Database Users

Engadget review - it's up

http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/19/htc-evo-4g-review/
Wrap-up
Let us be crystal clear: we love this phone. Nay, we adore it. But the fact remains that it's still very much an Android device -- which means that if you don't like Android now, odds are good that even Android executed on the most amazing hardware to date won't do much to change your opinion of it. You've also got to be concerned about upgradeability; Froyo is almost certainly around the corner now, and HTC hasn't done anything to suggest it's able to push Sense-powered updates in a timely fashion.
That said, this is truly one of the best smartphones ever made, and even spotty 4G -- a reality of a young technology that's going to take years to properly build out -- probably won't do much to hamper your enjoyment of this thing. It's reasonable to assume that phones like the EVO will ultimately come to every carrier over the next few months... but hey, if you jumped ship for Sprint to pick up this monster, we wouldn't be able blame you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Highlights:
-battery life seems robust
-screen seems as nice as the AMOLED on the nexus one
-HD video recording ok, not spectacular
This is going to be one solid phone. And yeah, I know engadget is not the end-all be-all of reviews, but a lot of people sure are going to be reading it as their audience is huge.
So the two weeks of waiting is now going to seem like 5 months, DAMN I want this phone. Can't wait for the first custom ROM . . .

**** i was just about to post this haha, reading now so excited!

was just about to my self, damn you!

The upgradeability issue is really the only major point that is preventing me from pre-ordering. I mean, how long is it going to be until Sense phones get 2.2? Months? It took several months for phones to get 2.1 I don't want to wait months for the supposed speed advantages that 2.2 brings.

I didn't wait months on my hero. Why did you?
Also that video is very disappointing. I don't understand why HTC cameras suck compared to what Apple uses but they need to fix it.

the video review was horrible.

GHOST99K said:
the video review was horrible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I disagree, I think it was one of the better reviews i've seen.

Likes & Dislikes
Likes:
1. Huge screen, thinner than my current TP2
2. Kickstand - seriously, a phone has to come with some serious balls if it has a kickstand
3. 2.1 + sense = customizable, as opposed to boring iPhone OS
4. HQ Youtube
5. Engadget's review indicates a good battery life, certainly better than i expected - several hours as a 4g hotspot?! After a couple of hours of heavy use?!?!
6. If you watched Engadget's video review, it is snappy as hell, very responsive; only lag was when turning on 4g radio.
7. Review indicates good shutter response with photos - TP2 is annoyingly slow to take a photo.
Dislikes:
1. Will have to wait 4 months for 4g (and that's according to Sprint) in my area
2. Camera lens flush with bezel, which means scratches, which sucks.
3. Mandatory accessories, like a GPS-style car dash mount and HDMI cable, will rape my wallet.
4. Video calling could not be tested in time for the review, which is a major feature for me. Hopefully Skype releases something for Android for video calls. 3g bandwidth is sufficient for Skype video calls, as i do it all the time from my embedded VZ card on my laptop. Maybe 'Skype HD for Android'? Has a nice ring to it, eh?
What does everyone else think about the review? Either way, I am sold on this device.

khov07 said:
Likes:
1. Huge screen, thinner than my current TP2
2. Kickstand - seriously, a phone has to come with some serious balls if it has a kickstand
3. 2.1 + sense = customizable, as opposed to boring iPhone OS
4. HQ Youtube
5. Engadget's review indicates a good battery life, certainly better than i expected - several hours as a 4g hotspot?! After a couple of hours of heavy use?!?!
6. If you watched Engadget's video review, it is snappy as hell, very responsive; only lag was when turning on 4g radio.
7. Review indicates good shutter response with photos - TP2 is annoyingly slow to take a photo.
Dislikes:
1. Will have to wait 4 months for 4g (and that's according to Sprint) in my area
2. Camera lens flush with bezel, which means scratches, which sucks.
3. Mandatory accessories, like a GPS-style car dash mount and HDMI cable, will rape my wallet.
4. Video calling could not be tested in time for the review, which is a major feature for me. Hopefully Skype releases something for Android for video calls. 3g bandwidth is sufficient for Skype video calls, as i do it all the time from my embedded VZ card on my laptop. Maybe 'Skype HD for Android'? Has a nice ring to it, eh?
What does everyone else think about the review? Either way, I am sold on this device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You do not need a expensive car mount, just get a cheap one, **** works the exact same way. Also, an hdmi cord is far from mandatory.

Only mandatory things I need is a car charger, wall charger, and usb cable

khov07 said:
Likes:
3. Mandatory accessories, like a GPS-style car dash mount and HDMI cable, will rape my wallet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.amazon.com/Hdmi-Feet-Sup...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1274350210&sr=8-1
$2.50 for a six foot HDMI cable. That isn't exactly breaking the bank.

Mecha2142 said:
http://www.amazon.com/Hdmi-Feet-Sup...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1274350210&sr=8-1
$2.50 for a six foot HDMI cable. That isn't exactly breaking the bank.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We need a Type D micro HDMI cable, not a regular type A or mini Type C. That cable won't work.

Aridon said:
I didn't wait months on my hero. Why did you?
Also that video is very disappointing. I don't understand why HTC cameras suck compared to what Apple uses but they need to fix it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's not the point. Rooting my own phone is fine, but if my mom has this phone, I don't want to deal with roms and rooting with her phone and fixing any issues that come up. You should not have to wait months for an official version update for Android.

OK, forgot to mention the car charger.
But HDMI cable is definitely mandatory - who else can plug-in their CELL PHONE into an HDTV for 720p playback? Geez, what's the point of having this device if you can't show it off!
I recall at a Sprint/HTC/Microsoft launch event of the TP2, the rep's plugged in their TP2's directly into a laptop to show off the capability of running a PowerPoint presentation from the device - like anyone plugs in their smartphones to PC's to say, 'check it out, i'm running a PP presentation from this thing'. Good thing the slides were nothing but text.
If the Evo's HDMI port's are 'standard', then I should be able to find an appropriate cable anywhere. HDMI cables that cost $30-$50 at Best Buy i can get for less than ten bucks elsewhere, same brand, same length.
Does anyone know what type of HDMI cable would be required?

If it's some sort of proprietary cable, at launch you can probably only get it from the carrier, which does rape customers with accessories.
Hopefully it's a 'standard' cable.

aldo37 said:
That's not the point. Rooting my own phone is fine, but if my mom has this phone, I don't want to deal with roms and rooting with her phone and fixing any issues that come up. You should not have to wait months for an official version update for Android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just search for "mini HDMI cable" on Amazon and you'll get plenty of hits for cables under $10. Some way under $10. I would post links, but my newbie status prevents me from doing so.
***EDIT***
My bad. The mini HDMI cable is NOT what you want for the EVO 4G. It should be an HDMI cablewith a micro (Type D) connector. Sorry for the mis-information.

I found this one for $15
http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Molex/68786-0003/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMuDGvNOpmBhkbvASizaogqN

mini hdmi cable at amazon for under 5 bucks shipped to you. Same cable is 69.99 at bestbuy. also you could just carry a HDMI to mini HDMI converter cable with you

Just remember it needs to be a TYPE-D mini hdmi cable.

Any other items?
OK, what about the rest of the review? Any other comments?
I noticed no mention of the digital compass, FM radio, or call quality/functionality.

The Perfect Phone

Lets start a list of all the things we want to change on the DHD then we will mail it to HTC and they will change it. Right?
Here's what I want to change
1. I want the 12mp Camera with xenon flash and Carl Z. lens from the Nokia N8
2. HDMI port

Why would you want > MP?
This is a phone, not a camera. NOT the other way around.
You might eventually want > optical zoom.
Why would you want HDMI when you have DLNA?

As begin, I thought Desire is an Awesome Phone. but still got some concern.
1. I would reckon a dedicated button, for camera or another specific apps.
2. No face detection on the camera apps. even Galaxy S does.
3. havent seen the voice command feature on the specification.
4. no front cam and cannot make video call. It's really SAD for a high end mobile phone.

adwinp said:
Why would you want HDMI when you have DLNA?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe his TV doesn't support DLNA?
I think streaming with DLNA is much more comfortable, because there is no cable between tv and smartphone. Think about a 1m HDMI calbe to your 52" tv...

arpaul said:
As begin, I thought Desire is an Awesome Phone. but still got some concern.
4. no front cam and cannot make video call. It's really SAD for a high end mobile phone.
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Click to collapse
Didnt realize people actually used that... Had it on my four previous phones and never used it once...
But something i would like if i had to change something would have to be a bigger battery and a mini USB instead of a micro USB... But thats about it!

Relistic and changes optical ball better camera

You don't want more MP you want a bigger sensor. This is all the fault of the big camera makers touting MP as the be all and end all to sell cameras.
My SLR is only 10MP and takes phenomenal images because the sensor is much much bigger than any phone on the market.

DarrenT said:
You don't want more MP you want a bigger sensor. This is all the fault of the big camera makers touting MP as the be all and end all to sell cameras.
My SLR is only 10MP and takes phenomenal images because the sensor is much much bigger than any phone on the market.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1...even 5MPx is enought but with bigger sensor and faster chip...

Id have the audio jack at the top rather than the bottom. Thats about it.
I would say HDMI but the amout of times id acctualy use it is slim to non lol
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

To add to the camera improvements the camera is all about its ability to gather light so id want :-
--Larger scensor sizw
--Better optics (a camera is only as good as its optics
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

Only one..
The phone to be in flippin hand!!

Have dual core processor, maybe a tegra 2 or 3...
Have USB 3.0
Have HDMI, yes HDMI!!!, my tv and receiver have loads of them, and it's better to send things over HDMI than over DNLA... consume less battery, it's much faster, doesn't lag (only if your phone lags itself)
Better optics (don't need more Mpx, 5 or 6mpx is enough!!) and maybe optical zoom (digital zoom sucks!!!)
More internal storage (32GB at least!!!)
Maybe support for SDXC
Front Camera, yes we need 3G video calls (not that crap from Apple or ip video calls!!). I don't use it, but we never know when we may need it, in some case of emergency like a theft, kidnapping, natural disaster, etc... it can be very useful in those cases, you never know...

Im not really worried about camera quality... so for me:
- HDMI port (saves money, wouldnt have to buy DLNA adapter for telly)
- AMOLED screen (I no its 'over saturated' but it still looks good )
- To get an official gingerbread update (but then again, the devs here on xda will sort out a ROM for it anyway )

The smartphone makers will never release a phone that has verything, they wouldn`t have anything to release after a few months
For me, i would be happy with a phone that has:
- Se X10i battery (Li-Po, lasts even 4 days with moderate usage)
- SGS Screen (ya! SAMOLED with Gorilla Glass=nice! )
- DHD body (looks nice, no glossy plastic that atracts finger prints like magnet, as my SGS does)
- N8 camera (not because of MPs, but for the large sensor and for the audio quality of videos, i know, the sound is not from the camera )
- iphone 4 audio performance (i don`t believe i said iphone but i got to say it, it has a great sound quality)
That`s about it from what I can think of now.

willk22 said:
- To get an official gingerbread update (but then again, the devs here on xda will sort out a ROM for it anyway )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
who said it wont get 3.0 (gingerbread) ?
Im almost 100% shure HTC will give this device that update :-D

Personally, I'd want:
- A battery that lasts at least 2 days without charge
- Gorilla Glass!
- HDMI
adwinp said:
Why would you want > MP?
This is a phone, not a camera. NOT the other way around.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some people want the best of both worlds (even though personally I think 8MP is perfectly adequate) !
adwinp said:
Why would you want HDMI when you have DLNA?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How many TVs actually use DLNA? I'd never heard of it until the Desire HD was released. I can't recall seeing any TV with DLNA, only HDMI.

Apache14 said:
who said it wont get 3.0 (gingerbread) ?
Im almost 100% shure HTC will give this device that update :-D
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well yer your write it never was said that it wouldn't get gingerbread (which might not be 3.0...)
But then again, HTC haven't always been consistent with updates (*cough* HD2 *cough)

I prefer Android OS than Apple IOS, but HTC also prefer sells another Android phone than offering OS upgrade to the sold device. HTC like any company will not pay too much effort to upgrade Android OS to existing sold phone unless Google directly pull out any Android upgrade throughout the air and user has to leave any "SENSE addin" by rooting the HTC phone.

azreil24 said:
- DHD body (looks nice, no glossy plastic that atracts finger prints like magnet, as my SGS does)
- iphone 4 audio performance (i don`t believe i said iphone but i got to say it, it has a great sound quality)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The body looks decent, but I wonder why the camera protrudes so much. It will look like a mini-condom if I end up putting it in my back pocket. That's not good for my ego.
The iPhone audio performance part of your list may be addressed in the DHD. I tried using some of the new audio settings in the new sense on my Desire, but none of them changed anything. I tested this using both UE SuperFi 5vi and Bose Bose in-ear headsets. No change at all so it may be something that's tied to the hardware.
So here's what I would add (btw I agree with most of what other posters have already listed):
Internal *fast* storage. This phone does record and play HD content after all. Having 32G fast internal storage *could* help to reduce a lot of the lag I experience when I start the Music app (as an example) and would help reduce the need to go out and purchase class 6 or better sd cards.
Stock software improvements which reliably use volume + and - as well as ff and rw in the wired headsets.

angler said:
I prefer Android OS than Apple IOS, but HTC also prefer sells another Android phone than offering OS upgrade to the sold device. HTC like any company will not pay too much effort to upgrade Android OS to existing sold phone unless Google directly pull out any Android upgrade throughout the air and user has to leave any "SENSE addin" by rooting the HTC phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure I follow. Do you mean that HTC doesn't provide updates to their phones or something else? I have a mix-bag experience with HTC on this. My Desire has been updated to 2.2, yet my Wildfire is still 2.1 (it's possible I missed an update, I only use that phone when I go out drinking because I won't care nearly as much about losing it).
I can't tell if you'e complaining about lack of updates in general or if it's the lag in your specific area or with your carrier.

Windows 8 phones

First Windows 8 phone revealed, from i-mate:
http://blogs.seattletimes.com/brier...-8-pc-phone-revealed-plus-tablet-and-desktop/
4.7" screen Windows 8 Pro, and runs atom processor.
Look forward to seeing reviews and seeing how well the phone/messaging capability is on this.
We will see more of these, especially when Intel releases a 22nm atom later this year. And some ARM ones with Windows RT.
(Follow up to http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1226360)

CSMR said:
First Windows 8 phone revealed, from i-mate:
http://blogs.seattletimes.com/brier...-8-pc-phone-revealed-plus-tablet-and-desktop/
4.7" screen Windows 8 Pro, and runs atom processor.
Look forward to seeing reviews and seeing how well the phone/messaging capability is on this.
We will see more of these, especially when Intel releases a 22nm atom later this year. And some ARM ones with Windows RT.
(Follow up to http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1226360)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you can get that setup for $1600, I'd be impressed. Nice business solution if you ask me...

it won't sell, because its a proprietary dock, for one phone only.
needs to be a STANDARD wireless charging base (mac mini sized) with vga/sound/mic/hdmi/etc out the back, so regular peripherals can be used. large enough to charge 2-3 phones at once, is a good idea too.
dlna to dock, hdmi/vga to screen, etc
now, as far as convincing people to buy windows 8, I have no idea how.

ohgood said:
it won't sell, because its a proprietary dock, for one phone only.
needs to be a STANDARD wireless charging base (mac mini sized) with vga/sound/mic/hdmi/etc out the back, so regular peripherals can be used. large enough to charge 2-3 phones at once, is a good idea too.
dlna to dock, hdmi/vga to screen, etc
now, as far as convincing people to buy windows 8, I have no idea how.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You want a Dock with a wireless charging base, VGA/HDMI, Audio in out all coming out of the dock. designed around all phones and indeed work with multiple phones at the same time.
So we can explain audio with Bluetooth, and DNLA with wifi but how my friend, do you explain your VGA/HDMI out? how do you charge it if your don't have a inductive phone? or do you want all phones to have inductive charging wireless VGA and HDMI output as well?
the concept of a docking station for a specific phone is a tried and tested model and is routinely used on laptops and tablets, these devices are far from "universal" one can argue that there has never been a universal docking station, simply because there are far too many designs and technologies to take in to account. The beloved Apple are the worst for this, buy any ipod dock and youll find as many adaptors and connectors stuffed in to the box to "make" it compatible as there are iphone covers in cheap arse phone stores.
I think the idea of having a phone that's so powerful that can be plugged in to a tablet case, laptop case, home entertainment system is a great concept, itll never happen but if a unified connectivity model could be made up then even better, the problem with such things is space, yes you can transmit HDMI wirelessly, but its heavy on juice consumption, far heavier than what induction charging can deliver.
I see what your saying and that would be ideal but practicalities will prohibit a universal dock, a set of docks available for your specific phone however is a great idea and one id sign up to.

As the article says, it is not going to be a 'stand alone' phone, but part of a 'hub' system. So it doesn't need to have a 'standard' docking or wireless charging system...
I think it's an interesting idea. Let's see if i-Mate pull this off!!!

dazza9075 said:
You want a Dock with a wireless charging base, VGA/HDMI, Audio in out all coming out of the dock. designed around all phones and indeed work with multiple phones at the same time.
So we can explain audio with Bluetooth, and DNLA with wifi but how my friend, do you explain your VGA/HDMI out? how do you charge it if your don't have a inductive phone? or do you want all phones to have inductive charging wireless VGA and HDMI output as well?
the concept of a docking station for a specific phone is a tried and tested model and is routinely used on laptops and tablets, these devices are far from "universal" one can argue that there has never been a universal docking station, simply because there are far too many designs and technologies to take in to account. The beloved Apple are the worst for this, buy any ipod dock and youll find as many adaptors and connectors stuffed in to the box to "make" it compatible as there are iphone covers in cheap arse phone stores.
I think the idea of having a phone that's so powerful that can be plugged in to a tablet case, laptop case, home entertainment system is a great concept, itll never happen but if a unified connectivity model could be made up then even better, the problem with such things is space, yes you can transmit HDMI wirelessly, but its heavy on juice consumption, far heavier than what induction charging can deliver.
I see what your saying and that would be ideal but practicalities will prohibit a universal dock, a set of docks available for your specific phone however is a great idea and one id sign up to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you know the answers to the questiions already... if the phone isn't inductive charge capable, well, it misses out. (I screwed up suggesting vga out, yes)
is the dock to be tossed out when the next phone is released, or microsoft abandons the current os, forcing hardware upgrades ?
---------- Post added at 05:07 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:58 AM ----------
geddeeee said:
As the article says, it is not going to be a 'stand alone' phone, but part of a 'hub' system. So it doesn't need to have a 'standard' docking or wireless charging system...
I think it's an interesting idea. Let's see if i-Mate pull this off!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ya, that was part of my point. the docking system is physically bound to only one phone model. a change of phones means the dock is obsolete. that's why I suggested a inductive version instead.

Re: Docks. You can do a lot with mini-displayport and micro-usb, which should fit on a superpowered phone. Or thunderbolt would work as a universal connector - thunderbolt out to a dock.
But what is more interesting to me is having a full windows OS on a phone. Windows Phone 8 still has a lot of core features missing, while Windows 8 does not have these gaps. Just add phone and messaging capability to Windows 8 and you will have an excellent OS for power users.
Hopefully there will be more of these phones when Intel finally moves Atom to 22nm later this year.

CSMR said:
Re: Docks. You can do a lot with mini-displayport and micro-usb, which should fit on a superpowered phone. Or thunderbolt would work as a universal connector - thunderbolt out to a dock.
But what is more interesting to me is having a full windows OS on a phone. Windows Phone 8 still has a lot of core features missing, while Windows 8 does not have these gaps. Just add phone and messaging capability to Windows 8 and you will have an excellent OS for power users.
Hopefully there will be more of these phones when Intel finally moves Atom to 22nm later this year.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yesssss, that's what wp7/8 were supposed to do: bridge the gaps, the pc/phone in one.
but, now you have wp, surface/rt, w8 and their versions also. fragmentation, not integration.
oh, and xbox... office... very odd way of doing things.

huawei ascend w1
i recently bought the huawei ascend w1 and does anyone know how to disable the shutter sound ?

tkelly0727 said:
i recently bought the huawei ascend w1 and does anyone know how to disable the shutter sound ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Settings>Ringtones + Sounds> uncheck "Camera shutter" box

Shutter sound
Dadstar said:
Settings>Ringtones + Sounds> uncheck "Camera shutter" box
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi. I don't have a checkbox to turn the shutter sound off. I know my old Windows 7 phone had the option, but nothing on this one.
I'd love to turn it off because the default sound is horrible.

Dadstar said:
Settings>Ringtones + Sounds> uncheck "Camera shutter" box
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just purchased an O2 version, same here there is no Camera shutter box to uncheck.

US Moto G First Impressions, AMA

I just got an 8GB/1GB model Moto G XT-1540from BestBuy, it looks like the ones from Motorola directly take time to come in, and this was an instant way to test and compare the Moto G. So far these are things I noticed.
1) The haptic feedback makes the phone sound like something is shaking inside, which feels a bit cheap. This may be a bad early production model.
2) There is no notification light though androidpit did show a picture of one. Not sure where they got their pic since it does seem to be a moto g 3rd gen in their pics.
3) There is no gryoscope, pressure sensor, or temperature sensor in the phone. It does have a magnetic sensor.
4) The back plate around the camera accent seems to have a small gap on one side even thought everything is clicked in, it may not be waterproof due to this, or maybe it's just variation in manufacturing, but it does worry me a bit.
5) The camera does have a 720p slo-mo option
6) It seems to open things faster than my Galaxy s4, which really surprised me, but is definitely nice to see.
7) There's no really good way to display battery percentage. Moto didn't build an option in, and the lollipop built in option needs to be enabled by an app and results in a very small percentage in the battery icon itself which is hardly legible. As roms and root and custom options come out, I suspect there will be ways to fix this, but in the meantime it's kind of stinky.
8) It has an FM radio. The app requires headphones to be plugged in as it uses them as the antenna, but it seems to work pretty well. I don't really care about this feature too much, but I know some people do.
I still haven't put it through anything too taxing, but if anyone wants to know if it can run any particular games ok or anything feel free to ask, or if there's any features you're curious about.
EDIT: Also I wanted to note one more thing that really blew me away. This phone has the same storage, ram, and a higher resolution screen compared to the LG Leon, which is a cheap T-mobile branded phone. I bought one of them about a month ago to test, and despite a lower res screen and the same general specs, it was laggy, annoying, and the low res screen was a huge nuisance as so little could fit on it. Compared to that phone the Moto G runs buttery smooth and goes a great job, it really is fairly comparable to my Galaxy S4 and seems to load things quicker, though it does also seem to have priority on wifi which means it gets all the bandwidth while the S4 is struggling to get its share, which may partly account for that.

Could you conffirm usb otg support ?
Thanks in advance man, i'm looking forward to get the 2gb version myself. Some people over the internet say there is no usb otg support, i think it's kind of an unlikely scenario, but it would be nice if an actual user confirms it.

Cer3alKiller said:
Thanks in advance man, i'm looking forward to get the 2gb version myself. Some people over the internet say there is no usb otg support, i think it's kind of an unlikely scenario, but it would be nice if an actual user confirms it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The USB OTG Checker app says the phone has the API. I don't have anything I can plug into the phone to test that for signal though. Hope this helps even if just a bit. If there's a way to test actual functionality without a female usb a to male micro usb b, let me know. I do have a wireless keyboard but without a cable like that, I don't think there's a way for me to test the functionality.

There is USB-OTG support.
Cer3alKiller said:
Thanks in advance man, i'm looking forward to get the 2gb version myself. Some people over the internet say there is no usb otg support, i think it's kind of an unlikely scenario, but it would be nice if an actual user confirms it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is USB-OTG support. The phone is pretty much good. Does the work, but, I would have preferred a gyroscope sensor instead of FM Radio.

manan.dope said:
There is USB-OTG support. The phone is pretty much good. Does the work, but, I would have preferred a gyroscope sensor instead of FM Radio.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Me too, gyroscope is way more useful than Radio, I'd rather have a notification light too though, it costs next to nothing and is so useful. Moto display isn't nearly as functional.

It's pretty sad that it doesn't have a gyroscope, last years model did have one.

Gotta disagree, I love the FM radio and am glad Motorola still includes it. It's a bummer about the gyroscope, but I never used it. I'm much more disappointed by the lack of a notification LED and being forced to use Moto Display.
Speaking of which, does the Moto Display show music player controls on the lockscreen? I use Poweramp and I'm wondering if I would be able to pause/play/rewind/skip on the lockscreen without having to input a PIN or do extra actions just to get to the music controls.

Oddb411 said:
Gotta disagree, I love the FM radio and am glad Motorola still includes it. It's a bummer about the gyroscope, but I never used it. I'm much more disappointed by the lack of a notification LED and being forced to use Moto Display.
Speaking of which, does the Moto Display show music player controls on the lockscreen? I use Poweramp and I'm wondering if I would be able to pause/play/rewind/skip on the lockscreen without having to input a PIN or do extra actions just to get to the music controls.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No it does not. I just put poweramp on my phone and when I flip the phone up to turn on moto display it only shows the time and the unlock option because I have no notifications at the moment. If I use the power button to turn on the screen I can see the skip and play/pause options for poweramp though, so there is that. Hope that helps.

ben7337 said:
No it does not. I just put poweramp on my phone and when I flip the phone up to turn on moto display it only shows the time and the unlock option because I have no notifications at the moment. If I use the power button to turn on the screen I can see the skip and play/pause options for poweramp though, so there is that. Hope that helps.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for answering. So Moto Display doesn't show the Poweramp controls even though it has a persistent notification? That's a real bummer since Google Play Music apparently has Moto Display controls. I guess it's not a huge loss since you'd have to press the power button on every other phone to get to the lockscreen controls anyway.

Oddb411 said:
Thanks for answering. So Moto Display doesn't show the Poweramp controls even though it has a persistent notification? That's a real bummer since Google Play Music apparently has Moto Display controls. I guess it's not a huge loss since you'd have to press the power button on every other phone to get to the lockscreen controls anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup, just tested with google play music which is what I normally use since it works best with my bluetooth in my car in my experience. It does show in moto display.

Oddb411 said:
Gotta disagree, I love the FM radio and am glad Motorola still includes it. .
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yeah the FM radio is great!

Could you test Google Photospheres? And confirm the lack of gyroscope? Use an app like Z device test to display all sensors... because CPUZ shows some 'orientation sensor' .. isn't that a gyroscope?

Techguy18 said:
Could you test Google Photospheres? And confirm the lack of gyroscope? Use an app like Z device test to display all sensors... because CPUZ shows some 'orientation sensor' .. isn't that a gyroscope?
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It has multiple accelerometers for orientation, but no gyroscope. I tested with a sensor tester yesterday and noted it in my main post. Just installed z device test and found the same, there is no gyroscope.

Too bad. Motorola.. seriously?
---------- Post added at 10:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:30 PM ----------
ben7337 said:
It has multiple accelerometers for orientation, but no gyroscope. I tested with a sensor tester yesterday and noted it in my main post. Just installed z device test and found the same, there is no gyroscope.
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Does the phone have a panorama function? Is it 360 degrees?

Techguy18 said:
Too bad. Motorola.. seriously?
---------- Post added at 10:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:30 PM ----------
Does the phone have a panorama function? Is it 360 degrees?
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No it doesn't have panorama function, and by multiple accelerometers I mean I think it has the standard number of axes other phones do for accelerometers, but it works on more than just x and y, though maybe I'm wrong there.

ben7337 said:
No it doesn't have panorama function, and by multiple accelerometers I mean I think it has the standard number of axes other phones do for accelerometers, but it works on more than just x and y, though maybe I'm wrong there.
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No, the phone does have panorama support with the Motorola camera app. Even the 2015 Moto E has panorama support. The purpose of the dual accelerometers is for the gestures and panorama functionality. They emulate some of a gyroscope's functionality using two accelerometers.

Sorry, it supports panorama, what it doesn't support is photosphere.

Does the Moto G have the active display like the moto x? I mean can I just wave my hand over the phone and it will light up with notifications and such without touching the phone...

squid2 said:
No, the phone does have panorama support with the Motorola camera app. Even the 2015 Moto E has panorama support. The purpose of the dual accelerometers is for the gestures and panorama functionality. They emulate some of a gyroscope's functionality using two accelerometers.
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But would there be any way to emulate a gyroscope? A hack or alternative app for Photospheres?
Those tilt control racing games work.. they use accelerometers?

Techguy18 said:
But would there be any way to emulate a gyroscope? A hack or alternative app for Photospheres?
Those tilt control racing games work.. they use accelerometers?
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The accelerometer should be adequate for a tilt control racing game.
Emulating a gyroscope with the dual accelerometers and magnetometer would be an interesting but challenging task. I'll be busy for the next couple weeks, but I could look into creating a kernel module that does this when I get time. Obviously, it wouldn't be perfect, since we'd be fudging the data of a sensor that isn't actually there, but it should be possible to create a good enough imitation for photo sphere to work.

IR Blaster or not?

As the title says, because I really rely on my Note 4's InfraRed capability, not for TV Remote, but for Shutter Release on my Nikon DSLR Camera.
Not having an included IR Blaster could well prove a deal breaker on the S8.
Does anyone know if there is a workaround?

I would like to know this too...
Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

No ir. Sry. Im upset too. Keeping my s6 for another year it seems

Samsungs never bringing this back..Sad
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I wonder why they ditched it ? i see no reason for it... the phones is more expensive for each year weird.. its a good thing to have on your phone bah

I'm definitely going to miss the ir blaster, I just got it back with the LG V20.
Sent from my LG-H918 using Tapatalk

mortuus82 said:
I wonder why they ditched it ? i see no reason for it... the phones is more expensive for each year weird.. its a good thing to have on your phone bah
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seems not a lot of people have used it , and that feature was not popular enough
In addition, it may cost a lot of money to include it, so they have decided to invest the money on another things

i always carry my LG G2 everytime i stay at a hotel. i need it to change the hotel tv input to hdmi to stream por.n

No ir blasters yet they continue to include the hear rate sensor. Do people really use the heart rate sensor?

Aww man, this just reminded me that I'm gonna miss using my IR blaster on my S6. T.T From what I know, I don't believe there's gonna be an IR blaster. I could be wrong, but if I'm not, RIP IR blaster.
Bo$well said:
No it blasters yet they continue to include the hear rate sensor. Do people really use the heart rate sensor?
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I've heard that you can use it as another option for taking selfies with the front facing camera, at least that what the Samsung guy I talked to at Best Buy said, but besides that, I've only used the heart rate sensor a couple random times.

darixtorento1 said:
In addition, it may cost a lot of money to include it, so they have decided to invest the money on another things
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And it takes up space inside the phone. Your average person wants a huge display with a decent battery in a slim phone, they don't care about IR blasters in their phone.

LoliSmith said:
Your average person wants a huge display with a decent battery in a slim phone, they don't care about IR blasters in their phone.
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that's bull****!
i guess the average person dont care about qualcomn quick charge 4.0 either, which let you charge 5 minutes to get 5 hours of talk time. that' why they probably take away and NOT included quick charge 4.0

netnerd said:
that's bull****!
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No it's not. If the average consumer wanted them, they would be in the device. I don't know anyone IRL who uses them.

netnerd said:
that's bull****!
i guess the average person dont care about qualcomn quick charge 4.0 either, which let you charge 5 minutes to get 5 hours of talk time. that' why they probably take away and NOT included quick charge 4.0
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Chances are, the people here on XDA or those that understand specs and need the IR Blaster...are not your average consumers. People tend to choose a phone by brand marketing, how it looks and the screen size etc. Not everybody has a passion for technology or understands what RAM, SoC etc is and how it all works...they just want to use the phone. Apple don't push specs at all, they focus on what the average consumer needs/wants to know and it works for them.
It is really a niche feature. Doesn't mean that you or others don't want to have it, of course it's nice to have and I would have liked it too. It's just that Samsung have deemed it surplus to requirements, they don't think it's helping them to sell phones. They took away a less popular feature to save space, costs and maybe even improve the aesthetics. Annoying for some, but I'm pretty sure the majority wouldn't even notice.

yes. i'm sure the majority wont even notice the headphone jack is missing on iphone7 or people dont really care about headphone jack, that' why they took it away

Highspeed123 said:
They took away a less popular feature to save space, costs and maybe even improve the aesthetics. Annoying for some, but I'm pretty sure the majority wouldn't even notice.
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Correct.
---------- Post added at 06:52 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:51 AM ----------
netnerd said:
yes. i'm sure the majority wont even notice the headphone jack is missing on iphone7 or people dont really care about headphone jack, that' why they took it away
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Click to collapse
The iPhone 7/7+ has sold very well despite the lack of a 3.5mm jack. You can still use 3.5mm headphones, you just need an adapter. And if the headphones have a lightning connector, those work fine. Even if they don't, the phone came with an adapter.

The IR blaster is dead along with CD's and VHS tapes. Line of sight device control is so 80's. Nothing I've purchase in the past two years relies on IR. Most are Wi-Fi or BT controllable with only one supporting RF (IR's beefier cousin) in addition to Wi-Fi. Hell, I have 40+ lightbulbs that are all Wi-Fi controllable. Time to let IR go. Each phone generation there are hues and cries about the loss of IR and FM radios. I'm surprised a thread on the latter hasn't appeared yet.

Well.. you can use something like a 3.5mm port IR blaster like this: https://www.amazon.com/Infrared-Universal-Wireless-Projector-Conditioner/dp/B01F54HKDU
I personally never tried it but theoretically it will work, just need the remote app able to convert the pulsing into audio to trigger the IR LED and it will light as pattern just like any normal IR blaster.

netnerd said:
yes. i'm sure the majority wont even notice the headphone jack is missing on iphone7 or people dont really care about headphone jack, that' why they took it away
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apples to oranges. I'm certain that more people listen to music than need an IR blaster on their phone. Remotes do come with the products they purchase, usually. There was a big Internet explosion over the loss of the headphone jack, the IR blaster is dying out with a whimper. In fact, I only see complaints on enthusiast forums such as XDA. That says it all.
That being said, tech is moving on. It's sad to lose something that is so well known but the future is wireless and the same thing can be said about IR. My TV has many different ways to control it, with or without IR blasters or the remote.

No InfraRed ?? 950€ and no InfraRed ??
I'm upset me too ! I will return to Xiaomi immediately !
Ridiculous: I changed to Samsung S4 and then S5 also for theyr Amazing InfraRed = Remote control ... !!
Nothing to add...