The Yotaphone 2 is now established, no longer on the horizon, so I thought we should have a dedicated thread to it, reviews about it, thoughts etc.
right, yotaphone 2 review so far.
First of all I will say that the specifications of the phone are perfect for me. Yes I like flagship specs but after a few generations of going for the best there is and having tried all the roms and UIs around (miui, touchwiz, sonys one, cyanogen, htc sense, windows, the oppo one etc, it goes on) I decided that I was bored. I wanted something completely different. Considered the jolla but when the yota 2 was announced I was instantly infatuated. Liked the idea of the first model, the second one nails it for me. And to be fair to it – a snapdragon 800 is a very competent soc, does all I need it to do and does everything fast. Currently I don’t need a 64 bit octacore chip, this one handles basically all the things I can throw at it and I don't really play the huge games anyway. Other than an occasional test of a heavy game, its gba and ps1 emulators, casual rpgs and a couple of shooters for me. Also, I read somewhere that Yota’s reasoning was they needed time to get the soc figured out with their device. Yota say they’re using the 800 to keep the heat low, preventing damage to the e-ink screen.
UPDATE: I have since realised that the phone is actually using the snapdragon 801. When announced in February it was using the 800 but it seems they quietly upgraded it before release. The phone says it's the MSM8974pro-aa which can be either 800 or 801 but the gpu clock speed is higher at 578mhz which is exclusive to the 801, so that's a lovely discovery .
On the face of it (both of them) this is a wonderfully pretty phone. At least from my point of view the aesthetics are all spot on. Everything is presented beautifully. This includes the box it comes in and everything in it. Even the charger is lovely to look at. Wonderfully compact and has yotaphone written across the back that lights up when the phone is connected. On the point of the charger, it outputs 1.5A and charges the phone in a couple of hours or so (25% to full takes between 1.30 and 1.45 hours). This adds to the convenience of the phone and lack of battery worries that I will get into later. You also get a load of earphone buds, like, loads.
The front facing screen is an excellent screen. Super AMOLED (my preference, I love the deep blacks), 442ppi on a 5inch screen produces a brilliant, crisp and clear image and the touch responsiveness is excellent. There are a few niggles with using the keyboard (slight over sensitivity with using swype input) but you soon get used to this, once your fingers and thumbs adjust to the screen this goes away I find. It’s much like using someone else’s laptop and their mouse pad is much more sensitive that yours. EDIT: I will concede that the keyboard probably needs a patch sent through, swipe input is fine but normal typing you have to learn to be more accurate than usual. Doesn't take long but if someone borrows your phone... (to be fair, no one is borrowing my Yota. There are many like it but this one is MINE).
The second screen is just beautiful. The whole back panel is made from the same piece of curved gorilla glass so you don’t notice the screen is there, it hardly feels like one but it’s joyous to the touch, smooth (so smooth) and a nice matte black/dark gray. The sensitivity is obviously slower and there are slight delays waiting for the screen to change, but these are minor and you get used to them. I’m still just wildly impressed that yota have pulled this off so well. The backscreen is excellently implemented, the yota mirror feature works like a dream, anything you want on the back can and will be. The screenlock is done using the gyroscope as well, whichever side is facing up is the one that unlocks when pressing the button. Also, the possibility of leaving some vital information like a map or a plane ticket on the back while the rest of the phone is turned off or utterly dead is likely to not be used often, possibly even if ever by some, but the fact that it can be done is a lovely bit of life insurance.
The yotapanels (configurable pages of widgets made for the EPD) are very pretty indeed and very functional. The back screen has its own phone and messaging app. My only niggle with notifications on the back is that the email part of the notification widget is at this point set to the stock email app, not customizable. Only a minor niggle as I would use the front screen for sending emails anyway but it would be nice to choose to check gmail (hoping for an update to change this). The panel grid layout and widgets can be changed to your liking, within reason. I have 2 businessy type pages with clock, calendar, weather, most called people, battery etc a news page with rss reader, emails, important apps and appy geek and a leisure page with games, book and music widget). What surprised me was downloading appy geek then finding a variety of widgets from them I could use on the panels. This gives me hope that more and more third party back widgets will be added over the course of development.
UPDATE: The widgets are better than I thought - the back panel music player associates itself with whichever music app you were playing from last. Also there are some nice easter eggs that you find as certain things occur on the backscreen which give a great sense of Yota going the extra mile. e.g. get someone to text you with just the word cool and leave the EPD face up.
On the subject of development I have received 2 updates so far, optimizing the back screen touch responsiveness, heat output, battery life, yotaenergy mode etc. Also, eventually someone will find a way to root them and then more possibilities reveal themselves. Honestly though, other than being able to use trickster mod, root explorers, remove system apps and a couple of other things I don’t miss all the little features of custom roms. Even sweep to wake isn’t as essential as it used to be for me – yota placed the lock button slightly above the right side (so your thumb is on it when the phone is front facing). This to me begs the question why doesn’t everyone else do that, it’s so much more natural, convenient and keeps the one hand ability going. Yota have made some smart decisions.
UPDATE: The phone has been rooted, Kingo root can do it with drivers you find on the yota website or other drivers online (mine was a case of trial and error). So a root file explorer, wakelock detector, system app remover and a kernel control app installed. Very happy and now its pretty much exactly as I want it.
The phone is very well put together and feels solid. This all improves with the bumper, which adds to the aesthetic further and makes you feel safer. Gorilla glass 3 on both sides or no, this is a phone you worry about dropping, 2 screens = double the vulnerability and double the worry. The back screen is wonderful to the touch but also quite slippery. The bumper gives you a bit more grip and therefore confidence. Despite the worry I have no qualms, it’s a brilliant thing to hold and have around you.
I think my favourite thing so far is being able to keep your phone locked and face down and still see the time, incoming notifications, respond if needed, read, play games and a host of other things. A simple glance is all you need, so convenient and saves those little bits of time and battery that build up over the course of a day. I still gush with appreciation when I look down.
UPDATE: I still do.
On to the battery life – it’s damn good if you want it to be, otherwise it's still not bad. 2550mah compared to 3000 may seem annoying to those that love a top spec’d beast and now that 4000mah phones are starting to come out this paltry little number is in danger of being outdated. However, this phone saves battery in so many ways such as:
1. Having the e-ink display (no battery usage except when it refreshes). How this saves battery is down to you – use the panels properly, get into chess, Sudoku and the other supplied games, use it for reading etc. Get into the habit of using it and you’ll save hours and hours.
2. Having yotaenergy mode. This is not to be underestimated. You can select what you want it to limit or turn off, if you select everything (except wifi cos obviously you need wifi) then cpu is limited, nfc and gps are off, brightness on main screen is down to minimum, the list goes on. Now, most of these I would do myself on a rooted phone, but it’s nice to have a mode that incorporates all the things needed to save a bundle of energy and implements it so well. This has the potential to save you days if used in conjunction with the back display. I use this at work and I can still check emails, notifications, play games for a bit, read etc and a work day ( 7 and a half hours ) will cost me like 5-6% + or – a few depending on the day. Granted I mostly use the back for that stuff but still, damn good so far.
3. Having a vanilla android experience. Having stock android with hardly any additions, all of which you can disable if you want, keeps the minimal drain down.
Now I’m a man that likes a phone to have a battery life that does not concern me. My old one x would require underclocking, a new rom that would need to be reflashed on occasion, greenify etc to get it through the day comfortably with decent usage and screen time. Now this is childs play, it’s a substantial weight off my mind. No real figures yet, haven’t done proper tests as it’s only been a few days. What I can say is that it’ll do a full 24h with heavy usage, wifi and data on, at least 3 hours of games and youtube, all without using energy saving or the e-ink that much and still have well over 30%. That was the second day of owning it, it’ll get better.
I turned yotaenergy on at 92% today, the first 8% drained in a few hours due to a naughty app that is now uninstalled. Going to test how it lasts over the weekend and will report back afterwards.
The bloatware is limited, some is annoying (don’t have twitter so don’t want twitter etc) but to Yota’s credit their own stuff is minimal, and I wouldn’t want to remove any of their own additions. The games chosen function great on the back screen and I dare say look better on it than on the front. There is the occasional little glitch, but most of these can be avoided or solved with a quick screen refresh of changing of modes etc.
I will stop now, I apologise for the length and hope I covered what most people wanted to hear. Will get back soon with long term battery test results.
UPDATE: Battery anxiety is truly gone. Example - took phone off charge at about 1am, up at 6.30, went to work, bit of browsing and game play during day. Got home, played bit of games, read a bit. Went out that night, stayed at a friends, got up at 11am next day. All of that was with mobile data or wifi turned on throughout. By using yota energy in times of minimal usage and EPD for standard things I saved bundles I intentionally took energy mode off when gaming and when was doing things on phone to create a fair test. When I checked gsam battery monitor it reported I'd used 50% in 34 hours, that was with 2.5 hours screen time, with about as much time spent gaming as reading and a fair amount of browsing and app updating etc. For a phone with 2550mah I'd say that's pretty excellent going. Maybe there are phones that can match it but even if so, they're not as much fun to use as this one.
If anyone has any requests for battery tests (full screen on time, how long on battery saver and EPD etc just ask).
Much TL,DR –
Very pretty phone, great front screen, back screen surprisingly useful and nice to look at and touch. Software well implemented. Hopeful for long term development improvements. Very good performance, great battery. Occasional glitch but nothing that detracts from and limits experience.
UPDATE: glitches have lessened significantly over a short space of time, haven't had one for ages.
UPDATE: there is a recurring one - the back panels app shortcuts will occasionally default to the originals. This takes less than a minute to rectify but still, hoping for it to be fixed in an update. This is only glitch I still encounter, the rest seemed to be teething problems.
Overall, loving it. Expensive but very different and a joy to use. Definitely worth it if you get a discount. I managed to get mine with 10% off and 2 bumper cases (longish story), to me that makes it great value because I honestly already see myself getting the subsequent generations, it would already annoy me not having the back screen.
Worth checking their facebook page every now and again to see if they've got another 10-20% discount going again.
Thanks for the in depth review, it's clearly hit the sweet spot for you ☺
I have a question about notifications.....when in the yota panel or yota cover mode and it is on your desk EPD facing up, what happens if you get a notification from say whatsapp or xda developers I.e. one that doesn't have a specific widget on the yota panel, is there any indication on the EPD that a notification has been received and if so can you interact with it or does it just send you to the OLED side?
Secondly, if you have your home screen mirrored on the EPD and again it's laying on your desk, will the notifications appear in the notification shade and can you swipe down the shade to check and interact exactly with them as you would on the OLED display? I.e using whatsapp as an example again , get the new message notification in the shade, swipe it down, click on the message, whatsapp opens and you type in a reply and send it....All from the e ink side.
Battery drain leads to battery anxiety, I am hoping that the yota 2 works how I've described above as I spend a lot of time lighting up the OLED on my phone just checking and responding to notifications and it could be a game changer to be able to do that from the e ink side. Saving the OLED for the more intense stuff like games, videos web browsing etc.
Thanks in advance
Mike
Sent from my GT-N8010 using XDA Premium HD app
Not a problem, it very much has and also it was a slow day at work .
The notification widget on the panels and covers has 4 items, phone, text, email and general notifications. Phone and text can be interacted with, and lovely apps they are to use as well. A great example is that if someone sends you a text that just says cool (even with third party text apps) then the text will show up and atop it is a picture of a man adjusting his bowtie. Lovely little easter egg. The email sends you to the stock email client, hoping for a way to get that to associate with gmail to come out eventually. The fourth is for other notifications (whatsapp, xda and everything else). The email and notification icons will simply send you to the front screen. You can just mirror them straight back over though. And I suppose having the phone implement everything would be a bit tricky. You never know, development might add them later. Sorry I write too much. In short, you can't interact with 'other' notifications straight from the screen but have to mirror it back.
To answer your second question - yes. If your using mirror on the home screen it will appear just as the same homescreen and same android, just on the back screen. Anything that comes up you can interact with, including pulling down the notification shade, opening your apps (in this case whatsapp) and interacting with them as you would (replying straight from the app). The only difference is its slower obviously, but still very do-able. If your going for super battery saving then it doesn't strike as a problem if you have to take a bit longer. It's enjoyable and pretty anyway, and very easy on the eyes.
So to summarise, yes, you can use the EPD just as you would the amoled. Even if you have to turn over activate the notification from a panel you can just mirror it straight back over, avoiding amoled over use.
I'm the same, always hate having the battery life hanging over me. The yota has got rid of that for me. It came off charge at 6am friday morning, its now just before 5pm - gsam says 34 hours. Battery is on 35%, both data and wifi have been on and being used constantly, games being played a lot, internet and youtube have occurred here and there. I've been trying to push it through its paces when have had the time. Had a couple of cheeky battery draining apps for first half of Friday so got rid of them but still.. It's nice to have 35% and feel confident that I could probably get another full day out of it if needed. And all in such an interesting package.
So, 48 hours battery life without a struggle with normal usage is perfectly feasible and also the charger charges it in a very short time, super convenient.
Hope I helped, sorry for the length again.
Thanks that really helped ?
I really like the idea of a more than one day battery life for moderate to heavy use, I'm out of contract in a couple of months and have been considering an xperia Z3 which has a large battery and is being reported by users as achieving 2 days use, however this phone is intriguing, I can think of so many potential uses for the snap shot on the EPD and to be able to control music and audio books etc. But it's the battery life that is most tempting with this device your quoted figures are impressive, how much were you using it during that period?
Another question if you don't mind, in some reviews and videos I've seen views of yota panels than display what look like short cuts to regular apps such as chrome, youtube, currency converter, maps, whatsapp , can you configure the yota panels to show an icon of any app in the app draw? For instance I use audible a lot and the EPD would be perfect for using and controlling audible from a short cut on the Yota panel. Would this short cut direct you to flip the phone to the OLED then mirror it back as per the general notifications you described above?
Thanks
Mike
Sent from my GT-N8010 using XDA Premium HD app
It is a nice freedom to have to be sure, to not feel you have to charge it over night. If caught in those party situations, or when just away from charger its nice to know its fine. I read some z3 reviews and the z3 seems to do something similar with battery. The z3 would almost certainly beat the yota in a hands down typical battry test but for long term endurance with conservative usage (and lots of use of the EPD) then i'm certain that the yota could take it. And even if not, the EPD is amazing to have. Keep stumbling across more uses for it. (currently replying to your review on a laptop with your reply screenshotted onto back of my yota). I would say that other than when at work (minimal usage but still some games here and there) I was using it between normal and heavy usage depending on the time. Normal - moderate for most of the time with a few sessions of heavy usage. Data and wifi on the whole time, almost always downloading and updating apps too. More than I would usually use it basically and 2 days use was a breeze. In a few days I think i'll go for intentional conservative usage and see how long it goes for.
Not at all. The app shortcut widgets have different sizes available, 1, 3 and 6 apps. Each one of these widgets can be configured, you can choose any app. Clicking on the app from the EPD will open the app directly on the EPD, it'll basically activate mirror mode without having to switch over. A wonderful feature I think. So you would be able to open audible from the shortcut and control it straight from the EPD without the need to even activate the OLED at all.
The z3 is a good phone, better processor, better camera etc. It rivals the s5, the m8 etc in terms of features. For me though, the yota covers everything pretty well, even if it's using now slightly outdated specs - it does the job happily. And the EPD adds a whole new level of functionality and makes using a phone a very interesting practice again. It's a new way of using a phone and that's what's most attractive for me.
Thanks again for your reply, it seems that the yotaphone will do pretty much all I would want it to on the EPD, it has really got my interest up now! I'm seeing a yota panel with my most used apps that would not really suffer from being on the EPD, audible, fotmob, kobo, whatsapp, beyond pod maybe even words with friends!
I think along the same lines as you in wanting something a bit different and interesting, I've had two android phones now and before that an iPhone, to be honest another straight forward android seems a little samey now hence deciding that battery life would be my priority rather than screen size or the latest cpu etc.... If only that eye watering price would drop a little come March.....
Sent from my GT-N8010 using XDA Premium HD app
Yeah above all I wanted battery life with decent enough specs and something different. I finished my contract and began saving with the express aim of getting this phone, once got the money figured might as well as no other phone appeals to me enough. The modular smartphones coming up certainly piqued my interest but I can't wait for them, wanted a new phone now. For me the yota is worth it so far and I hold out hope for the duration of my ownership of it.
Good luck to you whether you decide to go for it or something else.
20% discount offer on facebook if your still wanting dude. £444 seems pretty reasonable.
zute333 said:
20% discount offer on facebook if your still wanting dude. £444 seems pretty reasonable.
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Oh that's so tempting, i don't have face book tho, where's the discount coming from,yotaphone themselves? I've been waiting for March to see what the HTC One M9 and Galaxy S6 looks like....trouble is android now looks the same on most handsets, so will a M9 be that much different from my M7 meh.
My kids have Facebook tho, how do you get access to the discount?
Thanks
Sent from my GT-N8010 using XDA Premium HD app
yotaphone themselves indeed, celebrating 120,000 fans. Seems a bit harsh on the rest of us but i'm not one to begrudge success on a company I would like to succeed.
They all look the same now. Samsung have never been that good on the aesthetic look of their phone's imo, the m7 is beautiful in the same way as the m8 and m9 and possibly so on. And yeah, launchers are pretty stripped down now, and I find having a launcher that you can theme, or using something like dodol or themer you can get a phone looking exactly how you want, which negates manufacturers launchers anyhow. The only real difference comes from the odd gimmick here and there or in the case of the note edge a part of a screen. That one I kind of get but I'm also of the opinion that a whole second screen beats a sliver of one on the side .
Sorry, what you actually want to see is this: https://www.facebook.com/YotaPhone/posts/439221752895395
I hope the link works and the discount is still active if you go for it.
Well Zute333 thanks for the heads up on the discount , my daughter pulled up the voucher code via her FB and I've bought one at £421.80 ☺????????
It feels genuinely exciting to have something different to use over the coming months. Btw Is it a mini or micro sim?
Thanks again for helping me decide
Mike
Sent from my GT-N8010 using XDA Premium HD app
Well I'm a bit gutted if i'm honest, got mine at £495-£555 (discount still pending, long story), with the bumper. But to be fair I've had a lovely few weeks and am getting the jolla tablet for hilariously cheap price so counting it a good overall load of deals lol. Still though, £421.80 is epic, congrats and I hope you enjoy it dude. Lollipop on the way at some point, can only improve things.
It's micro sim.
EDIT: nano-sim
No worries dude.
I'm even more gutted: it seems this is only valid in the UK, as I can't change the country field to any other. Website is partly in Dutch, though.
Sad for you dude. I think they made the post in other languages for other countries but can't find em and don't know if they did one for the Netherlands.
I don't really mind having paid full price, just happy to have it. You can always wait, another offer will surely arise, the standard price will also probably drop eventually.
By the way, a reseller here in Holland says in its specs the Yotaphone has nanosim. I assume they're wrong?
---------- Post added at 12:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:43 PM ----------
Also, I see different specs on radio: some say 3G, some say 4G.
bartveld said:
By the way, a reseller here in Holland says in its specs the Yotaphone has nanosim. I assume they're wrong?
---------- Post added at 12:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:43 PM ----------
Also, I see different specs on radio: some say 3G, some say 4G.
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Ah, no I was wrong, I got the names mixed - thought there was mini and micro, equating micro with nano. The yota 2 sim tray is a nano-sim tray.
Also it can do 4g.
Thanks.
Hi all, newbie here! i've just bought Yotaphone 2 couple days ago, can't say how happy i am with this phone so far. It's fast enough and the always-on screen is amazingly convenient. Can't say much about battery life yet as only charged it once so far.
The only couple of minor things to mention though - the back-panel is very, very slippery so can easily drop the phone out of your hands. The other thing - email notifications on the back-panel. It's configured to default email app (as mentioned in some previous posts) and looks like there's no way how i can change it to gmail which is my primary email. But am i right thinking that there should be an update to fix this?
smekla said:
Hi all, newbie here! i've just bought Yotaphone 2 couple days ago, can't say how happy i am with this phone so far. It's fast enough and the always-on screen is amazingly convenient. Can't say much about battery life yet as only charged it once so far.
The only couple of minor things to mention though - the back-panel is very, very slippery so can easily drop the phone out of your hands. The other thing - email notifications on the back-panel. It's configured to default email app (as mentioned in some previous posts) and looks like there's no way how i can change it to gmail which is my primary email. But am i right thinking that there should be an update to fix this?
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Hey dude. Lovely phone isn't it. Yeah the back is pretty slippy, the bumper solves that problem if you can manage to get one? As for the email notification on the back, I agree, it's annoying that you can't configure it but I think they'll probably address that in an update, maybe make they're own email client like with the back sms app or something. Only time will tell on that front I suppose.
By the way, get someone to text you the word 'cool' and leave phone EPD facing up. Lovely little easter egg type addition by Yota. Figuring out various other ones over time
Related
this is just a personal experience, opinion, and review of Windows Phone 7 and Samsung Focus based off a few days of heavy use and playing around with the phone. I'm originally coming from an HTC Aria android phone. which some..or most of you may be weary and questioning and doubting microsoft's new and fresh OS.
this'll basically a side by side comparison of both phones and OS's. and hope it helps answers some questions some folks may have before purchasing the phone. and in hopes it will help interest users and give this forum a little growth.
Body and Feel of the Phone
The size was exactly what i was looking for. coming from the HTC Aria..the screen size was a huge bonus for me. it was perfect for viewing and using, but not too big where i felt like my fingers had to stretch. slid in my pocket easily where it's light enough to not weigh down my pants, but just enough to let me know it's there.
minor gripe is the back of the phone..the battery cover. flimsy plastic compared to the Aria's solid rubber like back. it was easier to get off than the Aria's, but the little hooks at top to hold the cover under the body of the phone were just a little small for my comfort. so i'm taking it extremely easy whenever removing and replacing the cover.
the buttons on the sides were pretty solid and flush with the body, but had enough ridge to them so you knew where they were. dedicated camera button, love it, since the Aria and most android phones don't have one. helps with those spontaneous random shots.
the overall thinness and just right curves make this phone pretty damn sexxy.
Body: 9/10 - (if they make an after-market solid backcover..definite 10)
Windows Phone 7 UI and Software
I was actually surprised how quickly i adapted to windows new UI coming from an android phone. gotta say everything is extremely fluid and gorgeous. watching early previous video demoes before Microsoft officially released it, i did not think it would be that fluid, smooth, and quick.
i definitely like how everything i need to know and see is all in one screen. Android's use of multiple pane screens was..genius at first...but tedious over time and too similar to iphone's UI. with my HTC Aria, i had one pane dedicated to my calendar and events notices, one for basic info..time - date - sms - email - weather, another pane with a group of my most used apps, and another pane to regulate GPS - Bluetooth - Sync - Brightness..via widgets. my thumb did A LOT of swiping. most don't recognize with WP7..its touch and go and rarely any swiping, except within the apps.
adding apps was a breeze and less stressful than with the android phone. with microsoft regulating what's in the app store, i feel a little more comfortable with the security measures. i think Apple did one thing right when they went in that direction. how is giving a list of warnings before installing an app supposed to make you at ease with your phone and what you're putting on it? I of course immediately downloaded Netflix app, which works perfectly! i was able to snag near HD quality on a solid 3G connection. and with the Focus's gorgeous and bright screen..gonna love watching movies on it. App Market took a little getting use to, search button makes it a little easier if you know what you're looking for. and it had it's share of hiccups where it wouldn't load back up if it froze, requiring a reboot. not a huge issue and something microsoft is aware of and working on a fix for. I was just glad i didn't have to sift through thousands of crappy apps or apps that were variations and copies of similar apps (memory matching games...those of you android owners should know so well).
Getting my gmail account setup was easy and basic. i honestly gotta say that Windows Phone 7 email interface is the best i've used so far, coming from iphones and blackberries and android. i just can't explain it. it's just something to experience personally. i never really saw google's need to use push notification with their gmail app. i'm fine with having my mail checked every 30 mins. that was probably one of android's many battery draining issue faults. now getting Xbox live synced up with the phone was a little of a chore, but worth the reward in the end. getting messages from xbox players on my phone is definitely a neat addition. and i'm looking forward to being able to play xbox live games on it.
i have a feeling that Windows Phone 7 will be more fluid and well controlled like iPhone. Android is just too sloppy and fragmented. too many app reviews on the Android Market with folks complaining the app won't work on their phone or having different side effects. if you're gonna have an OS on multiples phones, 99% apps should work with every phone. free open source freedom is nice, but it definitely has it's downside. like the old west...everyone and everything needs a law and order to survive or everything goes to sh_ _. - i'm pretty sure John Wayne or someone said it
and as ATT customers we all know that they like to bloat the phones with their crapware. ESPECIALLY with android. but i found it easy just to uninstall ATT's software on this phone. i kept the U-Verse app just in case. may look into getting that possibly as where i live is just out of their area for U-Verse service on the tvs. Unlike with the HTC Aria i had to root the phone and sit around waiting for talented developers to remove the bloat and make a smooth running ROM, flash it, and hope it worked without bugs. without talented XDA Developers..android would be a mess and hassle for a lot of users.
just give it some time. Microsoft hasn't been in the mobile phone market this long and not learned it's lesson (obviously with windows mobile 6.5)
Software and UI: 8/10 - (it's still in it's infancy)
Sound Quality
sound is unbelievable on this phone. music pours out the phone like a good pair of logitech computer speakers. talking on the phone's mic or on speakerphone was very clear and smooth. unsure of why HTC Aria's volume was so low when making calls. i literally had to enable the hearing aid function on the phone, which boosts the volume level slightly higher. still too low in my opinion.
i don't use and do not care for bluetooth, so i can't give an honest opinion or review on that. but Samsung definitely not slack on the audio quality of the phone.
Sound: 10/10
Screen
screen is what caught my attention in the ATT store while eye browsing the whole scene originally looking for the HTC Inspire 4G. the Samsung Focus's screen just popped out and caught my attention. sitting in between the LQ Quantum and the HTC Surround..it was CLEAR the Samsung Focus's screen was the best of the bunch.
Using it in the sun was no problem with the brightness setting set on Medium. I occasionally switch back to low setting when i'm indoors in my apartment or shopping. everything is clear and crisp and almost pop off the screen. i've played with friends' iphone 4's and honestly don't notice too much of a difference in the quality of the display.
Screen: 10+/10
Camera
camera is EXCELLENT on this phone. pictures are crisp and bright. the LED flash is bright but doesn't last as long as it did with a previous Blackberry Curve phone. i've played around a little with the video recording, which is crisp and clear also. sound recording through it is a little deep...expected though. it's not exactly a high-end camcorder. could do with a review option. pictures are snapped and automatcially back to camera mode without a chance to looking at the picture you just took. which i guess is good for those fast random shots. but it would be nice to have an option. and the reverting back to default options after you exit the camera is a little of a hassle and something Microsoft felt was what users would want. hopefully an update will allow more options. other than that i'm very satisfied with the camera's quality and ease of use.
Camera: 9/10
Battery
battery actually seems to be pretty solid for 1500maH...standard for most smartphones. after a couple of days of heavy use, i'd say it would last a whole day with fair amount use. i'm definitely not charging it as much as i was with the Android phone. android apps you took too much of a risk of it sipping on your battery. it was like trial and error trying to figure out what apps wouldn't drain your battery. time waster. i'd probably get a solid 9-10 hrs of use on my HTC Aria before grabbin the charger. on the first full charge with the Focus and full day use...heavy browsing, emails throughou the day, average amounts of texts from friends, picture taking, recorded a short video, installed and tried out some weather apps...i was able to get a good 12-14 hrs of use. possibly longer as with the battery indicator..it's hard to tell how low you really are. there is no app or option to tell you. and from what i've read online, the programming kit Microsoft allows for the phone doesn't allow for pulling the battery information from the system. not a biggie though.
I can honestly say i'm happy with how long the battery lasted where as with the android phone, my charger was a constantly needed accessory no matter where i go. and the worry if an app would drain my battery while i'm out.
Battery: 9/10
Overall
i have a little less than 30 days to give this a good test run and give it back to ATT if i don't like it. but i'm pretty solidly chosen this is my phone to keep and daily driver. HTC Aria is going up on craigslist within the week.
Don't get me wrong now. i'm not trying to be one sided. the HTC Aria is a GOOD phone if you really want an android phone. for it's size and processor speed, it's a VERY fast and snappy and easy to use phone. but professional and smoothness...android hurts it. and i'm just too amazed how WP7 has just won me over so easily.
quoting one user...
Originally Posted by heymen9x
i think iOS is useful , android is interesting and WP7 is so .........sexyyyyyy
THANK YOU for that review.
I am in exactly the same boat as you having just gone from a HTC Aria to a WP7 Focus. It's taking me a bit to adjust.
I've only had the phone 24 hours and the obvious major difference is the screen size compared to the Aria. It's definitely different having all that extra screen real estate.
I was a major tweaker with Android so am finding it a little strange to not be doing much with the phone at the moment.
I also have 30 days to return the phone but want to give it a good run before making a decision.
Any suggestions for some really good apps / games?
yeah it's nice not having to flash roms, do nandroid backups and restores, and all that mess. and the keyboard alone on the WP7 is 100x better than using it on the Aria.
purchasing apps is also a lot less of a hassle on the WP7 Marketplace, as it's just added automatically onto your cell phone bill, well for AT&T users at least.
personally i have the following apps that i use almost daily...
Netflix - instantly grabbed it on the first search on the Market. movies look great on it and battery life could easily last thru 2 movies. so it makes it great for long road trips
Twitter - just makes it simple to use twitter. and i follow a few WP7 related twitters which helps keep me informed early on updates and news and new apps.
last.fm - i had mp3s at first..a couple hundered, but found myself bored with them after awhile. last.fm is close to pandora as you can get and it saves on using up the memory on your phone. and for us WP7 users, it's completely free. iphone and Android users have to a pay a $3 monthly fee or deal with ads. songs stream in pretty quick on 3g and it plays under the lockscreen.
thumba photo editor - one of the best photo editing apps on the market and only 0.99 cents. it does pretty much everything a PC photo editor does, minus layers and transparency. it helps crop down and resize the pictures you take since it's 5MP by default.
4th & Mayor - is great if you use Foursquare. it's better than Foursquare's official app. it loads quicker and just simpler to use. and from what i've read it has features even the official app doesn't app.
The Weather Channel - just to keep up with the weather.
The Harvest - great game to play if you have an Xbox Live account. it's like Halo RPG and shows off the WP7 gaming power pretty well. steep price ($6.99) but well worth it i've had it for a month and play it every now and than and still haven't completed it with the first unlocked character.
Bubble Birds - just a great time killing free game with great graphics
Quadra - another great free game that uses both your fingers at the same time.
Cool, thanks for the pointers.
I notice from your sig that you've installed the NoDo update. I'm assuming this is the unofficial one?
How easy it and is it worth it or shall I wait for the ATT roll out?
What other hacks / mode have you done / are there?
Been playing with the phone a bit more today, it's growing on me for sure but still unsure. I wish there was a better app drawer than having one big long list.
Yeah, the unofficial update.
Which I would avoid since you're still in your 30 day trial of it, until you're sure you want to keep her =)
It requires turning your Focus into a developer unlocked phone.
Its the only mod you really can do with it, besides sideloading unofficial apps. Which I'm avoiding. I just wanted the nodo update.
And if you haven't read up on it, avoid the cheveonwp7.updater PC application. Google it to read up why. The Hungary VPN hack is the only safe way.
Maybe an update will allow a folder structure in the app list to shorten it. Not that big of a deal overall
asiancuta said:
Yeah, the unofficial update.
Which I would avoid since you're still in your 30 day trial of it, until you're sure you want to keep her =)
It requires turning your Focus into a developer unlocked phone.
Its the only mod you really can do with it, besides sideloading unofficial apps. Which I'm avoiding. I just wanted the nodo update.
And if you haven't read up on it, avoid the cheveonwp7.updater PC application. Google it to read up why. The Hungary VPN hack is the only safe way.Maybe an update will allow a folder structure in the app list to shorten it. Not that big of a deal overall
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is that to do with the fact MS can see what apps you are loading etc. with the Chevron method?
Haven't seen the Hungary VPN hack - is it listed on xda? I'll go have a look.
I'm pretty sure I'm keeping the Focus - I just put the Aria on eBay and CL. I like the Focus overall, I'm definitely spending less time messing around and tweaking and I'm just using the phone for its features.
Mind you, I still haven't had a really good stretch of time to just sit and play with it as I've been so busy at work. Downloaded a bunch of apps and games to try but just no time to try them yet.
I've decided I will probably just wait for the official AT&T NoDo update as it really should be landing this month anyway.
Actually, I unlocked my Focus using instructions found on this forum. (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=857127). I did not hack registry to change phone from AT&T.
I hooked up to my PC -different one than I used to install "unlock".
Logged on to Zune. My Focus then showed "Update Available". I went on to install the February update. Rebooted. Hooked phone up again to PC. Then showed "Update Available". Downloaded March update.
Everything working fine. No problems.
So, it is possible that you do not need the Hungarian link.
Picked one up from Costco today - there is a long list of things wrong with it, I hope there are fixes out there cause they are really critical flaws and I'm close to returning it back to store. Oh, I own a EVO4G so I'm by no means a noob to Android. Its also important to note that I don't own any apple products
1. Browser:
Wow force closes like none other. It also fails to load any website after you've crashed once. No way around it except rebooting the device. Poor adobe flash performance - should be much faster than my Evo but it ain't so. Defaults to mobile browser as stated on here. Screen, text fonts and pics started to blur when I was on a website, serious bug wow. Tried alternatives such a as firefox and dolphin, meh. Did I mention it was laggy, irresponsive browsing experience?
2. Apps:
Faceook, Pandora, VPlayer, etc. fail to work. Force close heaven...come on! They're basic frggin apps. Market is portrait only. Most apps aren't formatted properly - fonts are way too small. Widgets are non customizable in size and are just too small to be useful. Look at the calendar and mail widgets....
3. Display:
10.1'' is way too wide to hold comfortably. I now spend 100% of the time in portrait mode. Videos look proper but pictures look blurry? Fonts look horrendous. Screen has this blurring effect, it is far far from crisp and decent. I expected 1280x800 to be better, sharper.
4. Build.
Heavy. So heavy you cant even rest it on just anything to get it to prop up properly. Very Dense. Not comfortable, strain to the palms.
5. Battery
4 hours of use and its already down to 60%. Expected better from two large batteries weighing this much.
I know I forgot to list some other issues...and sadly there are more.
Honeycomb is unfinished but I didn't expect them to be this far off?
OK.... we need solutions, or when is the next update(s)! Desperately needed.
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk
Ehm ... Didn't you research before you bought the Xoom?
It's been in this very forum for weeks ... all those were mentioned.
Nothing new ... so cope with it and wait for an update ... or return it.
Case closed.
1) Only had one browser FC in nearly a month.
2) Not 3.0 optimized apps. Contact the app devs.
3) Get bigger hands.
4) Lift weights. Apparently the Xoom is a good one to start with.
5) I get at least two days of heavy use.
(Bonus comment) The Xoom has been out a month and there are 3415453215 threads of people whining about it. No need to make another. Return it, do some research and buy something that satisfies your expectations and anatomy.
You made me laugh ... LOL to "anatomy"
El Daddy said:
1) Only had one browser FC in nearly a month.
2) Not 3.0 optimized apps. Contact the app devs.
3) Get bigger hands.
4) Lift weights. Apparently the Xoom is a good one to start with.
5) I get at least two days of heavy use.
(Bonus comment) The Xoom has been out a month and there are 3415453215 threads of people whining about it. No need to make another. Return it, do some research and buy something that satisfies your expectations and anatomy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just to counterbalance, I bought the Xoom wifi yesterday and love it. I had a great time rooting and playing with my Android phone, and I can't wait to dig into the Xoom. I did a lot of research before buying the Xoom and actually found the problems to be non-existant or not as bad as stated.
Mr Bland said:
Just to counterbalance, I bought the Xoom wifi yesterday and love it. I had a great time rooting and playing with my Android phone, and I can't wait to dig into the Xoom. I did a lot of research before buying the Xoom and actually found the problems to be non-existant or not as bad as stated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here. Im getting great battery life. I took it off the charger about 6pm last night. Took it took work with me and browsed and streamed with it all night. With bluetooth on and a lil under max brightness im at 32% at 745am. i have had no force closes in the browser and the only problem i have is flash not working in the browser (works with Dolphin though).
Also thumb keyboard is great in landscape, but im comfy with the stock keyboard to.
Pretty sure, could be wrong here...but pretty sure an update won't help the weight of the device...(which I enjoy, feels good in my hand)...but then again if they optimize code enough between now and then, removing enough 1s and 0s could help....
vTeCz said:
Picked one up from Costco today - there is a long list of things wrong with it, I hope there are fixes out there cause they are really critical flaws and I'm close to returning it back to store. Oh, I own a EVO4G so I'm by no means a noob to Android. Its also important to note that I don't own any apple products
1. Browser:
Wow force closes like none other. It also fails to load any website after you've crashed once. No way around it except rebooting the device. Poor adobe flash performance - should be much faster than my Evo but it ain't so. Defaults to mobile browser as stated on here. Screen, text fonts and pics started to blur when I was on a website, serious bug wow. Tried alternatives such a as firefox and dolphin, meh. Did I mention it was laggy, irresponsive browsing experience?
2. Apps:
Faceook, Pandora, VPlayer, etc. fail to work. Force close heaven...come on! They're basic frggin apps. Market is portrait only. Most apps aren't formatted properly - fonts are way too small. Widgets are non customizable in size and are just too small to be useful. Look at the calendar and mail widgets....
3. Display:
10.1'' is way too wide to hold comfortably. I now spend 100% of the time in portrait mode. Videos look proper but pictures look blurry? Fonts look horrendous. Screen has this blurring effect, it is far far from crisp and decent. I expected 1280x800 to be better, sharper.
4. Build.
Heavy. So heavy you cant even rest it on just anything to get it to prop up properly. Very Dense. Not comfortable, strain to the palms.
5. Battery
4 hours of use and its already down to 60%. Expected better from two large batteries weighing this much.
I know I forgot to list some other issues...and sadly there are more.
Honeycomb is unfinished but I didn't expect them to be this far off?
OK.... we need solutions, or when is the next update(s)! Desperately needed.
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's why I returned my 3G Xoom I had on release date and was bashed here. Minus the battery and app fc(which is supposedly a WiFi only problem.) I mean I got the iPad2 because it's just so much more Stable and likewise have my Evo4G for Android goodness. I wanted to buy the wifi xoom but so many more problems......?
Really interested in Samsungs new 10.1 skinny design. And it's light(important)!
vTeCz said:
Picked one up from Costco today - there is a long list of things wrong with it, I hope there are fixes out there cause they are really critical flaws and I'm close to returning it back to store. Oh, I own a EVO4G so I'm by no means a noob to Android. Its also important to note that I don't own any apple products
1. Browser:
Wow force closes like none other. It also fails to load any website after you've crashed once. No way around it except rebooting the device. Poor adobe flash performance - should be much faster than my Evo but it ain't so. Defaults to mobile browser as stated on here. Screen, text fonts and pics started to blur when I was on a website, serious bug wow. Tried alternatives such a as firefox and dolphin, meh. Did I mention it was laggy, irresponsive browsing experience?
2. Apps:
Faceook, Pandora, VPlayer, etc. fail to work. Force close heaven...come on! They're basic frggin apps. Market is portrait only. Most apps aren't formatted properly - fonts are way too small. Widgets are non customizable in size and are just too small to be useful. Look at the calendar and mail widgets....
3. Display:
10.1'' is way too wide to hold comfortably. I now spend 100% of the time in portrait mode. Videos look proper but pictures look blurry? Fonts look horrendous. Screen has this blurring effect, it is far far from crisp and decent. I expected 1280x800 to be better, sharper.
4. Build.
Heavy. So heavy you cant even rest it on just anything to get it to prop up properly. Very Dense. Not comfortable, strain to the palms.
5. Battery
4 hours of use and its already down to 60%. Expected better from two large batteries weighing this much.
I know I forgot to list some other issues...and sadly there are more.
Honeycomb is unfinished but I didn't expect them to be this far off?
OK.... we need solutions, or when is the next update(s)! Desperately needed.
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) Mine doesnt FC all that much. When there is a fail however, closing all tabs with the x on the tabs, reopening the browser and hitting the home button works for me to reset it.
2)Yeah, lots of apps fail... but it was expected. Once they get optimized for HC, itll be nicer. Till then facebook and some others are done through the browser. Also... my market works in landscape. Dont know why yours is only in portrait.
3&4) You seriously are complaining about the design of the device when you could have found this out in 2 seconds by holding one at a store that had a demo??? I find that the screen is very crisp with high res pics and I have no complaints on it.
5) My battery life is great... no complaints here. Wife and I played with it non stop with angry birds, web surfing and whatnot for hours and it only went down maybe 20%.
I really dont see this as a fail device, just a device that needs a few tweaks here and there. I bought it knowing the charging plug was crappy and a terrible design, no USB charging and a chance that my normal android apps wont work on it due to optimization. Knowing what it is going to be used for, the size and weight... I am more than happy with the device.
vTeCz said:
5. Battery
4 hours of use and its already down to 60%. Expected better from two large batteries weighing this much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are experiencing advertised battery life. The XOOM is rated for 10 hours of battery life so 4 hours would be 40% of the battery if you've been using it for that long. Plus you haven't run through any charge cycles on your battery. It will get better.
One and Two are valid, but will be fixed in time.
The others are rediculous.
Sent from my Xoom
vTeCz said:
Picked one up from Costco today - there is a long list of things wrong with it, I hope there are fixes out there cause they are really critical flaws and I'm close to returning it back to store. Oh, I own a EVO4G so I'm by no means a noob to Android. Its also important to note that I don't own any apple products
1. Browser:
Wow force closes like none other. It also fails to load any website after you've crashed once. No way around it except rebooting the device. Poor adobe flash performance - should be much faster than my Evo but it ain't so. Defaults to mobile browser as stated on here. Screen, text fonts and pics started to blur when I was on a website, serious bug wow. Tried alternatives such a as firefox and dolphin, meh. Did I mention it was laggy, irresponsive browsing experience?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Odd. I've been using my device pretty much constantly since I picked mine up. No force closes. No laggy browsing. Your Evo does better? You may have a defective unit.
2. Apps:
Faceook, Pandora, VPlayer, etc. fail to work. Force close heaven...come on! They're basic frggin apps. Market is portrait only. Most apps aren't formatted properly - fonts are way too small. Widgets are non customizable in size and are just too small to be useful. Look at the calendar and mail widgets....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Facebook works for me. The rest I haven't tried. And the widgets are personal preference. Too small? How old are you?
3. Display:
10.1'' is way too wide to hold comfortably. I now spend 100% of the time in portrait mode. Videos look proper but pictures look blurry? Fonts look horrendous. Screen has this blurring effect, it is far far from crisp and decent. I expected 1280x800 to be better, sharper.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
10.1 too wide? Last I checked, you could have pulled out a ruler to figure that one out. But hey, whatever. Blurry screen? Again, you must have a defective unit. Either that, or maybe your fingers are really, really greasy.
4. Build.
Heavy. So heavy you cant even rest it on just anything to get it to prop up properly. Very Dense. Not comfortable, strain to the palms.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm getting a very interesting image of what you look like. 1.5lb is too heavy? Orly?
5. Battery
4 hours of use and its already down to 60%. Expected better from two large batteries weighing this much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've had mine running since I got to work at 1am (i work 3rd shift), and after a full shift, I still have 45% battery. I've watched youtube videos (HD), listening to music, downloaded apps, posted on forums, read news, downloaded podcasts, added numerous widgets. You know, typical stuff. And it hasn't touched the charger all morning (since you have to use their approved usb charger).
I know I forgot to list some other issues...and sadly there are more.
Honeycomb is unfinished but I didn't expect them to be this far off?
OK.... we need solutions, or when is the next update(s)! Desperately needed.
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not saying the Xoom with Honeycomb is flawless. It's clearly not as optimized as it should be. Opening up the Apps menu, for example, should obviously not be laggy like it is. That said though, most of the "issues" you have above are NOT mirrored on my identical device.
reuthermonkey said:
Odd. I've been using my device pretty much constantly since I picked mine up. No force closes. No laggy browsing. Your Evo does better? You may have a defective unit.
Facebook works for me. The rest I haven't tried. And the widgets are personal preference. Too small? How old are you?
10.1 too wide? Last I checked, you could have pulled out a ruler to figure that one out. But hey, whatever. Blurry screen? Again, you must have a defective unit. Either that, or maybe your fingers are really, really greasy.
I'm getting a very interesting image of what you look like. 1.5lb is too heavy? Orly?
I've had mine running since I got to work at 1am (i work 3rd shift), and after a full shift, I still have 45% battery. I've watched youtube videos (HD), listening to music, downloaded apps, posted on forums, read news, downloaded podcasts, added numerous widgets. You know, typical stuff. And it hasn't touched the charger all morning (since you have to use their approved usb charger).
I'm not saying the Xoom with Honeycomb is flawless. It's clearly not as optimized as it should be. Opening up the Apps menu, for example, should obviously not be laggy like it is. That said though, most of the "issues" you have above are NOT mirrored on my identical device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have to say facebook acts like the old roms for the tablet use to. Sometimes it would crash, and you can't add facebook in accounts / sync. Twitter adds just fine
I spent about 7 hours playing on my xoom yesterday and really didn't experience any of the problems you did. Yes some of my phone formatted apps weren't working but I expected that.
I think I had one force close with my browser. That's not so bad.
Screen looks fine to me. Yes initially loading a webpage is blurry, but that's just how its rendering stuff. For me at least that lasts maybe a second before the browser fully loads the page.
And if its too big for you, maybe you should get a child sized tablet for your child sized hands? (Or stick with your phone?)
Sent from my Droid using XDA App
Aldiko, ezpdf, xda premium and many others I use on a daily basis are completely useless as the fc's are so frequent is not worth my time
I did read about all the issues beforehand, so right now I have 89 days before either there is an update that fixes the issues or is going back to cotsco
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA Premium App
At first I was upset that the XDA app doesn't work properly yet. Then I thought, "Hey dummy, you have a 10.1" screen... Use the real site".
After that I uninstalled Facebook, Engadget, etc. and just added the bookmark widget to the home screen.
Sent from my Xoom.
i only get about 6.5 hours max of real usage on the xoom
I'm talking about 'DISPLAY' time usage, or, HOW LONG the screen has been on, as a case to determine the battery life.
MikeyMike01 said:
At first I was upset that the XDA app doesn't work properly yet. Then I thought, "Hey dummy, you have a 10.1" screen... Use the real site".
After that I uninstalled Facebook, Engadget, etc. and just added the bookmark widget to the home screen.
Sent from my Xoom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem with XDA site specifically is that it is very slow typing responses and some other things. It does work, just lags.
aohus said:
i only get about 6.5 hours max of real usage on the xoom
I'm talking about 'DISPLAY' time usage, or, HOW LONG the screen has been on, as a case to determine the battery life.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And what goes into said usage? I'm overclocked to 1.5ghz and I get much longer than that.
keitht said:
The problem with XDA site specifically is that it is very slow typing responses and some other things. It does work, just lags.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've found all typing in the browser lags, and always has, since my OG Droid. It's quite annoying, I expected Google to resolve it with 3.0...
This ended up being way longer than I thought it would. It might help newbies though. Happy reading (to those that don't fall asleep half-way through).
So, here’s my SGS2 story. First some background. My Android experience is with two phones, the G2 (Desire Z) and G2X (LG O2X). Prior to that I had numerous Windows phones, the last being an HD2. So interface wise I’ve never used or even seen TouchWiz and my Sense experience is from Windows. Both Android phones were close to “pure Google” so I’ve played with a lot of launchers and heavily customized them. I liked the G2, loathed the G2X. Also, being in the U.S., the SGS2 is my first non-carrier branded phone.
The phone came Friday but I didn’t get to set it up until Monday. I wanted to play with it for a few days before commenting on it. So, by category, here are my thoughts.
Physical
I like the size, weight, and the way it feels in my hand. For some reason though, I treat it like it’s fragile. You can’t lay it down on its face because the gray trim around the screen touches the surface. You can’t lay it on its back because the plastic on the bulge at the bottom will scratch as will the camera surround. I’ll feel better when the cases I ordered come.
The full-glass front is nice as it makes the phone look rich and is more durable than using multiple materials. It’s a very stylish phone with no flex in the chassis and a very premium look. The hard-key for home that also activates task manager and voice control is a clever touch. As is being able to answer calls with the home button and disconnect them with the on/off switch. The capacitive buttons for back and menu have a pretty wide sensitivity area which makes them easy to hit even if they’re not illuminated.
The on/off switch and volume toggle are firm and respond well. I’m used to the power button being top right but I have no preference.
Overall, other than my fear of damaging it, I rate the phones physical attributes highly.
Screen
LG should stick to TVs. The O2X/G2Xs are plagued with LCD screen bleeding from the corners. It drove me crazy watching video with dark backgrounds. The colors were good on the G2X but the SGS2 blows them away. Having a totally black screen from edge to edge is a nice change from the G2X. Also, 4” vs 4.27” may not seem big on paper but the extra space makes browsing and media a much better experience. My screen has no bad pixels, lines or discolorations so I’m happy. I see the banding in gradients on certain apps and pages that some people have pointed out but it doesn’t really bother me.
TouchWiz & Samsung widgets
I used ADW Launcher on my other phones and liked it a lot. The biggest change coming to TouchWiz was the lack of control – no changing rows and columns, no changing icons, labels, or backgrounds, no controlling transitions. Also, the home screen being the furthest left screen instead of center is taking some getting used to. But to use some of the cool Samsung widgets you have to use TouchWiz.
So, after adjusting to it, I like TouchWiz. The multiple methods of moving between screens is cool as is the methods they use for moving apps around on the screen, adding pages and folders. The gyroscopic zoom is pretty cool too and a great party trick when defending buying a phone for $800. Having used Sense I was expecting TouchWiz to be similar. Sense is pretty much an all-inclusive overlay with different Sense functions all tightly integrated. TouchWiz is less intrusive and leaves a lot of stock Android exposed.
The full page calendar widget is handy and so are the e-mail and mini paper ones. I’m using live panel on one screen but it’s really just a method of resizing widgets which all the other launchers do too.
There’s no lag but I can see TouchWiz being a bear on less powerful devices. Overall, it’s not to die for but as an alternative launcher it’s got some benefits including the use of Samsung’s proprietary widgets.
Pre-Loaded Apps
Some brief comments on the pre-loaded apps:
AllShare – Much better than the DNLA app on the G2X.
BBC iPlayer – Doesn’t work in the U.S., even on a UK phone.
Calendar – I like Samsung’s better than stock.
Contacts – Again, better than stock.
Clock – Some cool features and I like Samsung’s desk clock better than stock android.
FM Radio – Nice interface but I haven’t used it.
Game Hub – Seems pretty limited in content and simplistic but I haven’t used it.
Kies Air – A really neat feature when you just want to move a couple of files between the phone and a PC.
Memo – Simple and effective for taking quick notes and easier than opening a Docs to Go page.
Mini Diary – Pretty cool for vacations and other type of social outings.
Polaris Office – Can anyone figure out what it does that other apps don’t already do better?
Readers Hub – I like it for the newspapers and magazines while I’m traveling. It’s nicely implemented.
Samsung Apps – What a strange little app. I doubt I’ll use it for anything other than updating pre-loaded Samsung apps.
Social Hub – I’m using it instead of individual apps for Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. I lose some functionality but it’s easier to see everything in one place and be able to respond quickly. Also, Samsung’s figured out a way to link Facebook contacts to internal contacts which supposedly can’t be done in 2.3.3.
Samsung Suggests – Just a link to a web page where Samsung suggests certain market apps.
Task Manager – Nothing special but not offensive either.
Video Maker – Nice to have I guess if you want to edit something on the road before sharing it. A phone’s not a great device for editing though.
Voice Command/Recorder/Talk – I haven’t figured these out yet. They’re all just Samsung-ized versions of Vingo. The few times I played with it what I said wasn’t understood. I haven’t figured out the difference/benefit compared to Google Voice.
E-Mail
I use Exchange and love the Samsung app. It offers lots of customization options, is responsive, and supports advanced Exchange features. It includes a tasks app which most manufacturer e-mail clients don’t. Some people were complaining about the lack of tick boxes. They’re there. When you press delete or move they’re displayed. It’s actually a cool idea as it saves a bunch of screen real estate. Overall, I like it better than the stock app and Enhanced E-Mail which I’ve used previously.
2G/3G/4G
I’ve only used the phone in my home city but it’s worked as well as any other phone I’ve used. It gets signal where my T-Mobile phones wouldn’t but that’s more a tower issue. I’ve never seen the phone drop below 3G but it does intentionally drop H/H+ when no data’s being transmitted. Data restarts immediately so if it saves battery I’m fine with it. Interestingly, I’m not in an AT&T fake 4G area but my downloads and web page loads are faster than my G2X even though SpeedTest shows half the bandwidth.
Wi-Fi
I’ve only used it in my house but it works as well as the G2/G2X in picking up, holding, and re-connecting a signal. It’s actually 15-30% faster than the G2X using SpeedTest. I get close to 30MB down according to SpeedTest where the G2X could only pull in the teens.
Bluetooth
It’s much more reliable than the G2X. It pairs easily, stays paired, and re-connects quickly and automatically. Rhapsody sounds 100% better over Bluetooth in my car than it did with the G2X. Loudness in my car is great, my BlueAnt Q2 headset is a little lower than I’d like but livable.
GPS
No problem picking up satellites and locking with GPS-only enabled. It’s a bit faster with Wi-Fi and sensor aiding on but feels roughly comparable to the G2 and G2X. My area has a pretty unobstructed view of the sky so it’s not a difficult test.
Sound
I have a pair of Shure 530’s and can’t turn the volume up past half-way. The bass seems richer and the separation better than on my G2X and G2. I’m no audiophile but the sound is more than adequate and better than my previous phones so I’m happy. The external speaker is louder than the G2 and G2X but a little shriller.
Internet
I like the stock browser and am impressed with how fast it renders. It’s a lot more fluid and responsive than the one on the G2X.
Battery
Every time I get a new phone I follow the same process. Format the SD card on a PC and have it in the phone at first boot, load any phone updates over the untouched stock ROM, hard reset, than start loading apps and customizing. There’s way too much that’s interconnected in phone software today so I try to reduce the variables.
I’ve been configuring and re-configuring the phone for two days now so it’s hard to judge battery performance. Neither Android OS or Android System have gone above 16% and there are no deep dives in the battery usage meter to indicate a run-away app or service. I’ve used Wi-Fi for hours a day, Kies AIR, AllShare, have all the Hubs as well as news and weather synching and am using Exchange push e-mail. Yesterday I was also watching videos on PlayOn and Netflix over 3G and Wi-Fi and listened to Bluetooth audio in my car for a few hours. Yesterday I got 12 hours on the phone and today about 11. The G2X was good for about 14 to 16 so I think I’ll get that with the SGS2 when I start using it the same way.
It appears I have a different approach to apps I don’t use then most of you. A lot of you freeze or remove them. I open them, accept their nag screens, and register if there’s a registration offered. I then go in to their settings and disable them or throttle them to the least amount of intrusion as possible. With everything inter-connected in the stock ROM there may be a polling process taking place looking for the status of specific apps. Freezing them potentially continues the polling while activating and ignoring them allows them to just be dormant. This could also explain why the online reviewers aren’t having problems as their phones are pre-setup by Samsung. Just my two cents on battery and, please god, don’t turn this in to yet another battery life discussion thread.
Summary
I really like the phone. It looks and feels good, seems well made, and is incredibly smooth and fast. I think Samsung did a great job with the UI. I know there’s battery, 2G/3G/4G, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth issues but there are tons of external variables that affect those things. If you think you’ve got problems go check out the G2X/O2X boards. And shame on LG because their ROM is on 2.2 which has been around a lot longer and should be a lot easier to work with. My phone’s running terrific (knock on wood) and I would buy it again and recommend it to others. It’s kind of like moving in to a new house. As I live with it for a while I’m sure I’ll find additional positives and negatives. But, overall, it was a good choice and investment.
perfect
Here is my response the phone kicks arse.....good review though
Hold on, you are on t-mobile usa and you can connect to 3g? I thought this phone can not do AWS? I haven't checked this forum for a while so if it works with tmous 3g frequencies I would be damn!
Nice review btw!
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
ceroglu said:
Hold on, you are on t-mobile usa and you can connect to 3g? I thought this phone can not do AWS? I haven't checked this forum for a while so if it works with tmous 3g frequencies I would be damn!
Nice review btw!
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He said TMo phones. He may have been buying them off contract.
Awesome review. Answered a few of my questions! Didn't know about the home button answering calls and whatnot. I love that!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
I believe the browser is faster because stock android doesn't use hardware acceleration on the browser while Samsung does on its phone. I think ice cream sandwich will bring hardware acceleration to the entire os finally.
Glad you enjoy the sgs2. Nice review
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App
Good sane review. Hey but what about that crappy batter...jk.
Didn't know about receiving/ending call buttons. Thanks for the tip. I've always hated using the touchscreen buttons and it seems Samsung did me a big favor.
Have you tried purposely scratching your phone? I always baby my phone, until the inevitable first drop. Then it is meh, who cares. The phone is black/greyish so marks won't really be that noticeable.
Also good to hear a normal person who isn't whining about Touchwiz all the time, and actually finds the pre-installed apps useful. Touchwiz is a paper-thin veneer, but certain benchmark freaks would rather turn on Windows Classic and leave Aero off for whatever peanuts of savings they can muster.
How do use allshare
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA Premium App
poloboogie said:
How do use allshare
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA Premium App
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Click to collapse
I have a ton of videos and pictures on my Windows Home Server. I also transfer TV shows from TiVo to it so I catch up using the phone while hanging in the backyard, doing chores, etc. The WHS can stream remotely but I haven't tried that yet. I also use it to transfer pictures back and forth.
silverwolf0 said:
Touchwiz is a paper-thin veneer...
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I'd imagine version 1.0 was a bit rough. When you think about it, everyone used to dump TouchWiz and Sense to make the phone's run faster and smoother. With dual-core processors UI speed really isn't much of an issue anymore. And you can get things done faster with some of the app integration like contacts/Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn all combined. Now let's hope the manufacturers don't start making bloated UI's because of the increased headroom.
great review.
Damn good review, used to iphone for last 3 years. Loving android more and more. This might be my next phone
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
Regarding Polaris Office and how it stacks up against other office suites currently available on Android, have a look at this thread.
superrrrrrrrrrrrb review. thanks a lot buddy
I must say thats a nice review! I finally got mine two days ago, I was blown away! Haha
First when I took it out of the (awesome) box. So thin, so beautiful.
Then I turned it on, plastic was still on. Didn't see the boot up animation so well. During set up I already was like "wow, those are some deep blacks..". Then when I arrived in the homescreen and I saw the colours and sharp icons... Oo! (I'm coming from Desire with simple AMOLED)
Then I swiped to the right to go to the second page, again wow xD So smooth and fast.
I also didn't use swype before, I'm hooked now. I swiped all of this, in record time and with minimal effort.
Overall this is the best phone you can get right now, without doubt.
Edit: Just picked up my Desire again.. Slow and ugly haha! Everybody coming from a Desire generation phone will be amazed. Its definitely a big upgrade, worth it in many ways.
Thanks for the review. It was solid and it wasnt long at all.
Great review and I read it all, didn't fall asleep either. Agree with most of your observations.
The things I don't like about Touchwiz is mainly to do with the app drawer, I prefer the continous up/down scrolling of the stock one, apps can't be arranged in alphabetical order.
Also wished there was some kind of nightmode for the screen where it would turn down the brightness to an even lower level for those, like me, who do a lot of reading in bed in complete darkness. The lowest brightness level of the screen is still too high in those situations.
zen123 said:
Great review and I read it all, didn't fall asleep either. Agree with most of your observations.
The things I don't like about Touchwiz is mainly to do with the app drawer, I prefer the continous up/down scrolling of the stock one, apps can't be arranged in alphabetical order.
Also wished there was some kind of nightmode for the screen where it would turn down the brightness to an even lower level for those, like me, who do a lot of reading in bed in complete darkness. The lowest brightness level of the screen is still too high in those situations.
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Click to collapse
try screen filter which is free on the market, one click on the widget turns on good night mode..
Hi everybody
I know there are a few reviews of the S29 around but I didn't find them useful for my decision to purchase the S29 so I'm going to throw in my own 2 cents (I'm Australian - if you don't know what 2c means then just google it). Hopefully if you are reading this review you are considering buying an S29 and probably (like me) you are faced with an overwhelming array of different devices and options. My plan is to present information that is helpful.
I decided that I wanted to get a smartwatch about three months ago because I'm a teacher and I don't like it when I miss important texts or phone calls from my wife. When I'm in class I will not bring out my phone, and sometimes I'm so busy teaching I don't even notice the phone vibrating anyway. Sometimes, if I had known that I had gotten a text or phone call, I could have gone at the end of the lesson to the staffroom, sorted things out in a minute, and proceeded to the next lesson.
I was also in a situation where the watch I used for running was really irritating me, and it had no way of telling me how I was going, other than the time it took me to run. If I run the same route, it's fine, but if I do extra bits then I have no way of comparing.
I'm also a bit stingy and a bit wary of buying into the next big thing when the price is high. The prices of first generation smartwatches have come down a fair bit in the last 6 months but I would have to spend at least $120 if not more for something that didn't have a great review of battery life and for something that my wife was telling me was a waste of money.
So, my criteria was that it needed to be cheap, have a battery that would last easily through a full day, show me texts and emails, have some kind of pedometer. I was also looking for some sort of storage just in case (some watches have very, very small amounts of storage) but things like camera, photos, and music weren't a big part of this decision for me.
I narrowed it down to about 10 chinese smartwatches that ranged in price from $30 (U8) to $80. Bear in mind that these were AUD.
As I was wading through all the information I decided that I was really drawn to the fake G2 look. Something about the colour and the icons just seemed attractive - it was just a personal taste thing. It wasn't a game changer for me, but looks count for something.
I really wanted a Bluetooth 4.0 or 4.1 but I decided that it was really going to go above my price range (I didn't really want to spend more than $60AUD) and that pretty much knocked that out. That really meant that the No.1 range was out.
After a lot of deliberation I ended up with the S29 and I have to say that I am really glad that I chose it. I managed to get it from Aliexpress for $55AUD (around $34USD) and I got it from China to me in about 2 and half weeks which is pretty good (so kudos to Aliexpress for that).
Having used it for half a week now, I can tell you a number of things about it. It's never going to beat any kind of Android wear for functionality and the software is fidly, but for what I wanted it is perfect.
The look and feel is great - very comfortable and just like the photos.
The software that you can download by QR scanning is useless on Lollipop so don't bother. I am using the Mediatek app (make sure you get the version that was released April 2015 or later) and it makes sure I get all my texts and emails. I have turned off my accuweather notifications (it didn't show the temperature) and chromecast notifications because they were just annoying and I could probably turn off a lot more. I haven't tried Facebook because I don't allow FB notifications on my phone (too many, too annoying, too distracting).
I have been for a run with it, and I'm pretty sure the pedometer works really well. I say pretty sure because it says mileage, but reads km. I knew the distance I ran and converted it from miles to Km and it was spot on.
Battery life is great. I've had a few days worth of fiddling around and changing things and hardly used any battery to do it. I'm up to day 2 without charging and it's still more than half full (according to the icon). I changed the screen on time to 15sec because I just don't need it to be longer and 15 seconds actually feels like a very long time once I've done what I need to do - it's not like a phone where I might be reading a lot of text and not touch the screen for a while etc.
Sound through the speakers is tinny which I expected but it's clear enough for me to listen to if I want - I just can't control the volume using the phone, and I can't get it through the audio icon (it goes for the bluetooth on the phone and opens up my podcast app - who knows why?) but I can get it through the file manager. The Camera is great for low resolution grainy photos but that's about it. The remote camera for the phone works really well. I accidentally had a conversation with my wife through the bluetooth (I haven't got a sim in it even though there is a spot for it) and it was clear enough and I didn't have to hold the watch up to my mouth and ear.
I have sent texts using the tiny keyboard without too many problems, but it's probably easier to get my phone out really.
I was pleasantly surprised by the "multimedia" function which is just sound or video recording - I haven't tried video, but sound was good enough and simple enough for a quick memo.
The interface is quite good. There's no real lag and mostly it's easy to get to the feature you want.
Here are my problems with it...
There is nothing on the screen normally so to see the time I have to press the button. I can't therefore surreptitiously look at the time.
The bluetooth is quite aggressive and wont let me turn it off if it is connected to my phone. I have to go to my phone settings to swap to my car bluetooth. Thankfully I have "trigger" (an app similar to IFTTT but simpler) and it there were enough options to create a rule to hand over the connection to the car and then back again afterwards without any dramas. I think the fact that I have the 450MH Battery is certainly an important part of the battery life with BT3.0 and I think they have made a good choice with it.
There is no way of recording the pedometer readings. I've tried a few apps but they just don't play nicely with the watch. It's no biggie to me, but if you were interested in that kind of thing then you would want to spend a little bit more for a No.1 watch and use Fundo (though be careful which app you download because fundo isn't a unique app name...) You'd also get a heart rate monitor which might be useful. The S29 tells you that it records your calories burnt, but really it just calculates your steps and comes up with a number of calories that you might have burnt.
The pop up notifications are just enough information to tell you who sent you a text and the first line, likewise with email but it's the name with a subject. I'd probably like a little bit more, but lets face it - it's a watch.
These are only very minor problems and I'm really happy with my purchase. My plan is to use it for about a year and then get something with android wear (or Tizen ... maybe).
At the very least I feel like I know the one feature I will have to have on my next watch is the ability to turn on the screen just by turning my wrist.
I hope this has been useful if you are making a decision about a smartwatch.
Hi! Im planning on buying this ZGPAX S29. Have you tried the Watchmaker app with this? Does it really work?? Thanks in Advance!
I picked this device up as a impulse buy to replace my Note 8 and even though there was quite a lot of negative talk about this phone mostly for the software I have to say I don't regret my purchase in terms of why I bought it. I was considering the Z Fold 2, but couldn't justify wasting THAT much money for something I'd most likely break just using it (screen). Anyway, the Duo has been a great multitasking device so far. The only area I'm highly disappointed by is not so much the crappy potato camera, but the fact 1. it takes soooo long to deploy the camera ready to take one. 2. the gigantic f$%&ing delay when taking a picture vs when the camera shutter sound signifies it took a picture. I'm hoping that future updates resolve this phones issues although it sounds like there hasn't been much attention given other than this past January... At any rate, I've bought a few things to improve the usability of this phone. Magnetic usb-c cable for charging and data transfer (miss Qi charging...) and added screen protectors. Finally made some vinyl overlays for the outsides and used CF for grip although negated when the screens are folded open.
Looking forward to receiving mine next week to finally try dual screen. Will be interesting to see how it compares to the Note 10 I've been using for the last year or so, particularly for battery life. Also heard it doesn't support ARCore which will be disappointing as was key to one of the main uses I wanted this phone for.
Pretty cool
A lot better build than any of the Folds...
wez_p said:
Looking forward to receiving mine next week to finally try dual screen. Will be interesting to see how it compares to the Note 10 I've been using for the last year or so, particularly for battery life. Also heard it doesn't support ARCore which will be disappointing as was key to one of the main uses I wanted this phone for.
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Click to collapse
Honestly, I think you'll be disappointed straight away. You'll have to forget most of what you expect a android phone, much less a phone to be and learn how to navigate Microsoft's version of Android and a duel screen (not all Microsoft's fault and the nature of duel screens). With that said if you get comfortable enough with how they want you to do things you may start to love it more than any single screen phone and not want to go back. While I feel pretty adjusted and comfortable with using it for what it is as I was intending. With that said I've run into a few situations where the Duo will just NOT replace a phone at least a flag ship like what I was used to with my Note 8. I don't know if this good or good enough, but I can take the Duo off the charger, go to work, have the bluetooth connected to my headset, playing video, screen at around 15% brightness, be browsing the net or social media at the same time the video is playing and after my 8 hr shift be at around 10-5% battery left. Or I can do a charge for about an hr and a half? and be at around 80 - 90%? Not sure what ARCore is. Let me know if you need any info or help, although in some ways still learning myself.
blackhawk said:
Pretty cool
A lot better build than any of the Folds...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I feel like I'd have wrecked the screen if I had a Fold. I'm not hard on devices, but I still expect it to hold up since I have to use touch so much to interact.
I've changed the outer protectors since this original post. Since I have the ability to make my own vinyl stuff I've been experimenting with a logo. The CF was too big and was peeling at the edges so I needed to adjust the size of the vinyl and cut a new one out. My laptop for comparison to cover the stock logo.
vipfreak said:
Thanks, I feel like I'd have wrecked the screen if I had a Fold. I'm not hard on devices, but I still expect it to hold up since I have to use touch so much to interact.
I've changed the outer protectors since this original post. Since I have the ability to make my own vinyl stuff I've been experimenting with a logo. The CF was too big and was peeling at the edges so I needed to adjust the size of the vinyl and cut a new one out. My laptop for comparison to cover the stock logo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol, the Folds are designed to self destruct like a Mission Impossible tape... brute force not needed
This isn't intended as a phone per se but I really like the way it's hinged and its conservative but innovative solid design.
A sharp micro laptop... Gene Roddenberry would have loved it.
I'm very interested to hear what your experiences are like with it. It a cool hybrid
blackhawk said:
This isn't intended as a phone per se but I really like the way it's hinged and its conservative but innovative solid design.
A sharp micro laptop... Gene Roddenberry would have loved it.
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Definitely agree. It's really nice hardware. Speaking of which I will watch re-runs of Star Trek TNG if it's on some times.
blackhawk said:
I'm very interested to hear what your experiences are like with it. It a cool hybrid
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My primary use case is in "Nintendo DS" view where I have a screen for video playback on top and then I'm browsing the net, social media, or games on the bottom screen. This is where I think it shines the most. My second use case is like regular phone with one screen mostly for ease of typing like replying to a text message. A cool use case that I haven't done all that much is book view where I have youtube open playing a video and doing whatever on the other screen. This view is primarily nice if I have music playing off of youtube because usually if you try to multi task and youtube will stop the music and close the app entirely. With the Duo I don't have to worry about youtube taking up the screen since I have a secondary one. Something a single screen can't do. Why don't I pay youtube? I'm cheap and part Chinese. lol...
Hi,
Well, given the massive price drop from Microsoft, I decided to go for one that I bought from the MS Store directly.
Openend the package and powered up the device. Well, first thing is you will probably have to wait for 30 minutes for the successive updates to apply... Not really nice on a device that still is 800€ after 50% rebate, but OK.
Once powered up and ready to go, the first impression is amazing. The build quality is about the best you can get. The displays despite what reviewers write, are splendid. And the "Duo" panels are just amazing. App are installed super fast (not sure what memory they used, but here is it indeed pretty fast) ; GPS is super accurate ; communnication areoud and clear and so that is all good
But unfortunately, that only last for some time... And then the problems arise :
- no Led or outter display : you don't have a watch. You'll have to grab the device and open it just to know what time it is. You got a notification ? Same thing just to see what arrived. Even worse : you get a phone call ? You have to grab your phone, open it, see who's calling... and half the times, you'll miss the call because you weren't fast enough !
- the hinges ? Superb piece of craftmanship. Honestly. They feel super solid. They have the exact balance between being stiff enough to allow the displays not to move by themselves but still not to be too difficult to operate and unfold. But once your device is open and if you display, say a webpage, in "full screen" (so on both displays) then you'll just have a gap and so some parts of the page won't be legible... I thought MS would have worked on a seamless displaying of the pages when in "full screen", but no. They went the easy route ;
- the way the dual display are working is totally confusing. When I launch an app, it sometimes will display on the left panel, sometimes the right one. Why ? No idea. But that is OKAY. A little more problematic : let's say that I am using my web browser in full screen (on both displays). I get a notification that I got an e-mail. I go to recents and check the mail, then go to recents again to go back to browser... it works, but will go back to single display, not "full screen", so I have to drag the slider again to have full screen. Maybe I would be able to live with that. But on my device, one of the displays randomly decides to power off. I have to close the Surface Duo and reopen it to get the second display back. That really doesn't fill me with confidence in durability :-(
- and then there is the battery. It's melting like snow in hot summer day. I am used to 5kAh batteries that last almost a week-end given my usage. I know MS wants to mimick some of Apple's features, but why taking the worst and choose the same battery power ? Here, playing a simple game like "Cody Cross" and I will be out of juice within 2h30...
I will not talk about other small glitches, like the MS launcher, which in the Surface Edition is simply a joke ; the fact that some apps will not work in the Surface ; the incredibly poor camera (I don't care, I don't use it but did they even gave a look at the smartphone reviews where the stupid reviewers can take away 1 full star out of 5 for a smartphone just because it's camera is not stellar ?) ; the lack of accessories (proof that it simply hasn't sold)... and some other details.
But the ones I described earlier will probably get me to send the Surface Duo back to MS.
Will wait until September 22 to do that.
Let's see what they'll release on Surface Duo 2...
Because I really would like to love it and justify spending 800€ on a smartphone !
Regards
I bought mine Amazon $419 just to play and get to know - it is a fun device - I couldn't justify the Fold 3 which I had been using contemplating. If I trade this in for a Duo 2 and get US $250+ it's all good.
It fast charges really quickly. It can get to 40C and yes it drains battery terribly.
Even SwiftKey seems buggy - whole thing is more prototype than a finished product - they should be paying us!
But I think I'll wait for Android 12 at this point. 11 is a great already a year old. Also the I like to wait 4-6 months anyway for the any issues.
Hi,
If the Surface Duo was sold in France for 400€, I'd keep it too
But best brand new price I've found here is 800€ (for 256GB model) unfortunately.
This is why keeping it is a question for me :-(