Database Users

Calling all XDA Galaxy S owners! I need your opinion!

I am a Xperia X1 user and am looking for a good android phone, which I have narrowed down to a Desire or a SGS.
I really like the added benefits of the SGS (Better Screen, 8GB internal memory, HD Video), but cannot deny the fact that the UI on the Desire (Sense) is much better than the Samsung setup….
What are your opinions on the standard system?
The reason why I am asking here is that you all will generally have experience with Sense, which all of the custom ROMs for my xperia has been brilliant over the past 18months (kept it alive).
I notice that the SGS XDA portal, has a lot less posts than the HTC Desire forum, but I am hoping that this is due to the fact that the Desire has been out longer than the Samsung.
I am due to upgrade my phone in 10 days so need to figure out which way to go.
All opinions are welcome!

When I purchase this phone my thought was:
1. UI and software can be update and modified, hardwares are fixed.
2. Communities and 3rd party supports for this phone, which are great right now.
These are enough for me.
djglenn1337 said:
I am a Xperia X1 user and am looking for a good android phone, which I have narrowed down to a Desire or a SGS.
I really like the added benefits of the SGS (Better Screen, 8GB internal memory, HD Video), but cannot deny the fact that the UI on the Desire (Sense) is much better than the Samsung setup….
What are your opinions on the standard system?
The reason why I am asking here is that you all will generally have experience with Sense, which all of the custom ROMs for my xperia has been brilliant over the past 18months (kept it alive).
I notice that the SGS XDA portal, has a lot less posts than the HTC Desire forum, but I am hoping that this is due to the fact that the Desire has been out longer than the Samsung.
I am due to upgrade my phone in 10 days so need to figure out which way to go.
All opinions are welcome!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

I've had an iPhone 3G and a 3GS. Sold the 3GS a month ago to buy the iPhone 4. Due to every shop being out of stock on these babys, I decided to give Android a chance.
I nearly bought the Xperia X10 but in some shop they had a Galaxy S Demo Unit. I grabbed it and fell in love with it. It's so light-weight compared to other smartphones!
When I went home with it, I read some footage about it on engadget, gizmodo, etc. I didn't know it was the strongest Android phone at this time. I was very surprised and even more in love!
The screen is a blast.

I was in the same situation, though I was coming from a WinMo handset. I'm so happy with my choice, I know a few nexus one and desire owners who are now wanting a SCS - which says a lot.

My last phone was an HD2 with WinMo 6.5.5 wich have a wunderful community (Android development very fast).
But the Samsung i9000 is a nice Phone, with a wunderful screen, and 720p videoplayback and recording. And of corse, Android.
(Faster than HD2 [thanks Android], more Apps, 720p rec/play, etc...)

Thanks very much for the feedback guys... its good to get opionions of Win Mo users switching, as most reviews I have read on the internet is based on prev Iphone users (who's opinions I do not value).
Are you guys mostly using the stock SGS software, or running custom roms?
laxtor said:
My last phone was an HD2 with WinMo 6.5.5 wich have a wunderful community (Android development very fast).
But the Samsung i9000 is a nice Phone, with a wunderful screen, and 720p videoplayback and recording. And of corse, Android.
(Faster than HD2 [thanks Android], more Apps, 720p rec/play, etc...)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you prefer this phone to your HD2? The HD2 was a great phone (as was the TyTn II)!

I am using factory's rom with a little bit of addition: rooting + auto killer to manage memories.
From an Omnia i900 winmo. 6.5.5 user, I have no lags problem on this phone.

Well, how about the opinion of a user switching between iPhone 3GS, Symbian s60v3 and v5, WinMo6, 6.1, and 6.5 and Android 1.5, 1.6, and 2.1 phones, in order to find my perfect suite?!? Actually my last/previous phone was Vivaz PRO
It is really the best phone that i laid my hands on up to now.
Hardware-wise, unbelievable super AMOLED multi-touch screen, fantastic HD video camera, super-fast CPU, a lot of RAM, 8GB internal memory and VERY VERY light! (OK, I miss the LED flash, but I can live with that).
Software-wise, I believe, after a lot of experience with multiple OSs, that Android is the future (at least for the next couple of years). Very smooth OS, open to do everything you wish (root, custom firmware, install pirate soft, etc) easily, and VERY FAST GROWING/UPDATING (compared with WinMo and symbian, that feel a bit ancient by now).
Go for it bro! You wont regret!

Just sold mine galaxy s on ebay.. and for a very good price  I am so happy now
If you are like me and use gps navigation a lot, simply run away from this phone.
I am now back to my HD2 (so happy I did not sell it). No navigation software can compare with tom tom.
All in all galaxy s has:
Superb screen:
HD video recording
And that is about it….
The gps is rubbish, don’t listen to the people telling you that they fixed it…
All “fixes” are just to provide fast network location fix (which in most cases is inaccurate)
With my HD2 it does not matter how cloudy it is, and how tall are the buildings around me,
I have GPS fix in 3-5sec and I MEAN GPS FIX, not network location fix.
SO I KNOW EXACTLY WHERE I AM.
2 days ago I was in central London and tried to find the closest tesco with google maps…
After 5min I just gave up… galaxy s simply could not do it
With HD2 things like that takes 10 to 20 sec (including typing tesco in the search bar)
I am also very disappointed with the android OS,
This thing does not even support external gps… we had that in winmo 10 years ago…
It has all sorts of problems, for example application starting on the background (consuming data) and there is simply no way for the user to control that.
One more thing the internal memory card is very very very slow and this slows down the devise a lot. Sure people will tell you about the sd card fix but REALLYYYY… should I start fixing the Samsung rubbish? No thanks, will stay away from Samsung and android for another 2 years (at least)

same here i always purchase my smartphones by the hardware spec, and the amount of Forums/groups available for it.
unfortunately the HTC Athena was flawed, the device itself is amazingly great, howerver support for it was low.
SGS i9000 on the other hand has a very lively group just like HTC Desire
kcharng said:
When I purchase this phone my thought was:
1. UI and software can be update and modified, hardwares are fixed.
2. Communities and 3rd party supports for this phone, which are great right now.
These are enough for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

mitko76 Good luck doing anything with GPS in central London...Buildings have this horrible side effect on ALL GPS systems.
Google maps is easily the best Search for phone, but not the greatest GPS, since is need a Connection to work if you deviate from the rout too much.
I've had this phone for w eek now and it is a great phone, there are a few niggles in the software, but believe me way less than stock windows mobile 6.5.
The screen isn;t as crisp as people would have you believe, White text on a dark background gives you a red effect around text and text Isn;t smooth, no where near the Iphone 4 IMO, however the contrast and colours are superb.
Give it a go if your on contract you have 7 days to return it.
Logicalstep

As a x1 user who has just upgraded to a Galaxy S a week past i can say that it is definetly worth it.
I did own a Desire for a day when i got it on contract but i didn't get coverage for the network in my area.
I find the Galaxy S to be a nicer looking phone, screen looks a lot brighter and better. Sound quality from the speaker is better and the UI also seems much faster.

It's a great phone, no questions asked, but you have to realize that it needs some work (like the fixes and all) and customization.
I'm using the imfamous JF3 stock rom and i do notice some lags and battery drain (but I use it very heavily, frequent syncs and updates, tons of widgets and all that) so i'm gonna switch over to the better ones.
I come from the Omnia II wich was a great phone but very poorly supported by samsung and the community. This isn't the case at all for the SGS. I used to have sense on my device, big fan of sense, but i like the SGS homescreen as well with the different pannels, really like it. Touchwizz is sort of a love/hate relationship
I'm loving android so far, even though i don't understand everything, i'm sure i could enhance my phone a lot.
hope this helps

Logicalstep said:
mitko76 Good luck doing anything with GPS in central London...Buildings have this horrible side effect on ALL GPS systems.
Google maps is easily the best Search for phone, but not the greatest GPS, since is need a Connection to work if you deviate from the rout too much.
I've had this phone for w eek now and it is a great phone, there are a few niggles in the software, but believe me way less than stock windows mobile 6.5.
The screen isn;t as crisp as people would have you believe, White text on a dark background gives you a red effect around text and text Isn;t smooth, no where near the Iphone 4 IMO, however the contrast and colours are superb.
Give it a go if your on contract you have 7 days to return it.
Logicalstep
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Logicalstep, that is what I am trying to explain .. I DO NOT NEED “Good Luck” when using my hd2’s gps in central London, it simply work. I work in central London so trust me, I know what I am talking about.
If you are coming from a phone with poor gps I can understand your point, but hd2 simply has a proper gps unit in it and it is working no matter where I am. With HD2 I can even get gps lock in the train (10 sec), tried this with galaxy s and guess what... it FAILED (after 10min).
You can keep convincing yourself that the buildings are high, the sky is cloudy or God knows what ..
But the simple truth is the gps is rubbish.
Keep waiting for the NEXT firmware to fix the issues, and when it failed keep waiting for the next one and so on....

Mitko please do us a favour and leave the forum, we know that you sold your Galaxy S, and frankly its quite boring to see you posting on every thread and preaching slander. The GPS does take a short while to position (about 30-40 secs) but after that it works perfectly for me. I have used it on several occasions when lost in central London.

Since last December I've owned the following handsets: N900, HD2, Desire, X10, Galaxy S.
Of all of these the Galaxy S is my favorite, followed very closely by the HD2.

NZtechfreak said:
Since last December I've owned the following handsets: N900, HD2, Desire, X10, Galaxy S.
Of all of these the Galaxy S is my favorite, followed very closely by the HD2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Coming from you that is high praise indeed.
Loving my SGS, no way am I going back to Symbian.

On my side I am coming from winmo6.5 and then iphone3GS
if i had an advice to give you in order to choose between the desire and the samsung it would be to know that :
* you won't have HTC sense on samsung ... I mean really nothing comparable.
* there is almost no button on the samsung .No trackball ( painfull for selection) no LED ... and it's quite annoying some time
Yes when I compare both with my colleague , mine has a better screen ( bigger , brighter) but it will worth it if you watch a lot of video or look at a lot of picture. If it's just to have more beautifull icon ... you will forget it looks better after few weeks
I am still a little bit uncertain about the GPS ... I need to do more tests and to check the settings I could enhance but it can't be compared to my TomTom ( on both winmo and iphone)
Hopefully there will be soon a real fix for the slowness of the SD card ... hopefully ...

Thanks guys, this is brilliant information!
I used the phone briefly in a phone shop yesterday, and I have to say that it looks very impressive! Especially compared to my x1 running Windows 6.5.3. The only first negative impression that I had was how cheap and flimsy the back cover was...but I hey, I know no phone will be perfect.
When my contract is up next week, and I am going to go for the SGS and as Logicalstep has commented I have 7 days to return it if unhappy.
I really appreciate the feedback, as it has made me allot more comfortable with going for the SGS.

djglenn1337 said:
Thanks guys, this is brilliant information!
I used the phone briefly in a phone shop yesterday, and I have to say that it looks very impressive! Especially compared to my x1 running Windows 6.5.3. The only first negative impression that I had was how cheap and flimsy the back cover was...but I hey, I know no phone will be perfect.
When my contract is up next week, and I am going to go for the SGS and as Logicalstep has commented I have 7 days to return it if unhappy.
I really appreciate the feedback, as it has made me allot more comfortable with going for the SGS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure you will enjoy it
And honestly i agree about the cheap looking back but honestly that's why it is so light and you forget about this quickly.
Especially if you add a case ( you have some very thin one)

HD2 vs Galaxy S - Which would you take?

Short version here is that I already have a HD2 and currently playing with the Android builds that are available.
Now I've just been given a Samsung Galaxy S with an upgrade (get it in 2 days) and I must admit as much as I'd like to keep it, there's a part of me that thinks that the HD2 is the better phone, especially as it looks like we are going to have a stable droid build in the near future (devs really are top folk).
So, take the phone built for droid or stick with what I have and hope droid gets perfected on it in the near future?
Opinions welcome

todd69 said:
Short version here is that I already have a HD2 and currently playing with the Android builds that are available.
Now I've just been given a Samsung Galaxy S with an upgrade (get it in 2 days) and I must admit as much as I'd like to keep it, there's a part of me that thinks that the HD2 is the better phone, especially as it looks like we are going to have a stable droid build in the near future (devs really are top folk).
So, take the phone built for droid or stick with what I have and hope droid gets perfected on it in the near future?
Opinions welcome
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's hard to say. It really depends what OS you favor. If you like WM (as a backup) and Android (albeit buggy and laggy) on the same phone, take the HD2. If you want Android to be the primary OS, take the Galaxy S.
Keep in mind the Android port won't be perfect (at least for a while). For example, the Rhodium (Touch Pro2) port has been going on longer than the HD2 port, and it still has many bugs and features that do not work.
If you really want both devices, why not keep both and alternate phones each week?
I'm personally not ready to switch to Android as a full-time OS on a phone. WM has a lot of tweakability inside and Android still has its time to mature.

See where you are coming from and if I can get away with it may just sneak the samsung away
I've always like WM over the years and love the tweaking abilities with it, I think I'm just a bit tired of it on the HD2 as IMO you still need a stylus when you get past the front end, well I do with my big chubby fingers LOL
Android is nice, had a Nexus One when they first came out but found the camera and a few other things lacking so sold it pretty quick.
To many toys and not enough time I suppose LOL

Well, atm it's very hard to say. As I own a HD2 and like it still very much, I'm not planning to buy a new toy within the next, let's say 3 months. After that I will definitely buy an Android-phone because WP7 sucks already D) and the HD2 will stay THE WM6.5.x-phone - maybe forever.
If I had to buy an Android-phone tomorrow, I'd buy a Galaxy S (Pro) - but I think I would sell it again for the next Android-flagship by HTC, what ever it will be.

if you like to have a faster gpu than go for the galaxy S because it has the fastest gpu units of all smartphones today

Personally I am biased towards android. If it werent for the 4.3 inch display of the hd2 I would have dumped it long ago. Windows mobile is so mature that At the end of this year windows phone 7 is coming out. People have all but stopped developing stuff for it. It still has a great community in xda but frankly windows mobile interface sucks. Maybe I'm a dunce but I could never find proper twitter widgets.
Android isnt perfect on the hd2 and may never be. But lets see I think bluetooth and the camcorder mode doesnt work. Also call quality may be lacking. All things I Can deal with.
Personally Ive seen the samsung captivate which I believe is the At&t variant and I love it. Save yourself and stick which the phone thats native android.

I played with AT&T's version at the store. I don't like Samsung's UI much, but the screen rocks. I didn't notice the screen size difference much.
Deal breaker for me is actually the charging port. It's microUSB with a slick slide cover, BUT THEY PUT IT ON THE TOP OF THE PHONE!!! What engineer thought that was a good idea?
If the Android port weren't going so well and if weren't for the dumb port placement, I'd be on the Galaxy S series now.

hd2 vs galaxy s
hi all, just to give my input on the subject...
First of all HD2 is the only device that is capable of running both WM and Android.
I got the galaxy for my wife, and am not impressed, here is why:
1. build quality sucks, it feels flimzy, all plastic with no substance.
2. doesn't sink with Samsung software
3. Samsung support sucks.
4. android is not the latest build (apparently it will get upgraded)
5. with original ROM it is slow and chunky.
6. GPS has issues.
7. UI looks like certain fruty devices available in black or white...
I have HD2 with many twins, Energy ROM, and also running Android as a second boot.
Android runs smooth with minor issues: no GPS, BT,and not very loud. Camcorder works fine with third party app. so does flashlight. For those worring about Windows needing a stylus, well how often do you see the original UI? plus what version r u running? HD2 is in my opinion the best of both worlds and the best phone to by. it is definitely for people with some comp knoledge rather than the push the button mentality.

I'm sticking with winmo until WP7 matures a little.
Yes WinMo is approaching the end of its cycle, but since it is, most anything you could think you want is available.
Just installed a PSX emulator and am playing Final Fantasy 7 right now.
I can watch just about any type of video.
More music options than I can count.
I guess for me, the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" mentality applies.

well after 24hrs with the Galaxy, the HD2 is going
Tough choice as I love playing with these new droid builds coming out, they really are great but after spending the day with a full blown droid phone, god it's fast, seems a lot faster than the Nexus One I had, weird!
No issues with satnav for me and UI suits me fine.
I'll be sad to finally say goodbye to WM, it's been a gadget lovers delight over the years
Thanks for the input all

If its an upgrade why cant you have both?
Ive never had to give back my old phone when I got an upgrade.......
I was looking forward to having a shiny new android beast to sit next to my HD2 when the time comes.......you've got me worried now.
If T Mobile think they're gonna take my HD2 away they've got another thing coming.......

LOL, no don't have to give the phone back but would rather sell it than have it sitting in the spare drawer.

Eh, with the HD2 in a month or two I think its Android build will have the same performance as the Nexus One and similar phones. Plus, it will be the only 4.3 inch screen phone on T-mobile with Android.
Yeah, the Galaxy still has a better GPU, but I have never played a single 3D game on my HD2 really. Probably because it has no amazing 3D games but...

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=7500539#post7500539

Definitely Galaxy S! I Have HD2 for 6 months now and I've already flashed the device like 212109863489458 times (lol) and it' s getting annoying i have to flash my device every 2 weeks because of bugs. I don' t think that' s the case with android + The hummingbird processor beats snapdragon. I've seen benchmarks which shows an unreleased new HTC phone (everybody speculating about dual core snapdragon) saying that it' s a super fast new HTC. And guess what... The Galaxy S even beats that one in benchmarks... Don' t get me wrong I love my [email protected], best phone I' ve ever had to this date, but the combination Hummingbird and android (soon 2.2) is a better choice I think.. Hope this helps.

galaxy s doesnt even have a flash ! lol! gay phone !

Hello there!!. i am doubt on this question too. I have a hd2 from 8 months ago, and ... really, hd2 ROCKS!. but have some inconvenients like battery life, or wm6.5 and that this will not be upgradable to wm7. Given, android runs really fine but the future of this os on my hd2 makes me doubt a little.
So, what about the galaxy S battery life, gps, photo positioning, screens ...?, it will be possible to flash futures ROMS of android like Android 3.0, i´m ready to say good to WM. But for the moment, i know that on my hd2 it will be possible to flash, maybe, all futures androids roms, whatever they are.

Well I decided to sell the Galaxy S, really nice phone but I much prefer being able to pick and choose the android builds and WM roms to play with, if you like that kind of thing, stay with the HD2.
Now that I have setcpu set up on my android build the battery life is very good.
GPS on the galaxy can be a bit iffy, read the forums and you'll see lots of issues, the camera isn't as good as the HD2 and the lack of flash is a definite issue IMO.
The screen is stunning on the galaxy but the HD2 screen size makes up for this.

coolbeer1990 said:
galaxy s doesnt even have a flash ! lol! gay phone !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't be so quick to judge a book by its cover.
Camera flash on the HD2 (and other devices) only work up to a certain distance -- then, the flash becomes useless as it is unable to provide enough light to illuminate the surroundings. The HD2's "night mode" is, imo, horrible; my older, cheaper camera phones had better "night mode" pictures. As seen in the photos in the link, the Galaxy S's "night mode" allows it to capture images at long distances, without flash, and the image is decent.
Its camera -- or more accurately, its camcorder-- actually has a slight advantage over the HD2's. Android OS allows the phone to capture HD videos, whereas WM has limitations that prevent the HD2 from recording in HD. I've seen some videos shot by the Galaxy S, and I have to say I'm very impressed.

That´s ok. But now, the QUESTION. Will be the Galaxy S upgradable to android 3.0?? This could be a GOOD FAVOUR POINT for this device, and if it couldnt be, sucks. Anyone know something about this?? my HD2 is right now open to all this supposed SO roms.
What the hell ... hahaha

Anyone come from a "bigger/faster" phone to the aria?

Currently rocking a captivate, love the phone but thinking about getting a galaxy tab and downsizing my phone to aria with CM and overclocked to 850. I can make about 200$ towards the tab purchase selling my cappy and picking up a aria.
Any input? anyone make the move from a bigger screen?

The Aria's size and build is really great, with a lot of nice hardware features.
I'm not sure about overclocking though, it's reasonably fast without it, and would likely result in about 26 minute battery life.

I actually just posted a big long comparison on another forum for a debate between the two. I'll copy & paste the whole thing for ya, if you care to read it.
----------------------------------
So I'll lay my full opinion on the table, as its a pretty recent experience for me. It's a long story, so if you're patient enough to read it, here it goes:
I pre-ordered an iPhone 4, and when I got it, it was defective. Not one of the reception issues or other things people were complaining about at the time... it was just defective. Being that stores hadn't even filled all of their pre-orders, there wasn't a chance in hell I was getting a replacement any time soon. I decided, since that had been my 3rd iPhone (had an original 2g, and a 3G-S before it) that I'd head to the Android side and try it out.
I don't remember how I found out about the Captivate, but I think a friend mentioned it and we started looking into it. It seemed like a great phone, but it wasn't being released until about 2 weeks down the line at this point in time. I spoke to some folks at Best Buy where I had bought the iPhone 4 and expressed my interest in the Captivate. I was able to get the Aria for the time being, and return it with no return fee and exchange it for the Captivate when it was released.
My first reactions with the Aria were mixed. I was blown away by Android from the start, but knowing (spec's wise) that the Captivate was a better phone I never took the time to fully appreciate it. I was also naive to many things about it since I was new to Android and hadn't fully wrapped my head around it yet. So, then I got my Captivate and dove head first into Android. At first I loved it. It's a powerful phone and does a lot of things real well. It has its downsides, though. My biggest gripe at first was the GPS. I use a GPS pretty frequently for various things, and I hadn't bought a new standalone GPS unit because I had this phone. So it not working mattered to me. It rarely connected at all until the over the air update. Then I randomly had problems with it turning itself off. My first one was fine for months, then one day I pulled it out of my pocket to check the time and it was off. Then it happened again the next day... and then twice the next. I got a warranty replacement. That one did the same thing after a month. Got that one replaced... lasted about 2 weeks, same problem. I charge the phone once a night when I get home from work until it's full, and unplug it afterwards. The battery usually lasts me to at least 40% even with heavy use on the average day... so can't see it being that I messed up all 3 batteries some how. Also, when I'd turn it back on the battery was never dead. I've never had a similar problem with any of the smartphones I've had in the past.
So, I went back to AT&T and told them I want an Aria instead. I had done some research on the Andriod phones available on AT&T currently and I thought it would be my next best option. I went on different forums, read reviews, went into stores and played with the different options, etc. I knew I would be making some concessions and giving up some things, but at this point I just wanted a reliable smartphone.
So I've had the Aria for a few days now (less than a week), but I already realize so many things that I hadn't noticed in comparison to the Captivate at first because I was new to Android and didn't know better. Here's my list:
1. I love Sense. I was ready to load up ADW right away because I was use to using it, because TouchWiz sucked. I can't see myself replacing Sense anytime soon.
2. The GPS works perfectly. Connects just about instantly, and is way more accurate than any of my Captivate's were.
3. I actually appreciate the small size more now after having a big 4" screen for a while. While it was weird to type on the smaller screen at first, SwiftKey made that all better. Now I don't want a big screen phone anymore.
4. Based off of the dBm and asu numbers, I actually get a little better reception on my Aria at the places I frequent most.
5. A lot of my favorite apps run generally less buggy on the Aria then on any of my Captivates. Handcent is one of them, for example.
6. Now, I don't know or care why, but stock vs. stock my Aria seems smoother, snappier, and faster navigating around general apps and such. No, games don't play better on it for obvious reasons. Everything else that I use, though... not laggy at all.
The bad:
1. Storage... not a lot of room for apps (though, I haven't run out yet). I stuck my 16gig stick in it for pictures and such, but without Froyo on it yet, the low internal storage thing kinda sucks. Yes I know I can put a froyo rom on it and store apps to SD. I may, but right now I don't have any need to.
2. The camera doesn't compare. The only thing it matches up to is megapixels, which mean nothing really. The Captivate camera, even without a flash, is amazing. The Aria camera still does the trick for simple stuff, though.
3. The optical wheel can be finicky, but maybe I'm just not use to it yet.
4. I wish the screen was a little bigger for certain websites and things... but its really not as bad as I'd thought it would be.
In all honestly... those 4 things are the worst I can say about it so far. It's a great phone, and its changed what I thought I "needed" in a smartphone.

sportedwood said:
Currently rocking a captivate, love the phone but thinking about getting a galaxy tab and downsizing my phone to aria with CM and overclocked to 850. I can make about 200$ towards the tab purchase selling my cappy and picking up a aria.
Any input? anyone make the move from a bigger screen?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a Captivate and my wife has the Aria.
Captivate rocking Cognition FroYo
Aria rocking Cyanogen FroYo
The Aria is a great little phone and I'm always tinkering with it BUT the difference in screen size and resolution is so many worlds apart that I don't think I could ever downgrade on the screen. It's like the difference between high and standard def tv. Now that I have a nice HD TV I cannot stand to watch standard definition anymore. The Super Amoled screen cannot be beat.
Besides the screen size, from a Captivate point of view, the keyboard can be a little cramped but i can still use but just not as easy.
It sounds like you will be using the Aria for normal phone stuff and your Galaxy Tab will become your surfing and gaming machine. That would be a pretty cool setup if you didn't mind carrying 2 devices. The ultimate setup if you could afford it would be the Captivate and the Galaxy Tab!
I know the Captivate has gotten a bad rap, but I have not had any issues with mine. GPS is weak but it does work but then again I have GPS in my vehicles so I don't really use it.

Thanks for the replies guys, I just want a smaller phone.. I think im going to pick up a Aria on craigslist and give it a go for a few days, can always sell it again.
Thanks again!

[Q] Android on HD2 - how fast and stable is it compared to "official" Android phones?

[Q] Android on HD2 - how fast and stable is it compared to "official" Android phones?
I had great experiences with "Official" Android phones - the Nexus One, Cliq, Samsung Vibrant, and now the MyTouch 4G. Something that they all seem to lack though - that big, beautiful screen on the HD2!
So I have to ask - in it's current form, how does the speed and stability of Android on the HD2 stack up against "Official" Android phones with similar hardware specs?
Just curious - not trying to start a flame war or anything, just looking to get educated a little!
<DING DING SCHOOLS IN!>

cant compare it as i do not have a strictly android phone but android on my hd2 is pretty fast and stable. if i were to guess, its just as fast and stable. only con that i see is fast battery drain but from what i saw from my friend incredible, it didnt have good battery life with everything turned on (data and locatin services turned on)
if i didnt own an hd2 already, i wouldnt hessitate to buy an android phone if it had all the features i wanted on it.

I'd say the HD2 in its current form (With most ROMs) is as stable and fast(er in some cases) than stock android phones... Although if you want a real android phone with the 4.3 inch screen, get the desire HD... The HD2 is a tinkerer's phone, so if you don't like messing around with your phone alot, I wouldn't bother.

I have a Vibrant. IMHO the HD2 is as roughly as good as the Vibrant (with the lagfixes) and BETTER in the battery life area under heavy use - the latter is due to the Vibrant's AMOLED screen, which is a power pig.
The Vibrant is a bit smoother, but I like the HD2 better - running Android. The Vibrant is currently in a drawer.
One problem that vexes - the HD2 will not send or receive an MMS when connected via Wifi. None of the builds thus far have fixed this. It's the only serious problem I have with Android on the HD2 at the present time.

I have demoed following Android phones and found NONE to be even comparable to how smooth Android operated on HD2 phone. Among the phones are Nexus One, G1, G2, MyTouch series (all phones), Desire, Hero, and few more I don't know the name but were from Sprint and Verizon Carrier in USA.
I am really not kidding - any phone I tried it was not smooth whatsoever. Scores on Quadrant really do not show everything but if it's to judge by the scores even, Galaxy S Series is the only phone to score higher but still does not have smoothness I have with my HD2.
Battery wise, I got it to deliver 3-6mA and that is plenty for me and my usage (over 24hrs)... Can battery be better? Well, 1230mAh capacity I think delivers the best posible. If it was 1500mAh like in Galxy phones it would be better as well

I don't know what you guys are smoking. I have played with a vibrant and an incredible. When I leap with an incredible, it's smooth. When I leap with my HD2, it takes 3 seconds for it to leap and its not even remotely smooth. Android on the HD2 is far from smooth. Secondly, you claim that the vibrant is lacking a big beautiful screen? HD2 is only .3 inches longer diagonally, and you can barely use the HD2 when it is sunny outside. The screen on the vibrant is what every android phone deserves to have.
Hopefully NAND can fix the lag issues, which will probably be released when America has another non white president.

jas0nw0ng said:
I don't know what you guys are smoking. I have played with a vibrant and an incredible. When I leap with an incredible, it's smooth. When I leap with my HD2, it takes 3 seconds for it to leap and its not even remotely smooth. Android on the HD2 is far from smooth. Secondly, you claim that the vibrant is lacking a big beautiful screen? HD2 is only .3 inches longer diagonally, and you can barely use the HD2 when it is sunny outside. The screen on the vibrant is what every android phone deserves to have.
Hopefully NAND can fix the lag issues, which will probably be released when America has another non white president.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I forgot to add that it really depends what build you have, what WinMo ROM and Radio you paired up with that build and what apps you use. Any phone OS can be choppy - important is to know what slows it down and eliminate those issues to get smoothness

eenbox said:
I forgot to add that it really depends what build you have, what WinMo ROM and Radio you paired up with that build and what apps you use. Any phone OS can be choppy - important is to know what slows it down and eliminate those issues to get smoothness
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Energy ROM, VBN, Chuckydroid, OZDROID, 2.12 or 2.15, shubcraft, Mdj, froyostone, (I'm going to try biffmod next week because I can't stand HTC Sense) all the same results. Though I do have over 50 applications installed on my android build.

eenbox said:
I forgot to add that it really depends what build you have, what WinMo ROM and Radio you paired up with that build and what apps you use. Any phone OS can be choppy - important is to know what slows it down and eliminate those issues to get smoothness
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also, I'm guessing that the smoothness you fail not to see in a Galaxy S phone that you do see in a HD2 is probably related to android 2.1 and touchwiz which cyanogenmod will fix soon enough.
I bet you that g2 is probably the smoothest phone running when it has cyanogenmod6.1 RC3 running.

Never really got on with my galaxy s the bright colourful screen was nice, but it was still pretty useless in full sunlight, even worse it was over bright in bed at night reading ebooks, you could never lower the brightness enough, the gps was sometimes ok but most of the time inaccurate, cheap plastic build, no camera flash...and I spent a lot of time trying to get rid of the annoying lags.
Now on the other hand my hd2 runs both windows and android very well if set up correctly, the screen is noticeably bigger even though on paper its only 0.4 inch larger, you have an amazing array of choice from wm roms to every kind of android build including sense instead of the awful touchwiz, the camera flash is perfect for photos as well as doubling up as a torch, I know have my hd2 predominantly running android its fast smooth and runs practically every app and game available without a glitch, the gps is far superior to the galaxy s setup and the build quality is solid and well manufactured.
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA App

THUDUK said:
Never really got on with my galaxy s the bright colourful screen was nice, but it was still pretty useless in full sunlight, even worse it was over bright in bed at night reading ebooks, you could never lower the brightness enough, the gps was sometimes ok but most of the time inaccurate, cheap plastic build, no camera flash...and I spent a lot of time trying to get rid of the annoying lags.
Now on the other hand my hd2 runs both windows and android very well if set up correctly, the screen is noticeably bigger even though on paper its only 0.4 inch larger, you have an amazing array of choice from wm roms to every kind of android build including sense instead of the awful touchwiz, the camera flash is perfect for photos as well as doubling up as a torch, I know have my hd2 predominantly running android its fast smooth and runs practically every app and game available without a glitch, the gps is far superior to the galaxy s setup and the build quality is solid and well manufactured.
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
Couldn't agree more. The thing I like most about the HD2 is the pure "tinkerability". For me the fun is in trying all the different ROMS, and being able to dual boot the phone.
With Magldr coming soon (we hope) it will be even better

It feels faster than my father's Galaxy S. And I clock my HD2 at 768 MHz max (as did Windows Mobile) because at higher clock rates the screen gets too hot.

for me, i am "supporting" 5 HTC HD2 owners plus my wife and mine = 7 HD2's. When i used to run WinMO i'd get "hey can you help me with....?" phone calls all the time. Now i have converted everyone to Android on the HD2 running chuckyDROID rom, 2.15.50.14 radio adn bluetopia 1.03 with a hastarin 8.2 kernel. I have not gotten "service" calls for 3 weeks now. LOL, i do this for fun for my friends and family. Other friends that dont like tmobile have went with the Evo, vibrant and Droid X have always referenced the HD2 as the "standard". I will be using my HD2 for a while until something better comes out. Doenst look like it will be anytime soon, at least for another 6 months or longer. With bluetooth, gps, and 2 emails accounts checking every 15 minutes i get 9 hrs or more out of my phone, also i make about 100 minutes of calls a day minimum.

sounds like i should finally set up a propper android hd2 build xD but im soooooo lazy xD

Fix PPP data drops, MMS issues people have been experiencing, battery drain and give me Nand and ill be using Android on my phone as long as possible. I'm reluctant to give the phone up because of the screen size but I need the stability in the above mentioned areas.
As it is, the newest build I'm using has excellent data connection using 3g with maybe 1 or 2 drops so so far so I'm guessing that will be a thing of the past soon.
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA App

well.. right now im using a nexus one, to try out how it runs
in a way.. i like it more. the screen size is just hurting my eyes.. im wondering if, when i set up my hd2 correctly, can run that fast too... i should just finally stop being lazy i love my hd2 too much to exchange it with a nexy xD

I have a few Co workers with official android phones. Droid2, DroidX, and an Evo.
My HD2 runs smoother and faster than theirs.
My battery drains is just a little more than when I was using winmo. Bit enough to get me they the 10 hour work day with the usage.
I will not get another phone until T-Mobile gets another phone with a screen as big as the HD2.
I have been fully using android for about 2 months now and about 3 weeks with the Nexus build.
I do not like sense.
I have not had any data drops at all. GpS locks within 30 seconds.
No screen freezes.
Everything is working perfect enough for what I do on daily use.
I installed hadcent for text and mom's ans I can send and receive full size pics.
Just my findings.
Sent from HD2 on Androids.

I've got a lot of friends with various android phones... the HD2 can easily run android smoother and quicker than a native android phone that is still running a stock rom... as long as you take the time setting up your HD2 correctly and work out any bugs you come across. But almost any android phone (with similar specs to the HD2) I've seen that the owner took the time to root, put custom rom on, and tweak to improve performance can out-perform the HD2 without question. Everyone compares the HD2 to stock android phones and says how the HD2 runs android better, but it's not really a fair comparison because the HD2 isn't stock... it's tweaked and has custom roms that are rooted, so if comparing to other android phones, they should also be tweaked and rooted with custom roms to be fair and accurate with the comparison. My friend with an original desire has android running amazingly fast, smooth and stable... much more than I've ever seen anyones HD2.
I always tell everyone if you plan on only running android, you will be better off with a native android phone. There are custom roms for native android phones, too, so you can play with different build like you can with the HD2. Personally, I still like using winmo a lot, especially with the new cht2.0, so I wouldn't trade my HD2 for any other phone right now. And we will have a taste of WP7 soon. So if you also want to use winmo and be able to play with wp7, then the HD2 is great. If you're just planning on using android, go for the Desire HD or another native android phone, because with tweaks found on these forums, I'm pretty sure that you will always be able to run android more stable and smooth on a native android phone.

couple of my friends have the desire HD,ive played with both and tbh, hd2 seems to run android better, but I will still get a desire when i upgrade, galexy doesnt even come close....no flash....funny screen, no thanks!

Ok, so, I think we've established that the speeds are close to that of a native Android phone, if not better in some cases... Great!
Now - lets talk battery life.
On my Nexus One I was getting roughly 16-18 hours.
On my HTC G2 I am currently getting roughly the same.
On a Samsung Vibrant I was getting probably almost consistently 18 hours. (Go figure? I never understood why - everyone else is getting worse than the N1 and G2)
How does your battery life compare to that of native Android phones you have used (using them roughly the same amount)?

Just got my HD2. Little late to the party, but... woooow...

Just posting this in case anybody is tossing up purchasing a 1 year + old phone - I certainly was, and don't regret the decision at all.
Just received my HD2 I bought last week. New definition of frustration - having your SD card arrive a few days after your handset so you can't install Android yet. Anyway, just on hardware alone... woooow...
Even in WinMo 6.5, the screen appears to be relatively clean and crisp. The handset itself feels incredibly good to hold, is amazingly thin (everybody I've shown it to remarks about that) and somehow manages to feel slight despite packing a screen large enough to have your breakfast on.
I've handled every phone HTC has put out for the past two years, and this by far feels the most solid and premium. One of my biggest bugbears about the Android stable is I haven't found build quality to match Apple's iphone efforts, but the HD2 does - I was especially impressed with the rear battery hinge mechanism and just the general feel in your hand. The thing is gorgeous.
Why did HTC abandon this minimalistic design direction? The Desire HD looks like it has several growths coming off of it, the Desire looks like some kind of quasi-purple alien sex toy, and the Legend - which I currently own - is far too blingy for my tastes. This is understated, space-defying and restrained. Even the HTC logo on the back is a reasonable, unflashy size, as if they recognise that not everybody likes feeling like a giant billboard.
As I say, I can't flash Android for a few more days yet, but based on hardware alone this thing is a real winner. Very impressed. To me, it feels better made than any handset on the market that I've played with: more solid than an iPhone 4, more expensive than a Galaxy S, more restrained than a Desire HD and thin enough to make Tom Brady's wife want to go and have a vomit.
If you're tossing up whether to buy an HD2, do it. I'll let you know how I get along with flashing Rafdroid HD (I'm a total noob, so it'll be interesting to see if I manage it).
Cheers,
Zuka

zukа said:
Just posting this in case anybody is tossing up purchasing a 1 year + old phone - I certainly was, and don't regret the decision at all.
Just received my HD2 I bought last week. New definition of frustration - having your SD card arrive a few days after your handset so you can't install Android yet. Anyway, just on hardware alone... woooow...
Even in WinMo 6.5, the screen appears to be relatively clean and crisp. The handset itself feels incredibly good to hold, is amazingly thin (everybody I've shown it to remarks about that) and somehow manages to feel slight despite packing a screen large enough to have your breakfast on.
I've handled every phone HTC has put out for the past two years, and this by far feels the most solid and premium. One of my biggest bugbears about the Android stable is I haven't found build quality to match Apple's iphone efforts, but the HD2 does - I was especially impressed with the rear battery hinge mechanism and just the general feel in your hand. The thing is gorgeous.
Why did HTC abandon this minimalistic design direction? The Desire HD looks like it has several growths coming off of it, the Desire looks like some kind of quasi-purple alien sex toy, and the Legend - which I currently own - is far too blingy for my tastes. This is understated, space-defying and restrained. Even the HTC logo on the back is a reasonable, unflashy size, as if they recognise that not everybody likes feeling like a giant billboard.
As I say, I can't flash Android for a few more days yet, but based on hardware alone this thing is a real winner. Very impressed. To me, it feels better made than any handset on the market that I've played with: more solid than an iPhone 4, more expensive than a Galaxy S, more restrained than a Desire HD and thin enough to make Tom Brady's wife want to go and have a vomit.
If you're tossing up whether to buy an HD2, do it. I'll let you know how I get along with flashing Rafdroid HD (I'm a total noob, so it'll be interesting to see if I manage it).
Cheers,
Zuka
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Congrats on your new phone/pda.
as for me ive had it with HTC anymore. yes the hardware is awesome but HD2 software freezes just annoys me. I hope you will not encounter such problems but i doubt it.
Regards.

i too purchased an hd2 last week...i got the touch pro2 when i came out and deliberately put off purchasing the hd2 untill i got bored with the tp2...also i wanted a winmo device as opposed to the wp7
as far as the freezing issues goes...once i updated the software at http://www.t-mobile.com/wmupgrade/ that reduced the freezes on the device nearly 95%...the only "mini freeze" i get is when listening to music when a text message comes through...prior to the update it froze approx 5 sec and about half a sec post update...
i went to tmo yesterday and all their hd2 accessories were 30% off and and they took off and additional 35% i got a data cable, screen protectors and the clear case w/ kickstand for 8 bucks n change...

da9th_one said:
i went to tmo yesterday and all their hd2 accessories were 30% off and and they took off and additional 35% i got a data cable, screen protectors and the clear case w/ kickstand for 8 bucks n change...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First off I am glad you got yourself an HD2, I hope you find it as great a device as I do. The HD2 is one sweet HTC device that will be talked about in the history books and looked at as a one of a kind device forever more. I also feel like it might be something of a pioneering device as it has shown what can be acomplished if one puts their mind to something.
Secound you wreak sooooooooo lucky. I bought my body glove cover in like Oct. for $20.00 USDA, and the last screen protectors I bought like four mounths ago I payed $15.00 USDA. Your lucky #@$&?#@$&?. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha ..........just playin man

zukа said:
Just posting this in case anybody is tossing up purchasing a 1 year + old phone - I certainly was, and don't regret the decision at all.
Just received my HD2 I bought last week. New definition of frustration - having your SD card arrive a few days after your handset so you can't install Android yet. Anyway, just on hardware alone... woooow...
Even in WinMo 6.5, the screen appears to be relatively clean and crisp. The handset itself feels incredibly good to hold, is amazingly thin (everybody I've shown it to remarks about that) and somehow manages to feel slight despite packing a screen large enough to have your breakfast on.
I've handled every phone HTC has put out for the past two years, and this by far feels the most solid and premium. One of my biggest bugbears about the Android stable is I haven't found build quality to match Apple's iphone efforts, but the HD2 does - I was especially impressed with the rear battery hinge mechanism and just the general feel in your hand. The thing is gorgeous.
Why did HTC abandon this minimalistic design direction? The Desire HD looks like it has several growths coming off of it, the Desire looks like some kind of quasi-purple alien sex toy, and the Legend - which I currently own - is far too blingy for my tastes. This is understated, space-defying and restrained. Even the HTC logo on the back is a reasonable, unflashy size, as if they recognise that not everybody likes feeling like a giant billboard.
As I say, I can't flash Android for a few more days yet, but based on hardware alone this thing is a real winner. Very impressed. To me, it feels better made than any handset on the market that I've played with: more solid than an iPhone 4, more expensive than a Galaxy S, more restrained than a Desire HD and thin enough to make Tom Brady's wife want to go and have a vomit.
If you're tossing up whether to buy an HD2, do it. I'll let you know how I get along with flashing Rafdroid HD (I'm a total noob, so it'll be interesting to see if I manage it).
Cheers,
Zuka
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The HD2 its a great phone. I hope you get to enjoy it as mush as I do. Its truly amazing

Just to report back after the laborious process of installing Android...
I had a few problems flashing HSPL and MAGLDR, but people in the community helped me quickly and without judgement, which I really appreciate. HD2 owners seem to be committed to the cause of helping other people out with hacking, and it's a nice change to not be called dumb for asking a question
Anyway, I installed Rafdroid HD 4.0.2 and it's amazing. I've used a stock Desire HD extensively and there's no doubt in my mind that this is a) quicker day to day, b) smoother in animations/reflows, c) better in benchmarks (for what they're worth) and d) kinder to battery life.
This phone is actually amazing. Somehow, a 4.3 inch screen manages to feel smaller in the hand than an iPhone 3G/S, and a hell of a lot better built as well. I've already talked about how great the hardware is, but I'm really, really impressed with how well Android runs from NAND. The people that say it's better than a stock android device aren't lying - it's the bomb.
The best thing is, if I get sick of it, I can flash WP7, which is also in my opinion a great OS. If in doubt, buy an HD2 - it's half as expensive as a Desire HD, runs five times as many OSes and is twice as good.

da9th_one said:
as far as the freezing issues goes...once i updated the software at <t-mobile> that reduced the freezes on the device nearly 95%...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have had my Leo for 6 months now, and for the past 2 I had been dealing with the constant freezing. It was to the point where it wouldn't even make calls, it would just freeze, then go into a loop of rebooting.
Earlier today I snagged the upgrade from t-mobile, and although my phone almost melted from overheating in the process, it instantly fixed all of my problems.
Granted, I had spent 2 hours trolling around these here forums looking for a solution, so after I finally got my phone working again, I was so excited to try out all these new exciting things I had been reading about, so I flashed Cruzer-5th WWE, and updated my radio to 2.14.50.04.
After several hours, I got everything working, and suddenly my phone is fast, stable, and I get an HSDPA signal! No more overheating, and try as I might, I can't crash it.
Long story short, the t-mobile upgraded ROM works like a charm, and I went from wanting to drill a hole through the middle of my Leo to loving it all over again.