Coming from an LG G Flex 2 (hailed a failure amongst devs for the device, but mine ran stable and smoothly all the time just by following the stickies here; IMO original G Flex showed so much potential ). Running global 6.12.8, with some xposed tweaks. I haven't touched a thing since I got that setup. I run the device continuously, with no reboots, and its respectably stable at any given moment. Let me know I'm missing out on anything huge by letting the weeklies go by.
The screen size upgrade was much appreciated - I have big hands, I can Swype reasonably fast using the thumb of the hand I'm holding the phone with. Heft and size plus added reach make two hand usage more comfortable, nonetheless.
Screen itself is absolutely stunning (and tbh, I've never really qualitatively observed any quality problems with 1080p on mobile devices); colors are brilliant.
TLDR: The display is enjoyable to look at
No need for a stylus here. I once rocked an iPad mini as a full fledged phone using GV voice (when it was so simple), and had a stylus for that. Carried that for a while during undergrad. Never cared for styluses since.
Phone camera does what phone cameras do. I'm no expert in cameras (well kinda - Optics PhD student), so I choose not to count too much on the numbers/specs provided. I get good shots that contain all of the information necessary in a phone camera image.
I cheated a bit. I use Nova Launcher. Have settings locked down to a science since LG launcher fail in the original Flex.
No complaints. Everything is quick and fluid. I also have a neat trick that enables knock ON/OFF, so the phone behaves itself and gets locked (one way or another).
The softkeys and accessibility button provide more than enough shortcuts to do whatever you need to do is. Fingerprint sensor is right where it should be, and recognizes my fingers at any given time.
I have a Google voice number, so I switched my default dialer and incoming call receiver to Hangouts dialer. NO COMPLAINTS. I used the regular phone app to make calls plenty before I realized I wasn't actually dialing out through GV (MIUI issue, afaik). VOIP sounds better through the phone's screenspeaker than does a traditional voice call. My carrier tallies my data usage to a ridiculously low number every month, so I don't think VOIP phone causes trouble.
Battery life is a must for me. I'm OCD perfect with battery management of my devices, but I need to know I can take my phone to work every day a and use it for lots of real stuff and/or leisure. 8-9 hours of work a day sets me back to the realm of ~65% battery life. I could come home and play nintendo DS on 400% speed for hours on that kind of juice. 4400 mAh was a major selling point for me, and that's paid off.
Speaker quality is surprisingly good for what the speakers look like sitting there at the bottom.
Once you've rooted and used Lucky Patcher to block ads, you've got one smooth, slick, stone to carry around that will not fail you; cavemen would be very jealous.
Concerns:
Dropping. The case provided makes for a really nice grip. I have never once almost dropped the phone. It's slid out of my pocket once, but short fall = no damage.
Features I miss:
IR blaster. I love them. They make owning entertainment centers even lazier.
Not much else.
Thanks for your impressions. I ordered mine from Light in the Box two weeks ago, and am (im)patiently awaiting.
Quick question on MIUI; I started with Samsung phones, then had a Nexus 6, so full Android all the way. Do you feel like there's a learning curve, getting around MIUI? I love tech, but don't like change too much; I'd love to get this phone working as close to AOSP as possible.
jeromekobriger said:
Thanks for your impressions. I ordered mine from Light in the Box two weeks ago, and am (im)patiently awaiting.
Quick question on MIUI; I started with Samsung phones, then had a Nexus 6, so full Android all the way. Do you feel like there's a learning curve, getting around MIUI? I love tech, but don't like change too much; I'd love to get this phone working as close to AOSP as possible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kinda why I opted for a Launcher I was familiar with (it's MIUI themed though, so I get points for trying). I've never found there to be more of a different learning curve from one Android device to another. You figure out what your device can and can't do, you set up your shortcuts, gestures, other personal accessibility options, and then you use it. When you find something about it you don't like, you fix it.
I could give you an enormous list of XPosed tweaks and small things here and there that I've changed, but that might not do you any good because it's personalized to me.
Good to know, thanks. I haven't played around with MIUI yet, so wasn't sure just how different it might be. Xposed on the other hand; that was my bread and butter on my Note 3 and Nexus. That'll go a long ways.
Thanks!
No calls on Verizon.
I have date and text working, no voice calls going thru. Have updated the apn as per the site here. What am I missing. Would appreciate any help.
Thank you.
bigcc32 said:
Coming from an LG G Flex 2 (hailed a failure amongst devs for the device, but mine ran stable and smoothly all the time just by following the stickies here; IMO original G Flex showed so much potential ). Running global 6.12.8, with some xposed tweaks. I haven't touched a thing since I got that setup. I run the device continuously, with no reboots, and its respectably stable at any given moment. Let me know I'm missing out on anything huge by letting the weeklies go by.
The screen size upgrade was much appreciated - I have big hands, I can Swype reasonably fast using the thumb of the hand I'm holding the phone with. Heft and size plus added reach make two hand usage more comfortable, nonetheless.
Screen itself is absolutely stunning (and tbh, I've never really qualitatively observed any quality problems with 1080p on mobile devices); colors are brilliant.
TLDR: The display is enjoyable to look at
No need for a stylus here. I once rocked an iPad mini as a full fledged phone using GV voice (when it was so simple), and had a stylus for that. Carried that for a while during undergrad. Never cared for styluses since.
Phone camera does what phone cameras do. I'm no expert in cameras (well kinda - Optics PhD student), so I choose not to count too much on the numbers/specs provided. I get good shots that contain all of the information necessary in a phone camera image.
I cheated a bit. I use Nova Launcher. Have settings locked down to a science since LG launcher fail in the original Flex.
No complaints. Everything is quick and fluid. I also have a neat trick that enables knock ON/OFF, so the phone behaves itself and gets locked (one way or another).
The softkeys and accessibility button provide more than enough shortcuts to do whatever you need to do is. Fingerprint sensor is right where it should be, and recognizes my fingers at any given time.
I have a Google voice number, so I switched my default dialer and incoming call receiver to Hangouts dialer. NO COMPLAINTS. I used the regular phone app to make calls plenty before I realized I wasn't actually dialing out through GV (MIUI issue, afaik). VOIP sounds better through the phone's screenspeaker than does a traditional voice call. My carrier tallies my data usage to a ridiculously low number every month, so I don't think VOIP phone causes trouble.
Battery life is a must for me. I'm OCD perfect with battery management of my devices, but I need to know I can take my phone to work every day a and use it for lots of real stuff and/or leisure. 8-9 hours of work a day sets me back to the realm of ~65% battery life. I could come home and play nintendo DS on 400% speed for hours on that kind of juice. 4400 mAh was a major selling point for me, and that's paid off.
Speaker quality is surprisingly good for what the speakers look like sitting there at the bottom.
Once you've rooted and used Lucky Patcher to block ads, you've got one smooth, slick, stone to carry around that will not fail you; cavemen would be very jealous.
Concerns:
Dropping. The case provided makes for a really nice grip. I have never once almost dropped the phone. It's slid out of my pocket once, but short fall = no damage.
Features I miss:
IR blaster. I love them. They make owning entertainment centers even lazier.
Not much else.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pointmanipo said:
I have date and text working, no voice calls going thru. Have updated the apn as per the site here. What am I missing. Would appreciate any help.
Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately I've never messed with CDMA networks (Verizon is still considered CDMA, right?); my cell service has always been GSM based.
I use Hangouts to handle all of my phone calls now, mainly because I did have a few issues getting Google Voice to play nice with MIUI, so I'm probably not the right person to ask. I'd suggest making a new thread - increasing your chances of getting the answer you're looking for (it is a legitimate issue, so it's worthy of a new thread).
bigcc32 said:
Unfortunately I've never messed with CDMA networks (Verizon is still considered CDMA, right?); my cell service has always been GSM based.
I use Hangouts to handle all of my phone calls now, mainly because I did have a few issues getting Google Voice to play nice with MIUI, so I'm probably not the right person to ask. I'd suggest making a new thread - increasing your chances of getting the answer you're looking for (it is a legitimate issue, so it's worthy of a new thread).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes thank you for your reply.
Love mine as a daily driver too, have had it since January or so. Got a transparent tpu case for grip and off i went. I have everything working data wise and software wise, even got my Samsung gear s2 to sync up and run well.
Nicolfa said:
Love mine as a daily driver too, have had it since January or so. Got a transparent tpu case for grip and off i went. I have everything working data wise and software wise, even got my Samsung gear s2 to sync up and run well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Many have reported that due to the case, the piezoelectric speaker doesnt work as intended giving a very low volume during calls, could you comment on your experience while making or receiving calls with ur tpu case on? is it that low? or perhaps you dont notice cos use earphones or bluetooth earphones??
Please if you could be detailed it would be much appreciated.
Calls and volume have been fine as long as your holding the headset like a phone and not at odd angles or other methods I've seen people do when talking on the a cell phone.
mp3elv said:
Many have reported that due to the case, the piezoelectric speaker doesnt work as intended giving a very low volume during calls, could you comment on your experience while making or receiving calls with ur tpu case on? is it that low? or perhaps you dont notice cos use earphones or bluetooth earphones??
Please if you could be detailed it would be much appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again, I use hangouts for all my voice calls, and it seems as though Hangouts has a significant volume boost over the standard phone app.
bigcc32 said:
Again, I use hangouts for all my voice calls, and it seems as though Hangouts has a significant volume boost over the standard phone app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
do u use a case on your phone? a tempered glass? or just naked, it seems these addons affect the sound from the piezoelectric device
mp3elv said:
Many have reported that due to the case, the piezoelectric speaker doesnt work as intended giving a very low volume during calls, could you comment on your experience while making or receiving calls with ur tpu case on? is it that low? or perhaps you dont notice cos use earphones or bluetooth earphones??
Please if you could be detailed it would be much appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mp3elv said:
do u use a case on your phone? a tempered glass? or just naked, it seems these addons affect the sound from the piezoelectric device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got a tempered glass screen protector on right now. I haven't noticed any degradation of call quality.
Had mine since november and absolutely LOVE it. I have treated it so carefully, and yet I managed to bring it out with me while partying saturday. Got drunk which I rarely do these days and smashed it in the pavement. I immediately ordered another one. It simply cannot get here soon enough.
I have been using my Mix as a daily driver for a month now running Epic ROM. Glass screen protector and case and no problem with quality of sound. Probably the best phone I have ever used(been using Nexus 6, OPO and OP2 before). When I will miss stock Android I will flash RR or Lineage OS. But for the time I like something different and EPIC Rom (MIUI ) is good for a change.
benziii said:
Had mine since november and absolutely LOVE it. I have treated it so carefully, and yet I managed to bring it out with me while partying saturday. Got drunk which I rarely do these days and smashed it in the pavement. I immediately ordered another one. It simply cannot get here soon enough.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry to hear about that.
Are you getting a better price this time?
IDK what you paid previously,but, I'd imagine pricing is a little bit better than when it first became available.....
Sent from my Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 using XDA Labs
KOLIOSIS said:
Sorry to hear about that.
Are you getting a better price this time?
IDK what you paid previously,but, I'd imagine pricing is a little bit better than when it first became available.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Paid 780$ last time (4/128). This time around 620$ (6/256). Could probably look around for an even better offer, but I was still buzzed and freakin out hehe.
Got mine today (6/256);
I need to agree with 1 simple fact; pictures & videos are not able to do this device justice. I can safely say that this is THE most premium (excluding the likes of Vertu) device I held.
Amazing. (but slippery AF).
I just finished setting it up with my apps & will report usage after a while.
All in all, apps run super smooth.
The only issue I encountered till now, is the slow transfer speed via USB. I get 2x-3x higher speeds on the same PC with my other devices.
I need to isolate the issue - whether it's the cable, or the handset itself.
#EDIT 2017-05-05
- Still need to underline how slippery it is ;]
- call volume is quite low, even on the highest settings
- the USB cable is thin, so I am expecting needing to buy a replacement after a short time
It has rendered my laptop as useless, haven't turned it on since owning the mix just don't need it with this screen size.
Related
how do you like your EVO?
what are the quirks that are bugging you?
what phone did you come from?
and
how does it compare to that previous phone?
i have my phone pre-order sitting at best buy still.
i have my money, i have my little gift card....only thing is i've really enjoyed the past few roms on my HTC HERO and I don't feel the need for this phone because the Hero has fit me very well. that and there is no 4g here in so cali yet so what's the point?
thanks to everyone who replies
I left WiMo on a VZW xv6800
Quirks........
no signature in SMS and the native email client sucks. I can only get my main folder in Hotmail and not all my other folders were my mail is separated to.
Anyone know a better email client that will resolve that?
I thought Seven would do it but i see they dont have a client for Android as of yet.
weedahoe said:
I left WiMo on a VZW xv6800
Quirks........
no signature in SMS and the native email client sucks. I can only get my main folder in Hotmail and not all my other folders were my mail is separated to.
Anyone know a better email client that will resolve that?
I thought Seven would do it but i see they dont have a client for Android as of yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
after 1 week with the stock text client i switched to handcent. it is SO SO SO SO SO much better in my opinion
i hate the mail client for hotmail/yahoo as well BUT i only really use gmail and that one is perfect for me so...maybe think about switching to gmail?
oh jeeze....thats what she said.
my evo is treating me great! my first complain was with the battery, but with a few discharge/recharge cycles, it seems to be doing well.
everything else is pretty much gravy. i love the screen, the real estate is just MASSIVE.
bottom line, you're going to love this thing
Phenomenal piece of hardware.
I love my Evo. I am still setting it up and haven't decided if I want to root or not but its awesome.
Haven't had many quirks, the soft keys are a little sensitive and I end up fatfingering them when playing some games, no biggie. Battery isn't a huge issue if you're a resourceful person. I used my phone for 6 hours before it died doing HEAVY usage. (Navigation, Trapster, YouTube streaming, Super KO Boxing 2, Pictures, recorded a 2 min video, etc)
I came from the G1, what an upgrade.
I freaking love it!!!!
engagedtosmile said:
I love my Evo. I am still setting it up and haven't decided if I want to root or not but its awesome.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do the unrevoked root. Getting rid of it is as simple as uninstalling the app. All Root does is give you superuser/admin rights to the phone.
I love this phone. I play iMobsters on it so addicting so I haven't had too much time to play with the phone. I've taken so many pictures.
Gripes:
Is there a way to turn flash on at night so I can record video? Videos come out dark so I haven't recorded much at night.
I disabled SenseUI but I wanted to know how I can get more widgets to fill up at least 1 or 2 more pages. Any recommendations? I noticed that when I disabled SenseUI a lot of widgets don't come up in the options.
I am coming from a Palm Pre, and this phone is so amazing. I have been using the speech-to-text on text messages and it hasn't missed a word yet. I dislike the email client, but it isn't enough to make me verbally complain. I have downloaded a few apps here and there, and so far everything is working better than expected.
I do miss the track pad or ball a little. Nothing earth shattering.
I LOVE THE SCREEN BUT they should have raised the resolution.
I wish the system didn't auto start a bunch of crap. That's an android issue and people shouldn't be forced to root to get rid of it. I'm rooted so this doesn't matter anymore but battery performance and even actual device performance improves after removing all the bull ****.
I wish they was another way to turn on the device. I miss menu menu. Should be an option.
I wish launcher pro worked over sense. I like the widgets.
Otherwise I love android and the evo. I will have a hard time going back to any screen less than 4 inches. I don't miss having s physical keyboard anymore with swype and especially swype on this awesome screen.
The speed is mostly good, it will improve as things get optimized.
how about things like, how does it fit in your pocket.
does it fit in the same spot where you stored your old phone in your car
*i have a perfect slot above my radio and i think the evo may be too thin and it will fall out while driving*
i've had an htc phone since the 6700 a few years back and everything has been mini-usb now i gotta use my blu-tooth microsb cables/chargers.
ummmmmmmmmmmmm
anyone crack their screen yet?
Absolutely love the phone much better than my HD2. Only 2 quirks for me is that I cant control all volumes (media, notifications, phone calls, etc.) with one setting and that I can never tell where my battery percent is. I always have to guess if im on 85% etc. OTT it has exceeded all expectations.
dukins said:
Absolutely love the phone much better than my HD2. Only 2 quirks for me is that I cant control all volumes (media, notifications, phone calls, etc.) with one setting and that I can never tell where my battery percent is. I always have to guess if im on 85% etc. OTT it has exceeded all expectations.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
uhh, there's an app for that (more like 100 apps for that). Most are free too.
gonzoangel said:
how about things like, how does it fit in your pocket.
does it fit in the same spot where you stored your old phone in your car
*i have a perfect slot above my radio and i think the evo may be too thin and it will fall out while driving*
i've had an htc phone since the 6700 a few years back and everything has been mini-usb now i gotta use my blu-tooth microsb cables/chargers.
ummmmmmmmmmmmm
anyone crack their screen yet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It fits in my pocket quite well. (Is it just me or are there a lot of jokes that would go there?) I think that it being as thin as it is actually makes it better than my Hero. Just my opinion.
I got the silicone case from Sprint and it doesnt slide around in the cubby in my car at all. Next is the car mount
Led desire light. App to turn led into flashlight. Turn that on then open camera app
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
dukins said:
Absolutely love the phone much better than my HD2. Only 2 quirks for me is that I cant control all volumes (media, notifications, phone calls, etc.) with one setting and that I can never tell where my battery percent is. I always have to guess if im on 85% etc. OTT it has exceeded all expectations.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use an app called battery left. It is free and really nice.
Aridon said:
I wish launcher pro worked over sense. I like the widgets.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
-That is exactly what I was thinking when I installed launcher pro but removed it due to that reason
Aridon said:
Otherwise I love android and the evo. I will have a hard time going back to any screen less than 4 inches. I don't miss having s physical keyboard anymore with swype and especially swype on this awesome screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't even know what swype was 20 min ago. I installed it and did the tutorial, sent out a few texts. Will take some time to get used to, but so far it seems promising. Thanks.
Pros:
I absolutely love the size. Not too big, not too small.
Kickstand, HDMI out, dual LED flash, 720P recording.
Haptic feedback is great.
Cons:
For some reason, most of my incoming text messages are time stamped incorrectly. I have googled the living hell out of this problem, but can't find a legit fix anywhere.
The camera is so grainy that it feels like I'm using a camera phone from the 90's. Flash clears this up in dark lighting, but indoor photos are terrible.
Stock keyboard is a nightmare. Thank god for Swype.
Lock/Power button is hard to locate without looking at times.
Overall, I couldn't be any more disappointed in the camera. With all the time they spend on kickstands, flash, and such a massive screen I would have thought they'd spend more time on something as standard as a camera. I've read that not many people have this problem- so I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that this is a faulty camera in my phone.
All my friends have been amazed how much I've been tinkering with my phone all weekend. I laid in bed Saturday night for 3 hours (until about 2am) playing with all the cool apps and features of the EVO. They all laughed when I told them I was in bed until 2am (laying next to my wife) while playing with the phone. Yes, "playing" because it's been so much fun. I already had the original G1 when it was first launched 2 years ago, so all this wasn't new to me. I can't imagine how a NEW user to Android would be just blown away at first glance of the EVO.
I was first blown away of the size of the screen. It is sooo much better to view text. I was equally blown away at the speed of the phone and apps (and it's supposed to be faster with 2.2 JIT ??? wow!!). Battery was great for me. I was using everything, including 4G. I was getting tired of waiting for the juice to run out. I was blown away at the Sega Genesis emulator and speed of the games.
I don't have any complaints, but if you twisted my arm and forced me to find something to improve on I would list:
1) Action buttons on the bottom (home, menu, back, and search). They are very sensitive and I keep hitting them accidentally. Not a major problem, but still, I think they should have been physical buttons.
2) Trackball, nice to use instead of keyboard arrow buttons, but as someone else said: This is not a deal breaker.
3) 4G: I live in Houston so we have 4G coverage, but it's spotty. I was in Best Buy over the weekend talking to the ClearWire rep and we were on the edge of the city (in Katy) and he had his usb Dongle to get 4G reception. I still right up next to the antenna and we both ran speed test from SpeedTest.net. The Rep kept getting MINIMUM of 6 Mbit down and 2 Mbit up, while I was getting max 2.25 MBit down (I've since gotten 3.35 MBit down while at home over 4g). With our limited testing I would have to conclude that 4G is NOT ClearWire or Sprints problem, but more of a HARDWARE issue. The USB dongle probably had a better antenna whereas the EVO antenna didn't pick up the signal as much. We were deep inside the Best Buy store and the ClearWire 4G reception was at least 75%, while I barely got 1 bar on my EVO. I changed positions, and we made sure we were both on the same servers running our speed tests. But, 4G is still much faster than 3G, but not what I was expecting.
Don't get me wrong, I love this phone and think it'd be PERFECT, but nothing ever really does come perfect and for those who are really keen on buying this, I think you should take a look at some of the things I certainly wish they'd done better.
1) No notification LED - Maybe this is a Samsung thing but for a device catered for business, I really wish they've added this small detail that can do so much good! And don't tell me to get NoLED from market either, the point of the LED is that I can see notifications without having to press any buttons.
2) Poor sound and call quality - It might have to do with the Yamaha codec that others on the forum have been complaining about. My phone before the Note was a Motorola Milestone 2/Droid 2, and Motorola beats Samsung's call quality big time. Motorola has CrystalTalk which would spoil anyone who needs to make calls all the time, whether I'm in HK's busy subway or its most crowded districts, I'm able to hear and the other party can hear me just fine. With Samsung Galaxy Note, I push my incoming call volume to the highest and can hardly make out what the other party is saying unless they voice up. The other party can hardly hear me as well. There's no noise-cancellation whatsoever. It's a tad better if you make calls without a headset, but as a girl, it looks super silly holding up the Note to my face. I use Marshall Minor earphones for conversations and they worked wonderfully well with Motorola, not that great with Samsung. I am not sure if high-end noise-cancellation earphones the likes of Sennheiser or Shure would work better but I'm no audiophile and I really don't want to have to pay half the price of the phone for some quality conversations. Music is passable, both on the speaker and on the earphones, but don't expect it to do a good job with low-bass. If you're an audiophile, you'd need a dedicated MP3 player or HTC's Sensation XE might be a better phone for you.
3) Not-so-great power button placement - The Power/Screen Off button is right where the volume rocker buttons are placed on the other side of the phone. I find myself accidentally pushing the screen off button when I really just want to adjust the volume. There's so much space on the top of the phone for this button.
4) No dedicated camera shutter button - Not really a HUGE deal here but a device this big can come with one. I recently notice that the new phones coming out are dropping this
5) Pre-installed keyboard not good enough - Coming from a Milestone which has a dedicated QWERTY slider keyboard, some might think I'm biased about this, but no, I've played with HTC's Sensation keyboards and hardly make a typing error, and it definitely made me switch to an all touch-screen device. For this one, if you don't get the Thumb Keyboard or some other keyboard you're used to, then you might find it quite frustrating to message or type up e-mails. Of course, you can use the S-pen and handwriting recognition, which I find quite pleasantly smart.
6) Poor customizability - Please note that this is not a Note-exclusive problem but with Touch-Wiz. I am not keen of the Touch-Wiz interface and immediately changed the interface to Launcher Pro, unfortunately, many of the widgets that are part of the Touch-Wiz UI can no longer be added. I wish Samsung would change that.
7) Phone does not include S-Pen tutorials as well as other Note-exclusive features - Unless you download the full 190-page manual (English version), there's not much help in getting to know the features of the phone. There are pop-ups now and then telling you certain features, but if I didn't watch a ton of Youtube 'first impression' videos, I wouldn't know of the gestures functionality and other cool features I can do with the S-Pen. However, this is not a reason for NOT buying the phone.
8) Poor Touch-Wiz Low Customizability- If you don't love Touch-Wiz, you won't like the pre-installed interface. You can always change it to Launcher Pro but that means there'd be widgets you cannot use if you don't use Touch-Wiz. I like the Calendar widget but have to make do with Pure Grid Calendar Widget if I use Launcher Pro. And for some reason, if you're a root user, you still cannot change the battery icons (I've created another thread about this), but I probably should not blame this on Touch-Wiz or the ROM Samsung uses, as rooting is fully a personal choice. I just wish we have themes to turn off the ugly green Android is so fond of using (can't wait till ICS comes out because I see blue finally!)
9) S-Pen is hard to draw with off-table - Unless you have a super steady hand, I find writing (not to mention drawing) on the Note a challenge. There's several promotional videos from Samsung showing off the artwork that can be done with the S-Pen just by holding the Note in your hand as you would a PDA but I personally doubt it'd be easy unless you're a seasoned artist with a very steady hand. However, the S-Pen is FUN to use and amazing for jotting notes, so again, it should not be something to deter you from getting this phone if you don't plan on replacing your WACOM pen tablets with this.
10) Battery Removal required for SIM or MicroSD cards access- You'd think a phone of this size will allow you to swap out at least the MicroSD without having to power off, but unfortunately, this is not feasible with the Note.
So far, these are the few "quirks" I don't like about the Galaxy Note, but otherwise, the phone never ceases to amaze others not only because of its size but it's functionality and brilliant screen.
P.S. Forgot to add one more point, there are no A/V or media ports other than MicroUSB and 3.5mm audio jack (no HDMI or other ports) which doesn't bother me but might others.
If those are your gripes, this phone must be amazing.
Thanks for your POV!
With regards to 1,6 and 8, I agree that these are Samsung wide problems at the moment. But obviously its all down to personal preference. I use ADW Ex on my SGS2 but the fact that you can't use the Samsung S widgets on it means I might actually try TW for a while first!
Just out of interest, where did you get your Not from and how much did you pay in total for it?
JoyR2 said:
If those are your gripes, this phone must be amazing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha...yes, other than the poor voice quality, I do think it's an amazing device.
vinokirk said:
Thanks for your POV!
With regards to 1,6 and 8, I agree that these are Samsung wide problems at the moment. But obviously its all down to personal preference. I use ADW Ex on my SGS2 but the fact that you can't use the Samsung S widgets on it means I might actually try TW for a while first!
Just out of interest, where did you get your Not from and how much did you pay in total for it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got it from a shopping plaza in Mong Kok District of Hong Kong. That plaza sells many 2nd hand as well as new imported phones. I got mine for HK$5760 (~USD 742), they also allowed me to trade-in my good ol' Milestone 2 so I only paid a total of HK$4160 (~USD 536).
1) Notification LED - hopefully we will get a custom kernel with BLN support soon You have rooted it, right??
8) So TouchWiz sux - but there are lots of other Launchers to choose from.
10) Actually you CAN remove the SIM and sdcard without removing the battery - you just need to pry up the edge with a small tool - they are pretty flexible.
I'll add two gripes to your list:
- The protective camera glass on the back is slightly RAISED, so it is gonna get scratched up FAST if you ever put your Note down on any dirty/uneven surface. And because the glass is actually part of the CAMERA (not the case), it's probably not replaceable.
- The S-pen is too small, and pretty laggy in some apps, making it not even worth using (like drawing). And its touch-sensitivity is pretty worthless. And you can't tap the menu/back buttons with it.
But I still love my Note And it's only gonna get better as the custom ROMs start showing up.
RashaMatt said:
8) So TouchWiz sux - but there are lots of other Launchers to choose from.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
...which would make some of the widgets obsolete.
RashaMatt said:
10) Actually you CAN remove the SIM and sdcard without removing the battery - you just need to pry up the edge with a small tool - they are pretty flexible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
...true, but why need a tool in the first place, why can't Samsung just design it so you can remove them easily?
RashaMatt said:
- The protective camera glass on the back is slightly RAISED, so it is gonna get scratched up FAST if you ever put your Note down on any dirty/uneven surface. And because the glass is actually part of the CAMERA (not the case), it's probably not replaceable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Strange, but my camera glass is actually indented into the area surrounded by the metal square. My Note is imported from Poland, I wonder if they have different builds?
RashaMatt said:
- The S-pen is too small, and pretty laggy in some apps, making it not even worth using (like drawing). And its touch-sensitivity is pretty worthless. And you can't tap the menu/back buttons with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you're right about the small part, I'm Asian and a girl, so my hands are pretty small which makes the pen just right, but I can understand some people with bigger hands will find using it a real pain. I do agree with you on the other points!
wendyalison said:
Strange, but my camera glass is actually indented into the area surrounded by the metal square. My Note is imported from Poland, I wonder if they have different builds?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got a Polish "plus" Network model too (from handtec.co.uk) - how weird. Poor quality control...
First some comments on the above gripes :
noled shows you led notifications without you needing to touch the screen. It's pretty decent. I'd rather have a real led but it's not bad at all. Try it.
If you are using the stylus you hit the button and swipe up for the menu, and or swipe left to go back. That's how you get around the button issue.
Now my gripes:
The capacitive buttons (menu, back) are WAY too sensitive and I find myself accidentally hitting them constantly. One handed use is almost possible too, but I keep rubbing those buttons and it wrecks everything.
I think I need more friction to write with the stylus - I don't use it much at the moment.
- Frank
Performance
what about the performance is there an issue or lag
as i couldn't get a conclusion of this point
ChodTheWacko said:
First some comments on the above gripes :
noled shows you led notifications without you needing to touch the screen. It's pretty decent. I'd rather have a real led but it's not bad at all. Try it.
- Frank
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you find that NoLed impares the battery function of your phone? I have heard reviews on the SGS2 that it kills the battery while others say it is OK. As far as I am aware, NoLed turns the entire screen on while displaying its mini icons, would be nice if it could just activate a few icons on the top left or right of the screen.
I guess they put the notification LED in the Nexus, keeping it excluisive to that.
I am willing to buy the Note sight unseen because I love my friends S2's and I drooled over the LTE HD edition coming out. The Note is like 50 times better. I can't wait for my shipment on Monday!
tito17182 said:
what about the performance is there an issue or lag
as i couldn't get a conclusion of this point
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depends what you're running. With Launcher Pro, I do feel a wee bit of lag when I use the Pulse widgets on one of the homescreens, I have 3 of those dragged out though and they all need to gather data, so I wouldn't expect it to go smoothly.
Otherwise, i'm playing Asphalt 6 while playing music with PowerAmp and I don't feel lag.
wendyalison said:
I got it from a shopping plaza in Mong Kok District of Hong Kong. That plaza sells many 2nd hand as well as new imported phones. I got mine for HK$5760 (~USD 742), they also allowed me to trade-in my good ol' Milestone 2 so I only paid a total of HK$4160 (~USD 536).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AWESOME!!!
I will go there first chance I get!
bbdj69 said:
Do you find that NoLed impares the battery function of your phone? have heard reviews on the SGS2 that it kills the battery while others say it is OK. As far as I am aware, NoLed turns the entire screen on while displaying its mini icons, would be nice if it could just activate a few icons on the top left or right of the screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all, remember that this is amoled and each pixel is lit up individually. So it doesn't 'turn the entire screen' on unless you turn the entire screen white. Or you run on an lcd phone with a backlight.
It runs fine for me at the moment Although i want to do more battery tests to see what uses how much power. It could still be the case that noled drains battery via cpu usage or wakeups.
Frank
ChodTheWacko said:
First of all, remember that this is amoled and each pixel is lit up individually. So it doesn't 'turn the entire screen' on unless you turn the entire screen white. Or you run on an lcd phone with a backlight.
It runs fine for me at the moment Although i want to do more battery tests to see what uses how much power. It could still be the case that noled drains battery via cpu usage or wakeups.
Frank
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is from the NoLed FAQ, similarly to what I have read online, opinion varies:
Q: What about battery drainage ? How much battery percentage does this app consume per hour ?
A: To answer this question, I quote our friend evilhunter101 from xda-forums.com
"That's a question that simply can't be answered for you and everyone else who wonders. Why? Because all the available settings change the battery consumption, as well as what other apps you have installed and what kernel or OS you are using. Simply put, try the app. If you like it, keep it. If not, uninstall it. You have literally got nothing to lose.
P.s. I see no difference with or without NoLED, while others swear its a battery hog. I imagine we have it set up very differently."
wendyalison said:
P.S. Forgot to add one more point, there are no A/V or media ports other than MicroUSB and 3.5mm audio jack (no HDMI or other ports) which doesn't bother me but might others.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the MHL adaptor for GS2 working well~~
wendyalison said:
Yes, you're right about the small part, I'm Asian and a girl, so my hands are pretty small which makes the pen just right, but I can understand some people with bigger hands will find using it a real pain. I do agree with you on the other points!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am a short guy with pretty small hands, so I'm curious about how you feel using it. Is it even possible to do anything one-handed for you? Do you feel it's comfortable holding in one hand and using the other other for navigating? And finally, is it comfortable using the on-screen keyboard, might it be too big?
Thanks for your input so far. Good having people saying what's not so good as well.
wendyalison said:
I got it from a shopping plaza in Mong Kok District of Hong Kong. That plaza sells many 2nd hand as well as new imported phones. I got mine for HK$5760 (~USD 742), they also allowed me to trade-in my good ol' Milestone 2 so I only paid a total of HK$4160 (~USD 536).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where did you get the Galaxy Note? at the plaza in argyle street at the end of ladies market? If so I couldn't find one...
Fair comments,
Actually make me feel a lot more confident in buying the Note - just need to convince the wife now!
wendyalison said:
And don't tell me to get NoLED from market either, the point of the LED is that I can see notifications without having to press any buttons.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not following this comment. NoLED doesn't require you to press any buttons.
wendyalison said:
It's a tad better if you make calls without a headset, but as a girl, it looks super silly holding up the Note to my face. I use Marshall Minor earphones for conversations and they worked wonderfully well with Motorola, not that great with Samsung.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wait, you're saying call quality through earphones is WORSE than call quality just holding the phone? This is very alarming as that's how I make most of my calls. Can anyone else confirm this?
I want a big screen phone.
I've been looking into various 7+" phablet options from overseas and haven't found the one, yet. Then I started thinking about a tablet, made for use in the US, with 4g service... Why not just use that as a phone? Software options like GrooveIP make it pretty easy... I was just wondering if anyone else was doing this (this this device or others), and what your experience has been.
Thank you.
i used it a few time with a voip app and results were alright considering that i had to use the speakerphone the whole time. bluetooth/wired headset would have been alright as there wouldnt be a difference between this and a phone. there is no ear speaker so those are the only options. if youre going to get a tablet for voip only i think a tab e 8" would be cheaper.
42o247 said:
If you're going to get a tablet for voip only i think a tab e 8" would be cheaper.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the thing. I'd like to make this my one device, so I'm looking for unlimited LTE (which is more a carrier/plan issue than device, decent speed, and a good screen. Pocketability doesn't matter that much to me, but I'm looking for 7"-8". If I didn't have to order it from China, that'd be a bonus.
nathanotis said:
That's the thing. I'd like to make this my one device, so I'm looking for unlimited LTE (which is more a carrier/plan issue than device, decent speed, and a good screen. Pocketability doesn't matter that much to me, but I'm looking for 7"-8". If I didn't have to order it from China, that'd be a bonus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
youll have to check to see if it will work with your carrier i guess.
717 people can't be wrong... As of this writing, that's how many times this thread has been viewed.
For anyone who is curious, I pulled the trigger on the Tab E 2 weeks ago and have been using it as my sole device, phone calls included, for that time. It's everything I'd hoped it would be... but there are some short comings, too. In truth, 8" is probably a touch too large for my application, but I've been enjoying all the screen real estate. Sadly, the resolution is poor compared to recent-gen phones. It's also quite thick and heavy for it's size. Strange things to complain about given my desire for a huge device, but I'm scanning the "release horizon" for a more current, thin and lightweight powerhouse to replace this one, (hopefully soon). I wish I didn't dislike iPads, cause a Mini would foot the bill...
I'm using Hangouts for calls and that's working ok. There are no front facing speakers so "phone" functions utilize the speaker on the back of the device, making things awkward if I don't have some kind of headset, headphones or bluetooth device handy... Honestly, I use the "phone" so little, it doesn't matter to me.
Google Voice integrates seamlessly with Sprint service and I've been using that to send SMS from computers for a long time, so that's my go to for SMS. G.V. doesn't handle MMS or group messaging though, so I'm looking for options there.
The camera stinks. I take quick photos a lot more than I realized, so this is a feature I'm sorely missing. Well, not "missing" because it HAS a camera... The images are pretty bad, though.
So, screen resolution/clarity, a decent camera, and the performance of a good, powerful processor are the only things I'm missing with this device. It's a good experiment so far and I got a good deal on it from Sprint (free is good, right?).
I also wish there were more dev support cause a good, clean aosp rom would really help out performance, I'd guess.
My final issue so far is that many applications STILL don't scale well to tablet size. Some operations are cumbersome and there are awkward feeling layouts that throw me off till I get oriented.
This is a bunch of complaints, but I'm still calling this experiment a success. I'm going to keep using the Tab E as my only daily device til such time as the Imaginary Svelte Unicorn 7" Retina device is released. (I'd cross my fingers, but that makes it tough to type.)
Yes, yes, it's possible to love a phone. Heck, you sleep next to it, don't you? Rate this thread to indicate your love for the OnePlus 7T, all things considered. A higher rating indicates that the OnePlus 7T is an incredible phone that you enjoy tremendously. You love it.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
Hello to all OnePlus 7T owners out there! I don't know if this is the right place to ask but what is your favourite thing about this phone and what is the thing you want to complain about, even if it is totally subjective? I am looking forward to your answers! Cheers
Super fast, the first phone or tablet I've seen that opens Pennsylvania's 20+MB hunting digest PDF and scroll perfectly...
The speaker.. omg super loud and clear who needs a Bluetooth speaker now!?!
Rugged case selection in stock shipping from an American warehouse is really poor..
Insane device. Also love the new camera bump as the design is a little bit fresh
uberjon said:
Super fast, the first phone or tablet I've seen that opens Pennsylvania's 20+MB hunting digest PDF and scroll perfectly...
The speaker.. omg super loud and clear who needs a Bluetooth speaker now!?!
Rugged case selection in stock shipping from an American warehouse is really poor..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it's clearly, I have not been impressed with the speaker, did you do anything with your settings or Dolby to get it working better?
Cowbell_Guy said:
it's clearly, I have not been impressed with the speaker, did you do anything with your settings or Dolby to get it working better?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope nothing different haven't even messed with Dolby
Buyer beware of the rear glass and OPs handling of what is clearly a design defect...very easily scratched deeply
chazman1117 said:
Buyer beware of the rear glass and OPs handling of what is clearly a design defect...very easily scratched deeply
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Luckily they may screen protectors for this about 6 USD for a 5 pack on Amazon
---------- Post added at 08:04 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:01 AM ----------
Amazing phone! Stacks up with the super brands all day long at half the price .
I should be getting one of these today unless FedEx decides to do some more creative routing. The phone has already traveled about 2,300 miles to get to me from an origin point about 150 miles away. New Jersey to New York via Memphis, Tennessee. And I paid extra for that.
The only things I really care about in a phone are the processor, GPU, RAM, connectivity, basic call quality, and GPS. The rest falls under the heading of "stuff I never use." I'll be back with my narrowly-scoped observations on those aspects within a few days, the good Lord and FedEx willing.
Okay, here are a few preliminary impressions.
Setup: Painless.
GPS: Surprisingly good. This is an important feature for me because I do mapping work. I almost didn't buy this phone because of all the complaints about the GPS that I read. But then I realized that literally every other phone in the phone-using world had just as many or more complaints about GPS, so I decided to try it for myself.
Bad GPS would have resulted in my returning this phone, but it actually did quite well. With all four systems in use, I tool it for a roughly 20-mile drive through an area that practically all GPS receivers have a hard time with because of the topography. It maintained a 3D fix with 3-meter accuracy for the whole length of the trip, which is outstanding. :good:
I also tried to test it with Magic Earth, but being your basic idiot, I forgot to download the offline maps first; so that report will be forthcoming.
Overall Design: I'm probably not the one to comment on that. I'd use a brick phone if it delivered the best performance.
Call Quality: Seems okay when talking to myself from one of my other phones. Maybe a tad tinny, but not horrid.
Bluetooth: I can hear the GPS voice over my car's Bluetooth system, which is all I care about.
Signal Strength: Three bars on ATT, which is about average for where I live. I'll check the actual signal strength later.
WiFi: 5GHz works well anywhere in my house, which was all I tested.
So far, no deal-killers. :fingers-crossed:
LTE speed isn't bad for the boonies: 82.69 Mbps down, 6.50 Mbps up. That's on AT&T prepaid.
First impressions
New year, new round of flagships. Last year started with OnePlus 6T and it lasted for good 2 weeks. This year is the same for me.
* glass back looks matte, almost though it's plastic. Camera design is very attractive unlike iphone/samsung rectangles
* it's too heavy, can't imagine difficulty holding Mi10 or 1+7Pro
* it lacks SD, jack, QC, Qi, IP and notification diod. Lacking wireless charging is very painful as the luxury of placing mobile on magnetic Qi holder is priceless. Ambient display shows notification briefly which is great and better than AOD icons, but no AOD + no LED lights means you don't know what's up most of the time including charge status and low battery
* again nice hardware volume switch every phone should have
* display is bigger, higher frequency helps some animation blur
* night mode, reading mode, dimming mode and night theme is provided
* very fast charging but i still hate Warp as it's not compatible with myriad of chargers
* fingerprint is excellent and super fast, but you need to tap screen first
* faceunlock is also super fast but doesn't work in night unless you want to be attacked by display light
* nice classic local backup feature is gone
* fenomenal OnePlus-original hide notch feature is gone, only fake hide notch which cuts the screen is available
* animations are inconveniet for eyes, for example when switching apps the app will blink each time
* hint popups on the bottom of the screen are hard to spot, fast timeout and small size
* fenomenal Pie navigation is gone, instead xiaomi mi9 like crippled gestures are there, you no longer can scroll apps while holding pill.
* overall phone speed is incredible
3 days later
* app switching really sucks, QuickSwitch plugin doesn't work, and Nova is launched app switching is gone
* rooting is very annoying, but udating ROM is probably the easiest of all phones (just the OTA availability is great)
* this is perhaps Android Q, but i appreciate two finger up swipe gesture for magnification. This solves the longterm problem of having full screen navigation while missing zoom. Normally there are two modes in Accessibility settings: triple tap screen which delays the whole UI or navbar icon which obviously doesnt appear with full screen navigation
* i love OnePlus-original screen off gestures as before.. it's genius. Less i need hold fingerprint shortcut menu.
Three things to hate:
* minimal brightness always lower than it should be. Very annoying. Also dark mode would make screen readable even less update: solution: turn off any night mode stuff..makes phone unreadable
* cannot hold keys on the left and right boundary of the keyboard without massive delay (so there are many typos when long-pressing keys like "1", "q", "p")
* no wireless charging and a Qi pad doesn't work (works on other phones). This brand really insists people don't use the best technology in mobile phones - Qi update: also got another most capable multiformat charger, still won't charge above 8W (3hours).. commitment: i won't be buying any brand-specific chargers ever
Luckily battery is so great that charging is a rare event as documented in battery threads
Battery could have been better atleast 4000 mAh
I’ve been reading OnePlus forums all day and I’m more and more confident that I made a great choice. The second phone I have is Huawei, but he is not standing next to it))
I love mine, got it a week ago, and this phone is like lightning, I love the Oxygen OS, Dual sim, lots of HP and storage. Best phone I have ever owned. :good:
Meh, honestly I think based on what I keep hearing this may be an unpopular opinion but.... one plus devices to me have always been great due to their freedom. If you run into some problem then plop on a rom and fix it or some root app.
Unfortunately due to there not being much active development due to the temporary death of twrp, I’ve been running into a bunch of stability issues I can’t fix. I’m not sure if it’s just my phone or if people are blind due to the lower cost of the device. I’ve run into random freezes, keyboard lag, Bluetooth will sometimes just switch audio to phone speaker and won’t go back even if I’m still connected till I restart Bluetooth, the prox sensor is doing such a poor job at keeping the screen locked while I’m in a call that it’s really just comical now...I’ve ended a call to find myself looking at a screenshot my face took of the home screen and been fooled for a few seconds, or having the call ended because I’ve activated my flashlight and airplane mode...
I came from an Xs max to this phone and had a pixel before that. I’m not os brand loyal. If this phone didn’t need rebooted daily (cause I just don’t have time to fiddle around and find the issue, I have work and rebooting usually fixes whatever bug pops up) and could just hold onto its stability (I have no social media so I’m talking basic functionality here and some telegram usage) this phone has all the hardware markings of an awesome e phone.
It just falls short in knowing that we used to just plop on a hyper stable rom nd call it a day.... and now I’m just stuck.
If i wasn’t currently convinced this was just my phone, I’d give this phone a 2 but I’ll give it a 3 out of respect for OnePlus. I loved my last OnePlus device and used to not even be able to switch roms because oos was just that good.... now I’m going to Samsung of all things and holding onto this phone in hopes of a proper functioning twrp in the future, and that devs are still around when it does
igotlostintampa said:
Meh, honestly I think based on what I keep hearing this may be an unpopular opinion but.... one plus devices to me have always been great due to their freedom. If you run into some problem then plop on a rom and fix it or some root app.
Unfortunately due to there not being much active development due to the temporary death of twrp, I’ve been running into a bunch of stability issues I can’t fix. I’m not sure if it’s just my phone or if people are blind due to the lower cost of the device. I’ve run into random freezes, keyboard lag, Bluetooth will sometimes just switch audio to phone speaker and won’t go back even if I’m still connected till I restart Bluetooth, the prox sensor is doing such a poor job at keeping the screen locked while I’m in a call that it’s really just comical now...I’ve ended a call to find myself looking at a screenshot my face took of the home screen and been fooled for a few seconds, or having the call ended because I’ve activated my flashlight and airplane mode...
I came from an Xs max to this phone and had a pixel before that. I’m not os brand loyal. If this phone didn’t need rebooted daily (cause I just don’t have time to fiddle around and find the issue, I have work and rebooting usually fixes whatever bug pops up) and could just hold onto its stability (I have no social media so I’m talking basic functionality here and some telegram usage) this phone has all the hardware markings of an awesome e phone.
It just falls short in knowing that we used to just plop on a hyper stable rom nd call it a day.... and now I’m just stuck.
If i wasn’t currently convinced this was just my phone, I’d give this phone a 2 but I’ll give it a 3 out of respect for OnePlus. I loved my last OnePlus device and used to not even be able to switch roms because oos was just that good.... now I’m going to Samsung of all things and holding onto this phone in hopes of a proper functioning twrp in the future, and that devs are still around when it does
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As for the proximity sensor, the 7T uses a different type of sensor, and maybe it's settings/calibration need to be adjusted in some future ROM update.
https://www.ellipticlabs.com/2019/09/26/new-oneplus-7t-phone-uses-elliptic-labs-ai-virtual-sensor/
Guatiao said:
As for the proximity sensor, the 7T uses a different type of sensor, and maybe it's settings/calibration need to be adjusted in some future ROM update.
https://www.ellipticlabs.com/2019/09/26/new-oneplus-7t-phone-uses-elliptic-labs-ai-virtual-sensor/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah! It’s guessing, should have thought it was something like that. Instead of using a sensor it’s trying to determine via software alone which at best is an educated guess, and fake a sensor report based on its guesses.
This does mean at least it’s not a hardware fault! If they do a good enough job and don’t drop the tech it could be cool stuff. Just doesn’t feel that stable in this phone yet.
Still cool tech
igotlostintampa said:
Ah! It’s guessing, should have thought it was something like that. Instead of using a sensor it’s trying to determine via software alone which at best is an educated guess, and fake a sensor report based on its guesses.
This does mean at least it’s not a hardware fault! If they do a good enough job and don’t drop the tech it could be cool stuff. Just doesn’t feel that stable in this phone yet.
Still cool tech
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed! I've experienced it also, having a second call placed while holding my phone with the shoulder. I believe a bit of software tweaking could fix the issue. I don't know if non official ROMs or beta versions of the stock one still suffer from this.
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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
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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 :-(