Database Users

Can I hold the Athena up to my ear?

I'm soooo on the fringe of buying this from Amazon but the ONE thing keeping me is the fact of taking phone calls in private. First off I HATE bluetooth headsets. I only want to carry my device. Nothing else... With that said are the speakers on the Advantage located so as I can put my ear up to it and cancel out the sound so others can't hear what other people are saying? Or are there dual speakers on the side which would make it quite hard?
Does anyone out there with an Advantage use it like this to take/place calls? Man I'm about to pull the trigger I just can't stand it doesn't have an earpiece...
Is there a super flat bluetooth headset I could possibly attach to the back?
I honestly don't talk that much on my phones mostly data and stuff but when I do need to talk I'd rather not have everyone else hear it...
Thanks.

juiceppc said:
Can I put this up to my ear?
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Click to collapse
No respectable Athena owners would put this phone up to their face. I use the LG Stlye-I as do others. I agree with you that the BT Earpiece is way over done and in some instances rude to wear.
Having the Style-I for the Athena gets loads of attention as most folks believe that it is your phone (and it's quite the piece). It is smaller than an average hi-lighter pen, has great battery life and a nice caller ID display. Only downside is that it rings quietly and does not have a vibrate mode.
Check e-bay as they run $30 or so depending on the listing.

I'm one of those who are not respectable, and I can't care less if I look like a nut to others. I do turn my volume to the lowest though, but that won't silent it enough. For calls which are important,I do pluck in my wired headset which I use for mp3 anyway. For VOIP I always use wired headset to prevent echo to the other party.
My advice is for you to buy other type of PDA instead of Athena if you are very strongly against using headset (need not be bt, wired will do very well) and feel bothered holding it against your face .
Regards.

I have a bluetooth headset and the wired microphone but I often just use my Ameo straight up to my face. It works ok but does look silly and you have to mess around with the volume. Not good in a quiet office environment because others will hear.
Summary: Possible but NOT ideal!

When going grocery shopping it's a bit ackward to put the phone to my ear and maneuver with 5 plus bags at the same time. I like to keep my hands free, and IMHO the Athena Is just a big too big to keep it to my ear, not only that the volume just isn't low enough to make the conversation private. As eaglesteve stated your best bet would be to get a different wm device. The phone is truely not a 1 handed device, however do keep in mind it has one of the biggest screens available on mobile devices. Just my 2 cents.
Oh and btw there's a seller on ebay stating he has 10 units available at $450 USD and the sale is ending in about 2 hrs. Hope this helps, here's the link:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Unlocked-T-mobi...ryZ38331QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

thanks for the feedback guys
I have many winmo phones but the screen on the Advantage really appeals to me.
the universal has an earpiece I just wish this did...

juiceppc said:
thanks for the feedback guys
I have many winmo phones but the screen on the Advantage really appeals to me.
the universal has an earpiece I just wish this did...
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Like others have said, holding the phone up to your ear does work, but people close can hear your whole conversation.
I use the LG-StyleI and it works great. Leave your advantage on your belt (buy a tuff-as-nuts case) and answer and call using the style-i. You right the screen is great. I also have many winmo phones and the screen on the advantage can't be beat.

I am an occasional phone user. Nobody wants to talk to me ;-) But the sheer joy of owning one of these beasts far outweighs any inconvenience when using the phone (for an occasional user). The screen is large enough to make all the hype about watching videos, reading books, using spreadsheets, viewing website pages, playing hi res games, etc practical and enjoyable. BUY IT!

Athena up to my ear for tellyphone conversation
To juiceppc ,
i own an athena since January 2007 and have been frequently making & receiving calls by putting either my left ear or my right ear near to the right speaker like the Nokia Engage handphone and my mouth not so near to the mic on the left bottom of my athena with both speakers volume and mic volume to the maximum , and in my country - Malaysia i can talk using this way with 100% clarity in a quite enviroment or about 60% to 70% clarity on outdoors but 40% to 50% clarity on jobsites / noisy enviroment. Sometimes i encounter some breakups and cracking calls but other than that i think it's okay for my usage. You can always adjust both volumes to suit your calls but you may need some practise to get the hang of it. I hope this helps & sorry for very late posting

went jogging with my evo... not happy.

So here in buffalo we had the Chase Corporate Challenge this past week. I was pretty excited to have my evo, both for music, and to use as a timer (if you've ever walked/run the corporate challenge, you know that you'll never get an accurate time unless you take time tracking into your own hands). Not being much of a runner (besides occasional run-ins with the treadmill at the gym) I hadn't gone jogging with my phone before, so I was pretty dismayed when my phone started to completely act up on me.
First off, my music kept skipping and going to the next track. On top of that, for some reason, my phone kept going into voice search mode. Lastly I discovered that the route/timing tracking software I was using must have gotten itself paused for a large chunk of my run in the middle... completely losing where I was and ruining any chance at getting a real time for my run. What made it even worse is about 80% of my company is iPhone users... so the whole thing was pretty embarrassing.
I have a few theories that I need to test as to why it acted so flaky... I kept it in my pocket the whole time. After the run when I was diagnosing, I noticed that when I jiggled the headphone plug, the phone would pause/play the music and sometimes go into voice command mode. I can only imagine that on top of that, the power button must have kept getting pressed when it was flying around in my pocket and somehow my thigh was hitting the pause/play button on the lockscreen. As for the route tracking software, I have no idea... it probably got confused when my phone kept doing all the other things.
So this post is partly a rant, but I'd like to know, has anyone else gone running with their phone? Have their adventures been more successful than mine? And what the heck is up with the voice command thing? Maybe it was the headphones I was using sending odd signals somehow through the jack? Does anyone have any ideas there? At some point I want to get a pair of BT stereo headphones, but it seems like even then not all my problems will be solved... Very annoyed.
At least the good news is I think I came in first out of the "XXL" category here in buffalo... if only they tracked the results by weight, I'd be a superstar

I have no idea if this would cause a problem because I haven't researched how it works, but I wonder if the phone's proximity switch could cause problems when jogging/running.

You should try and get a waist band thing for it or look for something that you can put it on your arm. Just something that can hold it securely in one place.

this has been covered exhaustively, unfortunately not many people seem to care
or they haven't tried the headphone jack out yet.
Read this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=698699

Hey
Check out the "list of issues" thread in this forum. #6 sounds like yours
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

been running 2 times with music on and using my tracks... everything was perfect.

I jog 4 miles a day and lift weights. Never had those issues. Maybe its just you.

sounds like a bad headphone jack

I run and bike with my EVO and it has been a pleasure. I recommend using CardioTrainer as your work out recorder. It does a great job and even speaks over your music at set intervals to tell you how far you have in what amount of time. It also auto pauses your workout if you take a break and automatically uploads all of the data to a private website.

I went running with my Evo for the first time today.
I strapped it on to am arm band.
It felt a little large at first, but got used to it on my arm after a few minutes.
I played music and also ran Google's "MyTracks" software.
MyTracks uses GPS to log your run and reports all kinds of stats (Pace, Avg moving time, Distance, etc).
I had absolutely no problems.
I agree with other posters that you should try to get an arm band or a belt.

It almost sounds like you were hitting the bottom 4 buttons, but i don't think that is it.
I was listening to music through the headphone jack on my home stereo earlier today and noticed some of the same ****. No skipping, but the song would change by themselves. Happened like 5 times in the course of a couple of hours. Strange.
Just as a side note the BT headphones I have work almost flawless, it's awesome.

the problem with the headphones jack is that it is like the one for the nexus, and the nexus comes with headphones that control playing (play/pause, skip forward/backward). standard headphones don't have the contact that mediates those controls, so when the jack jostles around, it hits that contact point, and causes the skipping issue. as far as i know, only solution is to use a set of headphones with those controls.
which is why i kept the headphones from the N1 when i sold it.

I would never put my EVO in my pocket when I run. In my opinion, a tight belt clip or an arm band are the only solutions.
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Sent from my HTC EVO 4G using Tapatalk Pro.

Thanks for all the suggestions. It definitely does seem to be a headphone jack issue, as the phone is constantly getting signals to activate voice dialing. I saw there was a DIY mod on android forums that involved bending one of the headphone contacts... I'm trying to decide if I want to try that or just find a set of nexus-style headphones until I get the BT set (BT stereo headphones are pretty pricey so I need to do research before I just throw down $100-200 on a set).
I could try finding an armband... but this thing is huge. good thing I have big arms? Seems more reasonable than a belt clip though, as I don't exactly have a flat stomach lol... seems that having something there while running would be pretty uncomfortable!

How do you run with it in your pocket? Unless you're wearing spandex...
I run with mine but I just hold it in my hand. But I never run more than 5k.

Definitely a headphone problem. If you have crappy headphones with bad contacts or wires, it will confuse the EVO into thinking you are pressing remote buttons on the inline remote.
Also...how do you run with it in your pockets? That would annoy the crap out of me with all the un-anchored weight and probably some chaffing.

where can I get an armband for it?

There are also a number of apps fir the EVO that execute things like skipping songs, taking screen shots, etc by shaking the phone.
It sounds like one of those was running in the background.

adelaney said:
I jog 4 miles a day and lift weights. Never had those issues. Maybe its just you.
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what exactly does lifting weights have to do with anything? or did you just throw that in there for the sake of your e-penis?

fiveohhh said:
How do you run with it in your pocket? Unless you're wearing spandex...
I run with mine but I just hold it in my hand. But I never run more than 5k.
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Mbai2 said:
...
Also...how do you run with it in your pockets? That would annoy the crap out of me with all the un-anchored weight and probably some chaffing.
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Click to collapse
I have normal running shorts but I've been wearing lightweight cotton plaid golf-type shorts for running recently. They're almost as light as the running shorts and they have deep narrow pockets... didn't bother me at all. Of course I also mentioned that I'm a large guy, so maybe all the fat on my thighs acts as a barrier so it doesn't annoy me haha.

[Q] Sound when speaker is closed?

Hey guys i'm thinking of getting the surround and wanted to ask people who already have it what happens when you play music/phone rings when the phone is closed? Does the sound come from the hidden speakers? won't that sound muffled? or what? thx!

From what I can tell, even when the phone is closed the sound still comes from the same speakers. So the sound does seem muffled by the front plate of the phone. However, the quality of the sound is still great for a phone even with the speaker closed. If I'm listening to something, I usually leave the speaker slid out though.

frejos said:
From what I can tell, even when the phone is closed the sound still comes from the same speakers. So the sound does seem muffled by the front plate of the phone. However, the quality of the sound is still great for a phone even with the speaker closed. If I'm listening to something, I usually leave the speaker slid out though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So it sounds like you like your phone! would you recommend it?
and on a related note, why is there a speaker grill on the back of the phone too? (see attached pic)

I like the weight and feel of the phone compared to the other thiner/lighter models. It feels like a solid well made phone. I definitely use my phone more for music now and really like the Zune integration. The large speaker bar provides crisp clear sound that remains clear at the highest volume. There are three different sound modes (changed by pressing the silver square button on the speaker bar): Normal, Dolby Mobile, and SRS Enhanced.
Overall I like the Surround, I'm a bit disappointed in the lack of customization (true for all WP7 devices) but I expect that will improve over time. I'm also looking forward to some more great apps.
As for the back cover, that appears to be a vent hole as there is no speaker (at least visibly) behind it.
If you are going to get a WP7 and enjoy using your phone for music/media then I think the Surround is a great choice.

Also found this review which has some good pictures of the back cover removed.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4015/htc-surround-review-pocket-boombox

Hey there,
You don't really notice any muffling of the sound until you slide the speaker out, and even though, I wouldn't say it makes a HUGE difference - a difference yes. I think the phone, while it has a nice solid quality feel, is a bit thick for my liking. Coming from an iPhone 4, then Samsung Galaxy S (super thin), and now this, the Surround almost feels like the Tilt 2. I just ordered the Samsung Focus (I think the HD7 is awesome, but I wouldn't be able to enjoy 3G since I'm on AT&T). I hope the Focus is thinner.

That speaker looking grill is just that, it allows the sound to have an alternative venue to escape in the event that the speakers are covered. Thats what helps keep the sound crisp and clear when the phone is in the closed position. Think if it as a ported sub-woofer box... Well at least thats what the HTC rep told me
CyK1 said:
So it sounds like you like your phone! would you recommend it?
and on a related note, why is there a speaker grill on the back of the phone too? (see attached pic)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

I thought that's what it was for too, but I don't know if it's very helpful.
If you get this phone and use the alarm like me, just get use to leaving the speaker open. It's not really a big deal.

speaker sound
The speakers sound FINE whether open or closed. There is a grill on the back that helps when the case is closed. I think all this stems from a couple of dim witted no talent reviewers who trashed the entire phone on this one caveat.
Despeite what a few of them say, the phone has great audio, great video, great everything, the phone is NOT bulky, the screen is plenty bright with good saturation, the zune software does a great job of converting videos.
The only limitations of the phone are those of the OS and that will certainly improve over time. In fact there are already 2500 apps available, many for free, that extend the abilities of the phone and you can bet your whiskers MS is working on upgrades right now. Someone just put out an app where you can vote on what improvements you want to see next. There are new apps appearing every day so having the phone is fun....that's what we do here...tinker and maximize our toys until the next one comes out ))))

panflute said:
The speakers sound FINE whether open or closed. There is a grill on the back that helps when the case is closed. I think all this stems from a couple of dim witted no talent reviewers who trashed the entire phone on this one caveat.
Despeite what a few of them say, the phone has great audio, great video, great everything, the phone is NOT bulky, the screen is plenty bright with good saturation, the zune software does a great job of converting videos.
The only limitations of the phone are those of the OS and that will certainly improve over time. In fact there are already 2500 apps available, many for free, that extend the abilities of the phone and you can bet your whiskers MS is working on upgrades right now. Someone just put out an app where you can vote on what improvements you want to see next. There are new apps appearing every day so having the phone is fun....that's what we do here...tinker and maximize our toys until the next one comes out ))))
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not to be a pain, but can you stay on topic? We are talking about the sound when you do not slide the speaker out. No offense intended, just saying...
I failed to mention that the sound is definitely muffled when closed. Is it still loud? Yes, it's fine, but definitely better when slid out.

What I don't like about Galaxy Note

To be fair to all those considering Note, after all praising (I still do think it's best phone in the world right now), there are definitely drawbacks.
Here is one for example:
The regular phone speaker above the screen (not the loud one on the back) is not pointing sound into one direction. You can even speak on the phone with back side of Galaxy Note put to you ear, you will still be able to hear everything clearly, even on low volume.
On top volume, it is comparable to speaker phone on some other phones, so if you pick up a phone while surrounded by other people (unless you are in very loud place) they will hear the other person.
While in the office, I noticed myself turning volume down a lot when I pick up the phone.

I dont have this kind of problem , my old Nokia phone does.
Sure someone can hear some of the content near the phone you are talking in a dead silent arwa, it's inevitable.
I feel Gnote already perform quite well compare to the other phones, like HTCs in this area
Sent from my GT-N7000 using XDA App

to be honest id rather it was loud and have the ability to turn the volume down than it be too quiet and unable to turn the volume up
as my mum used to say,if its cold its better to have a coat and be able to take it off if you get hot than be cold and need a coat and not have one

Richy99 said:
to be honest id rather it was loud and have the ability to turn the volume down than it be too quiet and unable to turn the volume up
as my mum used to say,if its cold its better to have a coat and be able to take it off if you get hot than be cold and need a coat and not have one
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Click to collapse
It's not a question of whether badly working phone is better than no phone. It's a question of best phone being of high quality. In this case its potential privacy concern.
I switched from iPhones, where it was not an issue. If you put it tight to your ear in silent room, none else hears the person on the other end. Even on loud.
Like I've said above, on Note in silent room regular speaker (not the loud speaker) is comparable to loud speaker on some other phones. You can hear through the phone! Test yourself, make a call with screen side out, battery cover side to your ear, you might be surprised, that it's practically no difference what side you hold it to the ear, even on lowest in-call volume you can still comfortably speak with wrong side of the phone touching your ear.
I have not tried other Notes than mine, but I seriously doubt that it is one time occurrence, seems to me like an engineering issue, not enough sound insulation behind the speaker, just few thin layers of plastic.

If it is such a privacy concern, why not use a bluetooth headset or earbuds? Why not leave the room instead of taking the call in the room?
I mean there are more options that just sitting there letting everyone else hear your conversation if you feel that you have something to hide. But then again, your talking so they naturally are going to hear at least 1 part of the conversation no matter what. So I fail to see how you can really be concerned with privacy when they hear everything you say anyways, right?
If you were that worried about privacy you would send texts, emails or use an IM program to send messages so that no one knew what was being said or talked about. But since you are willing to sit in the room and let them listen to what at least you are saying, then you are not overly concerned with them at least hearing part of the conversation.
When I get a call that I dont want anyone else to hear I either leave the room, put on my earbuds or tell the person I will call them back when I can talk. So really it isnt about privacy concerns at all, it is just an inconvience for you to know that the speaker is loud. Louder than you are used to at least.

Fuuny that you mention this because i never thought i'll use those bt headsets until i own the Note. Each time i put it in my ear, my worry is not the volume but the number of heads turning towards me and the the sheepish grin that follows.
--- --- --- ---
A damn proud Galaxy Note owner.

Maybe try turn down the volume and using a case.
I wonder how those HTC phones perform because they all have ear speakers that are wide across the width of the phone itself.

eksasol said:
Maybe try turn down the volume and using a case.
I wonder how those HTC phones perform because they all have ear speakers that are wide across the width of the phone itself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol..the speaker grill on HTC phone what we call it, is just a gimmick. If we see inside, the speaker none the less is only small portion on the middle side
Sent from my GT-N7000 using XDA App

Astrum said:
While in the office, I noticed myself turning volume down a lot when I pick up the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a really good point. Something else to improve in the Note2 along with moving power button!
Sent from my Amiga GT-N7000 using XDA Premium.

Anyone else think earpiece is too quiet?

Maybe my nexus 6 was just that good but it feels like the v20's earpiece speaker isnt very clear or loud....I can live with lower quality but the sound level is kind of low (hard to hear people in noisy places)

bob2300nx said:
Maybe my nexus 6 was just that good but it feels like the v20's earpiece speaker isnt very clear or loud....I can live with lower quality but the sound level is kind of low (hard to hear people in noisy places)
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Yeah its low (with my over the ear cans), went all in on a descent amp that can usb of my pc and/or directly off my phone. Like my cans to rattle sometimes. With my IEMs though it gets loud after 50-60. Id make sure you have enabled Hi-Fi sound on the phone first and found this app to be very useful in adding some punch and volume to my tracks. ----> Equalizer (by Smart Android Apps)
Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

JkdJedi said:
Yeah its low (with my over the ear cans), went all in on a descent amp that can usb of my pc and/or directly off my phone. Like my cans to rattle sometimes. With my IEMs though it gets loud after 50-60. Id make sure you have enabled Hi-Fi sound on the phone first and found this app to be very useful in adding some punch and volume to my tracks. ----> Equalizer (by Smart Android Apps)
Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im talking about in call volume through the speaker that you hold up to your ear.

bob2300nx said:
Im talking about in call volume through the speaker that you hold up to your ear.
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Click to collapse
Lol!! Oh. No not at all, that's way better than the last phone I had the lgg3.
Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

Check your phone call settings. There may be an option in there that was enabled by accident.
And/or tell your correspondence to speak up. Lol.

yeah idk, my s7 sounded like crap for phone calls. could never understand the person on the other line. but my V20 sounds amazing. clear, loud etc. kills the s7
Sent from my LG-US996 using Tapatalk

I'm experiencing the same. Extremely clear, no issues whatsoever.

Speaking of the Nexus 6. That phone was hands down the best Android phone ever made. If they re-released it with a fingerprint sensor, I would buy it again. Best speakers and sound of any phone. It could have used a better camera, but other than that, 9 out of 10.
As for the speaker sound in the V20. I think it could be a a bit louder. Clarity isn't an issue for me. But it's def not very loud.

On the T-Mobile variant this thing is loud and clear. If I turn it all the way up I can hold it away from my ear in front of me and still hear the other person clear enough to understand them. definitely no issues so far involving that

Lgv20user said:
Check your phone call settings. There may be an option in there that was enabled by accident.
And/or tell your correspondence to speak up. Lol.
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What settings are you talking about?
And people calling me didnt magically decide to speak quietly just because I bought a new phone.
Mikekelso421 said:
Speaking of the Nexus 6. That phone was hands down the best Android phone ever made. If they re-released it with a fingerprint sensor, I would buy it again. Best speakers and sound of any phone. It could have used a better camera, but other than that, 9 out of 10.
As for the speaker sound in the V20. I think it could be a a bit louder. Clarity isn't an issue for me. But it's def not very loud.
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Click to collapse
Yes loudness is the issue. Its too quiet if you are anywhere with noise like the grocery store.
Nexus 6 was a good phone but had issues (guess all phones do). The camera was pretty bad and buggy at times. Speakers were great but if you had lower battery they would automatically decrease the volume like 50% (even at max volume) that was insanely annoying. And lastly it throttled speed pretty badly when battery got low. Oh and it was pretty big, alittle smaller screen with the v20 but much smaller in the hand.

bob2300nx said:
What settings are you talking about?
And people calling me didnt magically decide to speak quietly just because I bought a new phone.
Yes loudness is the issue. Its too quiet if you are anywhere with noise like the grocery store.
Nexus 6 was a good phone but had issues (guess all phones do). The camera was pretty bad and buggy at times. Speakers were great but if you had lower battery they would automatically decrease the volume like 50% (even at max volume) that was insanely annoying. And lastly it throttled speed pretty badly when battery got low. Oh and it was pretty big, alittle smaller screen with the v20 but much smaller in the hand.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pull up your phone app. Make sure it's on the dial menu and hit the 3 vertical dots in the upper right hand corner. Go to call settings. The last option should be one that reads "more" . Peruse that and see what may help. Good luck.

bob2300nx said:
What settings are you talking about?
And people calling me didnt magically decide to speak quietly just because I bought a new phone.
Yes loudness is the issue. Its too quiet if you are anywhere with noise like the grocery store.
Nexus 6 was a good phone but had issues (guess all phones do). The camera was pretty bad and buggy at times. Speakers were great but if you had lower battery they would automatically decrease the volume like 50% (even at max volume) that was insanely annoying. And lastly it throttled speed pretty badly when battery got low. Oh and it was pretty big, alittle smaller screen with the v20 but much smaller in the hand.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only thing I can think of would be to try turning on hearing aid compatibility or maybe messing with the call clarity and noise suppression options and see if that affects anything for ya.
I have both voice clarity and noise suppression turned on and have no problems with low volume at all. I remember reading somewhere on a different phone e that the hearing aid option made it noticeably louder on that specific phone so you could try that and see if it works for this phone.

bob2300nx said:
Maybe my nexus 6 was just that good but it feels like the v20's earpiece speaker isnt very clear or loud....I can live with lower quality but the sound level is kind of low (hard to hear people in noisy places)
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Click to collapse
Am finding the same too, this time i have the voice clarity option enabled, lets see if it makes a difference. I find it soft in a quiet room, no idea how this will work out on the street. Might be forced to get a headset in that case.
Which would be a pity becaue this phone is all about audio. My speakers are perfectly fine. Why does the earpiece have to be so quiet