacturer that would so adamantly oppose such potential remedies. Unbelievable! The only recourse is warranty - which means if you're outside that period, you're toast, even if the hardware is in perfectly working order.
To recap, absolutely no support and no update. Promulgating a policy that drives away consumers is of course their prerogative, but why they care so much about losing business is beyond me. So think hard before shelling out for their products. Low prices and enticing specs ain't worth crap if the tablet doesn't work at all.
Afternoon folks.
I'm currently on the fence with the N9, and I may have an opportunity to buy a brand new 16GB for only £130-ish.
However, even at that price I'm not willing to forgive the many sins I'm reading about on here, light bleed, getting extremely hot and not being able to have more than 1 Chrome tab open are deal breakers for me.
I know these problems exist but, to my surprise, this doesn't seem to be a very popular forum compared to the N7 (2013) which is my current tablet (was the N9 a bit of a flop or do people just not develop for it on here??) and I wanted to check if there have been any kind of hardware revisions or software improvements that have made the N9 a great device to use, as it should have been from day one.
So yea, even now a year later, are these problems I'm reading about on here widespread?? If not is there a light at the end of the tunnel or should I just avoid?
Thanks
djbenny1 said:
However, even at that price I'm not willing to forgive the many sins I'm reading about on here, light bleed, getting extremely hot and not being able to have more than 1 Chrome tab open are deal breakers for me.
I know these problems exist but, to my surprise, this doesn't seem to be a very popular forum compared to the N7 (2013) which is my current tablet (was the N9 a bit of a flop or do people just not develop for it on here??) and I wanted to check if there have been any kind of hardware revisions or software improvements that have made the N9 a great device to use, as it should have been from day one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't believe there have been any hardware improvements.
You might want to check this thread and this thread as well and read about various folks' experiences. You might also wait a few weeks and check back after Android 6 is rolled out (though I think the consensus among folks running the previews is that it is not much different).
I think the bottom line is that some people are very happy with the N9 and others are very unhappy with it. Some issues, the chrome tab one in particular, seem universal unless you modify your device. Others, like overheating and light bleed, appear to be either luck of the draw or situation-dependent. (I have had neither of those problems -- I had overheating due to a misbehaving app but the app was updated and I never had the issue again.)
djbenny1 said:
However, even at that price I'm not willing to forgive the many sins I'm reading about on here, light bleed, getting extremely hot and not being able to have more than 1 Chrome tab open are deal breakers for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Obviously everyone has a different experience but I would just like to share that my N9 was perfectly fine. No light bleed issues, doesn't get extremely hot (although it does warm a little after heavy usage but I wouldn't call it "hot") and I frequently have multiple Chrome tabs open (in fact I haven't even heard of this issue until now). So I don't doubt some people are having these issues, but I don't think they are as common as you may think because people without problems generally don't say anything.
djbenny1 said:
I know these problems exist but, to my surprise, this doesn't seem to be a very popular forum compared to the N7 (2013) which is my current tablet (was the N9 a bit of a flop or do people just not develop for it on here??) and I wanted to check if there have been any kind of hardware revisions or software improvements that have made the N9 a great device to use, as it should have been from day one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't speak about the difference in popularity of the forums but rooting and flashing roms was fun when I got my first Android device but now I'm happy to have something that "just works" so I don't frequent the forums as much. I don't believe there has been any revisions that changed the hardware.
In the end, I like my N9 but it is obsolete now.
woshiweili said:
Obviously everyone has a different experience but I would just like to share that my N9 was perfectly fine. No light bleed issues, doesn't get extremely hot (although it does warm a little after heavy usage but I wouldn't call it "hot") and I frequently have multiple Chrome tabs open (in fact I haven't even heard of this issue until now). So I don't doubt some people are having these issues, but I don't think they are as common as you may think because people without problems generally don't say anything.
I can't speak about the difference in popularity of the forums but rooting and flashing roms was fun when I got my first Android device but now I'm happy to have something that "just works" so I don't frequent the forums as much. I don't believe there has been any revisions that changed the hardware.
In the end, I like my N9 but it is obsolete now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Obsolete?
What would you say is better? When I checked the other day it was 4th in the list of highest benchmarking android devices.
If you can wait one or two more months, and the price of a new tablet is OK for you, then you might want to wait and see how the Pixel C is doing in the tests.
djbenny1 said:
Obsolete?
What would you say is better? When I checked the other day it was 4th in the list of highest benchmarking android devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google just announced Pixel C three days ago. While it may not be an obvious successor to Nexus 9 (perhaps the last Nexus tablet?), it is the most current tablet from Google. Nexus 9 has also been out for about a year, the same amount of time the two previous Nexus tablets were released before they were replaced.
djbenny1 said:
Afternoon folks.
I'm currently on the fence with the N9, and I may have an opportunity to buy a brand new 16GB for only £130-ish.
However, even at that price I'm not willing to forgive the many sins I'm reading about on here, light bleed, getting extremely hot and not being able to have more than 1 Chrome tab open are deal breakers for me.
I know these problems exist but, to my surprise, this doesn't seem to be a very popular forum compared to the N7 (2013) which is my current tablet (was the N9 a bit of a flop or do people just not develop for it on here??) and I wanted to check if there have been any kind of hardware revisions or software improvements that have made the N9 a great device to use, as it should have been from day one.
So yea, even now a year later, are these problems I'm reading about on here widespread?? If not is there a light at the end of the tunnel or should I just avoid?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, djbenny1...
I've generally avoided answering such questions in the past, partially because the answer is going to be hugely subjective, and partially because it also depends on what your expectations of the device are. If you plan on playing lots of graphic, GPU intensive, high octane video games on it, I would be inclined to look elsewhere for another device.
And it also depends on what you're prepared to pay for it...
At £130 this represents a significant reduction in price, from the original £319 (for the 16Gb model) and £399 (for the 32Gb model) price points, when the Nexus 9 was announced in the Autumn of last year (2014). A quick Google search reveals that the 16Gb model currently retails for around £250, give or take a few quid.
Leaving aside the dull, uninspiring appearance of the Nexus 9, and the reported hardware problems - the flexi-back, the lightbleed issues, (I never had those issues with my Nexus 9, and I've no idea if HTC made changes to the production process to remedy these problems.), but I would be surprised if they haven't, given how widespread those reports where.
...but leaving aside those issues, the problem with the Nexus 9, IMHO, is it tried to do too many things, too quickly...
-----
** Implement the new Android RunTime (ART), replacing the old Dalvik runtime, as part of Lollipop. (And compounded further by a memory leak in the initial release version of Lollipop).
** Along with the Nexus 6 smartphone, it was one of the first devices to run Android on a 64bit platform.
** Run Android encrypted (ie, the data partition) by default. Seamless, on-the-fly, encryption, surely has to have some resource penalty (CPU cycles, etc.), resulting in impaired performance - (See my comments later about encryption.)
-----
All of these elements introduce a multiplicity of 'difficult-to-quantify' variables, whose aggregated deficits cannot be easily foreseen. And introduced together, on one device, and at the same time, seems to me to have been not the best idea from Google. There's certainly no doubting Googles audacity with the Nexus 9, introducing these features, but they did too much, too quickly.
I don't pretend to be either a software or a hardware expert, but everything I know about designing new devices and developing software, suggests that a slower process of design, implementation, testing, and feedback is better in the long run. A slower process of iteration...
...rolling out a new feature on a new device - see how it works in the real world. And then later, add-in a second feature, and see how that works out. Maybe wait for the next device release, before adding in a third feature, and so on and so forth. To quote the old aphorism, "Rome wasn't built in a Day", so why did Google attempt to (metaphorically) do so with the Nexus 9 ??
-----
For my own part, I'm pretty happy with my Nexus 9 .
I'm currently running it with the 3rd Android M developer preview installed, it's rooted, and as a requirement of acquiring root, it's also unencrypted.
And running it without encryption, made a **BIG** difference to my Nexus 9. See my post here from June of this year, and the benchmark results I obtained with AnTuTu as a result of decrypting it.
With regard to the oft reported problem of Chrome reloading tabs... yes, it does do this, but I can't say this is a major problem for me.
I've spent the past few hours drafting and submitting posts on XDA, preparing and sending several emails via MailDroid, and all the while, frequently dipping in and out of Chrome to do some fact checking, and with something like around 20 tabs open. Yes, they do reload (but not every time), but it takes no more than a few seconds. Maybe again, this has something to do with my device not being encrypted. I should also add here, I tend to run Greenify rather aggressively (as I do on all my Android devices), hibernating all the apps I have installed that I can realistically get away with. Obviously I don't hibernate things like widgets, or apps which set alarms, or depend on push notifications... but this leaves more RAM for the 3 or 4 apps I do use on a frequent basis.
-----
So... My Nexus 9 does what I need it to do, which is primarily web browsing via Chrome, email via MailDroid, and posting here on XDA, via a combination of the XDA Premium 4 app and Chrome.
I'm not a big video game player, but I've been known to occasionally indulge in a game of chess, with Shredder Chess, or a game of Sudoku with Andoku 2. The most graphics intensive games I play on it are Temple Run: Oz and Subway Surfers. Both games run without problem. And I can't say my Nexus 9 gets particularly hot... A little warm, yes... but hot - no.
-----
So, should you buy one for £130...??
I would say, if you're prepared to tinker with it a little (Unlock the bootloader, flash ElementalX kernel for decryption purposes), then I think there are worse ways of spending £130.
Another way of looking at it is, what alternative devices are available for £130? What specifications do they have? RAM, CPU, version of Android? Likelihood of further updates to Android? If you want to tinker with it, how easy or difficult is to root or unlock the bootloader?
Would I buy one today for £130?
Yes, I would (if I didn't already have one).
The benefit of hindsight is a wonderful thing - a phrase often used with negative connotations, but I use it here positively. Knowing what I know about it now, and having had it for nearly a year, and how to get the best out of it, I would have no hesitation about buying one for that kind of money... .
-----
Right, I can't think of anything else to add. Which is probably a good thing... I've rambled on far too long as it is .
I don't know if I've clarified a few things for you or muddied the waters further. I hope it's the former .
Anyway, good luck, with whatever you decide.
Kind Rgrds,
Ged.
I was sitting on the fence on whether or not to get the N9 what tipped my hand into buying one was Argos dropping the price down to £179 and I'm very please with it so far. I've got slight screen bleed at the top but this is only noticeble on dark screens.
jonchill said:
I was sitting on the fence on whether or not to get the N9 what tipped my hand into buying one was Argos dropping the price down to £179 and I'm very please with it so far. I've got slight screen bleed at the top but this is only noticeble on dark screens.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, the Argos price was too tempting for me also.
I also have a touch of lightbleed which I wouldn't put up with if I'd paid £300. Compared to the Nexus 7 (2013) I think the screen isn't quite as good. The black levels aren't as low but the screen can go a touch brighter.
When you get over the screen however, the speed and small things like always on google now, (even when the screen isn't,) make the tablet worth it.
At £179 I'm happy, at £300 I wouldn't be, at £130, I'd deffo take the chance.