Is the smearing issue hardware or software? - Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Is it? I've read about it and it seems it's an issue with the AMOLED Samsung chose for this phone, but that it can be solved with other RGB settings, slightly cutting back on the true blacks and whites.

if you are so much troubled by it, then by all means feel free to do so
Sent from my GT-I9505 using xda app-developers app

Rewrote the OP, lol. I always write stuff I don't mean when I'm a bit angry. It's just that I'm tired of constantly having phones with issues. I exchanged the piece of crap One for this phone.

Hey Shawty. I tried the MEA update and personally couldn't see any snaring although some people claim it's still there. I must be blind because I looked for it.
Still I went back to my old setup as some mods didn't work on the new rom. Personally it doesn't bother me as I rarely see it.
Sent from my GT-I9305 using xda premium

I can say from my experience that it is software related. When I first got the phone I noticed it immediately, on menus etc. I installed an app that was suggested on some other threads about this topic which like you said changes something to do with RGB levels (I don't actually understand the issue/fix myself). Since the MEA update it has been less of a problem, I don't get it on the settings menu for example. But in another app (Light Flow) I still get a bit of smearing.

Theshawty said:
Look, darling. I appreciated the One but the fact that it had so many flaws was bothering. It heated up beyond what one would call reasonable and actually got too uncomfortable to hold and the capacitive keys were blue-ish when they should have been white (I even compared it to my brother's One).
I agree that the One is superior to the S4 in many ways like for instance the speakers, the premium feel and a few other aspects.
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Click to collapse
Sorry but have to refute this nonesense about the One heating up. The One does not heat up unless you're using it plugged in and proper battering it with a 3D game or something, and even then to call it hot is stretching matters. Warm to the touch is the best i've managed with it. Now the S4, that gets bloody hot, too hot to touch.
As for the issue at hand, can't be sorted as it;s inherent with all Amoled displays including S4, S3, etc.

Flashmore said:
BTW. the heat from One's aluminium body is not an "issue" its normal since alloy is an excellent conductor of heat, better to rid the heat than reflect it like plastic, the heat is no way impacting performance or otherwise.
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I am perfectly well aware of that metal is an excellent conductor or heat and of course that is a good thing, but the heat was an issue, for me and taking into consideration HTC's previous history, I didn't want another One because I am sure it would have had several flaws as well. I returned to where I feel the most safe (and sound) which would be Samsung.
We'll see where the future leads me.
Flashmore said:
As for the blue-ish buttons, come on, don't talk trash, that is such a nit pick ridiculous comment!
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I didn't like that, especially not when all other One's I saw had a bright white light (lol, rhyming ).
biffsmash said:
Sorry but have to refute this nonesense about the One heating up. The One does not heat up unless you're using it plugged in and proper battering it with a 3D game or something, and even then to call it hot is stretching matters. Warm to the touch is the best i've managed with it. Now the S4, that gets bloody hot, too hot to touch.
As for the issue at hand, can't be sorted as it;s inherent with all Amoled displays including S4, S3, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So just because your HTC One doesn't heat up, you're calling everyone else off as liars? The One I had must have been faulty because it actually got HOT and very uncomfortably so by not doing anything special. It got varm by just randomly scrolling around and got hot when I played 20 minutes of Candy Crush.
<------------------------------------------------------------------------>
I am not a Samsung fanboy, though, but there was only one phone I wanted and that was the HTC One. It disappointed me and I turned to the S4. Should that prove to be a disappointment as well, I don't know what to do.

Thread cleaned.
Strictly keep it on topic. No trolling. No sarcasm.
You are entitled to your own opinion, but you do need to respect other's too.

Theshawty said:
I am perfectly well aware of that metal is an excellent conductor or heat and of course that is a good thing, but the heat was an issue, for me and taking into consideration HTC's previous history, I didn't want another One because I am sure it would have had several flaws as well. I returned to where I feel the most safe (and sound) which would be Samsung.
We'll see where the future leads me.
I didn't like that, especially not when all other One's I saw had a bright white light (lol, rhyming ).
So just because your HTC One doesn't heat up, you're calling everyone else off as liars? The One I had must have been faulty because it actually got HOT and very uncomfortably so by not doing anything special. It got varm by just randomly scrolling around and got hot when I played 20 minutes of Candy Crush.
<------------------------------------------------------------------------>
I am not a Samsung fanboy, though, but there was only one phone I wanted and that was the HTC One. It disappointed me and I turned to the S4. Should that prove to be a disappointment as well, I don't know what to do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good for you, I have both devices right in front of me.
I actually had an H-One replaced for thinking it was overheating, however after receiving the new one it has the same heat omission and it isn't really "uncomfortable" come on S4 gets hot too when multitasking.
The aluminium body is supposed to get hot its what aluminium does when a large battery presses against it fuelling a hard working CPU, mind you I dont believe you weren't working the CPU and it merely "got hot doing nothing special"(as for battery life comparing the two the 'One' has better battery life, mind you I'm using stock battery S4)
Plastic doesn't transfer heat nearly as well hence the worse battery life and most likely reduced life of the phone, not to mention the cheap look and feel. I don't expect my post to last here as it seems some biased mods refuse to allow any opinions to remain that may be even slightly objective towards S4, don't get me wrong I still really like the S4, oh well, care factor!
BTW I am not calling anyone a liar, however if you think your post is more truthful than mine then I guess you're judging people without hearing their opinion!

Theshawty said:
I am perfectly well aware of that metal is an excellent conductor or heat and of course that is a good thing, but the heat was an issue, for me and taking into consideration HTC's previous history, I didn't want another One because I am sure it would have had several flaws as well. I returned to where I feel the most safe (and sound) which would be Samsung.
We'll see where the future leads me.
I didn't like that, especially not when all other One's I saw had a bright white light (lol, rhyming ).
So just because your HTC One doesn't heat up, you're calling everyone else off as liars? The One I had must have been faulty because it actually got HOT and very uncomfortably so by not doing anything special. It got varm by just randomly scrolling around and got hot when I played 20 minutes of Candy Crush.
<------------------------------------------------------------------------>
I am not a Samsung fanboy, though, but there was only one phone I wanted and that was the HTC One. It disappointed me and I turned to the S4. Should that prove to be a disappointment as well, I don't know what to do.
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Click to collapse
high end performance comes at a cost... do not expect a quad core cpu to be cool also give it some time till samsung s4 software is really optimized because its far from being fully ready

Flashmore said:
Good for you, I have both devices right in front of me.
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Click to collapse
Good for you.
Flashmore said:
I actually had an H-One replaced for thinking it was overheating, however after receiving the new one it has the same heat omitting and it isn't really "uncomfortable" come on S4 gets hot too when multitasking.
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Click to collapse
There you go again. You don't think it's uncomfortable, but I do. Yeah, the S4 does get hot, but at one spot only, the upper part of the phone, though it doesn't get all around hot like the One does.
Flashmore said:
The aluminium body is supposed to get hot its what aluminium does when a large battery presses against it fuelling a hard working CPU, mind you I dont believe you weren't working the CPU and it merely "got hot doing nothing special"(as for battery life comparing the two the 'One' has better battery life, mind you I'm using stock battery S4)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Believe what you will, I cannot force you. I know the truth, the real truth. I wasn't working the CPU when it got hot, unless playing around iwth the phone means working the CPU a lot. It got blazingly hot by playing games.
Flashmore said:
Plastic doesn't transfer heat nearly as well hence the worse battery life and most likely reduced life of the phone, not to mention the cheap look and feel. I don't expect my post to last here as it seems some biased mods refuse to allow any opinions to remain that may be even slightly objective towards S4, don't get me wrong I still really like the S4, oh well, care factor!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Biased? Haha, oh the irony of this post.

Theshawty said:
Good for you.
Biased? Haha, oh the irony of this post.
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Click to collapse
Haha too, there's no irony when nobody knows the truth, anyway I guess ignorance is bliss, no offence however I think you're right. Piece!
Regards
flashmore

Theshawty said:
Is it? I've read about it and it seems it's an issue with the AMOLED Samsung chose for this phone, but that it can be solved with other RGB settings, slightly cutting back on the true blacks and whites.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don´t have this anymore on latest MF8 on 9505.

Related

They're not hot pixels, it's dust!

Okay, so I've had a few Heros and sent them all back apart from the one I have now. The main reason for returning 5 Heros so far, was the quality of the screen. Basically there was dust under the screen. I initially thought it was stuck pixels but I'm now certain it's dust.
Dust is visible during the boot animation. It looks like stuck pixels; really bright little points of light. The reason they're visible during the boot animation is because for some reason, the backlight is up full when the phone boots. This will highlight little specks of dust which may not necessarily be visible at other times.
Now, I've noticed another type of dust speck. This kind is visible when the phone is off, or in sleep mode. This type of dust speck is lit by ambient light, so it is visible only when the screen is off, or showing a black image etc, in bright daylight.
So logically, this would lead me to believe that there are at least 2 layers of screen into which dust can find its way and consequently show itself up differently; either highlighted by the screen backlight (like during the boot animation) or highlighted against the screen by ambient light.
When I got the Hero I'm currently using, I was glad to have finally received one with no screen dust. 2 days later, and I have 2 specks of dust, one of each type, both on the left hand side of the screen. This is B.S. because I'm obsessive about screen imperfections, and if dust is getting in now then what's it gonna look like in a month, or 10 months?
Why do HTC have such bad quality control? Or why have they made a screen that isn't sealed so any dust, lint or any other pocket sh*t combination thereof can get inside and irritate the hell out of me? This makes HTC look like amateurs. My SE P1 has sat in my pocket for 2 years and still has a visibly perfect screen.
I am now considering disassembling the handset to impliment my own cleaning and sealing of the internals. Does anyone know if there exists in circulation a technical manual for the Hero?
I had a feeling they weren't hot/dead pixels - 'cos they're only noticable to me when I adjust the viewing angle and blast my brightness up to full and on a black screen/image.
I think it should be accepted that the phone is a load of crap and that it's not going to be able to live up to what was promised.
tatwamasi said:
I think it should be accepted that the phone is a load of crap and that it's not going to be able to live up to what was promised.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and who cares what you think?
Its actually a cracking phone despite some teething problems and i have had some, many people have had NO problems at all.
Its NEVER sensible to buy any new product when it first comes out as you often get initial 1st production run issues, especially in complex devices
so your basically talking out of your crack
My Nokia E71 had the same problem. The screen (what you think is the screen) is a protective glass/plastic sheet and the dust can get behind it (between it and the lcd). I only got it sorted when the dust built up so bad and it took the repair shop about 15 minutes to fix.
spacecat said:
and who cares what you think?
Its actually a cracking phone despite some teething problems and i have had some, many people have had NO problems at all.
Its NEVER sensible to buy any new product when it first comes out as you often get initial 1st production run issues, especially in complex devices
so your basically talking out of your crack
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
spacecat said:
and who cares what you think?
Its actually a cracking phone despite some teething problems and i have had some, many people have had NO problems at all.
Its NEVER sensible to buy any new product when it first comes out as you often get initial 1st production run issues, especially in complex devices
so your basically talking out of your crack
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No need to be rude.
On topic, I'm not sure how many more things need to be wrong with this handset before you'd agree with me. Aside from the all the hardware faults being reported people are recommending turning off widgets and apps (what's the point in multitasking if it takes twice as long?) and deleting parts of the OS to get it to run at something approaching smoothly. I know there are updates due but right now pretty much anything you want to do with the phone seems to be flawed. (funnily enough I'd finished typing the "anything" before my phone displayed "a" on the sceen).
Fair enough if you're loving it (though I could uncharitably say who cares what you think) but there's no way I'd recommend this phone to a friend.
I think you should accept that your talking crap, go on any site about any new tech and people are slagging it off this works that doesnt etc etc.
You will also find lots of people saying its great.
Now your backtracking on your own post , what if the update makes its great your going to look an even bigger twat than you look now.
Phone has been barely out a couple of months
tatwamasi said:
No need to be rude.
On topic, I'm not sure how many more things need to be wrong with this handset before you'd agree with me. Aside from the all the hardware faults being reported people are recommending turning off widgets and apps (what's the point in multitasking if it takes twice as long?) and deleting parts of the OS to get it to run at something approaching smoothly. I know there are updates due but right now pretty much anything you want to do with the phone seems to be flawed. (funnily enough I'd finished typing the "anything" before my phone displayed "a" on the sceen).
Fair enough if you're loving it (though I could uncharitably say who cares what you think) but there's no way I'd recommend this phone to a friend.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
spacecat said:
I think you should accept that your talking crap, go on any site about any new tech and people are slagging it off this works that doesnt etc etc.
You will also find lots of people saying its great.
Now your backtracking on your own post , what if the update makes its great your going to look an even bigger twat than you look now.
Phone has been barely out a couple of months
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Click to collapse
tatwamasi, I know you are right with some points about the hardware faults and all but i guess ( i wont say i think ...lol) that every new phone that comes out at one point has them.
Buying a product just after its release is a risk to take if you know what i mean but hey who cares as long as the warantee is there
anyway, i think the htc hero is a great phone. Its just that many of us had high expectations. too much maybe. Many of us complain of the lag and stuff... so far i havent used any smartphone without one. of course you might mention the "iphone" to me but let me just say that i prefer a laggy phone with the capability of running applications on the background than a smooth one without the multitask capab.
Like spacecat said, i am sure there'll be an update to fix these things.
Cheers!!!!!!!
Here here!
Awsome Handset! Awsome O/S!
Teething issues to be epected with all devices of this stature!
and if you implement the correct apps and methods your lag issues are solved! (e.g swapper + Taskill) Simpuls! Worked for me
I know as I, most of the guys here on XDA have been running winmo for donkeys and android is a breath of fresh air!
This is XDA-DEVEPLOPERS lets stop *****ing and do something productive.....
P.S.... come on, really Dust in the screen you evven admitted you cannot see it while in normal operation
spacecat said:
I think you should accept that your talking crap, go on any site about any new tech and people are slagging it off this works that doesnt etc etc.
You will also find lots of people saying its great.
Now your backtracking on your own post , what if the update makes its great your going to look an even bigger twat than you look now.
Phone has been barely out a couple of months
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In no way did I backtrack. I can't be bothered to argue with you though. Bye!
tatwamasi said:
I think it should be accepted that the phone is a load of crap and that it's not going to be able to live up to what was promised.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me know of a product that doesn't live up to what was promised. Oh and please explain your meaning of 'promised'
Can I be the ref here and step in with some points that can't really be denied.
1. Dust under screen: Unacceptable. Heard of quality control? Shoddy screen manufacture is fine, even expected in a handset from Tesco that costs £10. Not in the £400 HTC Android flagship.
2. Screen gap. Also unacceptable. I don't even need to explain why.
3. Early adoption = expect problems. I disagree. This is true in practice but not in principle. I didn't pay £400 to be a beta tester. If you can't get the tolerances/design/software sorted out for the first batch then don't sell any until you do.
I'll be the first to say that the Hero is one of the best handsets out there if not THE best, but these little manufacturing issues are a huge fail.
I feel your pain.
Since over a month I want to buy the HTC Hero. At different shops I checked about 7 or 8 devices - all had at list a single dust spot under the screen.
Completely agree with you, that is unacceptable. It doesn't take much in the manufacturing process to secure a dust-free environment.
So, as long as HTC is not able to provide a dust-free screen, I won't buy a HTC device.
I'll have another look at a new shipment when my dealer calls me. That will be it.
Dust under the screen is very irritating especially in bright daylight.
My eyes get fixated on it, can't help it! How much easer can life be for others who just don't care or just don't see it.
panmores said:
I feel your pain.
My eyes get fixated on it, can't help it! How much easer can life be for others who just don't care or just don't see it.
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Click to collapse
Well i have no dust under the screen. ( touch wood touch gold) . Maybe because the protective shield i applied on my screen goes slightly beyond the screen, thus covering the gaps and everthing. It is hardly noticable if u ask me.
deeren said:
Well i have no dust under the screen. ( touch wood touch gold) . Maybe because the protective shield i applied on my screen goes slightly beyond the screen, thus covering the gaps and everthing. It is hardly noticable if u ask me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For most peoples' cases, the dust was there before they received the phone - i.e. during the manufacturing process. For me, the dust is not such a big deal as it's not causing any problems with my day-to-day usage. Only when the dust starts to cause dead pixels, will I worry. But for now, I'm loving my Hero (even more so, now with Paul's latest 1.4.1 custom ROM) to bits!
tatwamasi said:
I think it should be accepted that the phone is a load of crap and that it's not going to be able to live up to what was promised.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lmao, spoken like a true sadass.
Fact is when a phone comes out for the first month it isn't really what anyone expects, phones are always hyped up to be more than they are, or how would they sell? Happened with the Touch HD, Touch Pro, Touch Diamond, Touch Pro 2, heck, it was even with the iPhone for much much longer till Apple pulled their finger out.
The recent update from MoDaCo (1.4.1) has vastly improved things, and this isn't even the official update and its only the 1st update.
This phone lives up to my expectations because I was on earth, not somewhere out there drifting in space.
There are still issues with the phone, but like with all custom roms, they address the problems. Thanks Paul and all the developers / users out here who are feeding back problems to HTC and then fixing them for us great owners.
Oh, back on Topic. I had one spec which only showed on startup, but its gone now so I guess it was just dust. I wasn't bothered though, couldn't tell it was there in use.
Oh come on, worst reception of any handset I've ever had (across 5 separate Heroes) and build quality standards through the floor are the hallmarks of the Hero in my experience.
That's not taking into account the software issues (which I could stomach knowing that there's an update on the way).
Sorry if those things are to be expected, it's just that I've never had so many issues with a handset, but apparently it's standard? Oh well, welcome to your world then, I guess I should expect nothing to work when I buy it and hope it gets sorted later. It's unfortunate that this has been my introduction it's just that previously, everything did just work! (With the exception of the crappy camera on my W960i, that was much better after the update).
I appreciate that people feel some kind of bizarre emotional attachment to their purchases but I don't get why they'd say "I happened to get a good one so it doesn't matter! You have no right to be disappointed" when the issues are real and out there.
Perhaps it was naive of me to expect my text messages to arrive, for video playback to work and for me to be able to make phone calls on my phone (especially when the same SIM delivers decent reception in the same spot in another phone) but it does significantly diminish the experience for me. Camera's better than I thought it'd be, I'll give it that.
Either way, I'm not crying about it and my comment was meant to be flippant. Allowing myself to see my phone as a piece of crap that isn't going to work properly has given me the opportunity to chill out about it and not get annoyed. It's just a phone, oh well. I was hoping it'd be able to replace my iPod but I guess it won't be able to.
And that is how I made peace with the Hero. With any luck the significant issues in software will be sorted in the update. Until they are, I don't think I could possibly recommend it though and right now, I think I should have got an iPhone. C'est la vie.
Was that spoken like a true Sadass? Hope you got a big laugh if so.
I had initial issues LED failure, but it has since been repaired and the video playback is poor.
Otherwise im loving it , great form factor/design balance between screensize and phone size.
internet is superb on the browser and tethered to my laptop,
phone calls and messaging/emails work great and im lovin the apps and market place.
Love the customisable 7 screens no lag that i have noticed.
Best phone i have ever had YES perfect NO but what is..... if the update improves the video i dont know how i could fault it right now
tatwamasi said:
Oh come on, worst reception of any handset I've ever had (across 5 separate Heroes) and build quality standards through the floor are the hallmarks of the Hero in my experience.
That's not taking into account the software issues (which I could stomach knowing that there's an update on the way).
Sorry if those things are to be expected, it's just that I've never had so many issues with a handset, but apparently it's standard? Oh well, welcome to your world then, I guess I should expect nothing to work when I buy it and hope it gets sorted later. It's unfortunate that this has been my introduction it's just that previously, everything did just work! (With the exception of the crappy camera on my W960i, that was much better after the update).
I appreciate that people feel some kind of bizarre emotional attachment to their purchases but I don't get why they'd say "I happened to get a good one so it doesn't matter! You have no right to be disappointed" when the issues are real and out there.
Perhaps it was naive of me to expect my text messages to arrive, for video playback to work and for me to be able to make phone calls on my phone (especially when the same SIM delivers decent reception in the same spot in another phone) but it does significantly diminish the experience for me. Camera's better than I thought it'd be, I'll give it that.
Either way, I'm not crying about it and my comment was meant to be flippant. Allowing myself to see my phone as a piece of crap that isn't going to work properly has given me the opportunity to chill out about it and not get annoyed. It's just a phone, oh well. I was hoping it'd be able to replace my iPod but I guess it won't be able to.
And that is how I made peace with the Hero. With any luck the significant issues in software will be sorted in the update. Until they are, I don't think I could possibly recommend it though and right now, I think I should have got an iPhone. C'est la vie.
Was that spoken like a true Sadass? Hope you got a big laugh if so.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hold my hands up on that one, I thought you were only talking about software issues, not hardware, so I apologise.
I completely understand where you are coming from regarding hardware, seems HTC have had issues on a couple of their latest phones, Diamond 2, Pro 2.
I had a Touch Pro 2 and after the 5th, I gave up and got a refund. The hinges were loose, faulty, slack. The screen had actual dead pixels. Keyboards faulty. Screen loose.
Other than moving back to my Touch HD which was perfect in every way (after having custom rom made, and it really needed Windows Mobile 7 to make it perfect), I thought the Hero was the next step.
Hardware wise, for me, it is. It is perfectly built, feels solid in my hand, screen nice and clear, reception perfect for me (same as all other HTC devices I've had and my iPhone 3g).
I know some people have had major issues with phones and the majority seem to be the people with Orange's Graphite branded phones, gaps in screens, poor reception etc and it must be certain production lines causing the issue.
Hopefully more roms coming out will make the software spot on, but as for hardware, they all need sending back as £400 is a lot for a phone, like I said about the Touch Pro 2, when your paying that much for a phone you expect it to be perfect (hardware).
Aside from the hardware, there is so much achieved in this latest update from MoDaCo (1.5) and more and more software on the Market everyday, software will be 110% in the near future.
Hope your hardware issues get sorted, send it back!!

Long road from Inspire to Atrix

Good morning all,
I created this thread in the Inspire forums and thought I'd bring it over here too. It's just my experiences as a daily carrier of both of these devices. It's aimed at people torn between the two handsets, and also to help me ultimately choose which I prefer to keep. Only one will survive.
I've included my running updates in the OP.
___________________________________________________________________
Hello all!
I've had the daunting task to pick between these two phones for the last couple days. I went into the store to actually get the devices in my hand and fully expected to walk out with the Atrix. I've always had a soft spot for HTC, ever since their WoMo phones. I saw the Inspire and was super impressed at how solid the phone felt in my hand. The phone felt very responsive, and I already knew the XDA Inspire team was cranking out some awesome stuff.
I then grabbed the Atrix and was not nearly as wow'd as I had expected to be. I've been following the phone since it's announcement, and pretty much had made up my mind on the spot to pick it up. After spending a half hour goofing around with both phones, I decided the Inspire really won my heart.
Then it happened... The cold sweats... The tossing and turning in bed at night. Images of the Atrix's Tegra 2 laying waste to the earth and doing vile things to my Inspire. My horrid indecision had struck. I decided that I had obviously made the wrong choice, so the next morning I headed off to the store and bought an Atrix without returning my perfectly set up Inspire. I wanted to play with them both side by side and just return whichever one didn't make me happy.
That was a bit over 24 hours ago. After spending the last day with both of the handsets, I am closer to a decision, but it's damn tough. My overall thoughts and struggles follow:
Motorola Atrix:
-Pros:
- Bright, higher resolution screen
- Dual Core processor (even though I thought the experience was pretty weak)
- Battery (theoretical, as I haven't had it long enough to fully experience)
- This goes to the hardware again, but this phone is quite a bit more future proof.
- The handset is light enough to not remind you it's in your pocket at every step.
- GPS (This is the most rock solid phone GPS I've ever used)
- Incredibly loud speaker
- Tons of ram
- HDMI out
-Cons:
- Cheaper build quality (I feel like I need to qualify this. The phone feels solid, but the battery door is, for lack of a better word, brittle)
- Very poor color representation on the otherwise beautiful screen.
- MotoBlur - This is just a very inelegant, unrefined overlay...
- Strange compatibility issues with certain apps
- multiple force closes
- Weak social media integration
- Odd bouts of lag when least expected
- Locked Bootloader (most don't care about this, but it matters when you have a primary developer that has a history of slow patches, feature adds, and os releases.
- Chicklet keyboard is a touch small for me and requires some focus to not miss type.
**FOLLOW-UP**
- I've removed the call quality knock from the Atrix device. It turns out it was entirely my own fault, and while some people, including Motorola, are reporting issues with sound quality on some devices, mine isn't one of them.
HTC Inspire:
-Pros:
- Excellent build quality (the aluminum uni-body is a joy to hold, and has the extra added benefit of being able to be used to fend off an attacker)
- Beautiful 4.3" screen (Yes, it is big, but I'm a fan)
- Sense (I'm not a fan of these proprietary UI's, but Sense shows that HTC can offer up an experience that is easy to like, and provide an attractive interface for a phone OS that is sometimes described as clinical looking)
- The brilliant development community (currently running CoreDroid /drool)
- Very snappy performance from the second gen Snapdragon CPU
- Tons of ram (Not as much as the Atrix, but enough to be a "ton" in my eyes)
- Lovely camera (I used to not care, but I have a new son, so suddenly a camera climbed up the ladder of important features)
- Fantastic out of the box social media integration
- Has that "Just works like it should" feel to it.
- Very clear call quality
- Second best phone gps I've used
-Cons:
- The screen washes out to a grey slab in direct sunlight
- Stock battery life is horrid
- "Electric Razor" ear screen can have some jagged edges and chafe your ear
- Battery door was a ridiculous design decision
- Very current gen hardware (doesn't mean a whole lot if you're not going to be riding this phone for the next two years, but a new day has dawned and it's name is "Multi-core")
- Stock external speaker/notification volume super weak
- odd placement of the number button on the keyboard (thanks iPhone for etching that into my brain)
- recessed power and volume buttons can be a bit tough to find.
- No internal storage (this is just ridiculous)
- Relatively weak GPU
There you have it. That's what I've come up with so far. At the moment, I'm leaning toward the Inspire, as so many of those issues can be (and have been) corrected through roms. In the end, I just don't really get the warm fuzzies from the Atrix. I feel like it's a brilliant set of components tied together with a really sorry software suite, and a manufacturer that doesn't really understand the strengths of their chosen platform, or the customers that choose it.
I will continue carrying both of the devices for the next couple days, but at the moment, the winner is most definitely the Inspire in my eyes. It just feels like it's been polished to a wonderful android flavored candy shine, and with the community behind it, there's really nothing I feel the device won't be able to handle for quite some time.
**Update 1**
The inspire's build quality is top notch. The screen is perfectly alligned and allows no notable give for me. There is also no more light bleed than you expect from an lcd panel, and none to the touch. The battery cover is a pain. Its actually so well fitted that you have to break it in over multiple removals in order to confidently take it off without breaking it. The sim cover fits nicely, and doesn't pose the same pain that the battery cover does. There is a slight raised edge in the center of the sim cover that takes it just out of flush. Its nigh unnoticable. Viewing angles on the inspire's slcd are fantastic. I can see it clearly in a near complete 180 degree angle, with little to no noticable color bleed. It obviously dims as you move from dead center.
The atrix is in the same boat with build quality for the most part. The phone has a good weight, metal rails down the side, well alligned screen, and mostly tight fitting components. I do have some issues here, though. Mainly with the back cover. As noted in my initial post, its very brittle, thin plastic. If you think I broke a sweat taking the inspires battery cover off, you should have seen me trying to get the battery on the atrix. I pulled the top clip free, and almost bent the cover in half fighting the mid phone clips. Also, the back cover on my atrix doesn't line up flush on one side. The last couple issues are the "creakynesss" of the handset. When I grip the phone tightly I can feel the plastic components giving, and settling into place. Not terribly bad, but noticable. The last issue is the fingerprint scanner. It's been pointed out in some reviews, but the scanner is off center on some devices and just looks shoddily thrown together and misalligned.
The atrix beautiful qHD screen also washes out and tints yellow when viewed at extreme angles.
**Update 2**
I've been using the Atrix today as my primary carry handset, and I must say PROPS to Motorola on this battery... I've been beating on it for all I can muster and with almost two full hours of HSPA+ web surfing, Angry Birds while waiting for my food, poking around in the marketplace, and trying out apps, the phone has dropped 25% of the battery in 7 hours of heavy use. I'm pretty damn impressed with that. My focus would be on the charger right now. I'll be going through the exact same process on the Inspire tomorrow to see how everything shakes out.
**Update 3**
I've been carrying my Atrix for the last two days, and I have to admit... It's amazing... I don't mean to sound disappointed, quite the contrary, but I was coming closer to making my decision, and now I'm struggling again.
New Revelations/Findings:
- The little hitches you sometimes see in games like Angry Birds, when scrolling and pinch zooming are all gone... Like, completely gone. That goes for every game/app i've played that is relatively intensive with animation or processing. The Inspire is definitely no slouch, but the performance edge is fully in the Atrix's court.
- The external speaker of the Atrix is LEGEND-(Wait for it)-DARY! I hopped on a conference call last night and it was right on the edge of being as good as the dedicated conference speakers at my office. Really outstanding.
- The screen is also really pretty. I, once again, had to run from hospital to hospital yesterday and while outside was able to see every color, icon, and word on my screen. It made me secure in the fact that no matter where I took the device, i would be able to rely on it 100%, and it would perform as well as I could ever ask for.
I've been using the anti-glare/anti-fingerprint Case-Mate screen protectors on both of the devices since i've purchased them, and these things just destroy the fidelity of the screen. I will be getting my Realook protectors tomorrow, and will get to experience a bit more vibrance from both screens.
I'm still fairly disappointed with the color reproduction of the qHD screen. It's really in your face when you have the two devices sitting side by side. The SLCD screen of the Inspire is much more natural looking.
MotoBlur is still a disappointment, but after setting up LauncherPro Plus and getting Beautiful Widgets, and exploring LauncherPro's new facebook widget (think FriendStream). It's become nearly a non-issue. I've been using ADW as well, and it's great, but the Atrix seems to love LauncherPro, and I love LauncherPro... Guess that's a match made in Android heaven.
My experience, for most part mirrors yours. I went from the Captivate to the Inspire to the Atrix. I kept the Inspire for about a week and immediately missed the screen on the Captivate.
The Inspire's screen is definitely sharp, but I like the contrast on the captivate. The black text sharpness on the Atrix is really good and very comparable to the Inspire and both beat the pants off the Captivate.
I'd have to disagree with the build quality of the Inspire. Yes, aluminum feels solid compared to the plastic on the Atrix and does give you that solid quality feeling, but I had the same plastic alignment issues with two Inspires I went through. The plastic parts just doesn't line up evenly with the aluminum. The battery door was never a problem with me because of the gaps were plastic met aluminum. I was always able to get my finger nails in two places to pull the cover off easily and without destroying the soft touch cover.
Call quality on the Inspire's headset speaker always sounded tinny and lack the volume of the Atrix. The loudspeaker is really, really weak on the Inspire. The Atrix's loudspeaker has surprisingly good range, I hear a semblance of bass when playing media.
Security wise, the fingerprint scanner is a really good feature on the Atrix, makes me wonder why no one has done it before on a mobile phone. So much faster to unlock securely without a passcode or drawing.
The camera on the Inspire is better than the Atrix. The Inspire's pics come out with more contrast and better color. The Atrix has sharp images, but the color look a little washed out and there way more noise. Seems like Motorola wanted sharper images and turn down the noise reduction. Noise reduction is a big killer when it comes to image sharpness.
+1 just for referencing Barney Stinson.
Haha no, but really, this is a good comparison of the Inspire and the Atrix. I agree with most, if not all, of your pros and cons. I really can't help but emphasize the battery life though. I usually end up having to buy a spare battery and charger set for my smartphones, but it seems really unnecessary for the Atrix. If you're a power user, that's reason enough to pick the Atrix over the Inspire.
I agree almost 100%
I sit here with both phones still. I love the Inspire, and Gingerblur on the Atrix makes me love the Atrix.
The interwebz speed is what is forcing the Inspire as my daily driver at the moment.
I have gone through 3 atrix's already, when i have it, i want to sell it, as you can see in my signature, and when i sell it, i want one. thus #3....
I almost NEED to wait and see 4g... and this backhaul att speaks of....
And then there is the Samsung infuse/enfuse? idk... But they say when its dropped, it will most certainly have the capable speeds, as will the 2 other flagship "4g" phones.
I treat my phones with utmost care, as i usually am selling them for the new and next best thing, and want to ensure they can be purchased as a 10/10 quality. That being said, I will say the case-mate case i have on the inspire gives GREAT protection, but makes a big phone even bigger, the atrix with the bodyglove feels tiny in my hands after 2 weeks of driving the inspire... I recently sold another iphone4, and it reminded me of the atrix in my hands, not build quality, as you mentioned above, but size...
4.3 qHD would be a perfect mix for me, and I am sure is what is in store for future HTC devices... but for now, I am in the same dilemia many are.
to Inspire, or not Inspire and Atrix my way through the rough of it...
to the avg user, hdmi out is no biggie, but to the ub3r geek in me who likes to VPN home, CIFS mount shares, and stream, hdmi is a big deal....
oh woe is me.....
Today Inspire still drives me to and from.... CM7rc4 battery gets me through the day, even as an Exchange Admin with more email on touchdown then most people, including gmail push...
But that said, i come right back with the atrix could get me past a full day!
like the good old Blackberry days..
theres my 2 cents, thrown into the pot, both heads up...
~killster
I'm so sick of these threads.
Man_of_Leisure said:
I'm so sick of these threads.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then don't read 'em... Problem solved.
Divinedark said:
Then don't read 'em... Problem solved.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just like you have the right to create threads, I have the right to respond to them. If you don't like that, you want a blog, not a forum.
Man_of_Leisure said:
Just like you have the right to create threads, I have the right to respond to them. If you don't like that, you want a blog, not a forum.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are absolutely correct. I appreciate your need to contribute completely unrelated, and pointless reflections on your own worthless personal opinion in my thread. So many others that are trying to decide between these two devices will find your additions to the subject of this thread invaluable. I truly hope that you will continue to follow that urge to spout your own polished, self-important drivel in the rest of the threads on this forum. If you don't, you will effectively be robbing us of your wisdom.
I'm sorry that I wasted your time reading my relatively well researched and thought out comparison between two close competing devices on the same carrier. From this point forward I'll be sure to continue adding to the typical device war crap like "TEH ATRIX IS A$$" and what not. That should sate your thirst for informative and entertaining topics on this forum.
Again. I'm very sorry.
Man_of_Leisure said:
Just like you have the right to create threads, I have the right to respond to them. If you don't like that, you want a blog, not a forum.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 I'm pretty sure there's already at least fifteen threads about Inspire vs Atrix. I thank you for taking the time to compare both and noting their strengths and weaknesses but like I said, there's already a ton of these threads and they just repeat the same opinions/info.
Clienterror said:
+1 I'm pretty sure there's already at least fifteen threads about Inspire vs Atrix. I thank you for taking the time to compare both and noting their strengths and weaknesses but like I said, there's already a ton of these threads and they just repeat the same opinions/info.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's true that there are a lot of posts that contribute this kind of information, but this one in particular was well thought out and written, and that helps provide a better reference for those interested. I also value those posts that say good things about devices. A lot of posts tend to complain about whatever device they're talking about. It's nice to have some good things to say in order to balance out the amount of user feedback.
Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk
Yea... the majority of threads you see with this same general topic are basically just "The Atrix BLOWS!!!! I'm going back to my Inspire" blah blah blah. He was polite enough to explain his thoughts on the phone thoroughly, and go through his overall opinion on the phone over time, showing what has changed in his mind about each phone. Can kinda think of it more as a "phone review" than a "disgruntled customer".....
There are many Inspire / Atrix threads I've read but this one is a good, unbiased, well written everyday user experience. +1 for op.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
Divinedark said:
I do have some issues here, though. Mainly with the back cover. As noted in my initial post, its very brittle, thin plastic. If you think I broke a sweat taking the inspires battery cover off, you should have seen me trying to get the battery on the atrix. I pulled the top clip free, and almost bent the cover in half fighting the mid phone clips. Also, the back cover on my atrix doesn't line up flush on one side. The last couple issues are the "creakynesss" of the handset. When I grip the phone tightly I can feel the plastic components giving, and settling into place. Not terribly bad, but noticable. The last issue is the fingerprint scanner. It's been pointed out in some reviews, but the scanner is off center on some devices and just looks shoddily thrown together and misalligned.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The battery cover design is one of the things I really like about the Atrix. It is flexible on my phone, not brittle at all. It fits well and is a breeze to get on and off -- after the first time. The first time I was also a little scared and it caught at the middle a little. Since then, it is trivial to do. Of course, it spends most of its time covered by two layers of Otterbox Commuter in my case.
I have not noticed any creakiness -- seems very solid to me. It's reinforced by the Otterbox, so I might not ever notice anyway.
My fingerprint scanner doesn't seem to work at all. I get nothing but too short a swipe messages (works for me about 1 time out of 20). I have been assuming this is due it being placed down in a little hole by the Otterbox. I'm perfectly willing to give that up to get the extra protection and reduced slipperiness. My last unprotected phone (BB 9000) only made it a year before I dropped it many times including into 2 feet of water (don't ask, I need to be drinking to talk about it).
Yea.... i had the Defender for a day or so before i returned it for that one reason. Made it a bit more tricky to use the fingerprint reader. Found that too many times when i went to swipe (almost typed Swype in there... and no, not even on my phone. haha) my finger, it would wind up getting stuck with the outer soft casing of the Defender and either stop mid-swipe or skip part of my fingertip.
fingerprint scanner works great for me; when i first got it i thought it would be a useless novelty.
Slade8525 said:
fingerprint scanner works great for me; when i first got it i thought it would be a useless novelty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not saying it doesn't work great. It works phenomenally. The issue is that some cases.... or mostly the OtterBox Defender, has quite a large hole where the fingerprint scanner resides.... and part of that hole is surrounded by the soft silicon/rubber of the outer shell of the case, which can make trying to get a solid swipe across the fingerprint reader a bit of a pain.
This is a pretty good review. I too left for an inspire and couldn't be happier, but I can see why people like their Atrix. Having cm7 was the deal breaker for me but if roms aren't a big deal the Atrix might be a better fit. I also had two phones with extremely bad call quality issues but I hear that's more of an isolated thing.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA Premium App
I came from the captivate...to the atrix to the inspire and back to the atrix ...the only thing I miss from the inspire is htc sense
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
slimslim said:
There are many Inspire / Atrix threads I've read but this one is a good, unbiased, well written everyday user experience. +1 for op.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 great unbiased and amusing post. I was about to moan when I saw how long your post was, Divinedark but your well thought out/written comparison made me finish it without realizing it.
Well written OP. It's actually like two reviews of both phones and not just which beats which.
Thank you.

Rough edges, too hot, bad camera and visible pixel grid

I've recently purchased black HTC ONE. Although at first look device looks great (design is near perfection), I am really disappointed with its quality.
Build quality: both sides of the phone have rough edges - skin gets caught leaving white residue most of the time. Upper left edge of the screen is not fitted well - raised above the speaker grill
Really hot! It gets uncomfortable hot after few minutes of browsing over wifi - the screen gets warm as well! I also have GNote 2 and Iphone 4s and they get to such temperatures only after havy use when charging.
Camera is no good! (and yes I know how to take a picture) - pictures are noise (in relatively good light) and contain pinkish tint in center when focusing on white surfaces
Pixel grid (horizontal and vertical) is quite visible on the screen when jts turned off (this does not bother me), or on a mid day light and even indoors under some angles (and this is f-ing bothering me!)
I dont know did I get a really bad unit or this device is all looks and no quality...
ssasa said:
I've recently purchased black HTC ONE. Although at first look device looks great (design is near perfection), I am really disappointed with its quality.
Build quality: both sides of the phone have rough edges - skin gets caught leaving white residue most of the time. Upper left edge of the screen is not fitted well - raised above the speaker grill
Really hot! It gets uncomfortable hot after few minutes of browsing over wifi - the screen gets warm as well! I also have GNote 2 and Iphone 4s and they get to such temperatures only after havy use when charging.
Camera is no good! (and yes I know how to take a picture) - pictures are noise (in relatively good light) and contain pinkish tint in center when focusing on white surfaces
Pixel grid (horizontal and vertical) is quite visible on the screen when jts turned off (this does not bother me), or on a mid day light and even indoors under some angles (and this is f-ing bothering me!)
I dont know did I get a really bad unit or this device is all looks and no quality...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bad unit, get a replacement. There seem to be quite a few (I'm waiting for my second - because of a borked plastic cut) but I've also seen perfect examples...
Don't have any of those problems, Black One, build date 27th May Tierra del Fuego sub-contractor (FA)
Just send it back. Obvious.
so u expect ur first wife to be all sweet and caring and lovey dovey and makes a sandwich every morning?
get real
shiningarmor said:
so u expect ur first wife to be all sweet and caring and lovey dovey and makes a sandwich every morning?
get real
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So how many wives do you plan on trying to get?
That overheating issue you're facing is not normal, I believe. I have had a Galaxy S3 which got really hot after minimal usage, and the HTC One is great when it comes to that in comparison. You have to understand that aluminium soaks up the heat from the internals of the device, which is a good thing and a bad thing; it is perhaps bad because it can get a bit uncomfortable to hold while playing games, for instance, but at the same time it is good because it preserves the internals of the device and prolongs their life.
I have the a silver one and I do not face the problem with the edges. I read that the black one has a coating on it which makes it more prone to scratches, dings and chips than the silver one, so maybe that is the problem you're facing? I have also read that some of the earlier versions had gaps (like the screen not being fitted well, as you mentioned) but I am not sure about them. If you feel uncomfortable about the device, just go to the HTC service center and talk to them about it, perhaps they can sort you out a replacement if you're under warranty.
I cannot comment on the camera because I am by no means a photographer or even have a lot of experience with them, but it is suffice to say that I love the camera and I feel it is much better than my S3, sister's 4S and Dad's iPhone 5.
Yes I do expect here to be exactly as you've described. Maybe this is why my relationships does not last more than a year
I am also thinking of asking for another unit. But in my cowboy / banana country this really a hassle...
Nippero said:
So how many wives do you plan on trying to get?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
maybe 3 xD
ssasa said:
Yes I do expect here to be exactly as you've described. Maybe this is why my relationships does not last more than a year
I am also thinking of asking for another unit. But in my cowboy / banana country this really a hassle...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hahaha
ot : ur unit isnt normal. get it replaced
TarekElsakka said:
That overheating issue you're facing is not normal, I believe. I have had a Galaxy S3 which got really hot after minimal usage, and the HTC One is great when it comes to that in comparison. You have to understand that aluminium soaks up the heat from the internals of the device, which is a good thing and a bad thing; it is perhaps bad because it can get a bit uncomfortable to hold while playing games, for instance, but at the same time it is good because it preserves the internals of the device and prolongs their life.
I have the a silver one and I do not face the problem with the edges. I read that the black one has a coating on it which makes it more prone to scratches, dings and chips than the silver one, so maybe that is the problem you're facing? I have also read that some of the earlier versions had gaps (like the screen not being fitted well, as you mentioned) but I am not sure about them. If you feel uncomfortable about the device, just go to the HTC service center and talk to them about it, perhaps they can sort you out a replacement if you're under warranty.
I cannot comment on the camera because I am by no means a photographer or even have a lot of experience with them, but it is suffice to say that I love the camera and I feel it is much better than my S3, sister's 4S and Dad's iPhone 5.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its not chipped or scratched. It looks quite nice really. However you can feal its edges scratching when you hold the phone. Nothing dangerous just bloody annoying - due to hype about build quality I had my expectations set high.
I am no photography expert I just take pictures with steady hand and in fair light - if my subject is the white wall, the pink tint is all over the middle of the picture
As others said probably very bad unit. I'll try to replace it on monday.
Definitely defective. I've been using the phone for the last hour browsing the net and checking email. Still cool to the touch. Not sure what the sharp edges are...
mine got pretty hot the first week i had it and the battery life wasnt very good but after having it for a while it seemed to have settled down and battery life is very good now
Itaintrite said:
Definitely defective. I've been using the phone for the last hour browsing the net and checking email. Still cool to the touch. Not sure what the sharp edges are...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool to the touch? Do you have massive calluses on your hands that are impenetrable to heat? I don't know if I've read of anyone else describing this phone as cool to the touch when being used.
As for the OPs phone. Return it. I've got black One and it is so damn nice. If you aren't fully enjoying it, something must be defective. The casing certainly sounds like it is. The camera: I recently took a short trip and only brought the phone as my camera. Before, I didn't like the camera so much. After spending time with it, I grew to like it quite a bit. It isn't an amazing camera, but it still gets pretty good shots. Maybe your settings need some tweaking, or you got a really bad unit and the camera is defective as well.
Anyway, take it back. Get yourself a perfect One. :thumbup:
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
ataft said:
Cool to the touch? Do you have massive calluses on your hands that are impenetrable to heat? I don't know if I've read of anyone else describing this phone as cool to the touch when being used.
As for the OPs phone. Return it. I've got black One and it is so damn nice. If you aren't fully enjoying it, something must be defective. The casing certainly sounds like it is. The camera: I recently took a short trip and only brought the phone as my camera. Before, I didn't like the camera so much. After spending time with it, I grew to like it quite a bit. It isn't an amazing camera, but it still gets pretty good shots. Maybe your settings need some tweaking, or you got a really bad unit and the camera is defective as well.
Anyway, take it back. Get yourself a perfect One. :thumbup:
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, then fact that I'm in a room with AC probably helps too. But yeah, pretty cool to the touch. Not even warm.
Please don't feed the trolls
----------------------o('_')o----------------------
Sent from an HTC One with using xda app:
TrickDroid ROM 5.6
Bulletproof 1.10
ssasa said:
Yes I do expect here to be exactly as you've described. Maybe this is why my relationships does not last more than a year
I am also thinking of asking for another unit. But in my cowboy / banana country this really a hassle...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think a lot of us forget that not everyone has the opportunity to just walk in store and get a replacement.. There's a lot of downsides to ATT and Tmobile, etc. upsides are they will most likely exchange them until your happy. At least you dont have to accept a bad one..Keep mentioning zero gap til they bring one that applies I got lucky i guess and my first one is nearly perfect.
It sounds like yours is bad enough to do whatever you gotta do to get it replaced. Good luck,
Pixel grid? Do you mean you can see the digitalizer layer? This is quite normal on capacitive touch mobiles with thin glass
Sent from my HTC One using XDA Premium HD app

[Q] A couple of questions

Reviewers have said that the area near the camera of the phone gets heated. You you experiencing this issue?
How many version updates is this phone expected to get? Any other issues one must know before buying this phone?
Thanks in advance!
android07 said:
Reviewers have said that the area near the camera of the phone gets heated. You you experiencing this issue?
How many version updates is this phone expected to get? Any other issues one must know before buying this phone?
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
near the camera is the cpu. when you use the cpu, it gets warm. then it cools down while its not being used. the phone comes with a quad core cpu, that definitely produces heat when being used. on top of that, the back is glass, to let the cpu cool down faster. because its glass, you can feel the heat better than you would be able to feel it through a plastic or metal back. btw, thats not an issue. if someone thinks its an issue, then they just dont know how these things work. like a car engine, it gets hot when its on, and gets hotter when pushing the engine harder. its the same way.
android07 said:
Reviewers have said that the area near the camera of the phone gets heated. You you experiencing this issue?
How many version updates is this phone expected to get? Any other issues one must know before buying this phone?
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not worried about the updates, no other phone get's more updates than a nexus. The Galaxy nexus is still getting updates, and you can always force the update, or a AOSP rom. About the heat, the back glass only heats up on my device while playing games, and only games, not even charging. But that's my experience with the phone, wait for others to answer back. I really enjoy having this phone, even more than my previous galaxy nexus.
The only times I feel heat on the back of the phone are when I use the charging orb to charge my phone, or after I flashed a new ROM and was downloading all my apps all at once from the Store again, the area by the camera that they're talking about got hot. I'd say it was more 'above the Nexus logo' than 'by the camera', but whatever. I have a feeling that's where the antennae are (I was on Wifi). It usually doesn't happen, and doesn't really affect anything.
This phone is supposed to get updates forever and always directly from Google. No manufacturer getting in the way of updates on this baby.
Other issues?..... I guess that there is glass both front and back so be careful with it. I've never broken anything on mine but I guess it's worth noting. If you're clumsy or drop your phone a lot, get a case for this one.

[q] user opinions on buying this phone

Heloo i would like to buy this phone but i dont know if its really a wise decison to buy this over the LG G2(my curent phone),could you help me if this phone is worth buyng it.
1.What are its weak parts?
2.Does the paint on plastic strip around the phone peele off in time?
3.IS the screen beeter or on par with the one on the G2?
4.Does the phone feel in hand sturdy and relaiable?unike my G2 that squeaks on light presuure on the plastic back and its very anoying
5.IS the sound quality good or better than the G2 through the 3.5 jack?
6.Hows the battery life?
7.Does it heat up much when doing demanding stuf like games and benchmark?
Thank you!
PS:I know there are many reviews on the internae but i think the best review is the user opinion.
Thank you again!
Strif3 said:
Heloo i would like to buy this phone but i dont know if its really a wise decison to buy this over the LG G2(my curent phone),could you help me if this phone is worth buyng it.
1.What are its weak parts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It depends on what you're looking for. If you have a G2 I'm guessing you like overlays and the features they provide. The N3 has a ton of s/w features aimed at productivity and creation users centered on the S Pen. If you're one of them there is no phone that compares to the Note-series. Both phones have "gee whiz" features with things like motion control, Awake Stay, and the like. So if you like "stuff" the N3 has lots of it. If you're going to strip both phones of their features and use an AOSP-ish ROM than pick the device that makes you happiest. The N3 has a removable battery and expandable storage so keep that in mind as a possible benefit.
Also keep in mind that two philosophical issues affect the N3. To prevent gray market sales Samsung's introduced Region Lock which requires a device be initialized using a SIM local to its selling region before you can use it globally with different SIMs. There have been some issues where people have done that and run in to problems. The other is all Samsung devices now come with KNOX security s/w preloaded. It's benign when not used but Samsung moved the flash counter to it so when non-standard s/w is run on a KNOX-equipped device a flag is tripped that allows Samsung to know that and potentially withhold warranty support. There are long threads on both of those items if you want to learn more.
The speaker on the N3 is louder than the G2's but a bit thin and lacking in detail. If you're a big external speaker user you might want to test it in person to make sure it meets your needs.
2.Does the paint on plastic strip around the phone peele off in time?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Both the G2 and N3 are made of plastic so there's always the chance that long-term durability could be affected by handling. It's too early to tell.
3.IS the screen beeter or on par with the one on the G2?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's apples vs. oranges. The G2 has a great LCD display and the N3 has a great AMOLED display. Which do you prefer? They both have strengths and weaknesses. Here's a review of the N3's display.
http://www.displaymate.com/Galaxy_Note3_ShootOut_1.htm
4.Does the phone feel in hand sturdy and relaiable?unike my G2 that squeaks on light presuure on the plastic back and its very anoying
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As sturdy as a plastic phone can be. Mine's certainly sturdy with no squeaks, rattles, or unnecessary flex. The back cover's paper thin plastic to accommodate being peeled off for battery, SIM, and SD card access. Some people hate that design others are fine with it.
5.IS the sound quality good or better than the G2 through the 3.5 jack?
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The N3's better based on GSMArena's objective testing.
Audio quality
All three smartphones delivered almost spotlessly clean audio output so picking a winner here was quite hard. Still, the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 managed to take the victory with its louder output, and slightly lower stereo crosstalk when headphones were plugged in. The LG G2 and the Sony Xperia Z1 are basically identical as far as their audio output is concerned. They perform excellently both with and without headphones but are let down by their uninspiring volume levels.​http://www.gsmarena.com/lg_g2_vs_samsung_galaxy_note_3_vs_sony_xperia_z1-review-1000p7.php
6.Hows the battery life?
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It depends. I have a ton of syncs running and leave all Samsung's motion, air, and audio sensors active. I'm also in a crappy LTE coverage area. I get about 15-20% less battery life than I did on my non-LTE N2. I get about 5 1/2 hours of screen on time and the N3 easily lasts through a heavy use day. It also charges insanely fast so topping up during the day can get you through two days of use easily.
7.Does it heat up much when doing demanding stuf like games and benchmark?
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Mine hasn't but I'm not a big gamer. It'll get warm when I'm background downloading while doing something resource intensive in the foreground but it’s never gotten hot.
i think the best review is the user opinion.
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There's no shortage of opinions here. There are about a dozen people on the forum that post their displeasure with the N3 when the opportunity presents itself. Quite a few are former N2 owners. Weigh your own needs and hot buttons against the positive and negative comments this thread will attract and draw your own conclusions.
Thank you for the reply i forgot to metion how it feels int the pocket its a little biger than my G2?
About the screen i like lcd and amoleds its not such an important thing for me as long as the colors,the viewing angles and brightness are good i dont care if its amoled or lcd.
I saw on some threads here that the N3 has some problems with the home button is that true?
How is the GPS is it good?
Thank you!
Strif3 said:
7.Does it heat up much when doing demanding stuf like games and benchmark?
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It does get hot during benchmarks, I did some tests and if you overclock the device the performance is worse due to heat.
Stock Hz undervolted got me the best results. 36k in AnTuTu.
Strif3 said:
Thank you for the reply i forgot to metion how it feels int the pocket its a little biger than my G2?
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It feels fine once it's in my pocket but it's a little more work to get it in and out than my previous phone (Galaxy S1).
Overall I'm happy with the Note 3 there are a few frustrating niggles (e.g. the placement of the speaker means if you're playing a game on a landscape mode you end up covering it and blocking the sound) but the good far outweighs the bad.
Strif3 said:
i forgot to metion how it feels int the pocket its a little biger than my G2?
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The N3 is a big phone so don't underestimate the size difference.
Well i played with the phone in my local store and i like it its nice and i like the s pen to,the width is ok it fits good in my hand though i have smal hands,only the hight is a liitle off but itsok to.
Strif3 said:
Well i played with the phone in my local store and i like it its nice and i like the s pen to,the width is ok it fits good in my hand though i have smal hands,only the hight is a liitle off but itsok to.
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The one handed feature is really cool. It creates a smaller instance of the OS that's closer to either the left or right side. I use it when I'm going through airports or walking while using the phone at the same time.
Stop askin and start buyin haha...

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