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Those of you who have theirs already,
POST'EM UP!
There was a reviews thread around earlier...between that and all the "this phone sux" threads, I think you kinda already have it.
thecodemonk said:
There was a reviews thread around earlier...between that and all the "this phone sux" threads, I think you kinda already have it.
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Click to collapse
just thought it'd be nice to have it one place for reference.
you know,in a list form.
Just got mine this afternoon, here are my first impressions:
Pros:
-The screen is absolutely GORGEOUS, one of my biggest issues with past phones (came from the Hero) was the poor quality of the screen compared to, say, an iPhone. This screen blows it away. Its super crisp, very bright and absolutely massive. Its a true joy to browse the web, shoot pictures, watch videos and just plain interact. 10 minutes after I got it I jumped back on my Hero and was amazed at how I ever lasted the 6 months on it.
-Picture quality (still photos), I thought was quite impressive for a phone, and the front facing camera is cool, however it may be a little gimmicky. My dad has an iPhone and I'm sure when the new one comes out he'll get it and I can see us using the cameras to catch up sometimes when I'm down at school, but you do feel kinda silly walking around with the phone in front of your face.
-The phone itself is rather large (obviously), but feels satisfyingly dense and has just the right amount of weight behind it. Feels great in the hand as well.
-The speed is also mindblowing. Everything just plain feels faster, probably because it is. What I found the most improved was navigating the Marketplace, which strangely always felt laggy to me on the Hero. Not anymore, the Evo is literally click-click-click-click DONE. VERY impressive. Text entry also seems very much improved.
Just like any device, it's not without its faults:
-The camera (video), I feel is a little unimpressive. Still it is a very good camera for a phone, it just doesn't pack that same WOW factor as the rest of the device.
-I'm a little worried how the lens itself will hold up, as many have mentioned, the back does rest right on the glass. This is easily fixed with a case though (which I hope to purchase soon).
-SenseUI is also not very appealing to me, I find it incredibly bland and in some sense (no pun intended) flat out ugly. I much prefer the stock Android home. I could also do without the Sprint Bloatware. Both will be addressed with the first custom 2.2 ROM
Things I can't address yet:
-The battery life: I received the phone with approximately 25-30% battery and wanted to run it all the way down before I recharged it fully. I was quite impressed at the lengths I had to go to to get it down to 0. I was watching a live stream on USTREAM, had wifi, gps, sync and bluetooth on, screen on full brightness, and was consistently bouncing back and forth between Google Earth, YouTube and web browsing. Even with all of this, it took 3-4 hours to run down completely. Not bad at all for extremely heavy use
-4G, unfortunately Indy isn't scheduled for 4G until 2012. I should be making a trip up to Chicago soon though and can comment further if requested. There are a ton of people who are in 4G areas who can comment on 4G speeds though.
Anything specific just ask, I'd be glad to address any questions you, or anyone, may have.
booyakasha said:
Just got mine this afternoon, here are my first impressions:
-SenseUI is also not very appealing to me, I find it incredibly bland and in some sense (no pun intended) flat out ugly. I much prefer the stock Android home. I could also do without the Sprint Bloatware. Both will be addressed with the first custom 2.2 ROM
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Click to collapse
You know if you go to settings>applications>manage applications>HTC sense> and scroll down and click clear defaults, you take off sense.
As soon as you click home it will give you an option for sense or launcher (stock android) and then click automatically choose this option and it will keep whichever you like for default.
However the black notification bar, dialer, and lock screen will all be sense as well. And you cannot have the HTC widgets.
booyakasha said:
Just got mine this afternoon, here are my first impressions:
Pros:
-The screen is absolutely GORGEOUS, one of my biggest issues with past phones (came from the Hero) was the poor quality of the screen compared to, say, an iPhone. This screen blows it away. Its super crisp, very bright and absolutely massive. Its a true joy to browse the web, shoot pictures, watch videos and just plain interact. 10 minutes after I got it I jumped back on my Hero and was amazed at how I ever lasted the 6 months on it.
-Picture quality (still photos), I thought was quite impressive for a phone, and the front facing camera is cool, however it may be a little gimmicky. My dad has an iPhone and I'm sure when the new one comes out he'll get it and I can see us using the cameras to catch up sometimes when I'm down at school, but you do feel kinda silly walking around with the phone in front of your face.
-The phone itself is rather large (obviously), but feels satisfyingly dense and has just the right amount of weight behind it. Feels great in the hand as well.
-The speed is also mindblowing. Everything just plain feels faster, probably because it is. What I found the most improved was navigating the Marketplace, which strangely always felt laggy to me on the Hero. Not anymore, the Evo is literally click-click-click-click DONE. VERY impressive. Text entry also seems very much improved.
Just like any device, it's not without its faults:
-The camera (video), I feel is a little unimpressive. Still it is a very good camera for a phone, it just doesn't pack that same WOW factor as the rest of the device.
-I'm a little worried how the lens itself will hold up, as many have mentioned, the back does rest right on the glass. This is easily fixed with a case though (which I hope to purchase soon).
-SenseUI is also not very appealing to me, I find it incredibly bland and in some sense (no pun intended) flat out ugly. I much prefer the stock Android home. I could also do without the Sprint Bloatware. Both will be addressed with the first custom 2.2 ROM
Things I can't address yet:
-The battery life: I received the phone with approximately 25-30% battery and wanted to run it all the way down before I recharged it fully. I was quite impressed at the lengths I had to go to to get it down to 0. I was watching a live stream on USTREAM, had wifi, gps, sync and bluetooth on, screen on full brightness, and was consistently bouncing back and forth between Google Earth, YouTube and web browsing. Even with all of this, it took 3-4 hours to run down completely. Not bad at all for extremely heavy use
-4G, unfortunately Indy isn't scheduled for 4G until 2012. I should be making a trip up to Chicago soon though and can comment further if requested. There are a ton of people who are in 4G areas who can comment on 4G speeds though.
Anything specific just ask, I'd be glad to address any questions you, or anyone, may have.
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Click to collapse
I've been to the sprint store and had a chance to play w/ one.
everything seems awesome, except it felt a little jerky,not smooth like the Hero/Eris.
And I noticed a little bit of glitch when going from the camera to home screen too fast. as Sprint has the best plan, I kinda have to go with them.
I just don't wanna think that HTC/Sprint would fudge things up to be cheap. I mean where's the AMOLED love? all in all, I'm sure I'm going to love this phone.
1wingangel said:
I've been to the sprint store and had a chance to play w/ one.
everything seems awesome, except it felt a little jerky,not smooth like the Hero/Eris.
And I noticed a little bit of glitch when going from the camera to home screen too fast. as Sprint has the best plan, I kinda have to go with them.
I just don't wanna think that HTC/Sprint would fudge things up to be cheap. I mean where's the AMOLED love? all in all, I'm sure I'm going to love this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's to hoping the jerkiness you experienced is attributed to early software on the device(s). Regarding AMOLED, there's no way HTC could have possibly included a 4.3" AMOLED display in this phone. There are two main reasons why.
1. AMOLED technology is very expensive as it is at 3.7", I can't imagine how much it would cost for them to order 4.3" displays from their providers. There's no doubt that significant cost would have been diverted to us.
2. AMOLED displays are in short supply. The Droid Incredible's been out of stock for a while because HTC can't get enough AMOLED displays to produce the number of Incredibles that would satisfy the demand of the buying public.
Mecha2142 said:
Here's to hoping the jerkiness you experienced is attributed to early software on the device(s). Regarding AMOLED, there's no way HTC could have possibly included a 4.3" AMOLED display in this phone. There are two main reasons why.
1. AMOLED technology is very expensive as it is at 3.7", I can't imagine how much it would cost for them to order 4.3" displays from their providers. There's no doubt that significant cost would have been diverted to us.
2. AMOLED displays are in short supply. The Droid Incredible's been out of stock for a while because HTC can't get enough AMOLED displays to produce the number of Incredibles that would satisfy the demand of the buying public.
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Click to collapse
The jerkiness is def a software problem. I'm sure it's because android isn't meant to be on a screen this huge....yet.
2.2 will surely fix it.
thanx for the screen input, I had no idea about an AMOLED shortage.
samsung i9000 has a Super Amoled on a 4 inch screen, but it is also gonna be considered cheap at $500, and stores in the uk have them for upwards of $600 so i guess you do have a point
ps: i do not actually own either of the two phones
edit: but i wont mind $100 more for a display like the samsung
Sounds like you just got a quirky device. I haven't experienced anything like that. I'm amazed at how smooth and responsive it is :/
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engineer14 said:
samsung i9000 has a Super Amoled on a 4 inch screen, but it is also gonna be considered cheap at $500, and stores in the uk have them for upwards of $600 so i guess you do have a point
ps: i do not actually own either of the two phones
edit: but i wont mind $100 more for a display like the samsung
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's because Samsung is the company that's producing the AMOLED displays for HTC. Seems like they're cutting the supply they send to them to use in their own devices as of lately. That's why they don't have to charge as much for the devices; they make the displays themselves.
@1wingangel
If that phone was sitting in the Sprint store with everyone playing with it and no task killer installed. I bet every single application was still running and it was still just a lil jerky. I can't imagine people didn't turn all apps and play with it, unless you tried one new out of the box.
jeffrimerman said:
If that phone was sitting in the Sprint store with everyone playing with it and no task killer installed. I bet every single application was still running and it was still just a lil jerky. I can't imagine people didn't turn all apps and play with it, unless you tried one new out of the box.
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no, it was the display model.
so yeah, I'm sure there were alot of apps running,but isn't the point of having all that ram/rom to be able to have a ton of apps running all at once?
1wingangel said:
no, it was the display model.
so yeah, I'm sure there were alot of apps running,but isn't the point of having all that ram/rom to be able to have a ton of apps running all at once?
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Click to collapse
yeah that is true. I haven't noticed any lag with 21 apps running before I installed a task killer. It was lightning fast. My only con is the power drain when it is sitting overnight. And that apps randomly start up in the background. I see my 3g on and arrows going up and down when it was sitting overnight or maybe that happens when I turn on the screen. I lose a third to half my batter overnight, but someone also said it has to be drained and charged a few times and it will get better. My brother has the 3gS and he said it blows it away.
Mecha2142 said:
Here's to hoping the jerkiness you experienced is attributed to early software on the device(s). Regarding AMOLED, there's no way HTC could have possibly included a 4.3" AMOLED display in this phone. There are two main reasons why.
1. AMOLED technology is very expensive as it is at 3.7", I can't imagine how much it would cost for them to order 4.3" displays from their providers. There's no doubt that significant cost would have been diverted to us.
2. AMOLED displays are in short supply. The Droid Incredible's been out of stock for a while because HTC can't get enough AMOLED displays to produce the number of Incredibles that would satisfy the demand of the buying public.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AMOLED display is also craptastic in sunlight. Super AMOLED is better though...but obviously even more expensive with more supply issues.
1wingangel said:
no, it was the display model.
so yeah, I'm sure there were alot of apps running,but isn't the point of having all that ram/rom to be able to have a ton of apps running all at once?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They said it would run all of them at once, not that it would work smoothly with them all running at once No matter how much memory you have allocated, there are still limits~
Xenithflare said:
They said it would run all of them at once, not that it would work smoothly with them all running at once No matter how much memory you have allocated, there are still limits~
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Click to collapse
okay, so I just got back from radioshack, And the guy said that he killed all running background apps and live wallpapers, and it still felt jerky(not laggy),but jerky.
my only thought is that maybe I just never noticed it before,coming from a smaller screen. or maybe the display models just aren't up to par.
p.s. I've also been spoiled by custom roms on mt3g
minus a few bugs the only con is that the screen takes up so much realestate that i am always accidentally activating icons on the screen and the 4 onscreen buttons are way too sensitive.
I was about to buy a BB or Nokia for business and use the EVO for fun but so far this phone is working just fine for business. this is a fast device and i haven't noticed any lag and i am running tons of widgets and running apps that constantly update.
forgot to mention that i will be returning it for a replacement on Tuesday for one without a dead pixel.
1wingangel said:
okay, so I just got back from radioshack, And the guy said that he killed all running background apps and live wallpapers, and it still felt jerky(not laggy),but jerky.
my only thought is that maybe I just never noticed it before,coming from a smaller screen. or maybe the display models just aren't up to par.
p.s. I've also been spoiled by custom roms on mt3g
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Click to collapse
Judging from demos in my own store, I can attest to the fact that as soon as we put a unit on display (whether GPS or phone), it immediately becomes defective It's like a rule.
No jerkiness here...
Only time I experienced lag was when I tried turning on 4G while downloading/installing about 10 apps at once when I first got it, even then it was hardly noticeable.
YouTube freezes up on me when I try switching from HQ sometimes.
MixZing and Last.FM act weird together for me. Sometimes Last.FM will just close and MixZing will start playing music off my SD card randomly. I uninstall MixZing and haven't had an issue after that. Kind of strange.
Supposedly I am in 4G coverage but I don't get very good signal, not sure what that is about. I don't really mind since I use Wi-Fi at home/work. I'd have to play with it more to see if its an actual problem.
Everything else is pretty awesome.
So I'm sitting at home patiently waiting for the UPS man to come with my new Vibrant. In my pocket is my beloved Nexus One.
I had a chance to play with a vibrant in a Tmo store and really liked it. Seemed speedier than my N1 in almost every aspect and that screen is just gorgeous!
I'd like to hear from any Nexus One users that jumped ship to the Vibrant. Are you happy with your decision? Any issues?
I'll be side by siding these two beasts for the next 14 days (return period). And only one will stay with me. I'd just like to hear some other peoples experiences.
I find the Vibrant better in every regard. The one thing I miss is how speedy development came to the N1 (for obvious reasons). I (and the developers) are more accustom to HTC phones...
BUT, speed, screen, sound, keyboard, I really like everything better.
Some people complain about a GPS issue, that a lot of us do not have.....
You wont have froyo immediately....
I like how solid the N1 feels in my hand....
those are about the only things I can think of.
I sold my rooted nexus one for this.
The good:
Better screen (WOW) you'll see
Better Speaker
Faster Data Pulling (you'll be surprised how good edge is even )
Better widgets (touchwiz is lovely)
The bad:
doesn't open apps as fast as Nexus
Switching from 3g to Edge takes way longer than the nexus
Battery a tiny bit worse than nexus
Feels horrible compared to the nexus build (the vibrant is cheaply built) PLASTIC
going from screen to screen, you will get a slight jerk... not smooth like launcherpro/ADW or 2.2 Froyo default home
Other than that, this phone is lovely and its a keeper. I'm waiting for a replacement battery. maybe the 3500Mah they had for the nexus one.That will also put some weight on it. it's like a feather now.
I too sold my N1. I did for all the aforementioned reasons plus I really like being able to take the phone instore for warranty issues instead of waiting a week or two for htc to get my phone fix it and ship it back.....
The battery specs on the Vibrant seem WAY better than the N1, but I've been seeing some complaints on battery life. Whats the deal with that? Was Samsung overexerting the standby time?
I'll miss froyo, But once it hits the vibrant I assume it will be BLAZING fast with JIT on the hummingbird. Besides the speed, Flash in the browser kinda sucks anyways on N1 (slow!). So going back to 2.1 wont be a huge loss.
I love my nexus, but its had its issues. I'm currently on my 3rd swap out from HTC due to the screen not working and dust under the digitizer. Hoping I have good luck with the vibrant and its GPS issues.
I guess I'll have to wait and see which wins... I plan on keeping both for a couple of weeks before I decide.
thanks for your opinions!
stepinmyworld said:
Feels horrible compared to the nexus build (the vibrant is cheaply built) PLASTIC
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Click to collapse
I beg to differ.. its user preference, I prefer it being lightweight its a lot different than the G1 whereas it feels like a brick. I don't think its a con whatsoever, doesn't feel cheap at all.. check out the videos where they try and "scratch" and damage it. The phone could take a hit.
Just got the Vibrant today, bought the Nexus on the day it was announced. I'm likely sending the Vibrant back and keeping the Nexus. Here are my first impressions:
1: Unbelievably light and, unfortunately, cheap feeling, particularly the buttons (Vol. and on/off). The build quality of the Nexus One feels like it's in an entirely different league here.
2: Nice screen size though my phone will not display a true white or grey. Instead, everything has a cyan/blue tinge. This actually is my biggest issue with the phone right now. The Nexus gives true whites and greys and, even with the brightness all the way up, no true white or gray on the vibrant. Menus, text, market and web pages show this every time I open them - it's driving me nuts.
3: The music app contains a real to life Equalizer and a number of other sound settings. This is one feature I really love and will miss if I send the phone back. Sound quality is very good, though not through the crap headphones Samsung provides. Here again, the quality of the Nexus headphones are noticeably better.
4: Neither the Compass or the GPS work correctly on my phone making the phone useless until a fix is released for what I actually use it most for - Google Places and voice navigation.
5: The image quality of photo's taken with the camera are very good for a phone. Auto weight balance works perfectly under various light sources. Much better than Nexus in this department, though I do miss the flash - which I used mostly as a flashlight!
6: The size feels a little uncomfortable in the hand compared to the Nexus but that's likely just something I have gotten used to.
7: Battery life seems like it will be much better than Nexus.
Anyway, I know the GPS and Compass will be fixed and perhaps I could get used to the flimsy build quality but the screen is a deal breaker as I expected it to be superior to the Nexus One. It's not. If I had to guess, I suspect Samsung has used some sort of Polarizing film to reduce glare outside in bright light which is resulting in the blue/cyan tinge.
Sold my Nexus and both docks, got a nice chunk if change and got the Vibrant. Its the best phone out right now IMO.
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA App
tariqgibran said:
Just got the Vibrant today, bought the Nexus on the day it was announced. I'm likely sending the Vibrant back and keeping the Nexus. Here are my first impressions:
1: Unbelievably light and, unfortunately, cheap feeling, particularly the buttons (Vol. and on/off). The build quality of the Nexus One feels like it's in an entirely different league here.
PERSONALLY I don't equate light-weight with cheap...it's very VERY light weight, but it doesn't feel cheaply made to me. The biggest complaint I have about the build quality personally is the "metal" bezel(of course it's plastic). I feel like that will scratch if it's looked at incorrectly. lol. But IMO it doesn't feel cheaply made at all
2: Nice screen size though my phone will not display a true white or grey. Instead, everything has a cyan/blue tinge. This actually is my biggest issue with the phone right now. The Nexus gives true whites and greys and, even with the brightness all the way up, no true white or gray on the vibrant. Menus, text, market and web pages show this every time I open them - it's driving me nuts.
Direct Quote about OLED's that explains the blue tint:
"...since the OLED material used to produce blue light degrades significantly more rapidly than the materials that produce other colors, blue light output will decrease relative to the other colors of light...In order to delay the problem, manufacturers bias the colour balance towards blue so that the display initially has an artificially blue tint, leading to complaints of artificial-looking, over-saturated colors..."
4: Neither the Compass or the GPS work correctly on my phone making the phone useless until a fix is released for what I actually use it most for - Google Places and voice navigation.
This is a problem only SOME units have, and additionally, even if yours DOES have the problem, there's a fix for it here in the forums
6: The size feels a little uncomfortable in the hand compared to the Nexus but that's likely just something I have gotten used to.
I think this depends on the size of your hands. Going from a Touch Pro2 with a 3.6" screen to a 4.3" on the HD2 I didn't like it. It was hard to text on when trying to reach across the screen...but this 4" screen fit perfectly into my hands. It also makes it feel more like a "phone" and not a "pda". I know the Nexus has a 3.7" screen, but like he said, I think you'd get used to it.
7: Battery life seems like it will be much better than Nexus.
Trust me....depends on what you have running and when you have it running lol. This thing will randomly start apps that you never tell it to start(telenav for example) and they'll run in the background for no reason at all lol. I've had situations where with ZERO use....it just sitting idle....after 8 hrs it used up almost 50% of the battery. Darker(blacker) backgrounds help on battery life too. I tested a live wall paper at 100% brightness for 30 mins and a completely black wallpaper at 100% brightness and there was a 100% increase of battery life drain. 4% after 1 half hour vs 2% after 1 half hour(i actually think the same would apply to the nexus one since it's an amoled screen)
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Click to collapse
As he stated at the end though, the GPS will soon be fixed(officially that is) by Samsung, and you'll probably have to get used to the feel of it vs the Nexus 1...but I had an opportunity to buy either, and I used both for 1 day, and couldn't put the Vibrant down so I went with it.
Edit: and though not as good as an LED light, because the Vibrant uses SAMOLED the white screens at full brightness are ridiculously bright lol. So if you use one of the screen flash light apps, it'd probably be the brightest...but again, it's not as bright as an LED flash light. But Trust me...it definitely works lol
lp894 said:
As he stated at the end though, the GPS will soon be fixed(officially that is) by Samsung, and you'll probably have to get used to the feel of it vs the Nexus 1...but I had an opportunity to buy either, and I used both for 1 day, and couldn't put the Vibrant down so I went with it.
Edit: and though not as good as an LED light, because the Vibrant uses SAMOLED the white screens at full brightness are ridiculously bright lol. So if you use one of the screen flash light apps, it'd probably be the brightest...but again, it's not as bright as an LED flash light. But Trust me...it definitely works lol
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The screen on the specific Vibrant I received is nowhere near as bright as the Nexus screen, even at full brightness and the cyan/blue tinge is not so subtle. Many are stating that the blue look is normal with OLED's yet neither my Nexus nor my wife's have this problem at all. There is also growing evidence that the Vibrant display is not consistant from phone to phone, with some reporting the blue issue more than others, even when examining four vibrants simultaneously (so this is not just subjective). Thus, don't buy the whole explanation that Samsung added mor blue to counteract future blue degradation over time. I think what those of us with extremely tinged blue screens are experiencing is a quality control issue, plain and simple - perhaps it has something to do with an inconsistency in the SOLED manufacturing process, I don't know. I do know that all OLED's do not have this issue and, apparently, not even all Samsung SOLED Vibrants!
Regarding the "cheap" feel, my volume button rattles when I handle the phone and has no definite "detent" feel. Perhaps mine is unique, but this definitely lends a flimsy feel to the phone, particularly compared to the firm feel of the Nexus buttons. Think I wil return this vibrant and see what a replacement offers as I must have received a dud. To be fair, the Nexus my wife received initially had to be returned due to a quality control issue. I think most of these devices today are at the bleeding edge of manufacturing technology.
I got rid of my 3 week old N1 for the Vibrant, and I have no regrets at all. I'm very much in love with this phone. I think the only major issue with the phone for most is the GPS problems, but Samsung already said they're working on a fix.
Yeah, the phone is very light weight, but as soon as I bought the thick gel case from T-Mo it really did add a great weight to the phone.
I'm a phone whore that switches phones pretty much every time a new phone hits the market, and I've gotta say the Vibrant just might be the best I've ever owned.
I sort of gave up my Nexus One for a Vibrant. My wife wanted my Nexus One because T-Mobile still doesn't have a good phone for photographs (Vibrant included).
I had just gotten her a MT3G Slide, so I trade it back to them for the Vibrant.
So far, the only thing I have to complain about is the lack of a Camera flash, it completely hinders the camera in most lighting situations after 6PM EST, haha.
Also, the body does feel cheaply constructed. The Nexus One had the most solid design of any phone I have ever owned or held in my hand.
I miss my N1, but the Vibrant is a GREAT alternative. I can say I love this phone, and most of that love is coming from the BEAUTIFUL screen.
I had a Nexus, and my wife had a MyTouch. She was wanting to upgrade, so we decided that I would get a Vibrant, and she would get my Nexus. We have since given away the MyTouch.
I have to say, at first, I was LOVING my Vibrant! it was incredible! The screen, and benchmarks spoke for themselves! Heck, I was even able to ditch a couple of mediocre apps for the pre-installed apps!
I've had my Vibrant for...17 days now. I've NEVER had any luck with the GPS, although it is handy for a game called "The Great Land Grab", since I can now buy land in states and countries I've never even been to before! (I bought a piece of land in CHINA!!! WOOT!) I've tried ALL of the fixes posted here at XDA and elsewhere. All of them seemed to help, but then I realized it was mostly a placebo effect. "742 people said this fix worked perfectly! It's gotta fix my GPS! Hey, it only took 17 minutes this time! YAY! It's all better!" Coming from a long line of HTC phones (G1, MyTouch, Nexus), I've come to expect good GPS performance, and I use maps and nav a LOT. (Well, I used to) I'm extremely disappointed in this, to the point that I will never buy another Samsung phone again.
The screen is AMAZING! The picture quality is intense, and it displays video so fluidly! I can't say enough good things about how beautiful it is! The screen difference is .4 inches, but it looks and feels like it's HUGE in comparison. I've never seen a screen on a cell phone that can show as deep black as this. If you set your phone up poroperly, you can have it on, but not be able to tell (ADW.Launcher/black wallpaper/no status bar/no icons/empty dock/dock open - Looks amazing!) It's such a nice display!
The phone SHOULD be WAY faster. the specs make the Nexus look old and dated. Of course, when you're used to touching an app shortcut, and it just HAPPENS, a 2-10 second lag seems like FOREVER! There are some MAJOR design flaws in the Vibrant, such as the 16 gig internal storage. It's a class 6, yes, but it's got VERY serious i/o issues, so almost everything that calls on the resources on it stalls and lags. (You'll see TONS of people who say there's no lag, but most of those people came from a dated phone, like a G1 or MyTouch. It's WAY faster than any of the older generation 1 or generation 2 phones, but it's painfully slow when you're used to the powerhouse known as Nexus. (2 seconds doesn't sound long, until you're trying to show off your phone, and you feel the need to explain that "it takes a second or two to load up, but when it does..." and you have TIME to explain that to someone while you wait. It's not nearly as snappy or responsive as it should be, considering this is a flagship device with specs to make most phones look like crap. SUPPOSEDLY, this phone is more powerful than a PSP, but the design flaws make it perform more like an NES. Once it gets going, it's GREAT, but it's the getting it up and running that sucks.
The phone does feel lighter, and cheaper, but it depends on your point of view if this is a good thing or a bad thing. I personally prefer the feel of the Nexus, because it feels more solid.
The loudspeaker on the Vibrant is WAY better than the speaker on the Nexus, although I have to think it something to do with the "hollow-ish" phone back echoing the sound, and therefore amplifying it somewhat, but I haven't tried a direct comparison with the phone backs off.
The Vibrant out-performs most phones on the market in terms of benchmark scores (linpak not included) however, if you were to perform a side-by side comparison of getting those benchmarks loaded up, you would likely have no doubt that the Vibrant is considerably slower. (I'm talking of the latest generation of 1ghz phones, like Nexus, DroidX, and EVO)
If the GPS (and compass, which is HOPELESSLY broken) and lag issues could be resolved, I think the Vibrant could be a contender as possibly the best phone on the planet, but in it's current form, it feels a lot like that funky cousin you try to avoid at family reunions. "Well, he came from a great family, and he's really smart, but he's just a bit off...I mean, look at him, he's pouring his soda into his shoes!"
Overall, I think in it's current state, the Vibrant can't hold a candle to the Nexus, and depending on the I/O issues, it may NEVER compare, but if they can get it running better, and make everything WORK, it will make the Nexus feel like a G1.
My choice for best phone: Nexus
(Subject to change)
lp894 said:
4: Neither the Compass or the GPS work correctly on my phone making the phone useless until a fix is released for what I actually use it most for - Google Places and voice navigation.
This is a problem only SOME units have, and additionally, even if yours DOES have the problem, there's a fix for it here in the forums
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You sound like a PR rep for samsung, not an actual end user. It's comments and sentiments like these that make forums useless for researching products. Too many people bitterly rationalizing bad purchases.
As an owner of a Vibrant I'm probably returning mine, after waiting the full 14 days to see if Samsung would at least indicate that they're working on any sort of fix. They finally started talking about the GPS, but there is no mention of the compass problem yet and I suspect it will remain broken.
The sick part is there are so many people new to android that they don't even realize how broken the compass is. Try using Layar, wikitude, anything related to augmented reality or positional awareness and you'll realize how useless it is.
If you don't care about fancy augmented reality/positional awareness applications or GPS working properly then the vibrant is a great phone.
bryon13 said:
"Well, he came from a great family, and he's really smart, but he's just a bit off...I mean, look at him, he's pouring his soda into his shoes!"
Overall, I think in it's current state, the Vibrant can't hold a candle to the Nexus, and depending on the I/O issues, it may NEVER compare, but if they can get it running better, and make everything WORK, it will make the Nexus feel like a G1.
My choice for best phone: Nexus
(Subject to change)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, you made gave me a good laugh today.
+1 on everything you said.
hollabax said:
You sound like a PR rep for samsung, not an actual end user. It's comments and sentiments like these that make forums useless for researching products. Too many people bitterly rationalizing bad purchases.
As an owner of a Vibrant I'm probably returning mine, after waiting the full 14 days to see if Samsung would at least indicate that they're working on any sort of fix. They finally started talking about the GPS, but there is no mention of the compass problem yet and I suspect it will remain broken.
The sick part is there are so many people new to android that they don't even realize how broken the compass is. Try using Layar, wikitude, anything related to augmented reality or positional awareness and you'll realize how useless it is.
If you don't care about fancy augmented reality/positional awareness applications or GPS working properly then the vibrant is a great phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just out of curiosity, are the GPS and Compass interrelated somehow such that a GPS fix would fix the compass? OR, is there distinct hardware functions that control the two independently?
tariqgibran said:
Just out of curiosity, are the GPS and Compass interrelated somehow such that a GPS fix would fix the compass? OR, is there distinct hardware functions that control the two independently?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Last I heard, they think the compass is what breaks the gps, according to Tmo and Samsung. Which worries me, because a compass is just a floating magnet. If it's hardware broken, and that's what breaks gps, there may be NO way to fix it. ):
I really hope I'm wrong.
I'd like to thank Swype for all of my typos.
my GPS works fine.....I dont use compass and never did. Gave my Nexus to GF and using Vibrant. While there are many improvement to be made, its MUCH better then Nexus when it was released (I had 3 replacements, all 3 had: 3g issues, light sensor issues, pink camera, and crappy touchscreen....phone was almost useless, but after 3rd party ROMs, Nexus became a good phone with many flaws fixed)
yeah, compass seems to be ****ed, just checked. will compare to Nexus today. ps. navigation-wise I checked both and they seemed to perform the same.
read that compass is software issue and should be fixed. i think its fair to say that we ALL need to give Samsung a chance to fix issues. so far there was no update to Vibrant and it WILL come end of September....maybe October....
and its gonna be a pretty damn big update, not only we get fixes for bugs and possibly more add-ons (features) to Touchwiz, we are also getting a Froyo !
bryon13 said:
I had a Nexus, and my wife had a MyTouch. She was wanting to upgrade, so we decided that I would get a Vibrant, and she would get my Nexus. We have since given away the MyTouch.
I have to say, at first, I was LOVING my Vibrant! it was incredible! The screen, and benchmarks spoke for themselves! Heck, I was even able to ditch a couple of mediocre apps for the pre-installed apps!
I've had my Vibrant for...17 days now. I've NEVER had any luck with the GPS, although it is handy for a game called "The Great Land Grab", since I can now buy land in states and countries I've never even been to before! (I bought a piece of land in CHINA!!! WOOT!) I've tried ALL of the fixes posted here at XDA and elsewhere. All of them seemed to help, but then I realized it was mostly a placebo effect. "742 people said this fix worked perfectly! It's gotta fix my GPS! Hey, it only took 17 minutes this time! YAY! It's all better!" Coming from a long line of HTC phones (G1, MyTouch, Nexus), I've come to expect good GPS performance, and I use maps and nav a LOT. (Well, I used to) I'm extremely disappointed in this, to the point that I will never buy another Samsung phone again.
The screen is AMAZING! The picture quality is intense, and it displays video so fluidly! I can't say enough good things about how beautiful it is! The screen difference is .4 inches, but it looks and feels like it's HUGE in comparison. I've never seen a screen on a cell phone that can show as deep black as this. If you set your phone up poroperly, you can have it on, but not be able to tell (ADW.Launcher/black wallpaper/no status bar/no icons/empty dock/dock open - Looks amazing!) It's such a nice display!
The phone SHOULD be WAY faster. the specs make the Nexus look old and dated. Of course, when you're used to touching an app shortcut, and it just HAPPENS, a 2-10 second lag seems like FOREVER! There are some MAJOR design flaws in the Vibrant, such as the 16 gig internal storage. It's a class 6, yes, but it's got VERY serious i/o issues, so almost everything that calls on the resources on it stalls and lags. (You'll see TONS of people who say there's no lag, but most of those people came from a dated phone, like a G1 or MyTouch. It's WAY faster than any of the older generation 1 or generation 2 phones, but it's painfully slow when you're used to the powerhouse known as Nexus. (2 seconds doesn't sound long, until you're trying to show off your phone, and you feel the need to explain that "it takes a second or two to load up, but when it does..." and you have TIME to explain that to someone while you wait. It's not nearly as snappy or responsive as it should be, considering this is a flagship device with specs to make most phones look like crap. SUPPOSEDLY, this phone is more powerful than a PSP, but the design flaws make it perform more like an NES. Once it gets going, it's GREAT, but it's the getting it up and running that sucks.
The phone does feel lighter, and cheaper, but it depends on your point of view if this is a good thing or a bad thing. I personally prefer the feel of the Nexus, because it feels more solid.
The loudspeaker on the Vibrant is WAY better than the speaker on the Nexus, although I have to think it something to do with the "hollow-ish" phone back echoing the sound, and therefore amplifying it somewhat, but I haven't tried a direct comparison with the phone backs off.
The Vibrant out-performs most phones on the market in terms of benchmark scores (linpak not included) however, if you were to perform a side-by side comparison of getting those benchmarks loaded up, you would likely have no doubt that the Vibrant is considerably slower. (I'm talking of the latest generation of 1ghz phones, like Nexus, DroidX, and EVO)
If the GPS (and compass, which is HOPELESSLY broken) and lag issues could be resolved, I think the Vibrant could be a contender as possibly the best phone on the planet, but in it's current form, it feels a lot like that funky cousin you try to avoid at family reunions. "Well, he came from a great family, and he's really smart, but he's just a bit off...I mean, look at him, he's pouring his soda into his shoes!"
Overall, I think in it's current state, the Vibrant can't hold a candle to the Nexus, and depending on the I/O issues, it may NEVER compare, but if they can get it running better, and make everything WORK, it will make the Nexus feel like a G1.
My choice for best phone: Nexus
(Subject to change)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the nexus, and already I've had more problems with the nexus than I did the Vibrant, it's by far faster and more usable. I LOVED my Nexus, but still..seeing all the things wrong with it I definitely like the Vibrant better. True multitouch, super crisp clear screen where even Avatar looks like you're watching it in stereoscopic 3D. Everything has been superb. The GPS problem is a given and I read up before I bought. Still more satisfied, an yes battery life is better as I could never get a "full" days use out of my Nexus even with everything turned off.
I came from the samsung captivate with high hopes and well I have noticed a few things the i would rather have over the atrix
one would be the screen, items like the opening screen to the xda app comes out pixaled
the overal make of the phone is I would say is cheap compared to the captivate. It feels as it would break on the first drop not to mention the plastic back cover feel as if it would break after a few openings. Overall I am content with it but not as happy as expected
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
Agree here. Regret to have my inspire sold.
I'm pretty happy with it, coming from an iPhone 4 (and an Evo.)
Pros:
- Screen looks great, pretty close to my i4. Yeah, if I touch my nose to the glass, I can see pixels. I'm also fine with the screen not being AMOLED over-saturated. My regular laptop isn't, my PC isn't, my Atrix lapdock isn't, my i4 isn't, my Evo isn't, my HDTV's aren't, so it doesn't really bother me that the phone looks exactly the same as everything else I own.
- It is quite fast. As an example, I tend to install or update multiple apps at once, and on my Evo (which was overclocked), it would drag the phone to being nearly unresponsive having more than 1 thing going at once.
- I'm digging the accessories so far. The DLNA feature has been great for grabbing stuff from my media server and displaying it in 720p on my TV. It's not 1080 yet, but it still looks quite good. The browser works well on the TV as well. The lapdock has been quite nifty so far as well. Barring Windows games, I've had no problem doing everything else I use my standalone laptop for.
- Battery has been amazing, compared to either my Evo or i4.
- Fingerprint scanner works extremely well, I was surprised by this, pleasantly.
- The on-screen keyboard is fantastic, right up there with the i4. Far better than any other Android I've owned to date (which is quite a few.)
Cons:
- When flipping through the screens on the phone, it hasn't been all that smooth, even after a fresh boot. It's not bad, but its like my Evo, circa launch day, prior to mods to improve its responsiveness. Might be Motoblur related?
- Data uplink is killing my latency, which if it isn't something that is fixed relatively soon, could actually be a deal breaker for me, since I do like to tether to play stuff like Bad Company 2 while at work... 130ms latency on my Evo is okay, 400 on the Atrix... isn't.
- This might sound odd, but it's so smooth that it is slippery as hell. I've had a few miraculous catches following the phone just sliding right out of my hand.
- When grabbing media for my server, I have to copy it via DLNA to the device first, THEN play it, when using the Webtop OS in either the entertainment or lapdocks. I have a feeling this will come down to someone making a crafty software fix, but who knows.
- The lapdock needs a way to hide the icon bar at the bottom to expand the browser window. If you try a Facebook game, you can't quite fit the whole game window into view, and there are other things that have a similar issue.
Overall I'm pretty happy with it, and it seems like most of the issues I have can be solved in software, one way or another.
No stock UI works that well other than Sense. I suggest getting ADW launcher and theme it like your stock UI. Its very smooth side to side etc.
One thing I noticed - this phone is flat out HORRIBLE with UI animations such as the gingerbread launcher. My captivates UI speed blows this out of the water.
They need to fix that asap.
Pretty happy so far.
Im pretty happy with it so far. I came from the LG Expo which was a WM 6.5 device. This is my first Android phone, so it was a pretty big upgrade.
If there is one thing I am slightly disappointed in is the phone's ram. The "1gb" of ram appears to be split in half between the phone and the web top environment, so either one can only access 512mb at any one time. I'm only slightly disappointed because I expected it. It's another case of misleading, but not totally false advertising...now, about my missing "G" in network speed....
Also from iPhone 4. Still haven't decided if I am going to keep it yet, overall the phone is really nice, but it still just doesn't feel as smooth/fluid/solid as the iPhone. I was really hoping a nice Tegra 2 chip would make things smooth on Android but alas I was still disappointed. The phone is fast don't get me wrong, but the UI still has plenty of places that are just ... chunky. Overall build quality of the phone is also nice, but it still doesn't feel nearly as solid in my hand as the iPhone does.
I like the phone just not sure I like it tons better than my captivate. I think a lot of people that downplay samoled screens have never owned one. Its very tough going back. Overall my phone flys using launcher pro plus with 3d animations. No slow Downs or chunkiness whatsoever.
I'm definitely happy. I @so came from the Captivate and there isn't anything I would change.
I LOVE the fact that the pixel Dr/ity is larger, therefore making everything smaller. today is going to be the first day I see how it performs out in the realworld so I hope that goes well
I'm thinking about picking up the laptock dock since you can tether for free as well... might wait a while though since I don't need it now.
Rooted/ROM Captivate
Rooted Atrix
I'm unimpressed. Of course it's fast but not noticeably faster than the inspire. I really want to keep this phone and use it as my main device but it's not looking good right now. The touch screen isn't as responsive as the captivate or the inspire. When I try to fly through things, I find the phone missing registered touches. At first, I just thought I need to get used to this device but I could do this on the inspire and captivate with no problem at all. I'm going to give this more time so we'll see how it goes. Another thing I noticed, Motorola has a load of crap that runs on the device that I'll never use (see running services) and it takes up a significant amount of memory. It'd be a pain to go through and manually end these services. Even after using a task killer, most of the services persisted.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
Coming from the Nexus One, which is still regarded as the baseline for a good Android device, I'd have to say I'm pretty happy with it, no regrets at all in selling my N1 to get this. Yes, I do sorely miss the stock UI and being in that comfort zone that I'll be first to get updates (even though Google has been slacking lately). With that said, the pros out number the cons.
Pros
- BLOODY fast
- Battery is 1000x better than the Nexus One. I can go a whole day on one charge and it's not an iPhone? Say it ain't so
- Screen is 1000x better than the Nexus One, and very, very close to my wife's iPhone 4
I don't know what the guy above is smoking, but the Atrix is a 1000X better than the Captivate in terms of build quality. I was sorta anxious about it being all plastic, but the phone feels rock solid. With an Otter Box Commuter on the way, I doubt I'll ever notice it was any different than my ex-N1 (with a Commuter case as well).
Neutral
- The phone isn't the prettiest, but certainly nice.
Cons
- Motoblur adds some nice touches, but overall it's slow. I'm using LauncherPro Plus which is getting me back some of my sanity.
- Doesn't come with Gingerbread out of the box :-(
- Power button location sucks
- Volume buttons are on wrong side :-(
- I know people hate trackball, but until Gingerbread makes it out to the Atrix, copy-n-paste SUCKS
I prefer this phone over my captivate 10 fold. The screen is not a big issue to me as a lot of times on the captivate screen peoples faces always had a tint of red to them. Over saturation is over saturation no matter how you look at it. The phone is also super fast in UI transitions for me and is worlds better then the captivate in that respect. Motoblur home UI used to cause all sorts of slow down but switching to launcher pro fixed all of those issues. The phone is really quick and snappy. The XDA load screen is pixelated i would assume because it is a lower res image in the first place. Also why is that even important? it's just a load screen?
Some people are just trying too hard to find any excuse to hate the phone.
tbae2 said:
The XDA load screen is pixelated i would assume because it is a lower res image in the first place. Also why is that even important? it's just a load screen?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Coming from a Nexus One (which btw was a great phone in its own right), and having had a plethora of phones including an iPhone 4 and a Captivate, I am very happy with the Atrix.
There are a lot of people making a big deal of AMOLED vs LCD. What I'd like to add is that it really is COMPLETELY A MATTER OF PERSONAL PREFERENCE! I, for one, prefer the more natural tones and higher brightness of an LCD display, but do see the draw of the higher contrast AMOLED. There are valid arguments for the pros and cons of both types of displays, and it really is best to see the two side by side in various environments to determine what works best for you.
Moving right along to the data speed: I've read a lot of posts about the data being capped and slower than 3g phones, but this has not been my experience! I used the new SIM they sent me and made sure I was on the 4G plan, and now my downloads are consistently faster than they are on the N1 and even faster than the iPhone (funny how that the iPhone still sets the benchmark).
Lastly, I want to address the performance of the phone: I think it's phenomenal! I did root and replace the stock launcher right away, but besides that everything is stock. The phone is super responsive. The transitions are seamless. Everything works great with one exception - the lock screen which takes a second to come up.
To wrap up, I think the Atrix is a very nice upgrade to my N1 and that Motorola hit a home run with this phone. Granted, we won't realize it's full potential for a few months, but I believe that the Atrix is a great platform and will have superb development support from the community!
dew.man said:
Coming from a Nexus One (which btw was a great phone in its own right), and having had a plethora of phones including an iPhone 4 and a Captivate, I am very happy with the Atrix.
There are a lot of people making a big deal of AMOLED vs LCD. What I'd like to add is that it really is COMPLETELY A MATTER OF PERSONAL PREFERENCE! I, for one, prefer the more natural tones and higher brightness of an LCD display, but do see the draw of the higher contrast AMOLED. There are valid arguments for the pros and cons of both types of displays, and it really is best to see the two side by side in various environments to determine what works best for you.
Moving right along to the data speed: I've read a lot of posts about the data being capped and slower than 3g phones, but this has not been my experience! I used the new SIM they sent me and made sure I was on the 4G plan, and now my downloads are consistently faster than they are on the N1 and even faster than the iPhone (funny how that the iPhone still sets the benchmark).
Lastly, I want to address the performance of the phone: I think it's phenomenal! I did root and replace the stock launcher right away, but besides that everything is stock. The phone is super responsive. The transitions are seamless. Everything works great with one exception - the lock screen which takes a second to come up.
To wrap up, I think the Atrix is a very nice upgrade to my N1 and that Motorola hit a home run with this phone. Granted, we won't realize it's full potential for a few months, but I believe that the Atrix is a great platform and will have superb development support from the community!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
exactly, my phone pulls the same DL speeds I could get from my captivate in my area. The only thing I'm lacking is the upload speed.
Think I'm going back to my inspire.....on another note, the Atrix's GPS is STELLAR
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
I'm extremely happy with mine. Coming from a ton of phones recently, including iP4, Captivate, Inspire, Surround among others. It may be the perfect size of phone/screen combo for me. Atrix is super fast and I'm good with the screen.
Everyone sees it's a pentile display and all of sudden it's garbage. I don't notice pixels. Sure, maybe if I got really close and squint my eyes I might. I'll never know because I don't spend all day trying to figure out how my phone sucks. Web page loads are faster than the Inspire for me.
Battery looks to be insanely good compared to the Inspire. I'd been using mine heavily since 10am yesterday googing around with it and playing games. I didn't plug it in when I went to bed and it still said 40% when I woke up. I realize that it goes in increments of 10, but that's pretty solid.
Sound quality is excellent! Talking on the phone shows really great audio quality for me. The biggest surprise was how loud/clear the speaker is for music and nav. I couldn't be happier with the phone.
Aaron J said:
If there is one thing I am slightly disappointed in is the phone's ram. The "1gb" of ram appears to be split in half between the phone and the web top environment, so either one can only access 512mb at any one time. I'm only slightly disappointed because I expected it. It's another case of misleading, but not totally false advertising...now, about my missing "G" in network speed....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, that's interesting. How did you come to this conclusion? I can't find any place in the settings that tells exactly how much RAM is in use/available.
Happy from aa TP2 but furious about what I paid for. Horrible Service no, Signed bootloader. Capped 3g Speeds, forget about 4g that is non existent where I live although it says 4G+
sdlopez83 said:
Happy from aa TP2 but furious about what I paid for. Horrible Service no, Signed bootloader. Capped 3g Speeds, forget about 4g that is non existent where I live although it says 4G+
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just curious why you bought it if your service is so bad? We all knew the bootloader was going to be locked down because it's Moto.
I found the Inspire to be light years ahead of the Captivate, and the Atrix to be just a notch above the Inspire. Also, I like the Atrix's skinned version of Swype. I honestly didn't even know it came with Swype until last night. I was using stock the whole time. lol
As for the iPhone 4, I can see why some aren't as impressed. When it comes down to it, no phone on the market can match its polish. Some come close, but none match. For me, I just prefer Android over iOS.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
I have prepared this thread to help myself and others compare and contrast the different phones and hopefully come to a decision here. If anyone has anything to add to the comparison that I have missed, please list it and we can get it all chocked up.
For the record. I have only listed something as a "Disadvantage" if I believe that the category is below what we would expect of the average Android.
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Advantages:
ATRIX
Battery Life - This is a big thing for me. I can make my vibrant last through a 14 hour day by crippling every single possible feature. But people here are saying that the Atrix runs solid though 30 hour periods. This is a huge plus for me.
Higher Resolution (even if its fake) - Even though this resolution is fake and can actually cause text to blur, I can say first-hand that I saw the screen in action at a local wal-mart and found it to be acceptable by my standards. I think it may help overall with browsing. The GS2 has a larger screen size, and no pentile matrix display, which could possibly be considered better. This is one that may work out to be a tie.
Tegra 2 - I list this as an advantage not because it is faster, the various benchmarks for either processor seem to be inconclusive at this point. I am listing it as an advantage because it has its own series of games optimized specifically for it, and because Google has chosen to build their framework around tegra 2.
Webtop - I am initially hesitant to even mention this. The phone has a webtop environment, it is most likely Debian Linux and it is said to also be very sluggish. If, in the future, devs gain access to this environment and find ways to optimize it and add in worthy apps such as Chrome and open office, then this will be a massive advantage, but right now it is pretty much just a gimmick.
The webtop interface retains its session when you disconnect it. So you can plug the phone back into another dock and go right back to what you were doing. This is one of the good things about webtop.
Laptop Dock - We all know it is hideously overpriced right now and maybe in the future a cheaper solution will be available. But regardless of how you get the dock, it is an advantage to run your apps in full screen, even if you don't use the sluggish webtop interface and firefox.
The dock charges your phone, but plays sound through your atrix speakers, it has no speakers of it's own, you can answer calls by removing the phone, picking it up on bluetooth or by just yelling at it from behind the laptop. The phone retains its session when you remove it and there is no special unmounting procedure, you just grab it and run.
GALAXY S2
Screen - Bright beautiful and extremely rich. Those who have seen the screen firsthand have claimed that there is nothing like it at all and that it is miles above even the old Super Amoled display. The 4.3 inch size is also a bonus for those of us with large hands. This is probably the best overall feature of the Galaxy S2.
Camera - 8 Megapixels, and 2 megapixel front facing camera. People say that megapixels don't really matter in the long run but the Atrix camera is also said to have a purple wash to it and that the video can be splotchy in certain situations.
Design - Even though it looks way too much like the iPhone, this phone actually looks exceptionally nice. I like the three button design much better than the 4, the search button is pretty useless overall. The thinness of this phone is also amazing if you are into that sort of thing. Naturally it may come down to the US carriers to ruin the design, but by it will likely be summer before that happens.
32GB internal storage - Expect to pay for it, but it is there, you get 64 gigs total with this phone.
Gingerbread - The Atrix won't likely get gingerbread until at least this summer, this phone will have it much sooner if you get the international version coming sometime this quarter.
Gyroscope - This phone has it, do any apps support it? Not sure, but it is there.
NFC - In the off chance that any stores upgrade to NFC this year, you will have the ability to use it. NFC may have other uses that we haven't envisioned yet. It is a protocol, so it can be applied to just about anything. You could potentially set it up to unlock your home, cars could start with it, whatever.
So it has a lot of potential use other than having your money stolen from you.
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Disadvantages:
ATRIX
Bootloader - To sum it up for those not familiar, the phone can be rooted, a custom ROM can be flashed, but the kernel cannot be altered at all. (someone will likely correct me here) but if part or all of the webtop code is contained in the kernel somehow it will be difficult to alter it to add new software or make it run more efficiently. This would be a terrible shame.
I can tell you that Team Whiskey has made my Vibrant browse faster than I have seen in Atrix videos, with half the memory and a single core processor. It is scary to think of what this phone could actually accomplish if Moto decided to allow it.
Motoblur - I read that this requires you to sign up for an account before you can even use the phone. I find it alarming that Motorola has decided to help themselves to all this information and it makes me wonder just exactly what they really have access to and why.
Crippled FM radio - WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY. All of these phones have both transmitters and receivers for FM. So can someone tell me why in god's name anyone would disable them? FM radio has many more uses than just listening to local stations and why again should I have to burn my limited data on
internet radio when there is a receiver right in my phone?
GALAXY S2
Heat - My current Galaxy S runs very hot already, if the screen is active while the phone is being charged it will heat up to what seems to be a very dangerous temperature. The pre-release Galaxy S2 was said to be scorching hot after running with the screen on and the charger active.
Fail File System, Hideous and crippling lag - Update: the galaxy S2 is said to not use RFS. Chock one up for Samsung.
Updates - Samsung has a horrible reputation for updates when working with US carriers, even for new phones. If it was not for this community I would have likely given up on Android and Samsung altogether. Although I know that part of the update delay has been t-mobile, it is also in Samsung's interests to ship out new phones instead of updating their old ones.
Battery Life I have a feeling that Samsung tried to push the limits to get their phone to be as thin as possible and I am worried that they have done so at the expense of battery life. We won't know for sure until it gets in people's hands but I expect the battery life to be subpar.
NO HID Bluetooth Support (possibly) - I have had a black wiimote sitting here for 6 months waiting to connect to my Vibrant. I love emulated classics but action games are near impossible to play with the on-screen kb. So if you want this feature, I would make sure that the GS2 has it first, because it is not likely that it will.
Availability - What it really comes down to now. Unless you want to shell out over 1000 for the phone, you will probably need to wait 5 months from now for any kind of US availability this summer. And don't doubt that those versions will become crippled and even more bloated in the process. But again there is no locked bootloader here.
Ok I think that covers it. Having written all this down, I think I am really leaning more toward the Atrix. There just doesn't seem to be anything else out there now that will be able to match it at the moment. And as you can see, our experience with Samsung has not been exceptional.
Good comparison there. I am also looking at the exact 2 models and thank you very much, looks like Atrix will too be my choice.
I guess I'll get the atrix laptop dock too and prays for the devs here to make it all better. Otherwise, I think its still a good piece of hardware I don't mind owning.
""Samsung's dual-core, Gingerbread-powered Galaxy S II has appeared on Play.co.uk alongside a tentative SIM-free price and release date. According to Play, which is currently taking pre-orders for the phone, it'll ship Mar. 31 for £599.99 (~$960). Pre-release prices are never guaranteed to be accurate and are always subject to change, but £599 seams like a realistic price point for the Galaxy S II, as it's slightly higher than current single-core offerings from other manufacturers.""
Just published at androidcentral. £599.99 (~$960)?? Get a grip..
Not bad, just a couple of things to note that I thought of while reading. First, the screen resolution can be arguable considering the Pentile screen that the Atrix uses. That gives the SGS2 more sub pixels, but then it's a bigger screen, so less (I believe) pixel density still... it's really kind of a toss up, but I think they will both look great. I think the lower resolution and bigger screen on the SGS2 will look just fine with the full 3 subpixels per pixel.
Also, the SGS2 looks nothing like an iPhone. I wish people would stop saying that about every phone that comes out. Apparently every square black phone with a screen is an iPhone now.
And also it's been reported that the SGS2 does not use RFS.
The Galaxy S2 looks like a great phone, but even as much as I hate Motorola's implementation of the lockdown...I can't *STAND* Samsung for updates. They've promised up and down that they would release updates for every phone since Android came out, and they've delivered on about 3 of those promises...out of probably 20. They are *HORRIBLE* at updating devices and they don't even apologize when they cancel. I would *never* buy a Samsung on the hopes that it would get an updated OS.
As for the screens, I don't really notice much of a difference. I'm a pretty severe audiophile and videophile and although I can tell a difference it's absolutely not enough to make me go with one phone over another. I'm coming from an iPhone 4 which has the best screen to date on a mobile phone...and even between that and my Atrix I barely see a difference. They're both fantastic screens.
hotleadsingerguy said:
The Galaxy S2 looks like a great phone, but even as much as I hate Motorola's implementation of the lockdown...I can't *STAND* Samsung for updates. They've promised up and down that they would release updates for every phone since Android came out, and they've delivered on about 3 of those promises...out of probably 20. They are *HORRIBLE* at updating devices and they don't even apologize when they cancel. I would *never* buy a Samsung on the hopes that it would get an updated OS.
As for the screens, I don't really notice much of a difference. I'm a pretty severe audiophile and videophile and although I can tell a difference it's absolutely not enough to make me go with one phone over another. I'm coming from an iPhone 4 which has the best screen to date on a mobile phone...and even between that and my Atrix I barely see a difference. They're both fantastic screens.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The updates aren't really an issue for people who visit sites like this. I would never rely on Samsung to update my phone. My Captivate has been running 2.2 for ages while they just released the update for everyone else. Yes, Samsung sucks at updating, but the hacking community will always get it done regardless.
I must be the only one, but i use the search hotkey absolutely all the time. I love it and I realize that you can hold menu for the same effect on the SGS2, but i'd prefer to have the 4th hotkey than their ugly stupid home button. It is not an iPhone, embrace uniqueness samsung.
eallan said:
I must be the only one, but i use the search hotkey absolutely all the time. I love it and I realize that you can hold menu for the same effect on the SGS2, but i'd prefer to have the 4th hotkey than their ugly stupid home button. It is not an iPhone, embrace uniqueness samsung.
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Click to collapse
I really miss the hardware home key! The orientation of the 4 buttons makes it a bit awkward to thumb navigate since its so close to the bottom. Its actually one of the things about the sgs2 that is making me think twice about my atrix. Despite how much I love it.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
Man_of_Leisure said:
I really miss the hardware home key! The orientation of the 4 buttons makes it a bit awkward to thumb navigate since its so close to the bottom. Its actually one of the things about the sgs2 that is making me think twice about my atrix. Despite how much I love it.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
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Click to collapse
I wouldn't mind if the buttons were hardware, thats another debate. I just want all four of them!
The back button is beyond crucial. Maybe back and home should be two hardware with the other capacitive? For symmetry, obviously a concern for samsung .
I definitely want the new Galaxy S 2. I've heard that the Atrix was a huge let down. I used to own a Captivate and I loved everything about it except the ****ty build quality and lack of flash for the camera. It was so smooth with voodoo and custom roms. The Galaxy S 2 will have an amazing screen and I think it will do average on battery consumption. Just my 2 cents
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
King Shady said:
I definitely want the new Galaxy S 2. I've heard that the Atrix was a huge let down. I used to own a Captivate and I loved everything about it except the ****ty build quality and lack of flash for the camera. It was so smooth with voodoo and custom roms. The Galaxy S 2 will have an amazing screen and I think it will do average on battery consumption. Just my 2 cents
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
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Click to collapse
****ty build quality? Like hardware wise? I personally think the Captivate is the nicest of all of the Galaxy S phones. The hardware itself has been absolutely wonderful for me. The software quality leaves a lot to be desired from a stock standpoint though.
AJerman said:
****ty build quality? Like hardware wise? I personally think the Captivate is the nicest of all of the Galaxy S phones. The hardware itself has been absolutely wonderful for me. The software quality leaves a lot to be desired from a stock standpoint though.
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Click to collapse
The plastic build was a huge downgrade for me, especially coming from a beautiful iPhone 4. I'm much happier with the Inspire 4G now though. HTC Sense is amazing and super smooth, and HTC build quality is great. The phone feels ultra solid.
SGS2 is apparently RFS-free. Also, some versions will have Tegra2 instead of Exynos - hope this includes us.
People knock Samsung's plastic designs, but they're actually a lot harder to break than the "well-built" iPhone 4.
Very good write up man, these are the posts that I like to see.
By looking at my signature, you can see that I just got the Atrix as well, and I love the phone. Amazingly fast, awesome screen (love the higher density and the effect itbhas on the overall experience), and the battery is pretty good too.
I'm seriously thinking about buying the laptop dock, but I don't know how well that will perform, and I haven't seen any live videos of it.
I really like the design and specs of the GS 2, but there are a lot of possible problems holding me back....
Rooted/ROM Captivate (For Sale)
Rooted Atrix
FLAC Vest said:
Very good write up man, these are the posts that I like to see.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot, bro.
I am no engineer and I can't build tools. But I can put a few thoughts together and provide someone with some information.
This is an amazing community and what people do here is outstanding, I just want to do what I can to add to that.
King Shady said:
The plastic build was a huge downgrade for me, especially coming from a beautiful iPhone 4. I'm much happier with the Inspire 4G now though. HTC Sense is amazing and super smooth, and HTC build quality is great. The phone feels ultra solid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
S2 looks like meizu m9
I have both and a Galaxy S 2 on order
Why? I really liked the Captivate. My plan was to use both but the Atrix is so much more fun to use I'm selling the Captivate. Well, maybe. Maybe not.
Yesterday after I removed the SIM card and replaced it, the Atrix went bonkers with freezes and instability issues. After numerous soft resets, two factory resets and replacing the SIM card, SD card and battery a couple of times it seems to be back to normal. I suspect I had reinserted the SIM card incorrectly but maybe there was another issue.
So why would I pay $1000 for the Galaxy S 2? The Captivate was that much fun. Although I'm sure we will be able to do more custom rom's shortly on the Atrix, the Galaxy S 2 sounds like an even bigger blast than either. And boy oh boy does that LG 3D look interesting. But you have to draw the line somewhere.
Here is what the Atrix has that the Captivate does not:
1-better graphics and screen quality, dynamic and vivid visuals, a joy to read and watch (text as well as video quality is sharp and crisp, very clear)
2-more interactive features with outside devices (i.e. computers)
3-interacts more efficiently with e mail, voice and text programs (really like the way it handles multiple incoming calls especially when you are already on one-notification, instructions and directions for handling)(I can now actually use Excel spreadsheets and Word documents) (works well with contacts)
4-updated browser can handle more types of video content and pop up windows better
5-it feels better when you hold and talk or watch or do most anything with it (I did make one call and even though I could hear the other party clearly they could not hear me-I do not what happened.)
My friends all tell me I should get an iphone. I had one for years and the Androids are far more fun. I'll never return. I don't think. LG 3D anyone?
I think Tegra2 is actually a disadvantage for Atrix 4G.
As a new generation dualcore processor, it's early, but not strong.
It's video playback ability of H.264 is limited, but H.264 is currently the most frequently played format.
It has no neon support, big loss on processing power.
Till now Tegra2 has not proven itself in Graphics power. In benchmarks it's no superior to Hummingbird.
However the performance of Mali400MP on GS2 is also questionable, so just wait and see...
hotleadsingerguy said:
The Galaxy S2 looks like a great phone, but even as much as I hate Motorola's implementation of the lockdown...I can't *STAND* Samsung for updates. They've promised up and down that they would release updates for every phone since Android came out, and they've delivered on about 3 of those promises...out of probably 20. They are *HORRIBLE* at updating devices and they don't even apologize when they cancel. I would *never* buy a Samsung on the hopes that it would get an updated OS.
As for the screens, I don't really notice much of a difference. I'm a pretty severe audiophile and videophile and although I can tell a difference it's absolutely not enough to make me go with one phone over another. I'm coming from an iPhone 4 which has the best screen to date on a mobile phone...and even between that and my Atrix I barely see a difference. They're both fantastic screens.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 great post!
King Shady said:
The plastic build was a huge downgrade for me, especially coming from a beautiful iPhone 4. I'm much happier with the Inspire 4G now though. HTC Sense is amazing and super smooth, and HTC build quality is great. The phone feels ultra solid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See, I don't understand that. There is far less plastic on the Captivate than the majority of the phones out there. The front is all glass, and the back is mostly metal. It's only the top and bottom on the back that are plastic, and they have both felt very solid to me since I got the phone on launch day. I came from an iPhone 4 as well, and granted nothing compares to the iPhone 4 in build quality, the Captivate definitely doesn't seem bad at all to me.
As long as you're happy with what you have now though, that's what matters. I just think the Inspire is a bit of a waste of money considering it's lack of power compared to all the other phones coming out now. It feels like it's last generation still. I did play with it a little at the AT&T store though, and it seemed nice. If it had come out last summer with the Captivate (even if it didn't have 4G), I might have gotten it. Now I'm going to wait until a dual core offering I like though.
I like a lot of things I'm hearing about the Atrix, i'm just concerned about the low data speeds, and wonder if the iphone 4 might just have it beaten (for now).
Seems like many of you out here have good experience on both. You guys can help me (a lot) by rating which phone is better in my areas of biggest importance. And i know i am going to get iphone haters but I'm not sure i understand specifically WHY. The phone really is a great device, so please be fair to it here, but do feel free to also tell me why you think i won't like it.
1. GPS
2. Internet Browsing speed/ease
3. Stability/Speed
4. Call Quality/Least dropped calls
5. Speaker Quality/Volume
Feel free to touch on any deciding factors you might feel i did not have listed...and thanks
Your going to get some very biased answers asking this on the atrix forums, let alone xda!
Sent from my DAMN Galaxy 4G¡!
1. GPS
Pretty damn good; I used it while walking down the street to the coffee shop and got a fast lock and accurate reads.
2. Internet Browsing speed/ease
Very, very fast, although not that much faster than current generation top tier phones.
3. Stability/Speed
Amazing; the phone in its entirity feels fast and snappy. It never sslows down, even when a lot of applications are running.
4. Call Quality/Least dropped calls
I'm part of the group that never gets dropped calls or a bad signal wherever I am. Nothing but positive experiences with me.
5. Speaker Quality/Volume
Very good. Calls canned through clear. However, there is a widespread issue with the notice cancelling feature. If you have it set too high, people can't hear you.
I ended up taking mine back though. The fact that on the same wifi network, it only beat my Nexus 1 aand Captivate by asecond or so; and the quality of the screen isn't that great, even though it has a higher pixel density.
Honestly i had this same debate before i bought my atrix, after having my jailbroken iTouch(which isn't much of a difference from an iphone) and my htc aria, i've noticed how locked down the iphone is, and i love customizing my phones/devices, and android seemed like it had so much more to offer, i can't lie, i like the design of the iphone 4 and almost bought it, but the atrix is waaay more powerful and has a very bright future ahead of it rather than the iphone 4 which is about to be sorta outdated in a few months when the iphone 5 comes out(which really isn't gonna have much of a difference from the iphone 4.
This is my first motorola phone with motoblur, and a lot of people don't like motoblur but actually it's not bad at all, i blame the bad rep on the motorola backflip
ok now to answer your questions:
Motorola Atrix
1: the GPS works great, no complaints
2: the internet is blazing fast and very smooth
3: 1ghz dual core processor, pretty self explanitory lol, but i haven't experienced any lag at all
4: I haven't had any dropped calls, and the speaker is very clear and loud
5: speaker is clear and loud enough to hear from another room
and no i'm not giving a biased opinion, i like both phones, but the Atrix seems more stable and dependable which is important when on the go
I will play devil's advocate for you. My buddy's Iphone 4 is "faster" in a speedtest.net race. I have NEVER seen him upload anything through his iphone. So saying that the iphone is faster is almost a mute point, but it does upload faster. Our download speeds are the same, his Iphone, my captivate, and sadly my Atrix all hit the same download speeds.
The ONE thing that makes me android green with envy, his stupid "unreal" games. I mean its freaking gorgeous to look at, I dont even know the name of the game but its badass. I know that we are going to get some sweet game via nvidia tegra zone, but so far they all look cartoony to me. I am sure we will eventually overtake the iphone in terms of games.
Ok so back to why my phone is better... I can use my phone as a nintendo, supernintendo, playstation 1, or nintendo 64 AND connect it to the big screen AND play the games from my wii remote...
And we have webtop so neiner neiner.
atrix screen
I strongly disagree with the previous post. The Atrix screen is GREAT. Motorola did not include any hi res movies either becasue they were rushing it out the door or just not fully developed the apps. But I have seen hi res videos on the Atrix and the screen is excellent. The Atrix beats the IPhone hands done in every category. Droid phones can be optimized and customized and the result is a phone that does exactly what you want, better than any other phone out there. Trust me, get the Atrix...spend time here looking at the apps and homescreens and spend time on it....it's worth it!
Dillsnik said:
1. GPS
2. Internet Browsing speed/ease
3. Stability/Speed
4. Call Quality/Least dropped calls
5. Speaker Quality/Volume
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WINNERS:
1. Atrix - by a lot
2. iPhone 4, by a small margin
3. Speed goes to Atrix, stability goes to Atrix if you are familiar with Android
4. Atrix, hands down. very loud speaker, very clear voice. Far fewer dropped calls.
5. ATRIX - loudest speaker I've ever had.
I just came from the iPhone 4 to the atrix, so I figure I can speak better then most.
I really like both of these phones, and figure that either way you go will be a win for you. So that's the good news.
Some quick comparison thoughts:
The screens on the same are very very comparable. They both have a notably high pixel density, and look super sharp and clear. The colors on the iPhone are perhaps a tiny bit better, but maybe that's just a trick of the mind. Regardless, they are very comparable.
Both phones are fast, very fast. Generally, I would say that the Atrix is a bit more responsive then the iPhone. But this is not true when it comes to changing orientation. I've noticed that the Atrix can stutter for a second, where the iPhone was instant. Could be my launcher.
GPS is excellent on both. But the Atrix comes with Google Navigation built in, which basically gives you a full blown GPS on your phone. iPhone requires an expensive app, or more of a maps view then a nav view.
Stability wise, I'm torn. The Atrix does... weird things sometimes. I can't exactly explain it. I had to do a battery pull to get it to work yesterday... brought me back a few years to my blackberry days. Not that it's a terrible thing, but it is a little different. I don't think I was forced to reboot the iPhone once due to issues. It is very very stable.
Build quality goes to the iPhone 4 hands down. The Atrix has little annoying things like the fact that the back on it creaks on some phones (mine is one). Not a big deal by any stretch. But I do miss the awesome build quality of my iPhone 4. Again, Atrix is awesome, but just can't compare to the best in class iPhone.
I love the notification LED on the Atrix. That was probably the thing I missed most on my iPhone.
Call quality and clarity is better on the Atrix. The earpiece is crystal clear, which I can't say for the iPhone. My friends say I sound better on the Atrix too.
To me what it comes down for overall is the software though. I am by no means an expert developer or crazy programmer, but I am very good with most technology. I love controlling my experience, and being able to mess with it. The iPhone is... for lack of a better word, very boring. It is kind of all the same stuff, and once you have it for a week, nothing ever really changes on it. You have the same home screen and everything else. It is what it is.
The possibilities on Atrix are endless. Even without an unlocked bootloader, there is a ridiculous amount of stuff you can do with this phone. Depending on your mood on a given week, you can completely customize things to fit your demands. What widgets and setup you use one day you can completely change the next. I like that freedom a lot.
And call me stupid... but I love my live wallpapers. They are so cool to me.
Overall, the move to Atrix was an awesome decision for me.
I just switched from an iPhone 4 yesterday to the Atrix and the bottom line is that I am incredibly happy with the switch.
A lot of people covered the basics: The GPS is great and built in Nav is nice. Call quality is very crisp, the phone is fast and web browsing is just as smooth as the iPhone. I have had no difficulty adjusting and actually, a lot of things, such as notifications, are designed much more logically.
My reason for a switch was that I was very bored with iOS, going through 3 generations of the phone. The OS is sort of stagnant.
There are a few hiccups on the Atrix - I don't love the texting app and the way it handles embedded images. I also think that the battery indicator is a little strange - still figuring it out.
Aside from, the customization options (even without bootloader access) are incredibly diverse. I love the screen (don't understand all the hate, honestly) and I similarly have had no problems with motoblur yet. Some of the moto widgets are bad, but I just delete them.
One more key factor - I LOVE BEING ITUNES FREE. It is SO nice to just drag and drop files to my phone and have them show up appropriately. It's a world of difference.
If you have any specific questions for a recent iPhone 4 switcher, feel free to PM me.
Thanks
As an owner of both phones, I can say both phones are great. As much as I hate Apple as a company, it has saddened me the past year to say build quality wise, nothing really compares to the iPhone4...it's like a nice expensive watch, glass on both sides and metal on the sides. The Atrix's plasticy build with small creaks here and there(all phones with some plastic removable battery cover will always creak). Both phones are pretty snappy but iOS has always been more smooth and fluid when it comes to UI transitions. My i4 is jailbroken and tweaked to hell, but I don't theme it with Winterboard as I see some lag with it. Apple must use a better digitizer and have some better touch algorithm implemented, because no other touch device is on par with them. The Atrix screen comes close, but you still can feel the difference on touch response. You can also tell the IPS screen on the iPhone4 is still sharper and produces colors more accurately, but then again, it is an IPS screen. While I've always loved how the Android browser loads the pages quickly with no transparancy checkerboard, browsing on the iPhone4 is just smoother, but that could be a by-product of the better screen. Sometimes people say I sound muffled on the Atrix, but it may depend on how I hold the phone.
I wanted to see the hype about Tegra2 so I download Samurai2 for Tegra2. It looks stunning on the Atrix, however, it looks just as good on the iPhone4 too. So that was kind of a letdown to see that Tegra2 was matched by Apple's 9month old SOC. I also have a NexusOne(currently running on Modaco's GB) and love how I can install ROMs and Nandroid to backup my device to try other other ROMs, but with this bootloader lockdown and the possibility that there is a Nvidia efuse in Tegra2, it makes buying Moto almost as bad as buying Apple. While xda is a great community with some very very intelligent people, the jailbreak scene on iOS has worked wonders because they only focus on one OS version for basically one device(Pod/Pad/Phone/TV).
Basically, you shouldn't even consider the iPhone4, when the 5 is coming. Spec wise, if it's using the dual core A5 chip that they just announced on the iPad2, then it will probably be one of the fastest and most powerful phones available. The only thing is, you have to deal with the Apple tax of iTunes and a locked down system until it's jailbroken. The Atrix is a great phone and if you had to buy a phone tomorrow, it should be the one to get...but July isn't that far away.
If you can wait....
I have been thinking about both. It might make sense to wait a month until iPhone 5 details come out. It is supposed to have a HW upgrade and there are some pretty interesting rummours out there (NFC, etc).
Do not buy the iPhone 4 right now as 5 is coming out in a few months...
That being said, the Atrix has VERY fast web browsing. From what I remember of using the iPhone 4 for a month, whenever you try to scroll quickly or zoom out quickly, you get a slight gray loading area. This also happened on the Captivate and n1, but on the Atrix, that never happens on heavy content sites like Engadget.
If you really dont care about the differences between iOs and Android, and LOVE gaming and the best battery life of any smartphone, get the iPhone. But if you want "freedom" and hands down the best integrated google service, get the Atrix.
I think both devices are extremely good. If you want to live in the iTunes ecosystem, then the iPhone is the way to go. However, I have not a single dropped call with my Atrix in St. Louis, and my cousin's iPhone 4 drops calls constantly. It's not the network, it's the phone.
The iPhone has a better app store ecosystem in that the quality of apps are often better and there are a ton of high-quality iOS games from big developers, not quite up there for Android yet.
The iPhone also has a very good camera and camcorder. Better media support (as in netflix, hulu +, AirVideo streaming, etc).
The Atrix is a great all-around device too. I think the camera and camcorder are pretty good, and the screen is wonderful. I just can't use a 3.5" screen on the iPhone anymore. And the iPhone notification system is just terrible.
Google Maps, Voice and Gmail are extremely good on the Atrix and they are all lacking on the iPhone. I also think the battery life on the Atrix is incredible. I'm getting better battery life than I had on any other phone ever.
I had to make this decision and I chose the Atrix.
illmatic416 said:
Basically, you shouldn't even consider the iPhone4, when the 5 is coming. Spec wise, if it's using the dual core A5 chip that they just announced on the iPad2, then it will probably be one of the fastest and most powerful phones available. July isn't that far away.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed, At least on a personal level. used my upgrade for the Atrix, returned it for the iPhone 4 a few days later. Today ill be going back, returning the iPhone and getting the Atrix at full price ($499). That way ill get my full upgrade back for July when I see how the next iPhone looks (if its not a 4" screen I doubt i'll waist my time, but we will see). I'm considering just staying with the Atrix and maybe supplimenting my lack of iOS games with the iPad 2, but we will see.
iPhone screen seems awfully small after using an atrix
I went from an iPhone 4 to an Atrix, and i don't miss the iPhone at all, really. Will the iPhone 5 be better? Possibly. Will i care? Not really. The main turn-off for me in regards to any Apple product is their OCD towards iTunes. I want my phone to be a phone..... just as much as i want a 16GB storage media to be a 16GB storage media. I don't want to have to either constantly sync it to iTunes, or rely on some 3rd party work-around to be able to access the data stored on my phone without using Apple's sh*tty software.
If it wasn't for iTunes, lack of complete customization, and basically being just another sheep in the herd carrying one around.... i wouldn't mind another iPhone. But until that time comes (which it never will), buh bye iPhone.
elementaldragon said:
I went from an iPhone 4 to an Atrix, and i don't miss the iPhone at all, really. Will the iPhone 5 be better? Possibly. Will i care? Not really. The main turn-off for me in regards to any Apple product is their OCD towards iTunes. I want my phone to be a phone..... just as much as i want a 16GB storage media to be a 16GB storage media. I don't want to have to either constantly sync it to iTunes, or rely on some 3rd party work-around to be able to access the data stored on my phone without using Apple's sh*tty software.
If it wasn't for iTunes, lack of complete customization, and basically being just another sheep in the herd carrying one around.... i wouldn't mind another iPhone. But until that time comes (which it never will), buh bye iPhone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Definitly agree
Well, the choice also depends on whether you prefer stable and simple os or a more complex but not as cleaned up os. As for now, I agree with the other posters to wait for the iphone 5, then compare. Right now I have the atrix, and already the iphone 4 camera and screen are both better. The atrix may be powerful, but nothing is capable of fully utilizing it, not to mention that the iphone 5 will be just as, if not more, powerful. The atrix may be good in a few months, but for fast updates, reliable stability, and damn nice designing, wait for the iphone 5.
Oh and android doesn't have monopoly (I mean the board game)
Thank you everyone
Thanks to all that contributed...some very good points made all around.
Basically here's how i have broken down the comparison with all other things being practically equal:
Iphone has slightly better screen, excellent build (best of any phone possibly), and better cams, but proprietary OS etc make it hard(er) to customize.
Atrix has more customization/freedom, led notifications, possibly better call quality, and the potential to be a great phone once it's cracked.
I can't hold off for i5, although i'm sure i can give it a look when it's here. For the meantime i think i am going to go with the Atrix. It's a shame Apple turns off so many with having to use itunes bc i think that is where it's biggest argument against seems to be from and i am sure if i owned it i would not like that either
after 4 years of using an iPhone, once I tried out Android, I stayed. User-customizability is what won me over (among other things such as notifications, google apps, swype, google nav, google voice, etc).
My timeline of smartphones as follows:
iPhone 2G, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, Evo, Captivate, Nexus One, Atrix