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I will not buy a Note 2 and proceed with a Nexus device.
Be it from LG, HTC or Samsung.
The Original Note has already frustrated me to a point I can't bear no longer.
Let me explain why before you Note 2 worshippers come and attack me.
Original Note Frustrations:
1. ICS Update for GT-N7000
- Gingerbread theme on an ICS based ROM. I mean comeon how lazy are you Samsung really?
- Even the Gallery is not updated. It's stock Gallery from Gingerbread (Fixed in latest half-assed S3 lookalike update)
2. Midway ICS transition to JB Update for GT-N7000
- Improves the situation abit but still very gingerbread-ish.
- Finally the launcher lags no more. I mean after 10 months after launch? SERIOUSLY SAMSUNG?!
- New Gallery from Note 2. I applaud this. A great improvement from your Gingerbread Gallery.
3. Waiting for Updates.
4. S-Pen, no matter how much you worship this Samsung innovation, it does not feel native to the core OS.
5. Super AMOLED HD is a pain in the ass.
- Screen degrades too quickly. It takes 6 months only for the whites in my Note to go YELLOW. 6 freaking months.
- Try to view a full screen white image when you are using your S-AMOLED HD phone. Its completely uneven.
- I mean, really? Left is pure white. Right is yellow? What sorcery is this?!
- Pentile but solved in Note 2 but quick degration is probably still present.
- I swear the Note 1 which has higher pixel density is more blurr-ish than my iPad 3 which has a lower pixel density.
- Black Clipping. A serious problem still not solved from Day 1. Frustrating.
6. Aspect Ratio.
- To me is a downgrade. Less resolution.
- 16:10 allows me to have wider portrait viewing.
7. Samsung Exynos
- A real benchmarking powerhouse but still sucks anyway.
- Why it sucks? Documentation and source support. We Note 1 owners still don't get no Project Butter thanks to Samsung.
8. Samsung TouchWiz
- TouchWiz is clunky and unfinished. (They almost solved it in TouchWiz Nature)
- Too many gimmicks unless I mention are useful ones.
- Direct Call is useful.
- AllShare sucks compared to AirPlay. I can't AllShare my YouTube. But I can AirPlay my YouTube on iPad.
- Same thing for Pop Up Video. Why can't I Pop Up my YouTube? As I explained earlier, not built into Core OS.
- AirView (Note 2 specific feature) Completely unrealistic. Apple developed a way superior "pinch-a-little" to view photos. Who the hell wants to take out the S-Pen just so you can preview some photos which might not be photos you want to see even. Might as well click the album and view all right? AirView on Video Player is the same thing. You can just hold the seekbar right? Why use a pen?
But these are things I love about the original Note.
1. Battery is huge. I mean can really last two days long!
2. Screen size. I swear its perfect for my hands.
3. Video support is amazing!
I know Note 2 solved many of this problems but you know what. The future is still bleak with its Exynos processor.
The brick bug? Comeon. Samsung seriously? You still haven't fix it in months?!
Imagine another Project like Project Ultra Mega Buttery Smooth in Android 5.0 and then devs realised drivers are incompatible
with Note 2 and must wait for Samsung to release the drivers which could take months!
Note 2 is a good phone if only you don't see its flaws.
I learnt the hard way that hardware is not everything.
Software is important too with the dev support.
Note forums is practically dead until Samsung releases JB sources for the OG Note.
I expect a half-assed update whatever the next version of Android is when S4 comes out for Note 2. Trust me on that.
Your future with the Note 2 will be bleak with frustrations.
Ask any dev using Note 1 including me.
Frustration awaits.
Have a good day.
Yours truly
OG Note user from Launch Day.
I still want it. Anyone else still going to get it?
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2
Cool. Will read again.
Oh, good luck with lg. They are so reliable with software updates
Sent from my GT-P3100 using xda premium
Avatar said:
I still want it. Anyone else still going to get it?
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2
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got it. in one word this phablet is 'marvellous' it outshines other recent phones in every department from speed to display. no matter what the hardware is, but this giant is fast.
Anyone else think that this thread is unnecessary?
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2
---------- Post added at 06:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:15 PM ----------
schiwa said:
got it. in one word this phablet is 'marvellous' it outshines other recent phones in every department from speed to display. no matter what the hardware is, but this giant is fast.
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I bet it does. Can't wait till it comes out for sprint. Nothing can beat this beast.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2
Ok thank you for letting us know, this is a very useful thread.
Also, every phone is a good phone if you don't see their flaws, what's your point?
stoney73 said:
Oh, good luck with lg. They are so reliable with software updates
Sent from my GT-P3100 using xda premium
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The point of Nexus is Google handles the updates.
Livebyte said:
The point of Nexus is Google handles the updates.
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That's why the Verizon galaxy nexus got its Jelly Bean update so quickly then I guess.
D3_ said:
That's why the Verizon galaxy nexus got its Jelly Bean update so quickly then I guess.
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I don't have to worry about that. I don't come from the West. All the devices here on contract or not is unlocked by law.
Avatar said:
Anyone else think that this thread is unnecessary? I
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I was refreshing this page waiting for reply exactly like this lol..
Livebyte said:
After all the frustrations with the Note 1.
.
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http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=32144030&postcount=117
Funny how you were saying how you were so glad to have switched to the OG Note less than 2 weeks ago....
And didn't you supposedly have an N7105 too?
You're entitled to your opinion and I'm not trying to take that away. But being an owner of a Note 2 for about 4+ days now, I couldn't disagree with you more with virtually every bullet point.
Jelly Bean and S-Pen apps are revolutionary upgrade over the Note 1. Pull out the pen, and the device unlocks locks automatically and you're ready to write. Push it back in, and you're back to the home screen. The AirView works amazing, and it adds a whole new level of useful UI that is similar to hovering with a mouse but maybe even better. It is a feature that I am sure Apple is falling over themselves running to the conference room to see how they can get something like AirView. S-Pen functionally is heavily baked into the OS. And it feels refined. They seriously put a lot of focus here, so I am surprised that you say that anything is half baked.
I agree with you that TouchWiz for Gingerbread and ICS is seriously ugly. The Note 2 comes with TouchWiz UX (heavily modified for S-Pen), and it is a beautiful UI, better than any launcher available on the market (just my opinion. Some of TW UX is only clunky because they had to remove UI improvements due to Apple patent infringements. Minor annoyances really.
TouchWiz was made ugly on purpose by Samsung because they are in the business of controlling OS updates to sell more phones. And no, just because it is Exynos, it doesn't have anything to do with not getting OS updates. You're not going to do any better with updates with a Samsung that has a Snapdragon processor. If the Note 1 ever gets Jelly Bean, it will be TouchWiz again and uglified. So why are you sticking with the Note 1 again?
I agree that the new RGB screen is not anything special. It is pretty much performs identical to the Galaxy S3 screen except when examined under the microscope. It is not any brighter, at least mine is not.
You sound like you enjoy watching videos on the Note. Most HD videos are in 16:9 ratios these days, so that on a 16:10 screen, you get black bars on top and bottom. Thus you are only using 5.15" of your 5.3" screen on the Note 1. And the Galaxy Note having a 5.55" screen means you get a .4" upgrade from the Note. Whether you think an extra .4" for video is up to you.
Note 2 has a great battery. If you probably leave it alone and not use it, it would probably go for much longer than 2 days. It is that no one with a Note 2 has been letting it sit there for days and monitoring the battery just yet. It will happen, and the numbers can only be great. I was on it pretty heavily today tethering it, streaming videos, putting it through stress tests, speed tests, benchmarks, and I managed to go nearly 18 hours.
I guess what I'm saying is, in my opinion, your perspective on the Note 2 is completely off. And the reason I say that is what you are saying is polar opposite compared to all the people that have owned it for a few days and have reviewed it (myself included).
But hey, you're entitled to your opinion.
+1 to all that written above..
And 2 updates in 2 weeks..!!!
Samsung is really stepped on the pedal & its not gonna get any better then this on any OEM..
And good luck with the boring aosp experience..
Now someone close the thread..
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
foxmeister said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=32144030&postcount=117
Funny how you were saying how you were so glad to have switched to the OG Note less than 2 weeks ago....
And didn't you supposedly have an N7105 too?
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Liarbytes post:
Livebyte said:
A complete joke I know. I will never buy a HTC device again. I'm glad I made the switch to the OG Note from Sensation.
Oooo. Running TouchWiz 5 now stock on Note! :laugh:
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Dont let the door hit your ass on the way out.
someone's just upset that the phone is beyond amazing and they can't handle it haha
Lucidmike said:
You're entitled to your opinion and I'm not trying to take that away. But being an owner of a Note 2 for about 4+ days now, I couldn't disagree with you more with virtually every bullet point.
Jelly Bean and S-Pen apps are revolutionary upgrade over the Note 1. Pull out the pen, and the device unlocks locks automatically and you're ready to write. Push it back in, and you're back to the home screen. The AirView works amazing, and it adds a whole new level of useful UI that is similar to hovering with a mouse but maybe even better. It is a feature that I am sure Apple is falling over themselves running to the conference room to see how they can get something like AirView. S-Pen functionally is heavily baked into the OS. And it feels refined. They seriously put a lot of focus here, so I am surprised that you say that anything is half baked.
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Click to collapse
I agree, but S-Pen as I said will never feel native in the OS. But the minor improvements are definitely welcome.
AirView is useful to a certain extent. I don't imagine anyone wants to take out the S-Pen to view a preview of their photos or videos.
when they can just tap and see the actual image or video. Plus for AirView in Gallery, Apple did a much smarter way. Pinching a little to see a preview. That's smarter than taking out a pen to view.
I wasn't saying about Note 2. I was saying about how Note 1 is completely half-baked. I've tried Note 2. Its an improvement but not a major one.
One more time, I will say it again. It won't feel native to the OS.
I agree with you that TouchWiz for Gingerbread and ICS is seriously ugly. The Note 2 comes with TouchWiz UX (heavily modified for S-Pen), and it is a beautiful UI, better than any launcher available on the market (just my opinion. Some of TW UX is only clunky because they had to remove UI improvements due to Apple patent infringements. Minor annoyances really.
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A major improvement I agree, but this causes the update dilemma. A serious problem no matter how much you love TouchWiz.
I love TouchWiz but I would give anything for a better update schedule near the iOS level.
TouchWiz was made ugly on purpose by Samsung because they are in the business of controlling OS updates to sell more phones. And no, just because it is Exynos, it doesn't have anything to do with not getting OS updates. You're not going to do any better with updates with a Samsung that has a Snapdragon processor. If the Note 1 ever gets Jelly Bean, it will be TouchWiz again and uglified. So why are you sticking with the Note 1 again?
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Yes, the main reason Note 1 is still stuck with an unfinished JB is because of Exynos.
Not essentially true, I recall Exynos 4210 devices are the only powerhouses left that doesn't have hwcomposer fixed properly yet.
I agree that the new RGB screen is not anything special. It is pretty much performs identical to the Galaxy S3 screen except when examined under the microscope. It is not any brighter, at least mine is not.
You sound like you enjoy watching videos on the Note. Most HD videos are in 16:9 ratios these days, so that on a 16:10 screen, you get black bars on top and bottom. Thus you are only using 5.15" of your 5.3" screen on the Note 1. And the Galaxy Note having a 5.55" screen means you get a .4" upgrade from the Note. Whether you think an extra .4" for video is up to you.
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AMOLED screens degrade very quickly. Brightness is not that important if the screens degrade so quickly compared to an LCD.
Note 2 has a great battery. If you probably leave it alone and not use it, it would probably go for much longer than 2 days. It is that no one with a Note 2 has been letting it sit there for days and monitoring the battery just yet. It will happen, and the numbers can only be great. I was on it pretty heavily today tethering it, streaming videos, putting it through stress tests, speed tests, benchmarks, and I managed to go nearly 18 hours.
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I totally agree with you.
I guess what I'm saying is, in my opinion, your perspective on the Note 2 is completely off. And the reason I say that is what you are saying is polar opposite compared to all the people that have owned it for a few days and have reviewed it (myself included).
But hey, you're entitled to your opinion.
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Click to collapse
I didn't say much about Note 2. I was saying alot of the original Note.
A frustration but nonetheless an excellent device.
Well I'm just here to give an opinion.
Note 2 is amazing device. If you can live with the flaws, it's the best phone yet.
Galaxy Nexus and OG Note came out near the same time.
And now, the Nexus is way much superior to the Note because of the software.
I hope you get my point. I'm talking about the future here.
Not the current state of the device now which is amazing.
Livebyte said:
After all the frustrations with the Note 1.
- Half-assed ICS update. I mean comeon a gingerbread theme in ICS? Really?
- Then they decided to update halfway to half-baked S3 UI and still looks clunky.
- Tired of waiting for updates.
- S-Pen no matter what you think of it, doesn't feel native as in baked into the Android subsystem.
- S-AMOLED. I don't like it. The screen degrades too quickly. Now my whites are super yellow. Its frustrating! Best part the notification bar area is whiter then the other areas with a distinctive line. Disappointing.
- Pentile. (But they solved it with Note 2!) My eyes are never the same after seeing iPad 3's screen and looking at Note 1 is just blurry. Best part is iPad 3 has a lower pixel density than Note 1.
- Change of aspect ratio. I bought Note 1 because of 16:10. And it's gone. Don't tell me about the advantages about 16:9 because I like 16:10.
- Samsung source support. Seriously? Note 1 still doesn't have buttery smooth JB. Unbelievable. I will never buy an Exynos device ever again.
- TouchWiz. I love some aspects of it but I hate most of it. It's seriously ugly but somewhat useful in some ways. The newest iteration seems just fine, but not sparkling.
But these are things I love about the original Note.
- Battery is huge. I mean can really last two days long!
- Screen size. I swear its perfect for my hands.
- Video support is amazing!
I know Note 2 solved many of this problems but you know what. The future is still bleak with its Exynos processor.
The brick bug? Comeon. Samsung seriously? You still haven't fix it in months?!
Imagine another Project like Project Ultra Mega Buttery Smooth in Android 5.0 and then devs realised drivers are incompatible
with Note 2 and must wait for Samsung to release the drivers which could take months!
Note 2 is a good phone if only you don't see its flaws.
I learnt the hard way that hardware is not everything.
Software is important too with the dev support.
Note forums is practically dead until Samsung releases JB sources for the OG Note.
After seeing the LG Nexus, I don't feel like buying Note 2 even though I had an eye for Note 2 even before it came out.
I expect a half-assed update whatever the next version of Android is when S4 comes out for Note 2. Trust me on that.
Good day to all Note 2 current and future owners.
Your future with the Note 2 will be bleak with frustrations.
Have a good day.
Yours truly
OG Note user from Launch Day.
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Click to collapse
1. You clearly prefer stock firmware/updates. In which case, why are you even here? Most users on xda prefer their devices rooted and running custom firmware, or at the very least, stock but processed (rooted, deodexed, zipaligned, the works...).
2. Don't like your UI? You don't even necessarily need root. There are plenty of launchers on play store alone to allow some sort of customization (Apex launcher is my personal favourite for example). If you want more than that, you'll most likely need to root.
3. I don't know what kind of miracles you expect doing with the S-Pen, but it IS in fact integrated to Samsung's firmware. Be it code, or simply drivers.
4. I have no clue what's wrong with your screen, but mine is crystal clear. Beautiful colours and very smooth.
5. True, no official Jellybean update as of yet. But, that's why we have a community of amazing devs here that bring it to us, whether it's in the form of a leak, or cyanogen based ports. Either way, they work on it hard to give us as stable releases as possible. Hence the name of this website, if you haven't noticed... xda-DEVELOPERS.
6. The Exynos processor on the GT-I9100 (Galaxy SII), still even now, pulls some of the best benchmarks on the market.
7. If the device is ugly, in your opinion, why bother even getting one in the first place?
8. Although I do agree the Note forums aren't as lively as other devices, there are some seriously stable rom options there, with MANY cool features.
9. "Note 2 is a good phone if only you don't see its flaws"?! This makes no sense. No general consumer market tech is flawless out of the box. I owned 2 LG devices.... Never again. You just cant compare the build quality between Samsung and LG.
Bottom line, if you don't know how to use your device properly, or to its fullest potential, don't complain about it.
This thread should be locked in my opinion.
Can't believe I wasted my time commenting about this. I just had to... LOL
Well I did buy the Note 2 and have been using it for 5 days now. But I can say one of the main reasons I bought it was that there were not really any acceptable alternatives for me. I was using an S3 and actually waited until the IPhone 5 was released to take a look but it was still too small.
I have a couple of complaints similar to the op's, and the first one is Amoled. The sad fact is that for the most part if you use a Samsung phone these days you have to deal with an unrealistic color representation and other display issues. If someone could make a 5 inch phone with the IPad 3 display quality they could have all my money. Now the Note 2 has maybe the best Amoled I have seen, but it is still not quite ready.
The other things are the various little problems with design. And here is an example that has me pissed off: If you are using your phone as a music player and used the long press on the headphone button to adjust volume well that will not work any more with 4.1.1. Instead it brings up the ridiculous Google voice search. So if you want to adjust the volume you have to take the phone out of your pocket and hit the button. And this is 2012. I have to wonder if the engineers who design these things actually use them. Did they ever take them home for a weekend or try to use them in day to day life? Usability problems like this make me nuts, and are why I nearly went back to the IPhone after using 3 different Samsung phones.
AlonB. said:
1. You clearly prefer stock firmware/updates. In which case, why are you even here? Most users on xda prefer their devices rooted and running custom firmware, or at the very least, stock but processed (rooted, deodexed, zipaligned, the works...).
2. Don't like your UI? You don't even necessarily need root. There are plenty of launchers on play store alone to allow some sort of customization (Apex launcher is my personal favourite for example). If you want more than that, you'll most likely need to root.
3. I don't know what kind of miracles you expect doing with the S-Pen, but it IS in fact integrated to Samsung's firmware. Be it code, or simply drivers.
4. I have no clue what's wrong with your screen, but mine is crystal clear. Beautiful colours and very smooth.
5. True, no official Jellybean update as of yet. But, that's why we have a community of amazing devs here that bring it to us, whether it's in the form of a leak, or cyanogen based ports. Either way, they work on it hard to give us as stable releases as possible. Hence the name of this website, if you haven't noticed... xda-DEVELOPERS.
6. The Exynos processor on the GT-I9100 (Galaxy SII), still even now, pulls some of the best benchmarks on the market.
7. If the device is ugly, in your opinion, why bother even getting one in the first place?
8. Although I do agree the Note forums aren't as lively as other devices, there are some seriously stable rom options there, with MANY cool features.
9. "Note 2 is a good phone if only you don't see its flaws"?! This makes no sense. No general consumer market tech is flawless out of the box. I owned 2 LG devices.... Never again. You just cant compare the build quality between Samsung and LG.
Bottom line, if you don't know how to use your device properly, or to its fullest potential, don't complain about it.
This thread should be locked in my opinion.
Can't believe I wasted my time commenting about this. I just had to... LOL
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Click to collapse
You didn't read what I said. Do I have to repeat again? OMG.
Root or not, with dev or no dev.
It's nearly impossible to provide a STABLE JB-based ROM with hwcomposer working (aka Project Butter component) if the manufacturer doesn't provide the drivers for JB.
Yeah for now the screen is amazing, wait just maybe 6 months.
Enjoy your pathetic yellowish degraded screen.
I never even said the device is ugly. Seriously? Do you even read?
Pulls the best benchmarks with no stable JB hooray
while a TI-based phone which produces lower benchmarks has stable JB. I'm so happy.
I agree with you on the last point.
It's a wait and see approach. But the original Note is going to be my last Samsung device ever. Too many flaws.
I've just watched the stream of the sgs4 presentation and I'm glad to say I'm sticking with my HTC One pre order. For an sgs3 owner like myself there seems to be no incentive to upgrade. The new gimmicks will be available on google play in some other guise anyway.
Worth keeping in mind though that the price of the HTC One may drop when the sgs4 is released at the end of April. If you're not in a mad rush to get the One you might be better off waiting 6 weeks and get a better deal when the two devices really go to war in the shops.
Are you swaying or stick with the One?
This thread is not intended to be a comparison discussion.
Still getting the One...but then I always like backing the underdog
I'm going to be sticking with HTC and get a One time it comes out. I'll be buying it off contract so the price isn't going to go down much even with the S4 comes out.
The One to me is the better looking phone with the better looking UI. All the other features the S4 has are pretty gimmicky (right down to the way they were presented). I used to have a Galaxy S2 which I loved, but since then Samsung hasn't won me back.
Yes it has. It's made me want the HTC One even more.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
you mean the SGS3S? No way! LOL
In before the lock.
Massive fail. They will still sell a huge amount of phones tho.
Sent from my EVO using xda premium
Yes it has, i'm getting the Galaxy S IV. But in the end, i'll probably get both.
clarkgable said:
Yes it has. It's made me want the HTC One even more.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
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^^^^^ this!!!, though i do think the s4 looks good and has good features albeit very gimmicky ones and ones I doubt most owners would need or use but the One is superior imo in everything i need it for.
Yes it did, it locked me 100% on the One.
S4 looks nice but it's just like the last 5-6 Samsung phones I had, and I'm not saying there is anything wrong with that, I am just bored of it and looking for something new and more elegant.
The only way I would purchase the S4 over the One is if HTC really blows the release and the S4 is available to me before the One, but I hope I don't have to make that call. Unfortunately Samsung is putting more priority on the US release than HTC, so time will tell.
Now you're just asking for trolls
But in all seriousness, I'm now split. On one side I've always loved AMOLED, on the other 5" seems to big for me and 4.7" seems like a nice size.
On another side, I don't want to deal with having to unlock a bootloader, and neither UI I particularly like.
The One seems to have a better design, but the S4 has a nicer look to my eyes for some reason. Add the fact that the S4 has a real camera and a proper button layout and I'm leaning towards the S4 at this point.
I'll give you the short answer; no. Take a minute and look at this. Spot the toy.
Hahaha! I think it's the latter. Now more samsung users are gonna flood HTC One and Xperia Z forums!
In my honest opinion the only thing thats best on S4 is the GPU and .... and ..... guys! Help me add another best thing on the S4.
Personally me, I think the s3 had a lot to offer over an s2 and love the phone, have had no issues whatsoever.
I just miss HTC build quality and the One has the better build, by far.
Not sure on sense 5, but nothing a different launcher can't fix.
I was really hoping those leaks were fakes and or the software in an s3 type body to fool/Surprise the heck out of everyone, but nope, looks like the s3 with some gimmicky crap I would hardly ever use.
The one is my next phone, granted I do like the Note 2 due to spen function and multiwindow. Oh and screen real estate.
Gonna test each phone out quite a bit whenever the One comes to T-Mobile.
Definitely not impressed with the s4, which is saying Something as I enjoy my s3.
Sent from a galaxy far away!
The only thing that would have swayed me is if they said they managed to double the battery life or some crazy under the hood thing. Instead the spent more time talking about all the gimmiky crap that would likely do the opposite. GG
It comes down to what motivates people to pick one smartphone over another. Hardware wise, accept for the One's smaller display and battery, their similar. The 4MP camera on the One will most likely do better in low light while the 13MP in the SGS4 will do better with detail. I'd be surprised when the standardized tests from GSMArena or Anandtech come out if they don't both end up in a tie. The dual-speakers are really the only unique feature the One has over the SGS4. The "stuff" Samsung's added to the SGS4 camera is equal to or better than Zoe. Speaking of "stuff," the s/w features Samsung's added to the SGS4 are impressive; even if they are gimmicks. HTC's only stand-out addition to Sense is BlinkFeed. So in the end, a purchaser with no bias to Samsung or HTC will buy the One because they doesn't care about "stuff" or display size and are more interested in design or dual speakers. People interested in the SGS4 like "stuff" and the fact it's thinner and lighter than the One but has a 5" display, expandable storage, and a removable (larger) battery. Samung's design and use of plastic didn't hinder the SGS3's sales and there's no reason to expect it will harm the SGS4's either.
Thinking... Thinking... Thinking...
HTC or Samsung
Sent from my HTC One X
Samsung made my decision easy, definitely going with the One now. The uninspired UI and hardware turn me off so much, I can't stand everything about the S4's appearance.
I hope this one doesn't sell well and Samsung gets a reality check. People shouldn't take this minimal effort at full price.
The most significant thing for me was Samsung trying to hide Android more this time, with a load of new S apps that often mimic existing Google ones.
Samsung is trying to hook users into its own ecosystem from now on. It sees Google as a possible threat and needs a plan B. This is in the form of Tizen.
If you buy the GS4 you will use the Samsung apps, which will also be available on their new Tizen devices to appear in the autumn/fall.
Of course they don't have to ditch Android (like Nokia gave up everything for WP) but this is what they're planning.
Personally I want less customisation and the promise of more timely updates to bring new Android services.
yes
was 50/50
now 100 for htc
jonmorris said:
The most significant thing for me was Samsung trying to hide Android more this time, with a load of new S apps that often mimic existing Google ones.
Samsung is trying to hook users into its own ecosystem from now on. It sees Google as a possible threat and needs a plan B. This is in the form of Tizen.
If you buy the GS4 you will use the Samsung apps, which will also be available on their new Tizen devices to appear in the autumn/fall.
Of course they don't have to ditch Android (like Nokia gave up everything for WP) but this is what they're planning.
Personally I want less customisation and the promise of more timely updates to bring new Android services.
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This.
When I saw some of the features such as navigation, translate, voice, etc. all I can think about is that Google already offers this (Google Maps, Translate, Google Now). Then with talk about using their cloud services for everything you can really tell they are trying to remove as much Google from their phones as possible.
A few features though sounded pretty neat, such as the photo modes that let you remove unwanted people, drama shot, and a few others. But for features like the photos with sound, I'm sure you need to Samsung gallery to view them, it's not a simply JPEG file anymore.
First of all let me make it clear I. Love. This. Phone. No question this is the best - functionality wise - phone I have had in more than 10 years. Because it is my daily driver and the attention grabber everywhere I went (until the S6 edge came out) I am even more disappointed/disturbed by Samsung treating the phone, and those that really like, as disposable.
Because Samsung billed this as a concept phone there is virtually ZERO real development for the edge panel since it was announced last September. The bad part is that Samsung themselves could have made useful panels but instead they dropped the ball. How many months more will we see that the panel store is "coming soon"? Instead of exploiting this feature and keeping us engaged it is now an exercise in futility hitting the download button to see the same panels or virtually useless ones that are not in a language you don't understand or is of zero use.
Then there s the ROM aspect. I used to do more flashing that Barry Allen back in the day. Have you seen the number of fully functional ROMS for this phone. It is slim to none. It seems Sammy's lack of passion to push the phone has pushed chefs to other devices. This is squarely on Samsung.
Lastly, I am an accessory fiend - admittedly. Finding GOOD accessories and add-on's to this phone have be like finding the Lost Ark of the Covenant. From buying 9 different screen protectors that promise to protect the actual edge - that don't or looking for a functional case almost everything is a chore or a serious waiting game. they have sucked the fun of really getting into this device - for me at least.
If this new article is to be believed they are even going to cut down on some of the specs from the Note 5 equivalent: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...ge-2-features-leaked/articleshow/47204012.cms. I will not believe it until I see it but I do not feel good about the next iteration of the phone either. When you consider that there is no removable battery in the S6 nor a micro slot either things do not look good.
If things go as the article states and I see that the marketing and exposure for the Note Edge 2 or anemic I will stick with what I have now. Again, I love this phone which makes the stagnant interaction on this board and in products tick me off more. This could have easily been avoided.
I totally agree with everything you have said. I was so excited about the Galaxy Edge announcement! A phone with two screens and great specs. I still love my phone but like you I am extremely disappointed at the lack of development for our devices. I too used to flash a new ROM every few weeks but I can't. I also can't believe Samsung took their eye of the ball and stopped giving us Edge owners (people who put faith in their 'concept' design)exclusives or even panels (which was promised).
I have made a few posts in the DEV section asking why we have so few ROMS/tweaks etc. Apparently it is to do with not having the source code..even though it has been released..so I'm not sure if this is the real reason etc
I kinda agree as well. This phone has been rather dissapointing to me. Not because of lack of potential but lack of support and development. This phone had the potential to be epic but it is now shadowed by the over hyped s6 edge. Oh well. Im guessing because the s6 edge has had a great bit of responsiveness and praise the next note edge will be better supported. I kinda am torn with the idea of a smaller screen but 5.5 is still a good size screen.
Sent from my SM-N915P using XDA Free mobile app
I absolutely disagree entirely
---------- Post added at 06:43 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:38 AM ----------
Let me explain. ...
It's supposed to be a useful accessory. .... not a full blown new gadget.
When u look at it in that context it is incredible.
Just the
1) nightclock
2) edge board as the app tray
3) quicksetting shortcut functions
4) a second screen when dealing with quick functions such as music player etc
Are enough to make this worthwhile as adding tangible beneficial functionality.
Anything else is a bonus and won't really add much more utility. Yes it would be nice but won't add that much.
I'd bought this after some indecision as was pretty sure it wouldn't get developer support given the limited numbers. Took the plunge because the edge was just too enticing.
Couple of months on, am quite happy overall. The phone itself, as everyone agrees, is fantastic. Plus,
1. Lots of cases now, from flip to non flip. Range covers the edge as well as leaving it open.
2. Screen protectors have been a pain, especially the lack of glass ones. The plastic ones, however, do cover the full edge, and are quite smooth. You have to wait for a week or so for all the bubbles to vanish and the surface to really smoothen out, though.
3. ROMS are in short supply, but as if now, find it is responsive enough without too many tweaks. A lot of the mods for Note 4 work quite well, which eases the pain.
4. The Samsung panel store started well and then died out. But there are quite a few very useful productivity panels coming on play store now. I particularly like the quick settings and quick contacts ones. Still some shortage of content based feeds etc, but don't think that will be resolved.
So some minuses, but overall still very good. No thanks to Samsung, of course (which is the point of the OP, I suppose) ☺
4.
arbit12 said:
I'd bought this after some indecision as was pretty sure it wouldn't get developer support given the limited numbers. Took the plunge because the edge was just too enticing.
Couple of months on, am quite happy overall. The phone itself, as everyone agrees, is fantastic. Plus,
1. Lots of cases now, from flip to non flip. Range covers the edge as well as leaving it open.
2. Screen protectors have been a pain, especially the lack of glass ones. The plastic ones, however, do cover the full edge, and are quite smooth. You have to wait for a week or so for all the bubbles to vanish and the surface to really smoothen out, though.
3. ROMS are in short supply, but as if now, find it is responsive enough without too many tweaks. A lot of the mods for Note 4 work quite well, which eases the pain.
4. The Samsung panel store started well and then died out. But there are quite a few very useful productivity panels coming on play store now. I particularly like the quick settings and quick contacts ones. Still some shortage of content based feeds etc, but don't think that will be resolved.
So some minuses, but overall still very good. No thanks to Samsung, of course (which is the point of the OP, I suppose) ☺
4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) I agree about the range of cases but prefer the a flip that covers the edge. ...
Imo the protection is more important than the visibility.... 99% of the time u need the edge only. ... there is no problem with leaving the flip open. Eg when using as a night clock.
2) I think screen protectors are pointless. ...especially if u have a flip case.
Any protector inevitably takes away from usability.
I agree to an extent with the op. I guess one of the things I am most disappointed about is that ever since lollipop came out for our edge phones, the main features that were HUGE turn on to the edge screen have been removed. Case in point, the camera button that was on the edge screen is now off to the side of the phone. Even what little they offered in the edge screen in kit Kat has been reduced even further with lollipop. I truly feel that as great as this phone is, I should have stayed with my note 4. The edge was seriously overhyped to bring us in and then dropped like raw egg on concrete.
Sent from my SM-N915P using Xparent Green Tapatalk 2
I love love this phone. When I heard that S6 was to be edged both sides I was very disappointed in what they did to that generation. No removable battery and slot for SD card , I feel like I'm look I ng at a CrApple phone. If this is the way Samsung is going, I'll keep this phone till it dies and look elsewhere.
Sent from my SM-N915P using XDA Premium HD app
djsbad said:
I agree to an extent with the op. I guess one of the things I am most disappointed about is that ever since lollipop came out for our edge phones, the main features that were HUGE turn on to the edge screen have been removed. Case in point, the camera button that was on the edge screen is now off to the side of the phone. Even what little they offered in the edge screen in kit Kat has been reduced even further with lollipop. I truly feel that as great as this phone is, I should have stayed with my note 4. The edge was seriously overhyped to bring us in and then dropped like raw egg on concrete.
Sent from my SM-N915P using Xparent Green Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Am wondering whether to upgrade. Could you mention any other negative changes? Thanks.
arbit12 said:
Am wondering whether to upgrade. Could you mention any other negative changes? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If u like playing around with ROMS etc... then don't buy it.
If u r not fussed by that sort of stuff. ... there isn't a better phone in the world.
Should have clarified. I already have the edge. Wondering whether to upgrade to Lollipop
sand1303 said:
I kinda agree as well. This phone has been rather dissapointing to me. Not because of lack of potential but lack of support and development. This phone had the potential to be epic but it is now shadowed by the over hyped s6 edge. Oh well. Im guessing because the s6 edge has had a great bit of responsiveness and praise the next note edge will be better supported. I kinda am torn with the idea of a smaller screen but 5.5 is still a good size screen.
Sent from my SM-N915P using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that for the most part the disappointment comes at the hands of Samsung. sure, would I love for the battery to have been bigger and give me a solid 6 hours screen time...of course. but from form factor, wow factor, functionality standpoint this phone is awesome. I just feel that by abandoning it - at launch - they left a lot on the table.
djsbad said:
I agree to an extent with the op. I guess one of the things I am most disappointed about is that ever since lollipop came out for our edge phones, the main features that were HUGE turn on to the edge screen have been removed. Case in point, the camera button that was on the edge screen is now off to the side of the phone. Even what little they offered in the edge screen in kit Kat has been reduced even further with lollipop. I truly feel that as great as this phone is, I should have stayed with my note 4. The edge was seriously overhyped to bring us in and then dropped like raw egg on concrete.
Sent from my SM-N915P using Xparent Green Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I, personally, feel I got everything I expected and more. Especially from a superficial perspective. This phone turns heads -and go a few numbers for me :good: based on people not knowing what the heck it was. I actually got 6 people to buy the phone base on my conversation with them about all its features. With lollipop coming so late/ changing accustomed to features, the panel store sucking and limited to no development I can see how "overhyped" could be applied but for me its only from the standpoint that my expectation level was higher from a Samsung support and development standpoint.
countryg1rl said:
I love love this phone. When I heard that S6 was to be edged both sides I was very disappointed in what they did to that generation. No removable battery and slot for SD card , I feel like I'm look I ng at a CrApple phone. If this is the way Samsung is going, I'll keep this phone till it dies and look elsewhere.
Sent from my SM-N915P using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Amen brother! I saw the S6 in silver and was impressed by the look of it. when I saw the emasculated features of the side panels the first thing I thought of was: they are going to do something monumentally horrible to the note edge 2. Then I read the article I posted. I have not rooted the phone because, for the most part, it is a beast out the box. But if you are going to make the screen smaller, no removable battery, no card slot and have continually crappy support and development then I will stick with what I have until something better comes along. The sad part is that I am REALLY brand loyal. If you treat me right I will get in line to hand you my money for what I believe is something worthy to be purchased. Samsung is really making me question them. Yes, the note 5 is probably going to be a beast but I really like the Note edge dangnabbit and want them to just do what's right by the people they sold the edge to.
arbit12 said:
Should have clarified. I already have the edge. Wondering whether to upgrade to Lollipop
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I took the plunge cuz so many people who flashed it said it made the phone run faster. no such luck here and my battery drains faster. If I could un-do it I would. But everyone's experience is not the same.
arbit12 said:
Am wondering whether to upgrade. Could you mention any other negative changes? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In all honesty, the phone itself is awesome! I love the note edge. The problem is samsung development. They could have blown this to the moon and beyond, but it seems like they are trying to pull backon the edge screen. Even kitkat had more to offer than lollipop. The lollipop update has removed quite a bit of the edge screen features that made it so attractive to begin with.
I'd still buy the edge, but if they keep removing edge screen features, then id rather go back the note 4
Welcome to Samsung Folks
As much as I hate to say it, this is no different from what Samsung has always done in the past. This is their business model. The sooner they can obsolete devices, the sooner they can sell more.
The amazing thing is that they get the device to the point where it works very well, with the bare minimum features and stability they can get away with, and then totally forget about the device. The Gear S on my wrist, the Note 10.1 2012 and 2014, the Note 2, all of these devices Samsung got to work, worked out the majority of bugs, and left them without looking back.
This is what they do. Sadly, you buy a Galaxy device for what it is now, not what it can become in the future. They are locking them down tighter so developers can't do anything anymore, and carriers are loving every moment of it.
I watched videos of Samsung's developer conference and it was sparse. No one wants to mess with their devices anymore, and sadly, people messing with their devices is what got them to where they are now. That is what's changed. Just like jailbreaking iPhones was huge early on but fizzled out after Apple started to sell more devices based on the eye catching features outweighing the desire for customizability, rooting and building custom roms is fizzling out as Samsung sells crocksh*ts of Galaxy devices that have three or four excellent features that keep people buying them blindly without caring about customization.
Blogs are ignoring these issues brought up by OP because they are being paid or coerced or conned by Samsung into glorifying everything about the S6, while actively ignoring the Note. "If we give you this tester device, you aren't allowed to talk negatively about any of our other devices, and are limited to saying X, Y or Z about those other devices."
Samsung knows that the Note is the BEST phablet, or really, it is the BEST Android phone out there. Hands down. I'm not saying that because I like it, I'm saying it because based upon the balance between features and price, it is number one.
I have a Nexus 6. It isn't all that it is cracked up to be, and I wonder whether that's because Google is slacking off. In any case, I bought the Nexus a few days ago, and I'm already done with it. It is clearly a baseline phone. Current roms have nothing but kernel mods, everyone is trying to make it more "buttery smooth," and Xposed has been trampled by Samsung's big boot.
So what's really going on? Is Samsung thinking they don't have to try so hard because no matter what any other manufacturers do, they won't be able to match Samsung's eye catching features? Look at LG's attempts. They are good, but not ground breaking.
In any case, Google and manufacturers are taking back our customizability from us, and forcing us into the iPhone model, while throwing out a bone here and there and acting like Android is still the customizable and open ecosystem it has always been.
There it is.
sbrownla said:
As much as I hate to say it, this is no different from what Samsung has always done in the past. This is their business model. The sooner they can obsolete devices, the sooner they can sell more.
The amazing thing is that they get the device to the point where it works very well, with the bare minimum features and stability they can get away with, and then totally forget about the device. The Gear S on my wrist, the Note 10.1 2012 and 2014, the Note 2, all of these devices Samsung got to work, worked out the majority of bugs, and left them without looking back.
This is what they do. Sadly, you buy a Galaxy device for what it is now, not what it can become in the future. They are locking them down tighter so developers can't do anything anymore, and carriers are loving every moment of it.
I watched videos of Samsung's developer conference and it was sparse. No one wants to mess with their devices anymore, and sadly, people messing with their devices is what got them to where they are now. That is what's changed. Just like jailbreaking iPhones was huge early on but fizzled out after Apple started to sell more devices based on the eye catching features outweighing the desire for customizability, rooting and building custom roms is fizzling out as Samsung sells crocksh*ts of Galaxy devices that have three or four excellent features that keep people buying them blindly without caring about customization.
Blogs are ignoring these issues brought up by OP because they are being paid or coerced or conned by Samsung into glorifying everything about the S6, while actively ignoring the Note. "If we give you this tester device, you aren't allowed to talk negatively about any of our other devices, and are limited to saying X, Y or Z about those other devices."
Samsung knows that the Note is the BEST phablet, or really, it is the BEST Android phone out there. Hands down. I'm not saying that because I like it, I'm saying it because based upon the balance between features and price, it is number one.
I have a Nexus 6. It isn't all that it is cracked up to be, and I wonder whether that's because Google is slacking off. In any case, I bought the Nexus a few days ago, and I'm already done with it. It is clearly a baseline phone. Current roms have nothing but kernel mods, everyone is trying to make it more "buttery smooth," and Xposed has been trampled by Samsung's big boot.
So what's really going on? Is Samsung thinking they don't have to try so hard because no matter what any other manufacturers do, they won't be able to match Samsung's eye catching features? Look at LG's attempts. They are good, but not ground breaking.
In any case, Google and manufacturers are taking back our customizability from us, and forcing us into the iPhone model, while throwing out a bone here and there and acting like Android is still the customizable and open ecosystem it has always been.
There it is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude, the market moves a an absolutely blistering pace.. Before one device is even completed the tech inside of it is basically obsolete think of it from an research and development standpoint. They have to develop the best device they can, which I feel they do a damn good job at, so during the time of development they have to already be looking ahead to the next iteration of the same device. It's a giant cycle of constant improvement that takes time to design, to then develop, to implement it , and then market the **** out of it and in background the new device is already begun it's design and development process .. Samsung more so that not, delivers a top of the line device consistantly.. we here on xda tend to be more knowledgeable and more used to the tech than the average consumer whom maybe coming from some crap device to even a note 3 which would blow their mind not to mention the note 4 or edge. Come on Samsung is constantly smashing the competing oems in tech and design. Htc doesn't count because their internals are absolutely horrible, I don't care what it looks like because I know it's a pile of garbage. LG just looks at Samsung and then kangs the f out of them. Their ui is so twiz like it's not even funny. Except it runs like crap. Nice cams that's it. Samsung does a damn fine job in my opinion. Better than any other oem by miles. They aren't perfect, but they are still the best.
jdidtht said:
Dude, the market moves a an absolutely blistering pace.. Before one device is even completed the tech inside of it is basically obsolete think of it from an research and development standpoint. They have to develop the best device they can, which I feel they do a damn good job at, so during the time of development they have to already be looking ahead to the next iteration of the same device. It's a giant cycle of constant improvement that takes time to design, to then develop, to implement it , and then market the **** out of it and in background the new device is already begun it's design and development process .. Samsung more so that not, delivers a top of the line device consistantly.. we here on xda tend to be more knowledgeable and more used to the tech than the average consumer whom maybe coming from some crap device to even a note 3 which would blow their mind not to mention the note 4 or edge. Come on Samsung is constantly smashing the competing oems in tech and design. Htc doesn't count because their internals are absolutely horrible, I don't care what it looks like because I know it's a pile of garbage. LG just looks at Samsung and then kangs the f out of them. Their ui is so twiz like it's not even funny. Except it runs like crap. Nice cams that's it. Samsung does a damn fine job in my opinion. Better than any other oem by miles. They aren't perfect, but they are still the best.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No one argues, it is the best of the tippity top phones on the market.. the argument is in the developement and lack of support. Its like buying a laptop in order to have adobe photoshop where ever you are, and then finding out that they will no longer offer adobe photoshop to that one model. And then you find out that the next model of the same laptop is getting adobe photoshop, office suite pro, 283tb of unlimited cloud storage, and a date with sofia vergara with a garanteed handjob.... tell me you wouldnt be just a lil upset.. lol
arbit12 said:
Should have clarified. I already have the edge. Wondering whether to upgrade to Lollipop
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've recently upgraded to lollipop and at first I hated it - made my phone run slow, hot, and the battery drained super fast. As much as I hated doing it, I did the dreaded factory reset and restore, painstakingly loading back on the hundreds of apps and settings. But so far it's been worth it and the phone feels snappier than before. I can't really comment on battery life yet but hopefully that will be better too.
As for negatives I don't like that you can't deactivate the lollipop style notifications as now when browsing YouTube the notifications cover the screen.
Regarding the camera, I actually prefer to have the shutter button on screen, as it's easier to hit and the position of my fingers mean that I know longer get a finger in the shot!
I really wish I saw this thread yesterday!!! I just came home with the Sprint variant and found this two minutes after I updated to Lollipop and rooted.. Are you serious? Did I just drop $800 on "THE BEST DEVICE SINCE SILICON WAS DISCOVERED!!" that is basically a Betamax player already?!? (showing my age with that reference..) If I read y'all correctly, I'm stuck with TouchWiz, I can't discover that perfect "unknown" little custom ROM to flash, and I basically ruined the eponymous Edge by upgrading from 4.4.4? Really? K.. deep breath...
Lollipop has killed the Edge. It was a great phone out of the box with Kit Kat. Although AT&T shoved the update down our throats, the community has come through with a downgrade. Development has been slow but im sure and hope itll come around. Its my daily driver and I am more content with smaller mods and full functionality over full blown customization.
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** This is just my personal thoughts and musing on my experience with my first Android phone. I doubt it's very interesting but I thought I'd share anyway and welcome others to comment and share their experiences. If you're not interested just don't read it, please don't pick holes and post snarky comments. **
Boring introduction
I've had an iPhone since the 3G went on sale and upgraded over the years to the 4 and then the 5. Apple always made beautiful hardware and software with flawless usability but at 3 years old my iPhone 5 was looking like a poor relation compared to the latest flagships and the recently launched, palm filling iPhone 6.
I had gone SIM ONLY after my iPhone 5 contract had finished and I was paying around half the amount for pretty much unlimited everything. I certainly didn't want to start another contract with hefty bills each month but there was no way I was going to shell out over £600 for a new one.
I was also getting frustrated with the limitations of the iPhone devices. Everything works perfectly but why do I need a Stocks app if I don't have any stocks? Why do I need an Apple Watch app, the new U2 album or be restricted to using iTunes for my music? (Other music apps are available but don't integrate as well into the functions of the os)
So about 12 months ago I picked up an Android magazine during a long wait in Gatwick Airport and thought I'd see what the other side was offering. I've been an amateur Linux hacker/enthusiast for a number of years so I knew from experience that the trade off in flexibility from a largely open source platform was potentially a more buggy, ugly and inconsistent user experience.
The magazine featured a review of the ZTE Blade S6. It looked just like a very cheap iPhone 6 knockoff (I now have one at work, it's cheap but it does the job) but my mind started mulling over the specs and I began to put a wishlist together in my head. Good camera, expandable storage (a massive drawback on Apple devices), large screen (so I could do away with my crappy tablet), long battery life and good looking (I didn't want a super glossy, plasticy, Samsung Galaxy or iPhone clone).
My investigations lead me to news of the LG G4 launch and a beta testing programme. The phone looked amazing, it was leather for a start, how crazy. I applied for the trial but didn't get selected. The G4 was going to set me back £500 unlocked so after reading the reviews of the G3 and finding it online for just over £200, I bought my first Android phone.
First thoughts
The package arrived and as I opened it I saw a gold and brown box (the kind of colours you expect to see on the wallpaper in an Indian restaurant). I panicked - I had ordered the white phone, I didn't want gold. Metallic plastic looks nasty (no offence if you have the gold one). Luckily it was white inside.
The pearlescent white was OK, not amazing, in fact kind of cheap looking and the logo strip on the front looked like the design had been lifted off of a 90s microwave but overall it was pleasant to hold, slim and if you didn't look too closely it looked quite sleek and modern.
I charged it up (the accessories were actually more stylish than the phone. They should promote the team who made the charger) and booted it.
WTF!!! The icons! Who thought that square icons in grubby shades of the dullest colours was remotely a good idea? The oversized status and soft key bar icons looked uncomfortable and Smart Bulletin was about as much use as a pocket on a sock.
Customisation
I lived with it for a few weeks. The weather effects were fun, I was getting used to the blinking LED and having a file manager was a whole new freedom that meant I could actually work on my phone. I installed an icon pack but still couldn't make peace with that clunky and aesthetically unpleasing UI. Time to root and sign up to XDA.
The first ROM I tried was Resurrection Remix. It had been recommended to me and it was amazing. Customisation that I dreamed of. But for some reason the phone would randomly shutdown in the middle of the night and could only be turned back on by removing the battery. I couldn't risk it. I use my phone as an alarm so I needed it to be reliable.
I discovered Cloudy and combined with XPosed I was able to get a UI that was a compromise between LG and what I wanted, although apps such as the dialer, calculator and the settings interface still bugged me.
I know they are only small things and shouldn't really bother me but your phone becomes an extension of yourself. In fact I interact more with my phone on a daily basis than I do with a lot of people, so it needs to be an enjoyable experience.
When MM was released I went back to stock and thought I could just live with the ugliness. Cloudy had shut up shop, Fulmics wasn't there just yet and I wanted MM! It was a massive trade off. For full camera functions and stability, I sacrificed my hard work fine tuning my ROM, but I got impatient fast. In fact Marshmallow has been announced months ago and no sooner had 6.0 been given to us like a late Christmas present, 6.0.1 was out for other devices.
CyanogenMod 13.0
Then I discovered the tread about CM13. I knew about CM already and knew it was the base for many of the custom ROMs I'd tried in the past but I thought installing this would give me an almost pure Android experience with regular updates and I can live without slo-mo video or the other LG features.
Initially there were bugs that meant my first attempt was short-lived and I ended up going back to stock within a few hours. I have a Xiaomi Mi Band and CM couldn't recognise BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) devices.
Soon the bug was fixed and CM13 was reinstalled. In general my CM experience has been pretty good although it's evident the software wasn't intended for your device. It's not a perfect fit with fewer features in the camera and some niggly bugs (it's only in beta).
The ROOT of all evil
Tiring of my epic quest for the perfect ROM and settling with CM13 was a short lived moment of harmony. I had come to terms with my banking app not working and even the camera but then the rumour leaks - UK to get Android Pay by the end of March.
It's nearly the end of March and no sign yet but it got me thinking about the future of mobile technology and more importantly what I want from a device (it's rarely used as a phone).
It's obvious they are worming their way into more and more areas of our lives and will continue to do so. Android Pay doesn't currently work with CM or rooted devices and it's a cat and mouse game to cloak, hide and workaround these barriers. What I need is a device that fits my wish list and I can run without root.
Hello Moto
So last night I decided to take the plunge and treat myself to a new device. A purer Android experience with a snazzy look, regular updates and a low price tag. My Moto X Style should arrive tomorrow and I'm hoping our relationship will not be as turbulent as it was with the G3.
Sent from my LG-D855 using Tapatalk
"The course of true love never did run smooth". Android isn't an OS for everyone and im glad you took the plunge into the android world after so many years with an iPhone. Hope you enjoy your Moto X and also hope your time with that phone would last for a long time.
Sent from my LG-D855 using Tapatalk
Shifters123 said:
"The course of true love never did run smooth". Android isn't an OS for everyone and im glad you took the plunge into the android world after so many years with an iPhone. Hope you enjoy your Moto X and also hope your time with that phone would last for a long time.
Sent from my LG-D855 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I do love Android. I love the freedom.
Sent from my LG-D855 using Tapatalk
Thanks for your honest opinions , give lightning launcher a try with minimal work it can give you a totally different looking type of interface
markthomson1404 said:
Thanks for your honest opinions , give lightning launcher a try with minimal work it can give you a totally different looking type of interface
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I'm on Google Launcher at the moment. I really like Microsoft Arrow launcher in a way but it needs more customisation options.
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Hi, although I don't hate my phone, I'm totally agree with you.
The shutdown issue... terrible thing of CM12.1 (and of stock firmware too, but less frequently).
Then you criticized the limitations of LG system, like any other. Sadly many trademarks choose to promote banal and heavy customatizations which make phone like a "closed box"... like iPhone & Family!
Personally, when I want to buy or suggest a phone, I look only for hardware specifications.
The stock firmware will be replaced asap.
I really would appreciate a Nexus with both external SD and removable battery support: the stock Android experience and an easier modding experience, without too many bootloader complications.
It's the same with me, but I'm stuck with a contract.. Have fun with your Moto!
Simone98RC said:
Hi, although I don't hate my phone, I'm totally agree with you.
The shutdown issue... terrible thing of CM12.1 (and of stock firmware too, but less frequently).
Then you criticized the limitations of LG system, like any other. Sadly many trademarks choose to promote banal and heavy customatizations which make phone like a "closed box"... like iPhone & Family!
Personally, when I want to buy or suggest a phone, I look only for hardware specifications.
The stock firmware will be replaced asap.
I really would appreciate a Nexus with both external SD and removable battery support: the stock Android experience and an easier modding experience, without too many bootloader complications.
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Click to collapse
I was in the hardware is important camp and just wipe the software but with Android Pay launching and requiring you to be unrooted, I need the software to be as perfect as possible stock.
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RapHaeL_4_4_4_ said:
It's the same with me, but I'm stuck with a contract.. Have fun with your Moto!
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Click to collapse
Thanks. Amazon should hopefully deliver it in a few hours so I'll report back later
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that's sad. did you try the official marshmallow stock rom?? for me its the most perfect and smoothest rom ever used in my G3. btw moto is awesome too. good luck!
superawesomeme said:
** This is just my personal thoughts and musing on my experience with my first Android phone. I doubt it's very interesting but I thought I'd share anyway and welcome others to comment and share their experiences. If you're not interested just don't read it, please don't pick holes and post snarky comments. **
Boring introduction
I've had an iPhone since the 3G went on sale and upgraded over the years to the 4 and then the 5. Apple always made beautiful hardware and software with flawless usability but at 3 years old my iPhone 5 was looking like a poor relation compared to the latest flagships and the recently launched, palm filling iPhone 6.
I had gone SIM ONLY after my iPhone 5 contract had finished and I was paying around half the amount for pretty much unlimited everything. I certainly didn't want to start another contract with hefty bills each month but there was no way I was going to shell out over £600 for a new one.
I was also getting frustrated with the limitations of the iPhone devices. Everything works perfectly but why do I need a Stocks app if I don't have any stocks? Why do I need an Apple Watch app, the new U2 album or be restricted to using iTunes for my music? (Other music apps are available but don't integrate as well into the functions of the os)
So about 12 months ago I picked up an Android magazine during a long wait in Gatwick Airport and thought I'd see what the other side was offering. I've been an amateur Linux hacker/enthusiast for a number of years so I knew from experience that the trade off in flexibility from a largely open source platform was potentially a more buggy, ugly and inconsistent user experience.
The magazine featured a review of the ZTE Blade S6. It looked just like a very cheap iPhone 6 knockoff (I now have one at work, it's cheap but it does the job) but my mind started mulling over the specs and I began to put a wishlist together in my head. Good camera, expandable storage (a massive drawback on Apple devices), large screen (so I could do away with my crappy tablet), long battery life and good looking (I didn't want a super glossy, plasticy, Samsung Galaxy or iPhone clone).
My investigations lead me to news of the LG G4 launch and a beta testing programme. The phone looked amazing, it was leather for a start, how crazy. I applied for the trial but didn't get selected. The G4 was going to set me back £500 unlocked so after reading the reviews of the G3 and finding it online for just over £200, I bought my first Android phone.
First thoughts
The package arrived and as I opened it I saw a gold and brown box (the kind of colours you expect to see on the wallpaper in an Indian restaurant). I panicked - I had ordered the white phone, I didn't want gold. Metallic plastic looks nasty (no offence if you have the gold one). Luckily it was white inside.
The pearlescent white was OK, not amazing, in fact kind of cheap looking and the logo strip on the front looked like the design had been lifted off of a 90s microwave but overall it was pleasant to hold, slim and if you didn't look too closely it looked quite sleek and modern.
I charged it up (the accessories were actually more stylish than the phone. They should promote the team who made the charger) and booted it.
WTF!!! The icons! Who thought that square icons in grubby shades of the dullest colours was remotely a good idea? The oversized status and soft key bar icons looked uncomfortable and Smart Bulletin was about as much use as a pocket on a sock.
Customisation
I lived with it for a few weeks. The weather effects were fun, I was getting used to the blinking LED and having a file manager was a whole new freedom that meant I could actually work on my phone. I installed an icon pack but still couldn't make peace with that clunky and aesthetically unpleasing UI. Time to root and sign up to XDA.
The first ROM I tried was Resurrection Remix. It had been recommended to me and it was amazing. Customisation that I dreamed of. But for some reason the phone would randomly shutdown in the middle of the night and could only be turned back on by removing the battery. I couldn't risk it. I use my phone as an alarm so I needed it to be reliable.
I discovered Cloudy and combined with XPosed I was able to get a UI that was a compromise between LG and what I wanted, although apps such as the dialer, calculator and the settings interface still bugged me.
I know they are only small things and shouldn't really bother me but your phone becomes an extension of yourself. In fact I interact more with my phone on a daily basis than I do with a lot of people, so it needs to be an enjoyable experience.
When MM was released I went back to stock and thought I could just live with the ugliness. Cloudy had shut up shop, Fulmics wasn't there just yet and I wanted MM! It was a massive trade off. For full camera functions and stability, I sacrificed my hard work fine tuning my ROM, but I got impatient fast. In fact Marshmallow has been announced months ago and no sooner had 6.0 been given to us like a late Christmas present, 6.0.1 was out for other devices.
CyanogenMod 13.0
Then I discovered the tread about CM13. I knew about CM already and knew it was the base for many of the custom ROMs I'd tried in the past but I thought installing this would give me an almost pure Android experience with regular updates and I can live without slo-mo video or the other LG features.
Initially there were bugs that meant my first attempt was short-lived and I ended up going back to stock within a few hours. I have a Xiaomi Mi Band and CM couldn't recognise BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) devices.
Soon the bug was fixed and CM13 was reinstalled. In general my CM experience has been pretty good although it's evident the software wasn't intended for your device. It's not a perfect fit with fewer features in the camera and some niggly bugs (it's only in beta).
The ROOT of all evil
Tiring of my epic quest for the perfect ROM and settling with CM13 was a short lived moment of harmony. I had come to terms with my banking app not working and even the camera but then the rumour leaks - UK to get Android Pay by the end of March.
It's nearly the end of March and no sign yet but it got me thinking about the future of mobile technology and more importantly what I want from a device (it's rarely used as a phone).
It's obvious they are worming their way into more and more areas of our lives and will continue to do so. Android Pay doesn't currently work with CM or rooted devices and it's a cat and mouse game to cloak, hide and workaround these barriers. What I need is a device that fits my wish list and I can run without root.
Hello Moto
So last night I decided to take the plunge and treat myself to a new device. A purer Android experience with a snazzy look, regular updates and a low price tag. My Moto X Style should arrive tomorrow and I'm hoping our relationship will not be as turbulent as it was with the G3.
Sent from my LG-D855 using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
that totally sucks! I want iPhone users to see what's so great with Androids. I would actually recommend the G3 to any iPhone user trying to switch to Android. It blows you didn't have a good experience as I love the phone so much I won't upgrade because this phone is a beast. With fulmics 4.2 MM, xposed and G3 tweaksbox your phone would have been a better experience. I myself want to try an iPhone but I just can't let this phone go lol. Well I hope this bad experience didn't want to make you go back as the new G5 might change your mind :fingers-crossed:
GTRanushka said:
that's sad. did you try the official marshmallow stock rom?? for me its the most perfect and smoothest rom ever used in my G3. btw moto is awesome too. good luck!
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Click to collapse
I tried official Marshmallow for a few weeks, the battery life was incredible and it was so smooth. I think that's what I find so frustrating, LG make some amazing tech, the specs are top notch and they don't age/slowdown as fast as others but there are so many proprietary modifications to the OS that it's put me off LG.
It's obviously just a personal preference but I just find their design aesthetic unpleasing, like a hybrid of Kit Kat (the dull colours and oversized status/nav icons) and Lollipop (material design, but poorly executed in this case).
The heavy skinning was the reason I avoided Samsung too. Again incredible hardware. These companies seem to take the same half-assed approach to UI design as Microsoft. A jumble of different styles, moving forwards with good ideas but poorly executed with remnants of the past hanging about.
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RapHaeL_4_4_4_ said:
It's the same with me, but I'm stuck with a contract.. Have fun with your Moto!
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Click to collapse
Omg it's amazing. I few things I miss from the LG...
- Power button position (I'll get used to it)
- Double tap to wake
- Wireless charging
Other than that it's practically perfect (so far)...
- The display is incredible. I'm on about 15-20% brightness and it's so vivid and clear. I had to have the LG between 50-60%.
- Snapchat video filters work, inc slow-mo, fast, reverse (these didn't work on LG)
- Moto display for alerts, you just wave your hand over the front for a power friendly notification screen.
- Pure Android experience so no ugly status bar.
- Super fast burst mode on camera (plus improved low light mode)
- Front flash
- Beautiful shape and rear texture
- Gestures such as double twist for camera mode, karate chop for flashlight, etc
This is the droid I was looking for!
Sent from my XT1572 using Tapatalk
First, I'll tell you a story. So, a year ago my old Sony Xperia U broke, it refused to boot and had a broken screen. My dad told me and my brother to get in the car because we're going to get us new phones. When we arrived to the nearest T-Mobile center me and my brother went on to search for a new phone and my brother liked the Z3 and I thought that the S6 was better. So, I decided that I want sn S6 so my brother also wanted one. We both got an S6 and went out of the store. Fast forward to about 2 or 3 months ago. When I got home from school, I picked up my phone to go read some news on AA. I tried to fire it up, but it wouldn't. I let it charge for 10 mins and when I took it out of the charger it was boiling hot. I left it to cool down. When I again tried to boot it up, it showed the Galaxy S6 logo and then a loud beep and then a screen off and nothing. Later that week me and my mom took it to the repair shop. The diagnosed the problem after 5 mins and said that there's a problem with my motherboard and that it only occurs with Samsung devices. They also said that there are two fixes, the first one would be to let it be on charge for a day or two and the second one would be to replace the motherboard. I took my phone home and let it charge for about a day. When I took it of the charger it was working! Fast forward to about a week ago. Again, there was a problem with my phone. It was suffering from extreme lag and unresponsivnes. We again took it to the repair shop and the told us that my phone has a big software problem and that they should be able to fix it. I gave them my phone and they said that we should return after an hour. So we did, and my phone was working.
Now, I'll list a few reasons why shouldn't you buy a Galaxy S6 or any other Samsung phone:
1. Touchwiz UI
There are 2 groups regarding Touchwiz; Ones who like it and ones who don't. I, personally, would rather be in the 2nd group. The first group will always say how Touchwiz is beutiful and cool, has vibrant and live colors, icons are great and all that stuff. The other group says Touchwiz is cartoonish, unpolished, not clean and bloated. While Touchwiz may look good, it certainly isn't as good as some other UIs. For an example, take Sony, their UI may be a little too robust, but it's nice to keep it as stock as possible.
2. Bloatware
Samsung's used to put a heck of a lot apps on their deivces, but they really shouldn't, because many people don't use these apps and whle they may be useful they are still bloatware apps. If you count all the packages that Galaxy S6 or S7 has, you'll get a number that's around 300-320, if you take a Nexus 6P, you'll see that it only has around 90-110 packages.
3. Huge battery drain
I don't know if you noticed or not, but in the new MM update, Doze doesn't work for many people. Try and see, it won't amaze you. And, I had to do some crazy stuff to get it to work, trust me, it's not that easy.
4. Lack of features
While Samsung may put all those cool and new features in their apps, they don't put any cool system features, like double-tap to wake or sleep or anything like that and that really annoys me and that's just not cool.
5. Incompatibility
This one is the most horrible one. I hate Exynos proccessors, they all use closed-source drivers, so no cool custom AOSP stuff is coming soon to the Exynos phones.
ROM developers that want to use the AOSP or CyanogenOS base, they have to code the drivers themselves. It's not a huge problem with Qualcomm proccessors, because they I think provide the drivers.
I know, i Wisch i had bought a Nexus.... but i've solved The Problem and i could Flash The Rom but than When i will boot there cames The Messege that The Kernel is not seandroid enforcing. Do you know what i have made false?
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i love Touchwiz UI
i love samsung galaxy software feature which you call Bloatware
battery is ok not very good for heavy use
you missed all the good points about the phone which easily outweighs all the bad points you found in the phone.
i find Nexus stock ROM boring unless you root and intstall custom ROMs
stock android is way behind on the feature front compared to the samsung phones you really dont need to root or install custom roms because most of the features you want are already there. yes the battery isnt that great but you can charge it 0 to 70 percent in 30 min. its one of the last good phones with IR blaster in it. it has a pretty loud speaker (louder than the s7). the chip might be exynos but it sure runs quick.
Every user experience is different as I see it, I've had this phone 10 months now, apart from the battery which could be a few more hours better it's been more than enough for me. Performance has been great, the only times I've had lag is when I've experimented with kernel changes otherwise my daily setup has been great, I very rarely reboot my phone, only when the battery has died or I'm flashing something in recovery. But like I said the points that you brought up are ambiguous, everyone's experience is going to be different.
flahyboy said:
I know, i Wisch i had bought a Nexus.... but i've solved The Problem and i could Flash The Rom but than When i will boot there cames The Messege that The Kernel is not seandroid enforcing. Do you know what i have made false?
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's a few reasons why this is happening:
1. You're not unlocked
2. Your bootloader isn't up to date
3. You don't have a custom kernel
4. Your phone model isn't correct
5. Your processor may not be compatible
Now its exacly the contary
It's BECAUSE my Bootloader is up to date. The cm 13 does not support android 6.0.1 bootloader so i had to to a downgrade to android 5.1.1 and flash again now its working on my own build
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1) It's not difficult to Google or look up YouTube videos on how TouchWiz operates.
2) See #1.
3) Agreed, for some reason the S6 and S6A have a huge drain that limits the screen on time to about a third of what it should be.
4) "...like double-tap to wake or sleep or anything like that and that really annoys me and that's just not cool."
"Just not cool?" Jesus Christ.
5) See #1.
How old are you?
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My first and last Samsung. Never again.
Every mobile on the market has its own pros and cons. I have never been a fanboy of Samsung and I never will be, matter of fact, I judge the devices not the OEM.
Coming to S6, I believe it's been a ground breaking device for Samsung, I have been using it for the last one year without any major issues. And all the issues listed in the OP like Touchwiz, Bloatware are well documented and you will know about them once you do proper research before purchase. If you had bought Xperia Z3, you would have been talking about the SD810 and its overheating issues, again well documented, so no mobile is perfect.
My two cents.
EDIT: having said all, my next device will most probably be a Nexus device, or may be Motorola.
tchsvy said:
Every mobile on the market has its own pros and cons. I have never been a fanboy of Samsung and I never will be, matter of fact, I judge the devices not the OEM.
Coming to S6, I believe it's been a ground breaking device for Samsung, I have been using it for the last one year without any major issues. And all the issues listed in the OP like Touchwiz, Bloatware are well documented and you will know about them once you do proper research before purchase. If you had bought Xperia Z3, you would have been talking about the SD810 and its overheating issues, again well documented, so no mobile is perfect.
My two cents.
EDIT: having said all, my next device will most probably be a Nexus device, or may be Motorola.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why Moto? They just stated that they will not commit to monthly Android security updates and will only do major updates. That alone woukd make me avoid them nomatter how nice their devices are!
And what are the chances ot major updates now that they ate owned by Lenovo which also has many other phones. Companies with smaller amount of hardware for sale tend to be better with OS updates.
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I'm gonna go through with each of your five points:
1. Touchwiz UI
There are 2 groups regarding Touchwiz; Ones who like it and ones who don't. I, personally, would rather be in the 2nd group. The first group will always say how Touchwiz is beutiful and cool, has vibrant and live colors, icons are great and all that stuff. The other group says Touchwiz is cartoonish, unpolished, not clean and bloated. While Touchwiz may look good, it certainly isn't as good as some other UIs. For an example, take Sony, their UI may be a little too robust, but it's nice to keep it as stock as possible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you even tried using Good Lock? Ever since installing it, it's taken almost every single complaint I've had against TouchWiz and thrown it out the window.
2. Bloatware
Samsung's used to put a heck of a lot apps on their deivces, but they really shouldn't, because many people don't use these apps and whle they may be useful they are still bloatware apps. If you count all the packages that Galaxy S6 or S7 has, you'll get a number that's around 300-320, if you take a Nexus 6P, you'll see that it only has around 90-110 packages.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're comparing a Nexus device to a non-stock device. Everything on the Nexus 6P is Google because it's made by Google. Plus, using a custom ROM like XtreStoLite, I have about 118 apps, including the ones I've installed.
3. Huge battery drain
I don't know if you noticed or not, but in the new MM update, Doze doesn't work for many people. Try and see, it won't amaze you. And, I had to do some crazy stuff to get it to work, trust me, it's not that easy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My battery life lasts for 3 days without a charge with light usage, and about a day with heavy usage. I've literally had zero problems with doze.
4. Lack of features
While Samsung may put all those cool and new features in their apps, they don't put any cool system features, like double-tap to wake or sleep or anything like that and that really annoys me and that's just not cool.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DT2W and such are really gimmicky. Coming from my HTC One M8, the majority of the time, trying to wake the device by tapping on the screen didn't work. Plus, you can always get a flip cover which turns on when flipped open and off when flipped close.
5. Incompatibility
This one is the most horrible one. I hate Exynos proccessors, they all use closed-source drivers, so no cool custom AOSP stuff is coming soon to the Exynos phones.
ROM developers that want to use the AOSP or CyanogenOS base, they have to code the drivers themselves. It's not a huge problem with Qualcomm proccessors, because they I think provide the drivers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Part of it has to do with Exynos, yes. A bigger part of it has to do with no developer interest. Since we don't have arter97 working on his amazing kernel anymore, we've lost an amazing developer. If The Sickness leaves, we're likely going to not have any custom kernel development anymore. Exynos devices have gotten AOSP support before, and it is being worked on for the G92x series. Also, as a note, Qualcomm and the like don't provide their driver SOURCE, they provide the binaries only, basically the same as Samsung.
I, for one, really like the S6, even coming from devices which have better AOSP support or that are even Nexus devices. Everybody who's here for the most part loves this phone. It's fast, powerful, and beautiful. But certainly, it's not the right device for everybody, especially if they expect day one CyanogenMod support.
LNJ said:
Why Moto? They just stated that they will not commit to monthly Android security updates and will only do major updates. That alone woukd make me avoid them nomatter how nice their devices are!
And what are the chances ot major updates now that they ate owned by Lenovo which also has many other phones. Companies with smaller amount of hardware for sale tend to be better with OS updates.
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Moto for near stock experience and YES, fast updates. I know that it's different Motorola altogether after being acquired by Lenovo, but I believe the Moto team is still there with them, which gives a little glimpse of hope. But, yes it's definitely a concern though. But for me good thing is, my S6 is doing good (touchwood) and I most probably will not need a mobile device as of now. By the time I am into market, I really hope there is a clear picture where Motorola/Lenovo is heading with the updates and support. I have experimented with chinese OEMs like Xiaomi, OnePlus for few months and I absolutely loved the value for money factor they offer. But, on the software side, they are not as stable as established OEMs, don't get me wrong, MIUI or Cyanogen were great, but a bug will pop up from nowhere, more frequently than not.
Lack of features ? Is this a joke ?
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