Database Users

Is everybody happy? No pun intended.

My salt grain:
Moving from an i-mate JAM, I'm returning my JASJAR/V1640 to Vodafone.
1.- Too, way toooo heavy. And also too large.... Unable to be carried on a belt clip. Haven't seen anything so "odd" since the old Ipaq line. Does anyone remember the Phillips VELO?
2.- Short memory, really short. It doesn't even stand up against the "old" JAM. Having the same specs, 68 MB RAM is not acceptable for WM 5.
3.- Battery life is misserable. Again, facing the same day ussage, mine didn't come close to the JAM. And yes, I do have and use an SDIO WiFi card.
4.- I haven't really noticed any significant advantage on the OS side to justify the move from wm2003 SE. Not to mention incompatabilities.
5.- And last but not least, in this price range they should be doing better.
Maybe a future JASJAR II (Whatever the specs) will made the point for a change.
:-(
I'm alone? :wink:

Looking Glass - when people are posting exactly the same thread on why the JasJar II doesn't do 3D holographic projection, contain a neural net and can only transport mechanical, and not biological tissues through time, sometimes we just have to accept that these devices will never be perfect, so we have to live with their flaws and seek to improve them.
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Ouroboros
Every phone I've used has flaws, sometimes critical flaws, but it's a buyer's market - we shouldn't have to accept less then 100%, but we're phone hacking geeks :wink:
V

@vijay,
happy to accept devices are not perfect but so many online reviews of the Universal claim this is the best device ever, the best Smartphone. But the shortcoming are too basic (poor call quality, flaky BT, unstable PowerSave etc) and therefore I like 'Looking Glass' am not too happy given the retail price of this device. I suspect the next HTC device will be better as they will learnt from the shortcomings of the Universal.

I don't like the Universal very much personally. I use my Magician as my main phone, and only use the Universal for development.
I like its screen, but it's large, heavy and slow.
However, I want a device with a large screen, VGA screen, camera, and the latest OS.
It has 2 cameras, built in wifi, 3g, a nice keyboard and many other features. The new OS has major teething problems, but all in, you get a great technical piece of equipment. Know what you want and why, and be prepared to tweak the hell out of it.
It has major flaws, and it's not a very good phone until you get a good bluetooth setup and voice command on it. But it probably is one of the best phones money can buy right now, from a hardware point of view. But if it's not a good phone, why buy it?!
V

I love the Universal (xda exec). It allows me to surf very fast wherever using 3g, and play games, and also email and sms and skype when I am away from home. It has my address book and vital documents. The screen is sharp and larger then most things out there. It weighs nothing in my backpack and I find it mostly very reliable, including BT & wifi.
Point to note: I do not use this as my voice cell phone. In my view it is a mistake to use this kind of device as a phone. Its too large for evenings out and the battery life compared to phones is small. It is a super PDA, not a cell phone substitute. If people want a light cell phone with great battery then buy a nokia or motorola. If you want a smartphone (the whole concept of which I hate, as without a decent screen no programmable device is useful) then then orange c500 is great (Typhoon).
rgds

I agree with point 5, this is not quite the machine it should have been for $1,000. Where's our 96mb RAM and USB host that had been listed in the pre-release versions? I think the size, weight, and battery life are acceptable given the form factor and features. Honestly, whenever take my JasJar out of the case I can't believe how slim it actually is!
Overall I'm really pleased with my JasJar right now. My main concerns were sluggish performance but the new ROM has made a significant improvement on that front. Are the "features" we gained with WM5 worth the upgrade from the previous OS? Eh... maybe not. It's nice to not have to worry about data loss due to a dead battery but I think I'd prefer the better performance we got from our 2003SE PE devices.

Interesting points here and I find myself agreeing with most of them.
I've been using a PPC for a number of years now and the Universal for me was just a natural upgrade from the hx4700 I had before. I got mine at the end of December and have yet to make a voice call on it.
However I do find myself using it a lot for picking up mail, spreadsheeting, web surfing and lots of PIM work - all things the hx4700 did very well but the Universal's built in keyboard works so well that I don't think I can have another device without one now.
WM5 does to me seem a worthy enough upgrade. Not having to worry about losing data is the killer feature and again one I won't go without again. Everything else seems a slight advance on WM2003SE which is good enough for me.
I got mine from O2 - £200 up front, £23 a month for the 36mb tariff and I got £50 cashback. All in that will make it about the same as I paid for the hx4700 so I am very happy.
I was that impressed with the concept that I bought a Wizard from O2 in a similar way - £70 up front, £12 a month with £30 cashback. That one is my main phone (work paid for sim card is in it so I'm paying a fixed amount) and is also very good.
These are my first PDAs not from HP and so far I am happy with the choices I made.

I have been reading this forum but seldom posted anything; but this time I want to express that I love universal
Moving from I-mate Jam, I especially love the universal VGA screen. I read books a lot using my PDA phone and using universal my eyes are becoming much more comfortable.
I also like the keyboard, which suits me a lot who types over 50 sms/day.
Size is big, but I'm getting used to it now

I have only had my Orange SPV M5000 for 3 days, and flashed it with the new ROM yesterday. It doesn't seem that slow compared to my Jam.
Sure it is a monster. I swore I would never get one.
But I would be hard pressed to give up the VGA and keyboard now. Reading books and email were my two main applications, and the extra space is great. Browsing with WiFi is also much more usable.
Time will tell if I get too frustrated with WM5!

It is only a matter of time...
I would like to tell the world that my man and I are very happy with our Qtek 9000s. It truely is a modern feat for the PDA & Ppc PE world! A true convergence device. True there are quirks about performce wise but just give it time and people especially the ones ever present in xda forum and buzzdev will tweak it to the maximum. I love wm2k5 and is a big step compared to 2003SE! I have a Himalaya and I have seen it grow from wm2003 to wm2k5 and what a great story it is. I know deep in my heart the Uni will follow in the foot steps of the Hima! It is just a matter of time!
My respect and admiration for the people who make our devices run a revolutionary as well as technological roller coaster ride namely Buzz, Tofclock, ViJay, vivi, DotFred and many others more. More power and let the eternal light of tech wisdom shine upon you!

Yep, its big & heavy & sometimes a bit slow, but I would not go back to using my Blue Angel. I use this device as my only phone, for SatNav, email and web surfing. I've not used the Wizard, so can not really compare it, but it looks like many people will prefer it to the Universal, but I chode the Universal for 3G i.e. 384K networking
I really love the VGA screen and proper keyboard and the the bluetooth and Wifi implementations seem better than the Blue Angel's. As for memory, I install most programs on my 4Gb SD card so I still have some storage left, but I agree that 128Mb would have been better, especially since TomTom insists on using 9Mb of it for UK postcodes
If your major use is as a phone, then this isn't the device for you. It is adequate as a phone, but its true value lies in the PDA and networking functions.

The Universal for sure has the best screen I have ever seen on a mobile device and the keyboard is also very good. Surfing with WiFi using Opera (not PIE) is a dream. eBook reading is great as long as you don't use DRM ebooks stored on the SD card and use the PowerSave option (MS Reader can have problems when you re-activate).
But why does WM5 functions (settings etc) not use the VGA capability? Why is the BT signal so weak so that at 2m it struggles? Why the need to reboot every few days? Why the delay on incoming calls? Why make a device that is fantastic in some areas and very weak in others (e.g. no soft menu keys under the screen when you want you want to use it in PDA mode)?

I am very happy with my XDA Exec. I got mine because my kids broke my trusty Dell Axim X3i PDA and the fact that the Exec is also aphone was just a bonus. As a PDA it is everything I wanted and more! One question I have for Looking Glass is why are you using an SDIO Wi-Fi card on a device that has buit in wireless?

UH OH !!!
I'll keep schtum on this one guys ;-)

vijay555 said:
and it's not a very good phone until you get a good bluetooth setup and voice command on it. But it probably is one of the best phones money can buy right now, from a hardware point of view. But if it's not a good phone, why buy it?!
V
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
RE: recent thread titled "The Biggest Problem with the Universal"
Vijay, (no disrespect sir) but after all that shenanigans a few weeks back..... it is a phone and not a PDA with a phone or whatever??
(whoops... there I go again!)
Cue Gajet, SiliconS, so on and so forth :lol:

philtech44: I didn't really read that thread, but my opinion is based on practicality. I wear a suit all day, and see a lot of guys struggling with XDAs through the day. I'm very happy with my Magician in my pocket (!), but no suit would last long with a Universal in my pocket. Hence, it's not a very good phone for me merely on the basis of size/weight. But, I'll be the first to say that its hardware is near unsurpassed: I love the VGA screen, makes 'net browsing feasible.
So, I can't imagine a very good middle ground: it has great hardware, but that requires a large size. Thus for me, it's a very well equipped PDA, that happens to have phone features. But with a good bluetooth headset etc, I can leave it in my case and pop it out when required (!). But I'd still rather have a Magician with a fold out VGA screen :wink:
V

whilst we are on about how to make the universal perfect:
1. Case made of titanium alloy
2. Screen fills lid completely - 800x480
3. 1mm thinner base
4. CDMA2000 and EDGE for travelling to the US
5. HSDPA (for 3mbit 3g in europe)
6. Double, or more, battery life.
7. Intel 2700 3d accelerator
8. Compact flash slot
9. nintendo ds cartridge slot and emulator (screens side by side on 800x480) - ;->
10. Wifi g and new n standard
11. Driver and cable for ipod (to stream videos). Would not want a hard disk as (a) it drains battery, (b) I can upgrade my ipod when high capacities come out without upgrading my PDA
12. 128 or 256 mbyte program memory
13. Dual or quad core ARM cpu (circa 2020 !!)
I wouldn't change the form factor one bit. Its very comfortable for a micro-computer. As I have mentioned before, I have a small cell phone for calling, would never use this kind device as a main phone.
)
rgds

@colonel,
my Vaio laptop's normal battery gives me 6.5 hrs battery life so better battery life should be possible. But I think HTC should fix the basics before trying to add features for features sake. I think the next bunch of HTC devices will be much better than the Universal (HSDPA already planned). Regarding memory, my 14 month old Nokia 9500 has much more user memory then the leading edge Universal (80mg versus 30mb). I see the radio, BT and memory as basic features that should be very good given the USD900 price tag of the Universal.

jah said:
@colonel,
my Vaio laptop's normal battery gives me 6.5 hrs battery life so better battery life should be possible. But I think HTC should fix the basics before trying to add features for features sake. I think the next bunch of HTC devices will be much better than the Universal (HSDPA already planned). Regarding memory, my 14 month old Nokia 9500 has much more user memory then the leading edge Universal (80mg versus 30mb). I see the radio, BT and memory as basic features that should be very good given the USD900 price tag of the Universal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you compared the battery size between of your Vaio? Batteries are fairly standard capacities per size right now, and its going to take a new breakthrough for us to really gain more battery time.

It's CRAP....but I like it....what do I do?

I'm in two minds.
The HD2 is a GREAT piece of hardware. I've had three different ones since November.
It looks excellent, the screen is gorgeous, the build quality superb
But I have two major gripes:
There is very little decent software: and by 'software' I mean things programmed from the ground up to provide access to things I like to do, such as Facebook. All the Apps that I DO find to provide this function either have a clunky and ugly Windows CE look to them, have jerky scrolling and/or provide very inconsistent/downright SH** functionality (See Microsoft Facebook App).
Unfortunately I am a big social networking and multimedia user and for me ALL the Twitter clients, Facebook clients and IM clients pale into insignificance compared with those available on Android and iPhone OSx. Logging into 'lite' versions of Twitter or Facebook through a browser just isn't good enough for me: I have seen the light.
There is a great deal of software development outside of the Marketplace - YES - but most of THIS development seems to be more about fixing core problems, missing features, settings and stability fixes than providing nice apps with a pleasant user experience.
Now I KNEW the Marketplace was poor before I got the HD2 BUT I expected it to improve somewhat. It seems though that a new app is thrown in there about once every six months...the Marketplace is just DEAD IN THE WATER, and all the while stupid companies like SPB sell their rip-off wares therein I feel that the Marketplace will be tarnished.
As I said though I KNEW the Marketplace was poor before I bought the HD2, but here I come to my bigget gripe with the HD2...
Its reliability.
Slag the iPhone off all you like, but my 3Gs (which had a tethered jailbreak and therefore needed plugging into windows to boot it back up if it was turned off) never ONCE needed restarting nor turned off whilst I was at work. (And before anyone mentions it I had backgrounder installed so I WAS multitasking)
On the other hand I have to reboot my HD2 at LEAST once EVERY DAY, regardless of which ROM I have installed. Now I have been using Windows Mobile phones for years and years and I KNOW that Windows Mobile is unstable and unreliable, but I was kind of hoping that with the super powerful processor, extra RAM and Windows Mobile update that I wouldn't have to worry about this any more.
NOT THE CASE.
I just cannot cope with the SMS app slowing down, missed keypresses and the cursor jumping to the start of the text all the time; I get fed up of everything freezing up; the screen not turning on but the lights still coming on on the keys; things going jerky for no reason.
NOW I know I'm going to get some asshole telling me I must have faulty hardware blah blah blah. BULL****. I've had three of the phones and it's the same whether I use a custom or standard ROM. I close down apps, and still things stay slow and jerky until I restart the phone....my conclusion:
WINDOWS MOBILE IS SERIOUSLY FLAWED.
I am no fanboy....not of ANY device. I will buy whatever I think is best and for HARDWARE there is nothing to beat the HD2; I love it....the software though seems to be showing its age REALLY badly, so now I just don't know what to do.
Yes I know that no device is perfect, but out of the iPhone 3G/3Gs/HTC Magic/Hero and Dext that i've owned/own NONE of these devices have genuinely hampered my ability to do NORMAL 'phone' things like sending a text by slowing down and getting glitchy for no reason...not EVERY DAY anyway...until the HD2 came along.
I'm going to keep my HD2 for another month or so and give it a chance as - like I said - I DO LOVE the hardware, and when it works WELL it is a very nice device to use...
But I'd like to hear from anyone else who's not having a good experience with the HD2, and what they would like to see from the device in the future and how much more of a chance they are going to give HTC to fix the problems discussed regularly on these forums.
I don't want to hear from people who think the phone is perfect....I'm not interested in your views as they are clearly tarnished in some way by either an amorous obsession with Windows Mobile or a lack of variation in the phones you've owned. I don't particularly want to hear anyone criticising the iPhone or Android either as this is pretty irrelevant.
Just please can someone tell me I'm not the only one, and offer some suggestions as to what might help or what phone they are considering as replacements.
Many thanks

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I'd say return it (since it's your 3rd time) and get an android or go back to your iphone. No point in lamenting about the OS if you're unwilling to make things work.

It's my third time because I sold my first upgrade for the money and my DEV phone broke.
What exactly do you mean by 'unwilling to make things work?' I've tried every tweak and fix I can; every task manager I could find and applied every patch available: would you define this as unwilling?
I want to hear from other people who have a similar experience to me and what they plan to do: wait or buy a different device.
I don't want to hear from people who get defensive and patronising at the very idea that their precious phone is less than perfect.
I haven't contributed twice as many posts as you through unwillingness, Lude219, so please don't try and make me feel small.
I am genuinely in two minds about what to do and thought that I would like to hear like-minded views and suggestions, not thinly-veiled insults.
forum (a public meeting or assembly for open discussion)

I empathise.
From my perspective:
1. WinMo & apps - Agreed. HUGE room for improvement.
2. Reliability - Top notch. No unneccessary reboots required, no hangs/freezes/non-responsiveness/missed keypresses/cursor jumping
....maybe it's your phone.
Doesn't bad luck come in threes? Maybe your next HD2 will be as good as mine. (p.s. I'm using 1.61 stock rom)

I had the N97 before this, and im really happy to have moved on, the HD2 owns the N97 ,... Nokia died .. sadly .. The best was the N95
Anyway, regarding the HD2, yes I love it, but what you said is actually ture
I for once thought that by getting the HD2, I will be able to connect with friends .. I thought its facebook integrated because you can add their info in contacts !!
But the blackberry, a new wall post, an inbox message, even a POKE .. you get a notification ...
I really thought the HD2 is more social .. but the facebook app sucks ...
A bit dissapointed at that part .. but oh well ... If you had the N97, you cant really complain alot ... The n97 killed nokia (IMO).

Sell it, wait for Xperia X10 - it seems this should be a social network beast.
And comes with Android 1.6 with tons of apps to choose from...
Not that those would have the eye candy look of iPhone apps by all meanings...
But you will have what you want. I don´t think you are the HD2 type.

I'm not sure why you need to restart the phone every day because I certainly don't have to do that. I'd say that you're problem is related to some software you've installed rather than the phone or the OS. I don't have any stability or reliability issues with Windows Mobile.
Perhaps you need to reflash an official ROM and install the apps you use one at a time to determine which one(s) are causing you problems?

Hi,
I've been surprised by all the problems with the HD2 myself. I don't own one yet but I've been wanting to get one since I first saw the leaked specs.
Unfortunately every HD2 that I've tried over the last two months has not been usable. I've tried different units from different vendors, sometimes for several hours and in each case the primary problem has been the keyboard.
Yes, it's far to sensitive but there are a number of other problems with it including the jumping cursor. I've used that keyboard on the HTC Hero without any problems so it should really be easier to use on the HD2. I know, I can install tweaks to reduce the screen sensitivity (although it's great for everything else) or install other keyboards but I'd like to see HTC address these problems first.
Anyway I have started thinking that the problem with things like SMS, phone slowdowns, etc, etc may not be WM 6.5 related but rather HTC Sense related.
I would like to know if anyone has managed to try a Sense-free ROM or better yet the closest thing they can get to a vanilla WM 6.5 build on this hardware, perhaps with and without the multi-touch driver.
I'm going to try and hold out for a bit because HTC haven't really managed to fix any of the major bugs and they still haven't addressed a number at all.
The Pink Camera issue has been reduced (but not fixed 100%), the camera flash is a problem, they have failed to fix the SMS issue twice already and they still have to address a whole slew of other problems including the 3G connection problem. I'm going to try and wait and see if they do so either this month or by MWC next month, possibly even alongside the next version of WM 6.x.
I also have an issue with available apps but in my case it's missing apps from the iPhone and Android and the lack of depth within apps in Android, so that limits my options.
These are the alternate devices that I'm looking at:
Acer neoTouch
Samsung Omnia II
Samsung Omnia Pro (not so much anymore)
Blackberry Storm 2 (a bit of an odd one out)
Since you like Android you may want to look at:
HTC Bravo (not released yet)
Motorola MILESTONE / DROID
Acer Liquid (you can get the CPU unlocked to 1GHz)
Also since you like Apple you may want to see if anything of interest is announced next week.
The Acer neoTouch has the same CPU as the HD2 but much less RAM and a very light skin on it and it seems to work really well. It also seems to be faster than the HD2 so this is my next choice unless something crops up to makes me think otherwise.
The Samsung Omnia II is a possibility but it is a lot less powerful than the Snapdragon phones. It has a decent 1500 mAh battery and an AMOLED screen as well as the option of 2, 8, or 16 GB of internal storage depending on the model.
The Samsung Omnia Pro is really there because I was looking at it as an alternative to the HTC Touch Pro 2 because it had a faster CPU and a flash. However after trying phones with lager screens than my TyTN II I think that I could live with a software keyboard.
I'm really hoping that the three phones above are added to the forums here at Xda-Developers because that will make the buying decision easier. I'd really rather not loose the great support that comes from the users of this site.
The Blackberry Storm 2 is an outsider but still a possibility as a last resort (but I may end up with one anyway since I want to replace my current phones with two new phones - I use one with a local SIM while traveling). I don't really like the clicky screen that much but it does work well. Right now there is no working VOIP software for use with Skype over 3G available and I'm waiting to see what happens with the BIS upgrades that are meant to happen this quarter and next quarter to see if it can be made to work for me.

I have decided to go back to the Iphone - nothing beats it for ease of use, application / media support and obvious sync ability if you own a Mac. The HD2 Hardware, screen and size is awesome but I find the WM and HTC UI just too messy and clunky compared to the Iphone. I have kept it though until a more cleaner UI is designed and the Windows apps store improves - Infinity looks promising...but by then the new iphone will be here - and other makes will always be playing catchup in terms of innovation and UI simplicity.
I suppose you cant beat it for customising though, but I don't want to spend half my time fiddling with silly theme tweaks and icons.

hawrai68 said:
I have decided to go back to the Iphone - nothing beats it for ease of use, application / media support and obvious sync ability if you own a Mac. The HD2 Hardware, screen and size is awesome but I find the WM and HTC UI just too messy and clunky compared to the Iphone. I have kept it though until a more cleaner UI is designed and the Windows apps store improves - Infinity looks promising...but by then the new iphone will be here - and other makes will always be playing catchup in terms of innovation and UI simplicity.
I suppose you cant beat it for customising though, but I don't want to spend half my time fiddling with silly theme tweaks and icons.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But how do you go from a 5mp camera (although pink spot crap) to a 3mp camera with no flash !!!!!

On bright day, Iphone camera is just as good...and I prefer a bit of grain on darker scenes to pink spot of doom and blurry shots on HD2 - the video on iphone is just as good also...but the HTC is great and I miss it.

ZaZu90 said:
But how do you go from a 5mp camera (although pink spot crap) to a 3mp camera with no flash !!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On bright day, Iphone camera is just as good...and I prefer a bit of grain on darker scenes to pink spot of doom and blurry shots on HD2 - the video on iphone is just as good also...but the HTC is great and I miss i

Agreed... Social networking and multimedia software for HD2 is pretty low quality or completely missing compared to other platforms. I think that Microsoft is not releasing any update for their social networking apps because they're totally focused and committed to deliver WM 6.6 and WM7. Before switching to another phone I'd wait feb/march to see what Microsoft will show about these updates and if they will be available on our HD2.
Personally, I think that WM7 with its supposed wow-effect and eye candy will give a huuuge boost to the software catalogue of the platform and deliver strong social networking capabilities.
Taking about reliability... I just have to reset my device sometimes because my texts gets stuck in the outbox, but this problem is HTC related and I hope will be fixed asap. The same thing can be said about most of any other software issue on HD2. Based on some analysis that I did by observing the active processes on my phone, there are some memory leaks or high CPU usage also Start (HTC Sense), services.exe and HTC Messagging while the device is performing some SMS-related tasks or HTC sense is updating contacts and linking them with the newest Facebook Updates.
Also, by having tried for quite a long time a "vanilla" version of WM 6.5.x, I can say I didn't had any single problem that caused me to soft-reset the device, and the system itself was fast and stable. Then I went back to a modded ROM with sense built-in just because of the extra eye candy (I don't like how titanium/spb shell or pointui 2 look).
So my suggestion would be to wait a couple of months to see what Microsoft has under the hood and then decide what's the best for your needs.
EDIT: It seems that itje managed to grab a 2.06 version and will include it soon in his new rom, so it may bring some fixes to the most outstanding bugs (but have new ones aswell... we just have to wait and see)

For facebook try: http://touch.facebook.com/
so far it beats the facebook app and the lite site.

hi mate, i was watching the hd2 for a couple of months andi i finally got one about 2 weeks ago now. i must say initially i loved it, the look, the size the style, i thought it was perfect, but over the past week things are starting to annoy me now. ive had to pull my battery out a fair few times due to the screen staying blank but the buttons being on, message lag is the worst, its got to the point where im opening and closing the menu 3 times until its caught up... also im getting general lag and slowness in the menus now aswel. i have no music on here, about 20 photos, i havent done anything to it because i only just found out how to get into the registrys! its a joke, and you can say 'install the tweaks and roms' or whateve r,but why should we rely in people here at xda to adress the flaws and fix them, when the least id expect from a £500+ phone is to be able to send a text lag free! also, web browsings ridiculously poor image quality, poor you tube video quality, its crap! ive tried i.e., but its buggy, opera is my favored but with horendous image quality, and opera mini is the worst browser ive ever used...
In time cant wait to start customising it and playing around, but with things i want to, not because i have to due to htc's laziness...
I've not even considered sending i back once, and i wont, i love it, but im hoping htc are going to address and fix these things that shouldnt need fixing!

matt_attack_2k1 said:
hi mate, i was watching the hd2 for a couple of months andi i finally got one about 2 weeks ago now. i must say initially i loved it, the look, the size the style, i thought it was perfect, but over the past week things are starting to annoy me now. ive had to pull my battery out a fair few times due to the screen staying blank but the buttons being on, message lag is the worst, its got to the point where im opening and closing the menu 3 times until its caught up... also im getting general lag and slowness in the menus now aswel. i have no music on here, about 20 photos, i havent done anything to it because i only just found out how to get into the registrys! its a joke, and you can say 'install the tweaks and roms' or whateve r,but why should we rely in people here at xda to adress the flaws and fix them, when the least id expect from a £500+ phone is to be able to send a text lag free! also, web browsings ridiculously poor image quality, poor you tube video quality, its crap! ive tried i.e., but its buggy, opera is my favored but with horendous image quality, and opera mini is the worst browser ive ever used...
In time cant wait to start customising it and playing around, but with things i want to, not because i have to due to htc's laziness...
I've not even considered sending i back once, and i wont, i love it, but im hoping htc are going to address and fix these things that shouldnt need fixing!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I never had to take the battery out of mine, it never crashed, image quality was superb when browsing and You Tube videos were perfect!

Stoic33 said:
For facebook try: http://touch.facebook.com/
so far it beats the facebook app and the lite site.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that - works great !

I used to have wm phone 3 years ago while there was nothing better in the market and it did the job very well. Then I bought an iphone 3G and I saw the new meaning of user friendly interface and responsive phone. I had the iphone for 2 years and 3 days ago I bought the HD2. Now the iphone looks like comparing DOS with windows! The iphone interface is so simple and the CPU is very slow. It crashes sometimes (once per 10 days approx) and Apple policy is the worst! They want to control their clients and release whatever and whenever they want. When I first got it I couldn't even send MMS or use my own ring tones(there was a whole list of things you couldn't do even though they were supported by the hardware). You cant customize anything because they want to keep and maintain an 'apple' look. Before I got my HD2 everyone had an Iphone whenever I was (train, bus, streets) and I was feeling like I was one small piece in the mass that apple was controlling...
HD2 allows you to do many things whitout comrpimising the user friendliness. I only restarted my phone after I installed critical updates. The battery lasts the same but at least you can replace it whenever you want. Also you can upgrade the memory and connect many different bluetooth devices. Yesterday I connected my bluetooth keyboard and wrote a page in word mobile. Can you do that with the iphone? I synched my contacts with facebook and now I have all the pictures automatically filled. Also with the HD2 you can play almost every media file without transcoding. Can you do that with the iphone? Of course not...The hardware allows you but Apple dont..
Also what about the radio? The led flash?
I am very happy that I moved from the Apple game into a free device that you can do whatever you want but at the same time having this very good looking GUI that makes you feel like being in the future....
I kept my iphone at home as an alternative console/pda because I knew that some programs and especially games will be missing from HD2 so whatever does not exist on HD2 (yet), it is on the iphone.

biofotis said:
I used to have wm phone 3 years ago while there was nothing better in the market and it did the job very well. Then I bought an iphone 3G and I saw the new meaning of user friendly interface and responsive phone. I had the iphone for 2 years and 3 days ago I bought the HD2. Now the iphone looks like comparing DOS with windows! The iphone interface is so simple and the CPU is very slow. It crashes sometimes (once per 10 days approx) and Apple policy is the worst! They want to control their clients and release whatever and whenever they want. When I first got it I couldn't even send MMS or use my own ring tones(there was a whole list of things you couldn't do even though they were supported by the hardware). You cant customize anything because they want to keep and maintain an 'apple' look. Before I got my HD2 everyone had an Iphone whenever I was (train, bus, streets) and I was feeling like I was one small piece in the mass that apple was controlling...
HD2 allows you to do many things whitout comrpimising the user friendliness. I only restarted my phone after I installed critical updates. The battery lasts the same but at least you can replace it whenever you want. Also you can upgrade the memory and connect many different bluetooth devices. Yesterday I connected my bluetooth keyboard and wrote a page in word mobile. Can you do that with the iphone? I synched my contacts with facebook and now I have all the pictures automatically filled. Also with the HD2 you can play almost every media file without transcoding. Can you do that with the iphone? Of course not...The hardware allows you but Apple dont..
Also what about the radio? The led flash?
I am very happy that I moved from the Apple game into a free device that you can do whatever you want but at the same time having this very good looking GUI that makes you feel like being in the future....
I kept my iphone at home as an alternative console/pda because I knew that some programs and especially games will be missing from HD2 so whatever does not exist on HD2 (yet), it is on the iphone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The iPhone that you had for 2 years is either the 1st or second generation iPhone, and they are of course slow. The 3GS is not slow compared to Leo.
If you just jailbreak your phone, which is a mere 30 seconds affair comprising clicking a button when running BlackRa1n, then the things which you want to do including typing on bluetooth keyboard would be possible.
The only real attraction of Leo compared to iPhone is the screen size and resolution. The pink patch in the camera spoils the otherwise better camera. As for speed, I think there isn't differential.
Using window mobile instead of Android is however the biggest weakness of this device. There is no future in window mobile. Any application that we invest in on Leo today will not be compatible with WM7, if there is going to be one released at all before Leo becomes average or dated.
The WM6.5 UI is extremely stale. Good applications are hard to come by. Many applications and developments are in the nature of fixing up stuffs in order to correct bugs or make them more useable. Nobody is developing application on an OS that's at the end of its shelf life.

You could always check out the Nexus One also. It's gotten good reviews everywhere that I've read.

Satisfied with the hardware, disappointed by the software

Coming from a HTC Desire HD ,I have just received my Galaxy SII.
The hardware is great : very good screen, nice colors , very light, good speaker ans sound , far above my HTC Desire HD.
BUT: I am very disppointed by the software , far behind my HTC Desire HD:
HTC Sense is much better than TW ( I know, I can use another launcher) ,
Email client is crappy ( background black, no limitations in mail size limit, or limited download schedule) . The dialer in T9 can only find people by the last or the first name but not by both, the keyboard of the HTC is much better ( where are the 4 arrows ?).
I am afraid that I will find in the next days other software limitations.
Daniel

I feel the same way, i switched to Go Launcher EX and for the keyboard i have Smart Keyboard pro.
Lets hope the device gets popular and CM gets ported to it.

SquirtingCherry said:
I feel the same way, i switched to Go Launcher EX and for the keyboard i have Smart Keyboard pro.
Lets hope the device gets popular and CM gets ported to it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will try Smart Keyboard pro . In the meantime, I am trying K9-mail as Email client. much better than Samsung Email program.

Danielfr said:
Coming from a HTC Desire HD ,I have just received my Galaxy SII.
The hardware is great : very good screen, nice colors , very light, good speaker ans sound , far above my HTC Desire HD.
BUT: I am very disppointed by the software , far behind my HTC Desire HD:
HTC Sense is much better than TW ( I know, I can use another launcher) ,
Email client is crappy ( background black, no limitations in mail size limit, or limited download schedule) . The dialer in T9 can only find people by the last or the first name but not by both, the keyboard of the HTC is much better ( where are the 4 arrows ?).
I am afraid that I will find in the next days other software limitations.
Daniel
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hate TouchWiz. I don't know why they bother. It was the same with the Galaxy Tab, great device but crap overlay.
I've put Launcher Pro on mine with a touch of Beautiful Widgets. I much prefer the dock icons now. They are not as in your face as TouchWiz:
Galaxy S II Screen Shots - Picasa Web Albums http://v3.nu/mvdgk3

Anyone finding any lagging when the power button is pressed? Mine takes some time before the screen wakes after the power button is pushed

kinda agree with op here.. i am infact thinking about returning my galaxy s2 and just keep my desire phone. but i guess once there is a clean rom out for it, the phone will be nice.

and what about ultimate codecs for every media out there for example?
you can change keyboard, dialer....i just cant realise how u compare some crap/changable things near something that makes this phone unique

Danielfr said:
Coming from a HTC Desire HD ,I have just received my Galaxy SII.
The hardware is great : very good screen, nice colors , very light, good speaker ans sound , far above my HTC Desire HD.
BUT: I am very disppointed by the software , far behind my HTC Desire HD:
HTC Sense is much better than TW ( I know, I can use another launcher) ,
Email client is crappy ( background black, no limitations in mail size limit, or limited download schedule) . The dialer in T9 can only find people by the last or the first name but not by both, the keyboard of the HTC is much better ( where are the 4 arrows ?).
I am afraid that I will find in the next days other software limitations.
Daniel
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have to totally disagree with you.
1.My Email client works spot on.
2. The bluetooth when using speaker in the car doesn't cut out half way through talking.
3. The GPS locks in seconds where as i couldn't get a lock where i lived for about 5 minutes.
4. I like the Touchwiz 4 even after coming from HTC it has some great touches as many of the people off here have said.
5. I use the gingerbread keyboard which i used on my HTC device.
6. Camera is so much better, as is Video & Gaming..
7. Plus the biggest bug bear with HTC Tiny Memory.
So for me its no contest ...

Try dialer one. It can T9 search both first last and number in contacts and call logs all at once, has speed dial, can bring contacts most often contacted to the top of the results and you can set multiple number contacts with a defaut number. I don't even have a contact icon on my screens because I don't ever go into it. Dialer one will normally bring up the contact in a few clicks. I have 300 contacts so that isnt a huge number but still impressive to be a few clicks away from a contact at that number.

I've come in from the original HTC Touch HD
Sure it's a different layout, and I've really got to like the way I had my HD
I'm trying to resist the urge to make it like my old HTC HD.
So far, I'm very happy, all so much quicker. But look forward to what might be available shortly

Becoming hesitant to buy
Those kind of posts make me hesitant to buy the SGS II
I bought the SGS I which was a total disaster (yes i believe the device should work out of the box given the sh$$t load of money you pay for it)
I switched then to Desire HD which was great, then i sold it wanting to buy the SGS II after all the hype about it and everyone claiming that all the SGS I problems have been solved
after reading this post, i am getting second thoughts
I really dont want to invest in it then end up selling it after a month to buy the sensation. I like the software stability of HTC and dont know whether samsung has improved their stability on the SGS II, or not.....................

RADLOUNI said:
Those kind of posts make me hesitant to buy the SGS II
I bought the SGS I which was a total disaster (yes i believe the device should work out of the box given the sh$$t load of money you pay for it)
I switched then to Desire HD which was great, then i sold it wanting to buy the SGS II after all the hype about it and everyone claiming that all the SGS I problems have been solved
after reading this post, i am getting second thoughts
I really dont want to invest in it then end up selling it after a month to buy the sensation. I like the software stability of HTC and dont know whether samsung has improved their stability on the SGS II, or not.....................
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm starting to get hesitant also esp for the price I have to pay for an international phone.

Not sure about the GS2 Email but you can set background color on SGS1. I guess SGS2 should allow you to do the same thing.
Keeping the background black is good for ur battery.
I don't like the dailer though, but don't expect anything better on a "clean ROM", the AOSP is almost worse on everythings.

I personnaly love the software and really like TouchWiz, I even prefer it over sense. It is really great in it's version 4.0.

I sold my Desire HD and purchased the iPhone 4....
HUGE mistake, what a piece of s#@t that is....
I then sold the iPhone 4 and bought the SGS2....
And to be honest, I want an HTC back as Sense if much nicer than the cheap childish looking TouchWiz thing.....
The signal is shocking and is never stable, spent most of my time refreshing webpages today which in turn drained my battery....
Speed Test results were extremely inconsistent, they did however on occasion make the phone seem worthwhile, but browsing is a different matter, or lack of browsing should I say (Bottom result is Wi Fi)
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The DHD browser and signal is by far the fastest I've ever come across....
When browsing on the SGS2 you see chequered board until you stop scrolling....
Have had to 'Force Close' browser about 5 times, and a few other processes about 4 times when I wasn't really doing anything - that's within 24 hours....
Until Samsung create a nice looking OS, then I shall stay well away....
Why should I purchase a mobile that I need to flash/root and annihilate just to have a mobile that I like....
I'm not trying to slate the phone, I'm merely creating a 'review' I would have liked to have read prior to purchasing this phone....
I watched numerous videos on YouTube which made this device look so cool, when infact, it's far from it.....
It's like a Genio with Balls

I came from a DHD to the SG2 and guess what? I love it!
Battery life blows the DHD away, the screen is better, the sound quality is better really hated the low sound on the desire, the camera is better and video, my GPS locks quickly and the browser is superior due to gpu acceleration I did a side by side test and far smoother when scrolling.
Sure Sense is lovely but there are replacements,the only one replacement which is hard to replace is friendstream but tweetdeck is pretty decent.
As for keyboard I'm using the keyboard from here Thumb Keyboard its free and has the arrows as well and I think better than HTC stock keyboard.
You won't be disappointed with the Samsung although the Desire HD is still a lovely phone.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App

My battery life is the same, as the SGS2 constantly struggles to connect to 3g
I saw that there was a new firmware and have just installed it in the home it would maybe help my lousy 3g connection....
It didn't....
Off to ebay with this one I think

Maybe I have a different understanding, but I find it unnecessary to think that a phone should work perfectly out of the box, rooting and changing rom isn't all that hard especially we are already talking on xda, just spend a few minutes reading the step by step guides and you are fine.
Perhaps that is the reason I chose samsung, crappy software can be modified, but battery life cannot.
Overall, I'm very happy with the new purchase
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA Premium App

If you've just received your phone how are you so sure that e.g Touchwiz is crappy?
It took me 2 days to get to know and use TouchWiz4 properly and efficiently. I don't think you know how to use it or shall I say "know how to use it to its full potential", if you have just got it.
Keyboard? everyone's got their preference.
Email client? it is one of the best out there right now. Give it a few days.

I quite like some of the additions they made, the notification bar seems great with the quick access stuff and i noticed that I can use audio controls within the notification bar if I use the stock music player. I don't use the launcher as I prefer launcher pro. The phone app isnt too bad seems basic but better than stock. The actual calling is good as it moves the hold button to the bottom and you can text as soon as usual hang up which I find handy. Personally I use Youlu. Again I use a lot of alternative apps already so the main things I use are the little tweaks to the phone itself. The good think about it is it doesn't slow down the phone as it's such a speedy phone
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App

Galaxy S II

Hi, I was an andorid user and when i had one i loved it too bits then came windows phone 7 and im not going to lie i loved that more, however I am due a upgrade and the sheer power of the new andorid phones overpower windows phone 7 handsets and adter watching some youtube videos web browising is faster. However I have a few questions, would you recommened it? How is the batter life with e-mail updates constant/instant and few web browsing. My old android x8 had soem lag, has this now been sorted due to the power or is it jsut andorid os?
Thanks

Here's some things to consider with the SGS2. Some of what's listed effects different users to different degrees.
- Display
There's a band on the left side that seems discolored on a gray background at 20% brightness in the dark. Some see it in everyday use, some don't. I'd venture a guess that more don't or the hue and cry would be louder. If you're anal retentive about your display, check out the 60 page thread.
- Wi-Fi
Seems wonky for some users. It may be equipment specific (EG: router) or strangeness with a particular handset. There's a couple of threads running on that.
- 2G/3G/4G
There's some connectivity issues depending on what network you're on. Make sure your location and/or carrier aren't ones people may be having issues with.
- Audio
If you're an audiophile there's a couple of threads on audio performance which, due to a number of factors, has been deemed by pros to be below that of the original Galaxy.
- Camera
There's a bunch of threads on stills and video. Read them if you're a heavy camera user. Biggest issue now is a pink spot showing up photographing white backgrounds in natural light.
- Battery
Average at best. As things currently are, plan on 10-16 hours depending on how you use the phone. There's an issue in 2.3.3. that effects dual-core phones and Samsung's issuing an update to 2.3.4. any day now which is supposed to correct it.
Based on the way I (and only I) use the phone I'm very happy and the above issues either don't bother me or don't effect me. The phone's fast, the display is beautiful, and it's a great all around device. Compare your hot buttons to those of others and if you think you're good, by all means get the phone.

Don't forget the color banding, gradients don't appear smooth but look banded like they did in the 90's with 16 bit color

godutch said:
Don't forget the color banding, gradients don't appear smooth but look banded like they did in the 90's with 16 bit color
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's a thread on whether the phone's fully using its 24bit capabilities via the display. The theory is that when software is directly addressing the screen its fine. When drivers get involved it drops to 16bit. The same thing happened to the Nexus S and was fixed in 2.3.4. We're hoping the same thing happens.

I would just like to that all you for your comments, so far all the problems are actully scaring me lol. However with all these problems would you still reccommened this phone? If so do you like it more than your previous andorid phone?
Thanks

andoridkiller said:
I would just like to that all you for your comments, so far all the problems are actully scaring me lol. However with all these problems would you still reccommened this phone? If so do you like it more than your previous andorid phone?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Problems i have none of the above and suggest the ones that do are in a minority as always .
Choice is yours but remember that a forum like tis does not get may saying its brilliant by its very nature those that perceive a problem post those that dont have the problem dont post .
Plus the posters of xxx problem always manage to post multiple threads saying exactly the same .
jje

JJEgan said:
Problems i have none of the above and suggest the ones that do are in a minority as always .
Choice is yours but remember that a forum like tis does not get may saying its brilliant by its very nature those that perceive a problem post those that dont have the problem dont post .
Plus the posters of xxx problem always manage to post multiple threads saying exactly the same .
jje
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 nicely put
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA Premium App

andoridkiller said:
I would just like to that all you for your comments, so far all the problems are actully scaring me lol. However with all these problems would you still reccommened this phone? If so do you like it more than your previous andorid phone?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Look, if your just using it as a device that can phone, text, take pics when you need that arent for a magazine or something, play some tunes whilst you are on the bus or whatever, do some modding if you are that way inclined then buy it. If you are fussy about anything like that find something else. People will always find problems with devices like this as they are used to better maybe or compare it to a device thats is specifically for playing music or taking photos. This is a great phone, best i have had and i am well pleased. Just my opinion anyway.

Im so tired of people summing up everyones experience. I have a sgs2 from first batch and I have none of the problems youll find on the first 2-3 pages of threads. Remember like the member above me said, people with complaint threads will post before a postive thread. Complaint threads will get the most attention and see the most post. There might be less then 10 members actually having the problem if you read through the thread.
Display: gradients on screen is really only not that noticable unless your anal. Only time I see it is when I open xda app(takes ages to load on brown screen) and others are seeing it on the intro to angry birds. Not while actually playing but the intro lol. Screen is beautiful and works 99.9% correctly.
Wifi: I have no issues with connection or speed. I download lost of big files daily. Mostly mixtapes and other files usually around a 100mb+. I get connection and my 15-20mbs download no matter where im at in my house.
2g/3g/4g/ My device stays connected through 3g all day. When im actually downloading or using data it switches in 1sec to H+. Real world usage is really fast in North florida but if im playing with speedtest apps I will get mixed reviews.
Audio- I start my music at work around 9am everyday. I work with loud ass dogs and other various animals on a daily basis. Never had a problem with audio coming through my handset and I use the included headphones. At 50% I can hear my audio over barking dogs. In my vehicle with my 2 12s and 1000w amp you can hear me from a block away. Easily matches my wifes iphone4 if not better with poweramps eq.
Camera- No issues here. Just getting back from short trips to jacksonville fl, orlando, and north georgia(mostly ATL) and no pink spots on my photos.
Battery life is all user to user. I myself have the luxury of charging my phone over night unlike others on the website. I can do my heavy using from 9-6 everyday and still have 30-50% when I get home. Music is always playing through headphones(9-6) 2 emails checking hourly, check xda 1000times, browse atleast 20 websites throughout the day and other numerous stuff and can make it home after a work day. If I was anal I could get 2days out of my phone before it actually dies. Remember with android most problems are User Error.
Unless you are in love with Sense, theres no phone that can match it until the next sgs comes out.
BarryH_GEG said:
Here's some things to consider with the SGS2. Some of what's listed effects different users to different degrees.
- Display
There's a band on the left side that seems discolored on a gray background at 20% brightness in the dark. Some see it in everyday use, some don't. I'd venture a guess that more don't or the hue and cry would be louder. If you're anal retentive about your display, check out the 60 page thread.
- Wi-Fi
Seems wonky for some users. It may be equipment specific (EG: router) or strangeness with a particular handset. There's a couple of threads running on that.
- 2G/3G/4G
There's some connectivity issues depending on what network you're on. Make sure your location and/or carrier aren't ones people may be having issues with.
- Audio
If you're an audiophile there's a couple of threads on audio performance which, due to a number of factors, has been deemed by pros to be below that of the original Galaxy.
- Camera
There's a bunch of threads on stills and video. Read them if you're a heavy camera user. Biggest issue now is a pink spot showing up photographing white backgrounds in natural light.
- Battery
Average at best. As things currently are, plan on 10-16 hours depending on how you use the phone. There's an issue in 2.3.3. that effects dual-core phones and Samsung's issuing an update to 2.3.4. any day now which is supposed to correct it.
Based on the way I (and only I) use the phone I'm very happy and the above issues either don't bother me or don't effect me. The phone's fast, the display is beautiful, and it's a great all around device. Compare your hot buttons to those of others and if you think you're good, by all means get the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

intruda119 said:
Display: gradients on screen is really only not that noticable unless your anal. Only time I see it is when I open xda app(takes ages to load on brown screen) and others are seeing it on the intro to angry birds. Not while actually playing but the intro lol. Screen is beautiful and works 99.9% correctly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you call this "not that noticable" I give up :
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(Nexus One vs S2 @ "the Impossible Game" )
Do you think this is a normal IQ for a High End device like the S2?
As to Angry Birds 1 & Rio (and other games too) it is not only noticable in the intros my friend ... if you play them you will see !

Yeah I consider that not noticable in my book.
1st photo is a picture of the battery charging when phone is turned off if I'm correct. I don't stare at my screen when its just charging. In my real world use ill never see that long enough to annoy me.
2nd pic is when its connected to kies. When I actually use keis I'm not looking at the phone. I'm not saying its not there but the first 2 pics is not something I see daily. Im guessing the 3rd is a game but I don't play it. But the gradient is there.
I'm pretty sure I've heard its a software issue and not hardware. I find the pictures you posted funny. It shows me how hard it is to reproduce the gradients. But like I've said before I must have crap standards to accept a phone with imperfections. Can't believe I spent 700 on the best phone out to date.
To me this is a small issue that's resolved with a software update or one of the amazing devs come up with something. We don't have a ton of choices and I rather have gradients on a FEW screens vs what HTC is doing.
I understand that im a early adaptor of a device. Things may be changed/fixed in the next couple of months like nfc or something.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App

intruda119 said:
Im so tired of people summing up everyones experience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So your solution is to sum up yours and assume your individual device and personal expectations trump all? All hail the king.

Pros & Cons of Stock ASUS ZenUI Firmware

There have been a lot of changes in ZenUI over the time (about 9 months?) since the ZF2's launch, although rather disappointingly it is still based on 5.0 Lollipop. So I was wondering what you guys make of it in its current iteration? Personally, I am in two minds about the stock ASUS firmware and tend to flash back and forth between stock and CM rom. Focusing mainly on the stock ROM, and not thinking too much about visual design, which is a very subjective matter, here are my pros and cons:
Pros: Camera performance is good for the price and much better than with CM/CM-based roms. The latest version of the pixelmaster app is improved, and gives a lot of functionality (the manual mode is especially nice and now better integrated). While not all useful, there are a number of included ASUS apps that I find useful. For me, I make use of the SuperNote app, I find the ASUS email app much better than the gmail app, the Remote Link app is useful with a PC, I like having Splendid to adjust the display, the Weather app is handy, and I like the PhotoCollage app. Although I don't use it much, it is good having FM Radio functionality (always good to have a radio when you live in an area with earthquakes like I do), something you lose with custom ROMs. I think battery life is OK using stock firmware. A lot of flagship device reviewers quote 3 to 4 hours SOT in a day's use as being pretty good, and I easily exceed that on my Z008 with stock rom and most features turned on or maxed. I have a few qualms about the Zen launcher visually, but that is very subjective as I said. In terms of functionality it brings a hell of a lot to the table - touch gestures such as DTTS/DTTW and swipe down functionality, lots of launcher options such as app lock, homescreen lock, folder customisations, app drawer options, wallpaper settings options, the choice of one or two-layer style, scroll effects, themes and so on. The ASUS settings and quick-settings also offer some good extra functionality. The ASUS cover functionality is also nice if you have a view flip cover. While it is a shame that we are still stuck with 5.0, it is at least good that ASUS have started to roll Google's monthly security updates into their own updates.
Cons: Probably my biggest bug bear is RAM management. Not sure if this is an effect of 5.0's memory leaks, but my 2GB RAM model often has under 300MB free, compared to 600-900 on CM. Usually this doesn't affect performance and the UI is smooth, but sometimes it does seem to get jammed up. Disabling apps or denying apps in Auto-Start manager doesn't seem to have any effect on this. While it has improved a lot, I still have some problems with app connectivity when the device is sleeping. For example, regardless of my wifi settings and power-saver settings, TuneIn radio streams buffer or completely stop after a few seconds when the screen goes off. On CM I do not encounter this problem. (Edit: actually the tune in problem seems to have now gone away). USB connectivity with my Pioneer car stereo was also broken, I think by the PC Link suite CD Rom function. This is very annoying (and I would be very grateful if anyone has a solution to this problem). And one last one, though not a big issue - the Zen UI is, in my opinion, wasteful of space and the default DPI setting (320 on Z008) is too high and can't be changed easily and flawlessly.
What does everybody else think? Anything to add or anything you don't agree with me about? Let's discuss.

Pros: stability, official firmware, cool and useful apps and a beautiful overall (at least I like it) .
Cons: battery sucks.. Really, it does.

Great battery life on the Z00A here. I get between 5.75-7 hours of sot with about a days use without airplane mode or data turned off.
Biggest con is that their keyboard is buggy and if I try to add in a missed word in a sentence it will add it to the end and can take a few times to get it to add into the right spot or if I try to delete a word it deletes the last word even though the cursor is behind the word it deleted. The word prediction while swiping is rather poor also.
I own a Xiaomi mi3w, oneplus two and the ZenFone 2.
Although I do like the oneplus two a little more but bang for the buck and weighing pros vs cons this is the best deal.
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For the moment I have two issues
first: I can´t share file by wifi-direct
two: the battery life.

mvp001 said:
For the moment I have two issues
first: I can´t share file by wifi-direct
two: the battery life.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Battery Life Sucks!
Share files by download the app "WiFile Transfer", easiest thing in the world
Good Luck!

garciajo said:
Battery Life Sucks!
Share files by download the app "WiFile Transfer", easiest thing in the world
Good Luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don´t want a app Android SO can use this option. This option can use in Asus zenfone in another android SO version.

Pro's are it's pretty fast.
Cons.......Volume button back is really hard to use, Annoying bloat-wear, speaker volume, music player, delayed voicemails, MMS issues, dropped calls even with correct APN settings, and a few others.
Thoughts are hoping marshmallow can resolve the issues because the phone is really lacking.

My main concern is the outdated video driver. It will not run one of the tests in 3DMark, for example

Pros: The UI is good and fairly smooth.
Cons: Over time the UI slows down as the phone runs out of memory...
ASUS should focus on having a solid and updated backend instead of adding UI features.

Pros; cheaper than others
Cons; not that cheap. cheaply built. Build quality really is @%!&. various problems, ear receiver sound, gps and gyroscope, battey drains, over heating (while not charging), camera slow to take photos and HORRIBLE white balance, cant turn off shutter sound on Japanese kernel even though its a sim-free device X_X"
Repair takes forever and comes in worse shape than it was before.
Updating ASUS apps only makes the phone lag more.
at least I can disable most of the stuff and choose not to update it.
Android is still stuck on 5.0 WHY!?!?! 2016, Hellllloo~

major9686 said:
Pros; cheaper than others
Cons; not that cheap. cheaply built. Build quality really is @%!&. various problems, ear receiver sound, gps and gyroscope, battey drains, over heating (while not charging), camera slow to take photos and HORRIBLE white balance, cant turn off shutter sound on Japanese kernel even though its a sim-free device X_X"
Repair takes forever and comes in worse shape than it was before.
Updating ASUS apps only makes the phone lag more.
at least I can disable most of the stuff and choose not to update it.
Android is still stuck on 5.0 WHY!?!?! 2016, Hellllloo~
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The topic was more supposed to be about the software than the phone as a whole, but whatever, it's all good.
Regarding not being able to turn off the shutter sound with Japanese firmware, that's because that is the law in Japan - presumably to try and stop pervy guys from taking surreptitious snaps of schoolgirls and office ladies on trains. My gripe with the models sold in Japan is more the pricing - we get hiddeously ripped off, paying near double the US prices. That's why I got an imported model - sacrificing a few LTE bands is worth it for the saving (and the added bonus of no shutter sound). Personally have had no problems with build quality or overheating on mine - sure, it is not premium build materials, but satisfactory for the price paid.
I am fairly satisfied with the current firware (.136 on the Z008) and was having a few issues with CM13 which keep me from using it at the moment. The one big problem that I have with stock is still the RAM management and/or memory leaks. It soon drops to under 300MB free of the 2GB, and recently often falls to near 200MB and suffers noticeable lag and stuttering at that point. Never have that problem with CM, which always keeps plenty of RAM available and is very smooth. 1.7 GB of RAM occupied with nothing much actively running is piss poor.

Taking sleeping baby photos is also impossible
btw, not just pervs. they dont like u taking photos in shops, books, when there is an idol group or some other gathering etc.
beside, if I want to take a photo of a girl whats the problem to take it with the shutter sound ON ? I dont really care... I pop up in lots of people's photos - without giving consent ..
btw, it seems that because of the shutter sound the camera lags when taking a photo. both when saving to built-in memory and SD card... Also the Shutter animation is super annoying... have no idea what causes this delay ..
I also have problems with skype, only on this phone.
RAM issues -> my fault for choosing the lesser 2GB option ^^"
software/bloatware... lots on it.. some of them can be disabled but after several updates some lost that option.. for some odd reason.
also, sometimes updating asus apps makes the phone even slower, added useless features etc.
I'm now on a Factory Reset, disabled most of the apps, only use Gmail, Skype, Chrome... and tomorrow sends the phone to repair again (since last time I was told they couldnt find anything wrong, LOL => phone without a working ear receiver can't function as a phone. also, being weeks without a phone in this day and age is complete %^[email protected]^&! (2 weeks waiting due to holiday, 2 weeks repair, 1 week waiting due to their holiday, then probably another 2 weeks repair, over 1 month without a working phone) another reason to buy a japanese phone or something from a phone provider, you get a phone to use til its get repaired)
I had good experience with several used phones I got here (all Xperia)... for 50~100usd more I could have gotten a 2nd hand Z3 compact... STUPID ME for choosing Asus
kanagawaben said:
The topic was more supposed to be about the software than the phone as a whole, but whatever, it's all good.
Regarding not being able to turn off the shutter sound with Japanese firmware, that's because that is the law in Japan - presumably to try and stop pervy guys from taking surreptitious snaps of schoolgirls and office ladies on trains. My gripe with the models sold in Japan is more the pricing - we get hiddeously ripped off, paying near double the US prices. That's why I got an imported model - sacrificing a few LTE bands is worth it for the saving (and the added bonus of no shutter sound). Personally have had no problems with build quality or overheating on mine - sure, it is not premium build materials, but satisfactory for the price paid.
I am fairly satisfied with the current firware (.136 on the Z008) and was having a few issues with CM13 which keep me from using it at the moment. The one big problem that I have with stock is still the RAM management and/or memory leaks. It soon drops to under 300MB free of the 2GB, and recently often falls to near 200MB and suffers noticeable lag and stuttering at that point. Never have that problem with CM, which always keeps plenty of RAM available and is very smooth. 1.7 GB of RAM occupied with nothing much actively running is piss poor.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

If, like me, you have a 2GB model and have been running into problems due to poor RAM management - setting a 4 app background process limit under developer options' apps section has sorted the RAM management issues for me. Has its drawbacks of course, but personally I don't multitask much so I am ok with it. I now have much smoother use with generally around 750MB to 1GB of RAM available.