http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/epic-4g-review/
Surprisingly, the now-infamous AGPS bug is still alive and well right now on the Epic.
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Epic 4G review
By Chris Ziegler posted Aug 16th 2010 12:01AM
Review
Of the seemingly countless variants of the Galaxy S that Samsung's in the process of deploying around the globe, one stands out in a couple very unique (and important) ways: Sprint's Epic 4G. The Epic hangs on to a couple of the Galaxy line's most important characteristics -- namely the 1GHz Hummingbird processor and the 4-inch Super AMOLED display -- but adds in a sliding landscape QWERTY keyboard, support for the wickedly fast WiMAX network that Sprint shares with partner Clearwire, and a handful of other notable one-off customizations.
We've already taken a look at two of the other US-bound Galaxy S models -- AT&T's Captivate and T-Mobile's Vibrant -- but it shouldn't take more than a quick glance at the Epic to tell you that this is a very, very different beast. Becoming just the second WiMAX phone released in the States (and the first with a physical keyboard), this is a pretty critical release for Sprint at a time when its subscriber count is just starting to pick up after several quarters of decline -- and making things even more interesting is the fact that Sprint's first WiMAX handset -- HTC's EVO 4G -- is simply one of the best phones we've ever reviewed. In other words, yeah, you could say that the Epic's got a lot to live up to. Is it up to the task? Let's find out.
Epic 4G review
Packaging
Sprint has ditched the strange (or cute, depending on your attitude) "TV dinner" packaging of the EVO in favor of a more traditional box here. Boring, yes, but look on the bright side: unlike the EVO, this setup is easier to keep closed (assuming you care and you're going to hang onto it) because it doesn't rely on a flimsy cardboard sleeve to keep the lid on, and fortunately, they've gone with a really thick, sturdy, high-quality material for both halves of the box. Inside you'll find -- besides the phone, of course -- a USB charger, micro-USB cable (there's no cable permanently attached to the charger, a pretty common trend these days), and the same surprisingly decent earbuds found with the Vibrant and Captivate. Anyone intending to use the Epic for serious music use is still encouraged to bring their own headphones or earbuds of choice, but it's pretty cool that Sammy's offering buds in the box that are high-quality enough to include replaceable tips.
You also get an SD-to-microSD converter that you'll be able to use with the 16GB microSD card that comes pre-installed underneath the phone's back cover (though you don't need to remove the battery to get at it, which is nice). Why 16GB when AT&T's and T-Mobile's versions only include 2GB? Good question: turns out the Epic only has a little over 400MB of app storage internally -- not the capacious 16GB of the others -- so Sprint compensates by throwing in a beefy card. Though that'll work just fine for 95 percent of users, it's important to note that this means you can't get it up to 48GB of available storage by picking up a 32GB card. Since it's obvious Sprint tried to make this phone as "epic" as possible, it's unclear why they left out that internal capacity; the only thing we can think of is that they simply ran out of room with all of the phone's modifications over the standard Galaxy S like the slider mechanism, the LED flash, and the WiMAX circuitry. Hard to say.
Hardware
Of all the Galaxy S flavors we've seen, the Epic 4G -- despite its name and form factor -- might have the most nondescript appearance. Depending on your personality, that's either a good thing or a bad thing (for what it's worth, we liked it). The front of the phone is dominated by an expanse of black gloss rimmed by a matching black bezel, which makes it almost intimidating when it's sitting there with the screen turned off because you can't readily see the outline of the screen or the capacitive buttons below it -- just a whole lot of black with tastefully-proportioned Sprint and Samsung logos at the top and bottom, respectively. In fact, it's so black that it almost seems like you could be looking at the back of the phone.
Speaking of the back, Sprint got it right where AT&T and T-Mobile frankly got it wrong. It's a subtle black soft-touch -- not the Vibrant's cheap, glossy plastic or the Captivate's faux carbon fiber weave -- which gives you just a little bit of grip when you're holding it. The sparkling flecks in the back cover are actually one of the few concessions to style on the entire phone, and though we generally don't like our phones to sparkle, we'll begrudgingly admit that it probably would've been a bit too plain if they'd just done it in a flat black. Another place where the Epic wins over its Galaxy-branded cousins is just below the 5 megapixel camera, where you'll find an honest-to-goodness LED flash (more on this later). One very minor complaint we have about the back is that it pries off; we always prefer the sliding style because it involves less of that uncomfortable "I wonder if I'm going to break this" feeling you get when you're trying to yank a flimsy cover straight up and out, but considering how rarely you should need to get in there, it's basically a non-issue.
The sides of the Epic are where you'll find the only other blatantly stylish element on the entire phone: a thin chrome ring that runs all the way around, roughly in the middle of the edge, without extending into the keyboard area at all. We don't frequently say this about chrome, but it's tasteful and it actually works here. You'll also find the usual array of edge-mounted doodads, including a volume rocker on the left side, power and two-stage camera buttons on the right, and a 3.5mm headphone jack and micro-USB port up top. Like other Galaxy S models, the Epic has a neat retractable door to protect the port, a far better arrangement than the flimsy rubber plugs you usually see (though we still don't think micro-USB ports really need a lot of protection, considering they were specifically designed to be robust). The volume and camera buttons have plenty of feel, but the power button -- which is more flush than the others to prevent accidental actuation -- would be much easier to deal with on the top for a couple reasons: one, that's where you usually find it; and two, every time you press it, you risk accidentally sliding open the phone a bit. Considering how often you press power to take the screen in and out of standby, this is actually a topic worth discussing, but it's not a deal-breaker (and interestingly, we didn't like the design of the power button on the EVO, either).
The Epic's slide mechanism is a fairly heavy, smooth spring-mounted arrangement that feels solid with no wobble; on our unit there's just a tiny hint of give on the screen if you actively try to twist it, but we don't notice it in normal day-to-day use. That leads us into the keyboard, which is a completely flat, five-row type with a good deal of separation between the keys. You've got a good, strong "click" on each key -- no mushiness here -- but we definitely would've preferred a bit of doming, and we would've even been happy to sacrifice the separation in exchange for making the surface area of each key larger. The layout is a mixed bag -- we enjoyed having access to big Menu, Back, Home, and Search keys astride the letters, but the placement of Backspace and Enter gave us a little trouble... and we definitely weren't feeling the need for a dedicated smiley face key. Overall, we'd say that the Epic's QWERTY falls behind those of Android contemporaries like the myTouch 3G Slide (manufactured by keyboard specialist HTC, of course) and the Droid 2, but that's not to say that it's bad -- it's leaps and bounds beyond the dismal Moment, for example, and we imagine that anyone would be able to get fast and error-free on it within a couple days of use.
What surprised us the first time we picked up the Epic was how light it felt -- 15 grams less than the EVO, to be exact. Frankly, we wouldn't have minded it being a bit heavier, which leads us to wonder whether they could've squeezed in something beefier than a 1500mAh battery without causing problems. Though the Epic's screen is three-tenths of an inch smaller than the EVO's, the two are surprisingly close in length and width -- in other words, you shouldn't consider this over the EVO simply because you think it's going to be easier to hold. At 14.2mm deep, the Epic is noticeably thicker, but still comfortable in the hand (it's thin enough so that your fingers will likely still arch beyond the back cover) and it doesn't produce a ridiculous bulge in your pocket -- unless you're wearing something skinny and fashionable, of course. Then again, there aren't many smartphones that look good in that situation.
The Epic's 4-inch Super AMOLED display at WVGA resolution is exactly the same as the one you find on the Captivate and Vibrant -- and as you can probably guess, it's absolutely glorious. If you're not accustomed to these displays (even if you're already familiar with standard AMOLED), you'll be pretty shocked by the insane black level and the rich, dazzling color saturation that you get from these. Despite what you may have heard to the contrary, we'll echo what we said in our look at the AT&T and T-Mobile models that it still doesn't perform as well as a traditional LCD in direct sunlight, though it isn't completely washed out; in our experience, we could always make out the contents of the screen if we squinted hard enough. Since the screens are literally identical and the Epic won't be out until the end of the month, we might even recommend heading down to an AT&T or T-Mobile store beforehand and checking out the Captivate / Vibrant -- you'll get a good sense of what to expect when you pick up your phone, both from a display and a software perspective.
Below the display are four capacitive buttons -- the usual ones you find on Android devices: Menu, Home, Back, and Search, in that order from left to right. The buttons are actually below the Samsung logo, which means there's plenty of separation between them and the bottom of the display, but we found that they still suffer from a couple problems. First, they don't seem to be quite sensitive enough -- we found ourselves occasionally tapping twice to actuate them (we also noticed this on the touchscreen, suggesting that the entire capacitive surface could stand to be tweaked a bit). We also had the same problem here that we'd had on other Galaxy S models, which is that the buttons are backlit on a different schedule than the display. They seem to go out after five seconds and come back on whenever a button or the screen is touched, which is actually more distracting then if they simply stayed lit all the time. The behavior here might make sense if the buttons were more readily distinguishable without backlighting, but as it stands, they aren't -- we found ourselves leaning in to see the darkened icons more closely on a couple occasions. Basically, the simplest solution would've just been to paint on the buttons so you can see them without light (as Motorola and HTC usually do) and save a little battery power in the process.
Speaking of battery power, we got 3 hours and 43 minutes of use from 97 percent power to shutdown with the phone in 4G hotspot mode while occasionally interacting with the handset, continuously streaming internet radio, and doing... well, you know, other "internet things" on our connected laptop. That bests the EVO by a few minutes, but we'd argue that it's within the margin of error -- especially since 4G battery life seems to be affected drastically by city and signal strength (we performed all of our testing in Chicago's Loop, where WiMAX flows like water). Interestingly, we checked Android's built-in battery monitor shortly before the Epic shut down -- the screen where you can see what components and apps have been draining your juice the most -- and were surprised to see it report that the display had allegedly been responsible for 55 percent of the drain, despite the fact that we had played with the phone for perhaps 10 to 15 minutes of the entire test. We suspect the app isn't properly accounting for the 4G radio, but that's just a guess -- and if by some odd chance it's accurate, that paints a pretty scary picture for the power consumption of these Super AMOLED displays. We haven't had an opportunity to complete a more traditional battery test in normal (read: non-hotspot) phone usage yet, but our preliminary testing suggests that you should have no problem getting through a typical day, particularly if you're smart about 4G radio management and you aren't keeping the screen on any more than you have to.
For 4G performance, this is always a tricky topic -- as we mentioned, network performance varies widely by location and other variables, but we were generally very happy both with on-device data and hotspot mode. Basically, it never stopped feeling "WiFi fast" both in terms of speed and latency, and that's exactly what you need to make a fantastic mobile hotspot. We were consistently getting around 4Mbps down and 1Mbps up during our testing; when we'd tested our EVO back in our review, we'd seen numbers as high as 7.5Mbps down and 3Mbps up, but checking it alongside the Epic revealed lower numbers more in-line with the Sammy, so we'll chalk it up to the network.
Camera
We weren't expecting the world out of the Epic's primary camera; given that other versions of the phone don't even ship with any sort of flash, it was obvious that Samsung prioritized a thin shell over heavy-duty optics. That said, we came away really happy with the stills we were able to capture. Maybe we were just having a good photography day, but whatever the case, shots looked clean and sharp with minimum artifacting at 100 percent zoom.
Of course, the Epic ships with not one, but two cameras: the 5 megapixel primary on back paired with a weakling VGA cam on front. Make no mistake -- this second camera isn't to be used for anything but video calling, and considering that the quality of your video call is limited by bandwidth more than by camera quality, it'll work just fine there. Yes, the Epic's camera app allows you to toggle between cameras (the second camera is used for a "self portrait" mode), but trust us -- you really don't want to do that.
Video capture was less impressive than the still shots. The problem, really, is that this is advertised as a 720p recorder. Yes, true, you can toggle a 720p mode -- but to associate the quality of the output you get with anything you'd consider to be 720p is a complete fallacy. It's just roundly not good at that size. What Samsung probably should've done is cap the output to 480p and quietly offer 1280 x 720 as some sort of "extended resolution" mode, which would've gotten them off the hook at least a little bit. On the plus side, we found audio quality to be decent, though not quite as strong as the Droid 2 or Droid X.
Epic 4G camera samples
Software
In most respects, the Epic 4G runs the same TouchWiz 3.0-skinned build of Android 2.1 that you find on other versions of the Galaxy S, which unfortunately means that we've got most of the same complaints. Many of our annoyances probably won't bug people who are just getting into Android for the first time, but some seasoned users -- particularly of stock Eclair or Froyo -- will be ready to punch Samsung's UI designers in the face after just a few minutes with the Epic. Our biggest issue is with the cartoonish, overly colorful appearance of everything, a problem exacerbated by the fact that this display makes bright colors look... well, really bright. For some reason, TouchWiz puts a seemingly randomly-colored square behind every app icon in the launcher, which -- to put it very bluntly -- looks stupid. We also don't like the fact that the launcher can only be toggled between a horizontal-swipe grid mode and a vertical-swipe list mode, which means that the standard vertical-swipe grid -- the one you've used on practically every other Android phone, ever -- isn't available.
Annoyances continue to the home screen, where Samsung has elected to permanently display a large panel number indicator (they use a 7-panel setup, by the way) immediately below the status bar. We don't mind when they're permanently displayed (in fact, looking at the way the Droid X and Droid 2 do it, we prefer it to be permanent), but TouchWiz's is huge -- large enough so that we actually think they could've squeezed in another widget / icon row if they wanted to. Sammy should've taken a cue from Google, HTC, or heck, even Motorola's first-gen Blur UI on the right way to implement this.
Generally, these manufacturer skins exist with the claimed goal of enhancing the platform's stock functionality, but we actually found a case on the Epic where the opposite is true: the phone's lock screen consists of a circle in the center of the screen that you drag up to unlock... and that's it. Gone is Android 2.x's ability to toggle ringer mute from here, a nice touch considering that you need to unlock, press power, and select a menu option otherwise. To our surprise, also missing is the neat "puzzle lock" mode available on the Captivate and Vibrant, which allows you to immediately view messages, missed calls, and the like by dragging and dropping a puzzle piece into its matching hole on the screen. It's not clear why Sprint would've decided to kill it off, because all that's left is a gimped lock screen (with the option of using Android's regular pattern lock).
As bloatware goes, Sprint and Samsung have done an okay effort -- just okay -- at holding back. When you turn the phone on for the first time, the installed apps consume two full pages in the launcher, which feels manageable. Besides the normal Galaxy S custom stuff like AllShare and MediaHub, you get Qik (with video calling capability, of course), Sprint Football and NASCAR, Sprint Hotspot, TeleNav-powered Sprint Navigation (which you might never use since Google Maps Navigation is included fully functional and unhindered), ThinkFree Office (lacking the Google Docs integration of the version available in the Market), and Sprint Zone, which is basically a one-stop shop for finding Sprint stores, checking out your account, and getting quick access to apps the carrier recommends. Sprint TV's also included, of course, but it just hangs on 4G whenever you try to watch a program -- we had to turn it off and use EV-DO to make it work, which is pretty counterproductive considering how much better it could look on a faster, lower-latency connection.
Apart from an occasional stutter while scrolling in the browser, the Epic's performance felt in line with what we should expect of its Hummingbird core -- in other words, it was generally responsive and smooth (Linpack scores ranged between roughly 7.6 and 8.2 MFLOPS). Of course, by Android's nature, it's easy to gum up the works by installing too many apps trying to do too many things at once -- but with a few of our essentials installed and the device fully synced to our Google account, everything sped right along. We did, however, notice an occasional hiccup with the phone's many window transition animations where they'd flash or stutter; it was hard to tell whether this was a performance issue or simply a bug, and in the end, we just turned them off and didn't worry about it. Also encouraging is the fact that the Epic is running Android 2.1 out of the box; we can only expect performance to improve once they've deployed 2.2 (it's not often that you'll hear us spin the lack of 2.2 into a positive, so relish in it while you can).
Surprisingly, the now-infamous AGPS bug is still alive and well right now on the Epic. We're not sure how Sprint can justify releasing it with this bug now so well-known, well-documented, and critical to the operation of the phone -- seriously, it cannot find you most of the time -- but we suppose it'll just get fixed at the same time as the remainder of the Galaxy S models in September. In other words, unless we see a quick firmware update prior to the 31st, don't expect Google Maps to work particularly well out of the box.
Wrap-up
Let's take our attention away from the specifics of this phone for a second. Speaking in more general terms, it's really impressive that Sprint has already managed to release two very high-end, exceptionally desirable devices built specifically to take advantage of its 4G network. In fact, we'd say that the Epic and the EVO -- even more than the Pre -- have vaulted Sprint from its status as an also-ran to perhaps the most gadget-savvy carrier in the US today. If you'd asked us 18 months ago whether we ever thought we'd be saying that, we'd have laughed at you. Of course, the Epic can't just be geeky, it's got to be good -- Sprint isn't out of the danger zone yet for subscriber churn, and it's going to need average Joes and Janes to buy these right out of stock. In other words, it needs to parlay the buzz that the EVO generated into a permanent slow burn, and the Epic is a critical part of that equation.
So is it the right phone for the job? In a word, yes -- the Epic 4G is a great device. Killer, even. Nothing speaks to us more strongly during the course of a review than finishing it and saying, "alright, I'm ready to buy this thing," and the Epic is on the short list of phones that has managed to do it. More than its Galaxy S siblings, it feels like the Epic has overcome its shortcomings -- notably the forgettable UI skin -- to shine, and it's a phone we could easily imagine using day to day. Only thing is, the EVO is also on that short list for us -- and the better camera, bigger screen, and $50 savings versus the Epic still make it our winner in this 4G shootout, though only by the thinnest of margins. Needless to say, if you need a physical keyboard and you're looking for the one of the most musclebound Android phones money can buy, we wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.
I pretty much know as much as there is about this phone since I purchased my mother her vibrant, I just can't wait for my epic though!
Im hoping the battery will not be an issue, although once we get some custom kernels we should be good.
15 days 6 hours 49 minutes to go!
Sent from my Nextel™ using the XDA app
"Best of all, the GPS issues which many have reported affecting Galaxy S family devices aren’t apparent on the Epic 4G, with our review unit proving capable of quickly establishing a fix and tracking it accordingly"
via Slashgears review.
Don't believe the hype, first of all if you want a good professional review please don't even spit in Engadget's direction, they're biased to any device that isn't made by some type of fruit company.
Take a look at cnet pcmag or other credible source, just look at how they downplayed the camera making it seen like it was worse than an Evo's then look at Gizmodo which had visual comparisons vs the iPhone4 where the Epic clearly dominated that camera. In between those reviews is a spec of truth, both are absolutely biased for different reasons and neither are professionally done, don't let these "journalists" (hobby bloggers at best) let you decide what is or isn't a good device.
I believe that the GPS is indeed a problem in quite a few Samsung Galaxy phones..... but whether not your GPS will work or not is a luck of a draw since there are people who have absolutely no problems then people who have completely non-functioning AGPS.
GPS is a very important function for me. I use it almost daily on my phone. if not for navigation, for quick searching of businesses etc.
I figure if the Epic I receive doesn't have functioning GPS, i'm going to return it for another until I get one that does work.
As for the review, its about as UN-biased as I've seen Engadget. If you thought the Epic review was biased, you must not have read the iPhone 4 VS Evo article they posted awhile ago. I was actually surprised that Gizmodo, which is like BIASED-APPLECENTRAL, had such a positive review of the epic!
Yeah, engadget reviews are pretty bad. It has a negative vibe throughout the review and at the end they call it "killer." Talk about a roller coaster ride
Related
So I'm sitting at home patiently waiting for the UPS man to come with my new Vibrant. In my pocket is my beloved Nexus One.
I had a chance to play with a vibrant in a Tmo store and really liked it. Seemed speedier than my N1 in almost every aspect and that screen is just gorgeous!
I'd like to hear from any Nexus One users that jumped ship to the Vibrant. Are you happy with your decision? Any issues?
I'll be side by siding these two beasts for the next 14 days (return period). And only one will stay with me. I'd just like to hear some other peoples experiences.
I find the Vibrant better in every regard. The one thing I miss is how speedy development came to the N1 (for obvious reasons). I (and the developers) are more accustom to HTC phones...
BUT, speed, screen, sound, keyboard, I really like everything better.
Some people complain about a GPS issue, that a lot of us do not have.....
You wont have froyo immediately....
I like how solid the N1 feels in my hand....
those are about the only things I can think of.
I sold my rooted nexus one for this.
The good:
Better screen (WOW) you'll see
Better Speaker
Faster Data Pulling (you'll be surprised how good edge is even )
Better widgets (touchwiz is lovely)
The bad:
doesn't open apps as fast as Nexus
Switching from 3g to Edge takes way longer than the nexus
Battery a tiny bit worse than nexus
Feels horrible compared to the nexus build (the vibrant is cheaply built) PLASTIC
going from screen to screen, you will get a slight jerk... not smooth like launcherpro/ADW or 2.2 Froyo default home
Other than that, this phone is lovely and its a keeper. I'm waiting for a replacement battery. maybe the 3500Mah they had for the nexus one.That will also put some weight on it. it's like a feather now.
I too sold my N1. I did for all the aforementioned reasons plus I really like being able to take the phone instore for warranty issues instead of waiting a week or two for htc to get my phone fix it and ship it back.....
The battery specs on the Vibrant seem WAY better than the N1, but I've been seeing some complaints on battery life. Whats the deal with that? Was Samsung overexerting the standby time?
I'll miss froyo, But once it hits the vibrant I assume it will be BLAZING fast with JIT on the hummingbird. Besides the speed, Flash in the browser kinda sucks anyways on N1 (slow!). So going back to 2.1 wont be a huge loss.
I love my nexus, but its had its issues. I'm currently on my 3rd swap out from HTC due to the screen not working and dust under the digitizer. Hoping I have good luck with the vibrant and its GPS issues.
I guess I'll have to wait and see which wins... I plan on keeping both for a couple of weeks before I decide.
thanks for your opinions!
stepinmyworld said:
Feels horrible compared to the nexus build (the vibrant is cheaply built) PLASTIC
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I beg to differ.. its user preference, I prefer it being lightweight its a lot different than the G1 whereas it feels like a brick. I don't think its a con whatsoever, doesn't feel cheap at all.. check out the videos where they try and "scratch" and damage it. The phone could take a hit.
Just got the Vibrant today, bought the Nexus on the day it was announced. I'm likely sending the Vibrant back and keeping the Nexus. Here are my first impressions:
1: Unbelievably light and, unfortunately, cheap feeling, particularly the buttons (Vol. and on/off). The build quality of the Nexus One feels like it's in an entirely different league here.
2: Nice screen size though my phone will not display a true white or grey. Instead, everything has a cyan/blue tinge. This actually is my biggest issue with the phone right now. The Nexus gives true whites and greys and, even with the brightness all the way up, no true white or gray on the vibrant. Menus, text, market and web pages show this every time I open them - it's driving me nuts.
3: The music app contains a real to life Equalizer and a number of other sound settings. This is one feature I really love and will miss if I send the phone back. Sound quality is very good, though not through the crap headphones Samsung provides. Here again, the quality of the Nexus headphones are noticeably better.
4: Neither the Compass or the GPS work correctly on my phone making the phone useless until a fix is released for what I actually use it most for - Google Places and voice navigation.
5: The image quality of photo's taken with the camera are very good for a phone. Auto weight balance works perfectly under various light sources. Much better than Nexus in this department, though I do miss the flash - which I used mostly as a flashlight!
6: The size feels a little uncomfortable in the hand compared to the Nexus but that's likely just something I have gotten used to.
7: Battery life seems like it will be much better than Nexus.
Anyway, I know the GPS and Compass will be fixed and perhaps I could get used to the flimsy build quality but the screen is a deal breaker as I expected it to be superior to the Nexus One. It's not. If I had to guess, I suspect Samsung has used some sort of Polarizing film to reduce glare outside in bright light which is resulting in the blue/cyan tinge.
Sold my Nexus and both docks, got a nice chunk if change and got the Vibrant. Its the best phone out right now IMO.
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA App
tariqgibran said:
Just got the Vibrant today, bought the Nexus on the day it was announced. I'm likely sending the Vibrant back and keeping the Nexus. Here are my first impressions:
1: Unbelievably light and, unfortunately, cheap feeling, particularly the buttons (Vol. and on/off). The build quality of the Nexus One feels like it's in an entirely different league here.
PERSONALLY I don't equate light-weight with cheap...it's very VERY light weight, but it doesn't feel cheaply made to me. The biggest complaint I have about the build quality personally is the "metal" bezel(of course it's plastic). I feel like that will scratch if it's looked at incorrectly. lol. But IMO it doesn't feel cheaply made at all
2: Nice screen size though my phone will not display a true white or grey. Instead, everything has a cyan/blue tinge. This actually is my biggest issue with the phone right now. The Nexus gives true whites and greys and, even with the brightness all the way up, no true white or gray on the vibrant. Menus, text, market and web pages show this every time I open them - it's driving me nuts.
Direct Quote about OLED's that explains the blue tint:
"...since the OLED material used to produce blue light degrades significantly more rapidly than the materials that produce other colors, blue light output will decrease relative to the other colors of light...In order to delay the problem, manufacturers bias the colour balance towards blue so that the display initially has an artificially blue tint, leading to complaints of artificial-looking, over-saturated colors..."
4: Neither the Compass or the GPS work correctly on my phone making the phone useless until a fix is released for what I actually use it most for - Google Places and voice navigation.
This is a problem only SOME units have, and additionally, even if yours DOES have the problem, there's a fix for it here in the forums
6: The size feels a little uncomfortable in the hand compared to the Nexus but that's likely just something I have gotten used to.
I think this depends on the size of your hands. Going from a Touch Pro2 with a 3.6" screen to a 4.3" on the HD2 I didn't like it. It was hard to text on when trying to reach across the screen...but this 4" screen fit perfectly into my hands. It also makes it feel more like a "phone" and not a "pda". I know the Nexus has a 3.7" screen, but like he said, I think you'd get used to it.
7: Battery life seems like it will be much better than Nexus.
Trust me....depends on what you have running and when you have it running lol. This thing will randomly start apps that you never tell it to start(telenav for example) and they'll run in the background for no reason at all lol. I've had situations where with ZERO use....it just sitting idle....after 8 hrs it used up almost 50% of the battery. Darker(blacker) backgrounds help on battery life too. I tested a live wall paper at 100% brightness for 30 mins and a completely black wallpaper at 100% brightness and there was a 100% increase of battery life drain. 4% after 1 half hour vs 2% after 1 half hour(i actually think the same would apply to the nexus one since it's an amoled screen)
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As he stated at the end though, the GPS will soon be fixed(officially that is) by Samsung, and you'll probably have to get used to the feel of it vs the Nexus 1...but I had an opportunity to buy either, and I used both for 1 day, and couldn't put the Vibrant down so I went with it.
Edit: and though not as good as an LED light, because the Vibrant uses SAMOLED the white screens at full brightness are ridiculously bright lol. So if you use one of the screen flash light apps, it'd probably be the brightest...but again, it's not as bright as an LED flash light. But Trust me...it definitely works lol
lp894 said:
As he stated at the end though, the GPS will soon be fixed(officially that is) by Samsung, and you'll probably have to get used to the feel of it vs the Nexus 1...but I had an opportunity to buy either, and I used both for 1 day, and couldn't put the Vibrant down so I went with it.
Edit: and though not as good as an LED light, because the Vibrant uses SAMOLED the white screens at full brightness are ridiculously bright lol. So if you use one of the screen flash light apps, it'd probably be the brightest...but again, it's not as bright as an LED flash light. But Trust me...it definitely works lol
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The screen on the specific Vibrant I received is nowhere near as bright as the Nexus screen, even at full brightness and the cyan/blue tinge is not so subtle. Many are stating that the blue look is normal with OLED's yet neither my Nexus nor my wife's have this problem at all. There is also growing evidence that the Vibrant display is not consistant from phone to phone, with some reporting the blue issue more than others, even when examining four vibrants simultaneously (so this is not just subjective). Thus, don't buy the whole explanation that Samsung added mor blue to counteract future blue degradation over time. I think what those of us with extremely tinged blue screens are experiencing is a quality control issue, plain and simple - perhaps it has something to do with an inconsistency in the SOLED manufacturing process, I don't know. I do know that all OLED's do not have this issue and, apparently, not even all Samsung SOLED Vibrants!
Regarding the "cheap" feel, my volume button rattles when I handle the phone and has no definite "detent" feel. Perhaps mine is unique, but this definitely lends a flimsy feel to the phone, particularly compared to the firm feel of the Nexus buttons. Think I wil return this vibrant and see what a replacement offers as I must have received a dud. To be fair, the Nexus my wife received initially had to be returned due to a quality control issue. I think most of these devices today are at the bleeding edge of manufacturing technology.
I got rid of my 3 week old N1 for the Vibrant, and I have no regrets at all. I'm very much in love with this phone. I think the only major issue with the phone for most is the GPS problems, but Samsung already said they're working on a fix.
Yeah, the phone is very light weight, but as soon as I bought the thick gel case from T-Mo it really did add a great weight to the phone.
I'm a phone whore that switches phones pretty much every time a new phone hits the market, and I've gotta say the Vibrant just might be the best I've ever owned.
I sort of gave up my Nexus One for a Vibrant. My wife wanted my Nexus One because T-Mobile still doesn't have a good phone for photographs (Vibrant included).
I had just gotten her a MT3G Slide, so I trade it back to them for the Vibrant.
So far, the only thing I have to complain about is the lack of a Camera flash, it completely hinders the camera in most lighting situations after 6PM EST, haha.
Also, the body does feel cheaply constructed. The Nexus One had the most solid design of any phone I have ever owned or held in my hand.
I miss my N1, but the Vibrant is a GREAT alternative. I can say I love this phone, and most of that love is coming from the BEAUTIFUL screen.
I had a Nexus, and my wife had a MyTouch. She was wanting to upgrade, so we decided that I would get a Vibrant, and she would get my Nexus. We have since given away the MyTouch.
I have to say, at first, I was LOVING my Vibrant! it was incredible! The screen, and benchmarks spoke for themselves! Heck, I was even able to ditch a couple of mediocre apps for the pre-installed apps!
I've had my Vibrant for...17 days now. I've NEVER had any luck with the GPS, although it is handy for a game called "The Great Land Grab", since I can now buy land in states and countries I've never even been to before! (I bought a piece of land in CHINA!!! WOOT!) I've tried ALL of the fixes posted here at XDA and elsewhere. All of them seemed to help, but then I realized it was mostly a placebo effect. "742 people said this fix worked perfectly! It's gotta fix my GPS! Hey, it only took 17 minutes this time! YAY! It's all better!" Coming from a long line of HTC phones (G1, MyTouch, Nexus), I've come to expect good GPS performance, and I use maps and nav a LOT. (Well, I used to) I'm extremely disappointed in this, to the point that I will never buy another Samsung phone again.
The screen is AMAZING! The picture quality is intense, and it displays video so fluidly! I can't say enough good things about how beautiful it is! The screen difference is .4 inches, but it looks and feels like it's HUGE in comparison. I've never seen a screen on a cell phone that can show as deep black as this. If you set your phone up poroperly, you can have it on, but not be able to tell (ADW.Launcher/black wallpaper/no status bar/no icons/empty dock/dock open - Looks amazing!) It's such a nice display!
The phone SHOULD be WAY faster. the specs make the Nexus look old and dated. Of course, when you're used to touching an app shortcut, and it just HAPPENS, a 2-10 second lag seems like FOREVER! There are some MAJOR design flaws in the Vibrant, such as the 16 gig internal storage. It's a class 6, yes, but it's got VERY serious i/o issues, so almost everything that calls on the resources on it stalls and lags. (You'll see TONS of people who say there's no lag, but most of those people came from a dated phone, like a G1 or MyTouch. It's WAY faster than any of the older generation 1 or generation 2 phones, but it's painfully slow when you're used to the powerhouse known as Nexus. (2 seconds doesn't sound long, until you're trying to show off your phone, and you feel the need to explain that "it takes a second or two to load up, but when it does..." and you have TIME to explain that to someone while you wait. It's not nearly as snappy or responsive as it should be, considering this is a flagship device with specs to make most phones look like crap. SUPPOSEDLY, this phone is more powerful than a PSP, but the design flaws make it perform more like an NES. Once it gets going, it's GREAT, but it's the getting it up and running that sucks.
The phone does feel lighter, and cheaper, but it depends on your point of view if this is a good thing or a bad thing. I personally prefer the feel of the Nexus, because it feels more solid.
The loudspeaker on the Vibrant is WAY better than the speaker on the Nexus, although I have to think it something to do with the "hollow-ish" phone back echoing the sound, and therefore amplifying it somewhat, but I haven't tried a direct comparison with the phone backs off.
The Vibrant out-performs most phones on the market in terms of benchmark scores (linpak not included) however, if you were to perform a side-by side comparison of getting those benchmarks loaded up, you would likely have no doubt that the Vibrant is considerably slower. (I'm talking of the latest generation of 1ghz phones, like Nexus, DroidX, and EVO)
If the GPS (and compass, which is HOPELESSLY broken) and lag issues could be resolved, I think the Vibrant could be a contender as possibly the best phone on the planet, but in it's current form, it feels a lot like that funky cousin you try to avoid at family reunions. "Well, he came from a great family, and he's really smart, but he's just a bit off...I mean, look at him, he's pouring his soda into his shoes!"
Overall, I think in it's current state, the Vibrant can't hold a candle to the Nexus, and depending on the I/O issues, it may NEVER compare, but if they can get it running better, and make everything WORK, it will make the Nexus feel like a G1.
My choice for best phone: Nexus
(Subject to change)
lp894 said:
4: Neither the Compass or the GPS work correctly on my phone making the phone useless until a fix is released for what I actually use it most for - Google Places and voice navigation.
This is a problem only SOME units have, and additionally, even if yours DOES have the problem, there's a fix for it here in the forums
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You sound like a PR rep for samsung, not an actual end user. It's comments and sentiments like these that make forums useless for researching products. Too many people bitterly rationalizing bad purchases.
As an owner of a Vibrant I'm probably returning mine, after waiting the full 14 days to see if Samsung would at least indicate that they're working on any sort of fix. They finally started talking about the GPS, but there is no mention of the compass problem yet and I suspect it will remain broken.
The sick part is there are so many people new to android that they don't even realize how broken the compass is. Try using Layar, wikitude, anything related to augmented reality or positional awareness and you'll realize how useless it is.
If you don't care about fancy augmented reality/positional awareness applications or GPS working properly then the vibrant is a great phone.
bryon13 said:
"Well, he came from a great family, and he's really smart, but he's just a bit off...I mean, look at him, he's pouring his soda into his shoes!"
Overall, I think in it's current state, the Vibrant can't hold a candle to the Nexus, and depending on the I/O issues, it may NEVER compare, but if they can get it running better, and make everything WORK, it will make the Nexus feel like a G1.
My choice for best phone: Nexus
(Subject to change)
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Thanks, you made gave me a good laugh today.
+1 on everything you said.
hollabax said:
You sound like a PR rep for samsung, not an actual end user. It's comments and sentiments like these that make forums useless for researching products. Too many people bitterly rationalizing bad purchases.
As an owner of a Vibrant I'm probably returning mine, after waiting the full 14 days to see if Samsung would at least indicate that they're working on any sort of fix. They finally started talking about the GPS, but there is no mention of the compass problem yet and I suspect it will remain broken.
The sick part is there are so many people new to android that they don't even realize how broken the compass is. Try using Layar, wikitude, anything related to augmented reality or positional awareness and you'll realize how useless it is.
If you don't care about fancy augmented reality/positional awareness applications or GPS working properly then the vibrant is a great phone.
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Just out of curiosity, are the GPS and Compass interrelated somehow such that a GPS fix would fix the compass? OR, is there distinct hardware functions that control the two independently?
tariqgibran said:
Just out of curiosity, are the GPS and Compass interrelated somehow such that a GPS fix would fix the compass? OR, is there distinct hardware functions that control the two independently?
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Last I heard, they think the compass is what breaks the gps, according to Tmo and Samsung. Which worries me, because a compass is just a floating magnet. If it's hardware broken, and that's what breaks gps, there may be NO way to fix it. ):
I really hope I'm wrong.
I'd like to thank Swype for all of my typos.
my GPS works fine.....I dont use compass and never did. Gave my Nexus to GF and using Vibrant. While there are many improvement to be made, its MUCH better then Nexus when it was released (I had 3 replacements, all 3 had: 3g issues, light sensor issues, pink camera, and crappy touchscreen....phone was almost useless, but after 3rd party ROMs, Nexus became a good phone with many flaws fixed)
yeah, compass seems to be ****ed, just checked. will compare to Nexus today. ps. navigation-wise I checked both and they seemed to perform the same.
read that compass is software issue and should be fixed. i think its fair to say that we ALL need to give Samsung a chance to fix issues. so far there was no update to Vibrant and it WILL come end of September....maybe October....
and its gonna be a pretty damn big update, not only we get fixes for bugs and possibly more add-ons (features) to Touchwiz, we are also getting a Froyo !
bryon13 said:
I had a Nexus, and my wife had a MyTouch. She was wanting to upgrade, so we decided that I would get a Vibrant, and she would get my Nexus. We have since given away the MyTouch.
I have to say, at first, I was LOVING my Vibrant! it was incredible! The screen, and benchmarks spoke for themselves! Heck, I was even able to ditch a couple of mediocre apps for the pre-installed apps!
I've had my Vibrant for...17 days now. I've NEVER had any luck with the GPS, although it is handy for a game called "The Great Land Grab", since I can now buy land in states and countries I've never even been to before! (I bought a piece of land in CHINA!!! WOOT!) I've tried ALL of the fixes posted here at XDA and elsewhere. All of them seemed to help, but then I realized it was mostly a placebo effect. "742 people said this fix worked perfectly! It's gotta fix my GPS! Hey, it only took 17 minutes this time! YAY! It's all better!" Coming from a long line of HTC phones (G1, MyTouch, Nexus), I've come to expect good GPS performance, and I use maps and nav a LOT. (Well, I used to) I'm extremely disappointed in this, to the point that I will never buy another Samsung phone again.
The screen is AMAZING! The picture quality is intense, and it displays video so fluidly! I can't say enough good things about how beautiful it is! The screen difference is .4 inches, but it looks and feels like it's HUGE in comparison. I've never seen a screen on a cell phone that can show as deep black as this. If you set your phone up poroperly, you can have it on, but not be able to tell (ADW.Launcher/black wallpaper/no status bar/no icons/empty dock/dock open - Looks amazing!) It's such a nice display!
The phone SHOULD be WAY faster. the specs make the Nexus look old and dated. Of course, when you're used to touching an app shortcut, and it just HAPPENS, a 2-10 second lag seems like FOREVER! There are some MAJOR design flaws in the Vibrant, such as the 16 gig internal storage. It's a class 6, yes, but it's got VERY serious i/o issues, so almost everything that calls on the resources on it stalls and lags. (You'll see TONS of people who say there's no lag, but most of those people came from a dated phone, like a G1 or MyTouch. It's WAY faster than any of the older generation 1 or generation 2 phones, but it's painfully slow when you're used to the powerhouse known as Nexus. (2 seconds doesn't sound long, until you're trying to show off your phone, and you feel the need to explain that "it takes a second or two to load up, but when it does..." and you have TIME to explain that to someone while you wait. It's not nearly as snappy or responsive as it should be, considering this is a flagship device with specs to make most phones look like crap. SUPPOSEDLY, this phone is more powerful than a PSP, but the design flaws make it perform more like an NES. Once it gets going, it's GREAT, but it's the getting it up and running that sucks.
The phone does feel lighter, and cheaper, but it depends on your point of view if this is a good thing or a bad thing. I personally prefer the feel of the Nexus, because it feels more solid.
The loudspeaker on the Vibrant is WAY better than the speaker on the Nexus, although I have to think it something to do with the "hollow-ish" phone back echoing the sound, and therefore amplifying it somewhat, but I haven't tried a direct comparison with the phone backs off.
The Vibrant out-performs most phones on the market in terms of benchmark scores (linpak not included) however, if you were to perform a side-by side comparison of getting those benchmarks loaded up, you would likely have no doubt that the Vibrant is considerably slower. (I'm talking of the latest generation of 1ghz phones, like Nexus, DroidX, and EVO)
If the GPS (and compass, which is HOPELESSLY broken) and lag issues could be resolved, I think the Vibrant could be a contender as possibly the best phone on the planet, but in it's current form, it feels a lot like that funky cousin you try to avoid at family reunions. "Well, he came from a great family, and he's really smart, but he's just a bit off...I mean, look at him, he's pouring his soda into his shoes!"
Overall, I think in it's current state, the Vibrant can't hold a candle to the Nexus, and depending on the I/O issues, it may NEVER compare, but if they can get it running better, and make everything WORK, it will make the Nexus feel like a G1.
My choice for best phone: Nexus
(Subject to change)
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I had the nexus, and already I've had more problems with the nexus than I did the Vibrant, it's by far faster and more usable. I LOVED my Nexus, but still..seeing all the things wrong with it I definitely like the Vibrant better. True multitouch, super crisp clear screen where even Avatar looks like you're watching it in stereoscopic 3D. Everything has been superb. The GPS problem is a given and I read up before I bought. Still more satisfied, an yes battery life is better as I could never get a "full" days use out of my Nexus even with everything turned off.
Well, good news guys. I am starting as a cell phone tech repair at a local store here and can't seem to decide between a HTC Evo 4G or Samsung Epic 4G. They both look awesome.
I am also with T-Mobile with the HD2 and love HTC products but the Samsung Epic looks tempting. I feel so indecisive now.
Any help here?
I feel your pain. Before Access released the new version of Graffiti that works perfectly on the Epic, I was literally within hours... maybe a day or two... of taking my Epic back and exchanging it for an Evo. It's amazing how being totally handicapped at text-input colors (darkens?) your view of pretty much everything else about the phone.
I'm still not thrilled with the Epic's jiggly-ness, but I have hope that Seidio (or maybe Otterbox) will eventually release a case that lets you latch the halves together (or clamp on a semi-temporary exoskeleton that achieves the same purpose).
The single worst problem I found with the Evo is its usb port. HTC cut corners and didn't attach it properly, so the solder connections (surface-mount, no less) end up bearing 100% of the stress and strain from attaching and removing the cable, and eventually fail. Technically, that's something I could probably fix myself if it happened (I have a hot air rework tool, solder paste, tubes of flux, tweezers, and the other usual supplies needed for homebrew surface-mount soldering), but I know *exactly* how it can fail, and it bothers me that HTC could have possibly done something that stupid. That's not the kind of mistake an engineer makes... that's the kind of screwup that happens when HTC management decides to cut corners anyway after their engineers throw a fit and threaten to quit over it.
Also, I've spent the past week lurking on the Evo development boards, and got the worst sense of deja-vu when I saw that HTC still releases useless kernel source that's unbuildable, with proprietary binaries compiled straight into it (in total violation of the GPL, not to mention common sense and human decency) so that it's nearly impossible to take an old kernel and use it as the basis of a newer one (without breaking every single binary driver in the process). Samsung might have sinned mightily and royally screwed up the GPS, but at least they had the decency to treat the kernel with respect & dignity, and implement everything that's not open-source as proper loadable kernel modules. It might be the only thing they've done right, but it's a really big, really important thing that NEEDS to be right
Both the Epic and Evo have criminally-undersized batteries, and battery life that totally sucks. The main difference is that there are multiple extended battery choices for the Evo available today, and zero extended battery choices for the Epic today (though there will probably be just as many Epic choices as Evo choices by Christmas... maybe more, since only the extended battery's back cover would be unique to the Epic, and the batteries themselves are common to the entire Galaxy S family).
Out of the box, the Evo feels a lot better in your hand. I bought the Epic originally because I wanted the keyboard, but I personally think the Epic's keyboard sucks to the point of being unusable because they made the keys too big and too flat. Had they made the keys smaller (keeping the same pitch), or made them taller and more rounded (like the Sidekick's keyboard), it would have been awesome. Thus, I'm now officially in the "I want a case with exoskeleton or latch so I can just secure the keyboard shut and forget it exists... at least, until I'm in a mood to slap on a GameGripper and play videogames with it" camp. It's a shame, because it COULD have been a really awesome keyboard if Samsung hadn't ruined it for the sake of aesthetics.
I'm a little nervous about the Epic's AMOLED screen, because I found out that they suffer from an effect that has similar appearance to burn-in. Apparently, the blue elements have a half-life of ~7,000 bright hours before they dim noticeably. The result is that if you display static bright blue content for extended periods of time, it will look like old-school yellow burn-in when white is displayed (the blue will dim, causing the brighter red and green to give the pixel a yellowish cast). LCDs can develop persistent images, but it's a temporary effect due to static electricity that dissipates over time. With AMOLED and blue-fade, by the time you see it happen, it's too late -- the panel's ruined forever.
I'll admit I've slightly warmed up to Touchwiz... especially once I replaced the homescreen with ADW, and figured out how to make the app drawer scroll vertically (god, the horizontal scrolling drove me *insane* for a couple of days). Samsung's "Phone" app is definitely prettier than HTC's was on the Hero (I've never actually used an Evo to make a call), and "Weather and Toggle Widget" (or whatever it's name is) gave me enough SenseUI look and feel to keep me happy without it.
There's still a tiny chance something will motivate me to switch to Evo before my 30 days are up in 2 weeks, but for now, I'm back to being content with my Epic.
Well, I had both the Evo and now the Epic and while the Evo was "okay," I love the Epic. Returning the Evo was the best thing I ever did. The main issues I had with the Evo where the physical size (Epic is thicker, but less surface area) and the battery. My Epic can last a full day with moderate to heavy use on a single charge. The Evo, with light use, needed to be charged about half way through the day. That is with all the usual tweaks, etc. Also, the Evo with the brightness turned down (to save battery) was almost useless, but the Epic on its lowest brightness setting is brighter than the Evo on about 50% brightness. Finally, even though Swype is cool, it is nice to have the keyboard if you do any kind of long typing or typing of words that are not in the dictionary. True, you can always add them, but if you ever do any kind of work where you type in commands, (terminal, etc) then you can do it much easier with a real keyboard.
Anyway, those are my two cents. On a 1-10 scale I would give the Evo a rating of 6 and the Epic a rating of 8.
Greetings! I have both an Epic and an Evo, both rooted, both used extensively for work. The Epic I use mainly for wireless tethering of a work issued laptop, the Epic I use primarily for fielding calls and email.
I like the ability to use a hard keyboard with the Epic but as a former blackberry owner for YEARS I still believe the best hard keyboards to exist are ones engineered by RIM. It's too bad Samsung didn't tap into RIM engineering when constructing the feel and heft of their physical keyboard.
I wasn't a huge fan of Sense before getting an Evo but it's incredibly easy to use and easy on the eyes (mine, anyways) It seems that the email functions on the Evo are easier to utilize than the ones on the Epic but again a matter of personal preference.
I've re-rooted both phones in the last week (accidentally deleted g-talk off of Evo then turned right around and bricked my Epic!) and both phones are running much smoother since doing so. I noticed my Evo was getting really sluggish as time wore on (rooted it right after I got it in July) and the Epic was displaying warning signs of brick-ville prior to it actually bricking. I've benchmarked both units and without a doubt the Epic is MUCH faster than the Evo.
I've noticed subtleties between both phones since using them so much:
SCREENS/VIBRANCY: Epic colors seem more washed out. Evo's are clearer. Evo screen reacts so much easier to the touch....I have to press buttons more than once often to get Epic touch to register....
BATTERY LIFE: Face it, phones like this suck mega power. Multiple batteries and chargers for both are a must. Since I travel between multiple offices, I have a cache of chargers/batteries at all locations along with techie travel items I never leave home without. Tip: for a quick boost to get you at least one hour of extra time on your phone grab one of those keyring battery boosters Sprint sells....they're cheap and come as advertised (****WARNING DO NOT CHARGE YOUR PHONE WITH THE BOOSTER WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY CHARGING THE BOOSTER FROM AN ELECTRICAL SOURCE -SPRINT ADVERTISES THIS IS POSSIBLE BUT... YOU CAN START A FIRE*****) Hopefully my Travelers agent isn't on this forum !
SOUND: Epic seems to produce better sound at higher levels. Epic's speakers seem to have a weird screeching to them at top volume.
I don't know how much this has helped you, but the bottom line here is: if you are a physical keyboard person go for the Epic. If a larger screen floats your boat get the Evo. I'm fortunate to have been able to get both for professional reasons and have learned to love the differences that both provide.
Finally, here are two programs I highly recommend:
EPIC: noLED. Terrific app. Don't need root for it. Also works on Evo but designed for phones lacking a LED.
EVO: LEDHack. Ditto. You will need root. Not applicable for Epic.
All you really have to think about is "Do I want a pure touch screen? or do I want a qwerty keyboard as well as a touch screen?", "Do I want HTC Sense, or TouchWiz?", "Do I want a kickstand?", lol.
But for a more in-depth look, I made a comparison of the tech specs and I gathered the information from Wikipedia as well as google.
Here is my post http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=7788180#post7788180
Also. Playing Emulator games on the Epic is far more easier than it will be on the EVO. Due to the Epic having a physical keyboard so you can actually have buttons to press instread of tapping the touch screen. There are even keyboard covers that people have made in the shape of controllers to make the gameplay easier.
However. EVO has more developers than the Epic does for now. We only have about 4 roms and they're nothing really special. Pretty much stock roms with OC'ed kernals with a developer idea behind it. We don't even have a OTA rom developer yet. I still wish I knew how to do this stuff lol.
it's mostly personal preference, but I find the epic to be much nicer than the Evo. The keyboard is a much nicer addition for typing. Virtual keyboards just leave me wanting that tactile feel again. The epic is bigger, but also has a much nicer display and the battery life is longer. I also love the small things like the microusb port on the top, and the power button on the side. These help when I'm using it in the car.
As far as ROMs. The EVO has much more development, but I haven't really longed to change anything on the stock epic (except maybe the bloatware). It's nice and fast and TW is clean. SenseUI always bogged my Evo and made it clunky. The only time I had a smooth ROM was in CM6.So far on the Epic, I don't think I'll need to change anything until I upgrade to 2.2
Also, the Hummingbird processor feels faster than the Snapdragon QSD8650 in the EVO. The extra GPU power really makes a difference. That's why I switched.
I could never decide between the two really, there is just a list of pro's and con's for both of them!
So I got an Evo for my second line. (Girlfriend uses it).
I swore to myself that I would never get a Samsung phone. After I switched away from my Motorolla razr many years ago to the HTC Touch, I fell in love with the quality of their phones.
The Epic just makes the Evo seem so outdated. The only thing going for the Evo is the development community, accessories, and support. And of course the build quality of the phone is just PERFECT.
Unfortunately, I grew tired of Sense UI over a year ago, and much prefer the AOSP UI. I can say, side by side, the Epic just rips the Evo apart in terms of fluidness, performance, and raw GPU power... That, and the screen looks a million times better, and FEELS better too!
I like them both though! =)
one thing to also consider since you are currently a t-mobile customer, the G2 from HTC is out.
I think all of these "Epic or Evo" posts are kind of strange, honestly. The two phones fill different niches. I agree with the poster that said it really comes down to keyboard vs. no keyboard and touchwiz vs. sense. Everything else is relatively minor, and something you will easily get used to (or not even realize the difference).
For me, a better question would be something like Epic or G2, or Epic or Droid 2. It's really not that hard to switch carriers (in fact I did it to buy the Epic), and unless you're very close to the beginning of your present contract - in which case you can't upgrade yet anyway - the ETF probably won't be that much, if anything. I got out of my contract with AT&T after 18 months and they didn't charge me any ETF - though that may be because I still have a second line with my wife's iPhone on it.
I just feel like phones with or without keyboards are a completely different experience. (I had an iPhone for a *day*, and it felt like walking around on one leg to me. So I returned it. And now I'm very happy with my Epic.)
If I didn't need a keyboard, I wouldn't consider the Epic, because the keyboard just adds extra bulk and another failure point - actually several more failure points. Instead, I'd then be comparing the Evo to another Galaxy S phone on another carrier. There's usually no reason to restrict yourself to one carrier. Even if you are going to be charged an ETF, you can usually find a deal on any phone that will more than pay for it (vs. the normal subsidized price of the phone).
badasscat said:
I think all of these "Epic or Evo" posts are kind of strange, honestly. The two phones fill different niches. I agree with the poster that said it really comes down to keyboard vs. no keyboard and touchwiz vs. sense. Everything else is relatively minor, and something you will easily get used to (or not even realize the difference).
For me, a better question would be something like Epic or G2, or Epic or Droid 2. It's really not that hard to switch carriers (in fact I did it to buy the Epic), and unless you're very close to the beginning of your present contract - in which case you can't upgrade yet anyway - the ETF probably won't be that much, if anything. I got out of my contract with AT&T after 18 months and they didn't charge me any ETF - though that may be because I still have a second line with my wife's iPhone on it.
I just feel like phones with or without keyboards are a completely different experience. (I had an iPhone for a *day*, and it felt like walking around on one leg to me. So I returned it. And now I'm very happy with my Epic.)
If I didn't need a keyboard, I wouldn't consider the Epic, because the keyboard just adds extra bulk and another failure point - actually several more failure points. Instead, I'd then be comparing the Evo to another Galaxy S phone on another carrier. There's usually no reason to restrict yourself to one carrier. Even if you are going to be charged an ETF, you can usually find a deal on any phone that will more than pay for it (vs. the normal subsidized price of the phone).
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If you are coming from other carriers, then switching carrier might be a good idea.
But for Sprint customers (especially SERO), switching is usually costly. And unfortunately, at this moment, there are only 2 premium phones that we can choose from.
acegolfer said:
If you are coming from other carriers, then switching carrier might be a good idea.
But for Sprint customers (especially SERO), switching is usually costly. And unfortunately, at this moment, there are only 2 premium phones that we can choose from.
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Click to collapse
People without SERO really dont get us sero users.
Even at 50 a month (with my 5pm nights and weekend perk) I will NEVER leave this plan.
the ones we got are evo epic pre transform to a lesser extent hero moment and even lesser extent the i1 and intercept
verizon att and tmo are lucky they have much more
My dad has the evo, I have the epic.
Grab a halloween wallpaper with lots of pumpkins on it. Then compare the screens. I couldn't believe the difference. The epic hands down has darker blacks and more vivid colors. Totally worth it.
Also a few co workers this week complimented the screen.
acegolfer said:
If you are coming from other carriers, then switching carrier might be a good idea.
But for Sprint customers (especially SERO), switching is usually costly. And unfortunately, at this moment, there are only 2 premium phones that we can choose from.
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Click to collapse
The OP is coming from T-Mobile. So there's no real reason he should only be looking at the Evo and Epic, and not much reason he'd have to compare only those phones to each other.
Coin Slot said:
one thing to also consider since you are currently a t-mobile customer, the G2 from HTC is out.
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Click to collapse
+1 On this.. Amazing Device.. Dumb Fast.. Dumb Fast..
actually i am not leaving T-Mobile but adding Sprint as my second line. So in two months i will have a final decision.
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA App
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.
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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.
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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.
Click to expand...
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
Click to expand...
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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Click to collapse
****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.
I urgently need your valuable opinion. I spent several hours yesterday (Sunday) at a AT&T Retail Store with the Motorola Atrix. As you may know the phone display is a smidge under resolution to the IPhone 4- it lacked the "Punch" I thought the Display would or should have- is it because of Android 2.2? The dual core and Nvidia graphics accelerator should have given the Atrix a absolutely stunning display, it was “Just Ok” display, but nowhere near the retina display of Apple. I am resigned or guessing to think that this may be a Android software thing-
The Battery time appears good, I ran the Motorola “Flash Demo Site” about 9 times, ran Kobe Bryant’s “Nike Black Mamba” 5 min Trailer sever times was all over the web, Huge Multi Media Sites, and I didn’t ding the Battery at all, which was very surprising-
There is no question the Phone is very fast, actually at this point, I’ve never held a faster phone in my hand, we downloaded Extreme Labs Speed test, “Blink” it was done, actually initially I thought the download aborted- No such luck, Its fast-
So the Bottom line, The Display worries me. On the other Hand I'm hearing the Display on the Xoom is Gorgeous- but their running Gingerbread 3.0- I remember there was talk that Gingerbread required some very High Tech Hardware in place, Dual Core, Nividia ect- The Atrix is running Android 2.2-
Oops! I left one thing out-
The Sales rep told me the phone was “LTE Ready”, when I asked what do you mean, he smiled and said all that’s required is a Sim Card Change Out, He said Both the Inspire and the Atrix were that way. After I got home I called AT&T and spoke to a Supervisor in Technical Services, who confirmed that dialog. I am very surprised, as none of the reviews have said that. There has been great debates over 4G, and articles that say the Atrix is but isn’t 4G, and cannot work on LTE-
I have always valued your Forum opinions, and hope that you will take a moment to answer my email. Any comment you can give or overall opinion would be graciously received as always.
ItsaRaid said:
I urgently need your valuable opinion. I spent several hours yesterday (Sunday) at a AT&T Retail Store with the Motorola Atrix. As you may know the phone display is a smidge under resolution to the IPhone 4- it lacked the "Punch" I thought the Display would or should have- is it because of Android 2.2? The dual core and Nvidia graphics accelerator should have given the Atrix a absolutely stunning display, it was “Just Ok” display, but nowhere near the retina display of Apple. I am resigned or guessing to think that this may be a Android software thing-
The Battery time appears good, I ran the Motorola “Flash Demo Site” about 9 times, ran Kobe Bryant’s “Nike Black Mamba” 5 min Trailer sever times was all over the web, Huge Multi Media Sites, and I didn’t ding the Battery at all, which was very surprising-
There is no question the Phone is very fast, actually at this point, I’ve never held a faster phone in my hand, we downloaded Extreme Labs Speed test, “Blink” it was done, actually initially I thought the download aborted- No such luck, Its fast-
So the Bottom line, The Display worries me. On the other Hand I'm hearing the Display on the Xoom is Gorgeous- but their running Gingerbread 3.0- I remember there was talk that Gingerbread required some very High Tech Hardware in place, Dual Core, Nividia ect- The Atrix is running Android 2.2-
Oops! I left one thing out-
The Sales rep told me the phone was “LTE Ready”, when I asked what do you mean, he smiled and said all that’s required is a Sim Card Change Out, He said Both the Inspire and the Atrix were that way. After I got home I called AT&T and spoke to a Supervisor in Technical Services, who confirmed that dialog. I am very surprised, as none of the reviews have said that. There has been great debates over 4G, and articles that say the Atrix is but isn’t 4G, and cannot work on LTE-
I have always valued your Forum opinions, and hope that you will take a moment to answer my email. Any comment you can give or overall opinion would be graciously received as always.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
-You're right, the Atrix display is just a bit under the iP4... but it is also a larger display, in a package that is nearly the same size as the iP4. I think it is great. Some people coming from some of the samsung screens are complaining of its vibrancy or whatnot. I think it looks fine. People are saying it is more natural and less overly saturated. Also, from reading engadget - it looks like one of the galaxy phones just got a software update fixing colors... So what may be a slight (and probably un-recognizable to most people) nuance, may simply be corrected in an update. Motorola really did push this phone out the door and may have even rushed it. But from owning the device since launch, I can attest that there are no physical hardware issues to the device.
-The battery is absolutely huge. If you want the full android, syncing, viewing, browsing, calling, messaging, emailing, widget-updating, animations etc etc experience - this battery can deliver. Personally, I don't have every bell and whistle turned on in my phone - I am a little more conservative, but not entirely, and my battery last EASILY a day. I usually TRY to kill it at night in bed when my girlfriend goes to sleep (early) just to see if I can.
-Phone is fast, but motoblur is not desireable. Some people like it, some people don't. It's not the worst, but it's not like HTC's sense where you would actually prefer to keep the stock launcher. I experimented with ADW launcher first and I really liked it. However, as far as silky smooth, super consistent lag-free performance, Launcher Pro is where it's at. Many options and more smooth than ADW. I am 100% happy with my setup at this point - the phone never hiccups.
-As far as I know, the Atrix is NOT LTE ready. There is a lot of confusion over the jargon going around and what companies are calling "4G". Most likely, those reps were confusing HSPA+ with LTE. I am almost positive the Atrix is not LTE compatible.
*You mentioned the Xoom and Gingerbread. Honeycomb is apparently optimized to get the most out of the dual core power... This makes the Atrix more future-proof, as it already has the dual core and will eventually see HC.
*Also, although the bootloader has not been unlocked or whatever - the phone is very easily rootable - which enables freezing ('removal') of bloat apps, ability to install out of market apps, and tethering off-plan.
Hope that helps your decision. I had an Iphone 4 and sold it for a lot of money on Amazon. I had briefly dabbled with android (Evo 4G) briefly, but always ended up back to the newest iPhone... But with this device, the iPhone is not even a thought. I love android, and I love playing with, tweaking, improving and customizing my phone. It is much more fun if you are somewhat technically savvy. The iPhone is very safe, and is a great device, but if you are looking for something that lets you take the reigns a little more... get the atrix. the display is awesome, trust me. compare both screens from normal viewing distances... they are not THAT different. Sure, look up close and spot imperfections, but it's not that different.
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The Android OS has little to do with the resolution of the display. The Pentile matrix reduces the clarity and sharpness compared to the Retina display. The Atrix also has lower pixels per inch.
I'm pretty sure you need a different radio for LTE compatibility.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
I can confirm that the phone does not need a SIM change. I am using mine with the old SIM that I had on my desire. As, for LTE the phone does not have a LTE radio and is not LTE compatible.
You definitely need a different radio for LTE.
-Display: The Galaxy S phones have the most beautiful displays IMO. iP4 is a very close second. Atrix is a somewhat close third. Compared to the Captivate, the atrix has severely muted colors (almost looks B/W next to the captivate's super saturated display but the atrix colors are actually more accurate). The biggest problem I see is the low bit depth (gradients look like crap). Pentile isn't desirable either. ------ ALL is made up for with the increased resolution. There hasn't yet been a single other android phone announced with an equal or higher resolution. We're safe for at least 6 months...bottom line, the display is good enough so that it's not of real concern unless you're doing some artsy stuff on your phone in which case, you want the iP4.
-this phone is INSAINELY FAST. Like I can't even explain what it's like on a day to day basis. a godsend. I don't have to wait for menus or programs to load (not even google voice!!!). I blindly know where all the buttons are for all context menus and I flick my thumb around and the menu has loaded before my thumb lands. It's truly incredible, a dream come true for a phone. I don't know if this is because of the tegra, ram, or file structure. whatever this pixie dust is, I don't think froyo could possibly run any faster and I don't really care for it to.
-the battery runs circles around every other android phone to date. easily twice my previous captivate.
-Moto is kinda sorta almost acceptable when it comes to updates...
-oh and holy crap the GPS actually works!! and its fast AND accurate?! something samsung couldn't do even if they had access to DARPA's research.
bottom line, this is the best android phone by a long shot. A phone that has people leaving the iP4 for. Prying an apple boy away from apple is quite an impressive feat. Put your worries to rest. If you're on this forum and going to get a phone inside 5 months, this is your phone (or wait at least 6 months for the next wave of phones). It's absolutely not perfect, but its somewhat kinda in the same universe as perfection...
Oh yeah, there is no 4G, but thats not Moto's fault. Att's 3G has gotten impressively good lately. Probably due to the loss of a large chunk of apple users. Plenty fast for mobile/hot spot net as long as you're not trying to stream HD video.
eatkabab said:
You definitely need a different radio for LTE.
-Display: The Galaxy S phones have the most beautiful displays IMO. iP4 is a very close second. Atrix is a somewhat close third. Compared to the Captivate, the atrix has severely muted colors (almost looks B/W next to the captivate's super saturated display but the atrix colors are actually more accurate). The biggest problem I see is the low bit depth (gradients look like crap). Pentile isn't desirable either. ------ ALL is made up for with the increased resolution. There hasn't yet been a single other android phone announced with an equal or higher resolution. We're safe for at least 6 months...bottom line, the display is good enough so that it's not of real concern unless you're doing some artsy stuff on your phone in which case, you want the iP4.
-this phone is INSAINELY FAST. Like I can't even explain what it's like on a day to day basis. a godsend. I don't have to wait for menus or programs to load (not even google voice!!!). I blindly know where all the buttons are for all context menus and I flick my thumb around and the menu has loaded before my thumb lands. It's truly incredible, a dream come true for a phone. I don't know if this is because of the tegra, ram, or file structure. whatever this pixie dust is, I don't think froyo could possibly run any faster and I don't really care for it to.
-the battery runs circles around every other android phone to date. easily twice my previous captivate.
-Moto is kinda sorta almost acceptable when it comes to updates...
-oh and holy crap the GPS actually works!! and its fast AND accurate?! something samsung couldn't do even if they had access to DARPA's research.
bottom line, this is the best android phone by a long shot. A phone that has people leaving the iP4 for. Prying an apple boy away from apple is quite an impressive feat. Put your worries to rest. If you're on this forum and going to get a phone inside 5 months, this is your phone (or wait at least 6 months for the next wave of phones). It's absolutely not perfect, but its somewhat kinda in the same universe as perfection...
Oh yeah, there is no 4G, but thats not Moto's fault. Att's 3G has gotten impressively good lately. Probably due to the loss of a large chunk of apple users. Plenty fast for mobile/hot spot net as long as you're not trying to stream HD video.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What about the fact it won't get GPU acceleration or Gtalk video chat during the May/June Android update? Doesn't that worry you?
What about the fact a Nexus S with a flashed kernel and ROM is reportedly faster than the Atrix?
What about the reports that it struggles with some GPU-intensive live wallpapers in a way the Nexus S and Captivate don't?
TareX said:
What about the fact it won't get GPU acceleration or Gtalk video chat during the May/June Android update? Doesn't that worry you?
What about the fact a Nexus S with a flashed kernel and ROM is reportedly faster than the Atrix?
What about the reports that it struggles with some GPU-intensive live wallpapers in a way the Nexus S and Captivate don't?
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Click to collapse
That is all true, but I came from the captivate. Yes I whole heartedly admit that the capitvate was about twice as smooth, able to do some things better, but the atrix is twice as fast and has more 'space' on the screen.
Overall, its a much better phone and I doubt the captivate will get any love from samsung given their track record...moto has almost as bad of a record though.
The nexus S is great and probably the most 'time safe' phone since google is its support, but its not on the ATT network, as in, I'd have to pay retail. I got the atrix for free (in fact I kinda made $42 for getting it)
Currently using it with Nova launcher and stock everything else.
The good:
- The awesome monitor to body ratio is still as amazing as it was the first time I see it, especially when game such as Alto's Adventure allows full screen immersion mode.
- Extremely high build quality, not only does the ceramic feel awesome and polished (feels like glass but smoother), the weight that it adds makes the whole phone feel extremely premium.
- Speaker is surprisingly good, and internal amp drives my full sized Audeze EL8 without any issue.
- Quick charge is as useful as expected
- Extremely quick finger print reading
- Some surprisingly good features, for example the notification bar when dragged down includes weather immediately. Also a great feature to have the battery show as a bar on top rather than an icon.
- Very useful alarm clock apps, sure it's not Sleep. But it has the option to only do alarm in all work days. Meaning it automatic turn off for red day public holiday.
The bad:
- Going into full immersion mode can be troublesome for keyboard. You have to hold your phone lower to get used to the keyboard location.
- Not able to change the default search bar in the notification bar, seriously this would have been so awesome if the default is google.
- Listening call still feels weird at times.
- Google play occasionally crash.
Camera:
Below is the album that I have uploaded from daily shots and from a trip. Without edit and with native app.
http://imgur.com/a/R7cIo
One word: Unreliable.
Good:
Very fast focus and exposure adjustment.
Good selection of modes and with internal filter if you are into this sort of things
Fun to use for selfie, there's a scoring system and guessing age/gender which often leads to laughter (but it is surprisingly accurate)
imo very good HDR mode, with only slightly overexposing the high light.
Bad:
occasionally it set pretty poor exposure values (too high shutter and lead to high ISO etc)
Poor sharpness. Could be the over aggressive noise cancelling.
Some lag after pressing shutter
Poor flair control
Colour is a hit or miss, occasionally very bad colour control (you can see it from the airplane flight shot, the sky is no where that blue)
Final words:
How long has it been that you see a phone with something special? Every phone is only slightly better spec, or different size, there's nothing groundbreaking. Smartphone market almost feel boring in the past 2 to 3 years.
Then come this phone, brave enough not only to include a bezeless monitor, but also put in a high end spec with a ceramic build.
if you are looking for something special, right now in the world, there is only this one phone with all these features, at a price tag that is not outrageous.
lyI agree with most of what you're saying. Major exception, for me, is the fingerprint reader: Works fine for an hour or so, then simple stops reading after that. Diagnosis (* # * # 64663 # * # *) reports it's fine. Have restored system, flashed developer ROM (didn't like it) then returned to China stable, with same results. I have not unlocked the BL, and with nougat on the horizon, it appears, for the first time in many years, I won't have a rooted phone boo-hoo).
I updated to China stable 8.0.12.0 just last night. Supposedly camera improvements (among others), so we'll see on that front.
Love the phone, the size is impressive (big/small) and the overall concept.
I'm loving the phone so far. Although it does have one big 'issue' which is the screen flashing red as I lock the phone, but it only seems to happen when the screen has white pixels.
Examples: http://imgur.com/a/jclHi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3C8j1o4-SE
Anybody else able to replicate this problem?
Apart from that problem though, everything is fantastic. Phone is incredibly fast (I have the 4GB model), it held GTA San Andreas, Torque Burnout, CarX Drift AND GTA Vice City all in memory! Seriously impressive stuff. Phone is very snappy, and very large, but it is very easy to get used to, I held and iPhone 4 the other day and I swear it could have fit into my Mix twice!
Camera is okay with the default app, I have since downloaded Snap Camera which makes the pictures much better and has lots more options. However, I'm not really very 'into' taking pictures with my phone, so my advice is probably lost anyway.
Had it close to five weeks now.
I forgot to point this out when I got it, but the finish on this thing is nothing short of predominant! (Nods to Michael Scott fans). But seriously, just wow.
I have been pretty fortunate with all my prior devices. The one fault I can think of, is that my Z1 has a singel bright pixel. Admittedly, my old TyTn did die after being exposed to the harshness of laying on my desk for a month when I brought a burner to the far east. A slap in the face when service said it had water damage (yaahh, from the high humidity we always experience up north ) which they supposedly had pictures of (they didn't). Wanted me to pay for shipping and service fees to return my dud. Needless to say, I swallowed the guys behind the counter whole, and walked outta there not paying a cent, paperweight in hand.
Sure, there have been some tiny misalignments on some devices. Where screen has not been 100% flush with the front, or other parts minutely sticking out. Albeit, these flaws have been too insignificant to warrant a return. Meaning, you would almost need a magnifying glass to spot them.
I say this to convey that I meticulously go over my devices to check for flaws.
The MiX is the first I can honestly say is totally FLAWLESS! Can't stop caressing this jewel. Toss away your stress balls and just hold onto your MiX.
On the software side, 2 minutes of removing crap = happy camper. Speed and stutter free experience only matched by my m8 on custom kernel and lightweight MM rom. Not had a lot of FC's and continuous toasts of stuff failing and whatnot. A+ again.
The camera is not beating current flagships. I don't snap pics at every waking moment, so I find the stock app to perform very satisfactory in all lighting conditions when in manual. I have yet to see a phone cam work optimal in auto anyway. Iso almost always end up too high, on tripods as well. In video recording, I don't have a ton of material yet to compare this and that in different resolutions, but yeah I have seen better. OIS would have been nice I guess. Will be more exciting to get some footage out and about in a few months, when I have scenery that includes more contrasting colours than just black white and grey.
Battery life is awesome. But I think others with a better device history should comment on that besides me.
Only thing I have to counter all this lovin' with, is the ultrasound proximity sensor. This may only be on mine, but often when the screen turns off, after maybe five or ten seconds it has a tendency to come back on. I have to move it away at least 10-15cm away from my head and wait a second or two before putting it against my ear again. After that it stays off. Odd! That can be a bit frustrating actually. Whether it be the sensor or the software making fudge, I don't know (happened on more than one ROM).
Last I'm gonna say for now is that:
Even though my Sharp gave me even more of "no edge on top" feeling, this slabalicious wonder makes me want to bite down on it just to get another tactile (toothtile?) sensation.
Merry X-mas y'all!
i have the exact opposite opinion as the original poster.
the only things i don't like is how heavy it is. no idea how this is a plus or that its heavy makes one think it is better built. you drop this phone on its corner and the screen is going to crack.
i'm also not a fan of the square bar design, if i pick up my nexus 6 which is the same size basically it feels so so much better in my hand.
that being said, i wouldn't trade this phone for ANYTHING else on the market. these are only very samll minor complaings, as well as i very much want an AOSP rom instead of MIUI. i bought this phone for the huge 6.4 inch screen and the screen is unreal. the battery life and speed are also like no phone i've ever had. this thing flies.
I've had the Mix for just about a month now, purchased from an eBay reseller based here in the US. The Mix came factory sealed with CN Stable 8.0.10.0 installed.
I took a few days on the CN ROM to decide that I didn't want that, and then followed @underlines' excellent guide to install TWRP, root with Su and install the EU ROM. I had applied to bootloader unlock when I ordered the phone.
I love this device. I don't think I've been this excited about a smartphone ever, and I have owned lots of them. My only gripe is the camera, which is fine but not as good as the iPhone 7+ or the Google Pixel or the SG 7 Edge. Though Snap Camera app in manual mode provides very good results and better than the stock camera app.
Otherwise my thoughts are as the other posters in this thread, amazing screen, excellent build quality, battery lasts a very long time and did I mention the screen? I think most importantly this feels like the future. Is it perfect? No. Does it include every LTE band? Apparently not. Is it the perfect size for most hands to hold? No. But everyone who sees it asks "what phone is this?". And that includes Samsung, Apple, HTC and Motorola users.
I would recommend installing TWRP and rooting, MIUI is optimized for the Chinese market and many of those optimizations don't make sense in other markets or negatively impact usability.
Cheers
J
Sent from my MIX using XDA Labs