Database Users

Screen comparison

Hi all,
I have read a lot about the G1. Some reviewers say that the screen is the same as the iPhone 3G, just 3.2" instead of 3.5" and others say that the iPhone 3G has a better quality screen that produces an overall better quality image. Also, the iPhone is said to have a more sensitive touch response than the G1.
I have also read somewhere in this forum that somebody said the screen of the G1 is much better than the Touch Diamond based on personal experience and opinion.
Since the screen plays a big part in the functionality and appearance of touch phones, I would really like to know how the screens of the following phones compare to each other and why one is better than the other:
HTC Touch Pro
HTC Touch Diamond
HTC Dream (G1)
iPhone 3G
Thanx!

I am not the best person to answer your question since I only have limited experience with the iPhone and I have never used the Touch Pro or Diamond, but I do have a small amount of insight to share.
#1) The G1's screen is absolutely beautiful, it is practically impossible for you to be disappointed upon looking at it. It is nicer than an iPod or PSP screen for sure.
#2) The Diamond and Pro use Resistive Touch Screens, which are the old fashioned touch screens with a film over the top that bends when you touch it. Designed for styluses. The iPhone and G1 use Capacitive screens, which means there is no loose layer on top, but it will only work with your finger. If you try to touch it with a regular plastic stylus nothing will happen.
#3) The G1's screen is very responsive, the only problems that I have ever had is when the software's UI doesn't make the button big enough for a fingertip. One unfortunate example is the slider on media apps, it is occasionally difficult to grab and move but it has nothing to do with the screen itself.

I can confirm the screen is amazing.
The default brightness came set down, I cranked it up and it is bright and super sharp. The resolution of the screen is the same as the iPhone but is just a little smaller, the size to me is perfect and I have no complaints about it at all, even when its sitting next to an iPhone. I find it far superior in quality and resolution than Resistive screens. I don't miss VGA resolutions since this looks so beautiful with the help of the OS. I would say the Screen is as good or better than the iPhone in terms of quality and brightness.
The sensitivity is super sensative in a good way. you dont have to apply any presure, and it will sense even your skin floating above the screen if you can get it that close. The UI takes advantage of the screen and is super responsive like the iPhone when you use it. There is some stutter here and there but less often noticed. I beleive its because the G1 runs programs in the background and sometimes the memory management hangs for a split sec. IMHO the touch response is the same as the iphone, just the UI has to catch up some times creating a jitter/snag.
Short Generalization:
Better than diamond/touch pro because size, brightness and Capacitive touch response.
same as iphone except size. UI is what stutters not screens fault, this also happens in the iphone, but is less often than G1; but G1 can run other applications in the background.
Good Bye WM! See you in a couple of years.
Jcostanza4

Hi,
Thanks for the responses, it seems that the general opinion of the screen is good. Most people say that it looks and works (with finger touch) better than the diamond series phones and that it can compare to the iPhone.
I think most likely, a side by side comparison would show that the iPhone has slightly better image quality simply because the screen has 16M colors as opposed to the 65K colors of the G1 but that is not going to stop me from buying a G1 over an iPhone.
Enjoy the phone everyone, it sounds awesome so far!

Is X1 screen really better than Diamond??

From the Spec of X1, it should be better than Diamond.
I tried a X1 on yesterday, the screen was sharp and the color looked a little bit milky. Is the problem of screen protector or the intrinsic problem?
I want to buy it but I am not sure if the screen is really good.
Any idea??

I have both of them right next to each other. If you turn both to max brightness, they're about the same. The X1 wins in terms of sharpness and obviously pixels. For color, I think the diamond is a TINY bit more vibrant, but not really noticeable.
Returning my Diamond tomorrow =)

it is better, and the fact that the screen is wider/longer portrait makes it better at reading mail etc

Thanks.
This solved my problem.
But did any of you notice any hanging in the 9 panels?
Besides does coremediaplayer work well on it??

Coming from a Touch Pro I can tell you the extra pixels are worth it. Browsing is so nice with the entire width of web pages rendered within one viewing pane...

another thing that is good compared to the diamond is that the x1 screen is more sensitive.maybe thats the reason that the screen is a little recessed on the x1.

.
The Xperia has 60000 more pixels on the screen than the Diamond/Pro.
Do you agree The xperia can show more detail and a lot sharper?
.

Pinguino1 said:
.
The Xperia has 60000 more pixels on the screen than the Diamond/Pro.
Do you agree The xperia can show more detail and a lot sharper?
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yea of course, the dots per inch on the x1 is allot more, its better how ever you turn it.
the problem on the x1 is ,,,, can your eyes see the change in the higher resolution?, mine can =)

The X1 is a joy to own and I have had all the Winmo phones including Touch Diamond and Pro. The pro was pretty good but the X1 is amazing. The screen is clear enough to do general browsing on sat on your sofa. The Touch Pro wasnt IMO.

stuartforrest said:
The X1 is a joy to own and I have had all the Winmo phones including Touch Diamond and Pro. The pro was pretty good but the X1 is amazing. The screen is clear enough to do general browsing on sat on your sofa. The Touch Pro wasnt IMO.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you are right as the response for X1 is better than Touch Pro and that should be the way for WM device.
Touch Pro is really slow in response and a pain to own.

Yes I agree. I regularly had to press the screen more than once on the TP for something to happen. The X1 is far more sensitive.

My verdict
I currently own both the Touch Pro and the X1, my findings are:
The X1 screen is more responsive definitely but I don't think it is as sharp as the TP. Maybe it's because everything is a lot smaller and my eyesight aint what it used to be!
The real pain of the X1 screen is the fact that not all my favourite apps are compatible. Some make a bad attempt at fitting the screen, others appear as incredibly tiny graphics in the corner of the screen.
The X1 has niggles, like a soft reset button that can only be used once the battery cover is removed. The battery cover is also a bit of a pain to snap on/off sometimes.
You only get 9 panels (most of which are pretty useless), Touch Flo would have been great on the X1, and although you can get this 'working' on the X1 it's a bit hit and miss. Finally, the keyboard is nowhere near as good as the Touch Pro.
The Touch Pro is probably the most unreliable HTC device I have ever owned (I have owned many) It badly needs a ROM upgrade. Shame as I really like the screen and the keyboard is simply the best ever.
As I have only just bought the X1 I need a bit more time to judge its reliability. But I do think it has potential.

apprentice said:
I currently own both the Touch Pro and the X1, my findings are:
The X1 screen is more responsive definitely but I don't think it is as sharp as the TP. Maybe it's because everything is a lot smaller and my eyesight aint what it used to be!
The real pain of the X1 screen is the fact that not all my favourite apps are compatible. Some make a bad attempt at fitting the screen, others appear as incredibly tiny graphics in the corner of the screen.
The X1 has niggles, like a soft reset button that can only be used once the battery cover is removed. The battery cover is also a bit of a pain to snap on/off sometimes.
You only get 9 panels (most of which are pretty useless), Touch Flo would have been great on the X1, and although you can get this 'working' on the X1 it's a bit hit and miss. Finally, the keyboard is nowhere near as good as the Touch Pro.
The Touch Pro is probably the most unreliable HTC device I have ever owned (I have owned many) It badly needs a ROM upgrade. Shame as I really like the screen and the keyboard is simply the best ever.
As I have only just bought the X1 I need a bit more time to judge its reliability. But I do think it has potential.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't own a X1...but hope to shortly with the X1a...there was one point you made that is really irking me about my new upcoming device.
Your mention of the reset hole being under the battery cover, I agree, is a really piss off. Although you never want to have to use that pin/hole, it is bound to happen at some point. Making it a multistep process of turning over the device, popping off the battery cover and then hitting the button is rather annoying..especially if you have the device in a case (for example the upcoming Noreve case)
I like my Prophet on the other hand (and the style it has). That is the reset hole is at the bottom of the device, done and done...

hofo_mofo said:
I don't own a X1...but hope to shortly with the X1a...there was one point you made that is really irking me about my new upcoming device.
Your mention of the reset hole being under the battery cover, I agree, is a really piss off. Although you never want to have to use that pin/hole, it is bound to happen at some point. Making it a multistep process of turning over the device, popping off the battery cover and then hitting the button is rather annoying..especially if you have the device in a case (for example the upcoming Noreve case)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is a pain, the manual suggests the alternative reset method... hold down the power button to switch off the device completely and then turn on again. OK, this 'works' but is still not as quick as the reset hole. I also use a software 'soft-reset' (available on many shell utilities) which is ok but then useless if the screen has locked up of course!
I don't think we'll ever get complete satisfaction with our devices. Each new model brings with it better features but often drops features that were useful in previous models. All I can say is the X1 is a very good smartphone overall.

The reset button is stupid but I reset mine nowhere near as much as my Touch Pro etc.
The Xperia is awesome and I dont agree the screen is less sharp. It is the first device I can truly sit on the sofa and broswe the web on. Way better than the Touch Pro. The only thing is the the Touch Pro screen is a little brighter, but only a tiny amount.
The Xperia is awesome hardware. I would have preferred a flusger screen or perhaps totally flush like the Pro and so far the panels are a waste of time but that doesnt mean they will always be and you dont need them anyway.
I absolutely love it!

The xperia screen is better no question about.
size, reolution and pixel density is superior to ANY mobile phone.
soft reset is not a big deal.
removing the cover to insert the stylus is nothing.
You don't plan to do this all the time.
Once your Xperia is personalized and all your foreign apps
and ports are stabled, you will reset almost never or very rarely.
I just went to AT&T store to play with the Fuze (the Pro) and
after an hour of playing with it in he store. It was a total let down.
Unresponsive, small screen hard to read and fuzzy, limited zooming,
the flush screen is a mess with fingerprints, I rather have the recessed
screen is more responsive.
When flipping to landscape the screen changes to a different display.
A lot of black and white displays.
But I liked the bounce in the keyboard keys despite that are very small.
Not bias here, because at $299 I wanted to see if it was a good alternative for the Xperia.

I agree. I rarely have to reset mine so the button is not a big deal and if I do I can usually do it by holding own the power button to turn it on and off.
The xperia is miles more stable than the buggy Touch Pro and the screen is wonderful. I scratched my Touch Pro and Diamond screen really easily and they were both very unresponsive compared to the Xperia (in fact compared to any touch screen phone I have had)

My plan is to get a drill and a file and make a hole and groove in the back case to allow access to microsd and reset hole. Should be an easy solution to the problem.

Blackstone Replacement

Ok guys, whats next for us, anyone have any hard facts about what HTC is going to replace our lovely Touch HDs with? still have quite a while left on my contract but im curious whats around the corner....

Agreed... I was thinking about HTC HERO but I dont think I can live with a screen that small

Guys,
Has anyone noticed that since the Blackstone, HTC has not made any phones with a screen that is as big as the Touch HD? (3.8 inches). I've only seen 3.6 inches so far. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Cheers.

You are correct 3.6" max: in my opinion we must wait early 2010 to see other device like HD
D'rath

Really looking forward to the HTC Thoth.....with the current on screen keyboard....I would'nt mind leaving the physical keyboard at home.....provided they launch it soon.....but kinda looking forward to one of their devices using the new Nvidia chips as well....

Yup, i'd only really be interested in one of the new Nvidia chipset devices as a replacement.

.. And an AMOLED display .. bloomin daylight :-(

the size on the HD is just perfect, ive tried some smaller ones since and its just not the same, i can see me using this thing until its fallen to bits unless a HD2 with a similar design comes out, its a perfect iPhone compeditor we just need a bit more grunt, OLEDS would be very cool, but i think we would have to drop the stylus, the metal wires in the screen reduce the brightness by a huge amount and im not sure how OLEDs compare with backlit LCD

Having had a Touch HD and Touch Pro2 I know why they don't make such a large screen anymore.
Using the TouchPro2's screen requires minimal 'touchdown' all around the screen - its consistent, whereas the Touch HD (I've had three of these) all exhibit the same issue - The middle of the screen requires less effort to register a screen press than the outer sides - making it inconsistent. I'm assuming this is due to the larger screen size the touch element of the phone has to cover....
Don't get me wrong - I loved my Touch HD but after the usual HTC and qualcomm marlaky of missing hardware drivers I'm pretty peeved off and have now deflect to the iphone 3GS. Yes its no-where near as technically superior as the Touch HD - but the screen and hardware acceleration make it very fluid to use.
Signed up to a 24month contract with the 3GS as I doubt very much HTC will be releasing anything decent (i.e. With a decent graphics chipset) for a while yet......

Agreed with the above posts..
Having OLED would be pretty cool... and maybe a capacitive touch screen-- however I doubt this as it wouldn't be compatible with handwriting recognition. Maybe better technology will overcome this someday as for now I can only dream... :/

zoomee,
I'll have to agree. The edges are not as responsive as the center. This is especially apparent in things like the X button on the top right.
Cheers.
zoomee said:
Having had a Touch HD and Touch Pro2 I know why they don't make such a large screen anymore.
Using the TouchPro2's screen requires minimal 'touchdown' all around the screen - its consistent, whereas the Touch HD (I've had three of these) all exhibit the same issue - The middle of the screen requires less effort to register a screen press than the outer sides - making it inconsistent. I'm assuming this is due to the larger screen size the touch element of the phone has to cover....
Don't get me wrong - I loved my Touch HD but after the usual HTC and qualcomm marlaky of missing hardware drivers I'm pretty peeved off and have now deflect to the iphone 3GS. Yes its no-where near as technically superior as the Touch HD - but the screen and hardware acceleration make it very fluid to use.
Signed up to a 24month contract with the 3GS as I doubt very much HTC will be releasing anything decent (i.e. With a decent graphics chipset) for a while yet......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

ah well, so no one has any news on anything to replace the Touch HD with. Pitty, they are losing out on market share to Apple. Unless that is they already figure the market is lost to them...

General consensus on capacitive screen

Hi, what is the general consensus on the capacitive screen?, is it accurate enough, fast enough? Would the resistive screen been better?

Screen is less accurate but great to use.
Would go Capacitive again. This is also my first day with the phone. I hear it gets better with time.

I love it, much better than HTC Touch Pro

I love the screen. Before I had Omnia which had terrible touchscreen.
It is quite accurate for me too(of course, if device is not touch friendly, it's not easy to use, but still possible).

What are capacitive screens really good for?

First things first: I generally like my HD2 - It's fast, has a nice display and a lot of other nice features but the touch screen outright sucks and is bordering on useless. Of course the iphone screen isn't much better but it still beats the HD2 screen hands down.
What's all the fuss about capacitive screens? All I can see is a loss in functionality. I hear their more durable but who cares whether the screen lasts 3 years or 10???? It's nowhere near as precise as any other touch screen device I ever owned. I can't use a stylus for drawing small things or playing most games....try playing crayon physics with this absolute piece of junk...or Warfare Incorporated.
I installed a sensitivity fix cab and it's somewhat usable for day to day stuff but still.....the 4.3" screen is nowhere near as usable as the 3" my X1 had and I could operate that with my finger only quite all right.
Seems like there nothing in capacitive screens other than being iphone-like. Why not have a 4.3" resistive screen? What's the actual downside?

ewok666 said:
try playing crayon physics
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am and it works just fine for me
There are styluses (styli?) available for cap. screens also though.

The advantige of capacitive touch screens:
Glass can be used. Less vulnerable.
multi touch can be implemented.
more touch sensetive.
The advantige of resistive touch screens:
more accurate without software.
simple styles can be used.
cheap.
greatings,
marc

ewok666 said:
I can't use a stylus for drawing small things or playing most games....try playing crayon physics with this absolute piece of junk...or Warfare Incorporated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get ready to be flamed for your attitude. Coming onto a forum for fans of a device and calling it an "absolute piece of junk" is a pretty good way to not make friends!
Anyway, I finished Crayon Physics the other day, and had no problems doing so with my fingers. I suggest that the hardware isn't the problem here. Everyone else seems to manage fine.

I'd say the biggest downside of capacitive screens is the absence of multitouch capabilities. I have absolutely no problems operating my phone with it's capacitive screen. So to speak, Windows Mobile 6.x.x isn't really optimized for it anyways, as the HD2 was the first phone with capacitive screen on the platform.
If you wanted to work precise with a stylus then maybe you shouldn't have bought an HD2 in the first place.

ewok666 said:
... try playing crayon physics with this absolute piece of junk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No offence but I would say that not being able to play/finish crayon physics deluxe with this peace of jewellery is of course not caused by the screen or the phone. I would search the cause somewhere else.....

ewok666 said:
First things first: I generally like my HD2 - It's fast, has a nice display and a lot of other nice features but the touch screen outright sucks and is bordering on useless. Of course the iphone screen isn't much better but it still beats the HD2 screen hands down.
What's all the fuss about capacitive screens? All I can see is a loss in functionality. I hear their more durable but who cares whether the screen lasts 3 years or 10???? It's nowhere near as precise as any other touch screen device I ever owned. I can't use a stylus for drawing small things or playing most games....try playing crayon physics with this absolute piece of junk...or Warfare Incorporated.
I installed a sensitivity fix cab and it's somewhat usable for day to day stuff but still.....the 4.3" screen is nowhere near as usable as the 3" my X1 had and I could operate that with my finger only quite all right.
Seems like there nothing in capacitive screens other than being iphone-like. Why not have a 4.3" resistive screen? What's the actual downside?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The whole benefit of a capacitive screen for me is that I don't have to use a stylus. If I wanted to use a stylus I would have gone for a different phone.
Why did you buy this phone if you wanted to use a stylus? You can however get one, have you tried that first before falling out with the phone? It could fulfill all your needs and then you'll see how good the HD2 is.

I think that it is a matter of habit and getting used to resistive screens in your case. I havent had a resistive screen ever but i played a quite a lot with some and i must say that capacitive is much more interactive, finger friendly and intuitive than resistive so you might just try not to be so stuborn and give it a chance Everytime i try to do something with my girlfriends' resistive samsung and i keep getting stuck with not knowing how hard should I push the screen exactly ... I am not a fan of the resistive and after all it is called TOUCH screen not a Push screen Enjoy your Hd mate !

You can use fingers on resistive touchscreens. These days even resistive touchscreens can have multitouch.
I think the main advantage of capacitive screen is the glass, as was mentioned. Resistive screen must deform under the touching object, which means it wears down.
For phone, capacitive screen is just ok.
For tablet PCs, I'd like to see combination of capacitive screen with electromagnetic stylus (like tablet has) where you could switch the mode.
Capacitive screen is good for fast controls, but if you draw with stylus, you don't want the screen to react on random touches.
For example iPad has rather thick borders around the screen .. because you have to hold it somehow without actually touching the screen.

ewok666 said:
try playing crayon physics with this absolute piece of junk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The game is so addictive i completed this morning. Try junking your fingers?
A capacitive screen makes our screen a real touch screen instead of 'tap screen'.

kruithofm said:
The advantige of capacitive touch screens:
more touch sensetive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think so. Resistive is much more sensitive and precise. Pen stroke input used to be the reason PPC stuck to resistive input.
Being an HD2 fan doesn't mean a capacitive fan. Capacitive is the reason that I nearly bought an Omnia II instead of HD2. For me, it is something to hate.
With resistive, I don't mind carrying around a stylus when it means I can do precision work. And I can still use my fingers when I need to.
Now that we have WVGA, I believe now that we can sacrifice screen estate and use huge UIs so that capacitive screen can survive. But that means old applications written for resistive screens (including WM6.1 dialogues) usually have too small UIs for use on HD2.

Alex, That the Capacitive touch is more sensetive is an advantige, with the interface or software you can decrese the sensetivety. On resistive touch screens it is technicaly inposible to get the sensetivety as high as on capacitive.
It is posible to make resistive touch screens multitouch. only that takes a lot of software to calculate positions of pressing.
The techniek is very different between both. therefore you love it or you don't. some get used to it, some don't. It is all personal. There are even people who love the small keyboards. And even my wife loves only the number keys on the normal simple phones since she uses the dictionairy. And I have to say, She is faster writing a sms than me.
So everyone should use whatever they like. Every option has it's advantiges.

johncmolyneux said:
Get ready to be flamed for your attitude. Coming onto a forum for fans of a device and calling it an "absolute piece of junk" is a pretty good way to not make friends!
Anyway, I finished Crayon Physics the other day, and had no problems doing so with my fingers. I suggest that the hardware isn't the problem here. Everyone else seems to manage fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I should have been more specific: The junk I'm referring to is the screen and NOT the device. Like I said, I like the device but IMHO all the 'advantages' of capacitive don't make up for its downsides.
Just to address some of the comments:
Resistive screens CAN be touch operated without a stylus
They do NOT break down all the time
AFAIK they CAN support multitouch
Maybe it's just the crappy implementation of capacitive that HTC has done. The Iphone screen does not seem to suffer from all the issues the HD2 has:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=595655
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=604831
The stylus for capacitive screens is a joke. Come on, do they have to be that fat and ugly? Is there really no way to have a small, pointy, conductive stylus?
Are capacitive screen really a requirement for WM7?

ewok666 said:
The stylus for capacitive screens is a joke. Come on, do they have to be that fat and ugly? Is there really no way to have a small, pointy, conductive stylus?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Learn before you preach.

johncmolyneux said:
Get ready to be flamed for your attitude. Coming onto a forum for fans of a device and calling it an "absolute piece of junk" is a pretty good way to not make friends!
Anyway, I finished Crayon Physics the other day, and had no problems doing so with my fingers. I suggest that the hardware isn't the problem here. Everyone else seems to manage fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hahahahahaha!!! John is right. Better be careful what you post on this forum.

I say put your fingers on a strict diet! Enroll them in a exercise regime until you can use your "piece of junk" effectively.

Well, for me the #1 reason for me to get an HD2 IS the capacitive screen.
I've had many many resistive screen devices (1 old pocketpc, 4 HTC phones, 2 touch-enabled UMPCs), and I'm tired of having to use my nail to press on that screen. It's perfectly fine on old-style UIs that rely on clicks only, but for the "new" flick, scroll, tap, pinch, rotate, capacitive is just the way to go.
Still getting mad when I tap my Kaiser's screen with my finger (not the nail) and it thinks I want to scroll, and goes 2 pages down... only works fine with something sharp, whatever the settings/tweaks.

capacitive is a reason to buy for me: it is what made the HD2 stand out for me. I will never go back to resistive technology.
I must say though that in my opinion the iPhone display is of a superior quality, not in terms of pixel count, but certainly in terms of its accuracy, sensitivity and reliability. it is simply a lot easier to tap out words on the iPhone than on the HD2. It also responds better to cold (if I go out in the winter breeze I sometimes find my HD2 starts pressing keys and moving the screen about of its own accord).

ewok666 said:
I should have been more specific: The junk I'm referring to is the screen and NOT the device. Like I said, I like the device but IMHO all the 'advantages' of capacitive don't make up for its downsides.
Just to address some of the comments:
Resistive screens CAN be touch operated without a stylus
They do NOT break down all the time
AFAIK they CAN support multitouch
Maybe it's just the crappy implementation of capacitive that HTC has done. The Iphone screen does not seem to suffer from all the issues the HD2 has:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=595655
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=604831
The stylus for capacitive screens is a joke. Come on, do they have to be that fat and ugly? Is there really no way to have a small, pointy, conductive stylus?
Are capacitive screen really a requirement for WM7?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try walkin down the street while tryin to send an sms using the stylus on a resistive screen...u'll be sooo glad ur hd2 is capacitive...

kruithofm said:
The advantige of capacitive touch screens:
Glass can be used. Less vulnerable.
multi touch can be implemented.
more touch sensetive.
The advantige of resistive touch screens:
more accurate without software.
simple styles can be used.
cheap.
greatings,
marc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this should have been end of thread.