Related
Lets put together a list of problems that we have with this phone. I'll split them into software bugs and things we just don't like.
Software bugs/shortcomings
- GPS problems
- Touchwiz seems to have been gimped (less of an issue as I use Syndicate, although I know some people like Touchwiz)
- Kies does not appear to be working
- Phone seems to get really hot
- Signal appears to have difficulties locking in some areas still
Things we just don't like about this phone
- Internal storage for apps is less than 500 mb when you install (it seems that every Galaxy S phone has been gimped in some manner - this is ours it would seem. Whereas the i9000, Vibrant, and Captivate lack flash, we have this problem).
- Still uses pen tile
- Battery life is not as good as it could be (Kernels like Pheonix and Xtreme try to adjust this)
- Keyboard WPM could use some work
Note: Keep this thread civil. I don't want this thread to be locked due to a flame war. We want to put together a list of known issues. Maybe something like this should be stickied.
*It simply isn't usable in stock form for a business professional.
-The gps never works when you need it on demand.
-If you actually use your phone, even just to talk on for any amount of time, it dies quickly.
I'm having issues with MMS. Takes hours to download.
J3ff said:
*It simply isn't usable in stock form for a business professional.
-The gps never works when you need it on demand.
-If you actually use your phone, even just to talk on for any amount of time, it dies quickly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I definitely disagree with this particular assessment concerning being usable in stock form. Even though I'm rooted, I specifically refuse to run any custom rom. Very happy with stock. My gps has worked when I've ever needed to use it.
Battery life could be better, definitely, but I make it through a regular work day (almost 6.30pm and at 37%).
I'd say battery life is my number 1 need for improvement, not gps (mine works fine when I need to use it) but that's not unique to the Epic in general. Android phones and *great* battery life don't seem to mix.
Forgive My Brevity. To Be Or Not To Be...
sauron0101 said:
Lets put together a list of problems that we have with this phone. I'll split them into software bugs and things we just don't like.
Software bugs/shortcomings
- GPS problems
- Touchwiz seems to have been gimped (less of an issue as I use Syndicate, although I know some people like Touchwiz)
- Kies does not appear to be working
Things we just don't like about this phone
- Internal storage for apps is less than 500 mb when you install (it seems that every Galaxy S phone has been gimped in some manner - this is ours it would seem. Whereas the i9000, Vibrant, and Captivate lack flash, we have this problem).
- Still uses pen tile
- Battery life is not as good as it could be (Kernels like Pheonix and Xtreme try to adjust this)
Note: Keep this thread civil. I don't want this thread to be locked due to a flame war. We want to put together a list of known issues. Maybe something like this should be stickied.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kies does not work when you are rooted for safety reasons. gps will not lock if you have wifi on and sometimes it needs to be on kinda weird. no problems with twiz maybe you should do a battery pull and for the guy with mms taking awhile to download update prl or get closer to a tower or turn on mobile data. The only problem with these phones are the people using them.
time w/o a signal >50%
The LED notification light only blinks about 5.25 times then stops. After that, it blinks sporadically.
Anyone who criticizes the battery life on the Epic probably didn't come over from the Evo. It no exaggeration has about 4 times the life
jbadboy2007 said:
The only problem with these phones are the people using them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not at all. Hardware wise, the phone itself could use improvements. The Galaxy S global edition came with 1.7 GB of free space.
Although the GPS is different on this unit than the other Galaxy S phones, all models seem to suffer from various GPS locking issues. There are a host of other issues, some of which have been addressed by Sprint.
Lets put it this way: Samsung got a lot of things right with this phone and we are moving I think overall towards a better Android experience, but we've got some ways to go.
imwillzillla said:
Anyone who criticizes the battery life on the Epic probably didn't come over from the Evo. It no exaggeration has about 4 times the life
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Having never used an Evo, I can't comment on that one. I bought my Epic for about $300 + shipping + import taxes and am using it in Canada as an "Android touch".
However, gripes appear to be common on battery life. In particular, enabling 4G for most users seems to suck battery out very rapidly.
Coming from a TP2 I will point out a nuisance that I have.
No way to link notification volume with ringer volume. There are 2 separate sliders and it bugs the crap outta me. Either my ringer is too low and notifications too high or vice versa..
My gps hadn't failed me since the last update or so. Ever since it has been fast and accurate so I am shocked people are still complaining about it. Maybe some of you with the GPS issue haven't updated to the latest stock rom...
Fine, I'll shut up.
Sent from my Epic 4g using XDA App
jbadboy2007 said:
Kies does not work when you are rooted for safety reasons. gps will not lock if you have wifi on and sometimes it needs to be on kinda weird. no problems with twiz maybe you should do a battery pull and for the guy with mms taking awhile to download update prl or get closer to a tower or turn on mobile data. The only problem with these phones are the people using them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
These are general, not (RE: NOT!) specific problems, meaning that not (again I say NOT!) ALL phones are gonna be affected, so if your phone is good, then so be it and stay quiet since this thread clearly isn't meant for you, but for the people who actually have the same problems such as I and the next guy.
Back on topic, I think the back button thing should be up there. Not sure ifits fixed yet, but my epic has it and I bought it first week of october and it had dg27 so I'm guessing mine was part of the first couple batches
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
imwillzillla said:
Anyone who criticizes the battery life on the Epic probably didn't come over from the Evo. It no exaggeration has about 4 times the life
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I disagree. Battery life on the Epic is terrible.
Currently at 27%. Time since plugged in: 9.5 hours with only 1 hour and 12 minutes screen on time.
Seems 3x worse than when I bought it. Need to put my spare battery in soon...
daddymikey1975 said:
Coming from a TP2 I will point out a nuisance that I have.
No way to link notification volume with ringer volume. There are 2 separate sliders and it bugs the crap outta me. Either my ringer is too low and notifications too high or vice versa..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you use the volume rocker they are definitly linked. Even if you place them on two different settings on the sliders, then use the volume rocker they both move to thr ringer setting.
Power button on the right side... WHY wasn't it put on the TOP!
Stupid video recording always asks for Normal or MMS limit..
sauron0101 said:
Having never used an Evo, I can't comment on that one. I bought my Epic for about $300 + shipping + import taxes and am using it in Canada as an "Android touch".
However, gripes appear to be common on battery life. In particular, enabling 4G for most users seems to suck battery out very rapidly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well so far on my epic everything has been working very well..including impressive batt life. i came from an evo >epic..just flawless. i do however dislike the download cap, signal strength could be improved, stock browser doesnt let you rename a file when you downlod to sd card.
Well let me first start off by saying that I totally still love my epic, and that every device has shortcomings/issues/****ty support in one way or the other. I love my epic.
Now that I got that out, one thing that totally aggrivates me is the fact that the keyboard doesn't recognize typing faster than a certain WPM. I happen to type very fast, and about 1 in 5 words will have a missing letter if I don't type in granny mode. For a long time I thought it was just me and that I haven't adjusted to the keyboard yet. Unfortunatly later on I viewed a post on here that about 30 other ppl were *****ing about the same thing. Ugh. Other than that though I love the phone... but I got a hardware keyboard attached to it and switched to sprint so I could type faster... but half the time swype is more efficient! Lolz.
hydralisk said:
I disagree. Battery life on the Epic is terrible.
Currently at 27%. Time since plugged in: 9.5 hours with only 1 hour and 12 minutes screen on time.
Seems 3x worse than when I bought it. Need to put my spare battery in soon...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That sucks. When having the spare battery in, did you leave that one in to see if it was the battery and not the phone? Also is your phone rooted? I rooted mine, dropped it in a bowl of cereal and got a new one from the store and both rooted and unrooted worked fine for me but I think you should look into what is causing it.
A couple of other folks in this thread who came from the Evo appreciate how good the battery life is on this. I will try to leave my EPIC unplugged for the next twelve hours and see how much juice is left. and I play Angry Birds and Galcon constantly.
While i love the phone i do have some problems.
The wobbly slider mechanism
My GPS was fine until i left the WIFI on for several hours. After that i had to reboot for the GPS to lock. So sure the GPS 'works' but it's easy to break.
All the stupid little stuff i have to do. ie. airplane toggle, kill DRM, set wifi to always on, cold start for GPS. It would be nice if we didn't have to do any of that. Not a big deal for me, but for non-technical people i can see it being a deal breaker.
For anyone trying to decide between the Evo and Epic, here is my take after having each for at least 2 weeks as my primary phone. These are just my opinions as everyone has different tastes
I must be an exception to the rule...I switched from a Palm Pre to the Epic for a couple weeks. I liked swype so much I decided to drop the epic for the evo.
After using an Evo for two weeks I traded it back for an Epic and I like the Epic much better for a few reasons.
First I didn't care for HTC Sense. I like the gallery, email, music player, calendar, and various apps included with the Epic better than HTC's versions. Also, HTC doesn't ship a file browser or task manager whereas Samsung does. Some people will say "just install one from the market" but those typically all have ads. I realize you can remove the ads with a host file, but that’s beside the point. These are basic OS functions that should be included.
Second the Epic feels much faster. Scrolling is smoother and games run better. Froyo or not, it’s faster.
Third…contrary to what you may believe it is MUCH easier to root an Epic. With the Epic you can essentially take the long way or the shortcut 1-click method but the Evo HW0004 currently there is only a long somewhat difficult root process.
Fourth, everyone complains that the dev community is so much better for the Evo. I would argue that this community is really top notch and has been extremely helpful and understanding to new users such as myself. I saw a lot more flaming going on in Evo forums.
Finally the hardware: Something overlooked by many, the Epic is way more comfortable to hold. Turns out rounded corners are round for a reason. After browsing the web & xda for about 30 min on the Evo I noticed the center of my palm, right where the bottom corner rests was a tad sore, almost felt bruised. This is not a problem with the Epic with its nicely rounded body and curved back. Also the earpiece is much better on the Epic, its louder clearer and is more comfortable up to the ear. And yes, the samoled screen is worth the 0.3” loss in size.
I wouldn't even consider the Evo Shift at this point. I'm shocked to see so many people recommending it over the Epic which to me is well worth the higher price.
If they fix the keyboard issues, GPS issues, and battery life issues I would agree with you that the Epic 4G is definitely the best phone on Sprint. If a Droid or the iPhone had even one of these issues, all of the media outlets would be up in arms and there would be mass returns. They are all MAJOR issues. For some reason, Samsung is allowed to get away with it on the Galaxy S devices. People are not really returning their devices in large numbers (as far as I know), and all of the reviewers gave the Galaxy S devices very high scores.
The reality is this is essentially a device with alpha or beta quality software on it, that is not getting fixed until at least six months after release. I am not buying Samsung again for mobile phones.
I have to agree with op. Best phone i ever had, and i have had quite a few smartphones. even before official froyo, it runs much smoothr than the few evos i played with. Gps, keyboard is perfect for me. And the screen is amazing.....
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
Stock Evo vs. Epic battery life is within 5% I would say. I couldn't tell any difference in my usage. Probably because I am almost always within Wi-fi range which makes a big difference.
Keyboard on the Epic doesn't impress, I'll agree with you. Thats probably why I use swype most of the time. It is very handy to punch in passwords though.
GPS is better on the Evo. If you are a road warrior I would avoid the Galexy S line. That said, if you enable GPS & wireless networks it will place you on the map within 30 seconds, but it is definitely not as accurate as the Evo. Supposedly Samsung is working on improvements.
Thanks for bringing up some points I didn't include!
thechicgeak said:
If they fix the keyboard issues, GPS issues, and battery life issues I would agree with you that the Epic 4G is definitely the best phone on Sprint. If a Droid or the iPhone had even one of these issues, all of the media outlets would be up in arms and there would be mass returns. They are all MAJOR issues. For some reason, Samsung is allowed to get away with it on the Galaxy S devices. People are not really returning their devices in large numbers (as far as I know), and all of the reviewers gave the Galaxy S devices very high scores.
The reality is this is essentially a device with alpha or beta quality software on it, that is not getting fixed until at least six months after release. I am not buying Samsung again for mobile phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A. The keyboard is the only legitimate argument you have here.
B. Most users who buy the epic(and yes, the users who root and are members of this forum are the minority) do not see a GPS problem. I didn't even notice one till I started reading this forum and trying to replicate the problem. I have two friends with Epics, and they have never complained of the GPS not working.
C. The battery is no worse than the Evo, and that is a fact. Read on both forums and you will see that everyone gets VERY comparable operating times. Unfortunately with screen this big and clear, you aren't going to get the battery life of other phones. Have you seen the screens on Evo and Epic compared to iphone and droid? They are night and day difference, and the product of that is battery life.
If you go to the Droid forums you will see complaints as well, however because 80% of the public does not have the same demand as the users of forums like this, the complaints are not escalated as highly. The high end techies complain about everything that is not perfect, cause techies are never satisfied, I should know, I am in that boat. However, that does not mean we are holding a inferior piece of hardware/software. Outside of this forum, I have never met a normal person dissatisfied with their Epic or Evo.
I was in a sprint store last week getting a replacement Epic so while waiting i did about 15 seperate 4g bandwidth tests with the floor demo and my replacement Epic comparing it it side to side with the Evo. I'm disappointed to say not only did the Evo best the Epic every time in some instances it nearly doubled the speed. It regularly was 1-3 megabits a second faster and the fastest speed for a Epic was 7.2 megs and the Evo was 10 megs. I also noticed that even though we were in a full coverage area the Epic would go from full to no bars for some unknown reason. The Evo must have a better antenna or the Epic has some reception issues. Has anyone else tested this out?
swanysto said:
...C. The battery is no worse than the Evo, and that is a fact. Read on both forums and you will see that everyone gets VERY comparable operating times. Unfortunately with screen this big and clear, you aren't going to get the battery life of other phones. Have you seen the screens on Evo and Epic compared to iphone and droid? They are night and day difference, and the product of that is battery life...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm going to chime in here and state that the Epic's 45-nm S5PC110 is ~20% more power efficient than the EVO's 65-nm QSD8650. The SAMOLED on the Epic does eat more juice than the EVO's LCD when cranked all the way up or when displaying lots of white pages, but when displaying dark colors and blacks it can sip less energy.
swanysto said:
A. The keyboard is the only legitimate argument you have here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed, the keyboard is junk on this device. I am not sure if it is software, hardware, or both that causes the missed keys. Hopefully it is just software issues...
swanysto said:
B. Most users who buy the epic(and yes, the users who root and are members of this forum are the minority) do not see a GPS problem. I didn't even notice one till I started reading this forum and trying to replicate the problem. I have two friends with Epics, and they have never complained of the GPS not working.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can see how for some people, the GPS issues are not a big deal, but it is for people who do not want to do any sort of hacking whatsoever to help decrease the long lock times. Not the end of the world, I'll grant you that, but my point is that this would not be accepted on any other major mobile phone, so why is it so accepted on the Galaxy S devices? Look at how up in arms people were about the iPhone 4's relatively minor "death grip" problem.
swanysto said:
C. The battery is no worse than the Evo, and that is a fact. Read on both forums and you will see that everyone gets VERY comparable operating times. Unfortunately with screen this big and clear, you aren't going to get the battery life of other phones. Have you seen the screens on Evo and Epic compared to iphone and droid? They are night and day difference, and the product of that is battery life.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When it works as it should, it can have great battery life (mine under DK28 works great and I get around 20 to 30 hours on a charge with moderate usage). That being said, there are problems in the software that, on some phones under certain conditions, cause absurdly bad battery life (10% battery drain or more per hour while idle, which is how mine was until I upgraded to DK28 and how my friends' Fascinates are) and cause the phone to heat up considerably while idle. I have only ever heard of this happening with Galaxy S phones. Either way, frequent updates from Samsung and getting the latest Android release reasonably fast would mitigate this complaint for me, but that doesn't happen, so it is a legitimate complaint.
swanysto said:
If you go to the Droid forums you will see complaints as well, however because 80% of the public does not have the same demand as the users of forums like this, the complaints are not escalated as highly. The high end techies complain about everything that is not perfect, cause techies are never satisfied, I should know, I am in that boat. However, that does not mean we are holding a inferior piece of hardware/software. Outside of this forum, I have never met a normal person dissatisfied with their Epic or Evo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will agree that many people expect too much out of their smart phones. 20 to 30 hours is not enough for many people. That being said, 10 hour battery life doing absolutely nothing with the phone is completely ridiculous, and it is a legitimate software problem with the Galaxy S devices.
EDIT: Some grammar changes
I believe every phone's capabilities have to do with their "abuse" levels. Higher the abuse, lower the satisfaction. And, with higher abuse there will be more frequent visits to the Sprint store than usual.
I got my Epic on the day it came out (8/30/2010) and I have to admit this is a very beautiful phone with nice features. And the custom roms just spice it up even more (with less abuse of course)
If you have 10% drain an hour then you have app issues or something running in the background. On eclair I was getting 60 - 80 hours with no problem. On froyo it has been 20 - 30 hours now with ext 4 its up to 55 hours
Our stock standby time is 300 hours evo is like 200.
Epic 4g Quantum Rom Ext 4
Since im replying from my phone and I don't feel like editing a quote I'll just say that the gps is a MAJOR issue as I was never able to use it until I started having my phone. Considering gps is such a basic feature nowadays that is unacceptable.
Sent from my ext4 Epic 4G running Bonsai4all 1.1.3!
so far so good
I'm always tempted by the path not chosen, but so far the Epic has done everything I've needed it to do.
I drive for a living, and while the GPS does take time to lock, it does lock. Otherwise I can find myself on the map and plot my route on the map to at least start my travels until it does lock. I consider this to be standard GPS protocol :/
I could really care less about the keyboard, but for some reason Sprint has designated the slider as their form factor of choice since the PPC-6700. It misses keys, and I thought it was just me, but I'll just have to factor that in and type more carefully. But only the form factor and the OS have been real temptations for me.
I was in the market to replace my Flip camera, and when i saw the video comparisons between the Evo and the Epic, I knew I would be very disappointed with the Evo. And while it may not matter to some, I appreciate the dedicated 2 step camera button.
I'm also feel I'm in the minority when I say that I really like plug location. I leave the phone plugged in while I drive, and it's nice to not have to stow the phone upside down and have to hold it around the plug. This has been a plus with every Samsung phone I have had, the ability to charge it in the upright position. And I cannot tell you how much I adore the slide cover of the plug.
The screen looks great from any angle even in bright light I can see it better than I could ever see the screen on my TP2.
Now, is the phone light and cheap feeling? Possibly. But I would rather drop a light phone than a heavy phone. Think about it. I already dropped it once trying to take a picture of something on the floor. Wood floor, no harm, lesson learned. But the phone seems well put together, and it should last at least the year before I can upgrade to, whatever.
4G, eh, whatever. I play with it in Chicago, and it's iffy at best. They basically tacked on an extra radio, and I mostly pretend it's not there. However, it does grant the ability to do simultaneous voice and data, which will be a plus if this network ever expands and takes hold.
So even though I am sick to death of waiting for Froyo since I'm checking on it every day, I still know I made the right choice as far as what Sprint has to offer.
docdg said:
I also noticed that even though we were in a full coverage area the Epic would go from full to no bars for some unknown reason.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This happens to me all the time. Months ago there were some posts postulating that this problem may be because the Epic's network defaults to "WCDMA preferred" under the advanced network settings, and WCDMA, despite its name, is actually a protocol for GSM phones, not CDMA phones. The thought is that it preferentially periodically goes looking for these networks it cannot connect to.
I have found that switching this setting to "CDMA auto" causes my "time without signal" to drop from ~50% to about 4%, so there's probably something to that argument. Unfortunately the phone seems to change itself back, especially when it reboots, and in any case I still get the bars dropping away quite often, even after changing this.
Phreddo said:
I'm also feel I'm in the minority when I say that I really like plug location. I leave the phone plugged in while I drive, and it's nice to not have to stow the phone upside down and have to hold it around the plug.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also like the plug where it is, though I didn't think I would when I got it. It is so much nicer than a bottom or side plug, not only when plugged into the car, but also when plugged in anywhere else, especially at the computer.
I really like my Epic over the Evo. My cuz has an Evo and it looks and feels so big and square, I really don't think I'd like carrying that thing in my pocket, like I carry my Evo. And for me, Evo's screen is actually larger than needed. I lived without a keyboard for two years with my HTC Touch and now, I can't go without a keyboard. I personally find Swype to be inaccurate and I constantly had to make adjustments. I use the android keyboard when not typing on the keyboard.
edonnelly said:
This happens to me all the time. Months ago there were some posts postulating that this problem may be because the Epic's network defaults to "WCDMA preferred" under the advanced network settings, and WCDMA, despite its name, is actually a protocol for GSM phones, not CDMA phones. The thought is that it preferentially periodically goes looking for these networks it cannot connect to.
I have found that switching this setting to "CDMA auto" causes my "time without signal" to drop from ~50% to about 4%, so there's probably something to that argument. Unfortunately the phone seems to change itself back, especially when it reboots, and in any case I still get the bars dropping away quite often, even after changing this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I too noticed that in the settings. When I switch to CDMA auto, the bars were almost always full or close to full even when I was in areas that historically gave me a bad signal. Unfortunately, the phone swtiches back to WCDMA and I go back to my normal, high-and-low signal.
One final note as I am actually switching to an evo today. On the topic of task killers the one included with the epic is crap. It does not show programs samsung does not want you ending and so I've always used advanced task killer. To me GPS that works and manufacturer support far outweigh the need for a manufacturer supplied task killer.
Sent from my ext4 Epic 4G running Bonsai4all 1.1.3!
kenvan19 said:
One final note as I am actually switching to an evo today. On the topic of task killers the one included with the epic is crap. It does not show programs samsung does not want you ending and so I've always used advanced task killer. To me GPS that works and manufacturer support far outweigh the need for a manufacturer supplied task killer.
Sent from my ext4 Epic 4G running Bonsai4all 1.1.3!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I'm switching to the Epic but I haven't considered the GPS issue. I just assume I'll get a good one. lol. To me, the screen, the still and video camera are reasons to switch. Though the dev community doesn't seem as robust for Epic and the manufacturer support clearly isn't there as well.
dwd3885 said:
I think I'm switching to the Epic but I haven't considered the GPS issue. I just assume I'll get a good one. lol. To me, the screen, the still and video camera are reasons to switch. Though the dev community doesn't seem as robust for Epic and the manufacturer support clearly isn't there as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can get GPS working you just have to be on DK28. If you like the phone by all means get it. It comes down to opinions and my opinion is that there really isn't anything I like about the Epic. Its got great graphics and a good camera but I have a 42" flatscreen+a PS3 for gaming and I have a 12mp camera for pictures, I don't need my phone to do those things. Sure, having a hardware keyboard is great but considering I have to slow my typing speed down so I don't miss letters and how much I've come to love swype I don't really want/need it anymore. I've said this in the Evo Shift vs Epic thread and I'll say it here: Go try both phones. If you like one more than the other, buy it. Manufacturers and Carriers are always going to skew their descriptions and spec sheets to get you to buy something, so just go with what you want.
jbadboy2007 said:
If you have 10% drain an hour then you have app issues or something running in the background. On eclair I was getting 60 - 80 hours with no problem. On froyo it has been 20 - 30 hours now with ext 4 its up to 55 hours
Our stock standby time is 300 hours evo is like 200.
Epic 4g Quantum Rom Ext 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not quite sure exactly what it is, but it seems to be restricted to Galaxy S phones. I spent quite a lot of time trying to figure out what was causing it on my phone, and while I have heard of people like you who got good battery life in 2.1, everyone I know who has a Galaxy S device has this issue. Judging by the fact that for me and others, 2.2 has cleared up the issue, I am guessing there is a fix specifically for this in that update.
For the record, I once ran logcat to see if I could pinpoint the issue. It seemed that Google Sync was querying Google's servers CONSTANTLY even though I had configured to push in GMail, so it could be an issue with Android or the GMail app itself, but why it seems to manifest on Galaxy S devices with alarming frequency is beyond me.
I am looking at purchasing a Shift 4G for my mom to upgrade her from her POS blackberry. I currently have the Big Brother to the Shift (the Supersonic), and absolutely love it, I won't give it up for anything, but my mom would be more suited to an iPhone, however sprint doesn't have the iPhone, and I get a 23% discount through my job.
Could several people respond about the Shift please:
1. Average battery life (moderate usage)
2. Size and Feel of the phone for day to day use
3. How does the keyboard feel for texting
4. How smooth does this redesigned Sense OS feel
5. How well does the camera operate
6. Does the screen size feel ok if you use the touchscreen instead of the slideout KB.
I would prefer non-rooted people to respond to these since I won't be rooting her phone. I want to hear all responses both good, and bad.
So you want us to do the research for you?
^ Shift Faced
Lol yup. Go to the store and play with one. Read the reviews online.
I have my phone rooted but nothing major done to it..even rooting it was easy under the right posts and take from here and there and waa laa it worked great, however; i love this phone..a lot..my first android was a G1 and second a Hero(CDMA) and now this..I have been trying to find something more like the G1..The hero felt like a downgrade and now this phone excites me about the new frontier of android. I OC'd my hero with no avail and to be out performed by phones like the droid and ah whatever..it seems to me this phone is the benchmark of performance and as for your questions:
1. I feel as though I get about 12 hours..when I use it to play games and stuff maybe 6-8
2. I enjoy the keyboard..both physical KB and onscreen..I use both cause I came from a hero with no physical kb but i really like both
3. both KB's work great on texting..i prefer the physical for when I have longer messages to write because its faster IMO, even so the virtual has no lag either.
4. Compared to the Sense UI from the Hero this phone is a HUGE improvement..when I first got my phone I was really impressed with the improvements to the UI because it seemed HTC logged on XDA and got all of our gripes then fixed them
5. I finally used the camera this weekend to take pictures for making invitations to my son's birthday party and I was impressed with the facial recognition. Its 5MP so its no Cannon or Sony but it still does a great job with facial recognition and all
6. As I said earlier I use both and the I have no problem with the screen size interfering with the kb..
The phone feels perfect in your hand. Almost like your holding something other than a phone. The sense UI is great, very smooth and fast. The camera also is great. The still picture quality could be improved if you want to be nit picky, however 720p recording is so amazing. The hardware keyboard is very nice and fast as well. I like it better than my blackberry tour. I would recommend this phone to anyone, anyplace, anytime.
I also have evo, and also was considering picking up a shift for my mom (she has a Samsung moment that is barely functional), I went into sprint store and was able to play with one just a little bit. Was not that impressed, sadly (and I'm a big HTC fan).
Mostly, I felt the HW keyboard was almost unusable (I kept mashing multiple buttons at the same time), yet the HW keyboard is what I thought was supposed to be the attraction to otherwise would-be evo buyers.
As for OP 'wanting others to do his research for him', that's not the case at all, he wants to hear from people who have had more than just a few moments with the shift. Give the guy a break.
***maybe I just can't type well- yet I have no issues typing on my evo ****
Sent from my virus infected and nuggified evo using XDA App
I ordered the Shift ready to exchange it for an Evo at the drop of a hat if I didn't like it, but after a while I'm really happy with this phone. It really doesn't get enough credit for how good it is.
The battery life is good enough that I can use it for moderate-heavy use of texting and internet and still have 1/4 of the battery left at the end of the day. I haven't ever used the 4G though, and I imagine that would change things up.
I came a from a Hero, and the Shift is slightly thicker and taller. It feels pretty sturdy, similar to a Droid. If you're looking for iPhone aesthetic you might be disappointed here.
Not a big fan of the keyboard, or keyboards in general really, so I can't really judge this. I find myself using the on-screen KB most of the time, and it works great. If you're curious, the sliding mechanism is the same used in the Droid and not like the G2's snap out hinge. Definitely prefer this, as the keyboard usually stays shut.
As it happens I don't really like Sense either, but it seems to operate the same as it did on the Hero (and probably the Evo.) It's fast and the widgets are cool, so if you like Sense then I guess you'll really dig it. Myself, I'll take Launcher Pro any day.
The camera is really excellent for a phone. Pictures are taken as fast as an iPhone and saved to your SD before you know it. Image quality isn't amazing and the flash function is sorta just there, but this is to be expected.
I'm really happy with this phone. While I would have preferred a Shift without a keyboard, I'm not at all bothered.
I don't have the time to give a lot of info, but I was really surprised last night.
My phone had been unplugged for almost 24 hours, with average (working most of the day) not heavy as normal usage, and i still had 40% battery left.
Coming from the Moment, this phone is so amazing. And even after seeing how my girlfriend's rooted Evo works, it's still pretty amazing.
herbthehammer said:
Lol yup. Go to the store and play with one. Read the reviews online.
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Click to collapse
I have gone to the store and played with it, I have had my mom check it out as well, she said it seemed ok, I thought it felt like crap, the slider was stiff, the screen didnt rotate to adjust for the keyboard being kicked out. I had these issues with it on 3 different display models at 2 different stores (one sprint store, one best buy), Which is why I asked the new shift community to chime in, if it was left up to my impression at the store, i would say the phone is a piece of **** that shouldn't be sold to consumers. However I doubt that is the case, and I wanted feedback from people who already own one.
Khilbron said:
I am looking at purchasing a Shift 4G for my mom to upgrade her from her POS blackberry. I currently have the Big Brother to the Shift (the Supersonic), and absolutely love it, I won't give it up for anything, but my mom would be more suited to an iPhone, however sprint doesn't have the iPhone, and I get a 23% discount through my job.
Could several people respond about the Shift please:
1. Average battery life (moderate usage)
2. Size and Feel of the phone for day to day use
3. How does the keyboard feel for texting
4. How smooth does this redesigned Sense OS feel
5. How well does the camera operate
6. Does the screen size feel ok if you use the touchscreen instead of the slideout KB.
I would prefer non-rooted people to respond to these since I won't be rooting her phone. I want to hear all responses both good, and bad.
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Click to collapse
have you read anything in these forums at all? wtf
Khilbron said:
I have gone to the store and played with it, I have had my mom check it out as well, she said it seemed ok, I thought it felt like crap, the slider was stiff, the screen didnt rotate to adjust for the keyboard being kicked out. I had these issues with it on 3 different display models at 2 different stores (one sprint store, one best buy), Which is why I asked the new shift community to chime in, if it was left up to my impression at the store, i would say the phone is a piece of **** that shouldn't be sold to consumers. However I doubt that is the case, and I wanted feedback from people who already own one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the slider is stiff in the store probably due to the protective plastic still being around the keyboard. Otherwise it's very nice (except mine, which is really loose).
The screen rotates just fine when the keyboard is opened. It takes a half-second, but it rotates on all screens, except perhaps the facebook app.
I would actually say this phone is similar build quality to the evo, if not better. It's also the smaller form, which many people like. Not to mention the fact that it has more potential to be OC'd and if the dev's can figure it out, the potential to be a major powerhouse.
foxsdaddy67 said:
have you read anything in these forums at all? wtf
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Click to collapse
*sarcasm* No of course I haven't *sarcasm*, however I don't think you have, the first 7 pages of this 11 page subforum are filled with people complaining about broken hinges, bad sliders, charging problems, ect... which is why I put this thread up, I want to see the positive feedback, I want a reason to buy this phone as a gift for my mother. Generally the praise is left out of the forums, and the help me this is Borked takes over. I Love HTC phones, and as I am sitting I don't have a good reason to select this phone for her or go el cheapo and get her an optimus or an intercept.
First off, I think the EVO is a solid device...one of the few on Sprint.
I really like the EVO Shift better. It has a 2nd generation processor in it so it's slightly faster than the regular EVO w/being on a stock rom. I have not done it but heard it's a beast running the modified over clocked kernel.
Keyboard does get some getting used to, and I find myself using the on-screen keyboard for short text messages and the hardware keyboard on longer emails. HTC is know for durability and extended life (compared to other *cough* Kyocera) so I'm not too worried about the keyboard being extended.
I love to hate Sense UI...there are some features that are amazing and other's that just...well, yack.
The volume key's are always getting in my way, but I just have to "de-program" myself and get used to it. I've only had the Shift for a couple days, so I'll let my body catch up.
Did I mention how fast this device is? That is...even running stock!
I haven't heard it mentioned but I think the battery cover is a nuisance and feels cheap. If I had to do a sliding scale scoring on this device, without any industry experience, I would give it a 8/10 - from a consumer review
Mom, grandma, aunt, female cousin, sister, daughter, niece...when will the madness end? Boys and men, start buying these phones for yourselves!
foxsdaddy67 said:
have you read anything in these forums at all? wtf
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Click to collapse
Exactly what I was thinking. Do some research for yourself.
powered by the tears of a million orphaned alpacas...
I've said it before and I will say it again. A decent android phone that wont break the bank or make you pay the extra ten bucks a month and for someone that isn't a power user is the LG optimus.
Yeah going from a moment to a shift is, form factor wise, about the same so there wouldn't be much to adjust to operating differently besides no cursor button.
Knowing what I do now, if I couldn't afford a top tier phone and monthly bill, I'd go with the little LG. People are giving it very good ratings on sprint's site.
With the screen not going landscape, maybe in screen settings it was turned off. Plus people probably install all kinds of crap on the display phones it bogs it down and lags terribly.
herbthehammer said:
I've said it before and I will say it again. A decent android phone that wont break the bank or make you pay the extra ten bucks a month and for someone that isn't a power user is the LG optimus
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Click to collapse
All new smartphone activations will have the $10 fee now, you might as well get a 4G phone.
Sent from my HTC Evo Shift 4G using the XDA app.
wardfan220 said:
All new smartphone activations will have the $10 fee now, you might as well get a 4G phone.
Sent from my HTC Evo Shift 4G using the XDA app.
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So regardless if the phone is 4g or not, they are gonna charge an extra ten bucks a month?
herbthehammer said:
So regardless if the phone is 4g or not, they are gonna charge an extra ten bucks a month?
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Click to collapse
Yup. There is a post here about it somewhere. I'm in my phone so I don't have a link atm.
Sent from my HTC Evo Shift 4G using the XDA app.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/18/sprint-data-plan-fees_n_810279.html
^ Shift Faced
All these hater threads being posted about "I'm returning the Atrix" , "The Atrix Screen is horrible" and "The Atrix doesn't do this..." I decided to show this device some love. We all know it's an electronic device/phone first and sometimes things are broken or just not working right...I get that! However, let's not let the VERY FEW bad things out weigh the MANY GOOD things about the Atrix. Let's enjoy our new toy and give props when props is due.
So I wanted to start this thread for people like myself to post reasons why you bought the Atrix, what you like about it and why you might decide to keep it past your 3o day return period.
I'll go first:
What I like about the Atrix is the sleekness of it. The light weight feel in the hand. and The snappiness of it. One of the reasons I think I may keep the Atrix past my 30 day period is because I feel that if Motorola does allow the bootloader to be unlocked the devs will make this phone one of the most powerful devices out if used to the best of it's ability. And if they don't release the bootloader, I'll still be happy with it and still keep it.
I like that I don't have to have a charger at my desk, car, home desk, couch, night stand, etc. the battery life is great for me.
I like that the screen practically fills the face. I like the resolution and crispness.
I love the form factor. I like how it fits in my hand, the placement of the fingerprint sensor works perfect for me.I like that it's light but doesn't feel cheap or fragile.
I like that it's not tied to a pc like my iphone.
I love how fast it is, I have no issues with lag or un responsiveness.
I love that it isn't an iphone. I like iphones..I love my atrix
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
Ill join in.
I love the weight of this phone, its not heavy like most other phones. Its more like what you expect it to be like.
The phone fits your hand VERY well. The finger print reader is positioned so that if you cradle the phone correctly, your index finger is resting on the finger print reader a good portion of the time.
I have yet to have any problems of this phone slowing down.
The battery life is AMAZING! Now I might not be the uber smartphone user that has the phone in front of his/her face 24/7 (driving/walking down halls running into people) but I still use this phone a lot and it easily lasts a full day on 1 charge.
The screen is perfect, everyone saying that the screen sucks need to wait till software comes out that utilizes this resolution. A good 90% of the stuff on the market right now was not made for the resolution on this phone. Also the real estate of this screen is amazing. They utilized all the screen space they could on this phone.
I will also be keeping this phone past the 30 day return period since I feel that the phone flat out works right out of the box. Yea a custom rom would be cool but this phone does everything I need it to do and more without breaking a sweat.
+1 for the Atrix
I really love the battery life. I got home from work tonight at 6:30 and still had 50% and I used it a ton today.
Speed. Silly speed for days. I've not seen any of the lag I hear about and it never locks up on me.
Games are insanely good, especially Tegrazone approved games. Samurai 2 and Dungeon Defenders is sick.
I dig the size and weight. It doesn't feel like a brick in my pocket.
Love the fingerprint reader as unlock.
The screen is fantastic and realistic.
Camcorder has taken some really great videos for me. I recorded almost an entire live concert with it from the send row and it looks and sounds fantastic. I recorded from the car dock to test it and at 45mph the video was crisp and didnt' stutter.
The car dock owns.
This one even surprises me: I don't hate blur. Yes, I said it.
I like the blur widget options along with the standard Android widgets. I find that with the power of the phone that blur doesn't offer any slow down. I wouldn't like it with a 528mhz processor, but it screams on the Atrix so I'm good with it.
Wow, it is nice to see a thread in which people want to say positive things!
Just to add to what everyone has already said (I'm a big fan).
I already love the device. If the bootloader is ever unlocked... holy 'smokes'... it will just be like another christmas - in the middle of the year.
no dropped calls
better signal (probably helps the no dropped calls stat too)
much better battery life
good hi def screen
great speaker
fast as hell
The Bishop said:
no dropped calls
better signal (probably helps the no dropped calls stat too)
much better battery life
good hi def screen
great speaker
fast as hell
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Click to collapse
I like having alerts, ringtones, and battery life as proficient as blackberrys.
acPIZZA said:
Wow, it is nice to see a thread in which people want to say positive things
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Click to collapse
I know right....I got tired of seeing all these negative threads about people returning the phone, they expected certain features that's not here so they're gonna return the phone etc. It was getting crazy.
Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk
I love how i dont have to root it to to get rid of the lag isues tht other phones have.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
This is my first smart phone, so I have no prior experience to compare my Atrix experience to. Because of my lack of experience with such devices, I know I am not taxing it, putting it through the rigorous paces that others do, or even utilizing much of its potential. But I like it, and I'm pleased with it.
It is very light, easy to pocket, and it fits my hands well. Sheathed in the Body Glove Mirage TPU case, it is secure in my grasp.
It has a great screen. Even small text in web pages is crisp and readable.
I love having an internet browser with me all the time. I used it today in my garden to look up information on soil preparation.
Texting on this phone is a dream. It has a great virtual keyboard. The screen is wonderfully sensitive to a quick and light touch, which makes typing very fast and accurate.
The phone is fast and delightfully responsive. There is virtually no latency when accessing menus and apps.
The battery life is excellent. I can use it all day without running it down completely. Recharging overnight is all that's needed.
LOVE my Atrix
FAST, absolutely no lag, 1 gig of RAM, great quality construction, GREAT screen despite what others think (just look at a hi res video), a pleasure to play with!!
The phone is great out of the box compared to how the Captivate was. This phone is a smartphone on steroids. Plenty of power, RAM, and internal storage for applications for daily use. The fingerprint lockscreen is pretty nifty. 4in is the perfect size in my opinion and the phone is nice and loud.
The drawbacks are the screen isn't as good as SAMOLED, Motoblur is kind of a bummer, and white notification bar is annoying. I am really nitpicking but there isn't too much to complain about the phone.
ok honestly, i just got mine yesterday and didn't see any of the complaints that people are making about it that would make somebody wanna return it, either u got a defective device or u just complain entirely too much(easy fix, return it for another one that works duh). they talking about speed test this and that compared to the iphone/inspire/evo/etc. but no phone is perfect and honestly this phone is better then all of them. Yea it's running motorola Blur, but motorola blur isn't bad at all, the phone that made it look bad was that weak backflip that had sooooo many bugs, i kno cause my sis has it. Another thing, people are complaining about the bootloader, the devs are currently working hard to crack it, and very soon will from looking at their thread. Just wait til this thing is rooted, it's gonna shock a lot of people that returned it for these future phones that come out, so please(not everybody) stop complaining so much and making people seem like this phone is horrible just because u don't like it and it's not 2 seconds faster then your ROOTED device or inspire, u may just have a defective device......
sorri about the rant but after playing with this phone for a day it kinda frustrated me seeing people giving up on this phone soooo quickly, but i like everything about the phone nothing has disappointed me yet
Coming from a (stock) Nexus One that was the best phone I EVER used, this phone is:
- sexier
- faster
- lasting longer
- much nicer to watch videos on
- impossible to fill up with apps (!!!)
It is in general an awesome phone! Sure, glitches here & there, however nothing that will not be fixed in an imminent update.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA Premium App
G1-8701 said:
sorri about the rant but after playing with this phone for a day it kinda frustrated me seeing people giving up on this phone soooo quickly, but i like everything about the phone nothing has disappointed me yet
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Click to collapse
+1; I understand Motorola has a history of locking down their phones, and the Xoom is a different device entirely...but the fact they're giving that the option of a lockable/unlockable bootloader gives me some hope.
It took some time for the Captivate development to take off, but once people were able to utilize i9000 ROMs/kernels, there were a ton of ROM/kernel options, and almost all of those piggybacked i9000 development from people outside of the United States. So I'm planning on sticking with this phone for a while, unless the Atrix part of the XDA forums here becomes a desolate wasteland and the phone gets abandoned. As somebody mentioned in another thread, once this phone comes out on different carriers in different countries, there should be a lot more people plugging away on the development side.
That said, I love the hardware portions of this phone; it feels solid, the battery cover looks nice, the camera is fantastic, the GPS works great, the screen is solid (if not spectacular, yet), I missed having a flash on my camera and LED notifications, and even with the Motoblur bloat still there...it's snappy.
battery life, battery life, battery life. and did i mention battery life?
over 40 hours on my last charge. im pressed.
i was thinking about returning due to locked bootloader......but the fact of the matter is, i can still do far more customization to this phone with a locked bootloader than i could on a jailbroken iphone (what i came from). i loved the roms/kernels for the captivate that i had for 3 weeks, but even with that phone supercustomized and overclocked, it still didnt perform as well as the atrix.
I like when chicks see me with this badass phone. I usually get laid. This phone is a chick magnet.
D1rk said:
I like when chicks see me with this badass phone. I usually get laid. This phone is a chick magnet.
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Funny as hell...lmao...Good Post!
I'd like to second everyones opinions about the phone. Coming from a iphone 3g ill never go back. I believe when froyo catches up with better apps to support the atrix's dual cores's and att finally upgrades there cell towers' and the phone has only been out for a little more then 2 weeks I'm sure the devs here need more time to play around with the phone. As I'm not rooting yet ill wait for the gingerbread update and att to upgrade there cell towers before I start rooting. But anyway back to subject I am very pleased with the phone as I agree with all comments that members have posted about the positive things.
Ps. I am pleased to live beside a att cell tower mainantance worker and he has said that middle-eastern southern U.S. towers will be updated to the LTE network no later than this years 2nd quarter and he also made a comment about att working with verizon getting everything going?? But he couldn't provided any hard prof.
Now my fingers hurt thanks swype.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA Premium App
First of all, I've never used a phone that some people didn't hate. The Atrix is the best Android phone. It beats the Nexus S and it beats the oversized, overhyped Desire HD. It beats all the plastic Samsungs. The form factor is perfect. The weight and balance are perfect. The screen is excellent. Call quality is excellent. I like it. I write about smartphones and I use them all. This beats all Androids as far as I'm concerned. And like all Androids, it isn't a boring iPhone, and let's face it that is a boring device.
I ask this, as I struggle to accept that having paid £500 for a phone, it should give me so much trouble. Here are some of the bugs I have with this phone -
Galaxy s2 specific -
1. Random crashing and subsequent battery drain.
2. Ongoing battery drain from full to empty in under 5 hours! (although better with KE7)
3. Stock application crashing (email app, music app)
4. phone lockup requiring the battery to be removed to boot it again.
I defected from an Iphone expecting a refreshing user experience with a high spec android phone, and it's let me down on so many levels (not all due to the phone, some are android generic.) Some of my main gripes beyond the bugs above are -
1. The sound quality is terrible, it has the dynamic range of a very cheap mp3 player. Having used it through studio monitors, high end Sennheiser headphones and component car audio it really does perform very badly. (Anyone who thinks otherwise needs to clear their ears out or expand their musical choices beyond R&B, Dance or chart music.)
2. The android apps and app store is miles behind the iphone store and app quality (event the cross platform apps are inferior on android).
3. Everyone goes on about how fast this phone is, but there is very little available which shows it off, even BBC iplayer stutters frames on the s2, an app which is installed as standard!
As a phone for daily business and personal use it really needs some work to make it worth the money. This is the same price as a sim free iphone 4, so should be similar in terms of quality, stability and reliability
By the way, I'm a genuine user who has owned this phone since it's launch in the UK, and use it daily. Not a troll, just a disgruntled user, who has got passed all the hype and feels let down by the experience!
Mine is totally fit for purpose - not a single freeze or reboot in the 2 months I've had it, the battery is fine for my use.
It could just be that you got a bad unit - if it had been me, I would returned it for an exchange rather quickly. I guess given that you've had it a while, an exchange might be a bit more difficult to get so you could try a factory reset (back up your data first unless you want to set everything up from scratch) and see if it behaves, or you could speak to the shop/provider you got it from and have it looked at.
Edit: as for your other gripes, well maybe you might want to go back to an iphone if it is such an issue for you - I know there is a lot of side taking and "this phone vs that phone vs that other phone vs whatever"... the way I look at it is that the best phone is whichever one suits your needs
Stop with all these negative threads the vast majority of people are very happyy with their GS2, if the OP reads up they will no doubt find a solution for any problems, i was only getting 17 hours out of my battery now im getting 25+ hours, and the sound is far from terrible, in fact im not having any of the issues the OP is having,maybe you are genuine but you have 5 posts and you mention coming from an iPhone and how your "dissapointed" with your GS2 so people will likely think your an Apple Fanboy/troll.
Im on my second SGS2 since the first was stolen. With the first everything went smooth and i had a very good battery life. Then i got a new one to replace the stolen and my battery was very good until i installed theft aware 2. Boom i now occasionally have only 5 hours of battery life at night when i don't even use the phone. The phone gets very hot and i can see that the system is using 65% of the battery (lol should be what like 5%).
TL;DR Battery is good unless you install some crap from the market that kills the phone
However, i think you should run back to iPhone since it clearly is the best choice for you. I could not live without Go launcher, Go SMS and Go contacts or live wallpaper showing the weather at all times. I can't stand the limited that is the iPhone, but i think it would be 100% awesome for you.
jonny68 said:
Stop with all these negative threads the vast majority of people are very happyy with their GS2, if the OP reads up they will no doubt find a solution for any problems, i was only getting 17 hours out of my battery now im getting 25+ hours, and the sound is far from terrible, in fact im not having any of the issues the OP is having,maybe you are genuine but you have 5 posts and you mention coming from an iPhone and how your "dissapointed" with your GS2 so people will likely think your an Apple Fanboy/troll.
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Click to collapse
If you actually read my op you would see that the point I'm making is that for a £500 phone I shouldn't need to trawl forums to fix problems with the phone. On the point of "all these negative threads" Is that not enough of an indication that not everyone shares your happy view on the phone?
Isadora, your right I should have taken the unit back sooner, but it was fresh on the market, and I expected some teething issues, but 3 or 4 updates later (I lost count) the phone is no closer to being reliable for daily use. It's now too late to return it!
Sounds like you may have a faulty unit with memory errors. Get it replaced or repaired. Happens with all devices, even fruit based ones..
pixate said:
If you actually read my op you would see that the point I'm making is that for a £500 phone I shouldn't need to trawl forums to fix problems with the phone. On the point of "all these negative threads" Is that not enough of an indication that not everyone shares your happy view on the phone?
Isadora, your right I should have taken the unit back sooner, but it was fresh on the market, and I expected some teething issues, but 3 or 4 updates later (I lost count) the phone is no closer to being reliable for daily use. It's now too late to return it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Factory reset bro! Sometimes all the patching slows the phone to crawl. Factory reset and be careful of what you install after that. If you take 3 mins after factory reset and install the free Go launcher, your life will be ****ing AWESOME after that and you will want to donate your left testicle to me for showing you the path!
Edit * unlike the fruit phone, Android is always better with launchers from market. That's what Android is all about anyways, it's for you to tweak it to the max. If you don't like personality then go with the iSheep bro!
buddy01 said:
Im on my second SGS2 since the first was stolen. With the first everything went smooth and i had a very good battery life. Then i got a new one to replace the stolen and my battery was very good until i installed theft aware 2. Boom i now occasionally have only 5 hours of battery life at night when i don't even use the phone. The phone gets very hot and i can see that the system is using 65% of the battery (lol should be what like 5%).
TL;DR Battery is good unless you install some crap from the market that kills the phone
However, i think you should run back to iPhone since it clearly is the best choice for you. I could not live without Go launcher, Go SMS and Go contacts or live wallpaper showing the weather at all times. I can't stand the limited that is the iPhone, but i think it would be 100% awesome for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks Buddy01 - I agree that there are some great apps out there, but they are great on any android phone, you don't need an s2 to enjoy them. It was the limited nature of the iphone which drew me to android, plus the feeling that the platform was maturing enough and taking a big enough market share to compete with apples offering. I don't think I'm being unfair to expect less grief from a premium phone like this! 'm Not running any crapware from the app store just standard apps, widget locker (only to get a half usable lock screen!) Go sms, and Spotify...
pixate said:
If you actually read my op you would see that the point I'm making is that for a £500 phone I shouldn't need to trawl forums to fix problems with the phone. On the point of "all these negative threads" Is that not enough of an indication that not everyone shares your happy view on the phone?
Isadora, your right I should have taken the unit back sooner, but it was fresh on the market, and I expected some teething issues, but 3 or 4 updates later (I lost count) the phone is no closer to being reliable for daily use. It's now too late to return it!
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Click to collapse
you should just stick with your iPhone mate as it appears that Android isn't for you,you would sell this phone no problem it's the biggest selling phone around right now.
I and many others are not having any of the problems you are having,maybe some people are unlucky,this is by far and away the best phone out there, however some people may have problems most of which by reading can be rectified.
Battery life on my phone now is excellent for a smartphone.
I also shifted from IPhone 4..and I must say there are a few things that the iPhone is better than the Sgs2..and I repeat.."a few"
Sorry to hear of your problems,except for the battery drain that you're facing,inthink the rest is something to do with your apps..maybe you should try a fresh install.
As for battery,I get up to 4 and half sometimes 5 hours of screen up time...depends on the usage,which to me is not bad..maybe the ip4 ups there a bit..
Anyhow,I'm totally satisfied and yes it fits my purpose..which are fast,stable and plenty of room to customize to my liking..which I couldn't do on the ip4..
If people want superior battery life be sure to root your phone (should be a pre-requisite) and freeze all the Samsung bloatware with Titanium Backup in particular Software Update.
pixate said:
Thanks Buddy01 - I agree that there are some great apps out there, but they are great on any android phone, you don't need an s2 to enjoy them. It was the limited nature of the iphone which drew me to android, plus the feeling that the platform was maturing enough and taking a big enough market share to compete with apples offering. I don't think I'm being unfair to expect less grief from a premium phone like this! 'm Not running any crapware from the app store just standard apps, widget locker (only to get a half usable lock screen!) Go sms, and Spotify...
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Now this is useful information since i too am running the latest version of widget locker and am thinking that could also be the cause of the battery drain i explained a few posts back. Does any one know if there is an app on the market that can accurately log what process is using the most of battery. Stock battery log is not good enough, we need to go deeper?
buddy01 said:
Edit * unlike the fruit phone, Android is always better with launchers from market. That's what Android is all about anyways, it's for you to tweak it to the max. If you don't like personality then go with the iSheep bro!
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I agree, and I love the flexibility of the android platform, being able to change what you like is great, and I'm very happy with the app choices so far (gosms, gingerbread keyboard, widget locker) but it's the generic stuff I'm having issues with.
pixate said:
. It's now too late to return it!
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It's still nonetheless under warranty - my advice would be to get it looked at and make a fuss if necessary
jonny68 said:
If people want superior battery life be sure to root your phone (should be a pre-requisite) and freeze all the Samsung bloatware with Titanium Backup in particular Software Update.
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I don't want much battery life... Just a full day with light use would be nice!
I'm cautious of rooting the phone, until I know that my issues are software not hardware, I don't want the finger of blame coming back on me for messing about with the rom.
Bus Driver said:
I also shifted from IPhone 4..and I must say there are a few things that the iPhone is better than the Sgs2..
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I would honestly want to hear what those few things are? I don't doubt, but i am genuinely interested to know since i have not found a single thing that is better on the iPhone. I also don't want to nor won't start any silly platform wars, but would really really want to know tho.
buddy01 said:
i too am running the latest version of widget locker and am thinking that could also be the cause of the battery drain i explained a few posts back.
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I'm running the latest widget locker too and don't have any unexplained or excessive battery drain....
pixate said:
I don't want much battery life... Just a full day with light use would be nice!
I'm cautious of rooting the phone, until I know that my issues are software not hardware, I don't want the finger of blame coming back on me for messing about with the rom.
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Im really thinking it could be the widget locker. since a full day with light use is no problem to SGS2. I had 2 days on the stolen SGS2, but for some reason the replacement has started to act up and i also have the widget locker installed! Or then it's GO SMS, since i have that too. Or then theft aware, but i know you don't have that one.
Isadora said:
It's still nonetheless under warranty - my advice would be to get it looked at and make a fuss if necessary
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I agree, it's time for a factory reset, and if that doesn't fix things then it's back to the shop. Unfortunately it's a return to base warranty with a 2-3 week turn around from the retailer I bought from (carphone warehouse). We'll see...
pixate said:
I agree, it's time for a factory reset, and if that doesn't fix things then it's back to the shop. Unfortunately it's a return to base warranty with a 2-3 week turn around from the retailer I bought from (carphone warehouse). We'll see...
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Ok then here's what I would do: factory reset, don't reinstall any apps for a day, see how your phone is doing. Then reinstall apps one-by-one, making sure you leave some time in between installing each one to check if a specific one is causing battery drain.