I've had the phone over a week now and I'd like to give my insight as to what I love and what I dislike in comparison with the Nexus.
Just a few sentences.
First off about me: I'm a big texter, I use Twitter, Facebook, IM and general browsing the most, as well as listening to a lot of podcasts and music. SO here are my impressions taking this into account.
The screen: it is hard to fully express how much nicer this feels than the Nexus screen, but suffice to say whites are whiter, colours seem truer and tactile response is noticeably improved. The screen feels more close to your finger somehow...it's hard to put into words. Visibility in sunlight is noticeably better - not quite as visible as iPhone but perfectly acceptable.
Build quality of i9000 is not on a par with the Nexus in terms of its chassis, which seemingly uses cheaper plastics compared to the Nexus' metal architecture. I was still fairly happy with the Samsung's build quality at first but subsequently noticed little microscopic scuffs appearing on the battery cover and a little dink on the bezel. I swear I have only had the phone in my pocket and haven't been throwing it around. Although it isn't exactly in bad condition now I still resent the fact that after only TEN DAYS of careful use and pocket-placement I am already able to detect small signs of wear. On the other hand the screen on the i9000 looks to be of higher build quality - it is made from Gorilla Glass and to look at doesn't seem susceptible to dust contamination as the relatively highly-mounted Nexus digitizer.
The loudpeaker is important to me, and the Nexus had a crappy, hissy loudspeaker. Thankfully the Samsung i9000 speaker is more powerful with richer dynamics and less hiss. It is on a par with the iPhone 3G, if not slightly better as it seems a bit louder...great for listening to podcasts.
Camera.
Like-for-like testing of the Nexus and Galaxy in daylight shows what appear to be richer and sharper pictures on the Samsung. I suspect (judging by their use of rubbish loudspeaker components) that HTC use pretty bog-standard camera optics; and although the Nexus is pretty good most people would favour the Samsung shots under default conditions. The Nexus wins at dim-to-low-light shots though just because it has a flash and is therefore usable in more varied conditions. Video capture on the i9000 is just leagues ahead of the Nexus which not only records at a lower resolution but also produces muddier images with dreadfully low-quality audio. The Samsung also offers a consistent framerate of 30fps and handles low lighting really quite admirably compared with the Nexus.
UI
Since the i9000 only has Eclair there are a few notable missing features found only in Froyo. Despite this the Galaxy still outperforms the Nexus in all the Benchmarking tests I've seen. I haven't performed any benchmarks myself but a side-by-side comparison of both devices (Nexus with Cyanogenmod 6.0 RC) shows noticeably smoother scrolling on the Galaxy S in all apps, including the browser. There are some nice extras too: like quick access to WIFI, Bluetooth, Silent switch and Vibration mode from within the notifications bar. I also like the fact that you can change to different fonts on the i9000 across the whole UI. This gives the OS a slightly different feel which is nice.
Input -
This really fails the Galaxy S i9000. I've really come to realise how much I miss having some form of trackball with the Galaxy S.
On the face of it things seem fine; in fact RAW TEXTING on the i9000 is a lot more pleasurable than on the Nexus not only because of the greater screen real-estate but also because the screen itself is more responsive....but the caveat is that lack of a trackball or optical trackpad...
There is no reason why Samsung couldn't have included an optical button (as seen on the Omnia among other Sammy phones) to facilitate text selection. Judging by the iOS-inspired Touchwiz 3.0 it SEEMS that Samsung want some of the minimalism of the iPhone hardware and UI but what they have failed to notice is that the iPhone uses a long-press magnifying glass feature across the ENTIRE OS which allows for VERY EASY text selection, copying and pasting. Android, and Touchwiz does NOT include such a facility - just a half-hearted cursor pad in the default keyboard which is obtained by long-pressing the numeric button. This facility is clunky at best, useless at worst, since it necessitates using only the Samsung default keyboard if you wish to do any cursor movement, or irritatingly swapping from your preferred keyboard (such as my favoured Droid X IME) back to the default keyboard, then back to the preferred keyboard again. I've found myself having to do this a few times as it is often practically IMPOSSIBLE to select a passage or move the cursor to the exact right place without a d-pad or trackball. This really is a major failing for me and completely ruins things.
*EDIT* i've found that swiping from the Swype to the Sym key in Swype opens up a cursor system. I've tried to get along with Swype and haven't succeded so far but i'll give it a try again .
Media -
Owing to the great speaker, listening to podcasts on the i9000 is a pleasure. Music also sounds acceptable. The music control panel which shows up in the notifications bar when you are playing tracks is also genuinely useful.
One of the i9000's main selling points is not only its ability to record HD video but also to PLAY it. I've tested it with about twenty 720p clips from Youtube, and a number of 720p WMV files and it hasn't skipped a beat. Genuinely wonderful smoothness of playback. I haven't found a video of 720p or less that it wouldn't play as yet, although the BBC iPlayer downloads from Myplayer played without sound and necessitated Rockplayer.
Anyway I'm running out of steam now....but to conclude: I'm getting rid of the Galaxy S: it's a combination of overall build durability and a lack of nice, simple hardware features like a trackball and notification light that make me think that there will be something better along for me soon. I really like the phone and find it a joy to use but the few annoyances have spoilt it for me sadly.
If anyone near the midlands, UK wishes to buy an unlocked, unbranded Galaxy S with unopened accessories for a £290 before it goes on eBay then drop me a line.
Any other questions I will be happy to answer.
leoni1980 said:
simple hardware features like a trackball and notification light
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Click to collapse
Not to be an ass, but if you knew you wanted those features, then why did you get it? It's obvious from any picture of a SGS that it doesn't have a trackball. And early reports from this forum would have informed you that it doesn't have notification lights...
Of course one does have to wonder why Samsung didn't go all out. How hard would it have been to add camera flash among those other things you listed.
You might be interested in the Desire HD that's rumored to be coming out sometime soon.
Leoni,
I know you're not exactly in love with the swype keyboard yet, but I think you'll love it fiercely once you get into it. You know how I hated swype in the past, I think, because of my fierce liking for Tengo. But even I can like swype keyboard, and like it a lot.
The copy/cut and paste being poorly designed as compared to iPhone will be something that we had to put up with, no matter which Android phone we switch to. Granted at HTC has the iPhone-like copy and paste facility, but that's not available uniformly across the system and across all applications. So, I reckon there isn't much effective difference across different android phones in this regards. I know the lack of trackball makes text selection difficult, but not impossible I believe. But with or without trackball, the design are all bad. Perhaps a future firmware could redo cut and paste from the ground up again and get it right.
Overall, when I read your comparison, I thought it was overwhelmingly positive towards SGS, a lot more then Nexus. It was the conclusion which took me by surprise.
INeedYourHelp said:
Not to be an ass, but if you knew you wanted those features, then why did you get it? It's obvious from any picture of a SGS that it doesn't have a trackball. And early reports from this forum would have informed you that it doesn't have notification lights...
Of course one does have to wonder why Samsung didn't go all out. How hard would it have been to add camera flash among those other things you listed.
You might be interested in the Desire HD that's rumored to be coming out sometime soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not so much a lack of trackball that's the problem so much as a complete lack of innovation with respect to compensating for the lack of a trackball. Ironically HTC sense implements a good system very similar to (perhaps even BETTER than) the iPhone's magnified system within the Desire browser, yet the Desire requires such a system far LESS than the i9000 owing to its optical trackball.
Text selection on the N1 is very easy in the browser: click in the trackball, move the arrow cursor click again to highlight. It's such a pity that Samsung didn't devote a little more time to core features that make the user experience more friendly and enjoyable rather than making those ugly widgets and pointless add-on apps.
Dont get me wrong I do really like the phone but it just feels too proprietary, too unfinished and too lacking in development support compared to.the N1, despite its many nice features.
INeedYourHelp said:
Not to be an ass, but if you knew you wanted those features, then why did you get it? It's obvious from any picture of a SGS that it doesn't have a trackball. And early reports from this forum would have informed you that it doesn't have notification lights...
Of course one does have to wonder why Samsung didn't go all out. How hard would it have been to add camera flash among those other things you listed.
You might be interested in the Desire HD that's rumored to be coming out sometime soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also switched from Nexus One to Galaxy S, and didn't realize how much I'd used the trackball until it was gone. Same with the camera flash led. I knew they weren't on the SGS, but didn't think I'd miss them. I definitely do. Unlike the original poster, they're not deal-breakers for me, but throw in those two oversights and the plastic back/frame and I feel like the SGS, which had the potential to be the PERFECT phone for the next several months at least, can't claim that title clearly. I'm not getting rid of mine, though. I love Swype (Shapewriter even more) and can deal with the lack of easy text selection.
distortedloop said:
I also switched from Nexus One to Galaxy S, and didn't realize how much I'd used the trackball until it was gone. Same with the camera flash led. I knew they weren't on the SGS, but didn't think I'd miss them. I definitely do. Unlike the original poster, they're not deal-breakers for me, but throw in those two oversights and the plastic back/frame and I feel like the SGS, which had the potential to be the PERFECT phone for the next several months at least, can't claim that title clearly. I'm not getting rid of mine, though. I love Swype (Shapewriter even more) and can deal with the lack of easy text selection.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've already sold my Nexus. I have a 32gb iPhone which Apple have fixed for me after I left it faulty and unused for months so Im thinking of going back until something new comes along. I got the Galaxy on upgrade and suspect (as with all samsung phones) that its value will plummet very rapidly so i'm going to sell it while I can still get a reasonable price on it. Maybe I'll buy the Droid x, maybe the iPhone 4....maybe the Desire HD....either way I'm selling the Galaxy S before it gets any tattier.
I agree with the points of the OP, I'm in the same situation, coming from a Nexus One to the Galaxy S. I'm coming to a different conclusion though: I'm keeping the Galaxy S. I find the cell signal/reception to be significantly better, pretty outstanding actually. Also, it just feels much faster in terms of data both via 3G and Wifi.
It's still early, the Nexus One has had a lot of time to mature. I believe the ROMs along with the upcoming 2.2 will give the Galaxy S the polish it needs. As for the casing, well, the material will certainly scuff faster but I'm not really feeling the back plastic is too cheap-- it feels just like my old iPhone 3G, which no one accused of feeling cheap.
leoni1980 said:
The loudpeaker is important to me, and the Nexus had a crappy, hissy loudspeaker. Thankfully the Samsung i9000 speaker is more powerful with richer dynamics and less hiss. It is on a par with the iPhone 3G, if not slightly better as it seems a bit louder...great for listening to podcasts.
Input -
This really fails the Galaxy S i9000. I've really come to realise how much I miss having some form of trackball with the Galaxy S.
This facility is clunky at best, useless at worst, since it necessitates using only the Samsung default keyboard if you wish to do any cursor movement, or irritatingly swapping from your preferred keyboard (such as my favoured Droid X IME) back to the default keyboard, then back to the preferred keyboard again. I've found myself having to do this a few times as it is often practically IMPOSSIBLE to select a passage or move the cursor to the exact right place without a d-pad or trackball. This really is a major failing for me and completely ruins things.
*EDIT* i've found that swiping from the Swype to the Sym key in Swype opens up a cursor system. I've tried to get along with Swype and haven't succeded so far but i'll give it a try again .
Anyway I'm running out of steam now....but to conclude: I'm getting rid of the Galaxy S: it's a combination of overall build durability and a lack of nice, simple hardware features like a trackball and notification light that make me think that there will be something better along for me soon. I really like the phone and find it a joy to use but the few annoyances have spoilt it for me sadly.
If anyone near the midlands, UK wishes to buy an unlocked, unbranded Galaxy S with unopened accessories for a £290 before it goes on eBay then drop me a line.
Any other questions I will be happy to answer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The ending was a surprise to me, but to each there own.
From all comparisons I've read, this has a better speaker than the iPhone 3G (not sure about anything beyond that), the iPhone 3G didn't even have as good a speaker as the iPod Touch 2.
leoni1980 said:
"This facility is clunky at best, useless at worst, since it necessitates using only the Samsung default keyboard if you wish to do any cursor movement, or irritatingly swapping from your preferred keyboard (such as my favoured Droid X IME) back to the default keyboard, then back to the preferred keyboard again. "
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am either misunderstanding or you have it wrong, I use SwiftKey and I can select text, and select text very well. The screen is so accurate and I don't have to do much. Wherever my cursor is it will start there, so if I'm not where I need to be I move the cursor there which typically takes one touch, then I select my ending point which again I get right more often than not. Where I'll agree with you though is in apps, I read engadget and God is there touch accuracy off in that app for whatever reason. I have to literally be a cm away from the location I want and maybe above/below where I want. Typically I just settle for retyping extra...a trackball here would be marvelous.
distortedloop said:
I also switched from Nexus One to Galaxy S, and didn't realize how much I'd used the trackball until it was gone. Same with the camera flash led. I knew they weren't on the SGS, but didn't think I'd miss them. I definitely do. Unlike the original poster, they're not deal-breakers for me, but throw in those two oversights and the plastic back/frame and I feel like the SGS, which had the potential to be the PERFECT phone for the next several months at least, can't claim that title clearly. I'm not getting rid of mine, though. I love Swype (Shapewriter even more) and can deal with the lack of easy text selection.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tenshi888 said:
I agree with the points of the OP, I'm in the same situation, coming from a Nexus One to the Galaxy S. I'm coming to a different conclusion though: I'm keeping the Galaxy S. I find the cell signal/reception to be significantly better, pretty outstanding actually. Also, it just feels much faster in terms of data both via 3G and Wifi.
It's still early, the Nexus One has had a lot of time to mature. I believe the ROMs along with the upcoming 2.2 will give the Galaxy S the polish it needs. As for the casing, well, the material will certainly scuff faster but I'm not really feeling the back plastic is too cheap-- it feels just like my old iPhone 3G, which no one accused of feeling cheap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was thinking of getting an N1 in addition to my Galaxy S. I'm in Korea and the N1 has been available for about a month, I got my Galaxy S about 3 weeks ago when they first came out. Now they are moving to unlimited data and free tethering so I was thinking about going with 2 devices. Samsung Hub just reported that FroYo is coming to Korea in about 2 weeks though, which takes some of the steam out of me wanting the N1.
What do you 2 think? Would you get the N1 unlocked, without a plan? I was 67% going to get it when I heard the data plans, then now it's flipped to 33% now that I heard FroYo...what to do?
Good balanced review, though I am surprised at the conclusion
The SGS certainly has some annoyances compared to my old N1+Froyo, however I'm confident the SGS firmwares will improve on this great hardware.
For me, camera flash = consistently rubbish looking photos; I don't miss visual notifications because the SGS is in my pocket and its more important the phone be loud; Cut-and-Paste - yes a little easier using the N1 trackball but I seem to rarely want to do c'n'p except to share a URL or whatever; Positioning the cursor was definitely easier using a trackball but I'm a big fan of Swype and I use the cursor positioning so rarely that it's not a big deal for me to use the Swype cursor keys. The iPhone definitely has the superior c'n'p implementation, but for a function I use so infrequently I don't miss it that much (before the N1, I was on a iPhone 3G).
For me the trackball/cursor issue ismt just about being able to cut copy and paste, its about being able to get the cursor back where it was supposed to be if it happens to move! And it seems to happen to me a lot
just so you can see my point, try typing out a sentence here on these forums within the browser then move the cursor slightly....see how efficiently you can put the cursor back where it should be
I can see where Leoni is coming from and why his decision makes sense though. With iPhone 4, Droid X, and Desire HD in the horizon, it does make sense. Leoni has experienced just about every phones available. The only thing i wonder is if he's leaving enough money for his retirement.
eaglesteve said:
I can see where Leoni is coming from and why his decision makes sense though. With iPhone 4, Droid X, and Desire HD in the horizon, it does make sense. Leoni has experienced just about every phones available. The only thing i wonder is if he's leaving enough money for his retirement.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
EDIT**** The trackball-less system strikes again
I don't know what you mean Eaglesteve: in the last year i've only owned an iphone 3G, T-Mobile G1, Sony Ericsson C905. HTC Magic, iPhone 3Gs, HTC Hero, HTC HD2, Motorola Dext, Samsung Galaxy, Samsung Omnia 2, Google Nexus One, HTC Desire and a Samsung Galaxy S....
;-)
leoni1980 said:
I don't know what you mean Eaglesteve: in the last year i've only owned an iphone 3G, sony Ericsson C905.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is that right? I thought you had an HD2 and HTC desire as well, no? What about Nexus one? BTW, why did you get an iPhone 3G instead if 3GS last year?
eaglesteve said:
Is that right? I thought you had an HD2 and HTC desire as well, no? What about Nexus one? BTW, why did you get an iPhone 3G instead if 3GS last year?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See my revised post. Ironically the cursor decided to move and in the process of trying to get it back in place I hit 'submit Reply'. Can you see why I am getting annoyed with this phone now??
Yes I KNOW there is the XDA app 'brought to me by Tapatalk' but I just don't blinking LIKE it....
OMG...I know you've tried many phones but not in my wildest dream that many, hahaha.
eaglesteve said:
OMG...I know you've tried many phones but not in my wildest dream that many, hahaha.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I forgot to mention the Nokia 5800 and the cheap N95 I picked up.
One or two devices barely saw a week's usage!
I still like the iPhone for pure 'appliance' slickness and have loads of iPhone docks and external battery add-ons; sadly I despise Apple's closed ecosystem. I may yet change my mind about the Galaxy S - I'm just particularly irritated with it this morning.
miker71 said:
Good balanced review, though I am surprised at the conclusion
The SGS certainly has some annoyances compared to my old N1+Froyo, however I'm confident the SGS firmwares will improve on this great hardware.
For me, camera flash = consistently rubbish looking photos; I don't miss visual notifications because the SGS is in my pocket and its more important the phone be loud; Cut-and-Paste - yes a little easier using the N1 trackball but I seem to rarely want to do c'n'p except to share a URL or whatever; Positioning the cursor was definitely easier using a trackball but I'm a big fan of Swype and I use the cursor positioning so rarely that it's not a big deal for me to use the Swype cursor keys. The iPhone definitely has the superior c'n'p implementation, but for a function I use so infrequently I don't miss it that much (before the N1, I was on a iPhone 3G).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that the soft d-pad of the Galaxy works suprisingly good when it comes to text selection. It is triggered by default in the newest firmware (don't believe it is triggered in the older firmware).
Anyway one can manually trigger the soft d-pad by holding down the "?123" button on the standard samsung keyboard. Very nice feature....
appelflap said:
I think that the soft d-pad of the Galaxy works suprisingly good when it comes to text selection. It is triggered by default in the newest firmware (don't believe it is triggered in the older firmware).
Anyway one can manually trigger the soft d-pad by holding down the "?123" button on the standard samsung keyboard. Very nice feature....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But that necessitates using the default keyboard and despite trying to like it for four days straight I just found it very unlikeable
leoni1980 said:
But that necessitates using the default keyboard and despite trying to like it for four days straight I just found it very unlikeable
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it all depends on the device you are comming from. I come from a HTC HD2 and the keyboard is a relief for me. (due mostly to the better cap. touchscreen of samsung)
It's good to have device by device comparisons. But I think one always have to take into perspective the platform or device one particular person is comming from. For a HD2 user the nexus maybe worse than the galaxy. For a nokia user maybe not. Persons are historically situated
Related
I've been an iPhone user since the very first one and i enjoyed the experience a lot.
About 2 weeks ago I switched to Android in the face of the Nexus One. Fiddled with it a bit, rooted, CM, now froyo etc. I really really like the Android. It has got its flaws, but boy does it deliver.
The hardware though, i am not really sure about. iPhone 3GS feels a lot more responsive. I can type twice as fast. Touch screen on Nexus just plain sucks. OLED is really nice, but what good is it if i cant use it properly.
It really bugs me. iPhone just looks like an old phone compared to Nexus, but the screen responsiveness drives me nuts. Its ok, i CAN type, but the experience is just so much better on the older iPhone.
Obvious specs are amazing, but the devil is in the details. And in the details it doesnt look like Google partners can deliver solid hardware to match solid software.
welcome to technology
the nexus one a fantastic phone is already 6 months old, its no surprise that it has already been surpassed by its competition. and more then likely another android phone perhaps the new string of droids will utterly surpass the new iphone, and the cycle will continue. No piece of tech is top dog forever, and at the speed that android is moving im surprised the nexus one still beats the increadible and evo in most fields. when it comes down to it, all that matters is which you are happier with, if the only thing pulling you to the iphone is the touch screen you will have to weight it and see how much it means to you
I can only type as fast as my fingers will go, so I have no idea what you're talking about.
Re: Screen: Nexus vs iPhone
I have the same feeling. The only thing bad about the nexus one is actually the screen. Everything else is great.
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Blueman101 said:
welcome to technology
the nexus one a fantastic phone is already 6 months old, its no surprise that it has already been surpassed by its competition. and more then likely another android phone perhaps the new string of droids will utterly surpass the new iphone, and the cycle will continue. No piece of tech is top dog forever, and at the speed that android is moving im surprised the nexus one still beats the increadible and evo in most fields. when it comes down to it, all that matters is which you are happier with, if the only thing pulling you to the iphone is the touch screen you will have to weight it and see how much it means to you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Absolutely But its just what reaver said.....
arcticreaver said:
I have the same feeling. The only thing bad about the nexus one is actually the screen. Everything else is great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You interact with the phone via display. And nexus is just sooooo freakin good, but got this majot flaw
Major Flaw?
So over the top.
Henchman said:
I can only type as fast as my fingers will go, so I have no idea what you're talking about.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use dictionary a lot? I type mostly in russian, and that doesnt have any custom dictionaries.
Take a gander at this: pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/06/27/iphone-keyboard-secrets/ (stick http whatever whatever in front)
Specifically this part:
* Although you don’t see it with your eyes, the sizes of the keys on the iPhone keyboard are changing all the time. That is, the software enlarges the “landing area” of certain keys, based on probability.
For example, supposed you type “tim.” Now, the iPhone knows that no word in the language begins timw or timr—and so, invisibly, it enlarges the “landing area” of the E key, which greatly diminishes your chances of making a typo on that last letter. Very cool.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is why the iphone keyboard is so "accurate" that people can type fast on it. For functionality like this on your N1 try downloading the app ThickButtons from the market.
But yes, I agree that the screen on the N1 can be more responsive Froyo made a lot of things better, but screen responsiveness was not one of them. I find myself tapping the same button twice more often and Swype registering a tap when it should be registering me holding down a letter. But I'm not worried since what I have is just a test version.
I've found that the auto-correct and prediction on the stock android keyboard much much better than the iPhone 3gs's so while the screen on my nexus may not be as responsive (I've not noticed) I type much faster on my N1.
Yeah, I would recommend trying a few different keyboards in the market. It isn't the screen responsiveness that is holding you back, it is the keyboard. I don't believe the stock keyboard even supports multitouch, while a few in the market do. So if you are typing fast, it can confuse the keyboard when both your fingers are touching.
What about Swype? I hear that's supposed to be a nice input method.
welcome to technology
the nexus one a fantastic phone is already 6 months old, its no surprise that it has already been surpassed by its competition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WTF are you talking about? He is comparing it to an iphone 3GS. That is almost a year old.
I switched from an iphone 3G which is nearly two years old and also noticed it was much better at detecting proper key presses and felt smoother when scrolling between home screens.
The home screen thing seems much improved with froyo and ADW Launcher, but the keyboard still seems crappy. I'm using the swype beta now and that is pretty good. It does suck to go back to a 2 year old phone and feel it is more responsive.
I will say though that things like launching apps and surfing the web are soooooo much better on my nexus one.
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hexix said:
WTF are you talking about? He is comparing it to an iphone 3GS. That is almost a year old.
I switched from an iphone 3G which is nearly two years old and also noticed it was much better at detecting proper key presses and felt smoother when scrolling between home screens.
The home screen thing seems much improved with froyo and ADW Launcher, but the keyboard still seems crappy. I'm using the swype beta now and that is pretty good. It does suck to go back to a 2 year old phone and feel it is more responsive.
I will say though that things like launching apps and surfing the web are soooooo much better on my nexus one.
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Sent via the XDA Tapatalk App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was assuming that if he were to go back to apple it would have been a iphone 4, so i was retroactively comparing the iphone 4 to the nexus one, even though he is used to the 3gs
Yes.. the Synaptics ClearPad 2000 hardware is somewhat crappy. HTC was foolish to use it, but it works fine for my uses. Plus I would take my Android with FroYo on a phone that looks as sexy as my N1 anyday.
And in the future, HTC is going to use Synaptics Clearpad 3000 hardware, which according to reviews and videos, is AMAZING.
While we're nit-picking, I notice I get a bit of dust in the battery compartment - something I've never encountered with my girlfriend's iPhone 3G.
codesplice said:
While we're nit-picking, I notice I get a bit of dust in the battery compartment - something I've never encountered with my girlfriend's iPhone 3G.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah i know and all these extra buttons on the phone make it easier to accidentally hit something, never had that problem on my old one button iphone 2g.
Blueman101 said:
yeah i know and all these extra buttons on the phone make it easier to accidentally hit something, never had that problem on my old one button iphone 2g.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And I hear there is pretty significant battery drain if you are viewing Desktop versions of websites featuring a lot of Flash content while you're playing music off of the expandable SD card while also using Google Maps to navigate in between checking news and weather using another application....
Google really needs to get their act together.
codesplice said:
And I hear there is pretty significant battery drain if you are viewing Desktop versions of websites featuring a lot of Flash content while you're playing music off of the expandable SD card while also using Google Maps to navigate in between checking news and weather using another application....
Google really needs to get their act together.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And these damn desktop screens. All these widgets and applications make is so damn cluttered it might as well be my closet.
Blueman101 said:
And these damn desktop screens. All these widgets and applications make is so damn cluttered it might as well be my closet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And why the hell would I want to be able to customize my background?
Life would be so much easier if I didn't have these options.
Jeez all these options make me want to sell the damn Nexus, i don't want choice, wich iphone shall i buy a 16Gb/32Gb/64Gb? Or shall i wait for the iPhone 4? Pff to much options at the Applecamp i think i stay, my brain hurts cause i think to much
hello ppl,
I currently have a X10 but I was wondering about to change my device soon for a Galaxy S or for Motorola Droid 2 GLOBAL.
I would like to hear some of you, especially now that the X10 will be getting Froyo and Multitouch Officialy by the next year, that was one of the major drawback of the phone.
Is this trade fair?
Lenghty... Go make some coffee.
Ok dig this, I had the Captivate for 3 weeks. The short answer is I returned it because it kept turning off. Google Galaxy S Random Shut Down.
Now briefly, all I know about the Droid phones is that same as the iPhone, If you throw a rock in any direction you'll probably hit an accessory for it.. Man they got the whole 9 yards... From Moto Docks to OtterBox (Defender) .
Captivate Pros
Man that screen... NO FOR REAL! That screen is just amazing, And it's a Corning registered Gorilla Glass device. Go google that if you want to.
The Captivate has the most powerful botton in the known universe " Hearing Adaptive" or something like that. It's a huge boost for in coming call volume. Half way between low speaker phone volume and high ear piece volume. And this way you're not picking up everything in the mic like you would if you used Speaker Phone for the volume hike.
The two main cons that make me not miss it.
Turning off ... C'mon really ???
And those damn stock android Menu,Home,Back and Search buttons. I kept hitting Search by accident to the point of moderate frustration. I'm 5' 9" and weigh 157 pounds... I do not have sausage fingers.
Ok let's talk Pinch Zoom. Really I don't miss it. The Magnification buttons we X10 users have seems like a Button to Zipper comparison. We both can do the same thing just in a different way.
X10 pros .... And this one is worth at least 3 Pro spots of value to me.
The 3 phisical button... dear God sweet Jesus, Thank you for those
The 3 things I wish I could change about the X10
In Call Volume . I have had my hearing tested and I picked up zero decibels on my right and slightly worse on my left. It ain't me man, It's the phone. SPEAK UP [email protected]#$%^& !
Accessories.
There ain't none... Like for real. To find an X10 specific anything you have to hire a Sherpa and climb a damn mountain and then when you get there you're only going to find the OtterBox Commuter and Impact, We didn't even get the Defender
The Camera. 8mp of steaming ... Vignette,Camera 360 or stock, I can't take a clear bright picture to save my own life. ( Please don't derail this thread into a Camera Tips and Tricks, Read those and done that)
So after all this, I have run thru The HTC Aria (Tiny Toy), The Samsung Captivate and then finally the X10.
I'm keeping the X10 because out of all the love hate things you may find from one phone to the other this device has the most " I can live with" and the least " I hate" things.
It's a phone, It's not going to bring you true happiness. It's just gonna make calls and keep you interested in between.
Edit-
Battery! The Samsung Captivate needs to be charged everyday... Really.. Everyday and sometime through out the day. It's that screen I think. Imagine those Donkeys at the Grand Canyon. Now imagine them carrying Fat Sweaty Betty from Wisconsin. The battery is doing the best it can given the load it has to carry.
My X10 however could go a day or two between charges. And I use it on full brightness all the time.
oh nice answer, I didn't know about the battery life of the Galaxy S, I know about the lag and GPS issues.
Also the Galaxy S doesn't have a camera flash.
On the other side
the Androids from motorola all of them have the best battery life amongst the android family device and also has Dual LED flash but the screen is TFT not AMOLED like Galaxy S
EDIT:
For what I have been reading, the battery life on droid 2 GLOBAL is very bad, like 5 hours a day with normal use, that is very bad compared to the X10 with 2.1 that lasts more than a day.
I think the X10 with 2.1 upgrade has the better battery life compared to other android phones, even motorola's phones
AKA_Rizzo said:
Lenghty... Go make some coffee.
Ok dig this, I had the Captivate for 3 weeks. The short answer is I returned it because it kept turning off. Google Galaxy S Random Shut Down.
Now briefly, all I know about the Droid phones is that same as the iPhone, If you throw a rock in any direction you'll probably hit an accessory for it.. Man they got the whole 9 yards... From Moto Docks to OtterBox (Defender) .
Captivate Pros
Man that screen... NO FOR REAL! That screen is just amazing, And it's a Corning registered Gorilla Glass device. Go google that if you want to.
The Captivate has the most powerful botton in the known universe " Hearing Adaptive" or something like that. It's a huge boost for in coming call volume. Half way between low speaker phone volume and high ear piece volume. And this way you're not picking up everything in the mic like you would if you used Speaker Phone for the volume hike.
The two main cons that make me not miss it.
Turning off ... C'mon really ???
And those damn stock android Menu,Home,Back and Search buttons. I kept hitting Search by accident to the point of moderate frustration. I'm 5' 9" and weigh 157 pounds... I do not have sausage fingers.
Ok let's talk Pinch Zoom. Really I don't miss it. The Magnification buttons we X10 users have seems like a Button to Zipper comparison. We both can do the same thing just in a different way.
X10 pros .... And this one is worth at least 3 Pro spots of value to me.
The 3 phisical button... dear God sweet Jesus, Thank you for those
The 3 things I wish I could change about the X10
In Call Volume . I have had my hearing tested and I picked up zero decibels on my right and slightly worse on my left. It ain't me man, It's the phone. SPEAK UP [email protected]#$%^& !
Accessories.
There ain't none... Like for real. To find an X10 specific anything you have to hire a Sherpa and climb a damn mountain and then when you get there you're only going to find the OtterBox Commuter and Impact, We didn't even get the Defender
The Camera. 8mp of steaming ... Vignette,Camera 360 or stock, I can't take a clear bright picture to save my own life. ( Please don't derail this thread into a Camera Tips and Tricks, Read those and done that)
So after all this, I have run thru The HTC Aria (Tiny Toy), The Samsung Captivate and then finally the X10.
I'm keeping the X10 because out of all the love hate things you may find from one phone to the other this device has the most " I can live with" and the least " I hate" things.
It's a phone, It's not going to bring you true happiness. It's just gonna make calls and keep you interested in between.
Edit-
Battery! The Samsung Captivate needs to be charged everyday... Really.. Everyday and sometime through out the day. It's that screen I think. Imagine those Donkeys at the Grand Canyon. Now imagine them carrying Fat Sweaty Betty from Wisconsin. The battery is doing the best it can given the load it has to carry.
My X10 however could go a day or two between charges. And I use it on full brightness all the time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well considered, well thought out answer. nicely done!
Just my 2 cents. I have the Xperia X10a Rogers and the Captivate AT&T (thanks to amazon.com's 1 cent sale).
Having lived with the Captivate for a couple of weeks, I won't return back to using the Xperia. For a long time, I thought it was AT&T that was providing me with crappy voice calls. Obviously, quiet and lots of hiss noise. The Captivate? Crystar clear all the time. Sorry At&t, I thought it was your fault. Now, I know it is the Xperia.
So far, I have not experienced the issues faced by other Captivate owners. Maybe the latest software upgrade fixed them.
But I'll tell you the main reason why I'll continue using the Captivate: Easy rooting and custom recovery (so far, I don't think the Xperia cooks have been able to create a custom recovery for the X10). Also, Google voice direct phone calls work on the Captivate. For some reason, it stopped working on the Xperia after SE upgraded the software to 2.1.
yeah, the X10 has a bad phone speaker and the bootloader still hasn't been cracked , and I would love to install another kernel on the X10 because Im looking forward to reverse tethering my phone so I could use my laptop internet
routed to the android phone via USB because I don't have an unlimited data plan.
Hi. This will also be long. LOL.
I own both an X10 and a Galaxy S. To summarize, I had the least frustration with my X10 than with my Galaxy S. Yep, I have two. Both unlocked. That's how things work in the Philippines. You would want to have a separate phone for work and play (personal stuff--like family and friends as our carriers here charge weirdly for their services).
I got my x10 first and I was very happy--lags were negligible and 2.1 really made it zippier. Twas my first Android and was on 1.6 and got updated to 2.1 like 3 days after I got it. Then my contract retention with the other carrier came up two weeks after and I picked up a Galaxy S. Initially, my Galaxy S was on 2.1 and it was OK save for some negligible lags but after a 2.2 upgrade, it kept freezing and dying, and Swype won't even let me write anything sensible. I was so frustrated to the point that I wanted to flush it down the toilet, if it wasn't so pricey. Then I applied a lag fix and it went all zippy and I'm happy with it.
Now for some real comparison
Galaxy S over X10
- faster operation (after the lag fix)
- way way better S-AMOLED screen, perfect for long movies
- pre-loaded apps like English Dictionary, Vlingo, Office Editor, File and Task Manager
- Multitouch (though the x10 will get one by March 31 2011--latest)
- cool slide out usb hatch
- front facing camera
- access to froyo (2.2)
- FM radio (not true for the captivate)
- in my case longer operating time than the x10, my x10 drinks juice
- notification pull down has remote control to wifi and others
- more possible to get updated to 2.3
- very light and easy to pocket
- better voice calls with or without headset
X10 over Galaxy S
- more eloquent UI / software tweaks (better animations, more premium feel)
- a lot better and stand out body design (IMO)
- three hardware buttons
- better 8MP camera
- better continuous autofocus (after 2.1)
- I love timescape over buddies online (samsung's own social media widget)
- more convenient location of lanyard eye (lanyards are important to me because I used to drop phones often)
- feels heavier and feels greater on hand thanks to the curves
- best sound (music, I mean) reproduction (IMO)
Galaxy Cons
- Soft keys (back button, and home if you are on captivate/vibrant) can take you out of what you are doing
- Less reliable operation due to lags and soft key back button issues
- Looks cheap, uninspired design
- TouchWiz UI sucks big time
- clunky messaging and contacts interface--shows less information at once due to big font sizes, probably useful for older people
- can't use samsung widgets when using launcher pro
- buggy because it's Samsung!
- low user interface quality check--you might be surprised to find poorly constructed and grammatically incorrect sentences on the Galaxy S's UI, thank God by 2.2 most have vanished
- Samsung Kies (syncing software) sucks
X10 Cons
- plastic usb flap cover
- poor photolight does not help night shots, in fact blinds people you are taking pictures of
- kind of laggy due to timescape, but I can live with this
- mediascape is kind of old-world and hard to use, best use poweramp / winamp
- pre-loaded apps don't add much value
- stuck at 2.1 for the foreseeable future, probably forever
- does not have much faster ROMS available due to the bootloader not being cracked yet
- poor voice calls experience until you wear a headset
So mostly X10 wins over the Galaxy S on the hardware design bits and on the custom UI bits. Galaxy S, however, is overall better in performance after the lag fix. But if you are too scared to do it, you will be stuck with a laggy and freezing FROYO phone. It might even die on you. It's all a matter of finding what you can live with and without and then picking that one. I haven't had any MOTOROLA ANDROID phone, but DROID 2 Global sounds nice, but it's bound to be heavier. Good luck on the choosing. As for me, I'm stuck to these 2 for two years. LOL.
ellokomen said:
yeah, the X10 has a bad phone speaker and the bootloader still hasn't been cracked , and I would love to install another kernel on the X10 because Im looking forward to reverse tethering my phone so I could use my laptop internet
routed to the android phone via USB because I don't have an unlimited data plan.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
are you running WINDOWS 7 or MAC? If so you can reverse tether. MAC supports it natively, I heard, while Windows 7 needs Connectify installed. Just enable your PC's wifi and it shares your 3G internet.
jerkysans said:
are you running WINDOWS 7 or MAC? If so you can reverse tether. MAC supports it natively, I heard, while Windows 7 needs Connectify installed. Just enable your PC's wifi and it shares your 3G internet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, I can only connnect to the wifi network using one ID within the authentication center on my workplace, so I cannot connect more than one device using the same ID, thats why I wanted it via USB routing
ellokomen said:
yeah, I can only connnect to the wifi network using one ID within the authentication center on my workplace, so I cannot connect more than one device using the same ID, thats why I wanted it via USB routing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
same situation here. but if you connect to your LAN via wifi, you can't use connectify. too bad. but if you use a network cable, then you can.
jerkysans said:
X10 Cons
- plastic usb flap cover
LOL.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh yeah. I wonder how long mine will last.
Physical.
yeah I can spell.
i own a x10i n my dad have a tmobile vibrant...
-all i can say is vibrant is fast, so fast, very fast compare to my x10i... my x10i lags badly... it takes about 15 sec to start up whatsapp from fresh start...
-the super AMOLED on vibrant is juz awesome... da color is so much better than my x10. the x10 color seems more like wash out... x10 itself plays very nice video, but compare with vibrant, x10 is juz that bad...
-even my x10 seems so crappy against the vibrant i still love it. why? because the slick design and is white... i dont like the outlook of vibrant cause it look so much like an iphone 2 or 3G...(im an iphone hater)
i wish my x10 will have the processor and same amount of RAM as vibrant and of cause the super AMOLED is very nice
on specs, the x10 seems like a real competitor to the galaxy s. every little part in the galaxy s is just a little bit better than the x10. but it does come at a price. big advantages the galaxy s has are things like froyo and multitouch. and though its coupled with a gorilla glass amoled screen and hdmi out, i consider thouse a bit behind the scenes. the x10 has a much better camera and a much lower price tag. the performance is alot better on the galaxy s and its a better out of box experience. because of its price, if the x10 had a newer version of android and multitouch, it would be a no brainer. but until then, if you havent bought either, id say save up a little bit more money and buy the galaxy s.
i would like to stress a few points. multitouch... ive never seen an android 2.1 device with a capacitive screen not do multitouch until now. even the g1 got mutitouch. dont you dare try to justify using the volume buttons to zoom. multitouch is more than just zooming, and its not good at that either. you know how long it takes to zoom in an 8.1mp image by tapping in one level over and over? when it comes to replacement android interfaces, many people will agree with me, im not a fan of either the galaxy s or x10's ui's. sonys timescape might take the cake for the most useless one ive ever seen though. only one company, htc, has really been sucessfull at creating a replacement interface. so if your name is not htc, dont think you can do better than google. gingerbread has been out for a week now, its really sad to see devices still running android 1.6 or 2.1. with the nexus s being a gingerbread phone, i can see other galaxy s phones getting an update right after its launch. sony really needs to atleast try for 2.2.
The Jack of Clubs said:
on specs, the x10 seems like a real competitor to the galaxy s. every little part in the galaxy s is just a little bit better than the x10. but it does come at a price. big advantages the galaxy s has are things like froyo and multitouch. and though its coupled with a gorilla glass amoled screen and hdmi out, i consider thouse a bit behind the scenes. the x10 has a much better camera and a much lower price tag. the performance is alot better on the galaxy s and its a better out of box experience. because of its price, if the x10 had a newer version of android and multitouch, it would be a no brainer. but until then, if you havent bought either, id say save up a little bit more money and buy the galaxy s.
i would like to stress a few points. multitouch... ive never seen an android 2.1 device with a capacitive screen not do multitouch until now. even the g1 got mutitouch. dont you dare try to justify using the volume buttons to zoom. multitouch is more than just zooming, and its not good at that either. you know how long it takes to zoom in an 8.1mp image by tapping in one level over and over? when it comes to replacement android interfaces, many people will agree with me, im not a fan of either the galaxy s or x10's ui's. sonys timescape might take the cake for the most useless one ive ever seen though. only one company, htc, has really been sucessfull at creating a replacement interface. so if your name is not htc, dont think you can do better than google. gingerbread has been out for a week now, its really sad to see devices still running android 1.6 or 2.1. with the nexus s being a gingerbread phone, i can see other galaxy s phones getting an update right after its launch. sony really needs to atleast try for 2.2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, read the first post before posting please
hi folks,
maybe i looked over it, but has anyone here ever tried to update a galaxy s.
i did and it's terrible!! samsung kies is like the worst piece of software ever!
and i wondered if anyone ever dropped a samsung galaxy s from normal standing height.
and dropped it so that its dropped flat on a hard(rock) floor.
because i have heard multiple stories about amoled screens falling (not so hard)
and totally shattering across the screen. i see you saying that x10 has TFT but i specially chose an x10 because of the TFT screen.
the screen of the galaxy is amazing though i must say, and i know samsung is always pretty decent in hardware. software=no but hey android is from google so no worries there.
i'd like to see some test of strength with amoled and non amoled
AKA_Rizzo said:
Lenghty... Go make some coffee.
Ok dig this, I had the Captivate for 3 weeks. The short answer is I returned it because it kept turning off. Google Galaxy S Random Shut Down.
Now briefly, all I know about the Droid phones is that same as the iPhone, If you throw a rock in any direction you'll probably hit an accessory for it.. Man they got the whole 9 yards... From Moto Docks to OtterBox (Defender) .
Captivate Pros
Man that screen... NO FOR REAL! That screen is just amazing, And it's a Corning registered Gorilla Glass device. Go google that if you want to.
The Captivate has the most powerful botton in the known universe " Hearing Adaptive" or something like that. It's a huge boost for in coming call volume. Half way between low speaker phone volume and high ear piece volume. And this way you're not picking up everything in the mic like you would if you used Speaker Phone for the volume hike.
The two main cons that make me not miss it.
Turning off ... C'mon really ???
And those damn stock android Menu,Home,Back and Search buttons. I kept hitting Search by accident to the point of moderate frustration. I'm 5' 9" and weigh 157 pounds... I do not have sausage fingers.
Ok let's talk Pinch Zoom. Really I don't miss it. The Magnification buttons we X10 users have seems like a Button to Zipper comparison. We both can do the same thing just in a different way.
X10 pros .... And this one is worth at least 3 Pro spots of value to me.
The 3 phisical button... dear God sweet Jesus, Thank you for those
The 3 things I wish I could change about the X10
In Call Volume . I have had my hearing tested and I picked up zero decibels on my right and slightly worse on my left. It ain't me man, It's the phone. SPEAK UP [email protected]#$%^& !
Accessories.
There ain't none... Like for real. To find an X10 specific anything you have to hire a Sherpa and climb a damn mountain and then when you get there you're only going to find the OtterBox Commuter and Impact, We didn't even get the Defender
The Camera. 8mp of steaming ... Vignette,Camera 360 or stock, I can't take a clear bright picture to save my own life. ( Please don't derail this thread into a Camera Tips and Tricks, Read those and done that)
So after all this, I have run thru The HTC Aria (Tiny Toy), The Samsung Captivate and then finally the X10.
I'm keeping the X10 because out of all the love hate things you may find from one phone to the other this device has the most " I can live with" and the least " I hate" things.
It's a phone, It's not going to bring you true happiness. It's just gonna make calls and keep you interested in between.
Edit-
Battery! The Samsung Captivate needs to be charged everyday... Really.. Everyday and sometime through out the day. It's that screen I think. Imagine those Donkeys at the Grand Canyon. Now imagine them carrying Fat Sweaty Betty from Wisconsin. The battery is doing the best it can given the load it has to carry.
My X10 however could go a day or two between charges. And I use it on full brightness all the time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fantastic post my friend, Kudos for you!!!
pimvanduijne said:
has anyone here ever tried to update a galaxy s.
i did and it's terrible!! samsung kies is like the worst piece of software ever!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know right, Samsung Kies suck big time. After I updated my SGS from Eclair to Froyo, the lagginess of Samsung knew no end. I had to install a lagfix then it was all OK. Question is, why can't Samsung have that out of the box since the problem has been popularly pointed out and not all users, I suppose, knows there would be such a fix.
The Jack of Clubs said:
multitouch is more than just zooming, and its not good at that either. you know how long it takes to zoom in an 8.1mp image by tapping in one level over and over? when it comes to replacement android interfaces, many people will agree with me, im not a fan of either the galaxy s or x10's ui's. sonys timescape might take the cake for the most useless one ive ever seen though. only one company, htc, has really been sucessfull at creating a replacement interface. so if your name is not htc, dont think you can do better than google. gingerbread has been out for a week now, its really sad to see devices still running android 1.6 or 2.1. with the nexus s being a gingerbread phone, i can see other galaxy s phones getting an update right after its launch. sony really needs to atleast try for 2.2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Timescape is an app not a replacement interface. The general UI overlay on the X10 is much better than the Galaxy S in so many ways. Let's compare the built-in messaging app, for instance of these two phones. At one glance, you get more info on the x10 than on the Galaxy S due to the FWVGA resolution on the X10. Galaxy S also uses enormous fonts and pointless speech bubbles on their messaging app which results to less info being displayed at a time. And this is not just on the Messaging app. On almost everything Samsung-made, they just keep using enormous fonts which makes the phone feel low-res.
I do agree with your points on how sucky the zooming is on Mediascape. It is just not fast enough to justify the loss of MT. But on areas outside of that such as the web, no MT is not much of a dealbreaker. Generally what holds the phone down is the outdated OS, I agree. 2.1 is good and does a lot of stuffs, some even only present in 2.2 were added in by SE anyways, so you can excuse them a bit for that, but it's more of the power-efficiency and performance that you're after with every upgrade and it's a shame SE has no concrete plans for 2.2 or 2.3 on the X10 upto now. Had SE been up to date, SE owners would have been prouder.
P.S. on 16M S-AMOLED and 65k LCD, I don't see much difference. The X10, on proper LCD brightness is on par with S-AMOLED on normal lighting conditions. I find it weird though why at 16M colors, Samsung Galaxy S still dithers. I was expecting this on the X10, but I'm more than glad to see little to no dithering on it.
Hey, what about Droid 2 Global?
I see nothing about Droid 2 Global. By the way, it is the phone for CDMA and GSM networks both. And actually I don't remember any notes about Motorola family vs SE.
Returning to the topic, I have maybe a little politically incorrect point of view on the cell phone (and other technical stuff) design. It is about the culture. Not about "don't littering", but about engineering. Ericsson (and Sony Ericsson) has pretty long history that gave them experience. HTC, Samsung, etc are relatively young and most of their problems are rooted there. Look - overall satisfaction for X10 without the last technology bells and whistles like OLED or multitouch is higher, than hi-tech-packed rival's devices. Why? Because according to the experience, they realize, that it is impossible to be perfect and it is better to concentrate to ergonomics issues. The device should be easy-to-use, foolproof and hard-to-break. That can be understand through the long experience of analyzing how it works through the life of the device. Typical life of Samsung is around a year. I remember my friend changes around 5 or 6 phones (3 or 4 of them were Samsungs), when I used the same SE k790a. And it works fine for now. Another conclusion is to buy a flagship. Budget devices of any manufacturer always have issues. I know, all those galaxies are claimed to be top-models, flagships, bla-bla-bla. But I bet, some months of using reminds you my note about engineering experience.
So, for me, there is the only comparison - X10 vs Droid. And I don't see one. Sorry for my chauvinistic pigness.
the way i see it is
-if you want a keyboard go for the droid 2 global
-if you want an amazing screen then go for the samsung
-if you want to save money then keep the x10
i dont really see a point in upgrading to any other phone right now
I have prepared this thread to help myself and others compare and contrast the different phones and hopefully come to a decision here. If anyone has anything to add to the comparison that I have missed, please list it and we can get it all chocked up.
For the record. I have only listed something as a "Disadvantage" if I believe that the category is below what we would expect of the average Android.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Advantages:
ATRIX
Battery Life - This is a big thing for me. I can make my vibrant last through a 14 hour day by crippling every single possible feature. But people here are saying that the Atrix runs solid though 30 hour periods. This is a huge plus for me.
Higher Resolution (even if its fake) - Even though this resolution is fake and can actually cause text to blur, I can say first-hand that I saw the screen in action at a local wal-mart and found it to be acceptable by my standards. I think it may help overall with browsing. The GS2 has a larger screen size, and no pentile matrix display, which could possibly be considered better. This is one that may work out to be a tie.
Tegra 2 - I list this as an advantage not because it is faster, the various benchmarks for either processor seem to be inconclusive at this point. I am listing it as an advantage because it has its own series of games optimized specifically for it, and because Google has chosen to build their framework around tegra 2.
Webtop - I am initially hesitant to even mention this. The phone has a webtop environment, it is most likely Debian Linux and it is said to also be very sluggish. If, in the future, devs gain access to this environment and find ways to optimize it and add in worthy apps such as Chrome and open office, then this will be a massive advantage, but right now it is pretty much just a gimmick.
The webtop interface retains its session when you disconnect it. So you can plug the phone back into another dock and go right back to what you were doing. This is one of the good things about webtop.
Laptop Dock - We all know it is hideously overpriced right now and maybe in the future a cheaper solution will be available. But regardless of how you get the dock, it is an advantage to run your apps in full screen, even if you don't use the sluggish webtop interface and firefox.
The dock charges your phone, but plays sound through your atrix speakers, it has no speakers of it's own, you can answer calls by removing the phone, picking it up on bluetooth or by just yelling at it from behind the laptop. The phone retains its session when you remove it and there is no special unmounting procedure, you just grab it and run.
GALAXY S2
Screen - Bright beautiful and extremely rich. Those who have seen the screen firsthand have claimed that there is nothing like it at all and that it is miles above even the old Super Amoled display. The 4.3 inch size is also a bonus for those of us with large hands. This is probably the best overall feature of the Galaxy S2.
Camera - 8 Megapixels, and 2 megapixel front facing camera. People say that megapixels don't really matter in the long run but the Atrix camera is also said to have a purple wash to it and that the video can be splotchy in certain situations.
Design - Even though it looks way too much like the iPhone, this phone actually looks exceptionally nice. I like the three button design much better than the 4, the search button is pretty useless overall. The thinness of this phone is also amazing if you are into that sort of thing. Naturally it may come down to the US carriers to ruin the design, but by it will likely be summer before that happens.
32GB internal storage - Expect to pay for it, but it is there, you get 64 gigs total with this phone.
Gingerbread - The Atrix won't likely get gingerbread until at least this summer, this phone will have it much sooner if you get the international version coming sometime this quarter.
Gyroscope - This phone has it, do any apps support it? Not sure, but it is there.
NFC - In the off chance that any stores upgrade to NFC this year, you will have the ability to use it. NFC may have other uses that we haven't envisioned yet. It is a protocol, so it can be applied to just about anything. You could potentially set it up to unlock your home, cars could start with it, whatever.
So it has a lot of potential use other than having your money stolen from you.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disadvantages:
ATRIX
Bootloader - To sum it up for those not familiar, the phone can be rooted, a custom ROM can be flashed, but the kernel cannot be altered at all. (someone will likely correct me here) but if part or all of the webtop code is contained in the kernel somehow it will be difficult to alter it to add new software or make it run more efficiently. This would be a terrible shame.
I can tell you that Team Whiskey has made my Vibrant browse faster than I have seen in Atrix videos, with half the memory and a single core processor. It is scary to think of what this phone could actually accomplish if Moto decided to allow it.
Motoblur - I read that this requires you to sign up for an account before you can even use the phone. I find it alarming that Motorola has decided to help themselves to all this information and it makes me wonder just exactly what they really have access to and why.
Crippled FM radio - WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY. All of these phones have both transmitters and receivers for FM. So can someone tell me why in god's name anyone would disable them? FM radio has many more uses than just listening to local stations and why again should I have to burn my limited data on
internet radio when there is a receiver right in my phone?
GALAXY S2
Heat - My current Galaxy S runs very hot already, if the screen is active while the phone is being charged it will heat up to what seems to be a very dangerous temperature. The pre-release Galaxy S2 was said to be scorching hot after running with the screen on and the charger active.
Fail File System, Hideous and crippling lag - Update: the galaxy S2 is said to not use RFS. Chock one up for Samsung.
Updates - Samsung has a horrible reputation for updates when working with US carriers, even for new phones. If it was not for this community I would have likely given up on Android and Samsung altogether. Although I know that part of the update delay has been t-mobile, it is also in Samsung's interests to ship out new phones instead of updating their old ones.
Battery Life I have a feeling that Samsung tried to push the limits to get their phone to be as thin as possible and I am worried that they have done so at the expense of battery life. We won't know for sure until it gets in people's hands but I expect the battery life to be subpar.
NO HID Bluetooth Support (possibly) - I have had a black wiimote sitting here for 6 months waiting to connect to my Vibrant. I love emulated classics but action games are near impossible to play with the on-screen kb. So if you want this feature, I would make sure that the GS2 has it first, because it is not likely that it will.
Availability - What it really comes down to now. Unless you want to shell out over 1000 for the phone, you will probably need to wait 5 months from now for any kind of US availability this summer. And don't doubt that those versions will become crippled and even more bloated in the process. But again there is no locked bootloader here.
Ok I think that covers it. Having written all this down, I think I am really leaning more toward the Atrix. There just doesn't seem to be anything else out there now that will be able to match it at the moment. And as you can see, our experience with Samsung has not been exceptional.
Good comparison there. I am also looking at the exact 2 models and thank you very much, looks like Atrix will too be my choice.
I guess I'll get the atrix laptop dock too and prays for the devs here to make it all better. Otherwise, I think its still a good piece of hardware I don't mind owning.
""Samsung's dual-core, Gingerbread-powered Galaxy S II has appeared on Play.co.uk alongside a tentative SIM-free price and release date. According to Play, which is currently taking pre-orders for the phone, it'll ship Mar. 31 for £599.99 (~$960). Pre-release prices are never guaranteed to be accurate and are always subject to change, but £599 seams like a realistic price point for the Galaxy S II, as it's slightly higher than current single-core offerings from other manufacturers.""
Just published at androidcentral. £599.99 (~$960)?? Get a grip..
Not bad, just a couple of things to note that I thought of while reading. First, the screen resolution can be arguable considering the Pentile screen that the Atrix uses. That gives the SGS2 more sub pixels, but then it's a bigger screen, so less (I believe) pixel density still... it's really kind of a toss up, but I think they will both look great. I think the lower resolution and bigger screen on the SGS2 will look just fine with the full 3 subpixels per pixel.
Also, the SGS2 looks nothing like an iPhone. I wish people would stop saying that about every phone that comes out. Apparently every square black phone with a screen is an iPhone now.
And also it's been reported that the SGS2 does not use RFS.
The Galaxy S2 looks like a great phone, but even as much as I hate Motorola's implementation of the lockdown...I can't *STAND* Samsung for updates. They've promised up and down that they would release updates for every phone since Android came out, and they've delivered on about 3 of those promises...out of probably 20. They are *HORRIBLE* at updating devices and they don't even apologize when they cancel. I would *never* buy a Samsung on the hopes that it would get an updated OS.
As for the screens, I don't really notice much of a difference. I'm a pretty severe audiophile and videophile and although I can tell a difference it's absolutely not enough to make me go with one phone over another. I'm coming from an iPhone 4 which has the best screen to date on a mobile phone...and even between that and my Atrix I barely see a difference. They're both fantastic screens.
hotleadsingerguy said:
The Galaxy S2 looks like a great phone, but even as much as I hate Motorola's implementation of the lockdown...I can't *STAND* Samsung for updates. They've promised up and down that they would release updates for every phone since Android came out, and they've delivered on about 3 of those promises...out of probably 20. They are *HORRIBLE* at updating devices and they don't even apologize when they cancel. I would *never* buy a Samsung on the hopes that it would get an updated OS.
As for the screens, I don't really notice much of a difference. I'm a pretty severe audiophile and videophile and although I can tell a difference it's absolutely not enough to make me go with one phone over another. I'm coming from an iPhone 4 which has the best screen to date on a mobile phone...and even between that and my Atrix I barely see a difference. They're both fantastic screens.
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Click to collapse
The updates aren't really an issue for people who visit sites like this. I would never rely on Samsung to update my phone. My Captivate has been running 2.2 for ages while they just released the update for everyone else. Yes, Samsung sucks at updating, but the hacking community will always get it done regardless.
I must be the only one, but i use the search hotkey absolutely all the time. I love it and I realize that you can hold menu for the same effect on the SGS2, but i'd prefer to have the 4th hotkey than their ugly stupid home button. It is not an iPhone, embrace uniqueness samsung.
eallan said:
I must be the only one, but i use the search hotkey absolutely all the time. I love it and I realize that you can hold menu for the same effect on the SGS2, but i'd prefer to have the 4th hotkey than their ugly stupid home button. It is not an iPhone, embrace uniqueness samsung.
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Click to collapse
I really miss the hardware home key! The orientation of the 4 buttons makes it a bit awkward to thumb navigate since its so close to the bottom. Its actually one of the things about the sgs2 that is making me think twice about my atrix. Despite how much I love it.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
Man_of_Leisure said:
I really miss the hardware home key! The orientation of the 4 buttons makes it a bit awkward to thumb navigate since its so close to the bottom. Its actually one of the things about the sgs2 that is making me think twice about my atrix. Despite how much I love it.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
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Click to collapse
I wouldn't mind if the buttons were hardware, thats another debate. I just want all four of them!
The back button is beyond crucial. Maybe back and home should be two hardware with the other capacitive? For symmetry, obviously a concern for samsung .
I definitely want the new Galaxy S 2. I've heard that the Atrix was a huge let down. I used to own a Captivate and I loved everything about it except the ****ty build quality and lack of flash for the camera. It was so smooth with voodoo and custom roms. The Galaxy S 2 will have an amazing screen and I think it will do average on battery consumption. Just my 2 cents
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
King Shady said:
I definitely want the new Galaxy S 2. I've heard that the Atrix was a huge let down. I used to own a Captivate and I loved everything about it except the ****ty build quality and lack of flash for the camera. It was so smooth with voodoo and custom roms. The Galaxy S 2 will have an amazing screen and I think it will do average on battery consumption. Just my 2 cents
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
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****ty build quality? Like hardware wise? I personally think the Captivate is the nicest of all of the Galaxy S phones. The hardware itself has been absolutely wonderful for me. The software quality leaves a lot to be desired from a stock standpoint though.
AJerman said:
****ty build quality? Like hardware wise? I personally think the Captivate is the nicest of all of the Galaxy S phones. The hardware itself has been absolutely wonderful for me. The software quality leaves a lot to be desired from a stock standpoint though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The plastic build was a huge downgrade for me, especially coming from a beautiful iPhone 4. I'm much happier with the Inspire 4G now though. HTC Sense is amazing and super smooth, and HTC build quality is great. The phone feels ultra solid.
SGS2 is apparently RFS-free. Also, some versions will have Tegra2 instead of Exynos - hope this includes us.
People knock Samsung's plastic designs, but they're actually a lot harder to break than the "well-built" iPhone 4.
Very good write up man, these are the posts that I like to see.
By looking at my signature, you can see that I just got the Atrix as well, and I love the phone. Amazingly fast, awesome screen (love the higher density and the effect itbhas on the overall experience), and the battery is pretty good too.
I'm seriously thinking about buying the laptop dock, but I don't know how well that will perform, and I haven't seen any live videos of it.
I really like the design and specs of the GS 2, but there are a lot of possible problems holding me back....
Rooted/ROM Captivate (For Sale)
Rooted Atrix
FLAC Vest said:
Very good write up man, these are the posts that I like to see.
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Click to collapse
Thanks a lot, bro.
I am no engineer and I can't build tools. But I can put a few thoughts together and provide someone with some information.
This is an amazing community and what people do here is outstanding, I just want to do what I can to add to that.
King Shady said:
The plastic build was a huge downgrade for me, especially coming from a beautiful iPhone 4. I'm much happier with the Inspire 4G now though. HTC Sense is amazing and super smooth, and HTC build quality is great. The phone feels ultra solid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
S2 looks like meizu m9
I have both and a Galaxy S 2 on order
Why? I really liked the Captivate. My plan was to use both but the Atrix is so much more fun to use I'm selling the Captivate. Well, maybe. Maybe not.
Yesterday after I removed the SIM card and replaced it, the Atrix went bonkers with freezes and instability issues. After numerous soft resets, two factory resets and replacing the SIM card, SD card and battery a couple of times it seems to be back to normal. I suspect I had reinserted the SIM card incorrectly but maybe there was another issue.
So why would I pay $1000 for the Galaxy S 2? The Captivate was that much fun. Although I'm sure we will be able to do more custom rom's shortly on the Atrix, the Galaxy S 2 sounds like an even bigger blast than either. And boy oh boy does that LG 3D look interesting. But you have to draw the line somewhere.
Here is what the Atrix has that the Captivate does not:
1-better graphics and screen quality, dynamic and vivid visuals, a joy to read and watch (text as well as video quality is sharp and crisp, very clear)
2-more interactive features with outside devices (i.e. computers)
3-interacts more efficiently with e mail, voice and text programs (really like the way it handles multiple incoming calls especially when you are already on one-notification, instructions and directions for handling)(I can now actually use Excel spreadsheets and Word documents) (works well with contacts)
4-updated browser can handle more types of video content and pop up windows better
5-it feels better when you hold and talk or watch or do most anything with it (I did make one call and even though I could hear the other party clearly they could not hear me-I do not what happened.)
My friends all tell me I should get an iphone. I had one for years and the Androids are far more fun. I'll never return. I don't think. LG 3D anyone?
I think Tegra2 is actually a disadvantage for Atrix 4G.
As a new generation dualcore processor, it's early, but not strong.
It's video playback ability of H.264 is limited, but H.264 is currently the most frequently played format.
It has no neon support, big loss on processing power.
Till now Tegra2 has not proven itself in Graphics power. In benchmarks it's no superior to Hummingbird.
However the performance of Mali400MP on GS2 is also questionable, so just wait and see...
hotleadsingerguy said:
The Galaxy S2 looks like a great phone, but even as much as I hate Motorola's implementation of the lockdown...I can't *STAND* Samsung for updates. They've promised up and down that they would release updates for every phone since Android came out, and they've delivered on about 3 of those promises...out of probably 20. They are *HORRIBLE* at updating devices and they don't even apologize when they cancel. I would *never* buy a Samsung on the hopes that it would get an updated OS.
As for the screens, I don't really notice much of a difference. I'm a pretty severe audiophile and videophile and although I can tell a difference it's absolutely not enough to make me go with one phone over another. I'm coming from an iPhone 4 which has the best screen to date on a mobile phone...and even between that and my Atrix I barely see a difference. They're both fantastic screens.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 great post!
King Shady said:
The plastic build was a huge downgrade for me, especially coming from a beautiful iPhone 4. I'm much happier with the Inspire 4G now though. HTC Sense is amazing and super smooth, and HTC build quality is great. The phone feels ultra solid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See, I don't understand that. There is far less plastic on the Captivate than the majority of the phones out there. The front is all glass, and the back is mostly metal. It's only the top and bottom on the back that are plastic, and they have both felt very solid to me since I got the phone on launch day. I came from an iPhone 4 as well, and granted nothing compares to the iPhone 4 in build quality, the Captivate definitely doesn't seem bad at all to me.
As long as you're happy with what you have now though, that's what matters. I just think the Inspire is a bit of a waste of money considering it's lack of power compared to all the other phones coming out now. It feels like it's last generation still. I did play with it a little at the AT&T store though, and it seemed nice. If it had come out last summer with the Captivate (even if it didn't have 4G), I might have gotten it. Now I'm going to wait until a dual core offering I like though.
What are your thoughts on the Samsung galaxy S2. Gonna be available for ATT soon .
Why is this in the Nexus One forum?
cymru said:
Why is this in the Nexus One forum?
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The S2 is one of the first devices that's made me think about upgrading from my N1.
question is why is it here. it doesnt help any fellow n1 users
too big, tried it already in a phone store here in Korea. It is VERY light tho, my first thought when holding the phone was, "why did they removed the battery off the phone?", then i pop out the cover and found the battery was there!!! phone is extremely light!!!!!! I was afraid of dropping it when using. 4.3" is too big for my hand, i think 4" is the perfect size for any phone.
Everything is fast and smooth, what else do you expect from a dual core 1.2ghz A9 chip? screen is beautiful, put the nexus 1 screen to dust even at max brightness.
already a thread on this topic in this forum. just search it out and find all the info you need there.
Some of us N1 users like state of the art technology. Wanted to know what other N1 users thought of it. Some are on the lookout for something better . Love the N1, but too many lockups and rom bugs, battery life is poor, screen resolution has been improved on S2 as well as scratch resistant glass. It's something I'm considering for speed, quality and performance. Use my phone daily as a PC/PDA.
But if this was asked in say... the Samsung G II area, then you could get proper opinions from more people who ACTUALLY OWN THE DEVICE.
I'm not interested in Samsung 2 thread opinions! Wanted to ask N1 users. Last I looked it was my post
haha fair enough.
Anyway, i agree with some others, it runs really nicely, but just a wee bit too big for the hand and also i'd prefer the phone to be aluminium and heavier than plasticy and light
Big_O said:
I'm not interested in Samsung 2 thread opinions! Wanted to ask N1 users. Last I looked it was my post
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That's why I'm saying a huge thread in this nexus one forum already exists about the galaxy s2, and u will prob find every piece of info already posted.
I'm switching from my N1 to a SGS2. Currently waiting for it to ship from Handtec. It's the first Android phone since the N1 that really appealed to me.
I´m going to retire my beloved N1 as soon as I can get the S2 from my provider (should be in a week or two) I played with a S2 of a college (who bought it of contract) and I deem it worth to upgrade.
if it had qhd and nfc it would be the ultimate device
i hear it will come with nfc in some markets tho..
samsung always have the latest tech, mhl, samoled2, usb3, bluetooth 3?
well either way to answer this i would just get both phones there is no doubt
Had it for a bit now. You get used to the size pretty fast, before long the N1 seems small. I'm pretty big and I find devices too thin nowdays so I got a case that made it thicker on purpose. Did the same with the N1. If the S2 has any killer feature it would have to be the hardware acceleration in 2D. This really stands out in the browser where pages are rendered with desktop speed and zooming and such have a fluidity that are unmatched with any device I have seen. All lot of the attributes of this phone are pretty obvious. It is much more powerful and that can be seen throughout the gui while in operation and performing any task. This is pretty much a no brainer considering you are comparing what is now a year and a half old device to one which was just introduced. It should not be taken as a knock against the N1 as I am impressed with how well it holds up in comparison, it is no slouch on the latest nightly.
Specific things I do not like about the sgs2.... Hate having the power button on the side. I have turned the phone off several times accidentally and then had to reboot when I went to use it. I do not like having the single hard button surrounded by the two cap buttons arrangement. It kinda screws with the flow of doing stuff on the phone. Touch, touch, touch, oops, should have PUSHED the home button, push, touch, touch, PUSH. Just doesnt seem right to me. Plus while I never actually used the search softkey to search I did use the longpress to access quick settings and now of course used or not that button simply isnt there. I would have greatly prefered a standard 4 button arrangement. The build quality is lower than the N1. It is not what I perceive as terrible like my wifes captivate but the materials and feel of the phone in hand are a step down from the N1. Since both are cased all I really see is the case and screen either way so this one doesnt bother me but its there.
The pluses of the sgs2 are mostly obvious. Being newer and possessed of the latest greatest it is a more powerful device in every way. Again its good to keep in mind that I am comparing to a generationally older phone here and it should not be taken as a knock against the N1 but there it is. The screen is stellar and touch is very accurate. Side by side with cupertinos best the colors appear more saturated but it falls behind slightly in rendering fine text. Overall we both rated it a push while we both rated the extra real estate as a huge bonus. This screen is really good and can stand up to the best out there IMO. Touchwiz is surprisingly not horrible. I have gone back and forth between ADW, LP and TW and ended up actually keeping TW but with most of the "wiz" removed. The built in exchange support is better than the N1.
Overall I'm glad I did it. The N1 is the first device I ever owned where I actively liked it. I still have it, normally I would have put it up for sale the minute the new phone successfully booted. I still load nightlies. The bottom line though is in the pro/con department the sgs2 brings more to the table.
I've been waiting for a good slider for a long time and the Priv was pretty much it. Sadly, it's not to be. I went to the store yesterday to try it out. Within seconds I realized this phone wasn't for me. The keyboard is tiny. It is usable but very small, I typed 3 sentences and my thumbs started hurting. 10 minutes after I was done typing the thumbs continued to hurt. I realized this is for the diehard blackberry users, not for us who've been using sliders with a bigger, more comfortable keyboard.
I understand with every new keyboard there's a learning curve. Hell, even between laptops there's a learning curve, but with this phone there may be way too much, and long messages will be pretty uncomfortable.
The other issue is the actual placement of the keyboard. The phone is too big and heavy. This is essentially the same size as the Blue Angel, just not as heavy. However that keyboard was, for some reason, easier to use than this one. Being that the BA was thicker, it had good grip. The Priv doesn't. I felt it was going to slide out of my hands, which added to the stress of holding it, which added to the uncomfortable typing. All in all I played with it for a good 20 minutes, and I just am not convinced. I may have to bite the bullet and get a non keyboard phone...
devis said:
I've been waiting for a good slider for a long time and the Priv was pretty much it. Sadly, it's not to be. I went to the store yesterday to try it out. Within seconds I realized this phone wasn't for me. The keyboard is tiny. It is usable but very small, I typed 3 sentences and my thumbs started hurting. 10 minutes after I was done typing the thumbs continued to hurt. I realized this is for the diehard blackberry users, not for us who've been using sliders with a bigger, more comfortable keyboard.
I understand with every new keyboard there's a learning curve. Hell, even between laptops there's a learning curve, but with this phone there may be way too much, and long messages will be pretty uncomfortable.
The other issue is the actual placement of the keyboard. The phone is too big and heavy. This is essentially the same size as the Blue Angel, just not as heavy. However that keyboard was, for some reason, easier to use than this one. Being that the BA was thicker, it had good grip. The Priv doesn't. I felt it was going to slide out of my hands, which added to the stress of holding it, which added to the uncomfortable typing. All in all I played with it for a good 20 minutes, and I just am not convinced. I may have to bite the bullet and get a non keyboard phone...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I moved away from a BlackBerry with a physical keyboard a few years ago, and then had to use one with a physical keyboard again, it usually makes ones thumbs hurt since on a screen you're tapping, on a physical keyboard you tap the button, but have to press down as well.
I'm interested in actually feeling what the Priv feels like, I don't think I'll be able to get it in my country for another month or so, but I thought the Priv might be heavy, BlackBerry phones usually feel heavier.
I have the phone and it's great so far. Yes typing on keyboard may seem tiresome and slow but once you get used to it, u will ove the fact that u have the whole screen estate to type long emails chats etc. The phone build quality is pretty good too and slim bezels considering front speakers.
varun.gid said:
I have the phone and it's great so far. Yes typing on keyboard may seem tiresome and slow but once you get used to it, u will ove the fact that u have the whole screen estate to type long emails chats etc. The phone build quality is pretty good too and slim bezels considering front speakers.
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Click to collapse
Don't forget you can set keys as short cuts and the keyboard is capacitative so can be used like a limited track pad. Unique features for productivity.
And, of course, you do not even have to use the physical keyboard.
Im not sure how the Priv could be seen as slippery. I've played with a couple now, and also own a Z30 with the same back material. The glass weave is an extremely grippy material. I can hold my Z30 at probably a 60 or 75 degree angle with only three fingers flat on the back
Damn, it's been a while I'm waiting for it, I loved my htc desire Z (2009).
But no manufacturer tried to do a physical keyboard since then...
But what the hell BB?!?
Most providers will sell it almost at the same price as an iphone 6s.
Even the note 5 is half cheaper!
BB was know for replaceable battery and FM radio, which was I small difference compared to others. Anddd they get rid of it .
What's their marketing goal?
BB have hard time : Lets sell it at way higher price than most of flash ship phones, remove some nice features and let the rooting difficult.
( I believe rooting not necessary equal to security flaws )
oVeRdOsE. said:
Damn, it's been a while I'm waiting for it, I loved my htc desire Z (2009).
But no manufacturer tried to do a physical keyboard since then...
But what the hell BB?!?
Most providers will sell it almost at the same price as an iphone 6s.
Even the note 5 is half cheaper!
BB was know for replaceable battery and FM radio, which was I small difference compared to others. Anddd they get rid of it .
What's their marketing goal?
BB have hard time : Lets sell it at way higher price than most of flash ship phones, remove some nice features and let the rooting difficult.
( I believe rooting not necessary equal to security flaws )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Motorola Photon Q (XT897) 5 row keyboard slider - last best qwerty phone FYI.
I also have 2x G2's/DZ's, and the original G1/Dream.
The Photon Q design with the side (landscape) slider 5 row (similar to the G1) is probably the best layout, just needs to be built again with update specs.
Sent from my XT897 using XDA Free mobile app
varun.gid said:
I have the phone and it's great so far. Yes typing on keyboard may seem tiresome and slow but once you get used to it, u will ove the fact that u have the whole screen estate to type long emails chats etc. The phone build quality is pretty good too and slim bezels considering front speakers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The issue I had when I tried it out at the store was that i didn't think i could get used to it. I've used sliders for nearly 10 years now, and never had an issue getting used to a physical keyboard, including the BB 7390 or the 8200 which i used myself or the other models which I supported in my job. This one just doesn't seem to do it... and i was so looking forward to having an high specs phone. Oh well...
The other issue is that ATT wants a 35 dollar restocking fee if I return it, and since this phone is nowhere else but ATT, I just don't feel I should shell out 35 dollars so that i can try it out for 2 weeks.
devis said:
The issue I had when I tried it out at the store was that i didn't think i could get used to it. I've used sliders for nearly 10 years now, and never had an issue getting used to a physical keyboard, including the BB 7390 or the 8200 which i used myself or the other models which I supported in my job. This one just doesn't seem to do it... and i was so looking forward to having an high specs phone. Oh well...
The other issue is that ATT wants a 35 dollar restocking fee if I return it, and since this phone is nowhere else but ATT, I just don't feel I should shell out 35 dollars so that i can try it out for 2 weeks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can always buy the unlocked version for a whopping $700 and return it, free of charge.
Since the keyboard looks mediocre at best, and that's the only reason I want this phone, I'll pass.
I'm getting the unlocked model and will use it on T-Mobile. I'm sure the keyboard leaves much to be desired but I'm sure this will be the " last of the Mohicans " as far as keyboard sliders go. Especially if it flops. It's been said marshmallow will come to the priv. So the only other chance could possibly be project Ara, but I haven't heard anything about that in quite some time.
I'm not surprised, to be honest at the price point there are far better Android devices out there. And I know may BB users are convinced it'll be a game changer but I'm not.
The starting price is insanez and the build quality isn't anything particularly good.
Ok phone, but not for me. On screen keyboards are so good now that they are even much better and faster than real physical BlackBerry keyboard. Maybe if they got into Android few years earlier. How can they move on if they can't let go?
I've had mine for two days.... it runs REALLY hot. Just browsing, it gets warm instantly. Battery life is great when you're not actually using the thing. I lost something like 2 percent overnight. But as soon as you pick it up and start using it, it heats up a lot. I've been running android on my s5 for years so I know I don't have anything particularly nasty running in the background. I had a little reddit browse for half an hour in bed after waking up, and the battery went from 99 down to 85 in that short time.
The keyboard is good, but it lags. If you double type a letter, it doesn't keep up. Typing google gives me 'gole' sometimes, for example. Also, you can type from the home screen to universal search. However, because the process isn't killed upon exit, i search for 'google' the first time, and then later in the day i'm after 'spotify'. The problem is, the new search is 'googlespotify' which obviously brings up nothing.
There's also movement in the screen when the slider is closed, i can tap on the left half and feel the whole screen move.
Overall I think it could be a great phone but the software is very slow, and just very inefficient. Lags all over the place, and the physical keybaord just can't be missing inputs like that. I've got a few days left to decide if I can make it work. If not I will return it. It's too much money to be 'sort of happy'
Dejan92 said:
Ok phone, but not for me. On screen keyboards are so good now that they are even much better and faster than real physical BlackBerry keyboard.
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Click to collapse
Better than a blackberry keyboard? Maybe. Better than my Samsung Relay keyboard? Not a chance. I find it rare to see a touch keyboard user able to walk and type without looking at their screen. I do it flawlessly on my 5-row relay keyboard.
Picked this lovely device up last night, and have been putting it through its paces. Thus far, here is my analysis of things, which hopefully will answer some concerns users have had.
The heat/battery issue: I believe the causes here are largely related to apps, though reception may also be a factor. As noted in another thread, the core system apps in the phone do not immediately inform you that they require updating, and you will only know to update them by accessing the app's page on the Play Store. I've seen this with other Android 5.0 devices, though, so I suspect it might not be unique to the Priv. Once I updated all the core BB apps, the phone was significantly more stable and have had less heat and drain issues on that front.
I mention reception, as there appears to be a flaw with LTE reception. Whether it is hardware or software, I'm not certain, though I have a hard time believing it would be software, but when running the phone on LTE, I am lucky to get more than 1 bar of service anywhere in the city of Toronto, which has excellent coverage. My former device, the LG F3Q, was able to get 5 bars of LTE practically everywhere in the city, and most certainly did at my office. Right now, my Priv is seeing 0~1 bars of LTE coverage at the office. Forcing the phone to 4G/HSPA+ helps things a bit, I get 3-4 bars, but that's not really a solution. On crackberry, a lot of users are reporting the same problems with reception, so it appears to be a device-wide problem, and I'm certain BB will address it however they need to.
So, between those two factors, I believe that is the source of the heat/battery drain.
In terms of build quality otherwise, the phone is quite excellent. I don't understand the upset about the keyboard, I find it very excellent, and it's certainly more finger-friendly than pre-10 BB devices, which is all that I've used.
My only complaints on the build quality are somewhat minor nitpicks, such as placement of the power/volume buttons (I'd have preferred them reversed), the placement of the 3.5" jack (why the bottom?! even the holster case doesn't account for the placement!), and the size of the camera bezel. It sticks out so far that I'm slightly paranoid to set the device down on flat surfaces.
All-in-all, for me, this device is as close to perfection as I could have ever hoped in a device. Once the antenna problem is resolved (which I can't see not being resolved, otherwise it'll be a massive failure for the company), I'll be extremely satisfied. It may not be the device for everyone, but it is the device for me.
TPMJB said:
Better than a blackberry keyboard? Maybe. Better than my Samsung Relay keyboard? Not a chance. I find it rare to see a touch keyboard user able to walk and type without looking at their screen. I do it flawlessly on my 5-row relay keyboard.
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Well yeah, i was thinking about typing when you looking at keyboard... Typing without looking at screen will never be flawless. :fingers-crossed:
Dejan92 said:
Well yeah, i was thinking about typing when you looking at keyboard... Typing without looking at screen will never be flawless. :fingers-crossed:
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I've known people who claim they can do it, but I haven't seen it. I'm frequently on the go. I walk and text all the time. Walking and texting is such a problem that the last company I worked for would escort you off the campus for attempting it.
Meanwhile I'm looking straight ahead while doing it and don't understand it at all lol
schmandroid said:
Motorola Photon Q (XT897) 5 row keyboard slider - last best qwerty phone FYI.
I also have 2x G2's/DZ's, and the original G1/Dream.
The Photon Q design with the side (landscape) slider 5 row (similar to the G1) is probably the best layout, just needs to be built again with update specs.
Sent from my XT897 using XDA Free mobile app
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The moto wasn't a flagship. Development was dead even at the beginning. Most north america carrier don't sell it or even advertise it.
So, imho, that wasn't the ''last good'' physic keyboard device.
The desire Z had pretty impressive performances when rooted. 800mzh stock, and 1.8ghz stable OC.
oVeRdOsE. said:
The moto wasn't a flagship. Development was dead even at the beginning. Most north america carrier don't sell it or even advertise it.
So, imho, that wasn't the ''last good'' physic keyboard device.
The desire Z had pretty impressive performances when rooted. 800mzh stock, and 1.8ghz stable OC.
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DZ had a 4 row keyboard, unlike the G1, which had a 5 row, so I consider that a step backwards.
The Priv also has a 4 row, so entering numerical data will require holding or double tapping a function key mid sentence.
Photon Q has 5 row.
Whether it is/was sold at a convenient store to you is irrelevant - with a sim mod, it is usable everywhere around the world. I guess you've missed out.
Compared to the G2/DZ, the PQ is a much more powerful & up to date device - if it wasn't, I wouldn't be using it.
Sent from my XT897 using XDA Free mobile app