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Hey all! New here and will be ordering my G1 within the next week or so. Before i purchase it, i just have a couple questions and what-not.
-I have always been into modding things whether it be phones, PS2's, game-boys (haha) etc. But what i am not familiar with is rooting and how it will change the usability of the phone itself.
-Next, if i were to root it, i understand you basically re-flash the firmware. Well if i were to re-flash the firmware, would i still be able to have the t-mobile branding to keep the myFaves and all that?
-I'm going to be getting a decent sized memory card for it and i would like to know which capacity i should go with. 8gb Class 6 or a 16gb Class 2?
-As far as protective screens are concerned, i see there are many out there. which one provides the greatest coverage, is the cheapest, and is the most durable?
-Recommend me some must have apps for when i get it. I have been reading about Locale and ChompSMS so those are definitely going to be used. Any others i should know about?
-And lastly, what are some things you guys "dislike" about the G1? And on the other hand, what are some things you absolutely love?
Thanks in advance for the help guys! I have been on these forums a lot in the past looking at the Tilt and such and it seems like a good community.
Regards,
-Billy
Hi Billy!
Bhogan123 said:
And lastly, what are some things you guys "dislike" about the G1? And on the other hand, what are some things you absolutely love?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In reverse order of your questions:
I LOVE ...
1. The quality of the phone - phone calls are better sounding than on any phone I've had during the last ten years or so. It brings in a solid 3-bars in my home area whereas my brother's T-Mobile phone barely works here. The cell radio is excellent!
2. Open Source Linux - what more can I say other than this is the best gosh-darn handheld Linux computer around. I like being able to work on the phone through a telnet or adb session from my main computer.
3. Google - This is the best smartphone if you are a Google-phile, and like to keep your emails, appointments, tasks, and other PDA functionality AUTOMATICALLY synchronized between the smartphone and the Internet.
4. My Innocell 2600 mAh battery - It cures the poor battery problem, plain and simple.
I HATE ...
1. The Camera - WAY TOO slow to be useful. This is one area that is in great need of being fixed.
That's it! Enjoy your new phone as it will only get better with time!
Its more complicated than just flashing but more than doable and worth it! You will not lose your myfaves unless you go to adp rom. Stick to the rc roms and you will not lose myfaves. As far as apps go follow this thread for some ideas. Also look around the dream section, all your questions and curiousities are well covered here lol. I love g1 best phone I've ever had.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=478117
Bhogan123 said:
Hey all! New here and will be ordering my G1 within the next week or so. Before i purchase it, i just have a couple questions and what-not.
-I have always been into modding things whether it be phones, PS2's, game-boys (haha) etc. But what i am not familiar with is rooting and how it will change the usability of the phone itself.
Rooting gives you complete, unrestricted shell access to the device. With this you can do stuff well beyond what the stock firmware is capable of such as tethering the phone to a laptop for internet access and custom themes etc.
-Next, if i were to root it, i understand you basically re-flash the firmware. Well if i were to re-flash the firmware, would i still be able to have the t-mobile branding to keep the myFaves and all that?
You keep everything. JF's RC33 ROM is based on the official firmware which is tweaked, resigned and released.
-I'm going to be getting a decent sized memory card for it and i would like to know which capacity i should go with. 8gb Class 6 or a 16gb Class 2?
I would go with the 8gb because its faster but if you have a large music collection you want to carry around with you, the 16gb would be the obvious choice.
-As far as protective screens are concerned, i see there are many out there. which one provides the greatest coverage, is the cheapest, and is the most durable?
Not sure. I don't use protective cases because they make the phone look ugly IMO.
-Recommend me some must have apps for when i get it. I have been reading about Locale and ChompSMS so those are definitely going to be used. Any others i should know about?
CompareEverywhere, Shazam, Tether, SnapPhoto are all good apps that just about all G1 owners should have.
-And lastly, what are some things you guys "dislike" about the G1? And on the other hand, what are some things you absolutely love?
Like:
- The android platform. All of the default Google apps are incredible and you can get many more great apps in the market.
- Hardware Keyboard
- Bright, vibrant touchscreen that is capable of multi-touch like the iPhone.
Hate:
- The Battery (as soon as you turn on Wifi, Bluetooth or GPS functionality your battery won't last more then 24 hours). If your willing to almost double the size of your phone, you could get an extended battery to solve this.
- The design. As soon as a Blackberry style Android device comes out, I'm probably going to jump ship.
- T-Mobile USA. Don't expect them to help you with much, as they are clueless about anything related to Android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See answers above... Hope that helps
Wow thanks for the great info guys!
Directed at Datrue:
Is there any word on HTC coming out with a different battery that isnt the "extended" one
?
Bhogan123 said:
-I have always been into modding things whether it be phones, PS2's, game-boys (haha) etc. But what i am not familiar with is rooting and how it will change the usability of the phone itself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rooting the phone will give you additional options that you can not do with a stock phone. Wireless tethering, adjusting the browser for auto-rotate, and multi touch are some examples.
Bhogan123 said:
-Next, if i were to root it, i understand you basically re-flash the firmware. Well if i were to re-flash the firmware, would i still be able to have the t-mobile branding to keep the myFaves and all that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As long as you stick to the t-mobile ROMS (i.e. not the developer ones) then yes.
Bhogan123 said:
-I'm going to be getting a decent sized memory card for it and i would like to know which capacity i should go with. 8gb Class 6 or a 16gb Class 2?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For me I prefer the faster 8gb card.
Bhogan123 said:
-As far as protective screens are concerned, i see there are many out there. which one provides the greatest coverage, is the cheapest, and is the most durable?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do not know. I have ordered a couple and plan to try them out but do not have a screen guard yet.
Bhogan123 said:
-Recommend me some must have apps for when i get it. I have been reading about Locale and ChompSMS so those are definitely going to be used. Any others i should know about?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This would depend on your use style.
- ChompSMS is good,
- Wifi tether for root users (from the XDA-Developers forums)
- I like StarDialer because I am very used to dialing by name on my Windows Mobile Devices.
- gmote is great for being a couch potato
- The weather channel app.
Bhogan123 said:
-And lastly, what are some things you guys "dislike" about the G1? And on the other hand, what are some things you absolutely love?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dislikes:
- Battery life. It is simply not good.
- The touch interface is taking getting used to. i am used to the styles and precision of a stylus enabled interface. The touch screen of the G1 (and iPhone) feels imprecise to me. The worst frustration for me is my inability to click on links in the browser without zooming in first. i am getting used to it though.
- The GPS and Google Maps combo does not compare to TomTom on my Artemis.
Likes:
- 3G wireless. This is my first phone with it and I like the speed a lot.
- Wireless tethering. Very cool and painless way to tether.
- Google Market. Has all sorts of neat stuff, much of which are free.
- overall UI. It is responsive, intuitive, and quite pleasant to use. I much prefer it to Windows mobile though I do miss some of the apps I have gotten used to over the years.
Bhogan123 said:
Wow thanks for the great info guys!
Directed at Datrue:
Is there any word on HTC coming out with a different battery that isnt the "extended" one
?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure what you are asking here... The HTC battery that comes with the dream is 1150mah and is included with the device. The extended battery which is not made by by HTC is 2600mah, almost double the capacity of what HTC offers. If you care more about battery life then style, go for the extended battery.
I have a Nexus and love it! Debating on the HD2, even maybe keeping it as a secondary phone is it worth it? Or do you find yourself missing your Nexus?
Homotechual said:
I have a Nexus and love it! Debating on the HD2, even maybe keeping it as a secondary phone is it worth it? Or do you find yourself missing your Nexus?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
missing it since day 1 with the HD2 keep the For at least a week and don't use you N1 and you will endup going back to it I'LL BET YOU ANYTHING!!! YOU WILL
haha LOL
had both nexus & hd2. was a tough decision. they both had their pros and cons. in the end i sold the nexus. what sold me on the hd2 was the hw. its simply a beautiful/fun phone. dont get me wrong, the nexus is awesome. i actually prefer android over wm but in the end it wasnt enough.
the one thing i still miss is all the apps from the android market. while imo alot of apps were "novelty" apps and not really useful to me, there was always an app that did what i needed it to do.
i believe the stock hd2 rom is "clunky" for lack of a better term. some of the cooked roms really make the ui fluid. right now preferring kumars
I think a lot of people went back to their N1 because of the simplicity of android and the apps and updates that are released to fix the bugs unlike for the HD2 and please no one mention cooked roms. As most people dont know how too install the ROMS....
I don't own either but played with both while trying to decide which I want. I have a G1 now and REALLY wanted a Nexus but I am on a family plan and Google has made getting the Nexus too difficult. I talked to the CSRs at TMo and even work arounds will be a giant pain because the plan we're on is a 'grandfathered' plan that isn't available anymore so as long as we don't change it we keep it.
I like the Android OS, I like knowing it will continue to be updated with new and improved releases. While most of the apps in the Market are crap there are a few I do use frequently and best of all 95% of those I use are free.
Sadly if I shelled out $500 for this phone my wife would castrate me.... as much as I want the Nexus I don't want to pay an arm, a leg and.... uhhhh... well, don't like the phone that much.
HD2 is a beautiful phone and I looked at the ROMs and would definitely flash one over the stock ROM. I had 2 WM phones and I do have fun tweaking it, setting it up only to do it all again when I flash something else but there were sooooo many things I hated about WM and I can't remember all the apps I used to use. There was one app that changed a setting and actually killed the app when I closed it rather than move it to the background where I had to go into task manager to kill it. Also have an issue knowing this is on an old and notoriously quirky kernel while only the UI has been updated. Essentially a dead OS that will receive very little in updates.... basically what we have now is pretty much it and up to the creative DEVs here to keep us going. How many more apps will be updated or created with WP7 coming out later this year and all the iphone 1.0/2.0 like features along with it?
Ultimately I think I may end up getting the HD2 and dealing with WM for a while until TMo gets a high end Android phone (Rumor about a Samsung Galaxy also going to TMo). After all the HD2 is amazing piece of hardware and I'll just have to deal with the shame of WM.
Well think it it this way how much would you save in the long run? Because any smartphone you get with a contract you have to add the 29.99 for 2 years times by 24= 700+ So i buy a phone outright and keep my Tzones save so much money in the long run. Also T-mobile Android phones boughtout right or not they do not work with Tzones you will have to switch. Nexus is the only android phone i know of that works with Tzones since its not T-mobile branded.
KidTech said:
I think a lot of people went back to their N1 because of the simplicity of android and the apps and updates that are released to fix the bugs unlike for the HD2 and please no one mention cooked roms. As most people dont know how too install the ROMS....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While it's probably true that (statistically speaking) most people do not know how to install cooked ROMs, it does make the HD2 a far better phone to use, and I consider it a critical part of the decision to purchase.
Most people who own a car do not know how to change the oil, but it still needs to be done. Most people who own a guitar do not know how to tune it, etc, etc.
it's an unfair limitation to suggest that the availability of cooked ROMs should not be factored into the decision making process, IMO.
How many people know outside of XDA what a ROM is? Seriously T-mobile should of dont more testing with this device before they sent it out with this buggy rom. I like this device a lot amazing hardware but hate the little bugs like when it jumps from E-3G and now my device freezes a lot. If i didnt buy this new from ebay i would of returned it and prob gone for the N1. And even the N1 has issues but atleast they sent out update to fix them. I wonder whats taking T-mobile so long? and since WP7 is around the corner i doubt an updates will be given if any at all..
KidTech said:
How many people know outside of XDA what a ROM is? Seriously T-mobile should of dont more testing with this device before they sent it out with this buggy rom. I like this device a lot amazing hardware but hate the little bugs like when it jumps from E-3G and now my device freezes a lot. If i didnt buy this new from ebay i would of returned it and prob gone for the N1. And even the N1 has issues but atleast they sent out update to fix them. I wonder whats taking T-mobile so long? and since WP7 is around the corner i doubt an updates will be given if any at all..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess I am different from most people, in that when I decide to make ANY purchase over a certain amount of dollars, I'll research literally everything I can about the product for a considerable amount of time (depending on the cost) before buying it. The fact that everyone doesn't do this is partly to blame for the problems encountered by most users.
Many people go crazy and install everything they see from any source on their phone, and it acts funny... understandably so.
I'd definitely agree that HTC could and should have done a better job with some aspects of the stock ROM, but this is true of any phone manufacturer, and HTC is better than many others in this regard.
I ended up keeping the HD2 bcuz im hoping for an android rom. the hardware made me keep it. its really beautiful but android is much much better than windows mobile i miss android. I had to install a rom just to enjoy the HD2 if you don't know how to install roms i would suggest you learn if you plan on owning this phone. If not go for a nexus one.
it depends on what you want out of your phone.
you'd have to root the nexus one to save apps to sd card. while on the hd2, it already has apps 2 sd capability.
customization is actually higher on the hd2, but it takes A LOT more work. i find it much easier mod the stock android os BEFORE rooting. pick your poison.
in terms of hardware, the nexus one actually has a brighter screen due to AMOLED display while of course, the hd2 screen is a monster in terms of size vs. the n1.
if you really really are in love the android OS and want the screen size of the hd2, why not move over to sprint and get the htc EVO? almost the same hardware specs except the evo is actually better equipped with a front facing camera, hdmi input, etc..
aero_pg said:
I ended up keeping the HD2 bcuz im hoping for an android rom. the hardware made me keep it. its really beautiful but android is much much better than windows mobile i miss android. I had to install a rom just to enjoy the HD2 if you don't know how to install roms i would suggest you learn if you plan on owning this phone. If not go for a nexus one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here i'm waiting for an Android ROM, i hope its out during the summer or maybe when the EVO comes out it can speed up the process. But the hardware is amazing just wished there weren't so many issues with it..
Anyone if T-mobile or HTC release an software update or are making one?
I kept the Nexus anyway and just use it on the spare line.
I work for T-Mobile so I'm limited to T-Mobile phones, I would NEVER switch to Sprint no matter what phone they got. I use to have them and work for them and not a fan at all. I think i'm going to keep the Nexus One and wait for the Galaxy S. Thanks for the input, and yes my Nexus is rooted so flashing a HD2 shouldn't be to hard. IS there much of a difference rooting Android compared to Windows?
2 things that really turned me off about the HD2 is I heard Battery life only lasts half a day, and the Facebook app which I use A LOT doesn't give you ANY notifications. Also something I love about the Nexus is finding phone numbers I just search a company from the google search bar and it gives me numbers for that company in my location. On the HD2 you have to go to the browser and then do that unless maybe I'm mistaken?
I work for T-Mobile so I'm limited to T-Mobile phones, I would NEVER switch to Sprint no matter what phone they got. I use to have them and work for them and not a fan at all. I think i'm going to keep the Nexus One and wait for the Galaxy S. Thanks for the input, and yes my Nexus is rooted so flashing a HD2 shouldn't be to hard. IS there much of a difference rooting Android compared to Windows?
2 things that really turned me off about the HD2 is I heard Battery life only lasts half a day, and the Facebook app which I use A LOT doesn't give you ANY notifications. Also something I love about the Nexus is finding phone numbers I just search a company from the google search bar and it gives me numbers for that company in my location. On the HD2 you have to go to the browser and then do that unless maybe I'm mistaken?
Im really looking to get one these bad boys tomorrow,Im coming from a g1 and im a little nervous about leaving android to go with windows again. The last windows phone i had was the tmo wing,i loved it at the time but it was a little frustrating having to keep on flashing new roms to stay updated and happy,plus I havent flashed anything since then so Im pretty much a noob at flashing again. I've read a couple of posts that other people posted on leaving android and its pretty much 40% in favor and the rest regretting it. Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated.
jkiller122 said:
Im really looking to get one these bad boys tomorrow,Im coming from a g1 and im a little nervous about leaving android to go with windows again. The last windows phone i had was the tmo wing,i loved it at the time but it was a little frustrating having to keep on flashing new roms to stay updated and happy,plus I havent flashed anything since then so Im pretty much a noob at flashing again. I've read a couple of posts that other people posted on leaving android and its pretty much 40% in favor and the rest regretting it. Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it all comes down to whether or not you can deal with pretty sh*tty battery life and without tons and tons of apps... If you want apps, you DONT want WM...
but the phone is extremely cool and EXTREMELY customizable... if you want this phone and apps, then you can either wait for the android port which is gonna take awhile from my understanding or you can wait for the EVO 4g that comes out this summer for sprint.. which is basically this phone with a 8MP (and 720p video recording) camera and android os..
I just got my HD2 but I might trade it in when that sumb*tch is released
Only if you don't mind constantly removing battery
Phone has horrendous stability issues.
Most issues come with the stock rom. Flashing (this is my first WM phone and I would consider it easy) to a more stable ROM here that can be found in these forums, helps get rid of a lot of the instability. For most, you sort of have to go through a lot to get the phone to actually act like a phone.
Thanks for the help guys,i really dont want too deal with any more battery issues with a new phone, i had enough battery issues with the g1 so thanks for telling me that cause thats pretty much a deal breaker for me. AS for the evo 4g,i was eyeing that but its for sprint and unless i pay $800 for an unlocked one i dont i will get it as i have tmobile. Another alternative i was thinking on is the nexus one,i spoke to a tmobile rep today and he said he has the hd2 and its siiting on a windowceil somewhere in his house and he claims the nexus one is the best phone out now. what are you guys thoughts on that.
Don't let a few people stray you away from picking up a good phone.
1. You are supposed to condition the battery for peak performance. Drain it completely. Turn it off. Charge it up to 100%. Turn it on and use it until its drained completely again. Repeat process. Unless there is something wrong with your battery, this will give you good longevity.
2. A custom ROM solves 90% of the problems people have with this phone. I didn't have any problems with mine on the stock ROM, but it works much faster and better on the custom one.
3. I came from the G1 and MyTouch and have not looked back even once. Sure there are more PUBLICALLY available apps. The customization ability and apps out there for WM is HUGE. You just have to look for them and do a little digging. They aren't right there in front of you spoonfed like Android does.
4. If you can flash a Wing, you can easily flash the HD2. It's ridiculously easy in comparison to other phones I have flashed/rooted. This forum is one of the best to show you what to do and how to do it. It makes it almost impossible to mess anything up.
My phone can and does last several days on a charge now that I have it conditioned and on the custom ROM. Go to the store, use the phone, and play around with it.
You will not be disappointed if you take the time to learn the phone and don't expect it to just work and be perfect out of the box. WM is not that way. Just like you can't expect your computer to be just how you want it out of the box, the same applies here. It takes some customization, some work, and some trial and error to make it do what you want.
tj05fx4 thanks for the well thought out response, after reading yours and a couple of other posts i'm most likely gonnna get it as there looks like there wont be another good phone coming out for tmobile anytime soon I might as well get this one. Hopefully i wont miss android too much but then again there's talk about an android port in the future(I still dont know 100% how that will work) but i'll look forward to it
jkiller122 said:
tj05fx4 thanks for the well thought out response, after reading yours and a couple of other posts i'm most likely gonnna get it as there looks like there wont be another good phone coming out for tmobile anytime soon I might as well get this one. Hopefully i wont miss android too much but then again there's talk about an android port in the future(I still dont know 100% how that will work) but i'll look forward to it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ive been looking into this phone as well...just keep your old android phone (for me its a MT3G) and keep flashing roms to it thatway its alwasy updated
My HD2 battery was scary the first week also.
Now it totally beats the G1 battery to death
Now if I have it on constantly, and I mean constant, then it only lasts about 5 or 6 hours. But under normal use I can forget to charge it overnight and still mae it through the next day.
There was NO WAY my G1 could ever do that.
I bought 3 batteries for my G1 (one was a 2200mha) and needed them.
I ordered one for my HD2 and now think I should have saved my money.
Not sure what "stability issues" the guy is talking about. Only problem I ever had was the music player would stop playing for a second when my outlook was syncing.
Moving from stock rom fixed that.
The HD2 is the fastest, nicest and most customizable phone on the market. Don't let the negative people get you down.
They don't know how to use their phone because the came from another O/S (which I did too) or they have a broken phone. It works great.
Stability issues
A glance at the forums will answer the myriad problems with "stability;" I can say that using the phone for its intended and advertised purposes causes it to lock up, or sometimes just get very slow and jittery, period.
I DO know how to use my phone. I've been on windows mobile since winmo5 and on this forum since 2007.
This phone is not fit for its intended purpose and is half baked. It is the "emperors new phone" to mix a metaphor.
However I've not returned mine as I have hope that these issues can be resolved, but, I've had to waste a ton of time already with this thing.
Maybe mine is faulty, but a quick review of the forums will show that many must be also. In any event anyone buying this phone should be well warned that it will be a vortex of lost time and considerable frustration to get it to work anywhere near as advertised.
ministersin said:
Not sure what "stability issues" the guy is talking about. one on the market. Don't let the negative people get you down.
They don't know how to use their phone because the came from another O/S (which I did too) or they have a broken phone. It works great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've had my HD2 since release day and have only experienced the lagging/freezing issue once, and that was early on when I inadvertently used the HTC/Sense Messaging application that comes with the HD2. That application is the bane of this phone. I don't text a lot, so I rarely used it, but if you send and receive a decent amount of text messages and you use this app, you are definitely going to experience lagging/freezing.
I found a post in the forums here to disable the HTC/Sense Messaging app and use the standard WinMo messaging app and have had ZERO issues with the phone ever since. I've also flashed to a number of Kumar's cooked ROMs with ZERO issues.
IMHO, the majority of the "stability" issues people talk about are related to that damned HTC/Sense Messaging app because without using it, my phone runs perfectly. Once in a while, I'll download an app that is poorly written and cause the device to act up, but a simple uninstall fixes it right away and I stay away from that app.
That said, only you can determine if you want to do the things you need to do to get the phone singing the way you want it to. Only you can determine if you absolutely have to have the thousands of useless apps that the Droid market has or if the apps on OMarket, MS Marketplace, Handango, etc. are enough.
This phone is an absolute keeper for me.
vplaza96 said:
I've had my HD2 since release day and have only experienced the lagging/freezing issue once, and that was early on when I inadvertently used the HTC/Sense Messaging application that comes with the HD2. That application is the bane of this phone.
IMHO, the majority of the "stability" issues people talk about are related to that damned HTC/Sense Messaging app because without using it, my phone runs perfectly.
This phone is an absolute keeper for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
'nuff said!
efjay said:
'nuff said!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only thing that bothers me is the 3G signal from TMOUSA. I will get out of that soon, but other than that this phone is not bad at all. Nice in-call volume, wifi-n (when enabled via reg tweak), 5 mp camera, and a big a$$ screen with WVGA resolution (plus a 16 gb card)...
The only time I experienced instability was when I flashed to NRG's rom. Stock works surprisingly well though (although, if I could remove most of the preloaded demos, it would be better)...
I am still in my remorse period but might just keep it after all
I heard windows OS HD2 kind of sucked, and it was lightyears better with android. i am assuming this is true.
With that said, would you rather keep it over the vibrant? I am currently trying to make a decision soon--never owning a smartphone before, i know very little so i hope your input can help me out--among bold9780, hd2, or vibrant. dont plan on getting a data plan soon and want to keep the phone for a few yrs (so dont want a phone thats on the decline, getting replaced soon by newer project phones).
I noticed the HD2 pales in specs in comparison with the vibrant, so I came here for an opinion. I figure the Vibrant is more expensive so i can sell to get an HD2 if i want to in the future. Of course, the BBerry is somehow priced higher than all of them.
Feedback from real users is welcome! Thanks for your time.
Though Android on HD2 can do everything Vibrant can do (except for AMOLED display)...but for you its still recommended that you get native Android phone, since you don't have prior smartphone experience...If you take HD2, you would have to do lot of reading before arriving to the perfect android build for you. It can be intimidating for someone just starting out since its takes time to getting used to using a smartphone too...
However if you like to tinker a lot with you're gadgets and have interest in geeky side of things...then HD2 is a dream machine
Mafioso said:
Though Android on HD2 can do everything Vibrant can do (except for AMOLED display)...but for you its still recommended that you get native Android phone, since you don't have prior smartphone experience...If you take HD2, you would have to do lot of reading before arriving to the perfect android build for you. It can be intimidating for someone just starting out since its takes time to getting used to using a smartphone too...
However if you like to tinker a lot with you're gadgets and have interest in geeky side of things...then HD2 is a dream machine
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for the reply! appreciate it. i am fine with jailbreaking consoles such as wii or ps3, so does that experience carry over enough or is the use of smartphone completely different.
also, what would you prefer for longterm if you could not buy another phone for 3-4 years?
drcrappants said:
thanks for the reply! appreciate it. i am fine with jailbreaking consoles such as wii or ps3, so does that experience carry over enough or is the use of smartphone completely different.
also, what would you prefer for longterm if you could not buy another phone for 3-4 years?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well if you have exp then its good...hacking hd2 is pretty much straightforward..if you're prepared to read...follow instructions..
Long Term use depends on you're priorities..I will list out pro's of both, you can decide on it..
HD2
+ Greater Community Support, more software, different types of builds available
+ Sense UI is much better than TouchWiz on Samsung. Work is started on porting Sense to Galaxy S though...but you never know how good the port is going to be..
+ WP7
+ Better look/build quality
Vibrant
+ Super AMOLED Display
+ Better GPU. GPU on HD2 is not that good..some games(based on unreal engine) are struggling on it already...
+ Better Battery Life
+ 720p video out of the box. Work is also going on HD2 for 720p video, and at some point it may get it too but I doubt if its going to better than vibrant
+ Lighter in weight if it matters..
If I were you, I would wait for Vibrant 4G on TMO if you're not going to upgrade for next 3 years and getting it on contract..Its got bigger battery compared to current one (1650 mAh vs 1500 mAh), 4G and supposedly there were some GPS probs on vibrant which seem to have sorted out on 4G one...
If you're buying off eBay or without contract..still also Vibrant gets the nod from my side, ..basically it boils down to better hardware on vibrant vs better software on HD2...I believe software you can get used too..but there is no substitute for Hardware..you're opinion may vary..
Thanks! I am getting it from a family contract, so I am not sure if they would offer me a Vibrant 4G (I'm guessing it is higher price?).
I probably won't get the data plan, at least for a year or two also, so would that nullify the benefits of waiting/getting the Vibrant 4g? When I do decide to get the data plan (if prices go down, etc, then the Vibrant would probably be outdated by then.
drcrappants said:
I noticed the HD2 pales in specs in comparison with the vibrant,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are joking right?
I've had both, HD2 and Galaxy S (EU Vibrant).
Personally I was disappointed with the Galaxy S - yes the screen is a joy to behold, but I soon grew tired of the lagginess of the Samsung mangled implementation of Android. Yes there are custom builds out there that help to address the lag, but after that I quickly grew tired of the lack of Samsung love from the dev community.
I sold my Galaxy S on ebay and quickly bought an HD2 - the phone I originally wanted, but got the Galaxy S just months before the first Android builds appeared for the HD2.
I've not looked back, it's a truly awesome phone. We now have WP7, and official CyanogenMod support.
The vibrant has a better chipset and gpu, and it's the same as the nexus s, which is the newest google developers phone, so future games and apps will probably work much better on the vibrant. If you're new to smartphones, I would recommend the vibrant. The HD2 is great and can run multiple OS's, but you have to do a lot of learning and reading to get it running well. Also, if you've never used any smartphone os, 1 will probably be enough for you. You can always sell the vibrant in the future and buy a hd2 or other phone if you find yourself too bored with the vibrant. You'll get much better battery life off the vibrant, also.
I'd have to agree with everyone else. Because it's your first smartphone I would suggest you pick up a Vibrant 4G..comes out in a month or two and has some minor tweaks over the current Vibrant.
As much as I love my HD2 it is hard to find a ROM that really works the way I want it to. There is always something not working on one ROM and working on another, so you have to try many ROMs and decide which you prefer.
If you go with an HD2 I would recommend Cope SD Gingerbread 2.3.2 ROM in the Development section of this site. Just about everything works flawlessy except the LED notifications.
Having had all of the following phones since January of last year (Yes, I'm a Craigslist serial phone trader - i get bored easily!), I figured I'd chime in...
1) Motorola Cliq (Not the best phone, great call quality, got me hooked on Android!)
2) Nexus One (Got it when they first were released)
3) HD2 (when they first came out)
4) Nexus One (traded HD2 for it - hated WinMo 6.5)
5) Vibrant (Annoyed me with the GPS issues)
6) MyTouch4G (Simply hated the MySenseUI on it)
7) G2 (Great phone but the hinge made it feel like it was going to last maybe only 2-3 months)
8) Vibrant (Came back to it after I saw a friend's with a great TeamWhiskey ROM and no GPS problems)
9) HD2 (current phone - came back to HD2 after the "NAND Revolution!" - LOVE the big screen!)
With some of the custom ROMs out there right now (I can strongly recommend TeamWhiskey's ROMs!), I'd say go with the Vibrant if the screen size difference doesn't make any difference to you.
The way I use my phone and with the ROMs I am running on the HD2 I can say that battery life is just about even.
Other than the screen size, what's the plus of the HD2? I'd say the versatility. There are so many ROMs out there for it that persons have ported from other phones to it that it's hard to get too bored. I've flashed almost every day on the HD2 simply because I get bored, but this is the longest I've kept a phone to date - with NO intentions of changing anytime soon. If you love to fiddle with stuff, the HD2 is a great phone. If you want to get a phone and just run with it as is, not sure where to point you. If you want to root and not constantly change things out, go the Vibrant route (or Vibrant 4G).
I have both phones and even with Team Whiskey's ROMS for the Vibrant, its always running with half of the memory the HD2 is running. This might be an unfair comparison since I'm running Gingerbread on the HD2 and Froyo on the Vibrant.
One thing I do miss and I haven't figured out if there's a work around with the HD2 is the missing dedicated search button.
pphi said:
One thing I do miss and I haven't figured out if there's a work around with the HD2 is the missing dedicated search button.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try long-pressing on the phone key Works for me! (Far left key)
Yes i would rather a vibrant over my hd2 right now. Reasons being:
Currently i'm bored of my hd2, as I have found nothing else to do with it in my power, having flashed mutiple android/winmo roms and tried out WP7.
The multitouch problems urk me and my gaming.
The vibrant has 16 gb of storage which i would love to store my music in along with my 16 gb card.
That super amoled screen tempts me.
However, even with all those reasons, there is one big reason as to why I would keep my HD2, and that is, I love my HD2, it's the first real smartphone i've ever had, and thankfully, it's given me one hell of a ride and still has potential for more.
If, & only if, you like to tinker & tweak your gadgets, get the HD2. It's the first smartphone I've ever owned or toyed with & I love it! Before this I was using the old, barely could text pay as you go phone. Now I love this phone & have learned so much. So if you enjoy these things, you'll love the HD2.
If not go with the alternative.
No doubt about it with me, I love my HD2. My view is the HD2 makes the world's best Android phone. You can always use it as a different Android phone whenever you get tired of the one you're currently using, no need to buy new hardware. It's also my belief the XDA Android devs make ROMs that work better than actual Android phones.
Now the only thing I can think of better than an HD2 with Android is an HD7 with Android.
I recently traded (along with receiving a few bucks) my vibrant for the HD2, and really have not looked back. The versatility of the HD2 is unparalleled. Dual booting Android and WP7 (depending on my mood) is fantastic. Team Whiskey are a bunch of fantastic people and develop some really great roms (my wife has a Vibrant so I still get to play with it), but I've found greater support here and the HD2 solves all the issues I've had with Vibrant. Battery life imo is superior to the Vibrant, the GPS signal issues that I had with the Vibrant are non existent on the HD2, it seems to be faster and more stable, not to mention the build quality... the HD2 seems to be a lot sturdier, plus if you like the Sense UI, the HD2 is the way to go. They're both great phones and the difference is marginal, but again imo, the scales tip slightly towards the HD2
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA App
If you're a tinkerer and okay with not having a smooth perfect phone all the time, go for the HD2. I can tell you since my cousin has a Vibrant, that it is garbage. All plastic build, dirt-poor Samsung support (No Froyo yet and Honeycomb is around the corner!?), GPS problems, un-amazing battery life, and little community support make it a terrible choice for anyone who knows that XDA exists...
That phone isn't worth the silicon inside it.
i recently sold my vibrant and brought an hd2 . I like the way i can use alot of different os on it. I loveed my vibrant but i dont miss it cause i dont see a real drop off from it other the internal memory and screen which is not that big to me. I currently running wp7 cause i actaully like it and running around on sd. So unless microsoft does sumthing to ruin wp7 for the hd2 which i doubt then im pretty pleased with my sell of the vibrant for the hd2. Although i did kinda like that touchwiz. Is there a way to get that running on an hd2. I had the launcher but is possible to do anything other than just the launcher?
reds28heem said:
i recently sold my vibrant and brought an hd2 . I like the way i can use alot of different os on it. I loveed my vibrant but i dont miss it cause i dont see a real drop off from it other the internal memory and screen which is not that big to me. I currently running wp7 cause i actaully like it and running around on sd. So unless microsoft does sumthing to ruin wp7 for the hd2 which i doubt then im pretty pleased with my sell of the vibrant for the hd2. Although i did kinda like that touchwiz. Is there a way to get that running on an hd2. I had the launcher but is possible to do anything other than just the launcher?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you liked TouchWiz you'll LOVE Miui... check out the HD2 Android forums. Not near a computer or I'd post a link, sorry.
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA App
First off, I'd like to thank everyone on XDA trying to make modifications to the Atrix. You all have done an exceptional job.
I've owned an Atrix since Early March, upgrading from an iPhone 3G. When I got it, I was very excited at the new possibilities Android gave me for customizing my phone, increasing performance, etc. By the way, this upgrade is a huge step up from my iPhone 3G in terms of performance.
But.
It seems like Android as a whole doesn't really feel like the smartphone experience I hoped for. Sure, I have a laptop dock, it runs most Linux programs compiled for ARM, people are impressed. But the user interface on the phone, the errant bugs on stock builds (I'm using Alien, so no exactly stock, but it also has its downsides), and the apps on the Android Market just don't feel as nice as iOS or Windows Phone 7 (those are the only two mobile OSes I've used). It probably has a lot to do with the large manufacturer control over software instead of Google, the lack of a lot of hardware acceleration in most applications and the user interface (for now, I know!), and overall lack of programming aptitude of some Android developers (There are some damn good apps on Android compared to Apple's Appstore too, but I'm going to have to give this trophy to iOS, and inherently Objective-C).
Granted, I haven't tried CM7 or MIUI largely due to me needing webtop mode for classes (has anyone tried porting that to CM7 yet?). Yes, Ice Cream Sandwich will probably be a hell of a lot better than pretty much any OS out there right now.
I'm very tired right now so this may be long-winded, but in my opinion, it seems like Google and Android phone manufacturers are behind the game right now. Performance can get abysmal if you're on stock, but if you've unlocked your bootloader and installed a fresh ROM, the experience can get a little wacked.
Thoughts? Comments? Rebuttals? I'm all for it.
paravorheim said:
First off, I'd like to thank everyone on XDA trying to make modifications to the Atrix. You all have done an exceptional job.
I've owned an Atrix since Early March, upgrading from an iPhone 3G. When I got it, I was very excited at the new possibilities Android gave me for customizing my phone, increasing performance, etc. By the way, this upgrade is a huge step up from my iPhone 3G in terms of performance.
But.
It seems like Android as a whole doesn't really feel like the smartphone experience I hoped for. Sure, I have a laptop dock, it runs most Linux programs compiled for ARM, people are impressed. But the user interface on the phone, the errant bugs on stock builds (I'm using Alien, so no exactly stock, but it also has its downsides), and the apps on the Android Market just don't feel as nice as iOS or Windows Phone 7 (those are the only two mobile OSes I've used). It probably has a lot to do with the large manufacturer control over software instead of Google, the lack of a lot of hardware acceleration in most applications and the user interface (for now, I know!), and overall lack of programming aptitude of some Android developers (There are some damn good apps on Android compared to Apple's Appstore too, but I'm going to have to give this trophy to iOS, and inherently Objective-C).
Granted, I haven't tried CM7 or MIUI largely due to me needing webtop mode for classes (has anyone tried porting that to CM7 yet?). Yes, Ice Cream Sandwich will probably be a hell of a lot better than pretty much any OS out there right now.
I'm very tired right now so this may be long-winded, but in my opinion, it seems like Google and Android phone manufacturers are behind the game right now. Performance can get abysmal if you're on stock, but if you've unlocked your bootloader and installed a fresh ROM, the experience can get a little wacked.
Thoughts? Comments? Rebuttals? I'm all for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As much as I respect ur opinion. What bugs and what app problems are u facing?
Because I had the Alien Rom for more than a month and it was smooth as butter and very responsive.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
paravorheim said:
In my opinion, it seems like Google and Android phone manufacturers are behind the game right now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is my thoughts exactly. After going through 5 different Android phones in the last year and then using to iOS when I bought an iPad, it really changed my opinion on Android.
I think Android is a little rough around the edges and could definitely use some improvement.
Personally, I'm jumping ship for the next iPhone. *waits for angry posts*
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
TheBassman369 said:
This is my thoughts exactly. After going through 5 different Android phones in the last year and then using to iOS when I bought an iPad, it really changed my opinion on Android.
I think Android is a little rough around the edges and could definitely use some improvement.
Personally, I'm jumping ship for the next iPhone. *waits for angry posts*
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I seriously don't like about u iOS lovers. U talk in all the vague terms. Gives a perception that u don't know what u r talking about. Will u ever mention exactly what r ur problems with Android ? A healthy insight would be great. And why not post on xda if u r facing some problems or glitches.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
I don't know. I use android for my personal use. I almost make a living off iPhones.
I'll say one thing
the majority of the dev scene for Apple REVOLVES around jailbreaking and unlocking [and trickles down into free apps] that's pretty much it, yes, there's a lot of homebrew and a lot of work done with apple, but the real hard work goes into unlocking
the majority of the dev scene for Android revolves around improving the core use of the OS and also fixing or tweaking the way hardware is used [such as unlocking frequency bands, fm radio, camera resolutions, battery tweaks, processor or GPU OC/UV, etc]
that should tell you what it comes down to.
Im excited for cm7... but I need webtop!!! So torn. I know the devs are working on a port because cm7 requires stock functionality (webtop and fingerprint scanner) to get official status
Sent from my alien
I think my Atrix out of the box is great compared to my Captivate I had...so..it might have something to do with the early builds and how you have your phone set up...that's giving you problems
Mac
I would like to understand why so many people say they "need" webtop, and why so many cannot live without it on this phone. Somebody please answer this. I am pretty sure everyone lived perfectly fine before the Atrix came along, so why the sudden requirement for school and work to "need" webtop?
If you came from the iPhone, you certainly did not have webtop before.
TheBassman369 said:
This is my thoughts exactly. After going through 5 different Android phones in the last year and then using to iOS when I bought an iPad, it really changed my opinion on Android.
I think Android is a little rough around the edges and could definitely use some improvement.
Personally, I'm jumping ship for the next iPhone. *waits for angry posts*
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This really isn't geared at you per say, but to anyone in the market for either an iPhone vs Android I'd say wait till the fall when you can compare iP5 against ICS.
If ICS is all that, then a lot of Atrix users will be "very happy" to put it mildly (and so will their wallets)...
Sent from my GT-I9000 using xda premium
Here's what it breaks down into.
Do you love modding your phone, choosing where, when, and how things are done on your operating system, being able to have full control over your processes / cpu usage / bandwith consumption? Do you like personal freedoms and choices? Get a phone with an Android operating system.
Do you love....Apple? Get an iphone.
For me, its same as windows Desktops and Laptops comapared to Macs or linux.
When you buy a Dell/HP laptop, you get a ton of crapware. that slows the machine down to a limit that the upgrade seems worthless in some case.
To make it all right, you have format and have a clean vanila install. (at least thats what I do).
On Mac, you get things that are good and apple certified. So, you get a good performing machine from the very first boot.
Our android phones are same as windows laptops/desktops from Dell/HP. CM7 is the clean vanila install for android. and i jumped for the first CM7 prebeta that was available!
I was talking to my brother the other day. He was trying to decide which phone OS to go for his next phone. My basic description went like this:
Apple, will take you by the hand ... and bring you to your destination (smart phone nervana). If you see something along your path, apple will ignore it ... and keep on going.
WP7 (never used it, but from what I can gather) will take you by the hand, and guide you to your destination. If you see something interesting along your path, you can stop, but WP7 will constantly nag you to keep on moving in their direction.
Android, will tell you which direction your destination is in, and say ... good luck.
bbb90104 said:
I was talking to my brother the other day. He was trying to decide which phone OS to go for his next phone. My basic description went like this:
Apple, will take you by the hand ... and bring you to your destination (smart phone nervana). If you see something along your path, apple will ignore it ... and keep on going.
WP7 (never used it, but from what I can gather) will take you by the hand, and guide you to your destination. If you see something interesting along your path, you can stop, but WP7 will constantly nag you to keep on moving in their direction.
Android, will tell you which direction your destination is in, and say ... good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THIS IS AWESOME!!!!! I'm stealing it!
bbb90104 said:
I was talking to my brother the other day. He was trying to decide which phone OS to go for his next phone. My basic description went like this:
Apple, will take you by the hand ... and bring you to your destination (smart phone nervana). If you see something along your path, apple will ignore it ... and keep on going.
WP7 (never used it, but from what I can gather) will take you by the hand, and guide you to your destination. If you see something interesting along your path, you can stop, but WP7 will constantly nag you to keep on moving in their direction.
Android, will tell you which direction your destination is in, and say ... good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Amazing description. LOL !
anupash said:
As much as I respect ur opinion. What bugs and what app problems are u facing?
Because I had the Alien Rom for more than a month and it was smooth as butter and very responsive.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been getting random reboots every couple of days. Whenever the phone stats up again out tells me that there is no sim card so I have to reboot again.
Sometimes the screen will be unresponsive, and a reboot is required. Then I get the no Sim card problem again so I have to reboot a second time.
Pandora doesn't like to be kept in memory very well, which may be am issue of me just needing to reinstall the app.
I'm sure there's more, and definitely many worse problems on my iPhone 3G.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA Premium App
againareku said:
I don't know. I use android for my personal use. I almost make a living off iPhones.
I'll say one thing
the majority of the dev scene for Apple REVOLVES around jailbreaking and unlocking [and trickles down into free apps] that's pretty much it, yes, there's a lot of homebrew and a lot of work done with apple, but the real hard work goes into unlocking
the majority of the dev scene for Android revolves around improving the core use of the OS and also fixing or tweaking the way hardware is used [such as unlocking frequency bands, fm radio, camera resolutions, battery tweaks, processor or GPU OC/UV, etc]
that should tell you what it comes down to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is precisely why I bought an Android phone instead of an iPhone this time around. Because honestly performance was my main issue with my iPhone.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA Premium App
paravorheim said:
I've been getting random reboots every couple of days. Whenever the phone stats up again out tells me that there is no sim card so I have to reboot again.
Sometimes the screen will be unresponsive, and a reboot is required. Then I get the no Sim card problem again so I have to reboot a second time.
Pandora doesn't like to be kept in memory very well, which may be am issue of me just needing to reinstall the app.
I'm sure there's more, and definitely many worse problems on my iPhone 3G.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm... sorry but you SHOULDN"T be having these problems.
In regards to random reboots issue - are you overclocked? do you use launcherpro?
In regards to sim card absent issue - how old is your sim card? this could also be a phone issue, you should be eligible for a replacement in that case.
Touchscreen unresponsive issue - again, you shouldn't be having this issue. Which rom do you use? Do you have a screen protector? In what specific usage cases does it freeze?
I have nothing like this problems at all.
CaelanT said:
I would like to understand why so many people say they "need" webtop, and why so many cannot live without it on this phone. Somebody please answer this. I am pretty sure everyone lived perfectly fine before the Atrix came along, so why the sudden requirement for school and work to "need" webtop?
If you came from the iPhone, you certainly did not have webtop before.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're right, I didn't have webtop before when I owned an iPhone. I also had a laptop given to me by my school then too.
Now that i've had to return that, I bought the laptop dock specifically for note taking and remote desktop into my computer in my room for using programs required for engineering (Matlab, Eclipse, Mathematica, etc.)
I could have bought a NetBook for a little more money, and had much better performance, but I thought the cool factor of your phone powering a laptop and all the work being done to better
webtop would be worth more. (especially now with the source out )
I think my op suggested I was frustrated to the point where I would sell the phone. No, I still love it. But I thought I'd express my feelings about some of its shortcomings.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA Premium App
xploited said:
Hmmm... sorry but you SHOULDN"T be having these problems.
In regards to random reboots issue - are you overclocked? do you use launcherpro?
In regards to sim card absent issue - how old is your sim card? this could also be a phone issue, you should be eligible for a replacement in that case.
Touchscreen unresponsive issue - again, you shouldn't be having this issue. Which rom do you use? Do you have a screen protector? In what specific usage cases does it freeze?
I have nothing like this problems at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
More than likely all I need is a new rom flash, with a newer or stock kernel. I'm not overclocked, and I use adw launcher ex.
My Sim card came with my phone when I got it, so is about 6 months old. I may just ask them for a new one whenever I go home to see if that fixes the problem.
I believe that the touchscreen being unresponsive could be due to overheat issues, because every time it happens I think it gets fairly toasty. Or maybe when my phone vibrated in my pocket when someone calls me, and I press the power button to mute it. I do indeed have a screen protector on though; do you think that's why it would become unresponsive?
Sent from my MB860 using XDA Premium App
paravorheim said:
I think my op suggested I was frustrated to the point where I would sell the phone. No, I still love it. But I thought I'd express my feelings about some of its shortcomings.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well... to address your frustrations now...
I only managed to conclude that your homescreen lags, right?
Well, on Android you can always find alternatives for everythings. When it comes to homescreens, you are spoiled for choice - ADW, Stock launcher, GO Launcher, launcherpro, even Touchwiz launcher are all available for Atrix.
I assure you that you will find at least one that you like visually and which doesn't lag.