Database Users

Hard Decision: Blackberry 9700 Or HD 2

I Dont Know What Path To Go Down. Both Of These are Powerhouses And Can Hold Their Own Weight. Im Looking For A Real Reliable Phone That Will Stop Me From Constantly Upgrading Or Trading. Can Someone Help Me? Thanks. All Opinions Are Welcome.

both about the same its down to personal preference

charlieb620 said:
I Dont Know What Path To Go Down. Both Of These are Powerhouses And Can Hold Their Own Weight. Im Looking For A Real Reliable Phone That Will Stop Me From Constantly Upgrading Or Trading. Can Someone Help Me? Thanks. All Opinions Are Welcome.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a HD2 as my personal phone and a Bold 9000 as a work phone.
I must admit, I'm not personally a fan of the Bold, the OS seems to have been designed to mimic the iPhone's layout, but without the touch screen, its a bit of a chore navigating.
The Bold's battery life isn't anywhere near the previous BB I had, and I'm lucky to get a few days out of it (it sits in my office, just doing push-email in sleep mode, not used otherwise as its not got the same 'fluid feel' to it as the HD2), the HD2 gets hammered each and every day and I get a good 1.5 - 2 days out of it.
But, as World705 said, its pretty much down to personal preference from there.

rp-x1 said:
I have a HD2 as my personal phone and a Bold 9000 as a work phone.
I must admit, I'm not personally a fan of the Bold, the OS seems to have been designed to mimic the iPhone's layout, but without the touch screen, its a bit of a chore navigating.
The Bold's battery life isn't anywhere near the previous BB I had, and I'm lucky to get a few days out of it (it sits in my office, just doing push-email in sleep mode, not used otherwise as its not got the same 'fluid feel' to it as the HD2), the HD2 gets hammered each and every day and I get a good 1.5 - 2 days out of it.
But, as World705 said, its pretty much down to personal preference from there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So You Find Your HD2 More Reliable Than The 9700?

charlieb620 said:
So You Find Your HD2 More Reliable Than The 9700?
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Click to collapse
Reliable in terms of switching on, or making calls/messaging/general operation?
Both work fine to be honest, I just prefer the HD2 as I find the navigation on BBs a bit of a chore.

The only thing that could be improved is the battery life on the HD2.
I've got a curve 8900 and a HD2.
I like the push messages from the BB. But I like the HD2 as an everyday use phone its so much better and much more smooth to use.
The BB OS is out dated, even the latest os5 is kinda boring, it does the trick but still. The app store on BB is slow and apps are expensive.
The HD2 is still awesome in my book, I just wish it had a better battery and push services (apart from just windows live email).
I love this community though, you can find alot of useful info and apps on this forum.

rp-x1 said:
Reliable in terms of switching on, or making calls/messaging/general operation?
Both work fine to be honest, I just prefer the HD2 as I find the navigation on BBs a bit of a chore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As In A Everyday Phone? Email, Online, Battery Life? Battery Life Is My Main Thing. I Find That WM Battery Life Isnt Good. I Have The TP2 Now. I Constantly Charge As Where When I Had Blackberry I Charged Every 2 Days.

charlieb620 said:
As In A Everyday Phone? Email, Online, Battery Life? Battery Life Is My Main Thing. I Find That WM Battery Life Isnt Good. I Have The TP2 Now. I Constantly Charge As Where When I Had Blackberry I Charged Every 2 Days.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I said, my BB barely lasts a few days and thats literally just sat on my desk with push mail. Not used.
The HD2 lasts a good 1.5 to 2 days without charge (the first couple of weeks my HD2 would last about a day, then performance improved to almost double) and I pretty much use it constantly for texting, email (3 x pop3 accounts checked every 15 mins) and online browsing.

wotsreallygood said:
The only thing that could be improved is the battery life on the HD2.
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Click to collapse
And a good stylos.
Hope HTC can/will read this.
eshd

eshd said:
And a good stylos.
Hope HTC can/will read this.
eshd
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Click to collapse
Its been designed to be used with a finger. Why do you want a stylus?

What's With The Capitalisation Of Every Word? Lol
I'd say the main thing you've got to consider is the keyboard. I think it's a fair comment that a BB user trying to transition to a HD2 will struggle at first. Hell, I struggled coming from a Touch HD, but I got used to it and it was worth it. I now prefer the on-screen keyboard over a hardware one. But that's just me.

rp-x1 said:
Its been designed to be used with a finger. Why do you want a stylus?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For drawings, small icons and list-boxes,
for selecting exakt coordinates on a map, ... ,
and for using internet pages.
eshd

johncmolyneux said:
What's With The Capitalisation Of Every Word? Lol
I'd say the main thing you've got to consider is the keyboard. I think it's a fair comment that a BB user trying to transition to a HD2 will struggle at first. Hell, I struggled coming from a Touch HD, but I got used to it and it was worth it. I now prefer the on-screen keyboard over a hardware one. But that's just me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the same coming from the X1, but to be honest, I won't be looking back.

Its A Habit. Lol. But I Have The Universal And The Touch Pro 2 Now. Im Selling Both And I Am Just Stuck With The 9700 Or H2 Decision Wise. I Like The HD2 But I Find Myself Always Wanting To Go Back To A Blackberry.

rp-x1 said:
Its been designed to be used with a finger. Why do you want a stylus?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For drawings, small icons and list-boxes.
For picking up exakt screen-coordinates (for maps etc.)
And at least for choosing a correct internet page.
Very often I get the wrong page.
eshd

johncmolyneux said:
What's With The Capitalisation Of Every Word? Lol
I'd say the main thing you've got to consider is the keyboard. I think it's a fair comment that a BB user trying to transition to a HD2 will struggle at first. Hell, I struggled coming from a Touch HD, but I got used to it and it was worth it. I now prefer the on-screen keyboard over a hardware one. But that's just me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup I prefer HD2, the battery is my main concern with this phone but it last me for 1 day or almost 2 days if it has little use.
But the on-screen keyboard + something like Swype (it's great for me), you will never like hardware keyboards, imo.

hector_huerta said:
Yup I prefer HD2, the battery is my main concern with this phone but it last me for 1 day or almost 2 days if it has little use.
But the on-screen keyboard + something like Swype (it's great for me), you will never like hardware keyboards, imo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I Use Swype On My TP2 And Im Not Really A Fan Of It. I Guess It Will Make More Of a Difference On A Wider Screen.

To be honest? My last phone was a Bold 9000 (still have it, running OS 5.0.0.411) and compared to a HTC HD2... not to compare. Here are some things that might help you.
Browser:
The HTC HD2 BLOWS AWAY the Bold 9000 (so probably the 9700 as well, not much difference). Seriously, I did a few 'test' on my own on the same network and... wel, the Bold takes about 4 to 5 times as long to load. And then it looks like crap as wel. This on the stock BB browser. But still, even if you use Opera, there is no beating the HD2.
Media:
First the good things. The Bold has much better Speakers. So playing music out load will be MUCH better on the Bold. Also, HTC Sense looks better, but the Media in general is much simpler and faster to access on the Bold. BUT, everything looks much better on the 4.3 inch screen, off course Further, the HD2 YouTube app is great. The Bold does not really have an app for YouTube.. Moving on.
Overall OS performance:
Things load up instant on the Bold (but you know that, BB OS is fast). But there is NO EYECANDY in the OS. So if you really go for function, that the Bold probably beats the HD2 by a little. But the HD2 also offers great eyecandy. But really, the Bold is very very stable.
Battery Life: About the same, all though I do much more with my HD2. So the HD2 is the winner, I think.
But really this choice is simple... Are you a serious person looking for a stable but performing phone? No YouTube and all that crap? Or are you the kind of person that likes eyecandy, YouTube in general etc..
Just answer yourself the question if you want YouTube on your phone. Yes = HD2, no = Bold 9700.
The hard keyboard is awesome though, so that is another plus for the Bold IF you wright a lot of messages.
Good luck.
Btw, I myself regret that I ever bought an BlackBerry. Way to boring OS for me. The only good things were BlackBerry Messenger and learning about BlackBerry in General, which will prevent me from buying another one in the future. Amazing devices, but just no fun. No apps (at least in the time I used it, App World was not available in many countries).. No good browser. This really is a messaging device.

Yeah I agree with XDA mark.
I think the phones both have their uses and it really depends what you need it for.
I had the BB first, I love the messaging on it but the browser was so crap and I like browsing and reading stuff on the web plus I couldnt view PDF files very well.
The HD2 is okay for messaging, it really only lacks push services for me just because of MSN and facebook but other than that it works okay for most people.
The battery life on the HD2 is rubbish. XDA mark is the first person that says its good. The blackberry for me lasts like 2 or 3 days with alot of usage.
I barely get through the day with my HD2. Its that great big screen.
Im going to buy a power monkey charger thing so that should sort that out.
Oh yeah if you want you could get both, as orange do a bb bolton for pay as you go. £5 I believe that's what Im going to do. Going to be annoying two phones though.
You got to really look at what you want to use the phone for really, you will get bored of the BB os really quickly which is what I found.

There is stylus for HD2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXVKyqDJC8s
and there is bigger battery for HD2 - http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/05/htc-hd2-extended-battery-gets-its-close-up-lower-price/
)))))

you've had the weekend to play with it.

how do you like your EVO?
what are the quirks that are bugging you?
what phone did you come from?
and
how does it compare to that previous phone?
i have my phone pre-order sitting at best buy still.
i have my money, i have my little gift card....only thing is i've really enjoyed the past few roms on my HTC HERO and I don't feel the need for this phone because the Hero has fit me very well. that and there is no 4g here in so cali yet so what's the point?
thanks to everyone who replies

I left WiMo on a VZW xv6800
Quirks........
no signature in SMS and the native email client sucks. I can only get my main folder in Hotmail and not all my other folders were my mail is separated to.
Anyone know a better email client that will resolve that?
I thought Seven would do it but i see they dont have a client for Android as of yet.

weedahoe said:
I left WiMo on a VZW xv6800
Quirks........
no signature in SMS and the native email client sucks. I can only get my main folder in Hotmail and not all my other folders were my mail is separated to.
Anyone know a better email client that will resolve that?
I thought Seven would do it but i see they dont have a client for Android as of yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
after 1 week with the stock text client i switched to handcent. it is SO SO SO SO SO much better in my opinion
i hate the mail client for hotmail/yahoo as well BUT i only really use gmail and that one is perfect for me so...maybe think about switching to gmail?

oh jeeze....thats what she said.
my evo is treating me great! my first complain was with the battery, but with a few discharge/recharge cycles, it seems to be doing well.
everything else is pretty much gravy. i love the screen, the real estate is just MASSIVE.
bottom line, you're going to love this thing

Phenomenal piece of hardware.

I love my Evo. I am still setting it up and haven't decided if I want to root or not but its awesome.
Haven't had many quirks, the soft keys are a little sensitive and I end up fatfingering them when playing some games, no biggie. Battery isn't a huge issue if you're a resourceful person. I used my phone for 6 hours before it died doing HEAVY usage. (Navigation, Trapster, YouTube streaming, Super KO Boxing 2, Pictures, recorded a 2 min video, etc)
I came from the G1, what an upgrade.

I freaking love it!!!!

engagedtosmile said:
I love my Evo. I am still setting it up and haven't decided if I want to root or not but its awesome.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do the unrevoked root. Getting rid of it is as simple as uninstalling the app. All Root does is give you superuser/admin rights to the phone.

I love this phone. I play iMobsters on it so addicting so I haven't had too much time to play with the phone. I've taken so many pictures.
Gripes:
Is there a way to turn flash on at night so I can record video? Videos come out dark so I haven't recorded much at night.
I disabled SenseUI but I wanted to know how I can get more widgets to fill up at least 1 or 2 more pages. Any recommendations? I noticed that when I disabled SenseUI a lot of widgets don't come up in the options.

I am coming from a Palm Pre, and this phone is so amazing. I have been using the speech-to-text on text messages and it hasn't missed a word yet. I dislike the email client, but it isn't enough to make me verbally complain. I have downloaded a few apps here and there, and so far everything is working better than expected.

I do miss the track pad or ball a little. Nothing earth shattering.
I LOVE THE SCREEN BUT they should have raised the resolution.
I wish the system didn't auto start a bunch of crap. That's an android issue and people shouldn't be forced to root to get rid of it. I'm rooted so this doesn't matter anymore but battery performance and even actual device performance improves after removing all the bull ****.
I wish they was another way to turn on the device. I miss menu menu. Should be an option.
I wish launcher pro worked over sense. I like the widgets.
Otherwise I love android and the evo. I will have a hard time going back to any screen less than 4 inches. I don't miss having s physical keyboard anymore with swype and especially swype on this awesome screen.
The speed is mostly good, it will improve as things get optimized.

how about things like, how does it fit in your pocket.
does it fit in the same spot where you stored your old phone in your car
*i have a perfect slot above my radio and i think the evo may be too thin and it will fall out while driving*
i've had an htc phone since the 6700 a few years back and everything has been mini-usb now i gotta use my blu-tooth microsb cables/chargers.
ummmmmmmmmmmmm
anyone crack their screen yet?

Absolutely love the phone much better than my HD2. Only 2 quirks for me is that I cant control all volumes (media, notifications, phone calls, etc.) with one setting and that I can never tell where my battery percent is. I always have to guess if im on 85% etc. OTT it has exceeded all expectations.

dukins said:
Absolutely love the phone much better than my HD2. Only 2 quirks for me is that I cant control all volumes (media, notifications, phone calls, etc.) with one setting and that I can never tell where my battery percent is. I always have to guess if im on 85% etc. OTT it has exceeded all expectations.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
uhh, there's an app for that (more like 100 apps for that). Most are free too.

gonzoangel said:
how about things like, how does it fit in your pocket.
does it fit in the same spot where you stored your old phone in your car
*i have a perfect slot above my radio and i think the evo may be too thin and it will fall out while driving*
i've had an htc phone since the 6700 a few years back and everything has been mini-usb now i gotta use my blu-tooth microsb cables/chargers.
ummmmmmmmmmmmm
anyone crack their screen yet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It fits in my pocket quite well. (Is it just me or are there a lot of jokes that would go there?) I think that it being as thin as it is actually makes it better than my Hero. Just my opinion.
I got the silicone case from Sprint and it doesnt slide around in the cubby in my car at all. Next is the car mount

Led desire light. App to turn led into flashlight. Turn that on then open camera app
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

dukins said:
Absolutely love the phone much better than my HD2. Only 2 quirks for me is that I cant control all volumes (media, notifications, phone calls, etc.) with one setting and that I can never tell where my battery percent is. I always have to guess if im on 85% etc. OTT it has exceeded all expectations.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use an app called battery left. It is free and really nice.

Aridon said:
I wish launcher pro worked over sense. I like the widgets.
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Click to collapse
-That is exactly what I was thinking when I installed launcher pro but removed it due to that reason
Aridon said:
Otherwise I love android and the evo. I will have a hard time going back to any screen less than 4 inches. I don't miss having s physical keyboard anymore with swype and especially swype on this awesome screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't even know what swype was 20 min ago. I installed it and did the tutorial, sent out a few texts. Will take some time to get used to, but so far it seems promising. Thanks.

Pros:
I absolutely love the size. Not too big, not too small.
Kickstand, HDMI out, dual LED flash, 720P recording.
Haptic feedback is great.
Cons:
For some reason, most of my incoming text messages are time stamped incorrectly. I have googled the living hell out of this problem, but can't find a legit fix anywhere.
The camera is so grainy that it feels like I'm using a camera phone from the 90's. Flash clears this up in dark lighting, but indoor photos are terrible.
Stock keyboard is a nightmare. Thank god for Swype.
Lock/Power button is hard to locate without looking at times.
Overall, I couldn't be any more disappointed in the camera. With all the time they spend on kickstands, flash, and such a massive screen I would have thought they'd spend more time on something as standard as a camera. I've read that not many people have this problem- so I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that this is a faulty camera in my phone.

All my friends have been amazed how much I've been tinkering with my phone all weekend. I laid in bed Saturday night for 3 hours (until about 2am) playing with all the cool apps and features of the EVO. They all laughed when I told them I was in bed until 2am (laying next to my wife) while playing with the phone. Yes, "playing" because it's been so much fun. I already had the original G1 when it was first launched 2 years ago, so all this wasn't new to me. I can't imagine how a NEW user to Android would be just blown away at first glance of the EVO.
I was first blown away of the size of the screen. It is sooo much better to view text. I was equally blown away at the speed of the phone and apps (and it's supposed to be faster with 2.2 JIT ??? wow!!). Battery was great for me. I was using everything, including 4G. I was getting tired of waiting for the juice to run out. I was blown away at the Sega Genesis emulator and speed of the games.
I don't have any complaints, but if you twisted my arm and forced me to find something to improve on I would list:
1) Action buttons on the bottom (home, menu, back, and search). They are very sensitive and I keep hitting them accidentally. Not a major problem, but still, I think they should have been physical buttons.
2) Trackball, nice to use instead of keyboard arrow buttons, but as someone else said: This is not a deal breaker.
3) 4G: I live in Houston so we have 4G coverage, but it's spotty. I was in Best Buy over the weekend talking to the ClearWire rep and we were on the edge of the city (in Katy) and he had his usb Dongle to get 4G reception. I still right up next to the antenna and we both ran speed test from SpeedTest.net. The Rep kept getting MINIMUM of 6 Mbit down and 2 Mbit up, while I was getting max 2.25 MBit down (I've since gotten 3.35 MBit down while at home over 4g). With our limited testing I would have to conclude that 4G is NOT ClearWire or Sprints problem, but more of a HARDWARE issue. The USB dongle probably had a better antenna whereas the EVO antenna didn't pick up the signal as much. We were deep inside the Best Buy store and the ClearWire 4G reception was at least 75%, while I barely got 1 bar on my EVO. I changed positions, and we made sure we were both on the same servers running our speed tests. But, 4G is still much faster than 3G, but not what I was expecting.

My first week with the Evo 4g coming from an iPhone 3G

For the first five days I had a huge issue with the battery draining while in standby, and because of that I expected to return the phone. Now that I have logged out of google talk and changed to CDMA auto it's doing much better... I seem to get at least 6 hours of continuous use with little power draining when the screen is off, which I can definitely live with.
Here are the things I love about the evo:
* Being able to plug it in to my computer and mount it as a drive. So simple, and so frustrating that apple won't allow it.
* Google navigation. It's awesome, and much safer since it has text to speech.
* The screen size is amazing... I love that it lets me view docs in meetings so I hardly have to print anything
* Wifi tethering
Here are my main issues, the big ones that might make me have to return it:
* Horrible wifi reception. I have yet to pick up a signal at work, and I have no problem with my iPhone & laptop.
* It sucks as a media player. I have a huge library full of lossless files, and I don't have the energy to convert everything (yes I've tried doubletwist and andless but I can't get it to recognize the artist/album/songnames properly). I listen to a lot of music so this is a major PITA for me.
* Build quality kind of scares me, light leakage etc.; it makes me feel like I need to get the insurance. This plan is costing me way more than an iPhone 4 would (since I still have two other lines on AT&T with one year left on the contract and I get a lower corporate discount) and I hate the thought of paying any more.
The evo is not without it's imperfections, but I love it so far and shudder at the thought of having to go back to an iPhone. In fact I picked up my 3G today and it felt like a sad pathetic joke, like going back to one of those 12 lb. i486 laptops from the 90's. And nobody wants that.
Gary

cloudyphiz said:
For the first five days I had a huge issue with the battery draining while in standby, and because of that I expected to return the phone. Now that I have logged out of google talk and changed to CDMA auto it's doing much better... I seem to get at least 6 hours of continuous use with little power draining when the screen is off, which I can definitely live with.
Here are the things I love about the evo:
* Being able to plug it in to my computer and mount it as a drive. So simple, and so frustrating that apple won't allow it.
* Google navigation. It's awesome, and much safer since it has text to speech.
* The screen size is amazing... I love that it lets me view docs in meetings so I hardly have to print anything
* Wifi tethering
Here are my main issues, the big ones that might make me have to return it:
* Horrible wifi reception. I have yet to pick up a signal at work, and I have no problem with my iPhone & laptop.
* It sucks as a media player. I have a huge library full of lossless files, and I don't have the energy to convert everything (yes I've tried doubletwist and andless but I can't get it to recognize the artist/album/songnames properly). I listen to a lot of music so this is a major PITA for me.
* Build quality kind of scares me, light leakage etc.; it makes me feel like I need to get the insurance. This plan is costing me way more than an iPhone 4 would (since I still have two other lines on AT&T with one year left on the contract and I get a lower corporate discount) and I hate the thought of paying any more.
The evo is not without it's imperfections, but I love it so far and shudder at the thought of having to go back to an iPhone. In fact I picked up my 3G today and it felt like a sad pathetic joke, like going back to one of those 12 lb. i486 laptops from the 90's. And nobody wants that.
Gary
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Welcome!
Thanks for your iPhone/Evo thoughts.
I have some friends at work that are curious about Evo and how it compares to an iPhone.
I've been with Sprint for 10 years, so I've never had an iPhone.
These XDA forums are full of really good folks that want to help out.
Enjoy you Evo!

I also came from a 3G and have similar opinions:
Screen - Damn this screen is beautiful. It definitely is hard to go back to the iPhone just because of this. In addition, I can see much more on the screen without having to zoom (unsure if this is because of the larger screen or increased resolution, or both). On the other hand, it does seems more reflective than the iPhone. I have a hard time seeing the screen in the sun because of all the glare. It's very nice indoors though.
Syncing - much better than the iPhone. iTunes is okay when it works but it just has too many problems. Plus, being able to manually put things on the android without having to root is awesome.
Navigation - Wow. Google navigation blew me away when I first used it. Streetview is a nice touch. Nothing compared to that on the iPhone unless you pay a decent amount.
Customization - being able to root and apply all sorts of different ROMS is pretty badass. Currently, I'm using a Froyo ROM and I have to say... much better than HTC Sense. I guess I like stock android better (I hate HTCs keyboard - too crowded).
Notifications - hot damn I love notifications on android. This is what may keep me on android. It works so well with gmail.
Widgets are awesome
My issues that may swing me back to the iPhone (and please, if I can fix any of these issues, let me know):
I hate having to press the power button to wake from sleep. Maybe I'm just used to pressing the bottom button on the iPhone, but it was just so much easier for me. Of course, not a deal breaker, but very annoying.
It could be just me, but the screen seems hypersensitive. When I'm scrolling up and down, I'm constantly opening apps/menus that I don't want to. It seems to be getting better, so maybe I just need to get used to it.
I'm in Hawaii and the 4G is supposed to be pretty good -- looking at the coverage maps on sprint shows mostly blue where I live. However, I seem to get spotty coverage and the speeds compared to 3G aren't what they advertise. I was so looking forward to 4G. To add insult to injury, leaving 4G on drains the battery like no other.
I'll probably get flamed for this, but I think most people agree the iPhone's OS is much more polished. It doesn't help that both HTC and Sprint add applications and background processes. Scrolling on the android is a tad slower and a little more jerky. One thing that bugs the hell out of me is, on HTC sense, if you press the applications icon, open an application, but decide to go back to the applications screen, it doesn't do that! It goes back to the home screen. That frustrates me so much. Froyo doesn't do that so right now I'm pretty happy.
I can't think of anything else, but I'm pretty torn right now about keeping the EVO or getting an iPhone 4. Any advice?

binxer said:
I also came from a 3G and have similar opinions:
Screen - Damn this screen is beautiful. It definitely is hard to go back to the iPhone just because of this. In addition, I can see much more on the screen without having to zoom (unsure if this is because of the larger screen or increased resolution, or both). On the other hand, it does seems more reflective than the iPhone. I have a hard time seeing the screen in the sun because of all the glare. It's very nice indoors though.
Syncing - much better than the iPhone. iTunes is okay when it works but it just has too many problems. Plus, being able to manually put things on the android without having to root is awesome.
Navigation - Wow. Google navigation blew me away when I first used it. Streetview is a nice touch. Nothing compared to that on the iPhone unless you pay a decent amount.
Customization - being able to root and apply all sorts of different ROMS is pretty badass. Currently, I'm using a Froyo ROM and I have to say... much better than HTC Sense. I guess I like stock android better (I hate HTCs keyboard - too crowded).
Notifications - hot damn I love notifications on android. This is what may keep me on android. It works so well with gmail.
Widgets are awesome
My issues that may swing me back to the iPhone (and please, if I can fix any of these issues, let me know):
I hate having to press the power button to wake from sleep. Maybe I'm just used to pressing the bottom button on the iPhone, but it was just so much easier for me. Of course, not a deal breaker, but very annoying.
It could be just me, but the screen seems hypersensitive. When I'm scrolling up and down, I'm constantly opening apps/menus that I don't want to. It seems to be getting better, so maybe I just need to get used to it.
I'm in Hawaii and the 4G is supposed to be pretty good -- looking at the coverage maps on sprint shows mostly blue where I live. However, I seem to get spotty coverage and the speeds compared to 3G aren't what they advertise. I was so looking forward to 4G. To add insult to injury, leaving 4G on drains the battery like no other.
I'll probably get flamed for this, but I think most people agree the iPhone's OS is much more polished. It doesn't help that both HTC and Sprint add applications and background processes. Scrolling on the android is a tad slower and a little more jerky. One thing that bugs the hell out of me is, on HTC sense, if you press the applications icon, open an application, but decide to go back to the applications screen, it doesn't do that! It goes back to the home screen. That frustrates me so much. Froyo doesn't do that so right now I'm pretty happy.
I can't think of anything else, but I'm pretty torn right now about keeping the EVO or getting an iPhone 4. Any advice?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have currently an iphone 3Gs and just got the Evo opening day. I am just now able to really install and get a feel for the EVO since we just got back from vacation. I am becoming more and more pleased with the EVO each time I use it. THere are many things that the EVO can do that iphone cant do even being Jailbroken, which my Iphone is. As i use it i will report more. Right now im having loads of fun with my EVO. Yes, I will get the iphone 4 when it comes out. I guess you can tell im a gadget kind of person. There are just a few things with the EVO that has to be fixed, and I feel like it will be much better with the Froyo.
One thing I really like about the EVO is its browsing. How it resizes the screen and paragraphs so you dont have to scroll right to left. Iphone doesnt have that. Yet. Maybe the new update. Will wait and see. But for now, Evo is in my pocket and iphone is on the bedroom nitestand.

binxer said:
I also came from a 3G and have similar opinions:
Screen - Damn this screen is beautiful. It definitely is hard to go back to the iPhone just because of this. In addition, I can see much more on the screen without having to zoom (unsure if this is because of the larger screen or increased resolution, or both). On the other hand, it does seems more reflective than the iPhone. I have a hard time seeing the screen in the sun because of all the glare. It's very nice indoors though.
Syncing - much better than the iPhone. iTunes is okay when it works but it just has too many problems. Plus, being able to manually put things on the android without having to root is awesome.
Navigation - Wow. Google navigation blew me away when I first used it. Streetview is a nice touch. Nothing compared to that on the iPhone unless you pay a decent amount.
Customization - being able to root and apply all sorts of different ROMS is pretty badass. Currently, I'm using a Froyo ROM and I have to say... much better than HTC Sense. I guess I like stock android better (I hate HTCs keyboard - too crowded).
Notifications - hot damn I love notifications on android. This is what may keep me on android. It works so well with gmail.
Widgets are awesome
My issues that may swing me back to the iPhone (and please, if I can fix any of these issues, let me know):
I hate having to press the power button to wake from sleep. Maybe I'm just used to pressing the bottom button on the iPhone, but it was just so much easier for me. Of course, not a deal breaker, but very annoying.
It could be just me, but the screen seems hypersensitive. When I'm scrolling up and down, I'm constantly opening apps/menus that I don't want to. It seems to be getting better, so maybe I just need to get used to it.
I'm in Hawaii and the 4G is supposed to be pretty good -- looking at the coverage maps on sprint shows mostly blue where I live. However, I seem to get spotty coverage and the speeds compared to 3G aren't what they advertise. I was so looking forward to 4G. To add insult to injury, leaving 4G on drains the battery like no other.
I'll probably get flamed for this, but I think most people agree the iPhone's OS is much more polished. It doesn't help that both HTC and Sprint add applications and background processes. Scrolling on the android is a tad slower and a little more jerky. One thing that bugs the hell out of me is, on HTC sense, if you press the applications icon, open an application, but decide to go back to the applications screen, it doesn't do that! It goes back to the home screen. That frustrates me so much. Froyo doesn't do that so right now I'm pretty happy.
I can't think of anything else, but I'm pretty torn right now about keeping the EVO or getting an iPhone 4. Any advice?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To shut off the locksreen go to the matket and get no lock.
After it is installed just launch it and click on the lock.
After that you will just heve to hit the volume button to bring upi the home screen.

I had pretty bad light leakage on the bottom after the first couple days, now that part of the screen has lifted by about 0.5mm and it moves when I squeeze down. This thing has to go back . Just for the hell of it I tried browsing the web on my 3G... I can't imagine going back to such a tiny screen, but it looks like I have to. ugh.
Gary

Cool good info here.

cloudyphiz said:
I love it so far and shudder at the thought of having to go back to an iPhone. In fact I picked up my 3G today and it felt like a sad pathetic joke
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LoL
You sir... have had an AWAKENING!

I came from the iPhone and I can personally tell you this thing DESTROYS the iPhone..
1. CALENDAR SYNC via Exchange - Calendar use is WAY better on Android - one touch navigation of the "Where" clickable numbers(granted the iphone had this) and a beautiful widget to go on the front screen... another widget to show me my upcoming appointment and another to make a "Calendar folder" which makes it a bit easier
2. Notifications, Multi-tasking... Ahh the beauty of using Pandora while writing an e-mail or text message instead of going out of the song each time... being on Skype and Facebook Chat at all times and being that much easier to get ahold of (without the phone call to use my minutes)... LOVE IT
3. Screen Size, Screen Brightness - the screen destroys the iPhone and I have no problem with the touch at all..
4. Apps - I love the openness of the apps.. any major app I used (Pandora, Slacker, etc) are on both Android and iPhone (granted they are usually a bit more developed on the iPhone but I get things like MP3 Explorer that let me download songs when I want them.. something I would need to jailbreak my iPhone for...
5. Customized Home Screen - No need to talk about that... way better then iPhone... I don't feel like I'm the same as every other iPhone user
Okay Okay I coudl go on literally forever ... My iPhone feels like a dinosaur.. Facetime will probably be better video chat then QIK - because QIK SUCKS!!! But its only over WiFi and iPhone 4 to iPhone 4... so I'm not that envious..
One bad thing - battery... granted you get way more power and you can expect that the battery won't be as good... and I'm near a charger most of the time anyways... but I wish they woulda put a super super strong battery in this thing .. I'd be willing to deal with a thicker phone for a battery that's twice as capable!

I just don't get why android can't play all video types.. I'm very surprised that someone hasn't figured out a way to make this work.

jtadeo said:
I just don't get why android can't play all video types.. I'm very surprised that someone hasn't figured out a way to make this work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah.. but my guess.. soon there will be an app on the market that will be better and use more formats.
Like most things on android.. if you dont like it.. you can find an app for that!

Mod. edit: Warez link removed. RockPlayer is a beta, the developer didn't consent it's distribution. Consider this 1st warning!http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=6805512#post6805512http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=6805512#post6805512http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=699824

cloudyphiz said:
For the first five days I had a huge issue with the battery draining while in standby, and because of that I expected to return the phone. Now that I have logged out of google talk and changed to CDMA auto it's doing much better... I seem to get at least 6 hours of continuous use with little power draining when the screen is off, which I can definitely live with.
Here are the things I love about the evo:
* Being able to plug it in to my computer and mount it as a drive. So simple, and so frustrating that apple won't allow it.
* Google navigation. It's awesome, and much safer since it has text to speech.
* The screen size is amazing... I love that it lets me view docs in meetings so I hardly have to print anything
* Wifi tethering
Here are my main issues, the big ones that might make me have to return it:
* Horrible wifi reception. I have yet to pick up a signal at work, and I have no problem with my iPhone & laptop.
* It sucks as a media player. I have a huge library full of lossless files, and I don't have the energy to convert everything (yes I've tried doubletwist and andless but I can't get it to recognize the artist/album/songnames properly). I listen to a lot of music so this is a major PITA for me.
* Build quality kind of scares me, light leakage etc.; it makes me feel like I need to get the insurance. This plan is costing me way more than an iPhone 4 would (since I still have two other lines on AT&T with one year left on the contract and I get a lower corporate discount) and I hate the thought of paying any more.
The evo is not without it's imperfections, but I love it so far and shudder at the thought of having to go back to an iPhone. In fact I picked up my 3G today and it felt like a sad pathetic joke, like going back to one of those 12 lb. i486 laptops from the 90's. And nobody wants that.
Gary
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good comparison. One app you might wanna try for you music needs is btunes. It is basically like the iphone music player. It does cost money but so far its the best one I have used. I have the Hero so I do not know if it works on the EVO yet but you might wanna give it a try. Also when you buy a app if you havent figured it out yet you have 24hrs trial if you dont like it uninstall and you will be refunded. Hope that helps

dwertz said:
Mod. edit: No it's not. Warez link removed. This is a beta, the developer didn't consent it's distribution.http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=6805512#post6805512http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=6805512#post6805512
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it a free program?

it is in beta right now so for this version yes

HTC Evo - Two Weeks in Review

Hey Everyone,
I was asked today by a friend what my thoughts were on the Evo after two weeks of ownership, and was inspired to write up a first-hand review which I want to share with you.
What are your thoughts of the Evo after your first two weeks, what do you find to be it's strengths and weaknesses...and how would you compare it to other smart phones like the iPhone 4, Droid Incredible, and upcoming Droid X. Anyone with buyer's remorse?
Please try to keep fanboy/fangirl-ism to a minimum, if possible...as I'm really looking for unbiased feedback.
=======================
Friend's question: So how's that new phone treating you?
My thoughts:
Very good, but until it has "Froyo" 2.2 I have to bite my tongue on a final judgement.
On paper and in RL, the hardware specs are impressive.
Build quality is good (but not great) mostly due to issues I've read about with users experiencing a "glass separation" and grounding woes (resolved? as of the latest HTC firmware)... or maybe just plain separation anxiety from my G1 and a tactile keyboard...ok, bad joke. I haven't had any of the issues reported, but will say there is some minor light-leaking on the lower bezel of the phone, where the glass meets the plastic casing. Other than that, it'srock solid. No random crashes, no overheating, no dead pixels, no battery charging problems, no issues with mounting the phone to a PC or swapping the microSD card. Everything just works, as expected (which if you're shelling out 300 bucks for a phone, that's the minimum expectation). I also like the fact that there's a warranty option available for the purchase, unlike the iPhone.
The updated HTC Rosie/Sense UI is beautiful nearly flawless. Navigation is straight-forward, but I fear for a slightly older generation of users (e.g. anyone born before the 80s) it may seem too "busy" and overwhelming. HTC has done a lot to outperform Android's stock UI. Integrated multitouch (limited) for the home screen along with the Live Wallpapers integration (which are both fun and cheesy) is a pleasure to use. HTC's widgets are great (but not the best for application specific platforms like Twitter - use Seesmic instead, blows Twidroid out of the water). The HTC keyboard also blows the stock Android keyboard away.. I just wish the bloody thing integrated multi-touch interface (mostly for copy-pasting and capitalizing).
Sprint's network is impressive, but their 3G speeds seem a bit slower than my experience with T-Mobile. Until we have 4G here in FL, the jury's still out. In contrast, I also haven't had random network outages or call dropping as I was prone to with my G1 on T-Mobile. Over WiFi, YouTube and even embedded Flash videos (yes, I got the 2.1 flash pre-release) FLY like the wind and look stunning in HD. I'll also add....thanks to some savvy bargaining, my Sprint bill is 13% less than what I was paying T-Mobile. As a business, their customer service has been excellent, but it would help their sales if their sales associates had more tech knowledge. AT&T wins on that point, as their reps tend to know the iPhones inside-out, or at least talk the talk of "power users".
Camera takes great daytime photos and the recording in HD is impressive (albeit slight under-performance on frame rate capping, thanks to HTC...of course there's a hack to change that). Nighttime camera-work leaves some things to be desired (i.e. its grainy), but the built-in flash is decent and doubly effective for applications that use it as a LED flashlight.
Battery life, on the other hand, totally sucks. I'm a power user, so I frequently mass kill background apps to make phone resources available, but I still have to say there's no easy way to manage power for Android phones. I blame this on the Dalvik compiler, and I'm hoping 2.2 changes energy management....or at least gives app builders a better way to scale resource use for their applications (both background and foreground services).
Apps are still a major point of contention for me and Android...mostly because they're just not there (and are the ultimate deal breaker or maker for most Smartphone buyers). I initially blamed JAVA; but now I'm going to raise the bar and blame the often fragmented (and frustrating) Android framework and lack of developer marketing by Google AND the various carriers (which I think is just about all of 'em) selling Android-powered phones, save Verizon. You have to be a real cowboy to want to develop for Android mostly because it requires a cavalier attitude, since the code source requires a LOT of research. Apple has done a lot to enforce product standard for the iPhone apps out there, and I think it's time Google's marketplace stepped up to expect the same level of product quality. There's nothing more frustrating than downloading what one would expect to be a polished app (or even a clone for something iPhoney like Doodle jump) to find it bug ridden, unpolished or simply feel like a BETA release. This isn't to say that they all suck...but most unfortunately do. Again, hopefully the new VM will change this.
Oh, I forgot to mention Google Voice and integrated search/speech-to-text capabilities - they're amazing.

your review reads well. in the battery section, you should specify what you've tried to remedy the problem... there are tons of people, myself included, who make it through a day on heavy usage.
i have gmail push, always on data, calendar sync, and gps enabled. turned off gchat service, removed people widget, friend stream widget.
when my phone is idle i usually lost 1% every 90minute to 2 hours. and I can get 4-5 hours of heavy usage in before bar hits red.

Pardon me?!?!
"Navigation is straight-forward, but I fear for a slightly older generation of users (e.g. anyone born before the 80s) it may seem too "busy" and overwhelming."
Pre-70's here buddy... I have been playing with my 4hr old phone quite a bit already. So there.

muncheroo said:
your review reads well. in the battery section, you should specify what you've tried to remedy the problem... there are tons of people, myself included, who make it through a day on heavy usage.
i have gmail push, always on data, calendar sync, and gps enabled. turned off gchat service, removed people widget, friend stream widget.
when my phone is idle i usually lost 1% every 90minute to 2 hours. and I can get 4-5 hours of heavy usage in before bar hits red.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly muncheroo, I haven't done much by way of battery optimization but will start working out on it once I have a relative mental benchmark for battery life as of the latest update (which by the way has amped up my phone's lifespan quite a bit).

sablesurfer said:
Pardon me?!?!
"Navigation is straight-forward, but I fear for a slightly older generation of users (e.g. anyone born before the 80s) it may seem too "busy" and overwhelming."
Pre-70's here buddy... I have been playing with my 4hr old phone quite a bit already. So there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry sablesurfer, no offense meant!! I actually used that anecdote after showing off my Evo to my mom and a few mature coworkers. I got the same response from everyone - "It's beautiful but has so much going on, how do you keep track of everything!?"
The irony I think, is most of the widgets are all about improving efficiency and multitasking capabilities. :]

Good write up..
I would really love to see what people define as heavy usage. I'm sorry but I'm not buying the full day on one battery with heavy usage crap.
Sent from my EVO via Tapatalk

[Q] Switch from Tilt2 to Focus?

I think this may be a no-brainer. I spend so much on my Phone bill, that ATT is going to give me a Focus for free. (or one of many other phones of my choice).
I just got my Tilt 2 is running the exact way I want it to. Should I upgrade? How happy are you with WINMO 7 and Focus?
Yes I know it's a freebe, but if ATT is planning on coming out with another phone, I don't want to use up my free turn now. That's the only thing holding me back. Thanks.
Will

william8004 said:
I think this may be a no-brainer. I spend so much on my Phone bill, that ATT is going to give me a Focus for free. (or one of many other phones of my choice).
I just got my Tilt 2 is running the exact way I want it to. Should I upgrade? How happy are you with WINMO 7 and Focus?
Yes I know it's a freebe, but if ATT is planning on coming out with another phone, I don't want to use up my free turn now. That's the only thing holding me back. Thanks.
Will
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have the Tilt working the way you want it to, why would you switch? The Focus has functionality pretty much on the level of a severely retarded iPhone. It's nowhere near and nothing like the old Windows Mobile. Mine is sitting on my desk without a sim while I wait to see if Microsoft is actually serious or if I'll be getting an Android phone this summer. I've actually used my old Fuze more recently than the Focus because even tho it was slow, unstable and barely usable half the time, the other half of the time it did almost anything I needed to get done.

I am a previous Tilt and Tilt2 owner. I am now a Focus owner. The limitations of WP7 are out there and pretty well known. If any of those are critical to you, then don't switch. If you want a completely refreshing experience, no memory problems, apps that actually close when you close them, and not having to worry about constantly tweaking your phone, go with WP7. I don't regret it for a minute. Everybody is so worried about c&p (which is coming) and multitasking... there is something to be said about the WP7 experience. It has really grown on me. I go days without a soft reset. Marketplace occasionally hangs, which is my only complaint. The beautiful thing is that they are still on the first release. The most under talked about feature of WP7 is the People hub. It is really amazing how simple it is yet how it integrates all my contacts. I'm also a big OneNote user and I love this version. I do like a hardware keyboard, but this soft keyboard is just as good as the iPhone. Critics like to say the iPhone's keyboard is better because how could something be as good as an iPhone? Well, it actually is. I had an iPhone between my Tilt and Tilt2 and the WP7 keyboard is just as good. WP7 is not perfect (yet) but it's a great start. I don't even think about my Tilt2 anymore. I figured I'd buy the best of the first set of phones (Focus) early, then wait for a good second gen one to come out and get that in a year. I don't regret my decision for a second and would never go back.

FUZE
I moved from my FUZE to a Focus on December 27th and have never looked back. Like you, I got my FUZE where I wanted it with a custom Energy ROM and lots of tweaks and apps. It was an ongoing process that I had learned to live with. I had the Focus for 4 days before I swapped the SIM out of the FUZE. In fact, my FUZE is still on the charger.
All of this crap about C&P and multi-tasking is a tempest in a teapot. I haven't missed either and I use my phone hours each day. It is smooth, seemless and everything just works like WM 6.5 should have. I can't explain here what I love about WP7, it would take too long. You have to experience it to really understand.

This summarized my thoughts exactly.
smuook said:
I am a previous Tilt and Tilt2 owner. I am now a Focus owner. The limitations of WP7 are out there and pretty well known. If any of those are critical to you, then don't switch. If you want a completely refreshing experience, no memory problems, apps that actually close when you close them, and not having to worry about constantly tweaking your phone, go with WP7. I don't regret it for a minute. Everybody is so worried about c&p (which is coming) and multitasking... there is something to be said about the WP7 experience. It has really grown on me. I go days without a soft reset. Marketplace occasionally hangs, which is my only complaint. The beautiful thing is that they are still on the first release. The most under talked about feature of WP7 is the People hub. It is really amazing how simple it is yet how it integrates all my contacts. I'm also a big OneNote user and I love this version. I do like a hardware keyboard, but this soft keyboard is just as good as the iPhone. Critics like to say the iPhone's keyboard is better because how could something be as good as an iPhone? Well, it actually is. I had an iPhone between my Tilt and Tilt2 and the WP7 keyboard is just as good. WP7 is not perfect (yet) but it's a great start. I don't even think about my Tilt2 anymore. I figured I'd buy the best of the first set of phones (Focus) early, then wait for a good second gen one to come out and get that in a year. I don't regret my decision for a second and would never go back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Thresher said:
This summarized my thoughts exactly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Double ditto. Also went from Tilt -> Tilt2 -> Focus. Minor bugs are annoying, but the upsides win over the downsides

william8004 said:
I think this may be a no-brainer. I spend so much on my Phone bill, that ATT is going to give me a Focus for free. (or one of many other phones of my choice).
I just got my Tilt 2 is running the exact way I want it to. Should I upgrade? How happy are you with WINMO 7 and Focus?
Yes I know it's a freebe, but if ATT is planning on coming out with another phone, I don't want to use up my free turn now. That's the only thing holding me back. Thanks.
Will
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Focus is a great phone. To say that it's as functional as a severely retarded iPhone is extremely shortsighted and entirely subjective. If you find usb thumb drives to be too cumbersome for mass storage, need wifi internet sharing (the Focus tethers great with my Win 7 x64 laptop via usb), vcard support, or to send video via mms (although the camera in my TP2 sucks so bad I never used it) then stick with the tp2.
That being said, the Focus is MUCH faster and way more stable. Even oc'ed to 748 MHz my tp2 was extremely laggy, especially when sliding out the keyboard. I never thought I'd be able to do w/o a hardware keyboard, but, this one is fantastic. Unlike the iPhone, the auto-correct is right 95% of the time.
I, personally, can live w/o the missing feature for the time being.
Also, you may want to wait for the LTE rolling out later this year. If you're in one of the cities that will get it, it should be much faster than the current 3G and WP May introduce phones supporting it by the end of the year.

A lot of really nifty new hardware got announced at CES this past week. But then, if you're willing to wait, something better is always going to continually be coming down the pipe. If you're looking at what's out right now, you can do much worse than a Focus.
Personally, I much prefer using my Focus over my old Tilt2. About the only thing I really miss is the ability to connect to IRC. That one does irk me. Other than that, I really am digging the new toy.

I went from an HTC Wizard to the Tilt - I never got the Tilt2 - to a Samsung Focus. Only rarely do I miss a physical keyboard. I miss some of the apps - SPB Wallet, Vito Audio Notes Touch and Mobipocket Reader. I miss syncing Office docs but I don't miss Activesync issues. Occasionally I miss the Tilt's scroll wheel and Dpad but I'm getting over it.
The Focus' screen is so beautiful and the WP7 interface is really a joy. I love this phone - it's fast and responsive and pretty as hell. I know that I'll find new apps to replace my old ones in time and I'll adjust to the differences.
My advice is that if you have programs on your Tilt2 that you can't live without then you should think twice before moving on. But if you go into a store and take a look at the Focus you might just get one anyway.
As mentioned before if you're into social networking the People Hub just handles that integration really well. Also if you use Windows Live Photo Gallery Online and or Facebook for pictures the Pictures hub handles this great.
I'm not a gamer so the Xbox live thing doesn't do it for me.
So, I love the Focus but I'm waiting for the apps to catch up.

Here are my two choices.
1. go from tilt2 now to focus
2. wait and use my freebe on another phone in the future that ATT will carry.
???

wspaw said:
The Focus is a great phone. To say that it's as functional as a severely retarded iPhone is extremely shortsighted and entirely subjective. If you find usb thumb drives to be too cumbersome for mass storage, need wifi internet sharing (the Focus tethers great with my Win 7 x64 laptop via usb), vcard support, or to send video via mms (although the camera in my TP2 sucks so bad I never used it) then stick with the tp2.
That being said, the Focus is MUCH faster and way more stable. Even oc'ed to 748 MHz my tp2 was extremely laggy, especially when sliding out the keyboard. I never thought I'd be able to do w/o a hardware keyboard, but, this one is fantastic. Unlike the iPhone, the auto-correct is right 95% of the time.
I, personally, can live w/o the missing feature for the time being.
Also, you may want to wait for the LTE rolling out later this year. If you're in one of the cities that will get it, it should be much faster than the current 3G and WP May introduce phones supporting it by the end of the year.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not short-sighted, it's the way it is. I bought a Focus the day they went on sale but every day brought about at least a couple situations that the iPhone and Fuze could easily meet and the Focus had nothing. If it did any less Walmart could package it with a prepaid card and stick it on the rack with the $25 Nokia phones that come with $30 of talk time. I don't give a damn about copy/paste, the thing that made me put the sim card back into the iPhone was that the camera doesn't save it's settings. How asinine is that? Doesn't anyone at Microsoft even use a camera? Didn't anyone bother testing it? And *I'm* the short-sighted one? That's why I don't buy that rubbish about how it doesn't have any useful features because "it's two months old". And as hard as it was to believe, the browser is actually WORSE than the WinMo browser which, in the very least, could play audio and video streams. I'm half surprised WP7 didn't come with Trumpet Winsock to make a data connection. WP7 is stable because there's practically nothing to crash or freeze. WinMo is fast, too, when it has nothing to do and a 1 GHz processor to do it on. So if I had a Tilt2 and wanted something that was actually responsive and approached the same level of functionality, I'd get an iPhone or a decent Android phone for, I'd guess, the next year given how long it took Microsoft to get the current rendition of WP7 out the door.

markgamber said:
It's not short-sighted, it's the way it is. I bought a Focus the day they went on sale but every day brought about at least a couple situations that the iPhone and Fuze could easily meet and the Focus had nothing. If it did any less Walmart could package it with a prepaid card and stick it on the rack with the $25 Nokia phones that come with $30 of talk time. I don't give a damn about copy/paste, the thing that made me put the sim card back into the iPhone was that the camera doesn't save it's settings. How asinine is that? Doesn't anyone at Microsoft even use a camera? Didn't anyone bother testing it? And *I'm* the short-sighted one? That's why I don't buy that rubbish about how it doesn't have any useful features because "it's two months old". And as hard as it was to believe, the browser is actually WORSE than the WinMo browser which, in the very least, could play audio and video streams. I'm half surprised WP7 didn't come with Trumpet Winsock to make a data connection. WP7 is stable because there's practically nothing to crash or freeze. WinMo is fast, too, when it has nothing to do and a 1 GHz processor to do it on. So if I had a Tilt2 and wanted something that was actually responsive and approached the same level of functionality, I'd get an iPhone or a decent Android phone for, I'd guess, the next year given how long it took Microsoft to get the current rendition of WP7 out the door.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not saving camera settings is just dumb (I seriously doubt this will be an issue for long). The browser is far better on WP7. It accesses and renders pages faster than my wife's iPhone, let alone the TP2 (IE, Opera, Opera Mini, Skyfire, etc.). At least it WILL support flash compared to the iPhone. Can you edit Office docs on the iPhone? Kinda. But, the Office hub on the Focus is considered to add great functionality to the phone by many people. TP2 can do some of this, too, if you don't mind the lag. Typing is far more accurate for me on the Focus, coming from a hardware keyboard. Believe it or not, that affects the functionality of the phone, at least for me. The Focus can tether without additional cost. If you care about music the Zune Pass is outstanding. The Focus might not have much functionality for you, perhaps, but many others would disagree. Then again, maybe all of us happy Focus users are just retarded Walmart patrons.

All I have to say is I loved my Tilt2! I got a Focus with my upgrade. I figured I keep my Tilt2 to fall back to if I didn't like it. Needless to say I loved the Focus so much I gave...did you hear me... gave my Tilt 2 because I couldn't even justify putting a price on it. That's how different the Focus is. I've read all the complaints and ironically it's the exact same ones people gave as a reason the Iphone would fail. Hell I even mocked Iphone owners. Well we know how that turned out.
As far the browser, here in New Orleans(signals vary in every region) WP7 IE is faster than any WM browser I ever had Opera 9,9.5,9.7, 9.7 with Flash,10 beta,10 Mini,Skyfire, UCWeb6,6.7,7,7 release2, NetFront 3.4,3.5,4,4 updated, Bolt,Iris, Pocket IE, Uzard. The sad thing is all of these damn browsers were installed on my phone because none were good enough. With the Focus I released much like the Iphone people I mocked, I don't need most of that bullcrap. I don't know if the IP4 has a different browser version than the 3GS, but WP7 IE is just as fast and accurate. as my nephews 3GS.
As for saving camera settings, I never taught of this till you mentioned it. Now that you mentioned it, it sounds crazy to me to save the settings. I constantly take pictures with my phone for work. Unless I'm in the exact same conditions then saving the settings would be just a big pain. Obviously, someone in the Microsoft meeting must have mentioned this. Damned if they do damned if they don't.

bennyj71 said:
As for saving camera settings, I never taught of this till you mentioned it. Now that you mentioned it, it sounds crazy to me to save the settings. I constantly take pictures with my phone for work. Unless I'm in the exact same conditions then saving the settings would be just a big pain. Obviously, someone in the Microsoft meeting must have mentioned this. Damned if they do damned if they don't.
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You still are using a fixed set of settings, the default ones. If you are OK with those is no problem, but a user should still be able to customize the settings and then save them instead of always going back to default.

I am in my first day of "playing" with a Focus, coming from a Tilt 2. Sometimes I think I should have not started.
I love the simplicity but I miss the flexibility.
So far the biggest con for me is the small font used in various places that I find hard to read after using the phone for a while. Maybe it is time for glasses but get them only for the Focus? Too bad the font size cannot be adjusted other than the places where zooming works. Speaking of zooming I miss the reflow of text, so now after zooming I constantly have to scroll sideways to read a page.
When I got the Tilt 2 I thought I was going to use the slide out keyboard more. Turned out that I rarely used it so that was not an issue moving to the Focus. I do find the Focus keyboard very sensitive. The slightest touch or even coming close enough to the screen without actually touching registers on the touch screen. Even though the Focus screen keyboard keys are very close in size to the Tilt 2 screen keyboard I have lots of typos with the Focus. I guess though that this is something that gets overcome with time.
WiFi... cannot connect to hidden networks??? Please Microsoft, reconsider this.
Once connected to WiFi what is there to do other than using WiFi for data instead of 3G? I cannot connect to my Windows Home Server to save pictures and other documents or to load some documents for the road. I know I can go thru Skydrive but that's extra steps and maybe I have documents I would rather not upload to a third party server.
I would like a common email tile on the home screen instead of individual tiles for each account. The visible home screen is limited. HTC Sense does this beatifully.
Various apps that I use save their data somewhere in the phone's memory. I would like to be able to back it up at least by copying it to my laptop or home server. I do not see any sort of file management at the OS level where I could do this. Some apps save their data in the cloud... again a third party server.
But I do have another 25 days or so to play with the Focus. I'll see how things change.

Started with a Tilt --> iPhone --> Tilt2 and now Focus. The phone does have its quirks but I believe the pros outweigh the cons. The onscreen keyboard easily rivals or surpasses that of the iPhone. Transition between programs is fluid and seemless. The link with Xbox Live is awesome!
This is only day 2 of playing with this guy and I'm already hooked.

Just upgraded from the Tilt 2 (prior to that I used the original Tilt and then the Fuze) to the Samsung Focus -- and I will not be looking back. Finally a phone that works when I need it to! I'll trade a few, very minor limitations that I can work around for the lightning fast responsiveness of the WP7.
I can't count the number of times with the Tilt/Fuze/Tilt 2 that I stood outside an elevator needing to quickly look up a meeting room number or sitting in a meeting and needing to look up a phone number only to have it slowly lumber through the process at a snails pace with people waiting all around me in frustration. I need a phone that works in real world - real time - business situations. So I really value the simplicity and responsiveness of the Focus.
It's a keeper.

I also came from the long line of HTC phones and the iPhone3Gs. I upgraded to the Focus the day it hit the streets and as others have said I have never looked back. I do miss some of the customizing and some of the apps but in time they will come. I knew the limitations going in and while some of them have been a pain the pros way outweigh the cons. If MS keeps their word and gets the updates out and keeps them coming they have a big winner on their hands.

JamesAllen said:
I moved from my FUZE to a Focus on December 27th and have never looked back. Like you, I got my FUZE where I wanted it with a custom Energy ROM and lots of tweaks and apps. It was an ongoing process that I had learned to live with. I had the Focus for 4 days before I swapped the SIM out of the FUZE. In fact, my FUZE is still on the charger.
All of this crap about C&P and multi-tasking is a tempest in a teapot. I haven't missed either and I use my phone hours each day. It is smooth, seemless and everything just works like WM 6.5 should have. I can't explain here what I love about WP7, it would take too long. You have to experience it to really understand.
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My sentiments exactly. As a former Fuze owner, the only thing I miss are the physical keyboard, and specific apps. I purchased my Fuze the day it came out, and used it heavily during that time. I still find myself clicking on the search button to end a call, but that's a habit I'll break soon enough.
The keyboard is probably the best soft-keyboard I've tried, and I'm still learning little tips to make it even easier. That said, I really do miss the hard-keys.
The only other area of concern are the apps. I had a number of apps that I used daily, which sadly aren't yet available for Win7, and possibly may never be available.
Still, this phone is just amazing. It is extremely responsive to gestures, screens load quickly, and the screen will blow your socks off. Everyone who gets their hands on it just love it.
Now I purchased mine off contract on eBay for an incredibly good price. I doubt I would take on another contract with a phone this early in its development. If I were you, I'd wait it out a little longer. The Tilt2 is a good phone especially with custom ROMs loaded.

Wait until after the MWC in February. Some new WP7 phones might be announced then.