Related
Hi There, new to the boards.
Heres the low down. Im a recent iPhone convert. I got my first iPhone when they first came out, quickly realized how terrible ATT is, and hacked/flashed it unlocked it and went over to t-mobile. Back then hacking was like it is as of recently, go to website, hit link, wait for download, and voila!
I'm familiar with assistive-programs that help you jailbreak, like redsn0w and ultra, etc. But when my battery died, and i looked around, I finally realized that phone hardware finally caught up with the iPhone, and Android started looking really appealing. I love the open-source community, and the newer devices(Evo,GalaxyS,Droid)
After a very short think session(cause im with tmobile and the selection is vapid) I bought the Vibrant. I love the phone, aside from a few minor complaints(i would like a better battery life, and charge time. and a camera flash would be nice.)
I'm wondering what i should do to get the best performance and battery life out of my vibrant? SHOULD i root it? and with my modest developer background, should I attempt to root the device? is rooting really advantageous or should I just stick with good ol TMOB/Samsung 2.1 with all the crapware?
in short, whats the optimal android experience? and is it worth the hassle and voided warranty to do it?
Why do you need camera flash? Use nightmode.. it works amazing in the dark.
Go ahead and root it, it is so simple and allows you to customize your phone a lot more especially when ROMs start to release. With rooting you are able to remove the "crapware" and apply a lagfix that will boost your phone's performance significantly and a lot of other things. Customization in Android can go on for days and days and there are a lot of choices, just look around for what fits into your personality. Rooting is just another level of customizing your phone. As long as you're careful and you can read instructions then I'm sure you'll be fine.
^ petty much nailed it. Night mode is way better than a flash and rooting is a must. Check the sticky if you haven't already.
I was an iPhone user for a while as well. I can say (being modest) that I master the iPhone (being a regular user and not a dev level). I have jailbroken, unlocked and owned every single iPhone (2g, 3g, 3gs and 4) and my wife still uses it. Now I have a vibrant, rooting is the exact same thing as jailbreaking, just with another name... it basically gives you access to the "root" directory, (hence the name) just like jailbreak does to the iPhone... so if you like jailbreaking your iphone to install some apps that only run on jailbroken devices and you like modding your iphone.. then you must root your vibrant.
the battery life is poor because its a new toy and you are probably playing with it all day. once you get it fully setup and use it in a "normal way" (calls, text, emails, etc) and not installing and uninstalling apps to try every 5 minutes and changing all the settings, playing with gps, wifi, screen resolution, camera, etc... and all the good stuff that you use when you get a new phone, then the battery life is not as bad as you think.. I had the same first impression, now my battery last from 5am that I wake up, until midnight that I go to sleep
I currently have both. I sold my GS3 when I picked up the Lumia 920 fully knowing I was going to order a Nexus 4. My plan was to compare the 2 and decide which one I wanted to keep. I am in a bit of a struggle there. Would love input from others that Have/had both.
My opinions:
Lumia 920
Pros:
Screen - Much more vivid and bright, but not overly saturated like that of GS3 etc... Also SEEMS bigger due to on screen buttons of Nexus 4
Battery life - I wasn't even coming close to using up the battery in a day with the Lumia. WIth the Nexus I can make it through a day, but definitely not as good.
Feel - The Lumia feels very solid in your hands. The weight actually adds a good amount of feel to the phone as well, doesn't feel like a toy.
Camera - The camera on the Lumia is amazing (for a cell phone camera). Pictures are great quality and are taken with ease and fast.
OS - Windows Phone 8 is super smooth and does everything I need in a smartphone. It's newer to me, and so less boring.
Cons:
Apps - Very limited app selection. I knew this going in to WP8 and I honestly can't say it is missing anything I NEED, I guess this is more of a boredom filler thing.
No Dev - Again knew this coming in, and again a boredom filler more than anything
Nexus 4
Pros:
Dev - Not quite yet, but will have loads of custom tweaks/roms/etc to play with
App Selection - Not nearly as much as iOS but certainly more than WP8.
Call quality - I find the Nexus 4 to have AMAZING call quality (when it has a good signal)
OS - 4.2 on this phone is SUPER quick. No lag to speak of (for a change), but I do have to say I find Android kind of stale and old to me.
Cons:
Build Quality: While overall quality is great, phone feels solid, super light (debatable if that is a plus or not, I don't necessarily care for the toy feel) however the Phone has something that rattles when you shake it. Their is a constant buzz from the earpiece (can't be heard in call). The back is SUPER slippery, will slide off anything.
Signal - Overall signal is lower than the last 4-5 phones i have owned (based on signal at my house). Also when holding the phone in certain ways I can physically WATCH the signal drop down, then move my hand and watch it go back up.
Screen - Screen quality is fantastic, but the colors could use some life. I am not talking super saturated AMOLED style, but these are closer to HTC Dull IMO. The screen is just as usable in the sun test though, so it is bright!
Plenty more of each I will try to add when they come to mind, just wanted to post a few of my thoughts and see if anyone else had factors to add or their opinion (Please only post your opinion if you have had both phones to compare).
This is JUST my opinion. Please do not take my opinion on either phone as FACT or offensively. If you have a different opinion please share it (respectfully) and I am all ears. I am not posting this as a flame or to say either phone is bad or better than the other, in fact that is the decision I am stuck on. Both are AMAZING phones, so again please do not take either as a phone bash.
I'm pretty sure the rattling is the accelerometer. I don't hear the screeching at all...maybe mine is lucky.
WP8 is nice...I wouldn't judge the switch. The 920 has good build quality, too.
I don't think it's enough to pry me away from the openness of a Nexus.
Sent from my cm_tenderloin using xda app-developers app
Don't you care about the price?
You can buy two N4 for one N920.
The N920 Display is close to the N4. A little better than N4, but not as good as the fantastic OneX LCD2.
I'd also love to buy a Nokia again, but well.. N920.price > (N7.price + N4.price)
Edit: The rattling part with my N4 seems to be the camera-lens-system. The speaker only makes sounds when it is asked for
I've used a 920 and while it's an amazing piece of hardware, WP8 kills it for me.
I have none of the symptoms you described on your N4, no rattle, no buzzing from earpiece, or signal issues.
Overall, the determining factor will be first which ecosystem would you rather use, then which piece of hardware you want.
If WP8 is the answer to the first question then the 920 is the easiest choice, if it's Android and you aren't happy with the N4, look at the One X+, SGS 3, and Note 2.
ElectricAndi said:
Don't you care about the price?
You can buy two N4 for one N920.
The N920 Display is close to the N4. A little better than N4, but not as good as the fantastic OneX LCD2.
I'd also love to buy a Nokia again, but well.. N920.price > (N7.price + N4.price)
Edit: The rattling part with my N4 seems to be the camera-lens-system. The speaker only makes sounds when it is asked for
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I already own both. I paid the same price for both. both sell for roughly the same amount on ebay right now. So price is pretty much a wash.
All those windows phones are inferior even compared to apple
myorks1127 said:
All those windows phones are inferior even compared to apple
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your basing that on? Bring me some facts and I'll gladly have a debate with you.
I strongly disagree, having actually OWNED one, as well as many iOS and Android devices. Not that I think it's better than Android, but I definitely without question find it superior to iOS (to me).
crawlgsx said:
Your basing that on? Bring me some facts and I'll gladly have a debate with you.
I strongly disagree, having actually OWNED one, as well as many iOS and Android devices. Not that I think it's better than Android, but I definitely without question find it superior to iOS (to me).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hate apple too just saying the success of it, i think windows phone sales compared to android are significantly lower, ita a failing sector in the phone market
You think the nexus 4 is light and toy like? This thing feels like a tank and feels very solid.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
Android feel stale and old to you?
Man you really should stop using Android and buy that Nokia.
The point of Nexus 4's stock interface is for YOU to CUSTOMIZE FOR YOURSELF. If you prefer manufacturer to do that for you, you got the wrong device.
The Lumia is a flop. It's fat, overweight, and runs an OS with no apps.
I love my Nexus 4, a lot. BUT!!!!!! A friend of mine texted me about a week ago and told me he just got the lumia 920, he said its an AMAZING phone and he is blown away by it. ( he's a big android guy, matter of fact he got me to use android). Told me how the camera is amazing, the screen is insane and the fluidity is second to none. Also the predictive keyboard is excellent. THEN!!!! Today one of my coworker who is a big ISHEEP ( but a smart one lol) told me that one of his friend got the lumia and he told me the screen is just too good, he said he was super impressed by it although he said he doesn't like W8. So now I'm gonna get it as secondary phone for sure. Nexus 4 will still be my main phone.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
I have both, and what I can say about the 920 is what I'd say when owning an iPhone too (swapped out a 4s for it): I can handle WP8 & iOS because they're always secondary to Android for me. Exclusively I'd struggle with either, mainly due to lack of apps in WP8, and quite a bit overall in iOS. (The app quality in WP8 isn't poor, it's just the lack of a few are killing me, ie TuneIn - that one damn Swiss station...)
As a second device for me, the Lumia has battery for days - 26h off charger with moderate use the other day and it was at 60% - is built like some concoction designed to protect a tank, and the camera is advanced. Plus it's a simple, well-designed, incredibly smooth, handsome OS which focuses on productivity. And truthfully, for times when I don't need two phones, I often want one I'm inclined to use looking at the screen less - that's the 920. More a tool to the toy, in ways, that is Android for me personally. When I got the 920 I was planning on doing the same as the OP, choosing one, and I went with the 920 initially because I didn't want to be fiddling around with the N4, taking time to flash ROMs, research which kernel is best, figure out why this minor tweak has suddenly borked my entire mobile life, etc, when I'm supposed to be achieving productivity on the level of a respectable member of society. Then I got the N4 in my hands. Phenomenal piece. Not a chance that was going back. When I switch from one to the other, the Lumia feels slow in comparison, almost labored; and that's no slight on it, merely a compliment to the N4's screaming speed. So now it's both.
But in terms of real world use - and I live in a big city - the Lumia gets more day-to-day action for me, in part because I don't have a case for the N4 yet, and I'm terrified of flopping it out of my jacket pocket watching the shards spill across the pavement. I don't baby it, and it's just easier to put somewhere and not worry whether or not the 0.5 degrees of incline is going to send the lubricated glass back hurtling to the floor. I don't worry about the 920. I do about the N4. I also get concerned if I'm out somewhere and the battery is going to die, so I baby the use of my phone under these circumstances; will happen with the N4, won't with the 920. For me, the Lumia sort of ticks a "peace of mind" box. I can throw it in my pocket off the charger and walk out the door, not wondering if it'll last through the night or whether or not it might slap up against something on the subway and shatter, etc.
If it was one or the other and I had both in my hands for a few hours before having to give one back, it'd be no contest: the N4, if my initial concerns about the battery are substantial. I think it's a device of remarkably more potential with a wider variety of uses. However, I think the question to ask is not necessarily which phone is better, but which one best fits your life? People use their devices differently.
For the record, I love having both. Couldn't be happier; what the Nexus 4 gives me - the power, speed, apps, customization, etc. - is complemented perfectly by the 920's strengths - battery, camera, durability, simplicity, LTE, etc. As a pairing of phones, and I've owned a lot of different pairings, this is by far my favorite, and one I'll keep a very long time - which is rare. They're almost the perfect complements in my world. Now if someone could take the best of all these traits and make one single device, they could sell it for four figures on contract and watch the lines on release day stretch counties.
richteralan said:
Android feel stale and old to you?
Man you really should stop using Android and buy that Nokia.
The point of Nexus 4's stock interface is for YOU to CUSTOMIZE FOR YOURSELF. If you prefer manufacturer to do that for you, you got the wrong device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Man you should really learn how to read.
First of all, I own both (as stated)
Second of all, I am sorry I put your panties in a bunch that I find Android getting stale FOR ME, it's my opinion. Get over it.
I never said anything about not wanting to customize the interface, The main reason I even like Android is the ability to load custom roms and tweak things myself. I never said otherwise.
When you have something valid to add come back.
barondebxl said:
I love my Nexus 4, a lot. BUT!!!!!! A friend of mine texted me about a week ago and told me he just got the lumia 920, he said its an AMAZING phone and he is blown away by it. ( he's a big android guy, matter of fact he got me to use android). Told me how the camera is amazing, the screen is insane and the fluidity is second to none. Also the predictive keyboard is excellent. THEN!!!! Today one of my coworker who is a big ISHEEP ( but a smart one lol) told me that one of his friend got the lumia and he told me the screen is just too good, he said he was super impressed by it although he said he doesn't like W8. So now I'm gonna get it as secondary phone for sure. Nexus 4 will still be my main phone.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good info. That about says how I feel about the Lumia. Will be curious to see how you feel if/when you do get one.
cg9916 said:
I have both, and what I can say about the 920 is what I'd say when owning an iPhone too (swapped out a 4s for it): I can handle WP8 & iOS because they're always secondary to Android for me. Exclusively I'd struggle with either, mainly due to lack of apps in WP8, and quite a bit overall in iOS. (The app quality in WP8 isn't poor, it's just the lack of a few are killing me, ie TuneIn - that one damn Swiss station...)
As a second device for me, the Lumia has battery for days - 26h off charger with moderate use the other day and it was at 60% - is built like some concoction designed to protect a tank, and the camera is advanced. Plus it's a simple, well-designed, incredibly smooth, handsome OS which focuses on productivity. And truthfully, for times when I don't need two phones, I often want one I'm inclined to use looking at the screen less - that's the 920. More a tool to the toy, in ways, that is Android for me personally. When I got the 920 I was planning on doing the same as the OP, choosing one, and I went with the 920 initially because I didn't want to be fiddling around with the N4, taking time to flash ROMs, research which kernel is best, figure out why this minor tweak has suddenly borked my entire mobile life, etc, when I'm supposed to be achieving productivity on the level of a respectable member of society. Then I got the N4 in my hands. Phenomenal piece. Not a chance that was going back. When I switch from one to the other, the Lumia feels slow in comparison, almost labored; and that's no slight on it, merely a compliment to the N4's screaming speed. So now it's both.
But in terms of real world use - and I live in a big city - the Lumia gets more day-to-day action for me, in part because I don't have a case for the N4 yet, and I'm terrified of flopping it out of my jacket pocket watching the shards spill across the pavement. I don't baby it, and it's just easier to put somewhere and not worry whether or not the 0.5 degrees of incline is going to send the lubricated glass back hurtling to the floor. I don't worry about the 920. I do about the N4. I also get concerned if I'm out somewhere and the battery is going to die, so I baby the use of my phone under these circumstances; will happen with the N4, won't with the 920. For me, the Lumia sort of ticks a "peace of mind" box. I can throw it in my pocket off the charger and walk out the door, not wondering if it'll last through the night or whether or not it might slap up against something on the subway and shatter, etc.
If it was one or the other and I had both in my hands for a few hours before having to give one back, it'd be no contest: the N4, if my initial concerns about the battery are substantial. I think it's a device of remarkably more potential with a wider variety of uses. However, I think the question to ask is not necessarily which phone is better, but which one best fits your life? People use their devices differently.
For the record, I love having both. Couldn't be happier; what the Nexus 4 gives me - the power, speed, apps, customization, etc. - is complemented perfectly by the 920's strengths - battery, camera, durability, simplicity, LTE, etc. As a pairing of phones, and I've owned a lot of different pairings, this is by far my favorite, and one I'll keep a very long time - which is rare. They're almost the perfect complements in my world. Now if someone could take the best of all these traits and make one single device, they could sell it for four figures on contract and watch the lines on release day stretch counties.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great info thank you. Your thoughts are very similar to my take. I just don't know that I can justify having 2 devices, so I am trying to make a choice that has turned out to be harder than I thought it would be
crawlgsx said:
Man you should really learn how to read.
First of all, I own both (as stated)
Second of all, I am sorry I put your panties in a bunch that I find Android getting stale FOR ME, it's my opinion. Get over it.
I never said anything about not wanting to customize the interface, The main reason I even like Android is the ability to load custom roms and tweak things myself. I never said otherwise.
When you have something valid to add come back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know what you mean by stale. If you like the ability to load custom ROMs, but complain when you have the most moddable Nexus line in your hand, you have some serious problems buddy. If you have some deeply locked down devices then your complain might be valid.
Apparently you never used a Windows Phone before so you feel fresh. I will see how you comment on your Windows Phone after the "honey moon" period is over.
Also, when you post your opinion publicly but don't expect others to comment on it (valid or not), good for you!
May I introduce you to Neowin.net, where all M$ fanboys hangout, so you can have more help with your Nokia.
BTW, I hangout there, too.
richteralan said:
I don't know what you mean by stale. If you like the ability to load custom ROMs, but complain when you have the most moddable Nexus line in your hand, you have some serious problems buddy. If you have some deeply locked down devices then your complain might be valid.
Apparently you never used a Windows Phone before so you feel fresh. I will see how you comment on your Windows Phone after the "honey moon" period is over.
Also, when you post your opinion publicly but don't expect others to comment on it (valid or not), good for you!
May I introduce you to Neowin.net, where all M$ fanboys hangout, so you can have more help with your Nokia.
BTW, I hangout there, too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I mean I have just gotten kind of bored with Android, as in its the SSDD for me. It's not like I haven't owned a few. It's not meant to be offensive to Android, this is a personal problem lol.
My last windows phone is the first on my sig . Been a long time. I had no interest in it when WP7 came out compared to Android but now that I have had Android for a while I picked it up just to try it out and I was pleasantly surprised at how well it runs and functions.
I am not looking for help with either, nor do I expect everyone to see my point of view. All opinions (when stated as such, and not argumentative or stated like it is fact) are very much welcome.
I am not a fanboy of any company OR Operating System, mobile or desktop. I try them all, and I pick what I find the best for ME at the time. I will never understand why some people find the need to attach themselves to one option but to each their own. When it comes down to it, neither of these phones will be in my possession for more than a few months until I get bored with them.
I was just curious what others thought, nothing more, nothing less.
And you may be very well correct on the honeymoon period statement. Part of the enticement to the Lumia IS that WP8 is new to me.(hardware aside) but I will grow bored with it in no time, no doubt.
I fully respect anyone who comes in here with the opinion that I am crazy/stupid/etc for even considering the Lumia over the Nexus, that is fine. I would appreciate some opinions/facts on why, and not fiction about how bad WP8 is (especially if you have never owned one, or at least spent some time with one).
n4 £279
920 £496
if the n4 was closer in price to the 920 it would be a much harder decision. but it isn't. so it isn't. for what you get for your £279, n4 wins hands down.
Well i had android for many years.. but ... it never feels like its it, dont know how to say it.
I have a Lumia 920 now and its bloody awesome, so smooth, never lags, and the appstore is getting bigger everyday.
All my apps i used on Android are in the WP store for me.
Dont get me wrong Android is a great OS, but the changes in versions never live quite up to it.
And how are you adapting?
Is the lock bootloader bothering you?, and how about the size of the phone?
is the development what you thought it would be?
And what made you jump ship?
thanks for the feed back!
chefb said:
And how are you adapting?
Is the lock bootloader bothering you?, and how about the size of the phone?
is the development what you thought it would be?
And what made you jump ship?
thanks for the feed back!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i came from the nexus and yes I am a bit sad that i cant flash whatever I want. But i am thankful at least we can flash roms.
Honestly, i bought the note 3 without doing any research, it wasnt until a few days after I found out that the bootloader was locked...which took me by surprise.
I dont regret it at all. To me, the galaxy nexus on verizon was probably one of the worst phones ever built. I am so glad to be done with it you have no idea. Living day to day with the nexus was painful. No amount of tweaks could save that crap phone. I am in heaven with the note 3 and its battery. Its actually kind of nice not having to flash something everyday in hope of improving my phone so its usable.
I also had the Galaxy Nexus, and while in general I liked it a lot, the battery life was pretty poor, and 4g/3g reception wasn't nearly as good as my wife's S4.
I debated upgrading for a while, but over Black Friday week-end, found a deal I couldn't refuse: Verizon lowered the price to $199, Comcast had a promotion giving a $200 PrePaid VISA card with the purchase of a new Verizon phone/Upgrade, and then I sold my Galaxy Nexus for $105 through Craigs List. Even with the upgrade fee and taxes, I netted $60 in the deal (assuming the $200 card comes in 4 weeks).
I never had the need to root/flash ROM's, etc., so my experience might be different from yours. But the GN3 is much, much smoother/quicker over all. The browsing experience is night and day better. Chrome works fine, and is incredibly quick. Battery Life is much better as well.
The screen size is much nicer for me, and yes the overall phone size is big, but not problematic. I use the basic TPU Case/Holster, and just put on the JLG Nano screen protector yesterday. Adds minimal size/weight, and keeps it protected and easily portable.
Radio reception remains to be determined as I haven't traveled much since getting it. Where I have been, it's been fine. Just took the OTA update yesterday, so can't yet evaluate what impact that had.
Bottom line - I am extremely pleased with this phone vs the GN I had - no regrets whatsoever (would feel the same even if I had to pay for it!).
I'm coming from the g-nex, and the N3 is far and away an incredibly, insanely superior device. Speed of the device, in general, is easily 3-4x faster, and with 3x the RAM, there's no comparison when it comes to multitasking. Features like multi-window and pen window put this phone light years ahead. Not to mention, the s pen features and technology are just amazing. This is the first time I've ever updated a device and felt like I've actually advanced 4 years in tech instead of 2.
Reception and the radios are vastly better - I haven't missed a single call yet whereas I'd miss calls pretty frequently with my gnex, and the 4G speeds are much better...but by far, most importantly, battery life is almost triple of what I could ever achieve on the gnex. I've regularly gotten 2-3 days of uptime on my N3 and can easily get 6-8 hours of screen on time. Insanity.
As for ROMs, the only reason why I installed ROMs on the nexus was to mod the nav keys, make the nav key background transparent, and a few other mods. With my N3 I feel absolutely no need to even install a ROM. Every single mod I ever wanted I've installed though xposed.
And I really though I'd hate not having nav keys (soft keys) after having them for two years, but now I actually much prefer NOT having them! The extra screen real estate is very nice, allowing full use of this huge display, and with xposed you can mod the capacitive keys, so my back key is now also my menu key when long pressed...no need for soft keys at all. Not only that, I have it so the keys are never lit so it's a very streamlined look, almost all display.
Hopefully on the Note 4, Samsung will finally ditch the physical home button and make it, too, capacitive. Then the device will look even that much more slick.
TL ; DR version: The N3 is light years ahead of the gnex in every imaginable aspect. A no-brainer; even at $300 it's WELL worth it coming from ANY previous-gen device.
All interesting. ...keep Em coming!
chefb said:
All interesting. ...keep Em coming!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
bumpity bump
I too came from a Verizon G'nex, and I pretty much agree with everything that's been said so far. Don't get me wrong, I loved the Gnex...still do, as a matter of fact, but this phone is just superior in so many ways. I used to have to use 2 batteries just to get through a single day. Nowadays, I still have two batteries, but I've gone for entire days without ever having to switch them.
As far as development goes...I bought the phone, in large part, because of its stylus, and the various apps that come with it. Seeing as flashing anything based on AOSP would mean the loss of pen window, action memo, screen write etc, I would be unlikely to flash anything other than a Touchwiz-based rom in the first place, so SafeStrap is acceptable. Ideologically, of course, I hate the idea of a locked bootloader, but in practice it's not really that bad. I've flashed Beans' rom, and it looks like that's where I'll probably stay for a good long while. It's certainly nice, though, that the only reason I wanted to flash a new rom in the first place was to remove bloatware and take care of a few aesthetic concerns...flashing roms on the G'nex was more of a survival strategy to keep the phone working than a luxury. I felt like I was changing roms every two or three weeks on the G'nex due to some sort of performance or radio issue, and there's none of that with the Note 3.
Overall...it's a lovely, lovely phone, and an improvement over the G'nex in every possible way except for, perhaps, the locked bootloader. Some may gripe with its size, but I watch a lot of videos on my phone, and the screen is amazing for media viewing. The processor is good enough to handle literally anything you throw at it, with any codec, up to 1080p. I've come to expect that MX Player with the custom codec pack will play nearly anything, but I was sore amazed to find that the native video app can play most (not all, but most) MKV files, which allows you to do cool things like floating video. I've never had the phone slow down or stutter, even with multiple parallel app downloads going (which used to KILL the G'nex), and almost everything I didn't like initially can be patched with a few quick Xposed tweaks. So yeah...if you're hesitating about switching to this phone from a G'nex...don't. You'll love it and never want to look back.
there is a sticky for this discussion here ... http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2466108
Just curious how everyone is enjoying their Moto X Pure Editions since they've been out for a little over a year now. I've left mine stock the entire time I've had it which is something new for me. As far as the phone itself is concerned I really like it. Love the screen, the size, shape, etc. However, really looking to get something else or rooting as I've had a ton of software issues. Apps not responding the way they should or crashing repeatedly . This is the first phone I've had that's actually acted this way so kind of turned off by it.
Stock here, 11 months of use, 2 updates (5 to 6.0 and the last security update) never a issue.
Just one time, the screen shows a rare horizontal lines, 1 reboot and back to normal.
The heat you ask? Yes, in chrome and YouTube, the heat is an "add on" not specified in the manual...
Great phone, but my next one is a OnePlus 3, not a Lenovorola
Enviado desde mi XT1575 mediante Tapatalk
Screen cracked on first one and had to play endless games with the repair department, including reporting fraud on my credit card. Both speaker grills are working on their second time falling out. Screen and glass coating are better than average on the replacement. I like the LTE bands, high res screen, and the ability to use a big microSD card. The lack of software support is the worst I've seen of an OEM phone. I had to switch to CM13 but there's nobody there who can completely fix the drivers - VoLTE breakup, proximity sensor bugs, speaker fade-out bug, no WiFi calling, poor low light camera performance, etc. I don't see myself trusting Lenovo again for many years to come.
Stock Style
Kept it still in stock. No major issues. Been using the phone with the stock Moto Screen cover plastic still in place (all moto phone have nice plastic screen guard which I never peel. Use it heavily for 3-4 days post unboxing and remove the logo, which has now dried due to screen heat, with a coin). Waiting with finger crossed for Andorid 7.
Camera app and camera as hardware was real disappointment. unlike G4 plus camera app, this phone camera app is very basic in nature. Also the camera is not comparable with other phone's of this budget. Otherwise this was an awesome deal.
Altomugriento said:
Stock here, 11 months of use, 2 updates (5 to 6.0 and the last security update) never a issue.
Just one time, the screen shows a rare horizontal lines, 1 reboot and back to normal.
The heat you ask? Yes, in chrome and YouTube, the heat is an "add on" not specified in the manual...
Great phone, but my next one is a OnePlus 3, not a Lenovorola
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Much the same experience for me. Very happy with the phone for the price (I paid UK £300 in December 2015). Still amazed at the sound quality from the speakers. Fast charging too.
I also had the horizontal lines problem about a month ago - thought the phone had died but a reboot solved it. Has only happened once.
Issues ? For me :
would like wireless charging
wish Lenovo were better with updates
maybe a bit too big - but that's my problem , not the phone's - I wanted a big display.
Bought it approx. 2 months ago (15th July, 2016) and really enjoying it all over except the display, my display is bit warmish when compared to other phone and also has a slight bleeding in left corner. I wish it had AMOLED display as the previous series. Camera gives really good pics so happy with it. Would like to know if anyone else has the same display concern as mine.
Stock rooted EU Style at 6.0.1 - so far there are no issues with the phone
Picked it up on the Prime Day sale.
It does the job and is better than my previous phone, a Nexus 4.
Minor gripes. If it gets the update to Nougat I'll be happy with what I paid for it.
It will soon be my girlfriends phone and I'm getting an iPhone 7 or Pixel X. That iPhone is just a screamer. Fast, and good looking. Would be my first Apple product.
Used to like the phone, now I'm extremely indifferent about it. I haven't had any hardware problems, but the lack of software support is extremely disappointing. The camera takes OK pictures, the battery rarely provides more than 2.5 hours SOT, and from what I can tell every custom ROM for this phone blows chunks (I've tried all the popular ones, but the CM base sucks). I've had sporadic issues with cell service, which I believe are software related, and to top it off, my phone somehow nuked itself while I was on vacation in June (I was able to get it back but I lost a bunch of stuff and had to re-setup my phone while on vacation)
I was at Disney world all day, battery died about an hour before I left the park. I got in the car, plugged it into the car charger, and while it was coming up to the battery screen it went haywire and rebooted. Then the charging screen came up and I shrugged it off. About 30 minutes later I tried to turn it back on, and it just bootlooped endlessly. So I had to pull out my laptop, use the slow hotel wifi and download the firmware, then use fastboot to re-flash everything. Luckily I use Google photos to back up pics, so I didn't lose any of the vacation photos.
For the first time in years I'm considering an iPhone. Never had to deal with this kind of crap with my old iPhone 5.
Love my Style, changed 2 screens on it, been stock since I purchased it brand new, not through choice, can't root this phone at all, I've tried every combination possible but the remote server times out requesting the token I'd so I've given up any hope of rooting it.
Apart from that the phone has been flawless, the odd heating up with certain apps which I can put up with.
Not really impressed with the way Moto/Lenovo have treated this supposed flagship in terms of updates and still no solid word from the company if our device will get nougat. It probably will get it but I would have bought a pixel xl by then.
Sent from my XT1572 using XDA Free mobile app
No major issues really (bar the obvious update void). Still love the fact that the phone is smaller than my friend's iphone 6 plus, yet the screen is larger.
First phone I've ever owned that still does not have a single scratch on the screen even though it has been naked since day one, got the phone October 17th. In fact there are very few marks on the phone overall and I've dropped it from knee height onto the road a couple of times.
I often think about wanting a new phone (only because I have G.A.S (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) but then I realise that anything I get won't really do anything that this one doesn't already do.
Waiting patiently for Nougat!
I bought the Style with extreme enthusiasm since it ran "stock" android and had an SDcard slot. My initial impressions were hopeful... it was a little laggy but other than that, it was okay, and the speakers, OH GOD the speakers. But after a month or two of using it and unlocking the bootloader, it was obvious that there were some serious issues with the phone. Lenovo/Motorola obviously didn't know what they were doing when they made the stock ROM for the device. It was always laggy for me and there were other issues as well. After tons of attempts to find an AOSP or stock rom that fixed these issues... i gave up. I just accepted that TruPureX was the best i was going to get. It made me miss my LG G2 and HTC M8. Anyways after a little under a year i did a lot of thinking and eventually made the decision that i was tired of feeling the need to flash custom firmwares, bootloaders, recoveries, etc. just to get my phone to function in the manner that I feel it should. I ended up buying a (very expensive) iPhone 6S Plus. I understand that people will most likely bash this decision and i respect your views, so respect mine. I still believe android as an OS is superior, but the OEMs just can't properly implement it into their devices in the way that Apple can. I don't regret my decision and now i have amazing battery life and everything "just works". Which isn't something i've been able to say about an android phone. I'm not advising anyone to do what i did, i respect all technology as well as your views, i'm just sharing my experience. Owning this phone annoyed my so much i switched sides (at least for a while).
Sent from my iPhone 6S Plus using Tapatalk
elite001mm said:
I bought the Style with extreme enthusiasm since it ran "stock" android and had an SDcard slot. My initial impressions were hopeful... it was a little laggy but other than that, it was okay, and the speakers, OH GOD the speakers. But after a month or two of using it and unlocking the bootloader, it was obvious that there were some serious issues with the phone. Lenovo/Motorola obviously didn't know what they were doing when they made the stock ROM for the device. It was always laggy for me and there were other issues as well. After tons of attempts to find an AOSP or stock rom that fixed these issues... i gave up. I just accepted that TruPureX was the best i was going to get. It made me miss my LG G2 and HTC M8. Anyways after a little under a year i did a lot of thinking and eventually made the decision that i was tired of feeling the need to flash custom firmwares, bootloaders, recoveries, etc. just to get my phone to function in the manner that I feel it should. I ended up buying a (very expensive) iPhone 6S Plus. I understand that people will most likely bash this decision and i respect your views, so respect mine. I still believe android as an OS is superior, but the OEMs just can't properly implement it into their devices in the way that Apple can. I don't regret my decision and now i have amazing battery life and everything "just works". Which isn't something i've been able to say about an android phone. I'm not advising anyone to do what i did, i respect all technology as well as your views, i'm just sharing my experience. Owning this phone annoyed my so much i switched sides (at least for a while).
Sent from my iPhone 6S Plus using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sean89us said:
Used to like the phone, now I'm extremely indifferent about it. I haven't had any hardware problems, but the lack of software support is extremely disappointing. The camera takes OK pictures, the battery rarely provides more than 2.5 hours SOT, and from what I can tell every custom ROM for this phone blows chunks (I've tried all the popular ones, but the CM base sucks). I've had sporadic issues with cell service, which I believe are software related, and to top it off, my phone somehow nuked itself while I was on vacation in June (I was able to get it back but I lost a bunch of stuff and had to re-setup my phone while on vacation)
I was at Disney world all day, battery died about an hour before I left the park. I got in the car, plugged it into the car charger, and while it was coming up to the battery screen it went haywire and rebooted. Then the charging screen came up and I shrugged it off. About 30 minutes later I tried to turn it back on, and it just bootlooped endlessly. So I had to pull out my laptop, use the slow hotel wifi and download the firmware, then use fastboot to re-flash everything. Luckily I use Google photos to back up pics, so I didn't lose any of the vacation photos.
For the first time in years I'm considering an iPhone. Never had to deal with this kind of crap with my old iPhone 5.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like we have similar experiences. I've never owned an Iphone but have had multiple Ipods and Ipads. I think I've grown out of the flashing game myself. I look at all the roms available for the Pure and I'm just not impressed at all. I've come from a long line of Android devices that have all had excellent development and this one has been a bust. I have also been thinking about going with an Iphone but I'm pretty terrified of getting away from the Android environment lol. I'm just to a point in my life where I want my phone to function flawlessly the majority of the time. I wasn't impressed at all with my Galaxy S5 so that's kind of turned me away from Samsung in general. I really liked my HTC devices so I may give them another look in the near future if I don't end up giving Apple the go ahead.
Mnorton1228 said:
Sounds like we have similar experiences. I've never owned an Iphone but have had multiple Ipods and Ipads. I think I've grown out of the flashing game myself. I look at all the roms available for the Pure and I'm just not impressed at all. I've come from a long line of Android devices that have all had excellent development and this one has been a bust. I have also been thinking about going with an Iphone but I'm pretty terrified of getting away from the Android environment lol. I'm just to a point in my life where I want my phone to function flawlessly the majority of the time. I wasn't impressed at all with my Galaxy S5 so that's kind of turned me away from Samsung in general. I really liked my HTC devices so I may give them another look in the near future if I don't end up giving Apple the go ahead.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes our experiences are indeed very similar. The phone i was most impressed with was my HTC M8. The battery life that it gave with the "small" battery was amazing at that time, but my 6S+ has a similar battery, bigger screen and more powerful processor and it somehow manages to demolish the M8s battery life. I find it extremely impressive. I'm a college student and i just decided i didn't have the time to keep flashing things, etc. The only thing that i hate about iOS is the fact that you have no access to the file system. I may jailbreak and fix some things but for now i'm trying it unmodified. At least on ios you're guaranteed good software support for a good while.
Sent from my iPhone 6S Plus using Tapatalk
Doktaphex said:
I often think about wanting a new phone (only because I have G.A.S (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) but then I realise that anything I get won't really do anything that this one doesn't already do.
Waiting patiently for Nougat!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This. Exactly this.
A couple of white spots on my LCD. Not a huge deal.
LCD cracked- without cracking the glass, which is a first for me.
It took a ton of work to get the battery where I needed it.
Development is dildos. ONE (brilliant) stock rom, and its developer left. All the AOSP roms have issues.
I can't believe with only 3 unlocked phones on Verizon, we don't have an abundant choice of roms. Ridiculous.
Had mine since Christmas eve. I replaced the battery thinking it was dying, turns out I just use a lot of battery-consuming apps. Aside from that, hardware has been top-knotch. No issues with software (still running Lolipop), but I rooted the day I got it and disabled updates because I heard the MM update was having tons of issues and causing pops in the speakers and battery drains, etc. and never got around to going MM.
Convinced 2 friends to get Moto X pures as well, and they both love it.
I've had the Pure since November 2015: rooted and spent most of the time on stock. Right now, I'm running Dirty Unicorns 10.6 official, which has the September 2016 update. My overall impression is: 5.5 out of 10 (10 being the best). It's a decent, middle-of-the-road phone.
PROS
Unlocked (no carrier BS)
Bright screen
Two speakers with decent sound
CDMA and GSM antennas
Decent call quality
Motomaker configured to taste
CONS
So-so battery life. My LG G3 lasted about 48 hours after full charge. My MXP lasts about 18 hours.
So-so camera. Forget about low light pictures. (Missing my LG G3 camera...)
Mediocre level of enthusiasm about the phone, i.e., it took a long time to get decent cases/screen protectors, ROM development is OK but there are more devs for other phones
Lack of Android updates from Motorola. (I prefer stock due to stability and battery life.)
Heavier than a comparable Samsung Galaxy phone for it's size.
No "wow" feature to the phone: everything is just meh.
why is it nobody mentioned about its ram.. ram management on mm is so poor. i get 600 to 800 sometimes 500 ram free with no other apps installed. pure stock no root.vthats why its so laggy at times... bought it last month for $260 with 32gb on best buy.. i thought it was a deal but cant help notice the lag sometimes. i have a lg g pro 2 3 gb ram with snapdragon 800 on 2014 model... i get 1500 free ram so why is moto x pure on 2015 model only gets 600 to 800 free ram with 3gb phone. will motorola lenovo can still fix this great phone ?
After loving my Moto X and Moto X 2014, I gave the Moto X 2015 a try. On stock It lags a good amount, battery life is below average, sound is loud but quality is bad, also when I receive notifications the sound lags in the middle of it, and the phone ran extremely hot just using social apps or playing light games.
CM13 was the only rom to bring this phone back to life for me. I underclocked the cpu and gpu because of heat and battery power increased dramatically. Notification sounds sound normal and even when underclocked, the phone is still snappy on CM13.
My gf have a Samsung Galaxy s6 with apps I use plus more and her phone didn't nearly get as hot as mines with also better battery life than I was on stock.
Currently using it with Nova launcher and stock everything else.
The good:
- The awesome monitor to body ratio is still as amazing as it was the first time I see it, especially when game such as Alto's Adventure allows full screen immersion mode.
- Extremely high build quality, not only does the ceramic feel awesome and polished (feels like glass but smoother), the weight that it adds makes the whole phone feel extremely premium.
- Speaker is surprisingly good, and internal amp drives my full sized Audeze EL8 without any issue.
- Quick charge is as useful as expected
- Extremely quick finger print reading
- Some surprisingly good features, for example the notification bar when dragged down includes weather immediately. Also a great feature to have the battery show as a bar on top rather than an icon.
- Very useful alarm clock apps, sure it's not Sleep. But it has the option to only do alarm in all work days. Meaning it automatic turn off for red day public holiday.
The bad:
- Going into full immersion mode can be troublesome for keyboard. You have to hold your phone lower to get used to the keyboard location.
- Not able to change the default search bar in the notification bar, seriously this would have been so awesome if the default is google.
- Listening call still feels weird at times.
- Google play occasionally crash.
Camera:
Below is the album that I have uploaded from daily shots and from a trip. Without edit and with native app.
http://imgur.com/a/R7cIo
One word: Unreliable.
Good:
Very fast focus and exposure adjustment.
Good selection of modes and with internal filter if you are into this sort of things
Fun to use for selfie, there's a scoring system and guessing age/gender which often leads to laughter (but it is surprisingly accurate)
imo very good HDR mode, with only slightly overexposing the high light.
Bad:
occasionally it set pretty poor exposure values (too high shutter and lead to high ISO etc)
Poor sharpness. Could be the over aggressive noise cancelling.
Some lag after pressing shutter
Poor flair control
Colour is a hit or miss, occasionally very bad colour control (you can see it from the airplane flight shot, the sky is no where that blue)
Final words:
How long has it been that you see a phone with something special? Every phone is only slightly better spec, or different size, there's nothing groundbreaking. Smartphone market almost feel boring in the past 2 to 3 years.
Then come this phone, brave enough not only to include a bezeless monitor, but also put in a high end spec with a ceramic build.
if you are looking for something special, right now in the world, there is only this one phone with all these features, at a price tag that is not outrageous.
lyI agree with most of what you're saying. Major exception, for me, is the fingerprint reader: Works fine for an hour or so, then simple stops reading after that. Diagnosis (* # * # 64663 # * # *) reports it's fine. Have restored system, flashed developer ROM (didn't like it) then returned to China stable, with same results. I have not unlocked the BL, and with nougat on the horizon, it appears, for the first time in many years, I won't have a rooted phone boo-hoo).
I updated to China stable 8.0.12.0 just last night. Supposedly camera improvements (among others), so we'll see on that front.
Love the phone, the size is impressive (big/small) and the overall concept.
I'm loving the phone so far. Although it does have one big 'issue' which is the screen flashing red as I lock the phone, but it only seems to happen when the screen has white pixels.
Examples: http://imgur.com/a/jclHi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3C8j1o4-SE
Anybody else able to replicate this problem?
Apart from that problem though, everything is fantastic. Phone is incredibly fast (I have the 4GB model), it held GTA San Andreas, Torque Burnout, CarX Drift AND GTA Vice City all in memory! Seriously impressive stuff. Phone is very snappy, and very large, but it is very easy to get used to, I held and iPhone 4 the other day and I swear it could have fit into my Mix twice!
Camera is okay with the default app, I have since downloaded Snap Camera which makes the pictures much better and has lots more options. However, I'm not really very 'into' taking pictures with my phone, so my advice is probably lost anyway.
Had it close to five weeks now.
I forgot to point this out when I got it, but the finish on this thing is nothing short of predominant! (Nods to Michael Scott fans). But seriously, just wow.
I have been pretty fortunate with all my prior devices. The one fault I can think of, is that my Z1 has a singel bright pixel. Admittedly, my old TyTn did die after being exposed to the harshness of laying on my desk for a month when I brought a burner to the far east. A slap in the face when service said it had water damage (yaahh, from the high humidity we always experience up north ) which they supposedly had pictures of (they didn't). Wanted me to pay for shipping and service fees to return my dud. Needless to say, I swallowed the guys behind the counter whole, and walked outta there not paying a cent, paperweight in hand.
Sure, there have been some tiny misalignments on some devices. Where screen has not been 100% flush with the front, or other parts minutely sticking out. Albeit, these flaws have been too insignificant to warrant a return. Meaning, you would almost need a magnifying glass to spot them.
I say this to convey that I meticulously go over my devices to check for flaws.
The MiX is the first I can honestly say is totally FLAWLESS! Can't stop caressing this jewel. Toss away your stress balls and just hold onto your MiX.
On the software side, 2 minutes of removing crap = happy camper. Speed and stutter free experience only matched by my m8 on custom kernel and lightweight MM rom. Not had a lot of FC's and continuous toasts of stuff failing and whatnot. A+ again.
The camera is not beating current flagships. I don't snap pics at every waking moment, so I find the stock app to perform very satisfactory in all lighting conditions when in manual. I have yet to see a phone cam work optimal in auto anyway. Iso almost always end up too high, on tripods as well. In video recording, I don't have a ton of material yet to compare this and that in different resolutions, but yeah I have seen better. OIS would have been nice I guess. Will be more exciting to get some footage out and about in a few months, when I have scenery that includes more contrasting colours than just black white and grey.
Battery life is awesome. But I think others with a better device history should comment on that besides me.
Only thing I have to counter all this lovin' with, is the ultrasound proximity sensor. This may only be on mine, but often when the screen turns off, after maybe five or ten seconds it has a tendency to come back on. I have to move it away at least 10-15cm away from my head and wait a second or two before putting it against my ear again. After that it stays off. Odd! That can be a bit frustrating actually. Whether it be the sensor or the software making fudge, I don't know (happened on more than one ROM).
Last I'm gonna say for now is that:
Even though my Sharp gave me even more of "no edge on top" feeling, this slabalicious wonder makes me want to bite down on it just to get another tactile (toothtile?) sensation.
Merry X-mas y'all!
i have the exact opposite opinion as the original poster.
the only things i don't like is how heavy it is. no idea how this is a plus or that its heavy makes one think it is better built. you drop this phone on its corner and the screen is going to crack.
i'm also not a fan of the square bar design, if i pick up my nexus 6 which is the same size basically it feels so so much better in my hand.
that being said, i wouldn't trade this phone for ANYTHING else on the market. these are only very samll minor complaings, as well as i very much want an AOSP rom instead of MIUI. i bought this phone for the huge 6.4 inch screen and the screen is unreal. the battery life and speed are also like no phone i've ever had. this thing flies.
I've had the Mix for just about a month now, purchased from an eBay reseller based here in the US. The Mix came factory sealed with CN Stable 8.0.10.0 installed.
I took a few days on the CN ROM to decide that I didn't want that, and then followed @underlines' excellent guide to install TWRP, root with Su and install the EU ROM. I had applied to bootloader unlock when I ordered the phone.
I love this device. I don't think I've been this excited about a smartphone ever, and I have owned lots of them. My only gripe is the camera, which is fine but not as good as the iPhone 7+ or the Google Pixel or the SG 7 Edge. Though Snap Camera app in manual mode provides very good results and better than the stock camera app.
Otherwise my thoughts are as the other posters in this thread, amazing screen, excellent build quality, battery lasts a very long time and did I mention the screen? I think most importantly this feels like the future. Is it perfect? No. Does it include every LTE band? Apparently not. Is it the perfect size for most hands to hold? No. But everyone who sees it asks "what phone is this?". And that includes Samsung, Apple, HTC and Motorola users.
I would recommend installing TWRP and rooting, MIUI is optimized for the Chinese market and many of those optimizations don't make sense in other markets or negatively impact usability.
Cheers
J
Sent from my MIX using XDA Labs