Related
Okay, so I've had a few Heros and sent them all back apart from the one I have now. The main reason for returning 5 Heros so far, was the quality of the screen. Basically there was dust under the screen. I initially thought it was stuck pixels but I'm now certain it's dust.
Dust is visible during the boot animation. It looks like stuck pixels; really bright little points of light. The reason they're visible during the boot animation is because for some reason, the backlight is up full when the phone boots. This will highlight little specks of dust which may not necessarily be visible at other times.
Now, I've noticed another type of dust speck. This kind is visible when the phone is off, or in sleep mode. This type of dust speck is lit by ambient light, so it is visible only when the screen is off, or showing a black image etc, in bright daylight.
So logically, this would lead me to believe that there are at least 2 layers of screen into which dust can find its way and consequently show itself up differently; either highlighted by the screen backlight (like during the boot animation) or highlighted against the screen by ambient light.
When I got the Hero I'm currently using, I was glad to have finally received one with no screen dust. 2 days later, and I have 2 specks of dust, one of each type, both on the left hand side of the screen. This is B.S. because I'm obsessive about screen imperfections, and if dust is getting in now then what's it gonna look like in a month, or 10 months?
Why do HTC have such bad quality control? Or why have they made a screen that isn't sealed so any dust, lint or any other pocket sh*t combination thereof can get inside and irritate the hell out of me? This makes HTC look like amateurs. My SE P1 has sat in my pocket for 2 years and still has a visibly perfect screen.
I am now considering disassembling the handset to impliment my own cleaning and sealing of the internals. Does anyone know if there exists in circulation a technical manual for the Hero?
I had a feeling they weren't hot/dead pixels - 'cos they're only noticable to me when I adjust the viewing angle and blast my brightness up to full and on a black screen/image.
I think it should be accepted that the phone is a load of crap and that it's not going to be able to live up to what was promised.
tatwamasi said:
I think it should be accepted that the phone is a load of crap and that it's not going to be able to live up to what was promised.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and who cares what you think?
Its actually a cracking phone despite some teething problems and i have had some, many people have had NO problems at all.
Its NEVER sensible to buy any new product when it first comes out as you often get initial 1st production run issues, especially in complex devices
so your basically talking out of your crack
My Nokia E71 had the same problem. The screen (what you think is the screen) is a protective glass/plastic sheet and the dust can get behind it (between it and the lcd). I only got it sorted when the dust built up so bad and it took the repair shop about 15 minutes to fix.
spacecat said:
and who cares what you think?
Its actually a cracking phone despite some teething problems and i have had some, many people have had NO problems at all.
Its NEVER sensible to buy any new product when it first comes out as you often get initial 1st production run issues, especially in complex devices
so your basically talking out of your crack
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
spacecat said:
and who cares what you think?
Its actually a cracking phone despite some teething problems and i have had some, many people have had NO problems at all.
Its NEVER sensible to buy any new product when it first comes out as you often get initial 1st production run issues, especially in complex devices
so your basically talking out of your crack
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No need to be rude.
On topic, I'm not sure how many more things need to be wrong with this handset before you'd agree with me. Aside from the all the hardware faults being reported people are recommending turning off widgets and apps (what's the point in multitasking if it takes twice as long?) and deleting parts of the OS to get it to run at something approaching smoothly. I know there are updates due but right now pretty much anything you want to do with the phone seems to be flawed. (funnily enough I'd finished typing the "anything" before my phone displayed "a" on the sceen).
Fair enough if you're loving it (though I could uncharitably say who cares what you think) but there's no way I'd recommend this phone to a friend.
I think you should accept that your talking crap, go on any site about any new tech and people are slagging it off this works that doesnt etc etc.
You will also find lots of people saying its great.
Now your backtracking on your own post , what if the update makes its great your going to look an even bigger twat than you look now.
Phone has been barely out a couple of months
tatwamasi said:
No need to be rude.
On topic, I'm not sure how many more things need to be wrong with this handset before you'd agree with me. Aside from the all the hardware faults being reported people are recommending turning off widgets and apps (what's the point in multitasking if it takes twice as long?) and deleting parts of the OS to get it to run at something approaching smoothly. I know there are updates due but right now pretty much anything you want to do with the phone seems to be flawed. (funnily enough I'd finished typing the "anything" before my phone displayed "a" on the sceen).
Fair enough if you're loving it (though I could uncharitably say who cares what you think) but there's no way I'd recommend this phone to a friend.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
spacecat said:
I think you should accept that your talking crap, go on any site about any new tech and people are slagging it off this works that doesnt etc etc.
You will also find lots of people saying its great.
Now your backtracking on your own post , what if the update makes its great your going to look an even bigger twat than you look now.
Phone has been barely out a couple of months
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tatwamasi, I know you are right with some points about the hardware faults and all but i guess ( i wont say i think ...lol) that every new phone that comes out at one point has them.
Buying a product just after its release is a risk to take if you know what i mean but hey who cares as long as the warantee is there
anyway, i think the htc hero is a great phone. Its just that many of us had high expectations. too much maybe. Many of us complain of the lag and stuff... so far i havent used any smartphone without one. of course you might mention the "iphone" to me but let me just say that i prefer a laggy phone with the capability of running applications on the background than a smooth one without the multitask capab.
Like spacecat said, i am sure there'll be an update to fix these things.
Cheers!!!!!!!
Here here!
Awsome Handset! Awsome O/S!
Teething issues to be epected with all devices of this stature!
and if you implement the correct apps and methods your lag issues are solved! (e.g swapper + Taskill) Simpuls! Worked for me
I know as I, most of the guys here on XDA have been running winmo for donkeys and android is a breath of fresh air!
This is XDA-DEVEPLOPERS lets stop *****ing and do something productive.....
P.S.... come on, really Dust in the screen you evven admitted you cannot see it while in normal operation
spacecat said:
I think you should accept that your talking crap, go on any site about any new tech and people are slagging it off this works that doesnt etc etc.
You will also find lots of people saying its great.
Now your backtracking on your own post , what if the update makes its great your going to look an even bigger twat than you look now.
Phone has been barely out a couple of months
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In no way did I backtrack. I can't be bothered to argue with you though. Bye!
tatwamasi said:
I think it should be accepted that the phone is a load of crap and that it's not going to be able to live up to what was promised.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me know of a product that doesn't live up to what was promised. Oh and please explain your meaning of 'promised'
Can I be the ref here and step in with some points that can't really be denied.
1. Dust under screen: Unacceptable. Heard of quality control? Shoddy screen manufacture is fine, even expected in a handset from Tesco that costs £10. Not in the £400 HTC Android flagship.
2. Screen gap. Also unacceptable. I don't even need to explain why.
3. Early adoption = expect problems. I disagree. This is true in practice but not in principle. I didn't pay £400 to be a beta tester. If you can't get the tolerances/design/software sorted out for the first batch then don't sell any until you do.
I'll be the first to say that the Hero is one of the best handsets out there if not THE best, but these little manufacturing issues are a huge fail.
I feel your pain.
Since over a month I want to buy the HTC Hero. At different shops I checked about 7 or 8 devices - all had at list a single dust spot under the screen.
Completely agree with you, that is unacceptable. It doesn't take much in the manufacturing process to secure a dust-free environment.
So, as long as HTC is not able to provide a dust-free screen, I won't buy a HTC device.
I'll have another look at a new shipment when my dealer calls me. That will be it.
Dust under the screen is very irritating especially in bright daylight.
My eyes get fixated on it, can't help it! How much easer can life be for others who just don't care or just don't see it.
panmores said:
I feel your pain.
My eyes get fixated on it, can't help it! How much easer can life be for others who just don't care or just don't see it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well i have no dust under the screen. ( touch wood touch gold) . Maybe because the protective shield i applied on my screen goes slightly beyond the screen, thus covering the gaps and everthing. It is hardly noticable if u ask me.
deeren said:
Well i have no dust under the screen. ( touch wood touch gold) . Maybe because the protective shield i applied on my screen goes slightly beyond the screen, thus covering the gaps and everthing. It is hardly noticable if u ask me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For most peoples' cases, the dust was there before they received the phone - i.e. during the manufacturing process. For me, the dust is not such a big deal as it's not causing any problems with my day-to-day usage. Only when the dust starts to cause dead pixels, will I worry. But for now, I'm loving my Hero (even more so, now with Paul's latest 1.4.1 custom ROM) to bits!
tatwamasi said:
I think it should be accepted that the phone is a load of crap and that it's not going to be able to live up to what was promised.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lmao, spoken like a true sadass.
Fact is when a phone comes out for the first month it isn't really what anyone expects, phones are always hyped up to be more than they are, or how would they sell? Happened with the Touch HD, Touch Pro, Touch Diamond, Touch Pro 2, heck, it was even with the iPhone for much much longer till Apple pulled their finger out.
The recent update from MoDaCo (1.4.1) has vastly improved things, and this isn't even the official update and its only the 1st update.
This phone lives up to my expectations because I was on earth, not somewhere out there drifting in space.
There are still issues with the phone, but like with all custom roms, they address the problems. Thanks Paul and all the developers / users out here who are feeding back problems to HTC and then fixing them for us great owners.
Oh, back on Topic. I had one spec which only showed on startup, but its gone now so I guess it was just dust. I wasn't bothered though, couldn't tell it was there in use.
Oh come on, worst reception of any handset I've ever had (across 5 separate Heroes) and build quality standards through the floor are the hallmarks of the Hero in my experience.
That's not taking into account the software issues (which I could stomach knowing that there's an update on the way).
Sorry if those things are to be expected, it's just that I've never had so many issues with a handset, but apparently it's standard? Oh well, welcome to your world then, I guess I should expect nothing to work when I buy it and hope it gets sorted later. It's unfortunate that this has been my introduction it's just that previously, everything did just work! (With the exception of the crappy camera on my W960i, that was much better after the update).
I appreciate that people feel some kind of bizarre emotional attachment to their purchases but I don't get why they'd say "I happened to get a good one so it doesn't matter! You have no right to be disappointed" when the issues are real and out there.
Perhaps it was naive of me to expect my text messages to arrive, for video playback to work and for me to be able to make phone calls on my phone (especially when the same SIM delivers decent reception in the same spot in another phone) but it does significantly diminish the experience for me. Camera's better than I thought it'd be, I'll give it that.
Either way, I'm not crying about it and my comment was meant to be flippant. Allowing myself to see my phone as a piece of crap that isn't going to work properly has given me the opportunity to chill out about it and not get annoyed. It's just a phone, oh well. I was hoping it'd be able to replace my iPod but I guess it won't be able to.
And that is how I made peace with the Hero. With any luck the significant issues in software will be sorted in the update. Until they are, I don't think I could possibly recommend it though and right now, I think I should have got an iPhone. C'est la vie.
Was that spoken like a true Sadass? Hope you got a big laugh if so.
I had initial issues LED failure, but it has since been repaired and the video playback is poor.
Otherwise im loving it , great form factor/design balance between screensize and phone size.
internet is superb on the browser and tethered to my laptop,
phone calls and messaging/emails work great and im lovin the apps and market place.
Love the customisable 7 screens no lag that i have noticed.
Best phone i have ever had YES perfect NO but what is..... if the update improves the video i dont know how i could fault it right now
tatwamasi said:
Oh come on, worst reception of any handset I've ever had (across 5 separate Heroes) and build quality standards through the floor are the hallmarks of the Hero in my experience.
That's not taking into account the software issues (which I could stomach knowing that there's an update on the way).
Sorry if those things are to be expected, it's just that I've never had so many issues with a handset, but apparently it's standard? Oh well, welcome to your world then, I guess I should expect nothing to work when I buy it and hope it gets sorted later. It's unfortunate that this has been my introduction it's just that previously, everything did just work! (With the exception of the crappy camera on my W960i, that was much better after the update).
I appreciate that people feel some kind of bizarre emotional attachment to their purchases but I don't get why they'd say "I happened to get a good one so it doesn't matter! You have no right to be disappointed" when the issues are real and out there.
Perhaps it was naive of me to expect my text messages to arrive, for video playback to work and for me to be able to make phone calls on my phone (especially when the same SIM delivers decent reception in the same spot in another phone) but it does significantly diminish the experience for me. Camera's better than I thought it'd be, I'll give it that.
Either way, I'm not crying about it and my comment was meant to be flippant. Allowing myself to see my phone as a piece of crap that isn't going to work properly has given me the opportunity to chill out about it and not get annoyed. It's just a phone, oh well. I was hoping it'd be able to replace my iPod but I guess it won't be able to.
And that is how I made peace with the Hero. With any luck the significant issues in software will be sorted in the update. Until they are, I don't think I could possibly recommend it though and right now, I think I should have got an iPhone. C'est la vie.
Was that spoken like a true Sadass? Hope you got a big laugh if so.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hold my hands up on that one, I thought you were only talking about software issues, not hardware, so I apologise.
I completely understand where you are coming from regarding hardware, seems HTC have had issues on a couple of their latest phones, Diamond 2, Pro 2.
I had a Touch Pro 2 and after the 5th, I gave up and got a refund. The hinges were loose, faulty, slack. The screen had actual dead pixels. Keyboards faulty. Screen loose.
Other than moving back to my Touch HD which was perfect in every way (after having custom rom made, and it really needed Windows Mobile 7 to make it perfect), I thought the Hero was the next step.
Hardware wise, for me, it is. It is perfectly built, feels solid in my hand, screen nice and clear, reception perfect for me (same as all other HTC devices I've had and my iPhone 3g).
I know some people have had major issues with phones and the majority seem to be the people with Orange's Graphite branded phones, gaps in screens, poor reception etc and it must be certain production lines causing the issue.
Hopefully more roms coming out will make the software spot on, but as for hardware, they all need sending back as £400 is a lot for a phone, like I said about the Touch Pro 2, when your paying that much for a phone you expect it to be perfect (hardware).
Aside from the hardware, there is so much achieved in this latest update from MoDaCo (1.5) and more and more software on the Market everyday, software will be 110% in the near future.
Hope your hardware issues get sorted, send it back!!
First off I apologize for asking such a dumb question, but I always like to be well informed. As I mentioned in my other post, I am still a noob. I have gotten to a comfortable point with my custom Rom and o/c kernel. Now that I have gotten there, I was looking through some of the forums here and found that there are two display types made into the mytouch 4g. I ran the check in terminal and found that I have display type 1 which is said to be the bad type. A friend of mine who came over today bought his mt4g from eBay, and his is type 2. Major difference!! Now I believe I am going to put in for a warranty exchange for this phone, which brings my question, how can I go about making sure I get an exchange that is type 2 display, so that I don't go through the whole unrooting/exchange process for nothing?
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
powduh09 said:
Now I believe I am going to put in for a warranty exchange for this phone, which brings my question, how can I go about making sure I get an exchange that is type 2 display, so that I don't go through the whole unrooting/exchange process for nothing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can't; that's the risk you take. Some people have the type1 screen, some have minor body defects (chips in the bezel, non-centered FFC, squeaking, etc), etc...There are issues with this phone.
You roll the dice requesting a new one. Maybe the screen is your only issue. Maybe you get sent back a perfect phone, but odds are you won't and it will have some other minor flaw like a casing squeak, or some bezel chips, an off-center camera, or maybe everything. There is no guarantee made you will get a better (cosmetically, subjectively) phone by swapping it.
If the risk is worth the potential reward, go for it! Just don't get your hopes up too high . I have a type1 screen and having never seen a type2 except in screens/videos, don't miss anything. I have no other body defects, though, so it's not worth the hassle to me to swap it and hope I fix one problem without gaining 5 others.
Kline said:
You can't; that's the risk you take. Some people have the type1 screen, some have minor body defects (chips in the bezel, non-centered FFC, squeaking, etc), etc...There are issues with this phone.
You roll the dice requesting a new one. Maybe the screen is your only issue. Maybe you get sent back a perfect phone, but odds are you won't and it will have some other minor flaw like a casing squeak, or some bezel chips, an off-center camera, or maybe everything. There is no guarantee made you will get a better (cosmetically, subjectively) phone by swapping it.
If the risk is worth the potential reward, go for it! Just don't get your hopes up too high . I have a type1 screen and having never seen a type2 except in screens/videos, don't miss anything. I have no other body defects, though, so it's not worth the hassle to me to swap it and hope I fix one problem without gaining 5 others.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Judging from what you've said, it isn't worth the risk. I do have a physically and cosmetically perfect phone, the only problem is the display. But if I have to deal with issues such as you mentioned, I am perfectly happy having the bad display. I only wish they had made all these phones with the better display. Now that I have actually seen one.
Also, I am on the phone with my friend now, who says though his screen is better, my phone out performs. This could be thanks to the guys responsible creating my Rom, however, he insists that his truly doesn't act like a mt4g at all... Almost makes me wander if there's
Already a knock off being made of these phones.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
First off let me say I love this phone, I really do but Motomaker has been leaving me a little sad.
So I started off by getting a 16gb model straight from AT&T since I'm not a patient person but after a bit I wanted 32gb so I sold the 16 and made one off contract on Motomaker.
The first Motomaker phone I got had scratches and dents on the screen bezel and it also looked like it had issues with the fusing as some of the plastic seemed to have gotten well into the screen.
I got a replacement and their advanced RMA was great and incredibly fast, however, the second one I got has a different issue. The power button on the new one doesn't seem to be seated right and sits lower than my previous two as well as being harder to press and not giving good tactile feedback..
Looks like I'm going to have to RMA again once I get the money back on my credit card.
Moto X you are amazing but something with the quality control is a bit lacking.
I had similar issues with my first phone. The power button was seated the same way you described, making it very difficult to actually use. The volume rocker was the exact opposite though, the whole button wobbled within the phone's frame, making it feel cheap. I requested a RMA saying that I wanted to swap colors, and only changed my accent color. The buttons on this phone are much more firm/usable.
I hope whatever issues there are down in Texas can get resolved soon. I really like this phone and Motorola to succeed but QA problems will give it a bad rep.
They didn't seem to care when I told them the damage I think if you bother calling they will change it.
i hope they get it right. mine came in with no issues. so they are capable of getting it right the fist time lol. i totally agree that they have issues though, my brother's veizon pre-order led is not near as flush as the one on my phone.
The Rogers ones I've seen (assembled in China) including mine are all flawless.
The one I got (no customization, Verizon) *works* fine but on the front-facing camera, I've noticed the felt ring is not seated correctly and creeping over the lens a little. Although I doubt Moto would give me an rma, it seems like a manufacturing defect.
Sent from my Moto X
scorpion667 said:
The Rogers ones I've seen (assembled in China) including mine are all flawless.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They probably hire people with small hands for better precision type work
Elisha said:
They probably hire people with small hands for better precision type work
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yap, 10 & 12 year olds have tiny fingers, got to love foxxcon
Sent on my Moto X
I have a t mobile one and noticed it has a small scrape on the bottom back and a few plastic molding issues.
I am actually returning it now since I noticed there's eBay sellers selling black and white xt1058 models that are unbranded for significantly less. Made in China units but I figure I'll save $120 over an american unit and be fine with it. I'm in refarmed area so I don't care about the aws hspa and the non att xt1058 can have unlocked boot loader / no bloatware. Maybe the Chinese have better quality
At least, each time you replace a moto maker device you get a $10 play store credit (unless they fixed that loop hole) and supposedly the return process is easy and if you can float the $650 hold you can get it replaced without any down time.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
QA problems? Unfortunately good chance it's because of the union workers down there. While majority are excellent, there are many with "I don't give a crap, union has my back no matter how crappy my work is" attitude.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4
herzzreh said:
QA problems? Unfortunately good chance it's because of the union workers down there. While majority are excellent, there are many with "I don't give a crap, union has my back no matter how crappy my work is" attitude.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe not Texas is a right to work state
Sent from my LG-E988 using xda premium
I know what you guys mean with the manufacturing issues. My rear camera literally has a little piece of Texas in it. I noticed when I pulled it out of the box that the lens had a little speck of tan on it. However it won't wipe off, and closer inspection revealed it was on the other side of the lens!
Doesn't seem to affect the pictures at all though, so I doubt I'll get it replaced over that. But I'm sure gonna bring it up if I ever try! :fingers-crossed:
Theron113 said:
I know what you guys mean with the manufacturing issues. My rear camera literally has a little piece of Texas in it. I noticed when I pulled it out of the box that the lens had a little speck of tan on it. However it won't wipe off, and closer inspection revealed it was on the other side of the lens!
Doesn't seem to affect the pictures at all though, so I doubt I'll get it replaced over that. But I'm sure gonna bring it up if I ever try! :fingers-crossed:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here
XT1060 said:
Same here
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine's not as bad as yours but I have a small speck at the bottom right of the circle. I'm willing to let it go since it's not noticeable except you look close enough and at the right angle under light.
Theron113 said:
I know what you guys mean with the manufacturing issues. My rear camera literally has a little piece of Texas in it. I noticed when I pulled it out of the box that the lens had a little speck of tan on it. However it won't wipe off, and closer inspection revealed it was on the other side of the lens!
Doesn't seem to affect the pictures at all though, so I doubt I'll get it replaced over that. But I'm sure gonna bring it up if I ever try! :fingers-crossed:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, my display is going out...:crying: It will intermittently flash on and off for no reason. The digitizer still works, even when I can't see anything I can still feel it vibrating in my hand. This also pretty much breaks Active Notifications. :crying: And Touchless Control..:crying: And twist-to-camera...:crying:
Needless to say, I have a new one coming from Verizon tomorrow. And I definitely told them about the speck in my camera too. The lady at Verizon had the nerve to ask me if I had a memory card for my phone. I told her that unfortunately the designers at Motorola had taken that option away from me. I hope they at least send me some screen protectors or something for my trouble......because I thought I was doing a good thing supporting the workers in Texas.
UPDATE
My display went the rest of the way out last night. This resulted in a useless paperweight that vibrated occasionally. The worst part of it, is that I couldn't use Motorola Migrate to get my old info! Because the screen wouldn't come on, I couldn't see the QR code to start the wifi transfer. HOWEVER, after much anguish and profanity, I managed to get Moto Migrate to connect WITHOUT THE QR CODE!! I couldn't find this method listed in any literature, but it worked for me, and my non-displaying screen.
1) The old Moto X must have the NFC on! That is the key to this. Thankfully, I had NFC on prior to my screen breaking, so I didn't have to blindly try and toggle it on. Also turn it on for the new Moto X
2) If you're like me, and your screen won't work, then you can't see the Migrate app. Thankfully, you can just use Touchless Control to open it. "Okay, Google Now. Open Migrate" Give it 15 seconds and it should be open.
3) In my case, I had to tell my new phone to accept Migrations, and tell the old phone to send them. Settings in the top right corner, and then a toggle button in the middle of the screen. (I just used my new Moto X to judge the rough placement on my broken one, and it was easy)
4) Finally, touch the backs of the phone together, and tap the screen on the NEW Moto X to use Android Beam which pairs the phones and begins Migration of old info!
Note: I got the pairing backwards the first time, and sent settings from my new phone to my old one. This didn't appear to hurt anything, but that's why I specify you make the new Moto X the receiver.
Sorry for the HUGE update guys, but this is important information. It saved my ass, to mention an enormous headache. So I hope that anybody else trying to pair Motorola Migrate with a broken screen finds this post!! :good:
Tired of the chipping chrome paint and backplate of my still-works-fine S4, I decided it was time to try something new because I apparently have too much disposable income and an awful addiction to new phones. Here are some first impressions I've had with the device in the few hours I've been able to play with my shiny (literally) new factory unlocked gunmetal grey HTC One (M8).
Hot damn does it feel solid. Like I could use it as a weapon should someone ever try to mug me for it.
It's tall, son! Half an inch or so taller than the S4. Not a problem for me, but I can see where it would generate complaints from folks with smaller hands.
Wow that was a long first boot. Even the girls at the T-Mobile mall kiosk were shocked at this. Can't say I've ever had a phone take that long without me screwing up a flash.
Getting T-Mobile's LTE in Detroit on the thing it seems. 22Mbs down. I'm OK with this.
I forgot how much I hated having on screen buttons over the S4's capacitive ones. This really stands out to me since so much space is devoted to them. If feels like 1/5 or 1/6 of the screen is simply OS chrome elements. I can't wait to get Xposed and the immersion module on this (or better, a rom like PA).
The swipe gestures to unlock it sounded really cool at first, until I noticed that every time I tried to pocket the phone, I was unlocking it. a
Is it just me, or is the stock font just huge? I mean, I get the accessibility case here, but man...
Sense is a ton less annoying than TouchWiz (in the brief time I tried to roll with it). Specifically, I always hated the way Samsung perverted the notification shade with toggles. I can't, however, seem to find any compelling reasons to keep it outside of the swipe gestures, but I'm not sure how much I'm going to care about those anyhow. Time will tell, right?
Ok, the gestures thing where you can turn the device and hit the volume button to get into the camera without first unlocking your phone is awesome.
The camera isn't as bad as I've read. A few shots of my kids inside the mall I went to get a new sim card was poorly lit and the shots came out as expected for an Android device. Granted, I haven't printed them or shared them on Facebook, but that's why I have a 5D Mk III
God this thing feels great in my hand. I've read some say the gunmetal version is a little more "slick", but it doesn't seem any better or worse than the S4.
Someone was complaining that the metal from the case where the speakers go and the glass don't seem to be super flush. I can see what they're saying, but I can't say this bothers me outside of the gross abominations that groove will contain after a few months of use. I feel dirty just thinking about it.
Yeah, the sound is a lot better than the S4. No, it's a metric asston better. Since we're using metric, you know that's a scientific statement.
Blinkfeed is, um, cute? I mean, I already had Flipboard so I don't see what the fuss is about other than access from the homescreen, but it's not like I'm going to rock out a stock launcher anyhow.
The buttons are very subtle in the build. Not in a bad way, but it'll take time to get used to their positioning.
Bah! Why doesn't this have every rom ever for it yet! It's almost been two weeks, damnit! #fakerage
I think I'll give it another hour of play time before I void my warranty.
Thread closed,
I have closed this thread as it will very quickly become both a phone comparison and rom comparison thread, which are against forum rules.
Any issues please let me know,
Ghost
To preface this, here comes a wall of text.
I have evolved from not knowing how to even use a Galaxy S3, to being able to unlock/root/flash/repair my previous Nexus 6, all thanks to the members here, so thanks for all the help, and for reading this!
I am a construction worker by trade, so my phones need to be able to hold up to water, dust, and drops, which means I always have a case on it, and most of the time a screen protector. I do my best to keep them safe, but it doesn't always work out that way. My S4 broke 2 days after I bought it because it dropped on a concrete floor, and my first Nexus 6 fell out of my pocket from 30 stories up when I was in a safety harness hanging off the side of a highrise skeleton. This phone seems to be built pretty well, and feels good in my catcher's mitt-sized hands. I am having a little trouble typing in portait mode, but I am just attributing that to a different size screen and keyboard location relative to the way I hold the phone. I put an Otterbox Defender on it, but haven't decided whether I want a screen protector or not.
Speaking of that, the screen is decent. It isn't great by any means in my opinion, and toggling the Vivid Color setting on and off makes it go from meh to ok. I am not looking for Samsung-esque saturation, but I will echo what has been said about the colors seeming washed out. I am also having a bit of touch response issues, where I have to tap on the same thing multiple times to get it to respond and do what I am asking. Hopefully it is just me not being dexterous enough with my inputs, and not the phone itself. This is why I am unsure about the screen protector, since I think that might make things worse. Also, I have noticed that when backing out from a settings menu, my weather app opens, even though I haven't tapped on the weather.
I turned off the squeeze for Google Assistant already, and the always-on display since this phone will spend a lot of time in my pocket and I am extremely active all day, so I don't want them constantly turning on and wasting battery, or activating and me not knowing it.
I watched some YT videos of music/soundtracks I like, to see if the dual speakers really made a difference, and while it does sound good, to my untrained ears it didn't really sound all too different.
I took a few pictures of my kids and my dog, and they do look fantastic for sure. That is definitely an improvement over my Nexus 6.
To be honest, I am a little disappointed.
Maybe some of you more knowledgable members can shed some light on how I can fix these issues, if it is at all possible?
Thanks!
My previous phones include the Nexus 5, Nexus 6p and now the Pixel XL (I will not be getting the pixel 2 XL.)
I can't comment much on the screen response as I've never experienced the issue on any of the aforementioned devices.
As far as a screen protector, I don't use them. The glass technology used on premium smartphones has come a long way. They're pretty difficult to scratch. However, taking into consideration your line of work, it may not be a bad idea.
In my honest opinion, all previous Nexus/pixel devices have had washed out displays. Especially coming from a Samsung Galaxy which is notorious for saturated and vibrant colors, you're definitely going to notice it.
To combat the color issue on the 6p, I flashed ElementalX kernel and used the EX kernel manager to turn up the color saturation by about 15%. It made a world of difference and the display was much more pleasurable to view. Maybe give a custom kernel with optimized saturation/hue settings a try.
Thank you for the review!
I went into a Verizon store two days ago as was extremely underwhelmed by the Just Black Pixel 2 XL, particularly due to hardware. I was kind of expecting Nexus 6P or HTC level build quality/ in hand feel.
I have been doing my best to talk myself back into liking and wanting a 2 XL; basically repeating to myself what Dieter from the Verge said in his Pixel 2 review " The Pixel 2 and 2 XL are not the nice dining room table where you lay out the fancy silverware for your guests, they are the kitchen counter where you actually eat."
"A lot of phones are designed for one thing above all else, to give you a dazzling first impression. The Pixel 2 does not go in for all that. In fact the first hardware impression is not going to blow your hair back, but then you start to use it and you notice those little things and the software is fast and helps you be more productive."
In my mind he is saying "the hardware is average, but the software makes up for that and makes the Pixel 2 XL a great device in-spite of it lackluster hardware."
So your comment of "To be honest, I am a little disappointed."
Really hit home for me! Being brutally honest with us; what exactly is causing you to be a bit disappointed with your new Pixel?
jj3699 said:
Thank you for the review!
I went into a Verizon store two days ago as was extremely underwhelmed by the Just Black Pixel 2 XL, particularly due to hardware. I was kind of expecting Nexus 6P or HTC level build quality/ in hand feel.
I have been doing my best to talk myself back into liking and wanting a 2 XL; basically repeating to myself what Dieter from the Verge said in his Pixel 2 review " The Pixel 2 and 2 XL are not the nice dining room table where you lay out the fancy silverware for your guests, they are the kitchen counter where you actually eat."
"A lot of phones are designed for one thing above all else, to give you a dazzling first impression. The Pixel 2 does not go in for all that. In fact the first hardware impression is not going to blow your hair back, but then you start to use it and you notice those little things and the software is fast and helps you be more productive."
In my mind he is saying "the hardware is average, but the software makes up for that and makes the Pixel 2 XL a great device in-spite of it lackluster hardware."
So your comment of "To be honest, I am a little disappointed."
Really hit home for me! Being brutally honest with us; what exactly is causing you to be a bit disappointed with your new Pixel?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got to use it a good amount last night and this morning, and I would say the thing that bothers me most is that it isn't leaps and bounds better in every way than my 3-year old Nexus 6, aside from the camera.
I am still having the touch response issues, and the constant opening of the weather is bothering me. It seems like there are software bugs that need to be worked out for sure.
The screen is bothering me more and more. It looks like there is a film over it that you just can't get off.
It might be going back, which sucks, because I don't know what else to get.
a.demarco, did you get your 2 XL from a Verizon store or from Google?
It might be that you just got a bad phone and hopefully they can switch it out for you.
I am in similar boat, as to I am unsure what else to get.
I feel like the 2 XL is one of best options out there, but I do not really want that option lol.
I am going to head to Verizon store later today to see if I like the LG V30 hardware and if I do I might end up getting that and running the Pixel launcher on it.
Very similar to what was done on this video.
https://youtu.be/cDC2amW1vlU
jj3699 said:
a.demarco, did you get your 2 XL from a Verizon store or from Google?
It might be that you just got a bad phone and hopefully they can switch it out for you.
I am in similar boat, as to I am unsure what else to get.
I feel like the 2 XL is one of best options out there, but I do not really want that option lol.
I am going to head to Verizon store later today to see if I like the LG V30 hardware and if I do I might end up getting that and running the Pixel launcher on it.
Very similar to what was done on this video.
https://youtu.be/cDC2amW1vlU
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Preorder from Verizon... The software glitches are driving me nuts. Every time I leave the Settings menu by pressing the back button, it opens up the weather. I am still having to tap on something multiple times to get it to respond as well. Have done 2 factory resets already, and nothing has changed.
I really don't want the S8+ or the Note8...
a.demarco said:
Preorder from Verizon... The software glitches are driving me nuts. Every time I leave the Settings menu by pressing the back button, it opens up the weather. I am still having to tap on something multiple times to get it to respond as well. Have done 2 factory resets already, and nothing has changed.
I really don't want the S8+ or the Note8...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I would definitely be talking that bad boy right back to the Verizon store and asking them if they can swap it out!
Same, I can definitely do without any Samsung products lol!
So I am thinking V30 or Essential phone; but at the same time I really do not want those either haha... man I wish HTC had their stuff together and was making phones like they did back in Droid Incredible days!