Database Users

An Evo user's thoughts on the Epic...

My immediate first impression: It looks better in person that it does in pictures online. I thought it looked pretty bland when I first saw it online, but in person, it's not bad. It definitely looks better than the Samsung Captivate on AT&T, but I still think that the Vibrant looks the best. Once I picked it up, I was surprised by how light it was. Initially, I was disappointed; I thought for a split-second that it was a dummy model that I was holding. It was noticeably lighter than the Evo. I couldn't, however, decide if this was good or bad. The lack of heft puts the Epic 4G dangerously close to being perceived as "cheap and plastic-y". The phone (as well as the other Galaxy S phones) just didn't feel that solid to me. Especially compared to phones that have some noticeable heft to them, like the Evo and Nexus One. I feel that if it were dropped from waist-high, it would shatter into a million pieces or something.
The lack of heft aside, the phone feels really good in the hand. It's rounded corners fell better than the Evo. But because of the keyboard, the phone is pretty thick. I noticed that trying to use the phone with one hand can be difficult sometimes (and I have fairly large hands), especially when trying to reach things at the top of the screen (like the notification bar).
The screen: I have mixed feelings about Samsung's Super AMOLED screen. When I turned on the screen for the first time, one word popped in my head: OVERRATED (the same word that came to me when seeing the iPhone 4's "retina display" for the first time). I honestly don't see the hype. Yes, if you're looking at a picture / movie, the colors look amazing. But looking at text, on the other hand, is a different story. The main problem that I had with the SAMOLED screen is the "screen door effect". You can see the individual pixels! What's worse, you can see them without even looking hard. They are just there, in your face. I have perfect vision, and I have to put my Evo pretty close to my face in order to make out individual pixels. On the Epic, you can see them everywhere. It's really bad when looking at text on a white background (like on almost every website). You can see the white lines in-between the black of the letters. It's like looking at a mini chess board. Here's a picture so you can get an idea for yourself:
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I would rather take a regular AMOLED, TFT LCD, or Retina display any day of SAMOLED
Ahhh, the keyboard. This is the ONLY reason I even considered swapping the Evo for an Epic. In short: it's really good. It's one of the best landscape keyboards I've ever used. The keys are really clicky, and are a nice size. My only complaint is that I wish they were domed more. Because they are flat, my fingers tended to slide over to adjacent keys. I'm sure with time I would be really fast & accurate on it. The only landscape keyboard that's better than this one is the one on the Touch Pro 2. That this is amazing.
I'm not gonna talk too much about the software, since we all know what Android is about. What I will say is that TouchWiz isn't that bad. It's actually better than the skin Motorola has put on the Droid2 and DroidX. It's not as good as Sense UI, but it's definitely better than stock Android. Overall, everything I did on the phone was super fast. Scrolling was smooth, and it didn't lag at all. No complaints.
Minor annoyances: -There is a dedicated smiley button on the keyboard… wtf. It would be much more useful it they put the @ symbol there, instead of it. -For some reason, Samsung likes putting the lock/power button on the right side of the phone. Not a big deal on the other Galaxy S phones, but every time I would lock/unlock the phone, the keyboard would move/open a little.
Final thoughts: It's a really good phone. If I had the choice today to either get a free Epic or a free Evo, I'm about 65% sure I'd take the Evo. If I was a new Sprint customer, there is almost no way to justify taking this phone over the Evo, especially seeing as how it's $50 more… Unless, of course, you abso-freakin-lutely need a physical keyboard.

I echo the same thoughts as you and still have my evo, i will try the epic out for 30 days and see if it grows on me but I have slight evo withdrawals. The physical keyboard is nice, I feel like I would miss having that option.
The screen is growing on me, I really love how readable it is in the sun and the colors and contrast are really great.
Another thing you left out is how incredibly fast this phone is. Even at 2.1 without CM6 it blows the EVO out of the water in every way, there is virtually no lag and you don't see the typical tearing or jitterness you get on the EVO. I can't even imagine how smooth it will be when 2.2 is on here...
The one thing that will determine whether I keep it is if the development community will be as good as the EVO. The EVO dev community from the start was bursting with life but the epic dev community seems rather flat and slow so far.
Another concern is Samsungs commitment to keeping the phones up to date and bug free. Something I don't have too much faith in as I saw how they pretty much ignored Samsung Moment customers.

Nice review.
I also own both an EVO and the Epic. My decision to switch was based on the keyboard and the processor speed. Both lived up to my expectations. The speed actually exceeded my expectations, whereas the keyboard isn't as good for games as I thought it would be. Wish it had a more game-like dpad. I think EVERYONE is pissed off about the decision to have a dedicated smiley button.
I'm actually very impressed with the screen. Unfortunately if you look closely you can see the pixels... but only when it's still. I honestly think it's mind bogglingly good when playing games or watching movies. The size of the EVO's screen is definitely a plus. So big. But I can see my Epic SO MUCH BETTER in direct sunlight. Even with auto-brightness on. With my EVO, I had to manually crank it up to 100% to get even a slight idea what I was looking at.
I actually found it to be so much faster than the EVO (even with 2.2). Games feel soo much smoother. Especially 3D games. And I am a huge gamer. Also, surprisingly, TW isn't all that bad (as you said). I actually plan on keeping it for a while. On my EVO I ran launcher pro, but sense is nice too. The EVO has the edge in widgets. No manufacturer's UI has anything close to the same quality widgets that sense has.
I actually don't mind the weight of this phone. I know the EVO feels heavy and sturdy, but the reason the SGS phones are so light is because of their screen technology. Both phones have the same soft-touch back.
All in all, I'm really glad I made the switch. I'm having a lot of fun with the Epic. The only thing I miss from my EVO is the GPS... but we're getting a fix for this this month.
Oh and one more thing. Stock battery life on my Epic KILLS what I experienced on my EVO. I'll post some battery life results later. I almost think my phone is a fluke.
I'd definitely recommend this phone to a new Sprint customer. But that's just my vote. I'm sure other EVO users will chime in.

I feel the same to going to test it a little more for the next 2 weeks I am having 3g probelms for some reason a lot slower then my evo and the wifi shuts on and off but the screen is nice keyboard is awasome and is really fast but evo will make a come back
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

ttieder said:
I feel the same to going to test it a little more for the next 2 weeks I am having 3g probelms for some reason a lot slower then my evo and the wifi shuts on and off but the screen is nice keyboard is awasome and is really fast but evo will make a come back
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which phone did you end up sticking with?

I too own both, feel like I miss stuff from the EVO, but I am giving the Epic more time to grow. love the screen and +1 for the camera, the Evo has failed me so many times with the camera. Some goods and some bads. if it had tilt/kickstand that would be sweet.

bomix said:
I too own both, feel like I miss stuff from the EVO, but I am giving the Epic more time to grow. love the screen and +1 for the camera, the Evo has failed me so many times with the camera. Some goods and some bads. if it had tilt/kickstand that would be sweet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you get the dock, it will work as a kickstand (its tilted just right). Unfortunately the dock isnt as portable and the headphone hack on the back wont work until the Epic gets 2.2 apparently.
What else do you miss from the EVO? Aside from the large screen? I also have an EVO and it just sits around. I never have any desire to pick it up... but I also refuse to sell it.

bjb_nyj101 said:
I would rather take a regular AMOLED, TFT LCD, or Retina display any day of SAMOLED
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Ahm..both AMOLED and Super-AMOLED are pen-tile...aka what you showed in the picture above is for both...
Though there are many reasons to justify an Epic over an EVO..keyboard and screen are not the only reason that make the Epic shine...

gTen said:
Ahm..both AMOLED and Super-AMOLED are pen-tile...aka what you showed in the picture above is for both...
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He makes a good point. The difference with super amoled is that the touch sensor is integrated into the screen, making the overall display MUCH thinner and lighter. It's still AMOLED. Bright and brilliant. I absolutely love it.

i dont know man.. that picture in the first post doesnt look like my epic.. ( I know its a vibrant, i meant the screen) I even put it on the same contacts screen and i dont notice the pixels like i see them in that picture.. and i have 20/20 vision myself. This screen is amazing to me. especially coming from a touch pro 2. and my buddy has the evo.. His screen looks a little washed out next to mine. But it still looks good though dont get me wrong. I love the size of the evos screen and the kickstand is great too. I just needed the keyboard and processor speed which is why i ended up waiting for the epic to come out.. either way both phones are the best you can get on the market right now

heres a close up of how mine looks. i tried to use a similar screen.. this is with a 10mp camera in macro mode so its pretty close up.. the screen wasnt on full brightness. i can see the pixels in this picture because its so close but i cant get close enough with my eyes to even notice it

jok3sta said:
i dont know man.. that picture in the first post doesnt look like my epic.. ( I know its a vibrant, i meant the screen) I even put it on the same contacts screen and i dont notice the pixels like i see them in that picture.. and i have 20/20 vision myself. This screen is amazing to me. especially coming from a touch pro 2. and my buddy has the evo.. His screen looks a little washed out next to mine. But it still looks good though dont get me wrong. I love the size of the evos screen and the kickstand is great too. I just needed the keyboard and processor speed which is why i ended up waiting for the epic to come out.. either way both phones are the best you can get on the market right now
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Considering the monitor size..the left picture is what you see..the right picture if what you would see with a magnifying glass...its not really a fair representation.
What he is seeing is not exactly individual pixels..more like jaggedness..this jaggedness is seen on some small fonts and on straight lines..mostly white lines..but even when text is jagged it is still perfectly readable..it kinda looks a little italic or sharpened lol...on things like bold font or zoomed in text its fairly un-noticable.

jok3sta said:
i dont know man.. that picture in the first post doesnt look like my epic.. ( I know its a vibrant, i meant the screen) I even put it on the same contacts screen and i dont notice the pixels like i see them in that picture.. and i have 20/20 vision myself. This screen is amazing to me. especially coming from a touch pro 2. and my buddy has the evo.. His screen looks a little washed out next to mine. But it still looks good though dont get me wrong. I love the size of the evos screen and the kickstand is great too. I just needed the keyboard and processor speed which is why i ended up waiting for the epic to come out.. either way both phones are the best you can get on the market right now
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The evo's screen (and the Iphone's) look very washed out next to one another. Compare title screens for Angry Birds.

Why Samsung was a better choice than HTC

1. Processor/GPU.
2. Super Amoled.
3. Touch Screens.
4. Build Quality.
5. Freshness.
6. Great speakers.
I also think Google chose Samsung because of two very big HTC ****ups / backstabs.
1. The Nexus One. A Great Phone...
Except for the touch screen.
This was Google's "baby". And what did HTC do? They shipped all of their devices with faulty touch screens. ALL of them. And people overlook this? Why? This is HUGE. People say Samsung has a bad track record but this dwarfs Samsung's software issues. No I'm not speaking out of my ass, as I do own a Nexus One. I forked 350$ out for one why? Just so I could attempt to deal with the multi-touch issues on my projects.
2. HTC G2. Anti-Root.
No more comment on this. Of course they eventually figured it out, but HTC didn't want you to.
3. ?
Terrible, scratchy speakers on the Nexus One. Even on the G2.
What are your thoughts? I understand some people prefer the metal and hate the plastic. I for one love the aluminum on the iPad and Macbook Airs. However I also like the way the plastic feels on the Vibrant minus the 'creaks'. It feels very smooth in comparison to the G2 for instance.

HTC has been great to me but I am happy Google went with Samsung.
Without the SuperAMOLED I wouldn't even be considering this phone as an upgrade to my Nexus-1

I agree with you OP. I loved the look and feel of the Vibrant, but i kept my N1 because of the "Pure Google" experience. I always thought to myself i wish the Galaxy S phone had Vanilla android, that would be amazing! We will see next week.

ap3604 said:
HTC has been great to me but I am happy Google went with Samsung.
Without the SuperAMOLED I wouldn't even be considering this phone as an upgrade to my Nexus-1
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Pretty much everything Anderdroid said we both went from Nexus one to galaxy S phones so have plenty of experience between both hardware of the N1/NS
even without SAMOLED this phone its better than nexus one
better multitouch up to 5 finger registration, better external speaker and sound quality is excellent whether its from external,3.5 and even stereo bluetoooth. Not to mention ridiculously fast mobile GPU
But yea SAMOLED is a huge plus IMO produces better whites doesn't seem to have the bluish/purplish tint that i noticed with my N1 and also better in direct sunlight

demo23019 said:
Pretty much everything Anderdroid said we both went from Nexus one to galaxy S phones so have plenty of experience between both hardware of the N1/NS
even without SAMOLED this phone its better than nexus one
better multitouch up to 5 finger registration, better external speaker and sound quality is excellent whether its from external,3.5 and even stereo bluetoooth. Not to mention ridiculously fast mobile GPU
But yea SAMOLED is a huge plus IMO produces better whites doesn't seem to have the bluish/purplish tint that i noticed with my N1 and also better in direct sunlight
Click to expand...
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Oh yeah! I forgot about how trashy the G2's and Nexus One's speakers are.

HTC failed on screen (multi-touch plague) and speakers - these 2 things alone, made me hate them.

Anderdroid said:
1. Processor/GPU.
2. Super Amoled.
3. Touch Screens.
4. Build Quality.
5. Freshness.
6. Great speakers.
I also think Google chose Samsung because of two very big HTC ****ups / backstabs.
1. The Nexus One. A Great Phone...
Except for the touch screen.
This was Google's "baby". And what did HTC do? They shipped all of their devices with faulty touch screens. ALL of them. And people overlook this? Why? This is HUGE. People say Samsung has a bad track record but this dwarfs Samsung's software issues. No I'm not speaking out of my ass, as I do own a Nexus One. I forked 350$ out for one why? Just so I could attempt to deal with the multi-touch issues on my projects.
2. HTC G2. Anti-Root.
No more comment on this. Of course they eventually figured it out, but HTC didn't want you to.
3. ?
Terrible, scratchy speakers on the Nexus One. Even on the G2.
What are your thoughts? I understand some people prefer the metal and hate the plastic. I for one love the aluminum on the iPad and Macbook Airs. However I also like the way the plastic feels on the Vibrant minus the 'creaks'. It feels very smooth in comparison to the G2 for instance.
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Click to collapse
I completely agree with you. You said everything.
I was planning to switch my HTC Desire for a Galaxy S, but the Galaxy S looks too much like an iPhone, and out of the box has bad system file, and touchwiz and stuff like that. Now Nexus S is out, with an unique, gorgeous design, I'm probably gonna buy it. Just wanna see some more reviews.

I honestly don't agree that it looks too much like an iPhone... How exactly? Even then I'm not even anti-iPhone so w/e. I think it has a better design than the iPhone.

Anderdroid said:
I understand some people prefer the metal and hate the plastic. I for one love the aluminum on the iPad and Macbook Airs. However I also like the way the plastic feels on the Vibrant minus the 'creaks'. It feels very smooth in comparison to the G2 for instance.
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You know what i dont understand is why there haven been any 3rd part aluminum battery cover replacement for galaxy S IMO this would be great
This would solve the whole cheap feel not to mention eliminate fingerprints on the back.

Anderdroid said:
I honestly don't agree that it looks too much like an iPhone... How exactly? Even then I'm not even anti-iPhone so w/e. I think it has a better design than the iPhone.
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I've got an iPhone 3Gs before my Desire, so I know what I'm talking about.
Many of my friends that saw the Galaxy S phone just said : "holy crap what an iPhone-Like!" without knowing anything about the phone.
With the metal around it, a kind of speaker above, a big home button under the screen, makes it look like an iPhone.
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I'm sorry this does like an iPhone(not only the UI).

EleCtrOx666 said:
I've got an iPhone 3Gs before my Desire, so I know what I'm talking about.
Many of my friends that saw the Galaxy S phone just said : "holy crap what an iPhone-Like!" without knowing anything about the phone.
With the metal around it, a kind of speaker above, a big home button under the screen, makes it look like an iPhone.
I'm sorry this does like an iPhone(not only the UI).
Click to expand...
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Well Im glad the nexus s and any us version of the sgs do not look like that. Only the EU I9000 looks like that and has the buttons like that.

shep211 said:
Well Im glad the nexus s and any us version of the sgs do not look like that. Only the EU I9000 looks like that and has the buttons like that.
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The tmobile vibrant looks the same minus the big home button

I agree with everything the OP said and then some:
- super evil NAND lock on devices making the whole "open" in the OS to pretty much heavily locked down. To date Samsung were very relaxed about securing their devices in evil ways.

Better reach of Samsung all over the world. For exmaple, here in India HTC support is pathetic/kind of non existence. They have just started setting up their own service centers. Whereas samsung is pretty establisehd in this part of the world since long time. So I assume samsung has a wider reach.
But would love to see HTC expand their market here. Very few HTC models here

Samsung was probably the better choice.. though, I don't think I appreciate the material they used to make the NS. The N1 may have had a faulty touchscreen (wasn't that the same touch panel used on all the devices HTC made, prior to their more recent ones?).. but at least it didn't have a plastic covered casing that adores fingerprints.
I don't know exactly what the problem is with using plastic, but everyone doesn't like it.. so.. I'm jumping on the bandwagon, lol. In all seriousness though, why exactly is this so horrible?

Eclair~ said:
Samsung was probably the better choice.. though, I don't think I appreciate the material they used to make the NS. The N1 may have had a faulty touchscreen (wasn't that the same touch panel used on all the devices HTC made, prior to their more recent ones?).. but at least it didn't have a plastic covered casing that adores fingerprints.
I don't know exactly know what the problem is with using plastic, but everyone doesn't like it.. so.. I'm jumping on the bandwagon, lol. In all seriousness though, why exactly is this so horrible?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because it feels/looks more cheap then say, N1/Desire/Iphone 4 etc, the look suits more of a mid range phone, then a top end smartphone.

I have to say one thing I loved about the N1 was the teflon (or whatever it was) coating on the battery panel and back/sides of the phone. It would shrug off fingerprints and was quite hard to nick/scratch. Although after almost a year of use, my N1 does show some of the coating peeling off near the headphone jack and also near the USB plug.

SAMOLED has the bluish tints with their whites as well. And the Pentile Matrix arrangement used in SAMOLED results in not so sharp text. S-LCD is better in that way. Obviously overall both screens kind of tie out.

I agree with most of these posts. Vanilla android plus galaxy s is a dream come true.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

Superfrag said:
SAMOLED has the bluish tints with their whites as well. And the Pentile Matrix arrangement used in SAMOLED results in not so sharp text. S-LCD is better in that way. Obviously overall both screens kind of tie out.
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I hate hearing that because it makes me wonder if all those tests I've done saying I have 20/20 vision are incorrect since I can't ever see what you all are talking about unless i literally press my eyeball up against the screen. And even then, the screen on my Captivate doesn't have any 'matrices' showing.
Or maybe you just go along with what the detractors say without actually checking out a SAMOLED screen

In-Depth OnePlus One Review: Compared to Perfect

I received my International OnePlus One in the mail yesterday, and after setting it up I've spent a lot of time with it over the past day (including putting my main SIM in the phone).
I'll go through my experience in chronological order from unboxing to fully set up. For each section, I'll point out positives, negatives, and other notables, along with giving an overall rating for each section.
Be aware that in this review I will not excuse things because of the wonderfully low price. I am very picky when it comes to mobiles, and I*will*nit-pick. This is a review that will pit it against $700 flagships,*because*this phone is so good it doesn't need excuses.
Here we go!
Unboxing & Accessories: 95%
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Unboxing the OnePlus was, in all honesty,*the*best unboxing experience I've*ever*had.
This is not an easy feat, considering I've owned, unboxed, and later sold every iPhone and Android flagship from the past couple years.
From the red pull tab on the protective brown cardboard, to sliding out the bright red inner package out of its white sleeve.
Each layer brought even more sense of surprise as I came closer and closer to the phone itself!
The individual package for the charger was an excellent idea, and the included accessories just screamed luxury.
Although some have questioned the inclusion of a key ring attachment for the SIM remover, I found this to be perfect. Being one who switches phones often, having that sleeve on my keys makes it that much easier to find a remover when I need it.
The one issue I had with the accessories was with the charging cable. While the USB end is sleek, and the cable is a nice bright red, it just isn't practical.
The cable is so thick and bulky that it just looks out of place next to the thin black and white cables on my nightstand.
And even worse, is how short the darn thing is. iPhone chargers*were*the shortest cables I'd ever seen included with phones. And now, they're tied for worst. At three feet, the included cable with the OnePlus just isn't anywhere near long enough. I can barely plug it in at night, and good luck trying to use the phone while it’s charging.
I thought the six foot black Monoprice cable I'd been using with my M8 would make it an easy fix. It wasn't. For some reason, the stock OnePlus USB cable charges noticeably faster than any others I tried.
I give this section a 95% because the experience was truly something else, and if the USB cable was a useable length, it would have been 100% (or more). The lack of a proper-length cable was a disappointment, but the battery life is so good I'll never have to use it on the charger.
Build Quality+Quality Control: 85%
This is an insanely well-built piece of hardware. If someone told me this handset cost $700, I would believe them. It’s one of the sturdiest phones I’ve felt, and manufacturing defects were nonexistent (except for one thing).
And that one thing (the subtracted 15%) comes from the screen. First, the oleophobic coating on the screen is very poor, so the screen is a*fingerprint and dust magnet.*This probably doesn’t matter to most, but as someone who carries around a microfiber cloth in his wallet to keep his screens smudge-free, this is a pretty sizeable downside.
Second, I got a model with a slight yellow tint on the bottom. After seeing some others' screens, mine is extremely mild, and unless I look at a white screen I can't notice the shift. It's almost like the bottom half of the screen very gradually gets warmer (from the middle to the bottom).*I was going to include a picture of it, but it was so insignificant the camera couldn't see it.
Although I can barely see it, it's there. And the fact that these defects weren't one-off makes me have to deduct a few points.
OnePlus did a commendable job on QC for this device. Even the biggest manufacturers have launch glitches sometimes. Thing is, I take display issues more seriously than all others, so I had to give it an 85%.
Hardware: 90%
Wow. I said that out loud when I took this phone out of the box. The One is lightweight, stylish, sturdy, distinctive, unique, and a blast to use. It feels so good in the hand that I want to hold it just to hold it.
The first thing that stood out to me was the sandstone material on the back of the phone. It provides grip,*and*an astounding matte finish, all while being immune to fingerprints.
The front is equally as striking. With the screen raised from the bezel, there’s a handsome frame around the screen that makes it stand out from the crowd. There's even a tiny raised portion of black plastic surrounding the screen itself that will keep it from getting scratched if face down on a table, but is almost invisible to the eye (many reviewers have missed this thoughtful detail).
Speaking of the screen, while off, it blends in perfectly with the rest of the bezel. Although said bezel is a bit large to some, my long fingers have no problems navigating it all.
Speaking of “navigating”, that brings me to the hardware buttons. Coming from my M8 GPE, I thought such a different button arrangement would confuse me (Stock is Back-Home-App Switcher, and these are Menu-Home-Back), however I think owning a Galaxy S4 for eight months kept the muscle memory for this setup in my head. They’re very responsive, well-lit when on, and invisible when off. Not much more you can ask for.
As for MicroSD, I am ecstatic that OnePlus left it out on this phone. They made room for more battery, more onboard storage, more RAM, a better camera, better construction, etc.
As one who relies mostly on the cloud and never has much media, I’d much rather have a phone with no MicroSD slot and more onboard storage than a slot.
Plus, MicroSD is slow. And I’m fine paying a premium to get faster storage.
This is just my opinion, though, (as is the whole review), and If you carry around 5 MicroSD cards in your wallet that’s totally fine by me.
Why only a 90%, you might ask? The lack of a removable battery and water resistance. The lack of a removable battery isn’t too bad due to the great battery life (which, again, I’ll get into later), but it prevents it from being perfect so I needed to mention it.
Every night, when I get in the shower, I so much wish for the ability to just set my phone down and listen to a podcast. Or watch a YouTube video. I understand waterproofing would be pretty unfeasible for a phone this size (as it would most likely become quite unwieldy), but this is actually a pretty big downside for me. If I’m going to give something 100%, it really can’t have big issues.*I’d give any other phone without water resistance much less score, but everything else is so good it gets less of a penalty.
Software+Performance (Cyanogen 11S): 95%
Rarely do I find software perfect, but this is one place where it is. I’m using the Google Now launcher (pretty much the same as the default “Trebuchet”, but there’s a Google Now homepage to the left and “OK Google” everywhere), the*L-Ready Dark*theme by Koulis, and the*Stark*Icon Theme by Kovdev. It looks like this:
Well, I’m a sucker for stock Android. I just prefer it to pretty much all the skins out there. My only gripes with it though are that there just isn’t enough without going through Play Store apps (which I generally stay away from doing, because the interface can get inconsistent). With C11S, just about every setting and customization you can want is available stock. Without root, even (I still rooted it for AdAway and /system access, though)!
This phone has the best specifications of any phone available in the US, and it performs like it. The HTC M8 is usually considered the fastest Android phone out there right now, and this matches (and in RAM, exceeds) it.*There are no hiccups, and after opening 10 or 15 apps and watching a YouTube video my Chrome pages didn’t even have to reload (and I opened those first).
There*is*one complaint of mine, but is pulled just enough weight to reduce my score. And it’s the slow update process (compared to stock). This deducted the 5%. Now I know you can’t expect any skin maker to have something ready faster than stock Android, but when my M8 GPE gets Android L right off the bat, I’ll be sad that the OnePlus One will still be a ways out.
The reason I’m not bringing it down any more is because of the theme engine. I bet I’ll have a damn near Android L experience quite shortly after launch due to all the customization options!
Screen: 90%
In this section, I’ll refrain from criticizing the yellow hue at the bottom as that is an unintended manufacturer’s defect, and it isn’t representative of the way the screen is supposed to perform.
This screen is just gorgeous. It’s huge, has outstanding viewing angles, superb black levels, and a great brightness range. It’s comfortable to use in pitch black as well as in direct sunlight.
At first, the overall warmth of the factory calibration was a bit weird. I much preferred the cooler tones of the M8. I’ve quickly adjusted to it, and skin tones do look good (as OnePlus claimed). There’s also a built-in manual color adjustment tool in settings to make it just the way you like it.
Touch latency is also incredible. Compared to the M8 (with 46ms), this feels about the same. That’s fast.
All in all, the display is impressive. However, it’s not quite at the same level as the Galaxy S5 (the best as of this review) or HTC M8, so I have to bump it down.
Camera: 90%
I’m not a huge mobile photographer, so really all I need is something to look nice on Facebook and Twitter. The HTC M8’s camera works fine for me. Oh, and I know OnePlus had to use a worse camera to keep the price down.
But this camera is much more than something for Instagram.*A "compromised" part of this phone is still great.
The app is great, the settings are simple but highly customizable, and the pictures are consistently sharp, in focus, and properly exposed.
Thing is, cameras like those found the Lumia 1020, and Galaxy S5 are still better.
However, in my usage, it’s been very comparable to the iPhone 5s camera. That isn’t an easy task.
Combine a relative inferiority with the lack of OIS, and I just can’t give it a better score.
I guarantee you won’t be disappointed with the camera, but everything here is being compared to the best of the best.
Sound and Call Quality: 85%
Now, every phone in existence pales in comparison to the HTC One M8 in terms of sound. I was somewhat excited to hear that there were stereo speakers on the OnePlus One, but after using them they really are nowhere near the class of those on HTC’s offering.*Pretty much, media playback is poor compared to the M8 (and M7/E8), but way better than every other phone.
Call quality, on the other hand, is quite good. Callers were clear, and I was clear to them.*The earpiece is a little quiet, and the microphone won’t pick you up unless you talk right into it,*but these are easy software fixes and I’m not concerned.
Battery Life: 100%
Battery life is up there with the best. 3100mAh for a 1080p screen is the best out there, and the ability to manually reduce CPU speed in the settings can stretch this out for even longer.
When the phone arrived, it had about 40% battery. After I set the phone up, downloaded all my apps, switched to ART, and signed into all my accounts, it had 15%. Also, the screen took up an astronomical 55% of the toal battery used. Enough said.
Overall Thoughts and Conclusion: 95%
All things considered, I give this phone a 95%.
Waterproofing, a removable battery, and better speakers would have made it 100%, but I think that*for many users, this is*the*best phone you can buy.
*
You have the performance and build quality of an HTC M8, the camera of an iPhone 5s, the screen size of a G3, the customizability of TouchWiz, the simplicity of stock Android, and the price of the Nexus 5.
But perhaps most importantly of all, it has the friendly support of a small business, with a community of an established one.
If that’s not a flagship killer, I don’t know what is.
If anyone has any questions/comments/criticism, feel free to contact @SolarTrans on Twitter!
Sent from my OnePlus One using Tapatalk

Reserved
Sent from my OnePlus One using Tapatalk

Good spot on the raised edge around the screen!
Sent from my One using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

thanks, lets please take further discussion here ...http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2685348

Note 4 at Best Buy today to check out!

You can play with the new Note 4 at Best Buy starting today. Hopefully some of you will get us some good videos to check out.

Galaxy Note
Is the Galaxy note has the best camera ever?

Lanoon said:
Is the Galaxy note has the best camera ever?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sure, why not

LMAO ^^^^

nice

I played with it last night... damn that phone is awesome! love it. can't wait to get one. just dumb that the display models are ready to go yet the damn phone won't be out for a month. wtf is that crap?
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

goood :good:

I played with both the Note 4 and Edge today.
The screens on both are stunning. Everything looks a step sharper than the Note 3. The colors still pop, but everything looks more natural. Whites are noticeably whiter. Both screens are brighter too.
The metal rim is a nice touch and from a quality standpoint both devices were nicer than the Note 3. Still, they're not on the level of the iPhone/HTC devices and are probably closer in quality to the G3/Moto X (2014).
I was super excited for the Edge, but after using one I'm not sure what I think. The bent edge is really small and kind of awkward to use on its own. For most applications that section doesn't do anything. When I was using Chrome for instance it just goes black and says My Note Edge. I installed Nova to see what it did with a launcher and the result was the same. You can swipe the strip and something will come up, but there didn't seem to be a full-screen mode where normal content was stretched to that area automatically. Also when using some apps the content from the strip area seemed to overlap slightly over the main screen area.
I couldn't get any great pics (and some are blurry) but here they are:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}

I played with the Note at Best Buy as well. They had 3 on display, all were white.
There are very few differences from the Note 3 and S5, but that screen is just perfect. The settings menu is like the s5 except it has some quick settings up top and the background is white. The calendar and clock widgets have transparent options (the s5 has the ability to make the widget transparent). The folder icons look like the s5, but you can no longer change the color. Blue is the only option, which is pretty lame.
The phone software felt smooth as anything I've used, kills the G3. The wide selfie cam is pretty cool. Taking pictures side by side my girlfriends S5 showed only minor differences, obviously testing was limited.
The speaker was loud, no bass but definitely loud. The metal trim that's painted partially white is really sexy. The inside of the calculator app is reworked, functions the same but its a welcome visual change.
All in all, it's a damn good phone, makes me miss my Note 3, but if you use a Note 3 and aren't interested in this new display, there's really no reason to upgrade.

Rippley05 said:
I played with the Note at Best Buy as well. They had 3 on display, all were white.
There are very few differences from the Note 3 and S5, but that screen is just perfect. The settings menu is like the s5 except it has some quick settings up top and the background is white. The calendar and clock widgets have transparent options (the s5 has the ability to make the widget transparent). The folder icons look like the s5, but you can no longer change the color. Blue is the only option, which is pretty lame.
The phone software felt smooth as anything I've used, kills the G3. The wide selfie cam is pretty cool. Taking pictures side by side my girlfriends S5 showed only minor differences, obviously testing was limited.
The speaker was loud, no bass but definitely loud. The metal trim that's painted partially white is really sexy. The inside of the calculator app is reworked, functions the same but its a welcome visual change.
All in all, it's a damn good phone, makes me miss my Note 3, but if you use a Note 3 and aren't interested in this new display, there's really no reason to upgrade.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you get an opportunity to use the S - Pen, if so is the functionality better than the N3? I have the S5 and N3?

alhadee12 said:
Did you get an opportunity to use the S - Pen, if so is the functionality better than the N3? I have the S5 and N3?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very little because of the cord. I couldn't get the air command window to pop up. I did use it on the (notepad app?) a little. It does feel better than the Note 3, not a HUGE difference, but it just feels like it glides and it's more accurate. Again, I barely used it, but I do think people will be happy with it over the Note 3.
If you guys go check it out, you must watch the pre-loaded video of the people in the city. It's obviously shot with the proper equipment and does not reflect what our own videos will look like, but it just looks awesome.

I am not seeing the difference compared to the Note 3 that some are implying. Both displays look great and I have to get overly close to notice the difference from typical usage distance. Then I notice tiny fonts are more legible.
I also do not see the N4 any faster than the Note 3. Both are great fast devices IMO.
What I do notice is there is about 3GB less storage than the Note 3. That is accounting for the 4GB of demo bloat too on the N4. I sure hope that is a demo allocation issue, or the N4 would have at least 3gb less storage out of box. I think it is closer to 4gb MIA.

Note 4
Was shocked to see the Samsung people settled in BB and with everything layed out. I didn't even know any of this and was only browsing at BB and then the Note 4 popped up and that was all I was staring at for a good minute which seemed very long and then I dashed to it to pick it up onto my hand. Low and behold, the Note 4, Note Edge, at last, in person, in real life! Oh man oh man the security cord could do with a bit of extension at the least! Whatever... the Note 4 was nice in my hand, it felt so right. It looked so nice. I used to use a Note 2, until it got soaked while kayaking with only 1 layer of ziplock around it.... Forgot to do the second layer. So I'm back to my S3, phone was dead right when I saw the Note 4, so no pictures, sorry. But the Note 4 sounds amazing! The speakers are LOUD! Mind you, BB was packed on a Sunday evening and pretty loud with the noise environment. The person above said it had no bass, now that I think back, I don't believe I heard bass.... But who cares!?!? The speakers will for SURE make you hear that notification or phone call that you get from a few rooms away in your house! The Note 4 was a blast to play with! The camera selfie made me look so handsome!!! Right when I was about to snap a photo with my S3, the S3 camera looked so dark compared to the N4 camera. My phone wouldn't do the N4 any justice if I was to snap a few shots anyways! But man oh man oh man oh man! The N4 is awesome! If you don't the Note 3, check the N4 out because it might not be a huge upgrade to the N3 users. This baby is going out in the market for $825.99 w/o contract, 299.99 with 2 years contract for most carriers and damn... Do I want one for my Verizon account! For the folks out there with second thoughts on which phone to get that's over $500, this is the bad boy to go for. This is the one. Don't even think about waiting for the N5, it'll be approx 365 days before that happens. I'm still stoked! I had to leave BB to go to Costco before it closed.... BUMMED me out..... I'm still thinking about yesterday though.... Dying to go there again to play with it.

EDGE,
Samsung always want to have an EDGE over others.
the s pen capabilities turn the rest phones to FOLLOWERS.

I Samsung Note Good or do you guys suggest any other phones?

abcodi said:
I Samsung Note Good or do you guys suggest any other phones?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
note all the way. i live for the note lol

Hi
What a pretty phone.

Posting some Note 4 photos I took at BB
Hey, everybody. I'm going to all the Note 4 general forums to post a few pics I took of the Note 4, just in case there's a person or two who hasn't been able to see them in the flesh at Best Buy, or they want to see real life photos.

Honestly I was not that impressed at Best Buy today. The overall design is beautiful. And the 2d screen thing was noticable to me. Also whites looked brighter and whiter and less washed out when compared to my Note 3. Other than that same ol Note and definitely not a significant upgrade over the 3. That being said I cannot resist the $200 trade in offer and I will be upgrading. Lol

cubarican84 said:
Honestly I was not that impressed at Best Buy today. The overall design is beautiful. And the 2d screen thing was noticable to me. Also whites looked brighter and whiter and less washed out when compared to my Note 3. Other than that same ol Note and definitely not a significant upgrade over the 3. That being said I cannot resist the $200 trade in offer and I will be upgrading. Lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought the same until paying close attention to the display with web and image content. The N3 has a grest display, but the N4 has a STUNNING display.
Still, I agree the Note 4 is not a giant leap from the N3.

Overall love

Yes, yes, it's possible to love a phone. Heck, you sleep next to it, don't you? Rate this thread to indicate your love for the Google Pixel 4a, all things considered. A higher rating indicates that the Google Pixel 4a is an incredible phone that you enjoy tremendously. You love it.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!

Not a bad little phone for the price. Too small for me though. I have a 3XL. I bought this for my girlfriend. It's faster than I thought it would be. Should be incredible on Android 11.
She's very apprehensive with the small size. She also has a 3XL with a very cracked screen. Not quite as fast as my 3XL but extremely smooth. I'm very impressed.
I'm on Android 11 Beta 3

Love the Punch hole. Very nice
---------- Post added at 12:33 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:28 AM ----------
I'm trying not to play with it. Lol
---------- Post added at 12:37 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:33 AM ----------
Excellent for one handed use . I want one. Yummy

Had anyone else found their actual reported battery capacity is not what Google claimed?
This is my only device not meeting claimed mAh (my system is reporting 3080)

matthewkuhl said:
Had anyone else found their actual reported battery capacity is not what Google claimed?
This is my only device not meeting claimed mAh (my system is reporting 3080)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mine also says 3080

gmanhatesu said:
mine also says 3080
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you
i emailed Google support about it and they just recited the spec capacity and spewed some advertising nonsense about that being a "big deal" number and to reach out again if i had any other questions. i reiterated that i wasn't getting that number from my system reporting and they have not replied.
Please, bring it up to Google support because this might be a widespread problem.

Mine says 3080 as well.... I don't think it is a big deal.

What Accubattery Pro actually shows...
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}

Kwanger said:
Mine says 3080 as well.... I don't think it is a big deal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not a big deal...even if accurate. 2-3% difference. M'eh.

Yeah, the standing 3080 reported by accu battery seems to be inaccurate anyway. Now I've got a few charges on it the estimated battery capacity is higher 3300 or so........which in itself will be inaccurate as I believe the actual battery is probably as advertised. It's all semantics anyway..... What I do know is that battery life is way better than my outgoing 18 month old essential phone.
Now having used the 4a for a few days, it is solidifying my initial impressions of what a great phone for the money it is. Upgrade from my essential in every way, feels smoother, signal strength is better, it connects to my inbuilt android auto without a hitch. For me the size and weight of it is perfect..... going to be a keeper for sure.

This reminds me a lot of the Nexus 5 but without the flaws.
I really love this phone. The screen feels a lot larger than it is. Oled at this price is very nice. Decent stereo speakers. The snapdragon 730 is decent paired with 6 GB ram. Battery life is excellent considering the battery capacity.
The polycarbonate plastic body feels super solid and is light. The fingerprint scanner on the back is refreshing to use solving a problem that never needed to be solved with terrible in display fingerprint readers.
The camera is great.
3.5mm headphone jack.
This is the best Pixel I have used. My only complaint is I can't watch Netflix in fullscreen.

Here's my thoughts coming from Pixel 3a:
Screen is noticeably brighter outdoors.
Edge to edge is really nice, but the chins on the 3a give you somewhere to hold, whereas the 4a it's all screen and left holding it by edges a lot.
Fingerprint sensor got a huge upgrade, now works with completely wet finger, where the 3a had issues with slightly sweaty or wet finger, far less failed login attempts.
The edge to edge screen doesn't always fill the screen, like XFINITY Stream TV. Some apps will fill the right side of the screen, but the left side of the screen will be a square edge instead of filling to edge. This is probably my biggest gripe. Some apps do edge to edge fill properly, like YouTube, just wish all apps did this.
The screen is slightly warm in color, it has a tiny yellow tint to it, where the 3a is more neutral
The camera is very similar in color profile, has a slight warm tone, where the 3a feels more neutral
Great phone ruined by yellow glow over everything:
https://imgur.com/a/DWN527j
https://www.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/ienzi6/yellow_tint_on_pixel_4a_screen/
Not sure if because of cheap OLED, or bad calibration.

For the money it is the best phone out there and I do like it. Here are my complaints coming from an Xperia XZ1.
-My Xperia phones were always bulletproof. I only used glass protectors and never had a case. The Pixel 4a is not as strong. Already took a chunk out of the plastic but it's a budget phone. Still with no wireless charging give us an aluminum back.
-Screen is great for the money. The colors aren't perfect but it looks good and the refresh rate seems nice.
-I am a fan of a side sensor but the rear one is pretty responsive so I don't complain too much.
-I HATE THE BOTTOM SPEAKER HOLES! I hold my phone with my pinky under the bottom and it digs into my skin. I will get used to it but it's annoying. Make the holes not so sharp or do something else. I have never been a fan of bottom mounted speakers.
-The camera is amazing for the money. Exceptional value.
-The software has been great and the new android update has made it even smoother.
Overall it is the phone that the Exceptional phone should have been. I had one of those and wanted to love it but the display was garbage. I can get over the stuff I hate on this phone because of the price.

mrsatan said:
Still with no wireless charging give us an aluminum back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My preference leans toward textured plastic. Arguably lighter, less likely to dent, not a finger print magnet, potentially easier to hold with finger tips. So done with fragile glass and metal sandwiches. It's a phone not a fashion statement .
I suppose this (if true) would be the counter argument: https://forum.xda-developers.com/pixel-4a/help/cover-4a-discoloration-problems-t4163637/post83511081

DB126 said:
My preference leans toward textured plastic. Arguably lighter, less likely to dent, not a finger print magnet, potentially easier to hold with finger tips. So done with fragile glass and metal sandwiches. It's a phone not a fashion statement .
I suppose this (if true) would be the counter argument: https://forum.xda-developers.com/pixel-4a/help/cover-4a-discoloration-problems-t4163637/post83511081
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am so over glass backs too but my XZ1 has the best metal back. Its textured so easy to hold and has never dented. Sure it is scratched as hell but I never babied it. Plastic would never hold up to that amount of damage. That is my only concern but I also paid a lot more for the XZ1 as well.

i received my Pixel 4a yesterday. Android 11 was waiting for me in KSA. Overall best device in back camera, display, touch response and off course software. Front camera is normal. Not good in games but can be bearable. Battery SOT is 8 to 9 hours. Upgraded from P40 pro. Wishes it should have better chipset atleast.

Pretty happy with the phone overall. Size is perfect and battery life is still good enough for me. I had a OnePlus 6t before this so most say it's a downgrade and in some ways it is but for the camera improvement and still having all day battery life and to actually get updates is a big plus over a big screen and battery and I don't we even more the difference in chipsets . It's a solid A to me hopefully they make more like this.

I owned flagship devices, top of the line processor, etc....
I was an idiot.
The Pixel 4a does everything I need to do and I save maybe $800 dollars.
Sure run a bench mark and the device will be very far behind the latest Samsung device but in real life the games I played and apps I ran all run fine.
The camera is the best !!! One thing Pixel does well is camera software processing.
I take photos with various devices and the colour of the Google shots is more natural, most camera add a cooling effect which you do not see in real life. Astro photography love putting my camera on a tripod and seeing what I get.
What do I lose wireless charging ? Not a big deal if it means I save $800
Water resistance, never been an issue
Miss a wide screen camera but for what I save just the normal camera is fine.
5G battery hog, not available everywhere "will want it next time"
Found out the phone's software automatically blocks Robo calls !!!! Wow I love you goggle.
Getting fast updates, and no bloat rounds of the reasons this device is for me.

AstroDigital said:
I owned flagship devices, top of the line processor, etc....
I was an idiot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not necessarily. Until recently (let's call it the last 2 years) mid-range phones were a distinct step down from flagships. I had a hunch the curve would flip when the iPhone X and similar Samsungs came out which attempted to push the acceptable price point into the 4-digit range (USD). Ridiculous for a hand held gizmo that gets replaced every 2-3 years. Not to mention the giant form factor which didn't work for everyone. Be interesting to see where we are two years from now. Flagships will still exist but may not be the must-haves they once were.

quangtran1 said:
What Accubattery Pro actually shows... View attachment 5088261
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is what shows in my device