Database Users

Has Dell fixed the camera on this phone?

The DVP was always the one phone I wanted to own but with all its issues I went ahead and bought an Omnia 7 (now updated to Mango).
I've heard Dell has released a new firmware that addresses all the initial issues so I'm wondering if:
a) all the issues are indeed fixed
b) the camera has been improved as it was pretty much terrible
I would appreciate very honest, objective answers so that I know what to expect.
Cheers

a) The stability issues have now been fixed. My phone is now very reliable. (Unfortunately, does not support the new wifi hotspot feature, however).
b) The camera seems to be improved. There's a thread with some pictures below.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1206192
One of the problems seems to be that the camera doesn't have image stabilisation hardware (which the Samsung phones do have). The suggestion I have found most useful to take better pictures is to tap the screen lightly to take a picture instead of pressing the camera button. (Pressing the camera button shakes the phone and the pictures sometimes turn out blurry).
Also, tweaking the settings helps get better results.
In my opinion, the camera is okay, not great but not terrible either. I think your Samsung will probably take better pictures though.

Thanks, some of these pictures actually look great. My issue is there isn't a new phone announced yet with 32GB storage so I might end up going for a DVP rather than a new and shiny device. We'll see.

camera is worthless.

Deep down I believe you, that phone should really have been a gem.
Sent from my Samsung Omnia 7 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App

Indeed, it needs more effort to keep still when taking a picture e.g. holding your elbows in to your chest and holding the phone with both hands. Also, easier in bright light than dim light as the phone needs to be held still for less time, so less chance of blurry pictures.
If you already have an Omnia, I'd suggest waiting.
The screen, thickness (i.e. bulk) and camera are probably worse on the DVP. The keyboard and storage capacity are better. So it's probably a side-step rather than an upgrade.
I've read about one Mango device so far that appears to be 32GB (unfortunately, Japan / Taiwan only atm):
http://www.phoneshop.co.uk/2011/09/fujitsu-toshiba-is12t-smartphone-review/
It's possible others might be unofficially upgradeable to 32GB - will know once people start using them. The new phones probably have the more powerful GPU too.

Download the Picture Lab app. You can take pictures within the app. It also has an overlay grid and most importantly an image stabilization feature using the phone's gyroscope.

tbvnz said:
It also has an overlay grid and most importantly an image stabilization feature using the phone's gyroscope.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks - looks like a useful app. Unfortunately, I don't think the DVP has a gyroscope.
http://www.wpcentral.com/no-gyroscope-access-current-windows-phones-only-new-mango-devices2
Looks like the new Mango devices can optionally contain a gyroscope, so will probably be easier to get a good picture.

So really they need to release a DVP2.
Sent from my Samsung Omnia 7 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App

Peew971 said:
So really they need to release a DVP2.
Sent from my Samsung Omnia 7 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am really skeptical of another dvp
While wpcentral reported a rumor of a dell wrigley for india, looking at the specs of the device are really placeholders for a device that is EXTREMELY OLD and it doesn't match the specs from the leak. Furthermore, very reliable contact indicated the wrigley does not EXIST
Unless there was a change in 3 months (which there may be) that ramped up manufacturing of a new device, is is unlikely the device exists...

domineus said:
I am really skeptical of another dvp
While wpcentral reported a rumor of a dell wrigley for india, looking at the specs of the device are really placeholders for a device that is EXTREMELY OLD and it doesn't match the specs from the leak. Furthermore, very reliable contact indicated the wrigley does not EXIST
Unless there was a change in 3 months (which there may be) that ramped up manufacturing of a new device, is is unlikely the device exists...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
go back to wpcentral and look who sent in that tip!

JC_Agga said:
go back to wpcentral and look who sent in that tip!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
okay you submitted the tip
and your source is? because (thanks to beta testing) I got some pretty high tips there. I'm not invalidating your sleuthing, but if you take a look at every single page, it is a down grade in specs
Now it is likely that dell is focusing on developing countries in Asia, which is possible (as shown in Japan) but as far as the windows and tablet side, a lot has sort of been scrapped.
And again, it was reiterated in July that the Dell Wrigley does not exist. Further, Dell was making changes to its mobility and tablet strategy to best meet a more diverse demographic.
I'll make sure by dropping a few emails though
Edit
Email dropped. It DOES NOT exist. It's fake! Sorry bro

After the issues I had getting this phone replaced (took over a month) and the fact Dell has completely closed off all of it's North American call centers and all we can get now is india.
Even if there was a DVP2 and it was the best phone on the market bar none, with no problems at all. I wouldn't buy it.
/rant

Funny How my experience w/ Dell is so different. I first bought my Brand new DVP back in Jan.'11 Had problems in Mar.'11 and Dell replaced it with-in the week.. Then Recently(days ago) My DVP had problem that it kept restarting whenever I slide the KB, Dell Replaced it with-in 3days.
No Extra cost.

Crimson Lotus said:
Funny How my experience w/ Dell is so different. I first bought my Brand new DVP back in Jan.'11 Had problems in Mar.'11 and Dell replaced it with-in the week.. Then Recently(days ago) My DVP had problem that it kept restarting whenever I slide the KB, Dell Replaced it with-in 3days.
No Extra cost.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All i'm gonna say is you are lucky.

I haven't had any problems with mine at all and it was manufactured 30th March 2011. I even forced it to upgrade to mango and haven't had any issues.
Even put a generic class10 32gb microSD card in it with no issues so far.

The camera is actually quite good now. Possibly even the best wp7 camera, with the exception of flash photos.
Here are some comparison photos of the DVP and my HD7.

The quality is good if you're a statue. I do not think it has an image stabilization. A slight movement causes the photo to be blurry.

Jerkies said:
The camera is actually quite good now. Possibly even the best wp7 camera, with the exception of flash photos.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The DVP's camera does not compete at all favorably with that of the Mango HTC phones either on quality or features. The new phones feature superior optics (f2.2 lenses), and burst and panorama modes. On top of that, the Titan's is also 8 megapixel.
And once the lights go down, it gets even worse. The DVP's flash is utterly anemic, and introduces a yellow banding effect onto pictures.
The DVP's might be better than the HD7's, but there can't be any serious claim to the best WP7 camera.

tai4de2 said:
The DVP's camera does not compete at all favorably with that of the Mango HTC phones either on quality or features. The new phones feature superior optics (f2.2 lenses), and burst and panorama modes. On top of that, the Titan's is also 8 megapixel.
And once the lights go down, it gets even worse. The DVP's flash is utterly anemic, and introduces a yellow banding effect onto pictures.
The DVP's might be better than the HD7's, but there can't be any serious claim to the best WP7 camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the titan camera is not all that...even with the major changes htc has done the camera to me is still a smidge above mediocre

android 8.0

Google confirms the presentation of Android O for August 21
??

Yep it's called "Oreo". And I don't believe it will come to our device.

If rumors will became truth and Z5 line will get 8,0 then i guess Sony would benefit much from this as advertisment.
Especially that Nexus 6P probably would get 8,0 so SD810 will have drivers for it.

really really hard to believe almost 2 years untill they released 7.1.1
Z3 Series was more then rumors sony released alpha\pilot for 7.0 and then they cancelled it , and stay'ed with 6
but! with will can get android 8.0 via custom roms,(just with no real camera drivers etc..)
i have even got 7/8 for my Xperia Ray From 2010 (but camera is only VGA even not HD, because of missing sources libs and offical drivers

Google says they worked close with all mayor OEMs, including Sony, so we can get the updates faster and that all supported devices should be updated by the end of the year. Now, whether Z5C is going to be updated is unknown and until we have something official we can only hope for someone releasing a custom Rom using the official blobs.... :/

GiannisTP said:
Google says they worked close with all mayor OEMs, including Sony, so we can get the updates faster and that all supported devices should be updated by the end of the year. Now, whether Z5C is going to be updated is unknown and until we have something official we can only hope for someone releasing a custom Rom using the official blobs.... :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think the Z5 series will get 8.x any time soon. Like before, it'll be delayed a lot. Not because Sony have trouble developing a stable release. It'll be delayed so Sony can promote newer devices first. Then after a year or five, it'll be released for the Z5.
But to be honest I don't expect to have any 8.x working within a reasonable time, if at all.

Wouldn't hold my breath.
I decided to abandon this device. This device was disappointment in all levels: battery life, ram full 90% of time, heat management is truly awful and software is just horsecrap. 2 years of usage and still not sign of proper official supported custom rom. I just ordered Xiaomi Redmi Note 4, had to make decision based by development activity so it was kinda easy call for the price/specs. Never Sony again.

MakeHav0 said:
Wouldn't hold my breath.
I decided to abandon this device. This device was disappointment in all levels: battery life, ram full 90% of time, heat management is truly awful and software is just horsecrap. 2 years of usage and still not sign of proper official supported custom rom. I just ordered Xiaomi Redmi Note 4, had to make decision based by development activity so it was kinda easy call for the price/specs. Never Sony again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i agree, also the speakers super super low, alot of software\hardware bugs
the only kind of good thing its the camera (only in good light its even better from samsung s8 (i compred to a friend, because of more details in the photos like distanced sign or close flower,,although it's almost doubled 12MP>23MP, it feels like maybe 2-3MP more. and samsung got much better details in low light shots

MakeHav0 said:
Wouldn't hold my breath.
I decided to abandon this device. This device was disappointment in all levels: battery life, ram full 90% of time, heat management is truly awful and software is just horsecrap. 2 years of usage and still not sign of proper official supported custom rom. I just ordered Xiaomi Redmi Note 4, had to make decision based by development activity so it was kinda easy call for the price/specs. Never Sony again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Superrman said:
i agree, also the speakers super super low, alot of software\hardware bugs
the only kind of good thing its the camera (only in good light its even better from samsung s8 (i compred to a friend, because of more details in the photos like distanced sign or close flower,,although it's almost doubled 12MP>23MP, it feels like maybe 2-3MP more. and samsung got much better details in low light shots
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got a perfectly working LineageOS 14.1 going here. No problems at all.
I'd say that you shouldn't blame the device for a poor ROM, flash and/or misbehaving apps.
(free RAM is useless RAM. having lots of free RAM is not how Android operates)

SysGhost said:
I got a perfectly working LineageOS 14.1 going here. No problems at all.
I'd say that you shouldn't blame the device for a poor ROM, flash and/or misbehaving apps.
(free RAM is useless RAM. having lots of free RAM is not how Android operates)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree on that free ram is useless, but the problem is that my ram usage is basically 100% of time at 1.7gb because Im extreme multitasker, so it doesn't serve well my usage and lag is enormous ofc. Sony did a mistake by not making this 3gb+ ram device.

Android 8.0 will be available through the AOSP project

zacharias.maladroit said:
Android 8.0 will be available through the AOSP project
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol.
Talking about proper software right there

Tommy-Geenexus said:
Lol.
Talking about proper software right there
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
haha yeah

To be honest, I was hoping for the update. The Z5 line was presented in the first days of September back in 2015 so upgrading it to Oreo would be very nice from Sony and yet would observe the 2 years policy the company follows.
I don't think I will use Xperia phones anymore. I don't see the dev community they have some years ago (anyway I prefer NFC payments rather than root) and my experience with the Z5 Compact (daily usage and support) haven't been as good as I expected.

Superrman said:
really really hard to believe almost 2 years untill they released 7.1.1
Z3 Series was more then rumors sony released alpha\pilot for 7.0 and then they cancelled it , and stay'ed with 6
but! with will can get android 8.0 via custom roms,(just with no real camera drivers etc..)
i have even got 7/8 for my Xperia Ray From 2010 (but camera is only VGA even not HD, because of missing sources libs and offical drivers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Woah i miss my ray. Miss those days when jader were making good roms for us

Please answer a few Questions?

I have ordered this phone from Flipkart and it would be arriving by 9th June. Got it without a fuss by using a chrome extension. (flipshop). Was just trying my luck and it worked!! Will be going to a college this year so this phone should last.
I have few questions about this device. Please answer them. (I am mostly going to run this on a custom rom with pixel camera so)Does unlocking bootloader the unofficial way voids warranty? If locked again does it recieves update or we have to manually update it?(will not be a problem, just wanna clarification)
1. Is the slow fingerprint scanner a hardware thing or is it just unbaked software? Can it be improved with custom roms?
2. Dual band wifi How does it affects me? Since sd636 has integrated wifi can it be enabled in custom roms or that's not possible? I saw an article which stated that lack of 5 ghz wifi is not going to affect normal usage? Is it true? This thing has been bothering me a lot.
3. Touch lag- Oreo problem or screen defect?
4. Heating issues- Would be solved in custom roms, right?
5. Cheap material? This phone has 5000 mah battery but weighs less than rn5pro which has 4000 mah. Using plastic could have reduced weight but seeing it there isn't that much difference in Screen on time between those two, is Asus shortchanging us or AM I BEING PARANOID? I saw a video in which the phone was bent by application of force although it got back in shape Bendgate?
6. Camera- Don't use much of it but when I do, the Pics should come out atleast respectable. Are all the features of pixel camera working like slow mo etc? Is the Picture quality worth enough for casual pics? I saw the gcam videos and the pictures looked great. So.....?
Is there anything else that I should Know? Thanks in Advance.

YuZaGa said:
I have ordered this phone from Flipkart and it would be arriving by 9th June. Got it without a fuss by using a chrome extension. (flipshop). Was just trying my luck and it worked!! Will be going to a college this year so this phone should last.
I have few questions about this device. Please answer them. (I am mostly going to run this on a custom rom with pixel camera so)Does unlocking bootloader the unofficial way voids warranty? If locked again does it recieves update or we have to manually update it?(will not be a problem, just wanna clarification)
1. Is the slow fingerprint scanner a hardware thing or is it just unbaked software? Can it be improved with custom roms?
2. Dual band wifi How does it affects me? Since sd636 has integrated wifi can it be enabled in custom roms or that's not possible? I saw an article which stated that lack of 5 ghz wifi is not going to affect normal usage? Is it true? This thing has been bothering me a lot.
3. Touch lag- Oreo problem or screen defect?
4. Heating issues- Would be solved in custom roms, right?
5. Cheap material? This phone has 5000 mah battery but weighs less than rn5pro which has 4000 mah. Using plastic could have reduced weight but seeing it there isn't that much difference in Screen on time between those two, is Asus shortchanging us or AM I BEING PARANOID? I saw a video in which the phone was bent by application of force although it got back in shape Bendgate?
6. Camera- Don't use much of it but when I do, the Pics should come out atleast respectable. Are all the features of pixel camera working like slow mo etc? Is the Picture quality worth enough for casual pics? I saw the gcam videos and the pictures looked great. So.....?
Is there anything else that I should Know? Thanks in Advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Fingerprint slowness is Hardware so you have to accept it to be slower.
2. Do not have issues with WiFi. Never experienced any difference but your mileage may vary.
3. Touch lag is Oreo issue which will be fixed in June security patch. We might have it in august since Asus said to try for bimonthly security patches.
4. No heating issues for me.
5. I am happy with build and design of the phone. Battery excellent for my usage.
6. You can root and use Gcam. Output is excellent with Google Camera.
Custom roms are in early phase so I suggest to stick to stock ROM for some time.
Stock ROM is great except the camera.

Camera goes Horrible

Hi, after Android 9 update XA2 got another update few days back, after that 350 mb something update the camera performance has gone very poor, its capturing looks like a lower category device camera now, generate lot of grains even in day light snaps, i have reset my device after noticed that issue but nothing got fair...
I don't know what is sony doing with XA2, before that we have got a useless 9 pie update which doesn't have even new launcher 9 and dark mode UI which is the real potential of Android 9, having so disappointment this time

No one agreed.. no one even noticed on their device??? Strange...

yep, the pie camera is complete crap.... I want my oreo camera back....

xmlnoob said:
yep, the pie camera is complete crap.... I want my oreo camera back....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They should fix it, i really miss my camera performance on oreo :crying:

Same here. When I bought it last July the camera performed very well, even better than a Nokia 8 sometimes, but now it is just crap.
Atleast now it have touch focus in manual mode.

nexus720 said:
Same here. When I bought it last July the camera performed very well, even better than a Nokia 8 sometimes, but now it is just crap.
Atleast now it have touch focus in manual mode.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
100% Agreed..

Well I guess I'll stick with Pix3lfy on Oreo and not update. Man that really sucks! Don't they test firmware before releasing it? At least it didn't brick your phones like some early 9 releases..

bobsright said:
Well I guess I'll stick with Pix3lfy on Oreo and not update. Man that really sucks! Don't they test firmware before releasing it? At least it didn't brick your phones like some early 9 releases..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well its really shocking for all of us because these things were not associated with sony devices ever,
I am using sony from many years, they was ever known for their software stability and amazing true professional customer support, don't understand what is happening there now, why they have looses their professional abilities and approach

I'm a Sony fanboy also, even use their cameras, but don't get me started on that! Agreed Sony is slipping.

Latest Galaxy S8 Security Update (1. April) CAMERA is much WORSE!!! (G950FXXS8DTCB)

Hi,
I want to inform you all, that the latest udpate for our lovely phone with pretty good camera even nowadays got a critical update (9 security breaches) which is linked to the COVID situation and the Bluetooth itself. As there is collaboration of Apple and Google to make your phone warn you about somebody's ill on COVID going through and you could get infected, this is quite a big update but also the last one. The support for our Galaxy S8 phones has ended and the next ones will be every 3 months and will cover only the security problems, not the device ones.
What I want to say is that the latest update (G950FXXS8DTCB) makes the Camera taking pictures 4x smaller. Yes, they look like they were only 3MPix!!! The Galaxy S8 suddenly takes pictures worse than my phone 10 years ago with 8Mpix camera.
I needed to downgrade my phone back to the G950FXXS8DTC5 firmware and risk my data and also the whole stability of the system. I cannot tell, if the battery is worse now or not, but a clean factory default would solve this problem if needed.
I am sending you the pictures to see on your own. Describing them is not needed, see for yourself! This is a scandal! Those, who updated to the latest firmware, please post about your experience, if it is not just some bug of this firmware.
Thanks!
.

i cant see a diffrance lol

Have you made several photos (and videos) to confirm this statement? You only included 2 pictures in the ZIP-file.
I have a Note 8 (i know, a bit different device), but camera quality's same as always.