Related
just in case you guys are interested
there supposed to be giving a live webcast about the X1 today at around 1 PST
here is the link
http://www.sonyericsson.com/premiere/
i'm goin to try listen in and see what happens.
Seems i've missed it...
Gonna wait for the recording.
God, won't september 30th come already?
I watched this event and have to say I was incredibly disappointed by it. The phone that Magnus was using was so ridiculously slow that I thought it was actually broken. Really. He had a panel that looked fairly customised with the usual array of time/weather/shortcuts/calendar etc and when he opened the keyboard there was about 3 seconds of delay before the screen rotated. However, it didn't stop there. It only redrew most of the screen. It took over 10 seconds for the phone to redraw the icons in landscape mode. How can this possibly be acceptable? 10 seconds?!!? magnus said he had been using this phone as his personal phone for nearly a year and he said he loved it. How many times has he switched from landscape/portrait and wasted 10 seconds of his life waiting for his phone to catch up.
Further to that, the whole thing seemed ridiculously laggy. He covered it up very well by pressing a button and then talking about the feature whilst waiting for it to load. It was painfully obvious though to anyone in the know what was really going on.
I have seen the recent video on theunwired and the screen rotation looks very fast, which is excellent. But perhaps when you have a more heavily loaded panel that fast screen rotation becomes a thing of the past? Also disappointing was the lack of accelerometer.
I was so keen for the X1 but that was 9 months ago. Now I'm going to wait another month or two and get the Touch HD. It lacks the keyboard, but I'll learn to live without.
screen lag
Also saw what you did, but he came on a chat at Modaco afterwards and said that he had a lot of apps open; which could be true...did you see how fast Google Maps came up? Each panel is it's own desktop and programs on it keep running, bound to be a memory hog. He was supposed to be using a retail version also, so should be as fast as the unit at The::Unwired.
To be honest, I never have been happy with my TyTn II for the screen rotation, and looking at video of the Touch Pro it doesn't seem much faster.
Maybe if you set the task manager to close apps when you switch away?
I've just rewatched it and it actually took 16 seconds to rotate the screen at one point!!! Surely that's not acceptable, even if there are plenty of apps running. A device can be made smarter than that with more efficient code.
i didn't get a chance to watch but i dunno i had a lot of really high hopes for this phone but it looks like i might be leaning more towards a touch pro but we'll see how long my wizard holds up before i make decisions about what to do
Webcast
For those who miss it, you can watch it @:-
http://www.inxperia.com/index.php/2008/09/15/sony-ericsson-xperia-x1-webcast
There is another (GREAT!) review from Arne available:
http://www.theunwired.net/?item=videoview-hands-on-with-sony-ericsson-s-latest-xperia-x1-built
As you can see, the switching of orientation is very fast in all examples in this video (today screen, photo browser and opera). The LEDs are amazing and the whole device makes a very good impression to me. I also like the "moving slideshow" feature.
It's quite responsive and even the panels pop up in time.
If the reception quality is also good then this will be definitely my next device.
foo said:
There is another (GREAT!) review from Arne available:
http://www.theunwired.net/?item=videoview-hands-on-with-sony-ericsson-s-latest-xperia-x1-built
As you can see, the switching of orientation is very fast in all examples in this video (today screen, photo browser and opera). The LEDs are amazing and the whole device makes a very good impression to me. I also like the "moving slideshow" feature.
It's quite responsive and even the panels pop up in time.
If the reception quality is also good then this will be definitely my next device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yea i'm just lookin at this now and i like this a lot better then that crappy webcast they did earlier
arnie did sony a lot more just then they did themselves
wow after watching the SE webcast I find myself turned off by it, you would think they would of added more razzmotazz? Anyone remember the HTC diamond press release? I'm swaying back back towards getting a pro now
Switching between portrait and landscape mode just seems to take milliseconds only and also the panels start much faster than before.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let's hope so.
ratcom said:
wow after watching the SE webcast I find myself turned off by it, you would think they would of added more razzmotazz? Anyone remember the HTC diamond press release? I'm swaying back back towards getting a pro now
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you should check out the other link posted it gives the xperia better justice then that
Keland44 said:
you should check out the other link posted it gives the xperia better justice then that
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yep just watched it and I must say it does give it more justice, I'm back to waiting for the release so a proper comparision can happen.
Well the suit guy (what a douchebag...) did say that he has been using THAT device since february, so it's probably some alpha version of the device
While the other video it's the almost release beta version.
I still think the device that modaco have done a small video review of is too slow. I mean, surely we're past the stage where we have to wait for things to happen. I don't want a phone that you press a button then wait for something to happen, or open the keyboard and wait for the screen to redraw. The first Diamond roms were a fairly slow, and after updating mine it was much better, so perhaps something like that will occur with the xperia. If not, I'll be glossing over this sexy device!
ratcom said:
yep just watched it and I must say it does give it more justice, I'm back to waiting for the release so a proper comparison can happen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yea same here i just hope my wizard hooks up long enough if not i might have to get a tilt and might wait till refurb's of the X1 are selling
Insaneboy said:
Well the suit guy (what a douchebag...) did say that he has been using THAT device since february, so it's probably some alpha version of the device
While the other video it's the almost release beta version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i know if i had be using my phone for that long with out any backups or a new rom update my phone would have probably been as slow as that also
given that he's not a romhead like us if you don't know what to do with it you'll just let it be unlike us rom start running slow we flash it with something new with the quickness
I'm incredibly disappointed.
Response time for screen switching was a joke ... I've never had an issue with my TyTN or TyTNII ... even though I know some have ... but it was several seconds on the X1 in the video. Also it then seemed to take another 10 seconds to finish populating the screen with icons. The guy then left it open which suggests to me he didn't want to draw too much attention to the time it took.
They were reluctant to answer most technical questions and skirted over the ... it doesn't have tv out one. I was also amazed no one commented on 30FPS performance issues ... I watched the recorded one. I suspect they avoided any difficult incoming questions.
My gut feel is that this will be a very poor showing in it's initial release and if the P series are anything to go by ... updates fixing issues will be few and far between.
This was looking like a dream phone for me ... but now I'm not prepared to buy without trying first hand.
The TouchPro isn't enough of a jump over the TyTN II - same rubbish stills and video and no extra width to the screen ... 800x480 is native for most websites ... so the extra resolution for WVGA makes far more sense than VGA and the G900 showed me there were no issues with apps.
The Touch HD excited me ... and I thought I may get away without the keyboard ... but it also worries me in too many areas ... the first ... although it is 5mp ... the lens is no where as big as the N95 and therefore won't get enough light in to produce decent pictures ... and video is still QVGA which is just crazy for a modern high end device ... it's a little like bring out a car today with a 3 speed auto ... it was fine in '78 with a big old Ford Essex ... but not today. There are also many unanswered questions - Is there TV-Out or not ? How will games be played or those apps that rely today on the dpad - many today screens like Breeze etc ? The touch sensitive buttons ... if they are like the Samsung's we will all be closing calls with out cheeks mid conversation and dialing people when we just pick up the phone to move it.
Why can't these designers think a little. The capability of these phone is amazing now ... but they always miss out those essential things that make a device genuinely complete ... and I don't think it is to hold options for future devices, I just don't think the designers really think things through.
I feel .... very frustrated.
It is always amusing to read the bad and good feelings of all of you here without having one in your own hand. All pre-series and not one of the sold version.
I don't mind this all. I took a great risk to buy the Toshiba G900 with all the bad experiances written about (and the first rom might have been very poor). And what did happen? The G900 is the best manufactured PPC I ever had -best build quality ever seen. With its high resolution it is not slower than my TytnI before. And there you had to wait a good time switching portrait- to landscape-mode.
I am sure the X1 will not only give his owner a very unique design feeling but a good basic to work with. There may be faster PPC, there may be PPC with other features. But most people will buy it in cause of the large screen offering so much more than just 2,8" vga
Buying the X1 will mean not to take the most advantage with games, but texts, internet or similar. Just where the screen has its best sites
if i know htc there will be a Touch HD pro with slide out keyboard after Touch HD
Hi,
Here are a couple of new Xperia videos...
Old Links
Sony xperia - First Look Preview (Small one, but he loads a panel and it instantly shows... also switching panel mode is really fast too...!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sus2l7mq6o
Xperia X1 Google Maps and GPS Possibilities
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ox9GB88cMb8
X1 Panels (Tad bit slow in going from landscape to portrait mode, but just a tad bit - for Panels only [i.e. he switches when showing all panels, their animation has a very slight lag, but overall extremely fast!])
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9R49vsOULU8
Xperia X1 Camera UI (Someone should have told him to stand somewhere not too bright - but hey, he took the effort in making these videos, so Bravo!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3NTogmVuzY
Xperia X1 Illumination possibilities (better than just leaving ur phone to vibrate)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQXSM8S1ryw
Xperia X1 Musicplayer (Loving it! Though its too bright again in this one, but if you look close, you can see animating music symbols on the background of the music player... looks cool)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1RneuMwVcM
Xperia X1 Internet Browsing (Caution! Switching to landscape in this one - and it is fast!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndMT7P8iR_U
(I for one will most likely be using Opera instead of IE...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
New Links
(These sets of vids are the first real in-depth [well somewhat] videos presented by Sony Ericsson itself. Switching from portrait to landscape is fast... one thing to note however is the panel load time for some panels - which can take second or two to load up and refresh - however not a huge concern, especially when my iPhon takes a couple of seconds to load some of its basic stuff especially the Settings page!)
Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 A-GPS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avV7sV47H7k
Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 fish panel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1dL7tgoLAg
Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73y04BOsQsY
Best Regards.
Cheers! Just making my way through them now, the first one certainly makes the UI look pretty snappy.
EDIT: Why did they have to waste time browsing with PIE at all? Loved the speed of the UI orientation switching there though.
The panels video was OK, the speed and choppiness of the animation when it switches is a bit off-putting, but I hope you can turn that off and just have it switch without pointless eye-candy.
Music player looks nice, finger-friendly which is super important (although it eventually dumps you into WMP, which is less finger-friendly - wish they had their own player too, like the Touch Pro - wonder if a registry entry can have it point to Coreplayer or something else). Hope you can just have a panel that goes straight to the music player though, without needing to select it from the list. No worries though - I expect custom panels will come pretty fast once this gets out there.
Really liking the look of the camera app UI. The Touch Pro camera and UI are both rather rubbish, it would be nice to get a better camera (thing I miss the most from my N82).
GPS performance looks acceptable, although no idea whether that it a cold lock or not.
NZtechfreak said:
GPS performance looks acceptable, although no idea whether that it a cold lock or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did he have a lock at all? Beeline GPS showed nothing. I think that was just the quick google maps "my location", but he had no cell signal either. Maybe beeline was just not configured correctly to use the GPS.
NZtechfreak said:
Why did they have to waste time browsing with PIE at all? Loved the speed of the UI orientation switching there though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep... loved the orientation switching. I wish microsoft would release a new version of IE for windows mobile soon... Thankfully we have opera in this...
Yeah, GPS went active in Google Maps at the end.
New vids added to the list...
My god... the way he was hitting the screen, i hate that Magnus guy
Still seems laggy when loading the panels, though.
Insaneboy said:
My god... the way he was hitting the screen, i hate that Magnus guy
Still seems laggy when loading the panels, though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most of the panels load quick (the panel goes up pretty quick, but some of the quick-launch/shortcuts come up delayed) except the media player one, but not that slow, if you ask me.
And yeah... i really hate that Magnus guy too. Why can't SE find a decent guy who knows how to present something in a good manner. (on the contrary, his fish panel one was pretty amusing - especially the way he was hitting the screen )
Never had a touch screen device before (except a Palm), but in my understanding you should be more careful with the screen
When he presses the panels button, it takes a while for the panels to appear...
Insaneboy said:
Never had a touch screen device before (except a Palm), but in my understanding you should be more careful with the screen
When he presses the panels button, it takes a while for the panels to appear...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My iPhone's screen got crushed - kind of like a windscreen when you take a baseball bat to it - in an accident that i had 3 months back. I got out of the hospital a month later and checked how much it'll cost to get it repaired, and the price in Pakistani Ruppee equals $200! Completely insane!!!
It still worked flawlessly though...
msalmank said:
My iPhone's screen got crushed - kind of like a windscreen when you take a baseball bat to it - in an accident that i had 3 months back. I got out of the hospital a month later and checked how much it'll cost to get it repaired, and the price in Pakistani Ruppee equals $200! Completely insane!!!
It still worked flawlessly though...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well heard two things:
that the iphone has bulletproof glass
and second, that a lot of people like you have trouble with getting the screen repaired.
X1 G1 video
badaas said:
X1 G1 video
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"Cannot play media. Sorry, this media is not available in your territory."
It says on the page; Spencer Kelly tries out the new Google Android mobile, sizes up the Sony-Ericsson Xperia X1 smartphone running on Windows, and the new LG Renoir. Anyone who has seen it, can you tell how exactly do they size it up against Xperia? (but only if its anything other than 'Xperia has Windows at its base' with a smirk on their faces)
To me the G1 lacks a lot of things, but most of all, it looks UgLy! (well ok, not that ugly, but still BLEH!)
It lacks a couple of very important features, but for me the most important being Microsoft Exchange Support, and an office suite fully compatible with Office 2007.
Insaneboy said:
Well heard two things:
that the iphone has bulletproof glass
and second, that a lot of people like you have trouble with getting the screen repaired.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The screen is definitely better than one would expect it to be. I dropped it a couple of times without anything happening to it - the accident had to affect the screen 'cos i literally flew into the air after impact and fell on the same side where i had the mobile in my pocket... OUCH!
There's no trouble getting the screen repaired... i'll just have to put down $150-200 for it...
Funny thing is that even with the broken screen, i can sell it off for a decent price. (but am thinking of keeping it as an iPod touch instead after getting the screen repaired - am waiting for the screen price to drop down a little - as there are some really cool games on it... )
I cant understand why the development of new panels is so slow. I thought when i got the X1 that there would be a huge influx of panels being developed. I cant understand why Sony Ericsson are not developing panels on a large scale and are leaving it to developers that are not there, i just find this really dissappointing. Please give your views on this.
Well, the panels are kind-of gimmick. They're not useful enough to be mass producing. Had the panels UI been instant and the loading of panels much faster, perhaps. Now, I just prefer TF3D with the panels installed just to remind me I have an X1 xD
I feel like SE doesn't believe there will be much reason in them developing panels on a large scale, but they are certainly pushing to have more panels made. Hence why the content awards will be accepting panel submissions until the end of the month; I would expect at least a few more at that point.
It's also worth noting that, unless I'm mistaken, the X1 was just recently released to the US (well, when I looked around online the US release date was Jan.12). I predict much of the panel development to come from Americans, if not even more so than from European and other nationalities.
i find only one panel usefull and thats the standard 1 or 2 panel. it pretty much has all the info i and programs that i use on it. panels to me is nothing more than a skin of the today panel, at least the way that i use it. im not a power user but i do like to have different options and tweaks.
When is that Ifonz panel or PointUI panel coming around?
i agree with pretty much all.
I prefer touch flo 3d over panels but like having them for the x1 hype. (hey my phone has fish, then win over all of my customers kids.. like touch the fishy and watch them swim.)
however i also believe that since virtually no one even knows of the x1s exsitance yet (excluding us "Nerds" and the world would call us) there is no real need to roll out panel updates.
My thoughts so far: (5days)
PROS:
-WATER/DUST RESISTANT NEED I SAY MORE!!!
-Excellent Build! very nice looking and thin
-Wifi is really good (i live in an old house and on the third floor still get good wifi strength)
-5" Screen is really good! When you get great HD wallpapers (zedge or backgrounds HD) it really pops.
-Micro SD slot BIG + (takes 64GB when formatted)
-Good ringtones and notifications
-Strong vibration
-Nice U.I (some lag but switched to NOVA Laucher)
-When combined with Nova Launcher this phone is BEAST!!!
-Sounds nice with headphones on (not as good as my S3 w/ PowerAMP)
-GAMES ARE AWESOME!!! (Sleepy jack,Tapped out Simpsons,Dark Night)
-Thick lanyard hole (ima wear this as a chain lol)
CONS:
-Walkman doesn't read folders it just puts all the albums into one folder
-Lockscreen either you have a swipe OR lock can't have both
-Non removable battery (trade off)
-Can't choose lockscreen wallpaper when pattern is chosen (only in swipe)
-Album puts everything in one folder (i use Quickpic)
-Sony services run in the background (may contribute to battery drainage)
-Blacks are no where as good as Samsung's SAMOLED (on the flip side higher pixel density and colors that pop)
-Speaker on the side WHY!!!
-Android 4.1.2
NEUTRAL:
-Battery has been good so far, time will tell (DS battery saver on slumberer mode + Stamina ON = 3hrs 50mins screentime and 11hrs 30mins for the day 100%-1%)
-Camera first impressions OK need more time with the camera
-Gets dirty really fast
*I then used the screen protectors that came with the XZ and doesn't get dirty with lint anymore just finger prints but, i ordered these protectors: http://dx-box.com/imak-anti-fingerprint-layer-screen-protector-for-sony-xperia-z.html
-PowerAMP doesn't sound as good as Walkman (would rather use Walkman for it's sound but, no folders means a pain to search especially, when you got 45GB worth of music)
*PowerAMP has an option to use the phone's equalizer this is how: Settings>Audio>Advanced Tweaks>MusicFX. Go back to Tone/Vol menu screen you will see the MusicFX toggle on the top left. Long press for options.
Though it has been only 5 days days since i got the phone, overall, I am very happy with this phone! Most of the CONS are software based and in time there would be MOD's,hacks,etc to fix them.Extremely well built phone with a premium feel that's what i wanted! Although, there is one thing i wanted on this phone,a removable battery, but, when you get a water/dust resistant smartphone with a MicroSD slot, it's a sacrifice that i will gladly live with! Still have my S3 got a plan to swap for a s4 when it comes out.Will play with the XZ and s4 and will choose which one to sell.
walkman do read folders! I uploaded my playlists from itunes via Bridge and found playlist in the walkman
and you can change the lockscreen image
Speaker on the side isn't good when holding but is good when the phone is on the table since you can listen and hear very well (lot better than xperia s).
Teknohtc said:
-Walkman doesn't read folders it just puts all the albums into one folder
-Album puts everything in one folder (i use Quickpic)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nice review.
The walkman app uses ID3 taggs to create albums. There is even an option to create ID3 tags, don't know if it uses folder names dough.
Album app uses folders if you click on the "my albums" tab you will see the folders (didn't see it at first as well)
I find most of that to mirror my use of the Z. The screen isn't quite as good as the HTC One or the Nexus 4 but it is very very good and razor sharp.
As for the walkman player, I find it much worse quality and volume to poweramp so I use poweramp.
The pattern lock is excellent because it allows you to have your live wallpaper on the lock screen which is awesome for a change
With regards to the removeable battery, every single phone i've ever used which has that, creaked and squeeked due to the back cover coming on and off so i'm not missing the squeeking at all.
Teknohtc said:
-Lockscreen either you have a swipe OR lock can't have both
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which Android phone can you actually have both on? Or which app?
graffus said:
walkman do read folders! I uploaded my playlists from itunes via Bridge and found playlist in the walkman
and you can change the lockscreen image
Speaker on the side isn't good when holding but is good when the phone is on the table since you can listen and hear very well (lot better than xperia s).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
-Ok,going to try again with the walkman.
-You can change the lockscreen wallpaper but, only when it's in swipe mode. If you have it on pattern as security you can't change your wallpaper. Pretty much the wallpaper you choose as your homescreen is your lockscreen wallpaper.
-Good point lol
stefanve said:
nice review.
Album app uses folders if you click on the "my albums" tab you will see the folders (didn't see it at first as well)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks
lol did see that tab
biffsmash said:
I find most of that to mirror my use of the Z. The screen isn't quite as good as the HTC One or the Nexus 4 but it is very very good and razor sharp.
As for the walkman player, I find it much worse quality and volume to poweramp so I use poweramp.
The pattern lock is excellent because it allows you to have your live wallpaper on the lock screen which is awesome for a change
With regards to the removeable battery, every single phone i've ever used which has that, creaked and squeeked due to the back cover coming on and off so i'm not missing the squeeking at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
-Yea the screen's contrast isn't as good and my SGS3 deep blacks that i like but w/e makes up for it's 1080p and high pixel density!
-Really, will try that out!
-True but, having an optional battery would be kick ass! I guess ill improvise get a powerpack.
so if the battery is dead the we gotta replace whole phone is it??
p.s: planning to buy white xperia z
mysterio619 said:
so if the battery is dead the we gotta replace whole phone is it??
p.s: planning to buy white xperia z
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It should be replaceable by Sony this is mandatory in the EU it is required by law that battery's are replaceable for an except able fee. So if it is possible by Sony it is possible for others as well.,
mysterio619 said:
so if the battery is dead the we gotta replace whole phone is it??
p.s: planning to buy white xperia z
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No. You take it to an authorized Sony repair centre where they change your battery.
Still don't understand why would you have 45gb music, do you really listen to 10000 songs?
MrPhilo said:
Still don't understand why would you have 45gb music, do you really listen to 10000 songs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like having the music on me just in case i want to listen. 45gb is just a 1/4 i what i have
-Blacks are no where as good as Samsung's SAMOLED (on the flip side higher pixel density and colors that pop)
-5" Screen is really good! When you get great HD wallpapers (zedge or backgrounds HD) it really pops.
Really? You see eye-poping colours? Where? Can You post some examples with some other mid range device...?
But, I gave up on Sony fans... No wonder Sony will never produce even an average display with such fanatical consumer background... They really don't need to, cause you will cherish anything as long as it os Sony made. It's not even their panel in XZ. I liked Sony (TV and HX5V, old camcorder...) a lot, but lately after being insulted here for stating the obvious, the people, not the Sony, give me sheepish impressions that I don't wish to be a part of...
xyz007 said:
-Blacks are no where as good as Samsung's SAMOLED (on the flip side higher pixel density and colors that pop)
-5" Screen is really good! When you get great HD wallpapers (zedge or backgrounds HD) it really pops.
Really? You see eye-poping colours? Where? Can You post some examples with some other mid range device...?
But, I gave up on Sony fans... No wonder Sony will never produce even an average display with such fanatical consumer background... They really don't need to, cause you will cherish anything as long as it os Sony made. It's not even their panel in XZ. I liked Sony (TV and HX5V, old camcorder...) a lot, but lately after being insulted here for stating the obvious, the people, not the Sony, give me sheepish impressions that I don't wish to be a part of...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So if you don't want to be apart of it then why reply and cry?
My only gripe is the battery life. Hopefully 4.2.2 will bring some solutions. Considering CM10.1 (once the cam is sorted out)
Bazamuffin said:
My only gripe is the battery life. Hopefully 4.2.2 will bring some solutions. Considering CM10.1 (once the cam is sorted out)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know why you are unhappy with the battery.For me it's just amazing,i lost 9% in 1 hour screen on.
Sent from my C6602 using xda premium
WTH were you doing ? ^^ Reading an ebook ?
i get 3-4h Screen time with heavy usage, no sim, wifi only
MrPhilo said:
Still don't understand why would you have 45gb music, do you really listen to 10000 songs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe he doesn't like 128kbits mp3 ?
Haldi4803 said:
WTH were you doing ? ^^ Reading an ebook ?
i get 3-4h Screen time with heavy usage, no sim, wifi only
Maybe he doesn't like 128kbits mp3 ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Browsing chrome and xda app.
I can get 13-14 hours a day with 4:30-5:00 hours screen on.
Sent from my C6602 using xda premium
Teknohtc said:
So if you don't want to be apart of it then why reply and cry?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1st: Hope of constructive debate, so that people who spend half of months salary on this phone (650eur) get better info and don't blindly thrust posts that say XZ has eye popping colours.
2nd: It was just a question about where the hell OP sees eye popping colours... especially since he actually compared them to amoled.
3rd: I liked the phone, that was my motive for reading a lot about this phone, but as verge review said, it looks better with screen off as did XT.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2
The Yotaphone 2 is now established, no longer on the horizon, so I thought we should have a dedicated thread to it, reviews about it, thoughts etc.
right, yotaphone 2 review so far.
First of all I will say that the specifications of the phone are perfect for me. Yes I like flagship specs but after a few generations of going for the best there is and having tried all the roms and UIs around (miui, touchwiz, sonys one, cyanogen, htc sense, windows, the oppo one etc, it goes on) I decided that I was bored. I wanted something completely different. Considered the jolla but when the yota 2 was announced I was instantly infatuated. Liked the idea of the first model, the second one nails it for me. And to be fair to it – a snapdragon 800 is a very competent soc, does all I need it to do and does everything fast. Currently I don’t need a 64 bit octacore chip, this one handles basically all the things I can throw at it and I don't really play the huge games anyway. Other than an occasional test of a heavy game, its gba and ps1 emulators, casual rpgs and a couple of shooters for me. Also, I read somewhere that Yota’s reasoning was they needed time to get the soc figured out with their device. Yota say they’re using the 800 to keep the heat low, preventing damage to the e-ink screen.
UPDATE: I have since realised that the phone is actually using the snapdragon 801. When announced in February it was using the 800 but it seems they quietly upgraded it before release. The phone says it's the MSM8974pro-aa which can be either 800 or 801 but the gpu clock speed is higher at 578mhz which is exclusive to the 801, so that's a lovely discovery .
On the face of it (both of them) this is a wonderfully pretty phone. At least from my point of view the aesthetics are all spot on. Everything is presented beautifully. This includes the box it comes in and everything in it. Even the charger is lovely to look at. Wonderfully compact and has yotaphone written across the back that lights up when the phone is connected. On the point of the charger, it outputs 1.5A and charges the phone in a couple of hours or so (25% to full takes between 1.30 and 1.45 hours). This adds to the convenience of the phone and lack of battery worries that I will get into later. You also get a load of earphone buds, like, loads.
The front facing screen is an excellent screen. Super AMOLED (my preference, I love the deep blacks), 442ppi on a 5inch screen produces a brilliant, crisp and clear image and the touch responsiveness is excellent. There are a few niggles with using the keyboard (slight over sensitivity with using swype input) but you soon get used to this, once your fingers and thumbs adjust to the screen this goes away I find. It’s much like using someone else’s laptop and their mouse pad is much more sensitive that yours. EDIT: I will concede that the keyboard probably needs a patch sent through, swipe input is fine but normal typing you have to learn to be more accurate than usual. Doesn't take long but if someone borrows your phone... (to be fair, no one is borrowing my Yota. There are many like it but this one is MINE).
The second screen is just beautiful. The whole back panel is made from the same piece of curved gorilla glass so you don’t notice the screen is there, it hardly feels like one but it’s joyous to the touch, smooth (so smooth) and a nice matte black/dark gray. The sensitivity is obviously slower and there are slight delays waiting for the screen to change, but these are minor and you get used to them. I’m still just wildly impressed that yota have pulled this off so well. The backscreen is excellently implemented, the yota mirror feature works like a dream, anything you want on the back can and will be. The screenlock is done using the gyroscope as well, whichever side is facing up is the one that unlocks when pressing the button. Also, the possibility of leaving some vital information like a map or a plane ticket on the back while the rest of the phone is turned off or utterly dead is likely to not be used often, possibly even if ever by some, but the fact that it can be done is a lovely bit of life insurance.
The yotapanels (configurable pages of widgets made for the EPD) are very pretty indeed and very functional. The back screen has its own phone and messaging app. My only niggle with notifications on the back is that the email part of the notification widget is at this point set to the stock email app, not customizable. Only a minor niggle as I would use the front screen for sending emails anyway but it would be nice to choose to check gmail (hoping for an update to change this). The panel grid layout and widgets can be changed to your liking, within reason. I have 2 businessy type pages with clock, calendar, weather, most called people, battery etc a news page with rss reader, emails, important apps and appy geek and a leisure page with games, book and music widget). What surprised me was downloading appy geek then finding a variety of widgets from them I could use on the panels. This gives me hope that more and more third party back widgets will be added over the course of development.
UPDATE: The widgets are better than I thought - the back panel music player associates itself with whichever music app you were playing from last. Also there are some nice easter eggs that you find as certain things occur on the backscreen which give a great sense of Yota going the extra mile. e.g. get someone to text you with just the word cool and leave the EPD face up.
On the subject of development I have received 2 updates so far, optimizing the back screen touch responsiveness, heat output, battery life, yotaenergy mode etc. Also, eventually someone will find a way to root them and then more possibilities reveal themselves. Honestly though, other than being able to use trickster mod, root explorers, remove system apps and a couple of other things I don’t miss all the little features of custom roms. Even sweep to wake isn’t as essential as it used to be for me – yota placed the lock button slightly above the right side (so your thumb is on it when the phone is front facing). This to me begs the question why doesn’t everyone else do that, it’s so much more natural, convenient and keeps the one hand ability going. Yota have made some smart decisions.
UPDATE: The phone has been rooted, Kingo root can do it with drivers you find on the yota website or other drivers online (mine was a case of trial and error). So a root file explorer, wakelock detector, system app remover and a kernel control app installed. Very happy and now its pretty much exactly as I want it.
The phone is very well put together and feels solid. This all improves with the bumper, which adds to the aesthetic further and makes you feel safer. Gorilla glass 3 on both sides or no, this is a phone you worry about dropping, 2 screens = double the vulnerability and double the worry. The back screen is wonderful to the touch but also quite slippery. The bumper gives you a bit more grip and therefore confidence. Despite the worry I have no qualms, it’s a brilliant thing to hold and have around you.
I think my favourite thing so far is being able to keep your phone locked and face down and still see the time, incoming notifications, respond if needed, read, play games and a host of other things. A simple glance is all you need, so convenient and saves those little bits of time and battery that build up over the course of a day. I still gush with appreciation when I look down.
UPDATE: I still do.
On to the battery life – it’s damn good if you want it to be, otherwise it's still not bad. 2550mah compared to 3000 may seem annoying to those that love a top spec’d beast and now that 4000mah phones are starting to come out this paltry little number is in danger of being outdated. However, this phone saves battery in so many ways such as:
1. Having the e-ink display (no battery usage except when it refreshes). How this saves battery is down to you – use the panels properly, get into chess, Sudoku and the other supplied games, use it for reading etc. Get into the habit of using it and you’ll save hours and hours.
2. Having yotaenergy mode. This is not to be underestimated. You can select what you want it to limit or turn off, if you select everything (except wifi cos obviously you need wifi) then cpu is limited, nfc and gps are off, brightness on main screen is down to minimum, the list goes on. Now, most of these I would do myself on a rooted phone, but it’s nice to have a mode that incorporates all the things needed to save a bundle of energy and implements it so well. This has the potential to save you days if used in conjunction with the back display. I use this at work and I can still check emails, notifications, play games for a bit, read etc and a work day ( 7 and a half hours ) will cost me like 5-6% + or – a few depending on the day. Granted I mostly use the back for that stuff but still, damn good so far.
3. Having a vanilla android experience. Having stock android with hardly any additions, all of which you can disable if you want, keeps the minimal drain down.
Now I’m a man that likes a phone to have a battery life that does not concern me. My old one x would require underclocking, a new rom that would need to be reflashed on occasion, greenify etc to get it through the day comfortably with decent usage and screen time. Now this is childs play, it’s a substantial weight off my mind. No real figures yet, haven’t done proper tests as it’s only been a few days. What I can say is that it’ll do a full 24h with heavy usage, wifi and data on, at least 3 hours of games and youtube, all without using energy saving or the e-ink that much and still have well over 30%. That was the second day of owning it, it’ll get better.
I turned yotaenergy on at 92% today, the first 8% drained in a few hours due to a naughty app that is now uninstalled. Going to test how it lasts over the weekend and will report back afterwards.
The bloatware is limited, some is annoying (don’t have twitter so don’t want twitter etc) but to Yota’s credit their own stuff is minimal, and I wouldn’t want to remove any of their own additions. The games chosen function great on the back screen and I dare say look better on it than on the front. There is the occasional little glitch, but most of these can be avoided or solved with a quick screen refresh of changing of modes etc.
I will stop now, I apologise for the length and hope I covered what most people wanted to hear. Will get back soon with long term battery test results.
UPDATE: Battery anxiety is truly gone. Example - took phone off charge at about 1am, up at 6.30, went to work, bit of browsing and game play during day. Got home, played bit of games, read a bit. Went out that night, stayed at a friends, got up at 11am next day. All of that was with mobile data or wifi turned on throughout. By using yota energy in times of minimal usage and EPD for standard things I saved bundles I intentionally took energy mode off when gaming and when was doing things on phone to create a fair test. When I checked gsam battery monitor it reported I'd used 50% in 34 hours, that was with 2.5 hours screen time, with about as much time spent gaming as reading and a fair amount of browsing and app updating etc. For a phone with 2550mah I'd say that's pretty excellent going. Maybe there are phones that can match it but even if so, they're not as much fun to use as this one.
If anyone has any requests for battery tests (full screen on time, how long on battery saver and EPD etc just ask).
Much TL,DR –
Very pretty phone, great front screen, back screen surprisingly useful and nice to look at and touch. Software well implemented. Hopeful for long term development improvements. Very good performance, great battery. Occasional glitch but nothing that detracts from and limits experience.
UPDATE: glitches have lessened significantly over a short space of time, haven't had one for ages.
UPDATE: there is a recurring one - the back panels app shortcuts will occasionally default to the originals. This takes less than a minute to rectify but still, hoping for it to be fixed in an update. This is only glitch I still encounter, the rest seemed to be teething problems.
Overall, loving it. Expensive but very different and a joy to use. Definitely worth it if you get a discount. I managed to get mine with 10% off and 2 bumper cases (longish story), to me that makes it great value because I honestly already see myself getting the subsequent generations, it would already annoy me not having the back screen.
Worth checking their facebook page every now and again to see if they've got another 10-20% discount going again.
Thanks for the in depth review, it's clearly hit the sweet spot for you ☺
I have a question about notifications.....when in the yota panel or yota cover mode and it is on your desk EPD facing up, what happens if you get a notification from say whatsapp or xda developers I.e. one that doesn't have a specific widget on the yota panel, is there any indication on the EPD that a notification has been received and if so can you interact with it or does it just send you to the OLED side?
Secondly, if you have your home screen mirrored on the EPD and again it's laying on your desk, will the notifications appear in the notification shade and can you swipe down the shade to check and interact exactly with them as you would on the OLED display? I.e using whatsapp as an example again , get the new message notification in the shade, swipe it down, click on the message, whatsapp opens and you type in a reply and send it....All from the e ink side.
Battery drain leads to battery anxiety, I am hoping that the yota 2 works how I've described above as I spend a lot of time lighting up the OLED on my phone just checking and responding to notifications and it could be a game changer to be able to do that from the e ink side. Saving the OLED for the more intense stuff like games, videos web browsing etc.
Thanks in advance
Mike
Sent from my GT-N8010 using XDA Premium HD app
Not a problem, it very much has and also it was a slow day at work .
The notification widget on the panels and covers has 4 items, phone, text, email and general notifications. Phone and text can be interacted with, and lovely apps they are to use as well. A great example is that if someone sends you a text that just says cool (even with third party text apps) then the text will show up and atop it is a picture of a man adjusting his bowtie. Lovely little easter egg. The email sends you to the stock email client, hoping for a way to get that to associate with gmail to come out eventually. The fourth is for other notifications (whatsapp, xda and everything else). The email and notification icons will simply send you to the front screen. You can just mirror them straight back over though. And I suppose having the phone implement everything would be a bit tricky. You never know, development might add them later. Sorry I write too much. In short, you can't interact with 'other' notifications straight from the screen but have to mirror it back.
To answer your second question - yes. If your using mirror on the home screen it will appear just as the same homescreen and same android, just on the back screen. Anything that comes up you can interact with, including pulling down the notification shade, opening your apps (in this case whatsapp) and interacting with them as you would (replying straight from the app). The only difference is its slower obviously, but still very do-able. If your going for super battery saving then it doesn't strike as a problem if you have to take a bit longer. It's enjoyable and pretty anyway, and very easy on the eyes.
So to summarise, yes, you can use the EPD just as you would the amoled. Even if you have to turn over activate the notification from a panel you can just mirror it straight back over, avoiding amoled over use.
I'm the same, always hate having the battery life hanging over me. The yota has got rid of that for me. It came off charge at 6am friday morning, its now just before 5pm - gsam says 34 hours. Battery is on 35%, both data and wifi have been on and being used constantly, games being played a lot, internet and youtube have occurred here and there. I've been trying to push it through its paces when have had the time. Had a couple of cheeky battery draining apps for first half of Friday so got rid of them but still.. It's nice to have 35% and feel confident that I could probably get another full day out of it if needed. And all in such an interesting package.
So, 48 hours battery life without a struggle with normal usage is perfectly feasible and also the charger charges it in a very short time, super convenient.
Hope I helped, sorry for the length again.
Thanks that really helped ?
I really like the idea of a more than one day battery life for moderate to heavy use, I'm out of contract in a couple of months and have been considering an xperia Z3 which has a large battery and is being reported by users as achieving 2 days use, however this phone is intriguing, I can think of so many potential uses for the snap shot on the EPD and to be able to control music and audio books etc. But it's the battery life that is most tempting with this device your quoted figures are impressive, how much were you using it during that period?
Another question if you don't mind, in some reviews and videos I've seen views of yota panels than display what look like short cuts to regular apps such as chrome, youtube, currency converter, maps, whatsapp , can you configure the yota panels to show an icon of any app in the app draw? For instance I use audible a lot and the EPD would be perfect for using and controlling audible from a short cut on the Yota panel. Would this short cut direct you to flip the phone to the OLED then mirror it back as per the general notifications you described above?
Thanks
Mike
Sent from my GT-N8010 using XDA Premium HD app
It is a nice freedom to have to be sure, to not feel you have to charge it over night. If caught in those party situations, or when just away from charger its nice to know its fine. I read some z3 reviews and the z3 seems to do something similar with battery. The z3 would almost certainly beat the yota in a hands down typical battry test but for long term endurance with conservative usage (and lots of use of the EPD) then i'm certain that the yota could take it. And even if not, the EPD is amazing to have. Keep stumbling across more uses for it. (currently replying to your review on a laptop with your reply screenshotted onto back of my yota). I would say that other than when at work (minimal usage but still some games here and there) I was using it between normal and heavy usage depending on the time. Normal - moderate for most of the time with a few sessions of heavy usage. Data and wifi on the whole time, almost always downloading and updating apps too. More than I would usually use it basically and 2 days use was a breeze. In a few days I think i'll go for intentional conservative usage and see how long it goes for.
Not at all. The app shortcut widgets have different sizes available, 1, 3 and 6 apps. Each one of these widgets can be configured, you can choose any app. Clicking on the app from the EPD will open the app directly on the EPD, it'll basically activate mirror mode without having to switch over. A wonderful feature I think. So you would be able to open audible from the shortcut and control it straight from the EPD without the need to even activate the OLED at all.
The z3 is a good phone, better processor, better camera etc. It rivals the s5, the m8 etc in terms of features. For me though, the yota covers everything pretty well, even if it's using now slightly outdated specs - it does the job happily. And the EPD adds a whole new level of functionality and makes using a phone a very interesting practice again. It's a new way of using a phone and that's what's most attractive for me.
Thanks again for your reply, it seems that the yotaphone will do pretty much all I would want it to on the EPD, it has really got my interest up now! I'm seeing a yota panel with my most used apps that would not really suffer from being on the EPD, audible, fotmob, kobo, whatsapp, beyond pod maybe even words with friends!
I think along the same lines as you in wanting something a bit different and interesting, I've had two android phones now and before that an iPhone, to be honest another straight forward android seems a little samey now hence deciding that battery life would be my priority rather than screen size or the latest cpu etc.... If only that eye watering price would drop a little come March.....
Sent from my GT-N8010 using XDA Premium HD app
Yeah above all I wanted battery life with decent enough specs and something different. I finished my contract and began saving with the express aim of getting this phone, once got the money figured might as well as no other phone appeals to me enough. The modular smartphones coming up certainly piqued my interest but I can't wait for them, wanted a new phone now. For me the yota is worth it so far and I hold out hope for the duration of my ownership of it.
Good luck to you whether you decide to go for it or something else.
20% discount offer on facebook if your still wanting dude. £444 seems pretty reasonable.
zute333 said:
20% discount offer on facebook if your still wanting dude. £444 seems pretty reasonable.
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Oh that's so tempting, i don't have face book tho, where's the discount coming from,yotaphone themselves? I've been waiting for March to see what the HTC One M9 and Galaxy S6 looks like....trouble is android now looks the same on most handsets, so will a M9 be that much different from my M7 meh.
My kids have Facebook tho, how do you get access to the discount?
Thanks
Sent from my GT-N8010 using XDA Premium HD app
yotaphone themselves indeed, celebrating 120,000 fans. Seems a bit harsh on the rest of us but i'm not one to begrudge success on a company I would like to succeed.
They all look the same now. Samsung have never been that good on the aesthetic look of their phone's imo, the m7 is beautiful in the same way as the m8 and m9 and possibly so on. And yeah, launchers are pretty stripped down now, and I find having a launcher that you can theme, or using something like dodol or themer you can get a phone looking exactly how you want, which negates manufacturers launchers anyhow. The only real difference comes from the odd gimmick here and there or in the case of the note edge a part of a screen. That one I kind of get but I'm also of the opinion that a whole second screen beats a sliver of one on the side .
Sorry, what you actually want to see is this: https://www.facebook.com/YotaPhone/posts/439221752895395
I hope the link works and the discount is still active if you go for it.
Well Zute333 thanks for the heads up on the discount , my daughter pulled up the voucher code via her FB and I've bought one at £421.80 ☺????????
It feels genuinely exciting to have something different to use over the coming months. Btw Is it a mini or micro sim?
Thanks again for helping me decide
Mike
Sent from my GT-N8010 using XDA Premium HD app
Well I'm a bit gutted if i'm honest, got mine at £495-£555 (discount still pending, long story), with the bumper. But to be fair I've had a lovely few weeks and am getting the jolla tablet for hilariously cheap price so counting it a good overall load of deals lol. Still though, £421.80 is epic, congrats and I hope you enjoy it dude. Lollipop on the way at some point, can only improve things.
It's micro sim.
EDIT: nano-sim
No worries dude.
I'm even more gutted: it seems this is only valid in the UK, as I can't change the country field to any other. Website is partly in Dutch, though.
Sad for you dude. I think they made the post in other languages for other countries but can't find em and don't know if they did one for the Netherlands.
I don't really mind having paid full price, just happy to have it. You can always wait, another offer will surely arise, the standard price will also probably drop eventually.
By the way, a reseller here in Holland says in its specs the Yotaphone has nanosim. I assume they're wrong?
---------- Post added at 12:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:43 PM ----------
Also, I see different specs on radio: some say 3G, some say 4G.
bartveld said:
By the way, a reseller here in Holland says in its specs the Yotaphone has nanosim. I assume they're wrong?
---------- Post added at 12:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:43 PM ----------
Also, I see different specs on radio: some say 3G, some say 4G.
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Ah, no I was wrong, I got the names mixed - thought there was mini and micro, equating micro with nano. The yota 2 sim tray is a nano-sim tray.
Also it can do 4g.
Thanks.
Hi all, newbie here! i've just bought Yotaphone 2 couple days ago, can't say how happy i am with this phone so far. It's fast enough and the always-on screen is amazingly convenient. Can't say much about battery life yet as only charged it once so far.
The only couple of minor things to mention though - the back-panel is very, very slippery so can easily drop the phone out of your hands. The other thing - email notifications on the back-panel. It's configured to default email app (as mentioned in some previous posts) and looks like there's no way how i can change it to gmail which is my primary email. But am i right thinking that there should be an update to fix this?
smekla said:
Hi all, newbie here! i've just bought Yotaphone 2 couple days ago, can't say how happy i am with this phone so far. It's fast enough and the always-on screen is amazingly convenient. Can't say much about battery life yet as only charged it once so far.
The only couple of minor things to mention though - the back-panel is very, very slippery so can easily drop the phone out of your hands. The other thing - email notifications on the back-panel. It's configured to default email app (as mentioned in some previous posts) and looks like there's no way how i can change it to gmail which is my primary email. But am i right thinking that there should be an update to fix this?
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Hey dude. Lovely phone isn't it. Yeah the back is pretty slippy, the bumper solves that problem if you can manage to get one? As for the email notification on the back, I agree, it's annoying that you can't configure it but I think they'll probably address that in an update, maybe make they're own email client like with the back sms app or something. Only time will tell on that front I suppose.
By the way, get someone to text you the word 'cool' and leave phone EPD facing up. Lovely little easter egg type addition by Yota. Figuring out various other ones over time