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I am a Xperia X1 user and am looking for a good android phone, which I have narrowed down to a Desire or a SGS.
I really like the added benefits of the SGS (Better Screen, 8GB internal memory, HD Video), but cannot deny the fact that the UI on the Desire (Sense) is much better than the Samsung setup….
What are your opinions on the standard system?
The reason why I am asking here is that you all will generally have experience with Sense, which all of the custom ROMs for my xperia has been brilliant over the past 18months (kept it alive).
I notice that the SGS XDA portal, has a lot less posts than the HTC Desire forum, but I am hoping that this is due to the fact that the Desire has been out longer than the Samsung.
I am due to upgrade my phone in 10 days so need to figure out which way to go.
All opinions are welcome!
When I purchase this phone my thought was:
1. UI and software can be update and modified, hardwares are fixed.
2. Communities and 3rd party supports for this phone, which are great right now.
These are enough for me.
djglenn1337 said:
I am a Xperia X1 user and am looking for a good android phone, which I have narrowed down to a Desire or a SGS.
I really like the added benefits of the SGS (Better Screen, 8GB internal memory, HD Video), but cannot deny the fact that the UI on the Desire (Sense) is much better than the Samsung setup….
What are your opinions on the standard system?
The reason why I am asking here is that you all will generally have experience with Sense, which all of the custom ROMs for my xperia has been brilliant over the past 18months (kept it alive).
I notice that the SGS XDA portal, has a lot less posts than the HTC Desire forum, but I am hoping that this is due to the fact that the Desire has been out longer than the Samsung.
I am due to upgrade my phone in 10 days so need to figure out which way to go.
All opinions are welcome!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've had an iPhone 3G and a 3GS. Sold the 3GS a month ago to buy the iPhone 4. Due to every shop being out of stock on these babys, I decided to give Android a chance.
I nearly bought the Xperia X10 but in some shop they had a Galaxy S Demo Unit. I grabbed it and fell in love with it. It's so light-weight compared to other smartphones!
When I went home with it, I read some footage about it on engadget, gizmodo, etc. I didn't know it was the strongest Android phone at this time. I was very surprised and even more in love!
The screen is a blast.
I was in the same situation, though I was coming from a WinMo handset. I'm so happy with my choice, I know a few nexus one and desire owners who are now wanting a SCS - which says a lot.
My last phone was an HD2 with WinMo 6.5.5 wich have a wunderful community (Android development very fast).
But the Samsung i9000 is a nice Phone, with a wunderful screen, and 720p videoplayback and recording. And of corse, Android.
(Faster than HD2 [thanks Android], more Apps, 720p rec/play, etc...)
Thanks very much for the feedback guys... its good to get opionions of Win Mo users switching, as most reviews I have read on the internet is based on prev Iphone users (who's opinions I do not value).
Are you guys mostly using the stock SGS software, or running custom roms?
laxtor said:
My last phone was an HD2 with WinMo 6.5.5 wich have a wunderful community (Android development very fast).
But the Samsung i9000 is a nice Phone, with a wunderful screen, and 720p videoplayback and recording. And of corse, Android.
(Faster than HD2 [thanks Android], more Apps, 720p rec/play, etc...)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you prefer this phone to your HD2? The HD2 was a great phone (as was the TyTn II)!
I am using factory's rom with a little bit of addition: rooting + auto killer to manage memories.
From an Omnia i900 winmo. 6.5.5 user, I have no lags problem on this phone.
Well, how about the opinion of a user switching between iPhone 3GS, Symbian s60v3 and v5, WinMo6, 6.1, and 6.5 and Android 1.5, 1.6, and 2.1 phones, in order to find my perfect suite?!? Actually my last/previous phone was Vivaz PRO
It is really the best phone that i laid my hands on up to now.
Hardware-wise, unbelievable super AMOLED multi-touch screen, fantastic HD video camera, super-fast CPU, a lot of RAM, 8GB internal memory and VERY VERY light! (OK, I miss the LED flash, but I can live with that).
Software-wise, I believe, after a lot of experience with multiple OSs, that Android is the future (at least for the next couple of years). Very smooth OS, open to do everything you wish (root, custom firmware, install pirate soft, etc) easily, and VERY FAST GROWING/UPDATING (compared with WinMo and symbian, that feel a bit ancient by now).
Go for it bro! You wont regret!
Just sold mine galaxy s on ebay.. and for a very good price I am so happy now
If you are like me and use gps navigation a lot, simply run away from this phone.
I am now back to my HD2 (so happy I did not sell it). No navigation software can compare with tom tom.
All in all galaxy s has:
Superb screen:
HD video recording
And that is about it….
The gps is rubbish, don’t listen to the people telling you that they fixed it…
All “fixes” are just to provide fast network location fix (which in most cases is inaccurate)
With my HD2 it does not matter how cloudy it is, and how tall are the buildings around me,
I have GPS fix in 3-5sec and I MEAN GPS FIX, not network location fix.
SO I KNOW EXACTLY WHERE I AM.
2 days ago I was in central London and tried to find the closest tesco with google maps…
After 5min I just gave up… galaxy s simply could not do it
With HD2 things like that takes 10 to 20 sec (including typing tesco in the search bar)
I am also very disappointed with the android OS,
This thing does not even support external gps… we had that in winmo 10 years ago…
It has all sorts of problems, for example application starting on the background (consuming data) and there is simply no way for the user to control that.
One more thing the internal memory card is very very very slow and this slows down the devise a lot. Sure people will tell you about the sd card fix but REALLYYYY… should I start fixing the Samsung rubbish? No thanks, will stay away from Samsung and android for another 2 years (at least)
same here i always purchase my smartphones by the hardware spec, and the amount of Forums/groups available for it.
unfortunately the HTC Athena was flawed, the device itself is amazingly great, howerver support for it was low.
SGS i9000 on the other hand has a very lively group just like HTC Desire
kcharng said:
When I purchase this phone my thought was:
1. UI and software can be update and modified, hardwares are fixed.
2. Communities and 3rd party supports for this phone, which are great right now.
These are enough for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mitko76 Good luck doing anything with GPS in central London...Buildings have this horrible side effect on ALL GPS systems.
Google maps is easily the best Search for phone, but not the greatest GPS, since is need a Connection to work if you deviate from the rout too much.
I've had this phone for w eek now and it is a great phone, there are a few niggles in the software, but believe me way less than stock windows mobile 6.5.
The screen isn;t as crisp as people would have you believe, White text on a dark background gives you a red effect around text and text Isn;t smooth, no where near the Iphone 4 IMO, however the contrast and colours are superb.
Give it a go if your on contract you have 7 days to return it.
Logicalstep
As a x1 user who has just upgraded to a Galaxy S a week past i can say that it is definetly worth it.
I did own a Desire for a day when i got it on contract but i didn't get coverage for the network in my area.
I find the Galaxy S to be a nicer looking phone, screen looks a lot brighter and better. Sound quality from the speaker is better and the UI also seems much faster.
It's a great phone, no questions asked, but you have to realize that it needs some work (like the fixes and all) and customization.
I'm using the imfamous JF3 stock rom and i do notice some lags and battery drain (but I use it very heavily, frequent syncs and updates, tons of widgets and all that) so i'm gonna switch over to the better ones.
I come from the Omnia II wich was a great phone but very poorly supported by samsung and the community. This isn't the case at all for the SGS. I used to have sense on my device, big fan of sense, but i like the SGS homescreen as well with the different pannels, really like it. Touchwizz is sort of a love/hate relationship
I'm loving android so far, even though i don't understand everything, i'm sure i could enhance my phone a lot.
hope this helps
Logicalstep said:
mitko76 Good luck doing anything with GPS in central London...Buildings have this horrible side effect on ALL GPS systems.
Google maps is easily the best Search for phone, but not the greatest GPS, since is need a Connection to work if you deviate from the rout too much.
I've had this phone for w eek now and it is a great phone, there are a few niggles in the software, but believe me way less than stock windows mobile 6.5.
The screen isn;t as crisp as people would have you believe, White text on a dark background gives you a red effect around text and text Isn;t smooth, no where near the Iphone 4 IMO, however the contrast and colours are superb.
Give it a go if your on contract you have 7 days to return it.
Logicalstep
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Logicalstep, that is what I am trying to explain .. I DO NOT NEED “Good Luck” when using my hd2’s gps in central London, it simply work. I work in central London so trust me, I know what I am talking about.
If you are coming from a phone with poor gps I can understand your point, but hd2 simply has a proper gps unit in it and it is working no matter where I am. With HD2 I can even get gps lock in the train (10 sec), tried this with galaxy s and guess what... it FAILED (after 10min).
You can keep convincing yourself that the buildings are high, the sky is cloudy or God knows what ..
But the simple truth is the gps is rubbish.
Keep waiting for the NEXT firmware to fix the issues, and when it failed keep waiting for the next one and so on....
Mitko please do us a favour and leave the forum, we know that you sold your Galaxy S, and frankly its quite boring to see you posting on every thread and preaching slander. The GPS does take a short while to position (about 30-40 secs) but after that it works perfectly for me. I have used it on several occasions when lost in central London.
Since last December I've owned the following handsets: N900, HD2, Desire, X10, Galaxy S.
Of all of these the Galaxy S is my favorite, followed very closely by the HD2.
NZtechfreak said:
Since last December I've owned the following handsets: N900, HD2, Desire, X10, Galaxy S.
Of all of these the Galaxy S is my favorite, followed very closely by the HD2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Coming from you that is high praise indeed.
Loving my SGS, no way am I going back to Symbian.
On my side I am coming from winmo6.5 and then iphone3GS
if i had an advice to give you in order to choose between the desire and the samsung it would be to know that :
* you won't have HTC sense on samsung ... I mean really nothing comparable.
* there is almost no button on the samsung .No trackball ( painfull for selection) no LED ... and it's quite annoying some time
Yes when I compare both with my colleague , mine has a better screen ( bigger , brighter) but it will worth it if you watch a lot of video or look at a lot of picture. If it's just to have more beautifull icon ... you will forget it looks better after few weeks
I am still a little bit uncertain about the GPS ... I need to do more tests and to check the settings I could enhance but it can't be compared to my TomTom ( on both winmo and iphone)
Hopefully there will be soon a real fix for the slowness of the SD card ... hopefully ...
Thanks guys, this is brilliant information!
I used the phone briefly in a phone shop yesterday, and I have to say that it looks very impressive! Especially compared to my x1 running Windows 6.5.3. The only first negative impression that I had was how cheap and flimsy the back cover was...but I hey, I know no phone will be perfect.
When my contract is up next week, and I am going to go for the SGS and as Logicalstep has commented I have 7 days to return it if unhappy.
I really appreciate the feedback, as it has made me allot more comfortable with going for the SGS.
djglenn1337 said:
Thanks guys, this is brilliant information!
I used the phone briefly in a phone shop yesterday, and I have to say that it looks very impressive! Especially compared to my x1 running Windows 6.5.3. The only first negative impression that I had was how cheap and flimsy the back cover was...but I hey, I know no phone will be perfect.
When my contract is up next week, and I am going to go for the SGS and as Logicalstep has commented I have 7 days to return it if unhappy.
I really appreciate the feedback, as it has made me allot more comfortable with going for the SGS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure you will enjoy it
And honestly i agree about the cheap looking back but honestly that's why it is so light and you forget about this quickly.
Especially if you add a case ( you have some very thin one)
For the past 6 years I have always had HTC phones.
But it was time for change I decided to go for the Samsung Omnia 7 as I'm little disappointed with HTC's offering of Mozart and HD7, it seems lately HTC is offering better android devices than wp7!
IMHO Omnia 7 is the best Samsung have produced in a long while usually there handsets feel very plastic and cheap i.e. Galaxy S etc...
The Omnia 7 has a nice solid feel due to the aluminium wrap and battery cover, with only polycarbonate plastic for top and bottom. The Super AMOLED screen is awesome it just really shows off the wp7 metro UI!
I could be wrong but I think Omnia 7 has Gorilla Glass because I've already had the device for the last 2 weeks and have dropped it few times and there are no scratches and if you look close the screen is not that thick compared to htc devices again a strong indicator for it being gorilla glass (Gorilla glass tend be thinner yet be strong like normal thick glass and be scratch resistant)
Design wise I think Samsung got it right, I like the square look which really goes well with the wp7 OS granted the back part could have been designed better as it does look boring and rather dated!
Overall I'm very happy with the handset and really surprised by the battery life it's impressive I get a full day and half and thats with Wi-Fi on, BT on, 40 min web browsing and about 20-30 min of calls!
My only gripe with Omnia 7 is the 8GB storage with no room to expand i.e. no MicroSD slot
I think will upgrade to the 16GB version if and when it's available in the UK.
gfreek said:
IMHO Omnia 7 is the best Samsung have produced in a long while usually there handsets feel very plastic and cheap i.e. Galaxy S etc...
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Click to collapse
Actually, the Galaxy S is one of the few handsets from Samsung that feel cheap.
I had some Samsung handsets during my life, the last I recall are the Wave and the Ultratouch and they had excellent quality -as did the other ones I had before.
I also used some HTC phones (Diamond, Touch Pro2, HD2) and, although they were good ones, they always felt cheap overall or in details.
...but to get to the point:
Yeah, I understand your feelings about the Omnia7. I have it for a week now and it is -designwise as qualitywise- the only handset here in Austria that is good enough to be a proper WindowsPhone7 device.
LG and HTC are missing the design for their phones, and additionally, HTC has big problems with slow memory and hardware/software failures.
I am glad I got the Omnia7, even if it's 8GB only.
Hi skycamefalling !
I've personally never used a samsung device and since I discovered xda I've played a lot with my first real smart phone ! I have been all in all happy with the quality of htc but since WP7 is coming and after reading a lot of reviews/comparisons I wasn't so sure any more about htc, at least related to the few WP7 handheld releases.
My company decided to take a look at all new mobile operating systems and so I got the chance to take one WP7 device for business and personal use. I neither wanted an iPhone 4 nor an Android and since I'm using android for personal stuff my choice went clearly for WP7 because I'm curious about microsoft's new mobile os even if it's version 1.0.
I got today a chance to look at htc hd7, trophy and omnia 7 and after playing a little bit with all devices my decision went for the omnia. I was surprised how much quality samsung put in their WP7 flagship and due to Microsoft's OEM restrictions Samsung could not really fail with the software compared to the android section.
Marvelous display, perfect size, nice build quality and I couldn't resist to take the omnia 7
I can't wait to play more with the device, my first impressions are very positive.
Regards
m8tix said:
due to Microsoft's OEM restrictions Samsung could not really fail with the software compared to the android section.
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Click to collapse
That's a very good point. Samsung UIs always failed big time. The main reasons for me to buy HTC phones the last years have been the wonderful TouchFlo3D/Sense-UI and the great community with lots of custom ROMs.
Now the UI is made by Microsoft and Samsung can focus on the hardware.
In my opinion, WP7 shalt have a mature shell -edges, black metal and an AMOLED-screen (and a bigger battery than the competition, of course ).
I wish us both the fewest problems possible with the Omnia
That's a very good point. Samsung UIs always failed big time. The main reasons for me to buy HTC phones the last years have been the wonderful TouchFlo3D/Sense-UI and the great community with lots of custom ROMs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know exactly what you're talking about, a friend of mine is using the galaxy s and he always complains about a lot of bugs in samsung's os customizations and not to mention how long it took to release the 2.2 android os. And the best thing is, he was not able to install the 2.2 update with the crappy kies software.
That was my only concern but as I said, one (fair) point for microsoft because of their restrictions and I think it's not a bad decision (i.e. faster updates, so we don't have to wait for a oem/provider specific update which in most cases takes ages)
In my opinion, WP7 shalt have a mature shell -edges, black metal and an AMOLED-screen (and a bigger battery than the competition, of course ).
I wish us both the fewest problems possible with the Omnia
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good points, thanks, I'm definitely with you
---
Finally arrived home, now it's time for some extensive testing !
Regards
I originally I started out with the Att 8525, then moved on to the HTC Fuze, which was a great phone but I had some issues with it, after years of hardwork and abuse, so I needed to get a new phone. I eneded up getting the HTC Aria but I wasnt happy with the Android OS, so I just bought a Samsung Focus.
Now AT&T is releasing the HTC HD7s in a few weeks, so im thinking should I return the focus and just wait for the HTC HD7s instead?
The only complaint I have about the focus is the bluetooth dips in and out when I use it in my car.
Just want some thoughts and input on this, Thanks
I had the Hd7 on tmob and have a focus now. I prefer the focus for its screen and size. Both run about the same other than that. I would go in and put the focus up next to the Inspire ( Inspires screen is a little better than the tmob hd7 imho) but will give you an idea of size difference. All the rest will be the same with the exception of nodo lol. Not sure if we will ever get it and the hd7s comes with it
I love my Focus, but the S-LCD on the HD7 should give comparible performance. However, I think AT&T should start carrying more models with a hardware keyboard as well. The LG Quantum isn't bad, but it's not for me. I'm waiting on something similar to the HD 7 Pro.
HD 7 Pro, S-LCD screen, HSPA+ or LTE = perfection (or close to it).
I have to agree. The only thing you pick HD7s over Focus is the better chance to get updates. S-LCD makes it better than T-Mo HD7 screen but still not up to par with S AMOLED. Otherwise, both phones are about equal with the exception of storage (8GB on Focus vs 16 GB on HD7s). Given the multitude of problems with SD cards on Focus, you should just forget the expandability of storage on Focus.
TestTest69 said:
The only complaint I have about the focus is the bluetooth dips in and out when I use it in my car.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My bluetooth goes in and out as well. Is this a known Samsung problem, I thought it was my headset but $50 later and I still have the problem.
I bought the samsung and haven't been happy with it, can find a working MicroSD for it. The Gorilla Glass is very scratchable (what gives). And now stories of the phone catching on fire. Let alone Samsung single handed derailing the whole phone update process.
I don't think I would recommend Samsung, go with the HTC you will get alot more dev resources over there as well.
Super LCD screens are comparable to AMOLED screens. The Super AMOLED technology is still superior to the S-LCD. You get deeper blacks and a much better contrast ratio on the Super AMOLED, but then again, the colors aren't as much over saturated on the S-LCD screen.
Windows Phone 7 (and the Metro UI) was clearly designed with Super AMOLED tech in mind, so I'd still favor that.
With that said, I must admit that my Samsung Focus did die on me, and now I'm just stuck with a brick because there isn't any community development going on the Focus (hence no ROMs) like there is for the HTC devicse.
I really loved my Focus, but I think I've had enough with Samsung devices for a while and HTC seems to be the better choice now.
I and eagerly looking forward to see how good the screen looks on HD7s. While I was happy with WP7 even though I miss Swype and GoogleTalk (multi-tasking) I just couldn't hold on to Focus for more than 2-3 weeks mainly because of the missing LED notification. I am so used to it on my X10.
It's strange that Samsung doesn't have LED notification on most of their phones. Also, Focus was my first Samsung phone and I couldn't stand that UGLY huge SAMSUNG label on the front of the phone.
Well this bluetooth issue with my phone going in and out, is really annoying and its unbearable to have a conversation on.
I believe it to be an issue with the phone, as all the other phones I had paired with my car, worked flawlessly.
I made up my mind to return the phone and exchange it for the Htc Hd7s, if its available in the next 30 days, if not then I will purchase it when it becomes available.
I also agree with there not being alot of support for this phone. There are soo many users and developers for HTC.
Thanks for the help guys
The bluetooth issue is a known issue for the phone, not your BT headset, although I'm not sure if it is Samsung specific or WP7 in general.
BTW, according to the spec sheet I found from AT&T site, HD7s only supports 850 and 1900 3G bands while Focus supports additional 2100 Mhz 3G band. This means you will not get 3G in Europe and most other countries and no signal what so ever in Jappen using HD7S. This is a bummer but not supprising beause the last HTC phone I owned (HTC Pure) also lacks 2100 band.
I have a Focus and a T9193 HD2 running WP7. I far prefer using the HD2, and I will be selling the Focus and getting the HD7S.
The build quality of the Focus is atrocious. It's a cheap piece of plastic, and I'm afraid it's going to break every time I need to swap SIMs. The HD2 is a far better built phone. The screen brightness of the Focus is nice, but it is noticeably smaller.
I hope the HD7S is at least close to the HD2 in build quality. I'm actually tempted to get a HD7 from Telstra to avoid whatever shenanigans AT&T is going to do with updates for the HD7S.
I also have a lot more faith in HTC hackers than Samsung hackers for getting things on the phone.
Tempest790 said:
I love my Focus, but the S-LCD on the HD7 should give comparible performance. However, I think AT&T should start carrying more models with a hardware keyboard as well. The LG Quantum isn't bad, but it's not for me. I'm waiting on something similar to the HD 7 Pro.
HD 7 Pro, S-LCD screen, HSPA+ or LTE = perfection (or close to it).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Has to also include a 4" screen or no thank you.
Which WP7 is the best?
Hi guys, I want to ask for opinions which WP7 is the best. I was considering as the best the Focus model of Samsung mostly because of the S-AMOLED display, the MicroSD expansion slot, and the 1500mAh battery. But we dont have that phone in Europe, so if I want to get one I should buy it from USA. Here, in my country, on the market we have HTC Mozart, HTC HD7, and LG Optimus 7, so if someone can tell me which of these models is the "best" (I know that the word "best" is relative, but still ), or maybe it is worth to purchase Samsung Omnia 7 or Samsung Focus from abroad.
Tnx in advance .
worker_x said:
Hi guys, I want to ask for opinions which WP7 is the best. I was considering as the best the Focus model of Samsung mostly because of the S-AMOLED display, the MicroSD expansion slot, and the 1500mAh battery. But we dont have that phone in Europe, so if I want to get one I should buy it from USA. Here, in my country, on the market we have HTC Mozart, HTC HD7, and LG Optimus 7, so if someone can tell me which of these models is the "best" (I know that the word "best" is relative, but still ), or maybe it is worth to purchase Samsung Omnia 7 or Samsung Focus from abroad.
Tnx in advance .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The advantage of Focus is just a microSD slot. Given that it doesn work for majority of microSD cards out there, do you still think it is an advantage?
Otherwise, Omnia 7 is quite similar to Focus. They both share the same screen and fast NAND storage. Unfortunately also the same crappy Samsung firmware that gave Mircosoft so much trouble to push the updates out (Samsung almost single handedly stop all MS WP7 updates).
So, if you like the screen and speed of Samsung phones, just pick up a Omnia 7 with 16GB of storage. Getting a Focus from US has following issues as well:
1. It is locked to AT&T and only a few places have unlock code for it.
2. Even if you get it unlocked, you still need to manually switch/re-configure the internet connections and MMS is a big headache to change.
3. It only supports one band of 3G for Europe (2100MHz). If your carrier of choice is not using 2100Mhz for 3G, your phone will only be running at much slower EDGE speed.
Any idea about the battery life of...
Thank you very much foxbat121.Do you have any idea about the battery life of the Mozart and the HD7? I want to know how is the battery life of Mozart compared to HD7, whether the difference is big? If the difference is not so big, I will rather buy HD7 because of the larger screen (the camera is not so important to me ).
TestTest69 said:
I originally I started out with the Att 8525, then moved on to the HTC Fuze, which was a great phone but I had some issues with it, after years of hardwork and abuse, so I needed to get a new phone. I eneded up getting the HTC Aria but I wasnt happy with the Android OS, so I just bought a Samsung Focus.
Now AT&T is releasing the HTC HD7s in a few weeks, so im thinking should I return the focus and just wait for the HTC HD7s instead?
The only complaint I have about the focus is the bluetooth dips in and out when I use it in my car.
Just want some thoughts and input on this, Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the T-Mobile HD7 and loved it....hardware-wise, I mean. The AT&T HD7 will be even better with the S-LCD. My Inspire has that S_LCD and it's gorgeous. But I now have a Focus and really am appreciated the style of it. I'm a bit concerned about the SD card and camera, but am hoping, when the NoDo update gets here, they will be resolved.
50/50 on which ever way to go. I don't see any harm in either decision. The Focus screen is plenty large enough to be just as usable as the HD7 screen.
worker_x said:
Thank you very much foxbat121.Do you have any idea about the battery life of the Mozart and the HD7? I want to know how is the battery life of Mozart compared to HD7, whether the difference is big? If the difference is not so big, I will rather buy HD7 because of the larger screen (the camera is not so important to me ).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry I have no experience with those two. Currently, Samsung WP7 phones (Focus and Ominia 7) are top notch compared to HTC and LGs in following areas:
1. Speed. Samsung uses high speed NAND chip on the mother board for storage while others use cheap class 2 microSD cards (not user accessible without break the seal). As a result benchmarks consistently show two Samsung phones are faster than others when loading games and apps. Not sure what's the impact of NoDo on this.
2. AMOLED screen. Simply the best screen out there. The original HD7 comes with cheap low quality LCD and LG is similar. The new HD7s with SLCD is better but still not up to par with AMOLED screen, IMO.
3. Size, I've tried phones with different size screens. 4.3" is simply too big. 4" AMOLED screen is a perfect size balancing between screen size and portability.
The downside of Samsung is poor quality control and buggy firmware.
foxbat121 said:
Sorry I have no experience with those two. Currently, Samsung WP7 phones (Focus and Ominia 7) are top notch compared to HTC and LGs in following areas:
1. Speed. Samsung uses high speed NAND chip on the mother board for storage while others use cheap class 2 microSD cards (not user accessible without break the seal). As a result benchmarks consistently show two Samsung phones are faster than others when loading games and apps. Not sure what's the impact of NoDo on this.
2. AMOLED screen. Simply the best screen out there. The original HD7 comes with cheap low quality LCD and LG is similar. The new HD7s with SLCD is better but still not up to par with AMOLED screen, IMO.
3. Size, I've tried phones with different size screens. 4.3" is simply too big. 4" AMOLED screen is a perfect size balancing between screen size and portability.
The downside of Samsung is poor quality control and buggy firmware.
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Click to collapse
You have any idea what class sd card would equal the Sammy NAND speed?
I have not done any speed test on the Focus NAND storage because there is no easy to do so. However, if my Samsung Captivate's built-in 16GB NAND storage is any indication of Focus' speed, it is easily class 6 or better. I've reached 8 to 9 MBps real world file writing speed when using it as a USB mass storage on a PC, on par with most class 6 SD cards. My class 2 16GB Micro Center branded microSD card is around 3 to 4 MBps.
foxbat121 said:
I have not done any speed test on the Focus NAND storage because there is no easy to do so. However, if my Samsung Captivate's built-in 16GB NAND storage is any indication of Focus' speed, it is easily class 6 or better. I've reached 8 to 9 MBps real world file writing speed when using it as a USB mass storage on a PC, on par with most class 6 SD cards. My class 2 16GB Micro Center branded microSD card is around 3 to 4 MBps.
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I never saw a class 6 Sandisk card in that compatible list. I might try one some time in the future but for now, the class 4 should be much better than the HD7's class 2 card. It should allow the Focus to run at least faster than the HD7.
If I were you, I won't use any microSD card in Focus for now. Those with NoDo updated didn't seem to improve this much. So, it remains to be seen that the microSD card issue can be fixed by a firmware update or not.
On my son's launch day Focus, my 16GB microSD card lasted about two months without problem. Then one day he reboots the phone and lost access to entire storage system. It's really a pain to re-configure your phone after two months of usage.
Just got a Focus a few days ago for my wife. It comes with newer firmware but I decided not to take the risk with microSD card again.
I have been considering the jump from Android to WP7 and was wondering if the Trophy was the best all round device. I was considering the LG but it doesn't seem to get as much interest on here compared to other WP7 devices plus I am not all that convinced by LG. As to the Omnia 7, having owned the original GS I am not all that sold on super AMOLED screens. As for the Mozart well that I might consider, if only it was sold SIM free in the UK.
Actualy, hardware wise, all wp7 models are outdated. Take the HD2 and you have the basic windows phone. The Trophy is the cheapest model and considering the fixed hardware base, it's a winner. The screen is big enough, the perfect size for a phone. The build quallity is excellent, the materials too. Buttons are easy to pres. You get all the basics.
The screen, talking about the latest models, is a S-LCD, not the best black on the market by far, some ghosting effect is here to be seen too, but the touch is very responsive. Brightness is allright in dark places and on direct sunlight the phone is still usable. Battery is not the strongest point here, compared to the HD7, but a full day of use is what you get. With moderate use you go for 2 days without a problem. GPS connectivity is almost instant in open areas.
One problem with all HTC phones is the "internal storage" and the lack of the accessable SD Card slot. So with 8gb of space you are what limited. If you have in mind to expand the Trophy, you have a moderate level of difficulty when opening it. The Mozart is the hardest one, the HD7 is the easyest, you can change the card there with absolutelly no traces or warranty void.
Performance wise everything is the same, exept the difference in write speeds on the SD Card compared to other brands like Samsung. HTC are using Sandisk Class 4 cards but they are not very fast somehow. ( i have a class 2 card in mine atm. and i cannot find a difference , if not faster it's the same for me )
Last but not least is the price. The Trophy can be found for 180-200 EUR, a device with enough power in a very low price tag. I thing that with mango on the horizont the Trophy will become a very tasty product.
It's a personal decision, but i recommend the phone after using it for a month and comparing it to other HTC and Samsung devices on the market.
Thanks for your feedback on it. As you say it's a shame that all the range of WP7 models are slightly off the pace when it comes to the current generation of hardware.
No, not the best, but nice
If you have a choice, go with LG. They can be unlocked using some tool even after NoDo update from what I understand (do your research though, I haven't tried it since I don't have an LG). I understand tethering is also possible with it.
Focus has better screen (or so everyone says).
I love my Trophy, but I didn't really have a choice - that was the only device available to me. So I am not going to "disrecommend" it, but there are definitely better devices out there (depending on what you value).
GadgetMan2011 said:
If you have a choice, go with LG. They can be unlocked using some tool even after NoDo update from what I understand (do your research though, I haven't tried it since I don't have an LG). I understand tethering is also possible with it.
Focus has better screen (or so everyone says).
I love my Trophy, but I didn't really have a choice - that was the only device available to me. So I am not going to "disrecommend" it, but there are definitely better devices out there (depending on what you value).
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Having looked into this some more doesn't the LG have some kind of issue with its Bluetooth chip?
Well IMHO, the Focus is the best wp7 out there today:
GOOD
======
-Screen - AMOLED and bigger than the trophy's
-Memory - expandable
-Camera - takes great pics and videos
-Super Lightweight and feels good in the hand
BAD
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-Plastic body feels a little cheap.
-ATT (sorry not a big fan of them, even though I've been with them for 3 years now).
I've been waiting for Verizon to finally get a WP7 phone so I can switch back, unfortunately the Trophy is not the phone I was waiting for. The wife who's on Verizon right now is also dying to go WP7, but going from the droid x's huge screen to the trophy's tiny screen (relative to most smart phones out there today) just didn't cut it for her.
But hey, if you like the Tophy, go for it! It'll do most everything a WP7 phone can do just as well as the others.
Dear users,
Im doubting between an Omnia 7 and an HTC HD7.
Today I visited the Omnia 7 forum for the first time, but I can see that there are a lot of complaints. So now it made me doubt between the omnia 7 and the hd7.
What is your advice, should I buy the Omnia 7(it is much cheaper) or the hd7?
Thanks!
BTW: I'm currently using an AT&T Samsung Captivate, which is being repaired at the moment. I'm done with Android, that is why I want a Windows Phone.
Hi,
A few months ago I loved this phone and would have reccomended it. I've now had it a year, my sister has one too. However as you can see by a post I started the other day over time it's developing more and more problems.
These are not WP7 problems... i'd say they are related to the Samsung firmware aspect.
I love the WP7 platform, my next phone will definitely be WP7. However I will more than likely go for a Nokia. Is the Lumia not an option for you?
My personal opinion is that i could not reccomend this model to anyone. If I was offered a replacement for a HD7 now i'd take it.
Sorry to sound negative, there are many people here who are pefectly happy with theirs. I may just be unlucky with mine.
Well, I own an Android phone right now and I want to test windows 7 myself before buying a more expensive phone. I want to use a 'cheaper' wp7 phone for like a year and then buy a phone like the HTC Titan.
The Lumia looks good,but is now way too expensive plus I want a 4.0 inch or bigger screen.
JigsterNL said:
Well, I own an Android phone right now and I want to test windows 7 myself before buying a more expensive phone. I want to use a 'cheaper' wp7 phone for like a year and then buy a phone like the HTC Titan.
The Lumia looks good,but is now way too expensive plus I want a 4.0 inch or bigger screen.
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Click to collapse
...sorry for my poor english
I recommend you a samsung omnia 7.
previosly I had a HD7 for few months- but the omnia 7 are much better, faster, with best super AMOLED, good battery time and my was 200,00 €. The screen from HD7 is more grey as black. I'm very happy with my omnia7 ... Is also very good with finctions and jailbreak ...
and if 3,7" the htc mozart are a good and cheap
I just don't want to flash or do anything with the phone, just install the updates through Zune. So no modding at all
For starters, this is my opinion.
The Omnia 7 has a far better screen (AMOLED) and the battery life is better. The looks and feels of the Omnia 7 is also better than the HD7.
But if you want to spend some more bucks I would also advice to buy the Lumnia 800.
Hey there,
I can recommend you the Omnia 7. I (we) got 3 of them.
One for myself, one for my father and recently bought one for my brother.
I did not expirience any troubles till now. Samsung Omnia 7 was the best of all Windows Phones, before Nokia Lumia, HTC Titan and the rest began to appear. There have been hundrets of reviews saying the same.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/index.php?title=Samsung_Omnia_7
The phone its worth its price, its even too cheap for it. 16 Gigs, a cripst Super Amoled screen, pretty good battery life, and a neat design.
When looking on the phone, it simply looks like something unique when you see the tiles flowing through your screen with the black background and the black design.
Amoled screens offer the best black color, its the darkest of them all. Also the contrast, viewing angles and the brightness is better compared to S-LCD's like of the HD7.
I didn't like the HD7, it kind of feels a bit too "massive" and "cheap" I would say. In my opinion it looks like a brick.
I felt for the Omnia 7 design which is like a chocolate bar. It also fits pretty well into your hands, its not too big, not too small. Because of the curved back it is easy to hold. Also it doesn't make you think its some cheap hardware you paid a bunch of money for.
The aluminium back feels some kind of soft, if the phone was used for a while and got warm. You can warm it with your hands pretty easily within a short time.
The camera is pretty good for a phone I would say, it takes awesome pictures at daylight. In night its still well, but you can notice some edges that are not as sharp as in daylight. Still a lot better than the HD7's capabilities of recording.
In video mode, you can take videos up to 720p. It looks vivid and fast on VGA recording, but you will notice some performance loss when recording 720p. (Its also normal, same stuff on any other wp7, except 2nd generation like lumia)
The video playback (1080p movies and the recorded ones) are damn smooth.
No pixel errors, natural colors and it doesnt get stuck at all. You wont notice anything slowing down, also not at web playback like youtube videos on 1080p or megavideo ones.
I have had before a Samsung Galaxy S I9000, before I switched to HTC Mozart and then to Omnia 7.
If I it was necessary, I would buy another one of this one.
When you buy the phone, you are supplied an older version of the OS running on it. It is laggy and simply said sucks. Later you receive the NoDo update providing a huge boost in performance. The last update you receive will be the Mango one as you know, it changes the whole phone and it cannot be compared anymore to the ones running older versions of WP. It will get very fast.
I compared mine with carried supplied OS (older than NoDo), with the NoDo one of my father, and my own one with 7720 (now 7740). You can notice big differences.
I spent a bunch of time writing this, so others can also read this.
I cant complain about this phone after 1 year of usage and recommend it to everyone. You wont find another phone this good for 200 bucks.
Hardware is fine, Quality is fine, Screen is fine. Doesnt feel cheap and comes with pretty good Headphones.
If you want an experiment, sure go for it. If not go for one of the new models, Nokia Lumia 800 would be my best advise. It has superior build quality and a good screen. Nokia is also known for good support and quick updates and fixes.
Thank you guys (and thanks for the long review) I'm going to overthink this now more serious.
I'll will also recommend to buy Nokia, if you can.
Samsung Omnia 7 is very good device.
I have mine for nearly a month and already two accident drops - one from nearly 1 m on it's screen, no scratch or anything problem after that
If I buy a new phone I would rather buy an HTC Titan than a lumia
Well it depends what you want.
If you want to save some money and still get the best of the first generation, pick the Omnia 7.
Else if you got a big bank next to you, take as stated before either the Lumia or the Titan.
Titan offers a bigger screen, while Nokia has a smaller and better one.
The Lumia looks better and has exclusive apps. Later also Nokia exclusive games will follow. You do even get a 50 bucks gift card to buy apps.
So yeah its up to you.
Are you guys all some kind of Nokia supporters
I'd say Windows Phone 7 in general and Samsung Omnia 7 specially is not where you can play a lot ... so if you want to get a phone that calls and runs only few apps and that's it, then go for it, otherwise if you want to experience with it, then this is not the right choice.
as I understood from what you earlier wrote, I guess you already made your choice and you'll go for Omnia 7.
enjoy it bro
JigsterNL said:
Well, I own an Android phone right now and I want to test windows 7 myself before buying a more expensive phone. I want to use a 'cheaper' wp7 phone for like a year and then buy a phone like the HTC Titan.
The Lumia looks good,but is now way too expensive plus I want a 4.0 inch or bigger screen.
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Click to collapse
lol you sound just like me! I have an HTC Desire HD and it's currently off for repairs too. I've been curious about WinPho 7 for a while and the Microsoft demo site for it, despite being really limited, impressed me. I've got an Omnia 7 coming to me on Wednesday. I'll post my thoughts as an Android user when I get it up and running. This will also be my first Samsung phone so that's another first for me to experience but I am looking forward to it, especially that gorgeous screen!
I've had a few days to play with the phone now and overall it's pretty solid. The screen on the Samsung is gorgeous with black areas looking like there's no screen on at all instead of the muddy, dark grey on my Desire HD.
The UI is simple to use, transitions are quick and apps load quickly enough like the DHD. Unfortunately there are still limited amounts of apps with it looking like there are far more paid than free apps in comparison to Android. Sadly I'm also noticing a lack of apps that I would normally use with a few exceptions. A few apps I have like Shazam Encore is being charged at £3.99 on the WinPho 7 Marketplace but far less on the Android Market. I can't say what it normally costs currently as it's on sale for 10p. The main apps you might use like Twitter, Facebore ... sorry Facebook and YouTube are available and the UI is the same throughout each so you always know how to find items. A bonus that seems to be applicable to all apps is that they have a "Try" option. They might be limited in some way or have ads displayed. If you like it you can "Buy" it, and it'll unlock or remove ads. Similar to Android offering refunds but with this I don't think there are limits on trials unless they're displayed in the description.
You can sync photos to SkyDrive when they're taken or choose to upload them manually but there's no Dropbox app available currently. The easiest way I found to get images on the phone for use as wallpapers (lockscreen and photo hub background) was to create a folder on my PC, drop the images in and sync it.
Auto-rotate..... oh boy do I hate this. Auto-rotate is always on and there's no toggle option to turn it off. Why is it an issue? I use my phone in bed to check a few things like Twitter or if I get a text message and after unlocking it and loading the app it'll flip to landscape unless I sit up. Small annoyance but one Android lets you toggle. It's quick enough to rotate and it might not annoy others but that's my thought on it.
Background updates are something I was curious about since it wasn't allowed outside a few apps at launch but has supposedly been allowed more widely in Mango / 7.5 and that may be true but finding apps that take advantage of it isn't easy. Mango apps can use live tiles that update in the background but unless you know an app can do it you'd normally end up looking through each one to find it mentioned. There is an app that will help you do it called AppFlow but if you didn't know that you'd be stuck. I'd like to say that the apps I have with live tiles enabled work flawlessly but they don't. I have a Twitter app (not the official app, that sucks just like on Android) that supposedly updates every 30 minutes or so (no option to choose) and I have not yet seen a live tile update from it even with the option selected. I may be doing something wrong, I don't know, I'm still getting used to things. I'm pretty sure I know what I'm doing though and if so then background updating needs work or apps need more work to make it happen.
Final thoughts are really that it seems very much like Android when I got my G1 way back when it was new which was before even Cupcake / Android 1.5 was around. It has a lot of potential, there are some great touches (keeping the UI consistent throughout and with apps is good) and even with carriers customising all they can do is add apps and maybe a theme. You can uninstall the apps (I did, take THAT Orange!) and change theme with no issues. It's similar to Android back then but with more polish overall. With updates I can only see it getting better. Basically I can see it improving and being a competitor but how long that takes I can't guess. I wouldn't give up Android for it but I'm definitely keeping an eye on it to see where it goes.
Any questions? Let me know and I'll try to answer them but otherwise those are my thoughts on Windows Phone 7.5 after using Android exclusively from release.
I am using the Omnia 7 now for one year. I am using it mainly for work (exchange, phone, look at email attachments like powerpoint, etc.) I am synching 3 mail accounts and play from time to time.
Within that year I had not only one "strange situation" with the phone like reboots or not available via phone or Bluetooth disconnects. It is very reliable.
I owned also the Mozart which was far away from the Omnia 7 (battery, display, reliability, etc.). The HD7 has a poor Display. If you are using black background and scroll through your apps you can hardly see the white writing.
I would buy it again - especially for the current price.
Omnia has a much more impressive screen. The HD7 however can use custom roms and allows for greater degree of customisation
mebula999 said:
Omnia has a much more impressive screen. The HD7 however can use custom roms and allows for greater degree of customisation
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The Omnia's screen is the most impresive I've ever seen and among the things I noticed first about the phone. I hear a lot of bad things about Samsung build quality but honestly I feel that the phone is very solidly built and this is the first Samsung phone that I've owned.
I considered the HD7 and the size appealed to me at 4.3" because that's the same as my Desire HD but the 4" Omnia isn't that bad to use. I've got 3.7", 4" and 4.3" display phones and I thought that the Omnia was going to be similar to the Milestone / Droid but that extra little size just pushes it into the right size for my hands. That's a bonus to me because I can now consider 4" and up phones in the future but it'll also make me seriously consider Samsung AND Windows Phone 7 handsets and that's not something I thought I'd say with Android 4.0 / ICS impressing me a lot.
The single biggest factor against WinPho for me is still the lack of apps for things I'd consider popular. I couldn't think of real examples before but after getting my Desire HD back I can list a few.
Dropbox
Google products (GMail integrated but no app) such as Google+, GTalk, Maps
Amazon apps (MP3, shopping)
There are more but they're more personal use items that won't apply to most people. These, however, I've missed quite a lot. It won't matter to others and there are bound to be apps I don't miss that others do. It's just a matter of time really and that makes it difficult to pick one OS over the other.