Database Users

Limitations???

Hello-
I was hoping any and all users can giver their 2 cents here. What are the real world limitations of this device? I have done a fair amount of research and this phone seems to fit the bill, but wanted some feedback on it. I know I want an Android based smartphone, and I must stick with AT&T as it's what my company has and it's the ONLY provider in my rural part of Texas.
While the phone has been labeled "mid-spec" it still seems pretty impressive. I also know being tied to AT&T means I'm REALLY limited, and I do not want an iPhone. My wife has one, I've tried it... It completly DIED after 3 months. I know in other posts people have said iPhone still best bang for the buck for AT&T smartphone, but a smartphone that does not work as a phone, doesn't show the net as it really appears, and has updates that seemingly copy Android does not seem too "smart" to me. Yes, iTunes looks pretty, and I could play "Words w/ Friends," but seems like a lot of fluff.
I have found due to hardware Aria cannot run Google Earth, is there anything else it cannot do? I know there is debate about Gingerbread being compatible, but that seems a ways down the road. I'm really torn, as I like the size of this thing: it still looks like a phone and not a flat panel TV, but the car guy side of me thinks "no replacement for displacement" when it comes to a processor.
That would mean getting a Nexus One, but I worry about the trackball popping out like my sister-in-laws Blackberry, and the cost is hard to swallow. The Desire looks AWESOME but if I have read correctly it will not work on 3G for data, only voice, and it is expensive. Then there is the Samsung Captivate which is coming, but it seems HUGE, or does the camera add 10 lbs???. I'd like to limit the physical size to an iphone-esque size at most so it is pocketable. I also have read Samsung can be difficult to work with from a consumer standpoint with respect to updates, etc.
I also like the Sense UI as it seems elegantly simple and worked well while I messed with the phone in the store.
Overall, I want the most bang for the buck phone. A true "dream machine" would be an Aria sized phone, with the Desire specs, that does it all on 3G. What really would be the closest thing to such a device? I'm open to any ideas and suggestions, but again I CANNOT change providers; seriously, AT&T is the ONLY provider with coverage in my area.
Thanks in advance for any and all answers and help!!!

The phone does have some limitations (you have done your homework). If you want a great phone on att, this is a good choice. The galaxy s (coming soon to ATT) may be better if you must have a high end device.

I would say that if you are stuck with AT&T, the Aria may be your phone. I have a had HTC, Samsung, Motorola, and Apple phones and HTC has been the most solid of all of them. I just came from an iPhone and I can honestly say it has better reception, call quality, and adaptability than my 3GS. Phones seem to be almost a matter of taste, some people will deal with the most ridiculous shortcomings if it has a feature they feel is the most important. That being said, I played with a lot of phones and found the Aria to be the best package for a smartphone on AT&T at this moment. That could change as soon as another high end phone hops on but for now, I'm very pleased. I will say this, the battery life takes some getting used to, but its right in the same area and any other smartphone. Also, the speaker phone is quiet but since I never use it, it doesn't even make my list for pros vs cons. Being that it is locked down to certain apps and such is annoying, but coming from an iPhone makes it seem like a walk in the park to get other apps and such on it. I would say read a little more of these forums to see what some complaints are and see if any of them make your list of important features. But otherwise, you have on recommendation here.

Some of the gripes I have with this phone include:
* The screen isn't quite adequate in size for reading ebooks, which I didn't expect I would do at the time of purchase.
* The speaker is pretty crappy. It's not very loud and it sounds irritating at volume - very tinny.
* It doesn't appear to support very many video file formats. In fact, the only format I've gotten to work with Act1 video player are the base h264 and h263 formats. To my understanding, it is up to the manufacturer to include any extra codecs, so you're SOL if you're planning on using this as a mobile media player.
* It doesn't come with live wallpapers or an option to sideload apps. You can enable both of these by rooting the phone (which is a pain in the ass, by the way), but I've found that the processor isn't up to the task of running some of the more complex live wallpapers (like the mario wallpaper). I'm hoping this will be less of a problem with Froyo and the JIT.
* It gets a little warm when you have the gps on in navigation, but not enough to scald your junk if you're keeping it on your lap. It's actually not that big of a deal, just makes me worry about damaging the battery.
* Typing is a bit hard in portrait mode. Some applications seem to crash in landscape mode, like 'better terminal emulator', but I suspect that's more of a problem with the program and not the Aria.
* The camera is a bit mediocre and doesn't include a flash, but to be fair, it's primarily a phone and not a camera (I have yet to see a phone's camera be on par with a midrange point & shoot).
* Sense UI can't be disabled/enabled as an option, like on the Evo 4g.
I was going to test Google Earth for you, but I can't seem to find it in the Market.
Anyway, in summary, it has a few shortcomings, it's a midrange phone after all, but I love it regardless. It's slips into my pocket comfortably and feels solid in the hand. The interface is nice and smooth (unless you have some crazy live wallpaper enabled). It doesn't bog down when you fill the screens with widgets, and the browser experience thus far has been great. All in all, it was definitely worth the $50 I paid for it from Amazon.com.
P.S. I was considering holding out for something higher spec'd to come along on AT&T, but who knows when that will happen? The Dell Aero was supposed to be out months ago. Likewise, we are actually supposed to have 3 HTC phones running Android to choose from right now, and yet we only have the Aria. The Samsung Captivate is supposed to be 'coming in the next few months,' but I've grown to distrust AT&T's timelines. A major part of why I got the Aria was because I was simply tired of waiting for ATT to get their act together.

I went to an AT&T Retail Store here in Corpus Christi, TX to look at it again and see what they could do for me deal wise because I'm mid-cycle in my contract. The Mgr. told me he is suppose to get the "sample" Captivate on Friday, and it's suppose to be on sale the 15th. I guess to go head-to-head with the X??? I'll wait til Friday to see if it true. He claims there is a lot to coming down the pike with Android OS as it's the "next big thing..." (Well, for AT&T I guess....) I've waitd this long, another couple of days won't kill me to see it, and help reduce buyer's remorse...

lonestarmotorcyclist said:
I went to an AT&T Retail Store here in Corpus Christi, TX to look at it again and see what they could do for me deal wise because I'm mid-cycle in my contract. The Mgr. told me he is suppose to get the "sample" Captivate on Friday, and it's suppose to be on sale the 15th. I guess to go head-to-head with the X??? I'll wait til Friday to see if it true. He claims there is a lot to coming down the pike with Android OS as it's the "next big thing..." (Well, for AT&T I guess....) I've waitd this long, another couple of days won't kill me to see it, and help reduce buyer's remorse...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good luck fighting the urge!

modest_mandroid said:
* It doesn't appear to support very many video file formats. In fact, the only format I've gotten to work with Act1 video player are the base h264 and h263 formats. To my understanding, it is up to the manufacturer to include any extra codecs, so you're SOL if you're planning on using this as a mobile media player.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not exactly. Do a search on 'Rock Player'. It's a media player that's still in Beta, and it expands upon the selection of video codecs that are handled by the standard media libraries.
It plays DivX-encoded videos like a CHAMP.
EDIT: Actually, here's the forum for it: http://www.diffthink.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4
Regards,
Corporate Dog

* It doesn't appear to support very many video file formats. In fact, the only format I've gotten to work with Act1 video player are the base h264 and h263 formats. To my understanding, it is up to the manufacturer to include any extra codecs, so you're SOL if you're planning on using this as a mobile media player.
I was planning on using it as a media player... So, in simple English for my simple mind, what does this mean: that it can only use those two formats? Does it mean it's limited to what can be seen via the internet or does it mean I'm limited to the type of video formats I could directly load from my computer, or both???? Is there a way around these limitations because I want to be able to have infotainment in one device and do not want to drag around multiple devices. (Sorry if this seems like a dumb question but I am FAR from well versed in this field.)
Also, thanks again for the replies and info.. It is GREATLY appreciated!!!

Corporate Dog said:
Not exactly. Do a search on 'Rock Player'. It's a media player that's still in Beta, and it expands upon the selection of video codecs that are handled by the standard media libraries.
It plays DivX-encoded videos like a CHAMP.
EDIT: Actually, here's the forum for it: http://www.diffthink.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4
Regards,
Corporate Dog
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I'll check it out when I get home, don't have any divx files to play here.
lonestarmotorcyclist said:
I was planning on using it as a media player... So, in simple English for my simple mind, what does this mean: that it can only use those two formats? Does it mean it's limited to what can be seen via the internet or does it mean I'm limited to the type of video formats I could directly load from my computer, or both???? Is there a way around these limitations because I want to be able to have infotainment in one device and do not want to drag around multiple devices. (Sorry if this seems like a dumb question but I am FAR from well versed in this field.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To my understanding, there isn't any "CorePlayer" equivalent. I dunno if you're coming from a Windows Mobile world or not, but CorePlayer could run pretty much anything your desktop computer could.
What I meant by my comment was that the Aria appears to be limited to the .mp4 format for videos (I have not tested .flv). So, if you wanted to toss some movies onto the sd card and use the stock media player or Act1 video player (appears to be pretty popular in the market), then you're stuck re-encoding all your videos to h264 .mp4. The iPhone is limited in this way too, or so I hear.
But, from what I've seen with RockPlayer just now, it's seems to be very bare on options but looks like it can play a very wide range of formats. I just played some mp4 videos I had on my sd card and they run flawlessly. Hopefully this program is in active development and will turn into Android's CorePlayer.

Thanks for the info and links; you both cleared up the questions I had. I just want to cover every aspect so when my iFamily tells me I made a poor choice I can show them it does EVERYTHING I want it to and more, not what the manufacturer thinks I need it to do or should do...
I just am not seeing where you can go wrong with this thing compared to other devices.....

lonestarmotorcyclist said:
I just am not seeing where you can go wrong with this thing compared to other devices.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the small size can either be a huge plus or killing minus depending on your habits/needs
for me it s a definate plus

lonestarmotorcyclist said:
Thanks for the info and links; you both cleared up the questions I had. I just want to cover every aspect so when my iFamily tells me I made a poor choice I can show them it does EVERYTHING I want it to and more, not what the manufacturer thinks I need it to do or should do...
I just am not seeing where you can go wrong with this thing compared to other devices.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are buying the phone for yourself or are you replacing iphones for your family?

Corporate Dog said:
Not exactly. Do a search on 'Rock Player'. It's a media player that's still in Beta, and it expands upon the selection of video codecs that are handled by the standard media libraries.
It plays DivX-encoded videos like a CHAMP.
EDIT: Actually, here's the forum for it: http://www.diffthink.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4
Regards,
Corporate Dog
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been using rock player on my Aria for a while, and I am hoping this is just cause it is still beta, but SD AVI files run like molasses. If there is more than one thing going on on screen the video lags and gets out of sync with the audio. You have to pause the video, wait for it to catch up and play it again.
This is my only gripe about this phone, but it may be the program, not the phone.

Whatever phone I get will be just for me. My in-laws got their 3Gs' about a yr ago and like most, thought they were the greatest thing sinced bread. So then my wife "needed" one. I've played with it and it is nice to be able to access the web, and have music right there, but.... there seemed something lacking. I like the concept, but I also like to tinker with stuff. I'll admit, I LOVED the Droid ad campaign of "Droid Does" and since my phone has died, I started looking to get something new. It just seems better in everyway I can think of, but I want to know all I can to properly inform those who will tell me I'm wrong when I get my new phone. (And there will be a lot, I know...)
I just don't see how they really can be compared. Everyone I know who has an iPhone loves them, but they use them for the web, Facebook, Words W/ Friends, and as an iPod. I think it's great there are 200K apps, but I don't know anyone that uses more than 1% of them and every "cutting edge feature" seems to be copied from Android. I guess there is also the fact that there are a truckload of docks and cases to "personalize" them, but I think I rather personalize the stuff that matters.
In reality, I want to blow their socks off with what it can do and know it inside and out as soon as I get it. (You know, the ones that were excited about folders and backgrounds on iPhones. Does that make me a bad person??? Or just honest???)

My wife has an Aria, I have a Nexus One. I'm REALLY surprised when I use her phone, it's actually smoother than my Nexus. Long lists scroll like butter, the launcher scrolls extremly smooth, apps list, etc... I've never seen the phone slow down, it's all very smooth.
She doesn't watch videos on it, but she will eventually load her iTunes music onto it, but hasn't yet. She loves the smaller size, but you're right that it is a tad touchier to type on.
She raves about how fast the browser is.. And how everything just opens, bam... And her GCal euphoria moment was pretty awesome too; suddenly she can see my entire calendar, add to my calendar, see when I'm in a meeting until 5...
She's really been looking for something to complain about moving from her iPhone and so far I don't think she's found anything.

Just an update on the video playback capabilities in RockPlayer - I tested it with a 320x240 mpeg, 700x500 divx, 640x480 .mp4 and a 720p mkv video. The mpeg and mp4 ran perfectly fine, the divx ran pretty slow (maybe 10fps) and the sound was constantly desychronizing, and the mkv was unwatchable. It didn't scale down to the Aria screen size, and it ran so slow that you could see the individual frames (like 2-4fps).
Considering the speed difference between the .mp4 and the divx, I'm assuming this is a lack of hardware acceleration issue with some codecs?

[Q] "Limitations" in HTC ARIA ?

Hello Everyone
I am planing to to buy HTC Aria this weekend
but someone told me that i will face limitations in it
like some apps and games will not work
and runs some apps and games slowly
have you faced this problem ? is that true ?
and
do it have anther problems ?
do you advice me to take it ?
please answer my questions quickly
and thank you​

The only limitations you will be facing with it are as follows:
You will never have Flash. Not Adobe's flash 10.1 anyway.
You might not be able to put Android 3.0 on it. That is purely speculative at this point, but it is rumored to require a 1ghz processor.
I've never had an issue with responsiveness or apps not working.

Why would you buy the HTC aria for 230 dollars when the Samsung captivate is available for 200?
Even at 130 after rebate the captivate still blows the doors off the aria in every way
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

i am in uae that is why i cant buy Samsung captivate
the aria is avilable in uae

whitesox311 said:
Why would you buy the HTC aria for 230 dollars when the Samsung captivate is available for 200?
Even at 130 after rebate the captivate still blows the doors off the aria in every way
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
some people just prefer htc
ive used samsung and their phones feel cheap to me (n
o offense intended)
this phone has alot of power under the hood with the right tweaks and once you remove the att bull**** it works great and froyo makes it so much better

superchilpil said:
some people just prefer htc
ive used samsung and their phones feel cheap to me (n
o offense intended)
this phone has alot of power under the hood with the right tweaks and once you remove the att bull**** it works great and froyo makes it so much better
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can second this. I have the captivate, my brother has the Aria. Sense is a better UI in my opinion, and the Aria feels like a more solid phone (maybe because its smaller?).
That said, I wouldnt trade my captivate for the aria. I like the much larger screen and the faster cpu/gpu. I also don't like the HTC keyboard (yes i know it can be changed).
By the same token, my brother likes certain things about my phone, but he wouldn't trade his phone for mine.
I also like the fact that the Aria has an optical trackball.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

sluzi26 said:
The only limitations you will be facing with it are as follows:
You will never have Flash. Not Adobe's flash 10.1 anyway.
You might not be able to put Android 3.0 on it. That is purely speculative at this point, but it is rumored to require a 1ghz processor.
I've never had an issue with responsiveness or apps not working.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
*You will not be able to run any 3d game from Gameloft
*Most 3d intensive games will run slow/choppy or not run at all
*Google earth is not available for the Aria
If you like to play games on your phone (real games) you will be limited by Aria's Slow GPU and old ARMv6 CPU

You have fastboot with the Aria, and optical trackpad. I wish my captivate had fastboot. If you don't have to have the fastest thing out there than get a Aria. Also the Samsung UI software is total pile of crap.
Sent from a 42 node TI 89 cluster

The Galaxy phones are OK but they also have their issues. The blue tinted screen is unacceptable and looks like ****, according to anandtech the GPS works like **** on these phones also. Touchwiz is absolute garbage by the way.
eortizr said:
*You will not be able to run any 3d game from Gameloft - Gaming on phones sucks
*Most 3d intensive games will run slow/choppy or not run at all - I couldn't care less
*Google earth is not available for the Aria - What use does google earth have again?
If you like to play games on your phone (real games) you will be limited by Aria's Slow GPU and old ARMv6 CPU
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
- People really buy phones to play games?

whitesox311 said:
Why would you buy the HTC aria for 230 dollars when the Samsung captivate is available for 200?
Even at 130 after rebate the captivate still blows the doors off the aria in every way
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
BS. How's your GPS working OOB?
The captivate is better if you want a better multimedia device, otherwise, for day to day use the Aria is a better, more practical phone.
It's about requirements, preferences, and choice, and the comparisons making such generalized "better" statements are absolutely ridiculous.

Exador said:
The Galaxy phones are OK but they also have their issues. The blue tinted screen is unacceptable and looks like ****, according to anandtech the GPS works like **** on these phones also. Touchwiz is absolute garbage by the way.
- People really buy phones to play games?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, the OP asked about Aria's limitations... so They there are...

whitesox311 said:
Why would you buy the HTC aria for 230 dollars when the Samsung captivate is available for 200?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My Aria cost me $50 from Amazon. Incredible (pun) bang for the buck! That was the clincher for me and I am so glad I did not buy a brick of a phone. Pretty soon they will put a phone in the iPad and make so many people happy. It will be like the 60's all over again. You can walk around with it propped on your shoulder like a boom box.

the samsung feels like a pos compared to the aria. I feel in my hands and if I was to drop it, the aria would hold up 1000000000000000 x better than the samsung. that's my only complaint about the samsung.

I have put my captivate through some brutal beatings, and even threw it out of my car while driving 45 mph ( it did land in grass too ) it seems to be a very rugged phone.
Sent from my 42 node TI-89 cluster

BatteriesIncluded said:
My Aria cost me $50 from Amazon. Incredible (pun) bang for the buck! That was the clincher for me and I am so glad I did not buy a brick of a phone. Pretty soon they will put a phone in the iPad and make so many people happy. It will be like the 60's all over again. You can walk around with it propped on your shoulder like a boom box.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was going to add this myself, I wouldn't pay 230$ for either of the two phones when amazon is offering both of them for significantly less! (also paid 50$ for mine) I'd have to agree with Attn1 here, the Captivate is a better multimedia device but day to day use I wouldn't even think about trading in my Aria. Neither of them are completely dominant, it all depends on what you want/need.
I also have to disagree with the statement of not being able to play "real" games. If graphics were the only factor in quality of game, games wouldn't be anywhere near the complexity they are today, they would just look good. Further, I haven't found a game I couldn't play on it yet, although I don't doubt it would look much nicer and run smoother on a Captivate.
I also have to agree with the comments of the Captivate feeling "cheaper" by comparison. I've owned several Samsung phones over the years and in my honest opinion HTC simply puts together a better phone.

Cinderous said:
Further, I haven't found a game I couldn't play on it yet, .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that is because when you own an Aria you are limited by the games on the market that are only compatible with the Aria...
You can not run :
Real Soccer 2010
Asphalt 5
Need For Speed Shift
Assassin's Creed™ - Altaïr's Chronicles
Let's Golf!
Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X
and no Full Flash Support.
I have the Aria and the Vibrant and I like them both, the Aria is the bes 'Mid-Range' phone available... and the Vibrant is the best Multimedia Phone available... it all depends on how much you want from your phone... I only paid $50.00 on amazon for the Vibrant and I'm getting a lot from it.
I can Play Mkv Movies... without conversion... something that I can not do on the Aria due to its GPU. I can throw any app or game I want on the Vibrant without asking my self.."will it run smooth"?
If you can get either phone for the same price... Vibrant is a better choice spec wise. If you only see movies on your phone occasionally and your definition of an action game is 'Papi jump' the Aria will do the job. and the Aria's speaker is crap.
And about the comment : "the aria would hold up 1000000000000000 x better than the samsung"
I have to say.. I broke my Arias's glass just a week after I got it, dropped from less than 2 feet... and the glass was shattered. So far the Vibrant have held pretty good and more than a couple of drops...
Some days I use the Aria, some days I use the Vibrant... but If I had to choose.... I'll stay with the phone with NO limitations...

I own both the Aria and the Samsung Captivate.
Yes my captivate blows through games, like FF7. Yes the captivate tends to run cool, it is not a big issue. I think most of prefer warm in our color schemes because of incandescent light bulbs. The tint is not as bad as you hear, and there are community projects that will balance it out to run hotter, more white.
As far as games on android go, there aren't any decent games. Unless you like playing old snes and playstation games.
I really miss the quality of HTC, the form factor, and the aesthetic design. Samsung knows how to make some mean silicone chips, but they make garbage cases. I hate the faux fiber panel and the overall cheap and highly breakable feel to the device.
I you want an Android smart phone to organize your life, and access the internet on the go, get the Aria, if you are into movies, games, etc, wait until the market matures in your area.

I think people aren't looking at a few things.
A. if your paying full price.. you can prob get a like new/new aria (not from retailers mind you) for probably right in the 200$ mark.. the phone itself retails for like 350$ totall..
Captivate off contract is probably gunna be at least 400$.
I would love an android phone that can "do anything" like captivate.. but, if I can afford 200$ and get an aria.. I'm gunna do it instead of waiting till feb..
B. While I do want to see more games put on these phones.. its not all about 3d gaming here.. I can't believe I'm saying this (huge gamer.. been playing 20 years now).. These phone's are luxury devices.. but, I never thought of them as a psp or nintendo ds :/.. Yes.. nice games are great.. but, call me old fashioned.. I still appreciate just being able to do what *I* want with the phone.. Set what background/ringtone I want.. In terms of android.. arrange icons/widgets how I want..
I do want gaming market to advance on phone's.. but, I think we also need to realize it is a phone..
C. these are two different phones altogether.. they both deserve respect. They both from what I hear have great battery life.. However, the aria is really more for "power usage" in a 'this is a mobile computing device' sense.. where the captivate is designed by nature to be an all out power house..
If I had an upgrade and I was looking at spending a small amount more for a captivate.. I would jump on it, in a heart beat. Without a contract? I will probably pay 200$ for a mint condition aria.. then save the upgrade in feb until dual core comes out

eortizr said:
that is because when you own an Aria you are limited by the games on the market that are only compatible with the Aria...
You can not run :
Real Soccer 2010
Asphalt 5
Need For Speed Shift
Assassin's Creed™ - Altaïr's Chronicles
Let's Golf!
Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure where you're getting that info, Let's Golf is one of the few games I do play. And I've played both asphalt 5 and NFS on it without problems. I honestly haven't tried the other ones.
Sent from my CM6 Liberty

eortizr said:
that is because when you own an Aria you are limited by the games on the market that are only compatible with the Aria...
You can not run :
Real Soccer 2010
Asphalt 5
Need For Speed Shift
Assassin's Creed™ - Altaïr's Chronicles
Let's Golf!
Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X
and no Full Flash Support.
I have the Aria and the Vibrant and I like them both, the Aria is the bes 'Mid-Range' phone available... and the Vibrant is the best Multimedia Phone available... it all depends on how much you want from your phone... I only paid $50.00 on amazon for the Vibrant and I'm getting a lot from it.
I can Play Mkv Movies... without conversion... something that I can not do on the Aria due to its GPU. I can throw any app or game I want on the Vibrant without asking my self.."will it run smooth"?
If you can get either phone for the same price... Vibrant is a better choice spec wise. If you only see movies on your phone occasionally and your definition of an action game is 'Papi jump' the Aria will do the job. and the Aria's speaker is crap.
And about the comment : "the aria would hold up 1000000000000000 x better than the samsung"
I have to say.. I broke my Arias's glass just a week after I got it, dropped from less than 2 feet... and the glass was shattered. So far the Vibrant have held pretty good and more than a couple of drops...
Some days I use the Aria, some days I use the Vibrant... but If I had to choose.... I'll stay with the phone with NO limitations...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've played some of those games as well. Running cm6 and 825mhz kernel.
And, the only real benefit of having Flash is so you can view people websites stupid advertisement media.

Why smartphones suck

I have a Galaxy S from Bell. It was great for a while, but now its degraded into something barely above a brick. The lag is so bad that I can't answer phone calls sometimes because the screen is unresponsive.
I've had a few smart phones so far, original iPhone, iPhone 3G, Nexus One and now the Galaxy S. I really want to get away from the Galaxy S because of the combination of quality (ie. the complete lack of it) and the ridiculous timelines Samsung, and then carriers take to upgrade a handset to the latest version of android, if at all. But when I look at the options out there, they all suck.
The iPhone is decent, if you don't mind living in a walled garden. But I'd like a few more options than Apple is willing to provide such as removable battery, drag and drop files, something akin to native support of flac and divx/xvid. I really don't feel like playing my mp3s with one player and then flac with another. I also don't feel like converting movies to mp4, a standard which clearly sucks by virtue of the fact that no one would use it if apple didn't force them to.
With Android I have to deal with constantly waiting for the latest OS, usually 6 months or longer after Google has released it, and then it's been shat all over by the manufacturer and/or carrier. So that leaves pure Google phones, of which there's the Nexus One and the Nexus S.
I had the Nexus One, good phone, except for the screen. Constantly looking for shade so I can see the screen in the sun is a pain. The Nexus S fixes that, but no microSD slot? Are you f-ing kidding me? You couldn't put that in there? It's available on pretty much EVERY other smart phone that isn't the iPhone. And no 32GB option. Basically, it's a Nexus One with a curved screen (that may or may not introduce display issues according to Engadget). I mean, NFC? You give me NFC, but no microSD? I think running into a 16GB space barrier is going to happen way more often than me trying to share contact info with someone through NFC.
Can someone please make a phone that supports common media formats (mp3/flac/xvid/divx, etc), decent processor (dragons, birds, dogs, I don't care), a screen I can see in sunlight and either 32GB non expandable or better yet a microSD slot. Stick a camera on there if you feel like it. I don't even care if there's a front facing camera, because no one is walking around making video calls.
Smartphones suck.

What about installibg jpu?
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

The lag shouldn't be that bad, I used the phone for a while with no lagfix and it wasn't that bad.
Do a factory reset, and maybe even install the JPU firmware if you're willing. The lag is no longer a problem with JPU.
Maybe the upcoming LG Optimus 2X will finally give us a smartphone to beat all smartphones. Hard to imagine LG being much better than Samsung though.

wipe phone,
install JK4,
flash hardcore k10,
Done.
Stop being such a *****

guys is it a lag when ever after i install app from market and back to my home screen all the apps n widgets on the homescreen lost for a while and i need to wait a minute before all the apps and widgets on my homescreen to appear and running smooth????

nazrazr said:
guys is it a lag when ever after i install app from market and back to my home screen all the apps n widgets on the homescreen lost for a while and i need to wait a minute before all the apps and widgets on my homescreen to appear and running smooth????
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
rough english, but I think I understand.
Are you running 2.2? And what build?

I agree with the Nexus S having no micro SD slot comment you made. wtf WERE they thinking?
Seriously???

Legion6789 said:
I have a Galaxy S from Bell. It was great for a while, but now its degraded into something barely above a brick. The lag is so bad that I can't answer phone calls sometimes because the screen is unresponsive.
I've had a few smart phones so far, original iPhone, iPhone 3G, Nexus One and now the Galaxy S. I really want to get away from the Galaxy S because of the combination of quality (ie. the complete lack of it) and the ridiculous timelines Samsung, and then carriers take to upgrade a handset to the latest version of android, if at all. But when I look at the options out there, they all suck.
The iPhone is decent, if you don't mind living in a walled garden. But I'd like a few more options than Apple is willing to provide such as removable battery, drag and drop files, something akin to native support of flac and divx/xvid. I really don't feel like playing my mp3s with one player and then flac with another. I also don't feel like converting movies to mp4, a standard which clearly sucks by virtue of the fact that no one would use it if apple didn't force them to.
With Android I have to deal with constantly waiting for the latest OS, usually 6 months or longer after Google has released it, and then it's been shat all over by the manufacturer and/or carrier. So that leaves pure Google phones, of which there's the Nexus One and the Nexus S.
I had the Nexus One, good phone, except for the screen. Constantly looking for shade so I can see the screen in the sun is a pain. The Nexus S fixes that, but no microSD slot? Are you f-ing kidding me? You couldn't put that in there? It's available on pretty much EVERY other smart phone that isn't the iPhone. And no 32GB option. Basically, it's a Nexus One with a curved screen (that may or may not introduce display issues according to Engadget). I mean, NFC? You give me NFC, but no microSD? I think running into a 16GB space barrier is going to happen way more often than me trying to share contact info with someone through NFC.
Can someone please make a phone that supports common media formats (mp3/flac/xvid/divx, etc), decent processor (dragons, birds, dogs, I don't care), a screen I can see in sunlight and either 32GB non expandable or better yet a microSD slot. Stick a camera on there if you feel like it. I don't even care if there's a front facing camera, because no one is walking around making video calls.
Smartphones suck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Guess its time for you to change your phone and move on to a less smarter phone.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

fulcrum1971 said:
Guess its time for you to change your phone and move on to a less smarter phone.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice said, thants what i fought then I looked at this thread
+1
Sent from my bad-ass i9000

BlackDino said:
rough english, but I think I understand.
Are you running 2.2? And what build?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sory English is not my 1st language and rarely spoken...heeeee
I am running Froyo 2.2 JPO not lag fix....is it has something to do with it?

yes flash jpu and never look back, no lagfix needed.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk

Docs JPU Rom, voodoo lagfix. Nuff said.
If you are *****ing about it so much and can't sort the issues you should go back to an iphone so Steve can tell you how you should use your phone.

It's not about my technical ability to apply a rom or a lagfix. It's a.) I shouldn't have to, I'm not trying to do something with the phone that the manufacturer didn't intend, and therefore I shouldn't have to apply these things; b.) The only reason I haven't done those things is because I've read on these forums that a lot of people have had the internal sd card fail after flashing, and don't feel like leaving my phone with Bell for 6 weeks for repair. Although at this point, the phone's performance is so abysmal the scale is tipping.
And Bynar, why the implication that I'm some apple fan boy, did I not say that I also didn't like the iPhone? I like how I'm somehow not worthy of a galaxy s if I don't relish the idea of flashing roms and lagfixes just to answer the phone when it rings.

+1 for this smart phone rant. I loved to read it. Some valid points
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

Never had that kind of issue with my phone, im lucky to get a non laggy phone!
If you just use your phone for call why not just get a cheap throw around phone for that function?

I've been using SGS from bell since october with original JH2, no lagfix and haven't got massive lag so many are talking about.
Using JK4 since 2 weeks and it's even more fluid. No lagfix what so ever...battery holds up couple of days, no FC, no lags (installing apps is realy fast compared to JH2), I reboot the thing now and then and that's it.
Only thing I did, when I got the device, I had to hard reset the thing then worked great. Same thing when I got JK4, Hard reset before and after.
On the other hand, I use the thing as it is: a pretty descent sum of many technologies. Great gaming, but not as a standalone gaming platform; great camera but not as a high end standalone camera; good GPS but not as good as hi end standalone GPS; it's pretty fast but not as much as a standalone computer; great browsing but not as much as on a computer...
Catch my drift? If you want something that can do everything and still hold on your hand, smartphone are great. But as a cost... If you want blasing fast like on a Core i7 laptop, get a core i7 laptop!

I'm not looking for Core i7 in a smartphone, just enough performance listen to music and watch movies in formats like xvid and flac. The galaxy s can do this with the caveats that with my handset in particular it lags so badly that at times I can't answer the phone and it hiccups during flac playback. Both of these issues I believe are due to problems with the internal sd card.

No it's not, I can do all those things easy with mine.
When I run with the device, I have Mp3 playing over bluetooth stereo player (controls works fine alors), sporty pal, Tracker booster and I can receive call (or make em' when I hit the right button on my earphones)
My advice: Hard reset+clear all thoses caches in recovery mode then reinstall everything one by one.

Legion6789
Agree with most of your points, rather I believe these phones sound better if called 'Tech' phones.The major letdowns for me is the software within than the hardware.
How 'smart' are they when they don't do the basic intended function Out of the box reliably ...24X7X365....without rooting/lagfixing/modding..(wow lost track of these........ ).
Google may market android as 'Open, mk dir android;cd android....' and so on but how many consumers would want to do that and how many hardware OEM's would allow them to.
Android for me, is way below the hype and hoped and has to evolve beyond the 'Google' syndrome. Has a long way to go.
Having seen all the so called 'smart' OS out there, the iOS, RIM, Maemo 5, Android, Symbian .... I don't see much light in each of them.
The closest I could sense a potential was maemo 5, but the creator screwed it up with a ugly hardware and dropping it mid way for Meego...Would have to wait and see.
Now as a true 'consume'r...our choices have to be made on compromises that no perfect thing exists and chug along and play our major role in this so called 'Smart phone revolution' as chief financiers ever exploring for the near perfect one.
Apple to me, tried creating the near perfect one but as highlighted by you they only succeeded in locking down users within the walled garden. But to give them credit, the iphone(3gs/4) creates a consistent,reliable experience within the constraints it has. (Have never experienced a 'lag' 'force close' or equivalent in my experience of 1 year)...hmm hate being called a 'fan' boy
So to put it in simple words, did the 'smart' phone make my life simpler...Yes in some aspects but at a very important downside 'Time'(or money)...
- the time taken to root,
- time taken to lagfix,
- time taken to track all the JPO/JP6/JPU...and don't know how many more releases,
- time taken to flash,
- time taken to follow XDA....
Oh all these in already crowded day to day life to make my 'Smart' phone being 'smarter' !

Legion6789 said:
I don't relish the idea of flashing roms and lagfixes just to answer the phone when it rings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's total exageration, and from my experience, far from fact.. I don't recall lag ever impacting my ability to make calls.
The iPhones also have numerous problems. And honestly, the lag isn't THAT bad in my opinion. It's possible to make any phone start swapping, and I can cause lag on my computer too. It would be nice if it was reduced though. It's still a very productive phone though.

[Q] Is the Xperia Play worth Getting?

I am very hesitant in getting that phone, I've heard alot of good things and alot of bad things
I've seen specs and I've seen reviews, but I want to know people's personal opinion as they have the phone for full everyday use and not just reviewing it.
Is it worth it?

My advice do not go for it,you have better options for the same price.even if you are into gaming do not go for it...you can wait for NGP later and get dual core mobile now like galaxy s2/sensation/optimus 2x

I say go for it 4 sure. If you're like me who loves Zelda OOT, buy it! There is nothing like sitting on the subway while kids are playing their angry birds on their iphone while you sit there with your play and play Zelda or tekken 2 It's totally worth it!
everyday phone? Oh yeah! It works great!
Don't listen to that guy talking about dual core. You don't need it on a phone!! seriously, WHY would you need dual core? Everything i've tried on my play works like a charm!

jassired said:
My advice do not go for it,you have better options for the same price.even if you are into gaming do not go for it...you can wait for NGP later and get dual core mobile now like galaxy s2/sensation/optimus 2x
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, get a dual core mobile now so you can play the exact same games you can play on the Xperia Play, only with worse controls and worse battery life.
Then get an NGP later so you can carry around two devices for ultimate portability!

hairdewx said:
Yeah, get a dual core mobile now so you can play the exact same games you can play on the Xperia Play, only with worse controls and worse battery life.
Then get an NGP later so you can carry around two devices for ultimate portability!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that was exactly what i meant haaha +1

^^^ I'm being sarcastic in my last post, in case the OP didn't catch that.
I'm very happy with my Play as a gaming phone and everyday phone. My wife has a Droid 3, and there isn't much difference at all, if any, in app performance and daily phone use. I have much better battery life as well. She has a better camera Maybe eventually apps will start taking advantage of multiple cores, but it's going to be a while.
You can't play this game on a touch screen very well...

Yourmama said:
I am very hesitant in getting that phone, I've heard alot of good things and alot of bad things
I've seen specs and I've seen reviews, but I want to know people's personal opinion as they have the phone for full everyday use and not just reviewing it.
Is it worth it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is very simple. How much do you value playing both Android-native and emulated games against the rest of features in a phone? If you really want to play games in a phone, this is your device.
If you don't value playing games over dual core CPUs, slick designs, gorgeous screens and feature-rich cameras, you're not the target for this device. It has a very specific niche, which Sony Ericsson has spent millions in digging out. It's a love-it-or-hate-it product, with little middle ground.
Oh, and it has an astonishingly precise GPS.

There are bad points about this phone but show me a perfect phone.
The best 2 things about this phone are obviously the control pad for 1 and the battery life, which has amazed me so far.
The only thing that I find annoying is the lack of decent games taking advantage of what is a great phone.
But I have to say I have started using emulators and they are quality, n64oid and fpse especially.
So to sum up its a great mix up between a gaming device and a smart phone. It is let down on the development side.
It all just depends on what you want if you like gaming I dont think you will be let down in purchasing this phone
Thats my two pennies anyway
Sent from my R800i using XDA App

I have an xperia play and a few of my mates have dual core phones (SGS2, Optimus x2 e.t.c). I would not swap the Xplay for any of them.
As hairdewx has shown if you plan on playing anything with FPSE or emulators it is pointless on anything other than an xplay. The emulators alones let you play thousands of games with proper controls (makes it a 1000x better)
The speakers are the best on any phone. And the battery life is amazing to say this is a gaming device. Just using it as a normal phone it is as good as the rest.
I would recommend you get this phone. I think it will be hard for me to upgrade to a newer phone @ the end of my contract, unless it has proper gaming controls . (Xplay 2 hopefully)

Thanks guys I don't know I just might get it the only setback was the lack of an HD screen and the core issue but seems that the people who have the phone are enjoying it, I will see

Just wanted to give a perspective from someone who just bought the phone yesterday.
Waiting in the Verizon store I got the chance to mess with a few other phones. I actually played a couple games on some as well and just took an overall look. So to start lets forget the coolness of the control pad, and also that IMO playing games with motion/touch controls aside from something designed for it like Angry Birds absolutely sucks. Its why I seriously have not been into mobile gaming until now and I'm a big gamer. Just can't stand those controls.
Most of these new 4G dual core phones are huge. Seriously I was playing with one of the new 4G phones and the damn thing was like a doormat it was so big. Meanwhile the Xperia Play dimensionally is almost identical to my OG Droid, but space wise is designed better so that the 4" screen pushes to almost the edges of the device which uses space very well. Fits in my pocket WAY better than those 4G devices with a screen thats only 0.3" smaller.
Next up is speed. The OS is just as responsive on the Play as any of the 4G devices, I'm honestly not sure how much a dual core processor can help on a cellphone especially for normal every day tasks, with an OS that while multitasking, is not like a PC where you can physically have 2+ windows on screen at once. The way Android prioritizes memory, if you are using multiple apps at once, I just don't see there being a possibility of an everyday advantage. Needless to say, touch them side by side, there is NO difference in speed. Which brings me to games. I played a couple on the newer devices, they looked and played the same as on the Play, no faster, no better graphics, no nothing.
Finally would be features, ok so the camera is ok but not as good, 4G where available, is REALLY fast so thats nice as well and if you're in an area its common, and you have a need for that kind of speed, well then its something you should consider. And HDMI out, not on the Play. I personally have no use for it but if you do then theres another loss. So this comes to opinion - IMO the camera is good enough, it does the job, its a cell phone not a Canon. 4G? I live in the NY metro area basically where 4G service should be mostly available but its spotty, meanwhile WiFi is everywhere, and everywhere I'd sit and use it I have WiFi (my home, my folks house, my firehouse etc), when I travel I book hotels that have free WiFi, also my ISP provides open WiFi in many areas. Also I have no shame I use peoples open WiFi signals if I have to, so honestly I don't miss the speed there. 3G really isn't THAT bad either, however its a compromise, and I'm sure outside of this area it could be a problem for some. Then HDMI out, I bet I'd try it out for a novelty but I'd probably never use it. I have a PS3, I watch movies on my big screen from that or my PC with HDMI out.
And 2 things I've said above become an advantage for the Play, no 4G and no Dual core = better battery life.
So all in all I don't for a second regret the purchase, you get 95% of the performance of a 4G phone, with the advantage of better battery life, and the completely awesome built in control pad. If you want to game, its a no brainer.

When I saw the title of the thread I opened it to give my opinion about this phone. But when I read the previous answers, all that I wanted to say had already been said, so I gave up writing a big text because I don't have anything new to say!
Then I'll only say that it's an awesome phone, buy it without any fear, you won't regret it.

_terror_ said:
If you're like me who loves Zelda OOT, buy it! There is nothing like sitting on the subway while kids are playing their angry birds on their iphone while you sit there with your play and play Zelda or tekken 2 It's totally worth it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WTF! did you get a stable enough N64 emu (not to mention enough ram to run the rom) I have a GBA SNES NES GameGear and Genesis, but i cant find a good (preferably free at least till applanets back up) 64emu anywhere....and how are you running tekken two though all the psx emus crash cause of sony releasing this phone....oh and as long as you plan to plug the thing in everynight for like 8 hours (although 2.3.3 update fixes that a small amount if you dont game or browse or call or well pretty much emulate any sort of energy from it) than dont buy this phone really takes a commitment, i hate that i bought it then found out motorolla is releasing the droid 3(name changes between SP's) with HDMI out 1Ghz process 8mp cam rear and ii believie dont quote 3.2 front (might have been 2.3 or somewhere goin on memory of specs) THAT IS THE PHONE YOU WANT IF YOU ARE STILL LOOKING but release does depend on SP Bell got it first! havent folllowed up on it much just pisses me off that i bought a damn sony product over a 3ds.......oh and sorry if i repeated anyfacts

It is my favorite device. I just put in 2 hours of Beyond the Beyond without any awful on screen controls or bluetooth shenanigans.
Sound quality is spectacular too, as is the battery life.
The only thing that could use some improvement is the camera.
If you enjoy games more than just casually and really enjoy emulation, there is no other real option IMHO.
Sent from my R800at using Tapatalk

KronikonE said:
WTF! did you get a stable enough N64 emu (not to mention enough ram to run the rom) I have a GBA SNES NES GameGear and Genesis, but i cant find a good (preferably free at least till applanets back up) 64emu anywhere....and how are you running tekken two though all the psx emus crash cause of sony releasing this phone....oh and as long as you plan to plug the thing in everynight for like 8 hours (although 2.3.3 update fixes that a small amount if you dont game or browse or call or well pretty much emulate any sort of energy from it) than dont buy this phone really takes a commitment, i hate that i bought it then found out motorolla is releasing the droid 3(name changes between SP's) with HDMI out 1Ghz process 8mp cam rear and ii believie dont quote 3.2 front (might have been 2.3 or somewhere goin on memory of specs) THAT IS THE PHONE YOU WANT IF YOU ARE STILL LOOKING but release does depend on SP Bell got it first! havent folllowed up on it much just pisses me off that i bought a damn sony product over a 3ds.......oh and sorry if i repeated anyfacts
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
N64oid v2 runs alot of roms pretty perfect now, and fpse eats tekken alive, infact i havent found one ps1 rom it dosent run pefectly

jdsemler said:
Sound quality is spectacular too, as is the battery life.
The only thing that could use some improvement is the camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
K Sound Agreed, Battery however i would like to know what miracle device you are using to keep it powered cause even with the 2.3.3 update which i wont le improved battery life significantly, i dont find its able to keep up with the demand especially noticable when streaming data i.e. skyFM or TuneInRadio(awsome app by the way for a phone with no FM reciever any radio station you could imagine....from all 7 contenent...yes there is a sat radio station based in antarctica for the 12 people that are ever there at one time, sheesh im Canadian and i say no thanks to that lol sorry off topic tired and ranting), and camera is decent quality 5.0mp front is only1.2 so self portraits are a little grainy i find, but none the less i have to agreee it could use more features to the actual cam its self

AndroHero said:
N64oid v2 runs alot of roms pretty perfect now, and fpse eats tekken alive, infact i havent found one ps1 rom it dosent run pefectly
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
didnt know N64oid v2 was out thanks!, and as for the ps one emu i think i might just steal whatever games they release seeing as i pretty much bought a psone in a phone seems a little redundant to download a program on top of that....just cant wait to see if they find a way to release FFVII and VIII to the phone

Just get an android phone you like
to the guy who started this thread truely you just want an android phone PERIOD with it dominating over 50% of the smart phone generation other companies are trying to figure a way to eat a piece of googles pie....ie rumors which are now apparently confimed (which i havent seen first hand knowledge) but the iPhone 5(BOOO) is set to release with BBM installed, and we all know android with get it first probably for free with some sort if ad support....its like comparing a PS3 to Xbox360 its just not necessary 360 wins in every department like android.(minus blueray but you can obvi get a cheap one of those now to make up for it)

Anyone interested
found a decent site on app creation for android....vogella.de/articles/Android/article.html
sorry bout not making it a link apparently i havent posted enough for our Naziesq forum rules

KronikonE said:
to the guy who started this thread truely you just want an android phone PERIOD with it dominating over 50% of the smart phone generation other companies are trying to figure a way to eat a piece of googles pie....ie rumors which are now apparently confimed (which i havent seen first hand knowledge) but the iPhone 5(BOOO) is set to release with BBM installed, and we all know android with get it first probably for free with some sort if ad support....its like comparing a PS3 to Xbox360 its just not necessary 360 wins in every department like android.(minus blueray but you can obvi get a cheap one of those now to make up for it)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haven't you pissed on this guy's thread enough? Then you come into a forum with people who are obvious playstation and Sony fans and say the Xbox360 "wins in every department" which is so untrue its not even funny but I'm not getting into that flame war here.
You don't seem to like the phone much, and you don't seem to like PS much, door is to the left, go buy another phone then.

Demise of Epic 4G?

Recently, I have been so negative about my Epic 4G, so this time, I am writing why it became so outdated. I believe during Froyo era, Epic 4G was the best phone ever. It had better cpu/gpu for everyday experience and had better gaming performance than any other phones. When compared to Evo, our Epic crushes Evo with superior screen quality, better camera/camcorder+FFC and speedier everyday performance. It was once named top Android phone on some website.
Although Epic had its faults, such as keyboard skipping and inaccurate GPS, these were quickly fixed/mitigated by our proud devs in XDA. I was also pleasantly surprised when Epic natively supported 720P avi and mkv files. Epic really shined when all the emulators like FPSE, N64oid came out and they ran nicely and utilized keyboard well. I personally thought it was amazing to run PS games on my Epic. Some people even mistook my Epic as a PSP. So everything was good and I was proud to be the owner of the best phone.
Fast forwarding to Gingerbread era, where many high end phones are coming out with current OS installed, our Epic is still shining. When I run Netflix, the phone handles well, there are no signs of phone struggling. When on skype call, I can simultaneously browse webs or play games without causing the phone to slowdown too much. Also when using Google navigation and music simultaneously, the phone handles it with breeze. I didn’t have much frustration because of phone lagging/crashing. So Epic is still up there when it’s about performance. But why I do I still feel dissatisfied. Why do I feel so short changed?
The environment is changing. More specifically, technology is advancing in a way features of Epic 4G can’t utilize. More and more sophisticated apps are coming to Android and most of them are optimized for keyboardless phones. These sophisticated apps were already successful on iPhone platform, so naturally, these apps are optimized for keyboardless phones. Recent days, I rarely use my HW keyboard. I don’t play emulator games anymore as native games have better experience. Apps are becoming more virtual keyboard friendly that it is faster and comfortable than HW Keys. It seems like developers build apps without thinking about HW keyboard. The keyboard can still be utilized for document editing, but there are no good viable document editors. Also, this task is being quickly replaced by tablets as it has more potential thus developers are ditching developing good office apps for phones.
Also when talking about playing HD contents. It is now a trend to stream HD videos. People used to transfer mkv files to the phone to watch them but this is not only cumbersome to do it, it is a chore when having to deal with limited amount of SD space. It is very convenient to stream HD contents right on the phone with so much more selections. Epic can also do that but with critical limits. The current 3G is unreliable and 4G is not available for the majority. Phone still needs to rely on WIFI, when at this point, it is just better to use a tablet or a laptop.
A feature like FFC is not utilized as well since Skype is so slow on updating and supporting FFC for non-Gingerbread phones. It is difficult to have a video chat with people w/o high-end phones since they have to use the rear camera, which then they can’t see me, rendering video chat useless.
So all of sudden, the phone, Epic 4G, that had complete features, feels so outdated and unsupported. This is bound to happen for any phones out there, but it feels Epic was especially short-lived. The phone that had so many potential is quickly being outdated without ever realizing any of them. This is why I feel frustrated and how turn of events made Epic less useful.

mtwow789 said:
Recently, I have been so negative about my Epic 4G, so this time, I am writing why it became so outdated. I believe during Froyo era, Epic 4G was the best phone ever. It had better cpu/gpu for everyday experience and had better gaming performance than any other phones. When compared to Evo, our Epic crushes Evo with superior screen quality, better camera/camcorder+FFC and speedier everyday performance. It was once named top Android phone on some website.
Although Epic had its faults, such as keyboard skipping and inaccurate GPS, these were quickly fixed/mitigated by our proud devs in XDA. I was also pleasantly surprised when Epic natively supported 720P avi and mkv files. Epic really shined when all the emulators like FPSE, N64oid came out and they ran nicely and utilized keyboard well. I personally thought it was amazing to run PS games on my Epic. Some people even mistook my Epic as a PSP. So everything was good and I was proud to be the owner of the best phone.
Fast forwarding to Gingerbread era, where many high end phones are coming out with current OS installed, our Epic is still shining. When I run Netflix, the phone handles well, there are no signs of phone struggling. When on skype call, I can simultaneously browse webs or play games without causing the phone to slowdown too much. Also when using Google navigation and music simultaneously, the phone handles it with breeze. I didn’t have much frustration because of phone lagging/crashing. So Epic is still up there when it’s about performance. But why I do I still feel dissatisfied. Why do I feel so short changed?
The environment is changing. More specifically, technology is advancing in a way features of Epic 4G can’t utilize. More and more sophisticated apps are coming to Android and most of them are optimized for keyboardless phones. These sophisticated apps were already successful on iPhone platform, so naturally, these apps are optimized for keyboardless phones. Recent days, I rarely use my HW keyboard. I don’t play emulator games anymore as native games have better experience. Apps are becoming more virtual keyboard friendly that it is faster and comfortable than HW Keys. It seems like developers build apps without thinking about HW keyboard. The keyboard can still be utilized for document editing, but there are no good viable document editors. Also, this task is being quickly replaced by tablets as it has more potential thus developers are ditching developing good office apps for phones.
Also when talking about playing HD contents. It is now a trend to stream HD videos. People used to transfer mkv files to the phone to watch them but this is not only cumbersome to do it, it is a chore when having to deal with limited amount of SD space. It is very convenient to stream HD contents right on the phone with so much more selections. Epic can also do that but with critical limits. The current 3G is unreliable and 4G is not available for the majority. Phone still needs to rely on WIFI, when at this point, it is just better to use a tablet or a laptop.
A feature like FFC is not utilized as well since Skype is so slow on updating and supporting FFC for non-Gingerbread phones. It is difficult to have a video chat with people w/o high-end phones since they have to use the rear camera, which then they can’t see me, rendering video chat useless.
So all of sudden, the phone, Epic 4G, that had complete features, feels so outdated and unsupported. This is bound to happen for any phones out there, but it feels Epic was especially short-lived. The phone that had so many potential is quickly being outdated without ever realizing any of them. This is why I feel frustrated and how turn of events made Epic less useful.
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cool story

Agreed. At the time I loved my Epic but it seems like wireless companies are hell bent now on releasing new phones every 5 minutes it seems. This is funny considering most carriers look at reducing or preventing you from using it (capped data plans, touting 3D streams and Netflix sure is retarded when you can only watch so many episodes or stream so many movies a month). This has led to a large decline in support for existing devices, because why give a **** when you can just release something more powerful with upgrades software already built in that people can just buy. When I first got my Hero is was awesome, little slow but it was my first Android experience. The Epic 4G blew it out of the water, and I still love playing PSX games on it from time time, as well as Plants vs. Zombies and Cut the Rope look beautiful on the Super AMOLED screen. But when looking back, with all the hardware and software problems (GPS, keyboard, reboots, buttons) I still loved my device. Sadly, the trend has already started of shelling out half-finished products that companies can just "update".. but where do you draw the line when the product doesn't get updated? Both the carrier and the consumer lose. For me personally I've had my Epic since launch and I'm looking to trade it our for a Nexus S. Sure it doesn't have a keyboard and smaller resolution video but guess what: it's supported by Google themselves and gets updated off the bat.
Like Google said today, they are their own worst enemy. And with the shortened product cycle and lack of updates, people are foaming at the mouths for the iPhone5. And after stealing so many of Windows 7/Android "features" and calling them their own, Apple is looking at another record profit year because at the end of the day a large portion of people just want a phone that "works" and Apple supplies that kind of product. Reminds me of a nice little quote: "Evil will always triumph because good is dumb."

tl;dr: Newer phones are better than the 13 month old Epic. Also, apparently since it has a real keyboard, virtual keyboards don't work on it, for some reason.

vita10gy said:
tl;dr: Newer phones are better than the 13 month old Epic. Also, apparently since it has a real keyboard, virtual keyboards don't work on it, for some reason.
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It comes with 3 virtual keyboards (swype, samsung, and android). And unless typing here or anywhere else I would type more than 5 word I rarely use the hw keyboard.
Sent from my un-rooted Samsung Epic 4G with XDA Premium

vita10gy said:
Newer phones are better than the 13 month old Epic.
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Imagine that
Sent from my SPH-D700

OP - Welcome to the world of Evolution.
...pull up a chair and have a set.

Honestly, my ET4G made me start to think my Epic was old. I didn't want a new phone at all until lately. The numbers don't lie. Screenies are stock ROM, stock kernel with root. Edit..the Quadrant test is actually a low score. I can't read those tiny previews...
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

I still don't think the current generation of phones is sooo much better that it's worth upgrading yet personally. The hardware has stood up to the test of time so far if we just get some official gingerbread finally, this phone will get me by just fine for another 9+ months.

CapsLockKey said:
I still don't think the current generation of phones is sooo much better that it's worth upgrading yet personally. The hardware has stood up to the test of time so far if we just get some official gingerbread finally, this phone will get me by just fine for another 9+ months.
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+1 A stable GB will do me just fine even beyond my upgrade date of 1/1/12

worldwidepmp said:
+1 A stable GB will do me just fine even beyond my upgrade date of 1/1/12
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A stable Gingerbread would make this phone feel new again. I am just concerned because we have had what 3 or 4 leaks now with almost the same issues. I hope the next one will fix the reboot issue
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium

What's this?? Exponential technilogical advances are making electronics obsolete at an exponential rate??? Gonna have to have the boys in the lab verify these findings and get back to you ...

Specialksg1 said:
What's this?? Exponential technilogical advances are making electronics obsolete at an exponential rate??? Gonna have to have the boys in the lab verify these findings and get back to you ...
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Lol...well played sir
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium

Well, to be honest, what are you REALLY trying to do? Keep up with the Joneses?
What irks me the most is the random quirks: Unresponsive apps, random force closes, half-baked apps that feel like weekend projects, having to pull the battery on some freezes, GPS drops, video recording issues, and TOO MANY OPTIONS TO WORK WITH! I'm finding myself "working" with my phone rather than "playing" with my phone.
Now, I love this community. I'm a geek, but not a total geek. I have SFR 1.2 installed, phone unrooted, and a custom kernel running (I forget what off the top of my head). I love being able to customize my phone... but it's getting to the point to where I just want to say "SCREW IT! JUST WORK RIGHT SO I CAN USE THE DAMN THING!"
That's what Apple does right: It just WORKS. However, there are many things I will miss if I switch to an iPhone: Widgets, a bigger screen, customizing my home screen, Roam Control, Google Navigation, and Voice Search just off the top of my head.
It's weird: I have an iMac, Macbook Pro, and iPad, but I have an Android phone. I love it... but these quirks are pissing me off. I tell everyone I meet that my phone works amazingly well 95% of the time. That 5% drives me CRAZY!
But, going back to your rant about our phone being a beast of a phone like the new phones: Relax. The Epic 4G is pretty damn epic! There's no "killer" feature yet that is coming out that will make me want to get a new phone. I don't play many games on my phone. I have my iPad for that. The next killer feature is the NFC chip, which I think the iPhone 5 will have. If it does, I just might switch. I know the Google Nexus S has one, but the Nexus S is basically an Epic 4G without the keyboard. I'd wait until the next version of the Nexus comes out and compare with the iPhone 5.

Yeah, I find myself flashing every ROM and kernel that comes out because I am still trying to get my phone to the point where everything is working properly without issues. On my ET4G, I rooted it, flashed the CRT+1% battery mod and put the stock kernel back on it. I haven't flashed any of the early ROMs because I am very happy with how everything is functioning. I hope I can get my Epic to that point some day
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium

JohnCorleone said:
Yeah, I find myself flashing every ROM and kernel that comes out because I am still trying to get my phone to the point where everything is working properly without issues. On my ET4G, I rooted it, flashed the CRT+1% battery mod and put the stock kernel back on it. I haven't flashed any of the early ROMs because I am very happy with how everything is functioning. I hope I can get my Epic to that point some day
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium
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EXACTLY WHY I CHECK THE FORUMS EVERYDAY! You just made me realize why I do it. I guess I'm always looking for the bigger, better, faster method. I have to admit, I check the Android Market once or twice daily to see if there's any updated apps. I must be OCD or something.

DangerZone1223 said:
EXACTLY WHY I CHECK THE FORUMS EVERYDAY! You just made me realize why I do it. I guess I'm always looking for the bigger, better, faster method. I have to admit, I check the Android Market once or twice daily to see if there's any updated apps. I must be OCD or something.
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Its the whole android motive, even though everything is working perfectly for me I feel the need to brick it and odin just to restore everything and change it up a bit maybe different theme or ROM lol its never been that it doesn't work for me. I have an ipod touch and that's it,it just works lol I get bored with it jailbroken or not its boring after a while lol.
Sent from my SPH-D700

R3537L1F3 said:
It comes with 3 virtual keyboards (swype, samsung, and android). And unless typing here or anywhere else I would type more than 5 word I rarely use the hw keyboard.
Sent from my un-rooted Samsung Epic 4G with XDA Premium
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Yes, that's why it was sarcasm. I'm not sure what the OP's point was there. What possible method of on screen controls won't work on the Epic?

vita10gy said:
Yes, that's why it was sarcasm. I'm not sure what the OP's point was there. What possible method of on screen controls won't work on the Epic?
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I feel confident that the OP is trolling and most likely owns a htc evo 3d. Im running at 1.5 ghz stable and epic screams. It suks the life out of the battery like some members here on kokers but thats why I have 2 extra batteries free from our beloved asurion. Don't ask how trolls! Every app runs like a black man from police. Don't you trolls go anul and report me to mods! Im joking for gods sake! But the battery sucking pawer is true.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk