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I'm trying to get a phone for my girlfriend. I've been looking at iPhone 3GS but it's hard to get a good deal on one (I'm buying used, no contract). The Aria is the more budget-friendly Android device from AT&T but it's also made by HTC.
So, that being said:
1) How high of an over-clock do you guys get with battery life/daily usage being concerned?
2) How smooth is the OS? I mean like, scrolling, home force closes and multi-tasking.
3) How is gaming on this? Has anyone played PSX4Droid on it or Crusade of Destiny or Hero of Sparta on this device?
Essenar said:
I'm trying to get a phone for my girlfriend. I've been looking at iPhone 3GS but it's hard to get a good deal on one (I'm buying used, no contract). The Aria is the more budget-friendly Android device from AT&T but it's also made by HTC.
So, that being said:
1) How high of an over-clock do you guys get with battery life/daily usage being concerned?
2) How smooth is the OS? I mean like, scrolling, home force closes and multi-tasking.
3) How is gaming on this? Has anyone played PSX4Droid on it or Crusade of Destiny or Hero of Sparta on this device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't overclocked the phone - I don't see a need. Others have done so without a problem. There is a "sweet spot," so to speak - search "SetCPU" on this forum for more information. The Aria battery seems to be an issue, although with smart phones with touch screens, wifi, data, moderate/heavy use, batteries are being asked to do an awful lot these days...
The OS is very smooth (in my opinion) even with the Stock Sense UI, which I really like. The biggest issues with the stock at&t ROM are bloatware and the inability (for now) to move applications to the SD card (to save space on device memory). The scrolling is fast, switching apps works great, and Android Memory Management seems to do an adequate job. I have had the occasional force-close (not too often), but only with bad acting applications. I have CM running now, but when I had the Stock Sense ROM loaded - it was stable as a rock.
I have only played a couple of Sony SNES games using an emulator. They seemed just fine. I'm not a big gamer, so I can't say if the Aria is good for gaming.
The Aria is a great phone -
Great size (not freakishly huge) - fits into a pocket easily
Minimalist design
Excellent OS: stable and speedy. I haven't had it lock up yet - over a month's use.
I narrowed my upgrade choices to two phones:
Palm Pre
Aria
The Pre seemed a bit chunky (a lot thicker) and it was a bit laggy - I touched the e-mail icon and it slowly (albeit elegantly) started the e-mail application. The Pre has a lot to offer - great multi-tasking, hardware keyboard, and very nice screen. The Pre also is a Palm device (WebOS) and can run legacy Palm applications, if that's important to you (it was what originally drew me to that phone - I'm a Palm addict).
The Aria, in contrast, seems to launch applications much more quickly. It's also a much thinner phone, and easier to carry. It multi-tasks, but the switching isn't nearly as refined as the Pre's.
The decision is ultimately up to your girlfriend - Have her check the phones out and decide for herself. She may not be as into messing with the phone's OS as much as you are...Remember - she's the one who will be using it.
1 - generally overclocked at 806 with no issues at all. can't tell a difference in battery drain after a days use oc'd or not oc'd.
2 - a lot of the smoothness depends on the launcher you're using. once you're rooted and running cm6/7, you can choose from any number of launcher (launcherpro, adw, zeam). i recently changed to zeam launcher and have been exceedingly happy with it.
3 - i play a lot of snes games (via gameboid) and notice no poor performance. i recently got dungeon defenders and its running just fine as well. casual games like angry birds and game dev story work great as well.
i would recommend this phone to anyone.
I keep SetCPU set at 864 on demand and I have never had any stability problems and have really only gotten the phone unsettlingly warm when playing games, and due to on-demand scaling my battery life is the same if not better than stock. My only complaint about this phone (perhaps this is an individual case) is that the multitouch in games is terrible. Two player reactor/air hockey, games that require simultameous moving and jumping or shooting are often frustrating because both touches do not register correctly: the phone detects each touch, but continues to register after one finger has been removed. Unfortunately I have confirmed this with multiple sensor viewers and drawing apps, so it does not appear to be app specific. And again, this may be a problem that only my device is experiencing, but its important to keep in mind...
Ive had the Aria for a week or so now. I picked mine up on Ebay as a backup phone as my Nexus1 is out to HTC for repairs. I have CM6 on both my phones, and when OC'd to 806, I really dont notice any difference between the Aria and Nexus' snapdragon in normal operations. Launching any app is faster, and a tiny bit smoother on the Nexus, but the Aria is not that bad.
Im actually really enjoying my Aria, as the smaller form factor is nice. Most phones are getting bigger, but my hope is that HTC packs a snapdragon into one of these little phones.
I've just downloaded the nightly of CM7 and gonna try that out.
This is my first smartphone I got a real deal on like 40 bucks referbished. I've had it for a month and no problems. Its really quick even at normal clocked speed. The only time it ever slowed was when I was using a task killer took that off and its nvr worked better. In my opinion the aria is to small for games on most of the emulators the buttons take up most of the screen and multi touch isn't all that great. In my opinion I'd go with the aria over the iPhone Idk wat apples os is like but android is very promising its almost limitless
Sent from my Liberty using XDA App
Wondering if anyone is experiencing artifacting while overclocking. I'm getting great quadrant scores, and all else is smooth. I've only been running this configuration for a few hours, so I haven't checked out any games yet for the artifacting. I'm not concerned about the FCing (twice so far) because I can just turn down the clock in SETCpu, but the artifacting makes me nervous about doing permanent damage to the video card.
Is my concern valid, or should I relax?
In the Xoom channel, we actually ran alot of test using dolphin and HULU. Alot of people can not get a video to play at 1.6 for a long period of time. Either the browser crashes or the xoom itself crashes. You may want to back down to 1.4 for now.
Psychokitty said:
Wondering if anyone is experiencing artifacting while overclocking. I'm getting great quadrant scores, and all else is smooth. I've only been running this configuration for a few hours, so I haven't checked out any games yet for the artifacting. I'm not concerned about the FCing (twice so far) because I can just turn down the clock in SETCpu, but the artifacting makes me nervous about doing permanent damage to the video card.
Is my concern valid, or should I relax?
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Click to collapse
Relax. No problem. as long as you did not smell any smoke from your xoom or feel it getting extremely hot.
High temperature is the main reason causing hardware permanent damage.
You wont do any permanent damage to your Xoom since pretty much all modern CPUs have built in protection for such scenarios on the hardware or firmware level. The worst that can happen is the Xoom shutting down.
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
Lol!...."smoke".
alex2792 said:
You wont do any permanent damage to your Xoom since pretty much all modern CPUs have built in protection for such scenarios on the hardware or firmware level.
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I know it's nearly impossible to kill a CPU because of this reason (besides maybe severely overvolting it by about a misplaced decimal point...), but I didn't know if gpus also had these same built-in failsafes. I figured since the development of mobile hard core gaming machines that they certainly should by now, but last time I paid any attention to the technology was when I was upgrading laptops with the "new" Dothans, and they had cutting edge ATI M9800s in them!
Thanks, everyone.
I have standard xoom us wifi 3.1 and i also have sometimes artifacts. that is a feature!
dolphin browser hd
hdtvpower
Any Nexus 10 owners happen to have any stuttering or dropped frames with general tasks? Was just watching some review video, and this person mentions "dropped frames" a lot, without gaming even:
If anything, I feel it'll probably get better in time with updates, but for now, it doesn't seem "amazing" with certain apps, in terms of performance. However, it could also be that the apps aren't tablet optimized, or maybe even the force GPU acceleration would help a lot with this.
Except for him, all the other reviews I have seen of the N10 seem to say otherwise. I might be that he's got one with buggy software/update...
espionage724 said:
Any Nexus 10 owners happen to have any stuttering or dropped frames with general tasks? Was just watching some review video, and this person mentions "dropped frames" a lot, without gaming even:
If anything, I feel it'll probably get better in time with updates, but for now, it doesn't seem "amazing" with certain apps, in terms of performance. However, it could also be that the apps aren't tablet optimized, or maybe even the force GPU acceleration would help a lot with this.
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Click to collapse
I didn't watch the whole video, but I saw that he restored from his Google account? That takes a long, long time to fully finish, because it includes apps, music, photos, settings, etc. And did he do the OTA update? Out of the box, it ships with old software, or at least, mine did. After his tablet is done restoring and he updates, he may notice a big. My experience AFTER restoring &updating has been silky smooth, except Google earth, which lags a lot with the huge screen resolution. Strangely, games have also been very smooth.
Chrome lags as usual and poorly coded apps. Everything else is very smooth.
Plus Chris Prillo isn't the sharpest tool in the shed.
Calling any sort of hesitation "dropped frames" should be your first clue.
I've been reading for quite awhile because I got myself one (it's still on the way to me, so no hands on yet). I got it mainly because it's a Nexus and I'm done with those 3rd modifications on top of vanilla.
However, I'm getting really mixed comments from all of you guys. Some said it's really nice, some said it's the worst tablet. Although things are always going back to people's own preference but from what I read, 4.2.2 did give lotsa headaches to users mainly because of leaked memory and so.
So users, can you give me your truthful comments from both pros and cons? I can only get the device by next week and after that, it will be my time to list out my very own pros and cons.
Thanks and cheers!
Nexus4 modded with cyanogen.
Yeah, you better cancel your order because some random a holes on the internet did not like something.
Well, the problem is, I can't. Plus, I'm still quite skeptical about the reboots and I have faith that it will be fixed with the update soon.
Are you one of the users?
I'm definitely ok with a bit of problems and it gives me perfect reason to root and tweak it on myself although some do claim that, it should work perfectly fine out of the box.
Nexus4 modded with cyanogen.
I'm running stock and can definitely say that the surfaceflinger memory exists. It becomes obvious when you play multiple videos (streaming or video files). When you do other activities this bug is not readily apparent.
I also from time to time get random WiFi disconnects, which are easily fixed by toggling the WiFi off/on. With that being said I really like my N10 and am using it for more than I expected when I bought it. The display resolution, I/O speed and CPU are all outstanding.
At least the memory leak can be fixed and I read that the surfaceflinger driver developer already has it ready. This gives me hope that Android 4.3 will include the fix. The N10 used as a media consumption device is very good/excellent. I am not disappointed with my purchase.
My laptop at the about same price point (after including N10 accessories) has not been turned on in over three months. All my news reading has move from my desktop PC to the N10. I was surprised at how smooth that transition went.
The only thing that really bothered me about the Nexus 10 is how it could throttle and lower CPU clocks under general usage (general being like playing a game). But then again, the Nexus 4 also does this...
Aside from that though, I find the N10 pretty awesome
The light bleed at the bottom right is the only thing that has bothered me much, but that's because the threads here pointed it out and turned on an OCD switch in me. After almost a month, I had my first two reboots last night, both while watching an hourlong streaming video from a TV network site (using Firefox with Flash). Other than that, couldn't be happier with my N10.
3DSammy said:
I'm running stock and can definitely say that the surfaceflinger memory exists. It becomes obvious when you play multiple videos (streaming or video files). When you do other activities this bug is not readily apparent.
I also from time to time get random WiFi disconnects, which are easily fixed by toggling the WiFi off/on. With that being said I really like my N10 and am using it for more than I expected when I bought it. The display resolution, I/O speed and CPU are all outstanding.
At least the memory leak can be fixed and I read that the surfaceflinger driver developer already has it ready. This gives me hope that Android 4.3 will include the fix. The N10 used as a media consumption device is very good/excellent. I am not disappointed with my purchase.
My laptop at the about same price point (after including N10 accessories) has not been turned on in over three months. All my news reading has move from my desktop PC to the N10. I was surprised at how smooth that transition went.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
espionage724 said:
The only thing that really bothered me about the Nexus 10 is how it could throttle and lower CPU clocks under general usage (general being like playing a game). But then again, the Nexus 4 also does this...
Aside from that though, I find the N10 pretty awesome
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Click to collapse
JasW said:
The light bleed at the bottom right is the only thing that has bothered me much, but that's because the threads here pointed it out and turned on an OCD switch in me. After almost a month, I had my first two reboots last night, both while watching an hourlong streaming video from a TV network site (using Firefox with Flash). Other than that, couldn't be happier with my N10.
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Click to collapse
Here's the thing that I always talk about. It's a nexus and all problems will be solved for sure by Google itself. With such a good display as well as the A15 architecture proc, it's really a beast and let alone the pure vanilla android.
People are a little bit over exaggerated about the bug, IMO. We receive the newest version and bugs are bearable with me. At least buyers should be aware of the firmware is always the latest which might be a little big buggy. Few positive comments over here are really making my day.
Another thing that bothered me is available RAM. Google states the tablet has 2GB of RAM, which is true (there is 2GB worth of RAM chips installed on the motherboard technically). Before 4.2.2, about 400MB was reserved specifically for the GPU, which is the largest amount of RAM I've seen on any Android device, so that left 1.6GB usable. Not that bad, and it still rounded to 2GB (most other devices though to be fair take like 200-300MB; but the N10 is driving a pretty beefy resolution)
WIth 4.2.2, the RAM reserved for the GPU doubled to 800-some MB (836?). So now the total RAM that the user can use on their own is 1.2GB. No longer nearly close to 2GB.
I guess nothing can really be done about it now, but I don't understand why there just isn't dedicated memory just for the GPU, or why Google doesn't just advertise how much RAM is actually available to use. This isn't an issue at all on most other devices, since the missing memory is usually a small amount, but when almost half of the advertised RAM is missing and not even user-configurable (most computers with IGPs sharing system memory at least let you specify how much you want to dedicated to it)... I find that pretty shady :/
On the other hand, I don't have any out-of-memory problems though (aside from the surfaceflinger thing), so it doesn't seem to be an "actual" issue.
I haven't really noticed anything wrong with my nexus 10 I think its great and fast. Also 4.3 is going to be released soon which should fix any software related issues and make it even smoother . I don't use my tablet as much as others might so maybe that's why I don't notice anything wrong. I generally use it 2-3 hours a day and the only thing I hat is the charging time which feels like forever and that it has a phablet ui rather than tablet look which wastes a little screen space. What they should do is get rid of notification bar and combine it with Nav bar like other tablets
Sent from my Xperia Play (r800x)
abdel12345 said:
... What they should do is get rid of notification bar and combine it with Nav bar like other tablets.
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Click to collapse
Use full!screen and LMT/PIE and get all the screen resolution back (full 2560x1600). full!screen gets rid of both bars and provides a notifications pop-up while LMT/PIE can be configured with all the navigation buttons plus much more. I've been using that combination on rooted stock for months now and would never go back to the waste of space that either bar takes.
I like the clean AOSP browser in fullscreen mode plus thumb controls but it does not always paint properly when used with full!screen (artifacts where the navigation bar used to be). I switched to Ocean browser which is really AOSP with a new UI and that fixed the fullscreen paint issue.
3DSammy said:
Use full!screen and LMT/PIE and get all the screen resolution back (full 2560x1600). full!screen gets rid of both bars and provides a notifications pop-up while LMT/PIE can be configured with all the navigation buttons plus much more. I've been using that combination on rooted stock for months now and would never go back to the waste of space that either bar takes.
I like the clean AOSP browser in fullscreen mode plus thumb controls but it does not always paint properly when used with full!screen (artifacts where the navigation bar used to be). I switched to Ocean browser which is really AOSP with a new UI and that fixed the fullscreen paint issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome thanks a lot man I'll try that out
Sent from my Xperia Play (r800x)
billy_overheat said:
Here's the thing that I always talk about. It's a nexus and all problems will be solved for sure by Google itself. With such a good display as well as the A15 architecture proc, it's really a beast and let alone the pure vanilla android.
People are a little bit over exaggerated about the bug, IMO. We receive the newest version and bugs are bearable with me. At least buyers should be aware of the firmware is always the latest which might be a little big buggy. Few positive comments over here are really making my day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you can deal with random reboots don't worry about it. It really is something that depends on use. Watching YouTube via chrome will exacerbate the reboots. The actual app doesn't seem to eat the memory. However for my use I can't have it rebooting in the middle of a meeting or trying to dial into work so it has become something of a paperweight. I know how to consume the memory and how to avoid it but it will still eventually reboot. If your using it for goof off purposes instead of productivity you'll be fine. Also, please don't be an Android/Google apologist. They've had 6 months to fix the issue. And they don't market it as a device with buggy firmware that will reboot. If they called it Nexus 10 developer edition I'd agree with you.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
billy_overheat said:
So users, can you give me your truthful comments from both pros and cons? I can only get the device by next week and after that, it will be my time to list out my very own pros and cons.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pros:
- Highest resolution tablet on the market, nobody else comes close, even latest iPad has 25% less pixels. I had a Thunderbolt display at work last year and loved working with so much screen real-estate, well, this tablet has even more pixels in 10" than that display had in 27".
- First Android device with beefy Cortex A15 CPU, the Exynos 5 Dual, still the only tablet on the market with A15.
- I actually like the build, fairly thin and I like the sticky material on back.
- For $500 for 32 GB, the one I got, you won't find any device with such high-end specs.
- Android 4.2.2 is usually fairly snappy, sometimes I go back and forth between the home screen and the application drawer just to see the snazzy zoom-in/zoom-out animation and how fast it is.
Each one of these comes with drawbacks however.
Cons:
- You want a high resolution, you have to pay for it with power draw. The display consistently accounts for about 60% of battery usage, even though I keep the brightness at about 30% under light and dial it down to the lowest setting in a dark room. The colors are good but a bit washed out, particularly when compared to an iPad. I wish it had a matte display like my Zenbook, as the glossy display does catch reflections, but I'm not sure that's possible for a tablet.
- The Exynos 5 CPU takes more power than it should and runs somewhat hot. Not as hot as the Tegra 3 in my HOX+, but fairly warm.
- I was surprised how heavy 1.3 lbs felt from the first time I held it. The battery in this thing is huge, 9Ah, compared to 2-3 Ah in most current flagship phones, like the One or S4. It probably had to be so big with that power-sucking display and CPU, but it adds weight.
- The build is a bit creaky and sometimes feels like you have to snap particular pieces back into place, probably to be expected at this cheap price.
- Android still has times when it starts lagging and everything you do takes a second or two to register. These slowdowns often come out of the blue and you're never sure what's going on. This is a mobile OS, so prepare to be frustrated when apps are backgrounded and cached data is lost, particularly if you're expecting something closer to desktop performance because of the specs. The known memory leak in 4.2.2 exacerbates this problem.
I'm happy with my Nexus 10, as I enjoy the high resolution and don't use it anywhere as much as my ultrabook. Now that I know about the memory leak, I may start trying to use it for web reading again, which I had to give up on because it was unusable when Chrome would start reloading every page for no reason. Now I know to reboot when that starts happening, so I at least have a workaround till they fix it.
I love the tablet, for the way I use it - which may be considered light use by most here - it is perfect. The memory issue is real there is no doubt about that. But it is also easily avoided. I reboot my N10 with a tasker profile once during the night and that is that. However I game on it very rarely and use it mostly for streaming movies or just browing the web. One reboot each night seems to be enough to not make these issues appear.
Having said that I have none of the other reported issues, no random reboots or whacky Wifi - I turn Wifi off when the tablet is not in use - but I am also running SentinelRom which seems to be ironing out a lot of the smaller issues. With this ROM scrolling for example has become a silky smooth affair.
Battery life is excellent, much better than the boards make it out to be. I rarely use the N10 with brightness above 25% because it is already so bright on that setting there is no need for it. There may be light bleed - hey it's an LCD after all! - but I never notice any the way I use it. The display is gorgeous in every way, shape and form and I really really like the fact that putting it on lowest brightness makes it really dark. This is perfect for using it in bed at night without getting eye cancer.
With the POGO charger the tablet even has decent charging speed.
Regarding build quality I cannot complain at all. My tablet is not creaky in the least. I had a TF101 which was way worse. I mostly use it with a Poetic smart cover and couldn't be happier. The weight is of course noticeable, but then again this is 10 inches of hardware, it will never feel light as a feather.
Still there are some undeniable software issues still present. The memory leak being one, some issues with scrolling (except when using SentinelRom) being another. But I have yet to see the "perfect" android device which so far does not exist. Google still has a lot of work to do.
rxnelson said:
If you can deal with random reboots don't worry about it.
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Click to collapse
Not getting the random reboots you speak of. Use my tablet 3-4 hours per day, sometimes more, and do not recall having 1 reboot. AOSP browser closures, yes, though with newer versions not as much. Have 2 Nexus 10 tablets, one stock, one sw display itching between SaberMod and Buttered AOKP.
Had both theTF101 and TF700. Went with the ASUS because of it's IPS+ display and SD card slot. 5 weeks after receiving, had to send it in for charging issues..oneof my main problems with the TF101. For the slight amount of money more for the Nexus 10, it is a much better option. Check out Swappa.com-can typically get a slightly used Nexus 10 for a really good price
mpicasso said:
Not getting the random reboots you speak of.
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Click to collapse
You left out my next sentence. It depends on use. I can duplicate the surfaceflinger issue with eventual reboot on stock CM, buttered AOKP, and rasbean. Obviously we use the tablet differently.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
rxnelson said:
You left out my next sentence. It depends on used. I can duplicate the surfaceflinger issue with eventual reboot on stock CM, buttered AOKP, and rasbean. Obviously we use the tablet differently.
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I also left out the statement that got me to post originally: "However for my use I can't have it rebooting in the middle of a meeting or trying to dial into work so it mass become something of a paperweight." As the OP was curious about the reliability of this tablet, I wanted to offer a different perspective.
As a tablet for business, I use it for surfing (quote obtained from website, along with any needed client info), note taking, power point and excel, E-mail, along with a few other things. In a given day, I may spend 3-4 hours, while in client homes, using my tablet. So yes, we may use these differently, but for any "business" function I have thrown at it, it works fine. I also do not do many video presentations, which may explain why I do not experience the same issues as you.
Anyone experience noticeable input lag on both the stock controller and Dualshock 3? Is there any fix for this? Or it is simply bad design on OUYA's part rendering it useless for gaming (it's intended use).
It is definitely not my setup. On my HDTV I have 120Hz off, it set to Game Mode, and all the other recommended tweaks. Also PS3 plays on it wonderfully with no noticeable input lag whatsoever.
While the OUYA is a mediocre device in a lot of ways, it seemed worth it for $100, but input latency is the most basic of functionality, especially in gaming where extremely responsive controls are absolutely required.
Turn OUYA on its side. I have not had lag since I did this. Cools better too.
ajerkdude said:
Turn OUYA on its side. I have not had lag since I did this. Cools better too.
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Click to collapse
Interesting, I never thought of that
ajerkdude said:
Turn OUYA on its side. I have not had lag since I did this. Cools better too.
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Click to collapse
Lol
My lag has improved though, I went back through all the recommended tweaks from various sites, and am now using the Dualshock 3 on bluetooth, overall a much better experience now.
Never noticed any lag, but if your TV even has a "game mode" then it's probably your TV.
I have found that I had controller issues in some rooms but not others, I had a wireless mouse in the same room where I suffered problems, so I pulled the batteries out and made sure all other electrical equipment was turned off and it all worked fine, clearly other equipment was interfering with the signal.
When running correctly I don't experience any lag as such from the console, or it is so low that it doesn't have any affect on my gaming.
Some gamers mistake the existence of dead zones on the controllers as lag, the sticks don't register a movement until you push them so far. Also some games have lag because of bad programming or using old/incorrect controller plugins, most are fixed now though.
Hope that helps...