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So, I got my Fuze about 5 in the evening, and after a few hours of playing with it I have some thoughts.
First off, the design and UI are slick as can be. It takes decent pictures (provided you have enough light, as a Cell Phone camera it's still a pathetic shell of what a real camera is, but what can you expect?) and on most operations it's fairly fast.
I dislike the glossy back rather intensely. 3 seconds after it came out of the box it was its own Fingerprint Convention. When will we ever get MATTE black?
I like the functionality of the GPS, but I think the $10 a month fee for it is ridiculous. For the price of this thing there shouldn't be a nickel of charge for it, as not one of my standalone GPS's has any fee at all. I am tempted to not keep the phone off this one fact. Is it possible to get around that with an alternative software package?
I for some reason feel like it should be a bit faster, given that I'm coming off a Wizard with a WM6 ROM, this doesn't feel *that* much faster even though it's nearly triple the CPU speed and what, like 8 times the memory?
I couldn't find a proper screen protector, but that's OK, Wal Mart had a decent pack of customizable ones for like $6, and with a little trimming they fit perfectly.
I like the click wheel roundy-round thing. Hate the lack of a proper headphone port sans the dongle, though to be fair the dongle is pretty cool.
Oh, here's a nugget: not many of the programs auto rotate when you tilt the thing, which makes the tilt bit seem...kinda moot. Is there a way to tweak it?
Once the ROMs start flowing I am sure this will be a far better device. I do like it so far, though I think I've been spoiled by XDA ROM's on my Wizard, because MAN stock software sucks compared to what some of the gods around here pull off
Jason
jasongw said:
So, I got my Fuze about 5 in the evening, and after a few hours of playing with it I have some thoughts.
First off, the design and UI are slick as can be. It takes decent pictures (provided you have enough light, as a Cell Phone camera it's still a pathetic shell of what a real camera is, but what can you expect?) and on most operations it's fairly fast.
I dislike the glossy back rather intensely. 3 seconds after it came out of the box it was its own Fingerprint Convention. When will we ever get MATTE black?
I like the functionality of the GPS, but I think the $10 a month fee for it is ridiculous. For the price of this thing there shouldn't be a nickel of charge for it, as not one of my standalone GPS's has any fee at all. I am tempted to not keep the phone off this one fact. Is it possible to get around that with an alternative software package?
I for some reason feel like it should be a bit faster, given that I'm coming off a Wizard with a WM6 ROM, this doesn't feel *that* much faster even though it's nearly triple the CPU speed and what, like 8 times the memory?
I couldn't find a proper screen protector, but that's OK, Wal Mart had a decent pack of customizable ones for like $6, and with a little trimming they fit perfectly.
I like the click wheel roundy-round thing. Hate the lack of a proper headphone port sans the dongle, though to be fair the dongle is pretty cool.
Oh, here's a nugget: not many of the programs auto rotate when you tilt the thing, which makes the tilt bit seem...kinda moot. Is there a way to tweak it?
Once the ROMs start flowing I am sure this will be a far better device. I do like it so far, though I think I've been spoiled by XDA ROM's on my Wizard, because MAN stock software sucks compared to what some of the gods around here pull off
Jason
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
for gps download google maps or live search they are free
use gyrator 2 that will turn the screen in every program
and as for speed just use a cooked rom to get rid of bloatware
You can buy TomTom or Garmin software also and with the there is no fee other than the purchase cost.
for roms there are already loads for the fuze. check out the romz forum.
as for screen protectors you get one with the phone. it is in by the cd's in the box.
stevierg said:
You can buy TomTom or Garmin software also and with the there is no fee other than the purchase cost.
for roms there are already loads for the fuze. check out the romz forum.
as for screen protectors you get one with the phone. it is in by the cd's in the box.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks guys. Yeah I found the damn screen protector after buying the others, LOL. That's OK, I think the one I bought and had to trim up is a little nicer anyway so it's all good news.
stevierg said:
You can buy TomTom or Garmin software also and with the there is no fee other than the purchase cost.
for roms there are already loads for the fuze. check out the romz forum.
as for screen protectors you get one with the phone. it is in by the cd's in the box.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for mentioning the screen protector
it doesnt say on the box so i didnt bother looking
its actually pretty nice too
I just got mine today. As others mentioned, the GPS is not "locked". You can install other programs. I prefer TomTom, but others go absolutely crazy over IGO or whatever it is...
My thoughts:
Pros
1) For some reason, VPN actually works now. For some reason, I could never get it to work with my Tilt... no matter what ROM I used. I can actually RDP into my work servers now.
2) Amazing screen resolution. RDP is actually usable now!
3) Magnetic stylus holder. When you're using the phone a lot, and don't want to hassle w/putting away the stylus every time, it's quicker just to "stick" it to the side. Also wakes the device up when you remove it. Snazzy.
4) Accelerometer. Though it doesn't seem near as responsive as the one on my fiancee's iPhone, it is still good to have it there. Hopefully its functionality improves with software...
Cons
1) Definitely slow. My Tilt with M2D on it is much faster, though it lacks the hardware specs this has. Can't wait to start flashing....
2) The multi-faceted back is ridiculous. You can't even hit the stylus on the "ok" button without the darn thing rattling back and forth.
3) D-pad buttons suck. One of the first things I tried doing was to go into the Start > Settings > Connections area. It took me FIVE attempts to get there. I'm not sure if something is wrong with the "right" area of my d-pad, but it kept registering a click in the middle and bringing me back to the home screen. It's going to be nice to use the wheel around it once that functionality starts getting built into ROMs
4) No physical camera or "Start" buttons. I can't believe how much I depended on those two with the Tilt.
AT&T Gripes:
- Bloatware
- No more "H" icon. I realize most of the zombies outside of this site don't know what "H" is, but I miss being able to tell if I'm in an HSDPA area or not.
- Bloatware
- No TV out cable included
- No clip/holster, bag, sleeve, nothing...
Flapjack said:
I just got mine today. As others mentioned, the GPS is not "locked". You can install other programs. I prefer TomTom, but others go absolutely crazy over IGO or whatever it is...
My thoughts:
Pros
1) For some reason, VPN actually works now. For some reason, I could never get it to work with my Tilt... no matter what ROM I used. I can actually RDP into my work servers now.
2) Amazing screen resolution. RDP is actually usable now!
3) Magnetic stylus holder. When you're using the phone a lot, and don't want to hassle w/putting away the stylus every time, it's quicker just to "stick" it to the side. Also wakes the device up when you remove it. Snazzy.
4) Accelerometer. Though it doesn't seem near as responsive as the one on my fiancee's iPhone, it is still good to have it there. Hopefully its functionality improves with software...
Cons
1) Definitely slow. My Tilt with M2D on it is much faster, though it lacks the hardware specs this has. Can't wait to start flashing....
2) The multi-faceted back is ridiculous. You can't even hit the stylus on the "ok" button without the darn thing rattling back and forth.
3) D-pad buttons suck. One of the first things I tried doing was to go into the Start > Settings > Connections area. It took me FIVE attempts to get there. I'm not sure if something is wrong with the "right" area of my d-pad, but it kept registering a click in the middle and bringing me back to the home screen. It's going to be nice to use the wheel around it once that functionality starts getting built into ROMs
4) No physical camera or "Start" buttons. I can't believe how much I depended on those two with the Tilt.
AT&T Gripes:
- Bloatware
- No more "H" icon. I realize most of the zombies outside of this site don't know what "H" is, but I miss being able to tell if I'm in an HSDPA area or not.
- Bloatware
- No TV out cable included
- No clip/holster, bag, sleeve, nothing...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you're actually supposed to press OUTSIDE of the ring for the "D" pad. Seems to work pretty well when you do.
yeah you want to press outside
but left and right arent very good either way
just flash a rom for speed mine works find with romeos and tf3d is much nicer then t2 so its gota take up more power
definetly agree lack of buttons is no good though
I pretty much agree with everything already said. THe glossy is nice when you're showing it off, but totally not practical - one more way the iPhone has eff'd it for everybody.
When I played with it the store (fresh out of the box, not a display model), I almost didn't buy it because it seemed so slow. The guy behind the counter claimed it was the dummy sim card so we put the sim from my 8525 in it and it snapped up a bit. Then we put a fresh sim card in it and seemed even quicker. Not lightning fast, but not sluggish in any way. I also realized that I had to used it differently. On my 8525 I always used my fingernail on the screen. With the Fuze, my fingernail does nothing. Even the stylus is bit of a waste. I guess I need to adjust the biosensing business...
I also heartily agree that ATT cheaped out on the accessories. A $5 protective sleeve would not have broken the bank. The headset adapter is a joke. I've got slimmer ones off ebay for $1.00 that work great. Bloatware and trial software sucks.
All-in-all, though I'm happy with it and considering the alternatives (although the BB Bold did come with a nice leather case!) I made a great choice. Though, I might have waited for the Xperia if my 8525 wasn't on it last legs...
I forgot another major gripe, and that is that the slider is reversed from the Tilt, which consequently moves the d-pad on the other side of the screen. I was quite used to the layout on the Tilt. This seems to screw me up more than the totally changed keyboard layout, which is unnecessarily "busy", IMHO...
Luckily, this will just take some getting used to. I'm also using the directional arrows on the keyboard more.
hopper13 said:
I think you're actually supposed to press OUTSIDE of the ring for the "D" pad. Seems to work pretty well when you do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I realize that. I'm starting to think this is a glitch. It only seems to happen in this particular situation. Try this:
- Open the Start menu
- Press the d-Pad "up" three times to get to "Settings"
- Press the d-pad "up" once to select the bottom tabs
- Press the d-pad "right" twice to get to "Connections"
It takes me several attempts to get to "Connections" w/o popping myself back to the Home screen. I'm very clearly not hitting the center button.
lbhocky19 said:
yeah you want to press outside
but left and right arent very good either way
just flash a rom for speed mine works find with romeos and tf3d is much nicer then t2 so its gota take up more power
definetly agree lack of buttons is no good though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you are right. I'm having the same problems with the left button as well. Up and down work fine for me, though....
Flapjack said:
I realize that. I'm starting to think this is a glitch. It only seems to happen in this particular situation. Try this:
- Open the Start menu
- Press the d-Pad "up" three times to get to "Settings"
- Press the d-pad "up" once to select the bottom tabs
- Press the d-pad "right" twice to get to "Connections"
It takes me several attempts to get to "Connections" w/o popping myself back to the Home screen. I'm very clearly not hitting the center button.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe you have a defective unit? I went through those steps without any problem at all. I did it a few times just to make sure.
Also, you don't have an H icon? I get an HSDPA most of the time (including now) and I always see the H icon.
I don't want to be a hater, I've been waiting for the Fuze for months, but if my 8525 had just a little more RAM, I'd stay with that. I'm starting to realize what a great phone that was. You can just feel the difference in quality between the 8525 and the Fuze. You really notice it when you slide open the keyboard, the 8525 'snaps' into place, and the Fuze feels like it's going to slide right off it's tracks! Not only that, you can feel a little slop when it's open.
I miss the extra buttons too, but I'm sure I'll get used to it.
Do we really need 5 rows in the keyboard? I don't remember anybody complaining about the 4 rows anywhere. I'd rather have the 4 rows with larger buttons. I have very fat fingers!
The following could be my particular phone...I'm getting a replacement tomorrow to test:
My reception is much worse. Can barely get 3G in an area where my 8525 had no problem at all.
When my phone rings or requests data, it's creates interference with all my surrounding electronics and even it's own speaker. I get a humming sound when I turn the phone on speaker. 8525 never did that. I thought only nextel/sprint phones did that!
8525 sounds much better (and louder) when I played music through it's speaker.
Obviously, the phone has many good features, and hopefully, some of the issues I'm having is just a 'bad' phone. But, the camera is amazing and touch flo runs smooth and fast. And I don't have to reset the phone every 2 hours like I did the 8525
Flapjack said:
4) Accelerometer. Though it doesn't seem near as responsive as the one on my fiancee's iPhone, it is still good to have it there. Hopefully its functionality improves with software...
- No more "H" icon. I realize most of the zombies outside of this site don't know what "H" is, but I miss being able to tell if I'm in an HSDPA area or not.
- Bloatware
- No TV out cable included
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Accelerometer: You can download the Advanced Configuration Tool (requires Microsoft .Net CF 3.5 - .msi available via Msft, cab available via PPCGeeks here. In that, you can actually change the poll time. I've had ACT installed for a while, but just found this option last night. Reduced poll time to 25 ms and it's faster than my friend's ipod touch! Also, you can download programs such as Gyrator 2 or Gsen or changeScreen (i'm trying this now, seems to work! thread for changeScreen. These programs let you rotate in all programs or customized programs.
As for the H, you can use Advanced configuration tool too to change this (under data connection, enable EDGE and HSDPA icons).
And for the TV out cable, if you bought a fuze, it came with a big box of outputs, etc you plug into the usb of your TP. You can use a 3.5 mm to RCA converter cable. check this thread.
enjoy!
When the X1 was first announced, I was all over it. Then the Touch Pro with TF3D was announced, and I thought... the X1 is too 'raw' compared to the 'slick' Touch Pro, so Touch Pro for me!
Then I tried the FUZE (AT&T's Touch Pro) and I was disappointed in a few areas where I was not expecting to be disappointed (details below).
So, as it stands today, I am leaning back toward the X1 over the FUZE (TP). But it's a close call, and I'm still undecided. Here’s why:
1. Xperia hardware looks like a device that I would be proud to be paired with. In other words, just like Apple, Sony understands that a gadget can also be a fashion accessory. That’s a 2-fer in terms of value-add.
2. I have found the FUZE to be too heavy and bricky to be really pocket-friendly. This was a major disappointment when I checked it out at AT&T last week! I was all ready to buy the FUZE when I realized that it would take a serious adjustment to have that kind of weight and thickness in my pocket. It remains to be seen how I feel about the X1’s weight and thickness (since it's not released yet in the States). But, in terms of the specs published, the X1 looks to be about .5oz lighter than the FUZE. NOTE: The FUZE for some odd reason seems to be .5oz heavier than the Sprint Touch Pro and the HTC Touch Pro. No idea why.
3. The X1 has more hard buttons on the front panel, and more easily pressed hard buttons on the front panel. I have heard serious complaints about the “up” arrow on the X1 d-pad, but I will have to see for myself if that is insurmountable. I have played with FUZE, and the front panel buttons are not confidence-inspiring. I feel like it’s a negotiation with each press of the dpad.
4. The absence of the g-sensor on the X1 is stunning, and quite disappointing. What a huge bummer. What the heck was Sony thinking? G-sensors = cool + fun. Xperia = cool+fun. What am I missing?
5. The FUZE is about $175 w/plan on AT&T, and the X1 will be around $700 retail in a few weeks (with coupons, etc.). Yikes, that’s not a marginal difference in price, is it? I’m not sure I can justify a 4x price difference for a phone that is about 1.5x as good. Or, can I? Well, it’s like buying clothing: I can spend $200 on a shirt or $10 on a shirt. They both cover my torso about as effectively, but which one do I want people to see me paired with? This goes back to the gadget-as-accessory frame.
6. Panels. I figured they would be a dead platform as soon as 09, but the new facebook panel could be a game-changer. It shows how Panels could be the equiv to iPhone apps! Will panels have market mojo? What incentives are Sony peddling for developers to get on board? What kind of penetration can panels have if limited to only 1 device? Very chicken/egg situation here, and kind of a risk for X1 owners if they are relying on panels to breathe life into WM6.1.
7. TouchFlo 3D on X1. If this really ends up being portable to the X1 with 100% functionality and no bugs, then the X1 ends up being the more flexible device of the two. But 100% compatibility seems to be a ways off still, for many good reasons. Conversely, it is highly unlikely for several reasons that the TP would ever get panels. Sure, they might be portable over to the TouchPro HD, but that’s not the TP/FUZE, is it?
8. Keyboards. I’ve read some horrific reviews of the X1 keyboard, but they’ve been scattered and not consistent. So, I guess I’ll have to wait to actually try one myself to see how bad it really is. I tested out the FUZE keyboard, and I know it gets rave reviews, but coming from my HTC S710/Vox, I found the lack of space between the keys troubling. I’m sure I’d get used to it, but it seems like the X1’s layout (with spaces between keys) is more like my S710’s layout, which I find quite comfortable to type on. I am quite concerned about the lack of tactile feedback on the X1 keyboard, though. If there’s no feedback, then what’s the point of a hardware keyboard? Again, reviews have not been satisfactory around this aspect of the X1, so I’ll have to wait to see for myself.
9. Touchiness. I found the FUZE to be fiddly with touch sensitivity. Too often, a swipe was interpreted as a select, which was quite annoying. I've read that the X1 has a better touch experience, but that will be something I'll have to xperience myself, I guess.
10. Screen rotation. OK, big minus for X1 to have no G-sensor, but big plus for X1 for its apparent "instant switch" technology between landscape and portrait modes! I've seen some videos and it's quite impressive in Opera. One of the reasons why I 'dread' to go to my slide-out keyboard on my S710 is due to the lag. It's just painful to wait. If there were no "wait tax" on using the slide-out keyboard, I might go to it more readily.
11. Dpad+ features. The FUZE has the circular zoom thang, and the X1 has the glidey thing. No idea which is preferable. Both are interesting in their own way.
So, this is where I am right now re: X1 v. FUZE. To be honest, I am kind of looking for excuses to cheap out and get the FUZE just so I'm not spending $700 on a friggin phone. But the thickness and weight are things that I'd have to adjust to.
Does anyone have any thoughts/comments/additions to this analysis?
Jon
[cross-posted on Xperia X1 and Raphael forums so I can get both viewpoints]
I too was stuck between the X1 and Touch Pro. But I think the X1 hideous. The specs are pretty much the same but you lose the G sensor and only gain .2in of screen. But the 3in screen is narrower then the TP so it looks smaller when your looking at the phone the in one hand. But they keyboard is what really killed it for me :-(.
I just returned my Xperia and should have my Fuze from Amazon tomorrow. I loved everything about Xperia except the buttons below the screen. I just couldn't accept that quality on a $700 phone. I got Fuze only as a short-term toy as it cost me only $100 after $25 rebate from Amazon. I plan to sell it as soon as I see something more impressive. Maybe N97, or an Android phone. Whatever it is, it should have 3G on AT&T as I am stuck with AT&T for 2-years.
My experience with Xperia in 2-weeks:
Tried all kinds of customizations from XDA including TF3D, spPanel skins, Youtube, XperiaTweeks, etc. In the end, I discovered Xperia out the box with just the following customizations makes it a beast of a phone if the front buttons don't bother you as much as they bothered me.
1. XperiaTweaks has to be the best. It lets you customize some little annoying things with Xperia like increasing font size, sorting contacts by FirstNames, default panel on startup
2. Blackstone Keyboard
3. Youtube installed as a panel
4. Facebook Panel
I was totally impressed by TouchFlow3D as a panel as it has a WOW factor to it. But, each day I found myself going back to the Sony Ericsson Panel that I customized with weather, e-mails, RSS feeds, calendar, etc. Eventually, I made that as the default panel to start by Xperia using XperiaTweaks. Eventually, I un-installed the TF3D's as the Landscape fix program I installed for TF3D seems to be causing problems with my phone when I slideout the keyboard.
Some issues (some minor) I had with Xperia.
1. I could not reconnect to the Bluetooth of my GPS unit in my car if I stepped away for a short time with my phone. This didn't happen with my W910 phone. To get the Bluetooth work I had to restart my Xperia and even the GPS unit all the time.
2. Build quality of the buttons below the screen.
3. Sometimes I found myself sliding out the keyboard as I was holding the bottom part of phone hard.
4. Hard to select menu's with finger. Ended up getting used to D-pad.
5. The Picture ID on my W910 shows a picture that covers almost half the screen and I can easily see while on Xperia the picture is about the size of a penny and is almost useless. The call logs also show the names so tiny and is almost impossible to go through the call logs while driving.
I would go for the Touch Pro
The best phones I have ever had were Sony Ericssons (T637, P910a) and I too lusted after an Xperia but...
1. SE is dying or dead already
2. SE and HTC are, reportedly, parting ways
3. There isn't and won't be enough units running the panels interface to make it attractive for developers to bring apps
So, if you spend the $ on the Xperia, you'll be sitting on the sidelines, watching windows mobile for VGA developers aping the cool apps coming for the iPhone and wishing that more than just a small percentage would work on your SE.
Just my $0.02.
TouchPro vs. X1
I too was lusting after the SE X1 after it was announced (about a year ago) and said "that is my next phone".
I read website after website with videos, reviews/previews, etc.. and I couldn't have been more excited for "my phone" to be released here in the states.
Well....it came time for a decision a few months ago and the X1 still wasn't widely available in the states so I waited....and waited. Delay after delay from SE and the comparisons for the TouchPro and X1 were starting to trickle out and they weren't looking good for the X1. Yeah, the panel interface was amazing if utilized proficiently but the interface was laggy. The phone was expensive and the keyboard was terrible.
I was coming from a Hermes (8525) so I was fairly pleased with my existing keyboard and once I saw the Sprint version of the TP I was hooked. The keyboard is brilliant. For someone who emails/txt dozens of times/day the new TPO keyboard is a HUGE time saver. Long gone are the days of softkey input for special commonly used characters "@", "(", ")", etc.. This just made for a more streamlined user experience. The X1 is restricted by having only four rows of keys. The same as my Hermes.
Yeah, the X1 has the panels and that gorgeous screen (and it is beautiful!) but with the exact same internals I see no real world benefit in owning one.
Just my opinion.
JC
I'll offer my insight point by point as I feel qualified to respond...
JonDeutsch said:
2. I have found the FUZE to be too heavy and bricky to be really pocket-friendly. This was a major disappointment when I checked it out at AT&T last week! I was all ready to buy the FUZE when I realized that it would take a serious adjustment to have that kind of weight and thickness in my pocket. It remains to be seen how I feel about the X1’s weight and thickness (since it's not released yet in the States). But, in terms of the specs published, the X1 looks to be about .5oz lighter than the FUZE. NOTE: The FUZE for some odd reason seems to be .5oz heavier than the Sprint Touch Pro and the HTC Touch Pro. No idea why.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FUZE size is a bit awkward at first...I switched to it from an iPhone, but after about 3 days it was only natural. In a way, I always liked a bit larger / heavier phone because you know its there. Every smaller / skinnier phone i've had (compared to the fuze or 8125) I often felt naked with even when it was in pocket.
JonDeutsch said:
3. The X1 has more hard buttons on the front panel, and more easily pressed hard buttons on the front panel. I have heard serious complaints about the “up” arrow on the X1 d-pad, but I will have to see for myself if that is insurmountable. I have played with FUZE, and the front panel buttons are not confidence-inspiring. I feel like it’s a negotiation with each press of the dpad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fuze dpad is very awkward at first...but it becomes second nature in no time flat - i have no problem navigating in the dark at this point.
JonDeutsch said:
4. The absence of the g-sensor on the X1 is stunning, and quite disappointing. What a huge bummer. What the heck was Sony thinking? G-sensors = cool + fun. Xperia = cool+fun. What am I missing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
bummer that its missing - but at the same time, theres no real item that the fuze is taking advantage of it with so far. beyond the wow factor of labyrinth for about 5 minutes....
JonDeutsch said:
5. The FUZE is about $175 w/plan on AT&T, and the X1 will be around $700 retail in a few weeks (with coupons, etc.).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
damn thats expensive...
JonDeutsch said:
8. Keyboards. I’ve read some horrific reviews of the X1 keyboard, but they’ve been scattered and not consistent. So, I guess I’ll have to wait to actually try one myself to see how bad it really is. I tested out the FUZE keyboard, and I know it gets rave reviews, but coming from my HTC S710/Vox, I found the lack of space between the keys troubling. I’m sure I’d get used to it, but it seems like the X1’s layout (with spaces between keys) is more like my S710’s layout, which I find quite comfortable to type on. I am quite concerned about the lack of tactile feedback on the X1 keyboard, though. If there’s no feedback, then what’s the point of a hardware keyboard? Again, reviews have not been satisfactory around this aspect of the X1, so I’ll have to wait to see for myself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The keyboard feels cramped at first, but you adjust in a very short amount of time....again, several days and you wont think twice of it...probably? lol
JonDeutsch said:
9. Touchiness. I found the FUZE to be fiddly with touch sensitivity. Too often, a swipe was interpreted as a select, which was quite annoying. I've read that the X1 has a better touch experience, but that will be something I'll have to xperience myself, I guess.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the same problem with the stock rom...however, with tf3dconfig tweaks (or registry edits directly should you so choose) it responds MUCH nicer and I no longer run into these problems. There may also be a small degree of "self training" on this one.
JonDeutsch said:
11. Dpad+ features. The FUZE has the circular zoom thang, and the X1 has the glidey thing. No idea which is preferable. Both are interesting in their own way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
circle zoom is no iphone multitouch, but it works pretty damn well with opera in my experiences. Also nice for text size in messages etc.
I think from your feelings, you may be best off getting the fuze and using it for a while, and maybe picking up a used X1 down the line. That said, ive never even got to hold an X1...but i have trouble imagining its worth 2-4x the price of the fuze. But...if its really a fashion / toy thing to you - you could very well feel differently.
While some may argue you should have no initial complaints with a device - and that may be true, but it isnt the reality today with 99% of phones for 99% of people - its sort of expected you have some gripes with some aspects. That said, most of your feelings seem spot on with things that I initially pandered about but soon adjusted to. I was just happy to have service in my living and travelling area again (goddam iphone...)
I also think kitsVA, dgduris, and jcotterman all hit very VERY valid points on the software side of thigns, so I will not bother getting into that.
good luck in whatever your decision may be!
I went through this dilemma too. I calculated that I would save around $200 if I went for a used TP rather than a used xperia. With $150-200, you could get an unlimited data plan for a year, or buy a working GPS, etc. etc.
The touch pro isn't bad if you don't wear tight pants. I have a wallet which is much larger in dimension than my TP! I come from a very thin razr I once fit in my pocket and the change didn't both me.
Good luck with your choice!
I'd be using it on T-Mobile US, which I know would leave me with EDGE, but I'd be getting it for the screen size and the accessories (the keyboard dock notably); I don't do much web-related (like streaming movies) so the web speeds would be fine.
My other choice is the upcoming Galaxy III for T-Mobile, and while it's a great phone, I'd love something with a bigger screen, even if the screen resolution is lower; most of the features of the GS3 don't appeal to me at all.
I've been using a tablet as my phone since Oct 2010 (Using Galaxy Tab 7 Plus now, and before I used the original Galaxy Tab...all with T-Mobile)
I just can't go back to a normal size phone at all. There are 3 main reasons:
1. Battery Life. No longer do I have to charge my phone every night, no longer will my phone die in a single day if I'm using Wifi, 4G, Bluetooth, Full brightness, etc. I've always hated that about smartphones, you have to charge it every night :\
2. Screen size. I love having the huge screen when viewing Texts. The entire left side are contacts in your text history, and the entire right side is the actual text message itself. Having so much real estate on the screen helps, especially when your typing. That big wide keyboard is great, hard to have typos using it. The screen size is also great when viewing contacts, having both sides of the screen serving a purpose is great.
3. Fits perfect in pocket. The #1 thing that people say when they see me with this phone is "How does that fit in your pocket?!", and when they see me easily slide it in my front pocket they are shocked it fits (I'm 5'4, wear skinny jeans, you'd think it wouldn't fit right?).
4. Bluetooth headset. A lot of people ask how do I put such a big thing to my ear... well, I don't. Most of the time I use a bluetooth headset... and when I don't, then yea I'll use it against my ear, no big deal. Just 5 years ago holding a phone the size of an iPhone looked ridiculous. I think It's a matter of time before 7" phones are standard.
Now I'll be honest and go over a few cons about using this as a phone:
1. EDGE. I also use T-Mobile, and EDGE is actually faster than I thought for normal browsing... but not having that 3G or 4G really sucks. Luckily I never have to worry about it when I'm home (Home Wifi), but yea when I'm out and about sometimes I can sure use high speed.
2. Size. Even though it fits in my pocket perfect, it does get a little annoying having to pull my phone out to read a text (But even if this were an iPhone I would get annoyed having to pull my phone out). Luckily, I found a solution to this... Sony SmartWatch.
Sony's SmartWatch works great with this phone, and man it's one of the best purchases I've made. I never have to get my phone out to read a text or see whose calling. Whether I'm in a pool/hot tub, or watching a movie, or in a meeting, or simply in another room, I don't ever have to whip out my phone or find it, i just glance at my wrist. That convenience is worth hundreds to me. It's waterproof (shower/wash dishes), it can find my phone (even when on silent), and it was real easy to setup.
3. Not ICS. Rumor has it it's planned to get ICS soon, but yea it sucks waiting for it. It's not a HUGE deal, like I said these are minor things, just keep them in mind.
4. Resolution. I wish the resolution was better :\ I won't bother going in detail why as it should be self explanatory.
5. Apps/Games/Web. Now I personally don't use any apps, or play games, and hardly browse the internet on this tablet (Use iPad for that), but I know to a lot of people not having ICS/4G can be a problem, to me it's not... but I just needed to mention that as a con.
Well those are the cons, but the pros (Battery) easily outweigh it, hence why I've been using a tablet as a phone since 2010. I'm actually in the process of selling this and getting the PadFone I'm just waiting on my guy in Tawain to ship it...
Feel free to ask me any question about the tablet! I was planning on writing a quick small review, sorry for the novel!
NineT9 said:
I've been using a tablet as my phone since Oct 2010 (Using Galaxy Tab 7 Plus now, and before I used the original Galaxy Tab...all with T-Mobile)
I just can't go back to a normal size phone at all. There are 3 main reasons:
1. Battery Life. No longer do I have to charge my phone every night, no longer will my phone die in a single day if I'm using Wifi, 4G, Bluetooth, Full brightness, etc. I've always hated that about smartphones, you have to charge it every night :\
2. Screen size. I love having the huge screen when viewing Texts. The entire left side are contacts in your text history, and the entire right side is the actual text message itself. Having so much real estate on the screen helps, especially when your typing. That big wide keyboard is great, hard to have typos using it. The screen size is also great when viewing contacts, having both sides of the screen serving a purpose is great.
3. Fits perfect in pocket. The #1 thing that people say when they see me with this phone is "How does that fit in your pocket?!", and when they see me easily slide it in my front pocket they are shocked it fits (I'm 5'4, wear skinny jeans, you'd think it wouldn't fit right?).
4. Bluetooth headset. A lot of people ask how do I put such a big thing to my ear... well, I don't. Most of the time I use a bluetooth headset... and when I don't, then yea I'll use it against my ear, no big deal. Just 5 years ago holding a phone the size of an iPhone looked ridiculous. I think It's a matter of time before 7" phones are standard.
Now I'll be honest and go over a few cons about using this as a phone:
1. EDGE. I also use T-Mobile, and EDGE is actually faster than I thought for normal browsing... but not having that 3G or 4G really sucks. Luckily I never have to worry about it when I'm home (Home Wifi), but yea when I'm out and about sometimes I can sure use high speed.
2. Size. Even though it fits in my pocket perfect, it does get a little annoying having to pull my phone out to read a text (But even if this were an iPhone I would get annoyed having to pull my phone out). Luckily, I found a solution to this... Sony SmartWatch.
Sony's SmartWatch works great with this phone, and man it's one of the best purchases I've made. I never have to get my phone out to read a text or see whose calling. Whether I'm in a pool/hot tub, or watching a movie, or in a meeting, or simply in another room, I don't ever have to whip out my phone or find it, i just glance at my wrist. That convenience is worth hundreds to me. It's waterproof (shower/wash dishes), it can find my phone (even when on silent), and it was real easy to setup.
3. Not ICS. Rumor has it it's planned to get ICS soon, but yea it sucks waiting for it. It's not a HUGE deal, like I said these are minor things, just keep them in mind.
4. Resolution. I wish the resolution was better :\ I won't bother going in detail why as it should be self explanatory.
5. Apps/Games/Web. Now I personally don't use any apps, or play games, and hardly browse the internet on this tablet (Use iPad for that), but I know to a lot of people not having ICS/4G can be a problem, to me it's not... but I just needed to mention that as a con.
Well those are the cons, but the pros (Battery) easily outweigh it, hence why I've been using a tablet as a phone since 2010. I'm actually in the process of selling this and getting the PadFone I'm just waiting on my guy in Tawain to ship it...
Feel free to ask me any question about the tablet! I was planning on writing a quick small review, sorry for the novel!
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Click to collapse
Very detailed response... very nice. As a current user, I have been very pleased to have it as my secondary mobile phone, Secondary since it it is too bulky to carry all the time but the capabilities of the unit really had me very satisfied.
I recently upgraded from the iPhone 5s to the Galaxy Note 3.
This phone is a revelation and I want to try and give some indication why.
I have been using iPhones for many years with a detor to Android every few months (itchy feet!).
Whilst Android is clearly the more technically advanced platform, I always end up dumping the Android phone a few weeks later and returning to the iPhone.
Why ? mainly for two reasons. 10 years ago we used to say that a phone is mainly for phone calls. Internet was a limited and frustrating experience. Today I realise that I only use my phone 5% for calls, the rest is email, general messaging and browsing. The keyboard and user experience therefore become very important.
Apple software engineers really "get" user experience. I don't know how they do it but the keyboard on the iPhone is psychic. My typing is terrible but it manages to mostly get the right keys and if not, do the correct word substitution. It must estimate if you hit between two keys then pick the best letter in the context of the word you were typing or something like that. And then the word lookup is terrific and terribly accurate
Now Android keyboards gave me much worse typing. Not only that, but the word substitution was not automatic (no way of setting it). I could never get used to clicking on the correct word substitution after practically every word. This whole keyboard thing made me feel like chucking every Android phone in the bin after a few weeks (aka to ebay).
Recently, epiphany! I discovered whilst testing an Android phone, that savvy users actually never used the default keyboard (duh!). I found that SwiftKey app was pretty popular, installed it and bing!, now I had 95% of the apple keyboard experience.
That's the thing about Apple, you see it works great out of the box. Android you need to fiddle with it, and for many users they just don't have time or want to do this.
Step in the Note 3.
Ok, now the keyboard is great. I don't know whether it's the latest version of Android or a Samsung developed keyboard but many of the issues have been solved out of the box. One other thing though, due to the size of the screen they have taken the liberty of adding a fifth row of keys, the numeric ones. Genius! You know how frustrating it is when you are typing in passwords or email addresses with a mixture of letters and numbers, always having to flick between numeric and letter keyboards. Now problem solved. For the first time it seems an Android keyboard is better then the Apple one!
The other thing that frustrated me was the speed. Despite having better specs, Android phones have always had the occasional stutter. This can occur anytime, when scrolling, opening an app, etc.
The Note 3 seems 99.9% free of this. Again not sure if this is software development or brute force.
So whilst we are on the subject of brute force let's talk specs. The Note 3 has 3gb of memory, a quad core snap dragon 800 cpu running at approx. 2.3Ghz and a Adreno 300 GPU (yes, thats right, a graphics co-processor). The screen is a full HD 1920x1280 and is an AMOLED with Gorilla glass 3. AMOLED was invented by Samsung and its simply the highest contrast phone screen you can get. IPS screens, as used by the iPhone, have slightly more accurate colours and a slightly brighter maximum brightness, but the contrast on an AMOLED is quite striking. As well as 32gb of internal storage it has a microSD card. I put in a 64gb one so now I have 96gb of storage. Note that with Android you can install apps on the external card if you want, which is very useful.
This spec approaches many full computers!
Completing the specs it has a truly monster 3200MAh battery and a removable stylus built into the body. A stylus you say, back to the Pocket PC ? not quite, this is a whole new technology. For taking notes (aka the phone name) or drawing, its really very good. It also has a switch on it for a pop up menu and other fun.
Lets talk about the elephant in the room, the size. Samsung have been crafty here, the screen size is 5.7", only 0.7" bigger then the S4 but of course a world different from the iPhone 5. Samsung do have phones with bigger screens (e.g. the Mega) but in this bracket have clearly restrained themselves, e.g. compared to say the HTC One Max , Sony Xperia Z Ultra, etc.
This has paid off. The screen is larger and much more comfortable to use then a smaller screen, but due to the extreme thinness, lightweight and minimised bezel of the device, does not feel gigantic in the hand.
Its a personal taste thing and you have to push yourself to even try a device of this size. But the danger you run is that there is no going back. Even 5" screens look pokey, let alone the iPhone 5.
It fits fine in a jean pocket and you get use to it faster then you would think.
The main reason for me trying this in the first place was to attempt to replace both my iPhone 5s and iPad mini, which I take to work every day, with one device. Also cutting the need for two contracts. On a side note I have 4G contracts from EE and vodafone. Again its something you don't think you need, but once you have you can't go back to 3G. The EE network is more mature and has better coverage, I assume Vodafone will come up to the same coverage in time.
Lastly lets talk accessories. Samsung just get this much better then anyone else. There are all sorts of things, from charging backs (so that you can use wireless charging) to docks and headphones. However the key breakthrough is the S-View wallet type cover. This has a window in to allow the phone to show status reports of phone calls and texts as they come in, without having to open the cover. The phone is "cover aware" and formats a small square window to fit this window. It also switches on when you open the flip cover and switches off when you close the flip cover. This is just sheer genius. It sounds simple but it raises the functionality to a whole new level. The final piece of genius is that the cover replaces the back of the phone, so it doesn't add much to the bulk (although it does clverely add a less then 1mm overhand to protect the sides).
Samsung has always made excellent phones, but its no use denying that its basic design has been influenced heavily by the iPhone 3, which it has kept to slavishly.
With the Note 3 Samsung has finally carved its own genuine innovation into the market and created something quite special which is going to permanently change the direction of phone development.
Put it this way, Apple will be responding to this either this or next year, and not the other way round.
Its not surprising that this is one of the world's best selling phones. A busy central London Vodafone shop told me recently that Samsung had long ago overtaken Apple with sales volume, especially the S4, but now the Note 3 is their best seller. No surprises there.
I've been sitting on the Pixel 2, and it seems every subsequent revision makes the line worse and worse. Bad enough that the Pixel 3 has the worst notch in existence, but then felt the need to kill off the notification light for no reason at all when they could have easily squeezed it in. Now comes the Pixel 4 and they're killing off the physical buttons. Who asked for this? What benefit do capacitive buttons net us outside of being an absolute pain in the ass for use with cases? What, are you expecting us to carry around your $1000+ devices without a case?
I know Google has a tendency to completely ignore user feedback and always assume they know what consumers want, but clearly that's not the case. Why is it that only Samsung knows how to innovate based on what people actually want? For starters, like focusing on removing the notch and punchouts instead of the god damn buttons.
I'm trying so hard to like Google's line of phones, but when you consider all of issues they've had with batteries, display defects, and now cutting out useful features that helped distinguish Android from iOS, it's really difficult.
I won't buy a phone without physical volume buttons, unless they devise a way to adjust call volume while I'm in a call, without having to take the phone away from my ear.
Or are they also going to do away with the earpiece next and force everyone to use headsets or speakerphone if they want to make a call? Deal killer either way.
Honda removed buttons from their in dash system a few years ago. Guess what... they're back due to consumer backlash.