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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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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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Click to collapse
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)
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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 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
Click to expand...
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
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Ok guys ive been reading mixed comments about the Atrix that its good and that its not. I was in 2 minds whether to get the Atrix or the LG Optimus 2X. Originally I was gonne get which ever I could get my hands on 1st. Both have their pros and cons i.e. camera, ram, locked bootloader, screen quality, internal memory etc
Well I decided to get the LG and this comment made in the o2x forum sealed it
Ive been using my atrix couple weeks an am falling out of love with it fast, after yesterday it ramdomly shut off 2x an today once sofar. The screen is beging to bother me the screendoor washed out look. Allready returned lapdock, that cant even compare to a real laptop in my opion. So im looking hard at the Lg 2x for an upgrade of camera, gyroscope, performance, faster upgrade to gingerbread, real mirroring, 1080p recording an play back, 7.1 sound, totaly unlocked phone. Yes 512mb memory is trade off, but operating system will handly that, an the battery is non issue, I'll have a spare battery or a charging source anyway. Not to mention not paying 20/month to not tether, an having my data speeds throttled down to 1.5mb down an 310kb up lat of 350-800. An Atrix doesnt do LTE
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But now im stiill thinking what to do as Im so impatient and want a dual core phone asap. So I made this poll to see everyones view
Coming from a N1, there's not that much improvement. I'm satisfied, but not amazed by this phone. Still debating if I should return it and wait it out.
My impressions:
-Definitely faster, everything is much snappier, but browsing-wise there's not much of a difference.
-Screen is bright and sharp (as long as you don't put your face within inches of the screen you won't really notice the pentile display. But it's still an annoyance when you notice it)
-Camera is marginally better. Pretty disappointing for a flagship device. Plus the media gallery lags like this is a 2 year old phone when zooming in and out.
-GPS is amazing
-Pretty much Motorblur slows this phone's speed and potential. If this device was stock or able to flash truly custom ROMs, it'd be screaming in speed and blow every competitor out of the water.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
Custom ROMS would make it a whole lot better.
19 voters.. 2 responses.. lol
I think it lives up to the hype.. couple quirks I miss from my captivate but.. besides that the phone is solid.
Now I just got to wait for Tango to support our phones :T
Came from the LG Expo. A much better improvement than the last generation phones. The phone just beats about everything out of the expo. Only thing getting to me is that the expo's fingerprint scanner doubled as a trackpad (would've been nice to have for editing text's)
harolds said:
Custom ROMS would make it a whole lot better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This pretty much summed it up
I think this is a situation that there is not enough tangible usage of a dual core for majority of people. Most of people wont notice any improvements in UI speed. We need evolution of software just like in iOS that despite this same architecture people could understand what the new software is bring them.
It feels a bit like a premature technology and we are all living dreaming of tomorrow while we are beta testing for Motorola/Samsung/HTC.
Just 2 cents.
Believe what you want but I love the Atrix. Had a captivate and it doesn't compare. My phone has never rebooted or lagged- I don't know what others do to theirs but my phone is rock solid.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
I'm lovin mine all around. For people who return it because of locked bootloader, I'd say that you knew that when you bought it if it's a dealbreaker.
The webtop dock alone has made this phone exceed the hype. All thanks to the devs
You guys rock
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i have a nexus one and now and atrix and have had it for about a week and i love it. It works great, no random reboots or anything ... just smooth sailing.
I know i can not customize it like I could my N1 but I think that day will come in time. I'll wait ...
Yes, it lived up to the hype in my opinion.
Came from Nexus One. Love the Atrix. It fast and solidly built. Im not sure why everyone said motorblur slow the phone down. I use ADW launcher and it scream.
The Atrix doesn't live up to the Best of CES 2011 hype. The locked bootloader, 1080p "coming soon" recording, overpriced lapdock, overpriced multimedia dock, and good-but-not-great screen keep it from living up to the incredible hype it garnered when it was announced.
Your poll is worded slightly differently: Was the Atrix worth it?
I just came from an ancient Iphone 3g, so the Atrix is absolutely amazing in pretty much every way compared to it and finally getting to use my upgrade was absolutely worth it!
I originally tried out a Captivate for about a week back when I first came up for an upgrade last november. It kept turning itself off (not sleep, total shutdown so I wouldn't receive calls, txt, email ect.) which was a deal breaker. The useless GPS didn't help it's case either. Screen was gorgeous, speed was decent, build quality was ok, battery life was ok. Anyways, I sent the Captivate back after a week, I couldn't have a phone that didn't take phone calls.
First and foremost I love the speed. This thing is lightning fast and seems to have horsepower to burn under the hood. Second is the battery life, I get home from work most of the time with over 40% battery power remaining which is absolutely astounding, my iphone couldn't make it through a full day without getting some juice at my desk and while the captivate did, it was usually at 10-15%. I'm also using the Atrix more than either of the others because I don't feel like I have to conserve battery power to make it through the day.
After those two big features, there are a bunch of less important things that I like:
Finger print scanner is great, I can unlock the phone without even looking at it. I know this doesn't sound important, but it's surprisingly useful when I'm just trying to pull information off my phone quickly and can have it already unlocked as I'm pulling it out of my pocket.
GPS is the best I've experienced on a phone, and better than some dedicated GPS units I've had the displeasure to work with.
Build quality (contrary to some reports I've read) is quite good imo. The phone itself is very sturdy feeling when held by the sides. The back cover is a bit flimsy, but it is also what convinced me to skip getting a case for the Atrix, if it gets scratched I'll just get a new back.
Gorilla Glass is not glued to LCD. Should keep repair costs down.
HDMI out is great, webtop with working firefox extensions is awesome.
Some good, some bad:
Screen resolution is good (colors not so much). The auto-brightness seems to be set a little low imho. I only notice a pentile effect on particularly small+thin fonts.
Camera is surprisingly good in low-light and indoor conditions. Not especially great overall though, tint seems a little off. May just need to set up a custom photoshop filter to correct it.
Call quality is good in quiet conditions, very clear reception and a detailed microphone. Not so good in noisy or windy conditions, the mic picks up a lot of extraneous noise, people are often asking me what's going on or where I am now based on background noise.
I haven't had much reason to use the front facing camera...frankly with AT&T's network I think video chat is a gimmick more than anything else.
I wonder about the finger print scanner/button longevity.
I wouldn't necessarily say the Atrix is the best phone around, but it was the best phone that fit my requirements (ATT, asap, batt life, fast) and so far I like it a lot.
Running ADW Launcher and really like the Advanced Clock widget.
I took mine back and have the Nexus 1 now; I liked the speed but for the most part, my 2.3.3 phone is about as fast; the main thing slowing these phones down now is the network speeds anyway.
If I'm on a wifi network, they're all pretty much the same speed.
Living up to the hype? Definitely not. There are a lot of small problems with this phone that a lot of people don't like; to me, it feels slightly rushed.
I came from an iPhone 4 and I haven't missed the iPhone experience yet. I started with the HTC Inspire which is a nice phone but the battery is rotten and the volume from the phone was pathetic. The Atrix has been an awesome phone for me. It has pretty good battery life so far and yes there are no truly custom ROMs but Adeo (REDUX) has made the UI lag go away on my end and I know others have said the same thing. I am loving the experience of this phone.
Just know that anytime you get a phone shortly after a better one will come out. It's all user preference and what you want and what you think is important. I'm happy but guy x may not be happy. So use one and if you don't like it don't keep it.
I went from a HTC Fuze directly to the Atrix. I love it. (almost) Everything about it. I have played with the Inspire and a couple other 2.1/2.2 devices (girlfriends captivate) and this thing stomps the crap out of them. The colors are just a little off, but that's probably just me going for an extreme upgrade from the phone I had before.
The *ONLY* gripe I have about it is the locked HSUPA. But with all good things come some bad, I think I'm gonna stick it out with the Atrix. Not only that but Spectral Souls looks amazing on it
Guys, please, help me to make a right decision.
Is it possible to buy AT&T version of Motorola Atrix and use it outside US? Is it simple to unlock it? Or where do you recommend to purchase unlocked phone.
P.$.: does motorola have any plans to upgrade it 2.3/3.1 in the future? As I know it's not the trivial to customize firmware for motorola phones (my old G1 can be customized without any problems).
Thanks a lot.
The phone is great nuff said.... We are all a bit too picky but for what its worth this is really the only phone out right now that can take down the iphone 4. My iphone 4 has just been sitting on my night table since I got the Atrix. Atrix has so much more potential and the Android os is so much more pleasing than iIS. Once the bootloader gets cracked its game over!
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
Genixoid said:
Guys, please, help me to make a right decision.
Is it possible to buy AT&T version of Motorola Atrix and use it outside US? Is it simple to unlock it? Or where do you recommend to purchase unlocked phone.
P.$.: does motorola have any plans to upgrade it 2.3/3.1 in the future? As I know it's not the trivial to customize firmware for motorola phones (my old G1 can be customized without any problems).
Thanks a lot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I am using Atrix on my business trips to EU using local sim cards.
Probably, but the timing of updates is another question.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
Hey guys,
Can you share your overall feeling with the usage of the phone so far? I have seen O2x users complaining how badly their phone is and would like to know the general feeling of S2 users.
Thanks in advance.
....there are plenty of threads with ppl giving their opinions on this phone? Why don't you read a little more?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Or we could leave our opinion as he asked.
I have many issues with this one but they are all related to software, and i will be applying root to my one so it does not bother me.
But i was using an iphone 4 and it isn't as smooth a transition, wifi is chewing battery, but that's really all .
But i love the freedom of the os so i will suck it up for now.
If you're considering an O2X, run, run fast and far. I had its illegitimate offspring the G2X and it was hands-down the worst phone I've ever owned. The price for it in the U.S. has dropped to "free" with new service and it's been out for only five weeks. I've only had my phone since Monday but so far I like it a lot. I (knock on wood) don't seem to be having the battery issues others are and I expect the SGS2 to get about 16 hours with moderate usage. It's been getting 11-12 with me on it constantly tinkering. Also, Samsung's already issued two updates so I'd imagine things will only get better. If you want a high-end phone the Sensation will be out soon. I think that's a more relevant comparison than anything produced by LG.
Not overly impressed with mine.
I originally came from an iphone 4, had a HTC Desire HD for a few days, til someone at work made me an offer I couldn't refuse for it.
Then I bought the S2.
As much as the S2 is a better equipped phone
i.e
Camera
Dual Core
Better Battery
AMOLED screen
I still prefer the user interface etc of the HTC
I would say try the sensation when available, but apparently its Locked for modding.
I am considering the Optimus 3D myself as the S2's are fetching more money on fleabay than I orignally paid.
All I can suggest is try before you buy if possible.
Devices ive owned in the last year.
Samsung Vibrant(Most consistently used)
HTC HD2( Love the modding)
Atrix(POS device, this made my decision easier but decent battery life)
LG G2x(Decent device, wasnt impressed)
Motorola Milestone(My favorite)
Xperia X10(decent device, great music player)
Iphone 4(my fiance phone)
I have absolutely none of the problems that other users are having. Ive had it for 2-3 weeks now. My battery life is amazing and getting through my workday plus some. My screen is very vibrant and have no issues. Size/Weight is perfect for me and device feels very sturdy. No lag whatsoever and apps run very smoothly with no crashes since owning. I can only see this device getting better with age once developement start. We have some great Devs coming to work with the sgs2.
I dont think much of iphones and I think this is the phone to beat. I like the look of sense but I think it lost alot of functionality since window mobile days. We all have to wait and see what the htc sensation has to offer. I think it will be the usual htc offering, 3steps forward 2steps back.
The only real con for alot of people is the non support for games without tegra 2 processors. But I dont care for games much(not enough time) aslong as Live Holdem Poker and angry birds work.
impressions
excitement at first then boredom now excitement again looks like this phone is going to be a ripper when all the guru's start to work on it----roms themes etc etc
Besides the GPS, data, screen and battery issues, this thing rocks!
FishTaco said:
Besides the GPS, data, screen and battery issues, this thing rocks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let's play a game. I'll go first. Assuming there are at least a hundred thousand SGS2's in the wild already, what percentage do you think have the problems you indicated?
GPS - My guess is <10% and the cause has still not been isolated and isn't consistent
Data - My guess is <15% with an unknown amount attributed to specific carrier, SIM, or router issues
Screen - My guess is <2%
Battery - <25% and again, some people are getting appropriate performance for an Amoled dual-core phone meaning it's not a universal problem
The first three work great for me and battery seems OK so far but I want to use the phone normally (instead of constantly playing with it) before declaring victory.
P.S. - I see in the Sensation vs. SGS2 thread you're getting a Sensation. Let's see what the front page of the Sensation board looks like three weeks after launch. Especially considering it'll be loaded with T-Mobile crapware and specific changes they've demanded of HTC. I hope for both T-Mobile and its customers that the launch goes better than the G2X launch.
BarryH_GEG said:
Let's play a game. I'll go first. Assuming there are at least a hundred thousand SGS2's in the wild already, what percentage do you think have the problems you indicated?
GPS - My guess is <10% and the cause has still not been isolated and isn't consistent
Data - My guess is <15% with an unknown amount attributed to specific carrier, SIM, or router issues
Screen - My guess is <2%
Battery - <25% and again, some people are getting appropriate performance for an Amoled dual-core phone meaning it's not a universal problem
The first three work great for me and battery seems OK so far but I want to use the phone normally (instead of constantly playing with it) before declaring victory.
P.S. - I see in the Sensation vs. SGS2 thread you're getting a Sensation. Let's see what the front page of the Sensation board looks like three weeks after launch. Especially considering it'll be loaded with T-Mobile crapware and specific changes they've demanded of HTC. I hope for both T-Mobile and its customers that the launch goes better than the G2X launch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am lost, whose side are you on??
You claim that between 24.999% and 51.999% of all SGS2 have some kind of a problem?
The SGS2 is going to be the HD2 of 2009.
It's the first phone out with all the top specs that from now, will set the standard.
HTC do NOT have amoled or a 1.2ghz dual core cpu.
I have been a big fan of HTC since I had the XDA EXEC. But sadly HTC have not done anything that great recently. I am also not a fan of the htc Sense.
I have used the HD2 for the past two years and this was my introduction to android too.
the SGS2 is my first native android device and, Whilst I didnt like touchwiz that much at first (Has a very much Iphone-esk feel to it) I have soon learnt how to get around it, and how to use the different connectivity modes (Kies 2.0/Kies air etc)
This phone is outstanding, And Samsung have done them selves proud.
The general feel of the phone makes you think its a cheap dummy phone. Its all plastic and SOOO light, It only seems to weigh as much as the battery does.
The screen is just brilliant, Great colours and amazing blacks, When the screen is black it blends so well with the screen bezel that it looks like there is no screen. If you have a few icons against a black screen, It looks like they are stickers planted on - It's that good!!!
I have a friend who is a big Apple Iphone fan, He has just come from the Iphone 4 and really loves it for how smooth and responsive it is. He did say he wished there was more pixles and he also seems to have an issue with how fast the battery dies - But he uses the phone purely for the internet, generally watching tons of flash in desktop mode. It runs as well as a PC, it's that good!
This forum is picking up fast and quite frankly I cant wait to see what roms come about, this phone is future proof and blows every other phone out of the water. Try running an N64 emulator with 0 frame skip - It's flawless. Try that on a Desire HD, It's laggy really bad. The dual core really comes into its own here.
Amazing phone, Amazing screen, Similar battery consumption as a HD2, Great UI when you get used to it and great connectivity for getting your files off your phone. Oh, And 16GB internal memory!... Wow!
Amazing phone so far. Battery life is good eniugh to get me through a day and loving the fact samsung pre installed 'my files' and 'downloads'. I do like the touchwiz app drawer a lot because of folders and horizontal scrolling. The only thing i would want on this phone would be the ability to set default homescreen on TW. Or someone could make a sense 3.0 ROM?
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Thanks for your inputs guys. I certainly have a better idea of whether to get this phone or the nexus s. Battery life is a very big factor to my phone criteria.
Thanks once again.
Ive been wanting to try the atrix i just see a lot of mixed reviews so no where better to ask but here true users! Thanks for any replies maybe yall can help
Its depend on what you want, But for me the phone is a solid one, good gps (coming from htc inspire and the gps there was an horror) the screen seems very nice 275ppi, very fast phone, feels great in the hand. If you looks in the htc's dev there are much more support from dev than the atrix but here the roms are really nice, no craps, no experiments, and in some time we're getting cyan. I really like my phone!
I personally am in love with the phone. Great screen size, great resolution, great touch response, insane amount of onboard storage and ram so that apps never freeze up, and battery life that has made me question what good battery life really should be (even with moderate daily use I can go 30+ hours without a charger, I can go days if I don't use the phone at all, and about 9 hours of intense useage). It runs every app I've encountered like butter, including intense HD games (thanks to the Tegra processor and graphics).
Good phone, fast, slim, etc... but if your looking to get one in the near future, I'd wait till Oct. and get the Nexus Prime. Just my opinion though.
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fleurdelisxliv said:
Ive been wanting to try the atrix i just see a lot of mixed reviews so no where better to ask but here true users! Thanks for any replies maybe yall can help
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It is a very fast phone, you almost don't have any lag. Nice big 4" screen which works well even under bright sunlight. Though there are a lot of complaints about Motoblur, I kind of like it, it has almost everything I need, on my previous phone Motorola Milestone, I had to install all kinds of widgets just to get my phone to do these things.
More importantly if you are looking for a perfect phone, it is not and there is really no perfect phone. What is important is what are looking for in a phone? If you could list what you are looking for in a phone, then probably the users here would be able to provide you with input as to whether the phone will meet your expectations.
Cheers!
The mixed reviews of the Atrix are caused from the old radio roms which were current on 2.2.2 froyo roms. Now on stock 2.3.4 and latest radio rom, atrix is a true beast. It does everything instantly when you click and the best part, you always have a battery enough for the next charge. I truly love my atrix and always trust it wherever i'm, whatever i tend to do. It has no limits.
Plus, you can extend its functions way more with a lapdock accessory.
I bought mine about a month before the Gingerbread OTA update. As soon as that came out I applied it from MSU, then waited a little more than a week and finally took the plunge and ran mramirezusa's unlock/CWM/root script.
I really like the phone now and have absolutely no issues with it -- though I do miss the "white text on black background" menus in the previous stock ROM. I'm running navalynt's piCRUST ROM to dispense with some of the bloat, but the phone runs fine on the stock 4.5.91/2.3.4 ROM.
My only complaint is that the back cover could be a bit beefier. It uses tiny plastic clips to snap onto the main phone body. I wish it used a slide & lock type of affair like the BlackBerry.
I pulled the battery many times while learning how to flash the phone, and the back cover has gotten a little "creaky". Putting a case on the phone will firm it up enough so you don't hear or feel this. And learning how to use adb or fastboot to reboot when possible (instead of pulling the battery) will save wear and tear on the cover. But it's not like I ever need to pull the battery during regular use. I've only needed to do this when flashing didn't work for some reason (usually because I did something wrong).
Before this phone I had an HTC Desire HD. That phone was beautiful but it was simply too big for my hand, I couldn't comfortably hold it and push buttons with the same hand, and I felt that I needed to keep it in my smoking jacket when not in use. Gave new meaning to the phrase "Ginger-bread"; I always held it gingerly like some precious piece of jewelry. A bit too elegant for my tastes -- and heavy to boot.
I was pretty sure that HTC Desire would slip out of my hand within the first week of owning it, so I went back to Costco and picked out the next cheapest Android phone, which turned out to be the Atrix. It's much more my style. Nothing flashy except what's on the inside.
Semseddin said:
The mixed reviews of the Atrix are caused from the old radio roms which were current on 2.2.2 froyo roms. Now on stock 2.3.4 and latest radio rom, atrix is a true beast. It does everything instantly when you click and the best part, you always have a battery enough for the next charge. I truly love my atrix and always trust it wherever i'm, whatever i tend to do. It has no limits.
Plus, you can extend its functions way more with a lapdock accessory.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
QFT
10 char
Useful thread as I very close to buying one. My choices (at the min) are the HTC Sensation, Samsung SII & Atrix and I know that everybody is going to scream 'get the SII' but I don't want a phone with such a large screen. I use my phone a lot but don't read ebooks or surf when in my lounge as I have an Android tablet for all of that.
I want a powerful phone that will run all my apps, allow me to 'play' with ROM's, have DLNA / HDMI connectivity and have a battery life better than 8 hours so (for me) the Atrix seems like the perfect device. I like the idea of the dock as it could replace my tablet but not at the current cost ! The Multimedia dock looks decent though as my plan would be to stream movies from my NAS through Atrix to HDMI TV.
I like the power that the Atrix produces, especially the 1gb ram. No other Android phone runs as smooth that I've used.
With that said, I don't like Qhd. Text font is too small at times IMHO. I've changed the build.prop density, but it can still be an eye strain.
The biggest thing that I want from ICS is hopefully a way to change a screen resolution like a PC.
Do that and this phone would be flawless!...
I came from Samsung Captivate. These are my own thoughts and YMMV
- The screen is not as good as the captivate. I mean yellow color seems funky
- The camera is baaad.
- Rest of the phone is good. 'Solid' is the word I would use. GPS is superlative. Well, i think coming from Captivate any GPS would feel superlative. .
- ROM options are less than that on Captivate, but we had a late start because of the locked bootloader. Soon Atrix will catch up.
I love it and don't regret dumping the captivate.
thanks for all the replies so far! seems like a great phone
Swiftks said:
Good phone, fast, slim, etc... but if your looking to get one in the near future, I'd wait till Oct. and get the Nexus Prime. Just my opinion though.
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who said the next nexus will be called prime? (im just askin!)
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the one thing i hate most about this phone -
its so f*cking slippery! seriously.. if you have sweaty hands.. good luck holding onto this thing without a case.
other then that ---- the voice quality on phone calls incoming and outgoing is not great, but its also not horrible either --- middle of the pack.
the speaker is very loud, i find using that to talk to people is much easier then holding the phone up to my ear because i can understand people better.
the screen is fine... i like that i can actually see the thing in sunlight.
I've had mine for a little over a month now, I will say that I love this phone.
It is the perfect size for me; big but not too big.
It is FAST
The battery life is better than most smartphones
Camera is OK, it'll pass
ROM selection is growing.
Look and feel are almost HTC like IMHO
Price is spot on!!!
Really enjoyed when I used it. Feels great in hand.
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For me it's been a great phone. And I've used a lot of smartphones under different platforms.
Android for me is rock solid and very nice to tweak and work on.
But the Atrix is a device on a different level thanks to it's Webtop implementation when used along with its accesories, specially the Lapdock, which has allowed me to leave my bulky and heavy laptop at home.
I really recommend you to try it and get some (if not all) of it's accesories. You will not regret it.
Sent from my Atrix using Tapatalk
I just got mine last week when they were free at Best Buy. I was planning to hold out for the SGS2 but decided free was a wise option to take. My previous phone was the Dell Streak (standard 1ghz snapdragon phone) and we didn't have much in the way of custom roms so I was excited to switch to a phone with a real development community.
I never even booted the phone into the stock rom. My coworkers all have stock moto phones and motoblur is just bad. But running Alien #4 this phone screams and is glitch free. I think it's literally twice as fast as my Streak and am very pleased with my decision to get this phone. The screen is beautiful and the "4g" speeds are a nice little boost over standard 3g (I live in a town of around 175,000 so it's not a major city and data speeds are nice and fast at all times of the day).
Pros:
-Screaming fast
-Lots of accessories
-High resolution screen
-Huge battery
-Lots of internal memory
-Several good roms to choose from
-Gaming
Cons:
-Feels tiny after having the 5" Streak
-Camera is decent but not as good as others
-Can get pretty hot (but is not as hot as some other tegra2 devices I've tried
Here is a doubter who became a believer after the atrix gbread upgrade:
http://www.phonedog.com/videos/motorola-atrix-4g-gingerbread-hands-on/
"With the Gingerbread update, the Motorola Atrix 4G rises to become the best Android handset on AT&T." ....pretty powerful stuff..
The atrix looks nice but I just wondered about dev support. That's why I got an inspire.