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g tablet owners vs ex-owners

After reading many posts, some are deciding to keep it and some don't. Let's start a poll!

You might not get too many ex-owners as they won't be on this forum anymore.
Still, I'd love to get a poll of just how many users are out there, and how many have modded it. I can't go on firmware downloads as there could be multiple downloads from the same person.

roebeet said:
You might not get too many ex-owners as they won't be on this forum anymore.
.
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Click to collapse
Good point! As long as you are not a ex-owner, we are good!

I was an owner, then became an ex-owner, then an owner again.
I got my first one in November when Sears first had them. This was before there was really any mods going on. I kept it about a week and liked it except the WiFi would error out most of the time. I returned it and got a Hauwei S7. The S7 was actually pretty nice as it had a good out-of-the-box experience (full market, gapps, etc...), but in the end the terrible battery life got me to return it.
So I got another gtab after monitoring these forums and seeing such good progress with the mods. I got it home and the touch screen just didn't work right (top half hardly responded to touch). I exchanged it the next day and everything worked on this one except it would not wake from sleep. I tried all of the various ROMs on it and was happy, but after a week or two the sleep issue just got too annoying for me so I returned it again. Finally I seem to have one where everything works - no Wifi, sleep, or touch screen issues so far.
Right now I've just side loaded some apps I like to use, but otherwise it's completely stock. I was planning to put the VegaN ROM on it after the OTA update on Dec 19th or 20th comes out just so I can check it out on a stock tab, but I don't think I can wait and will probably update it this weekend.

Owner here then after the new tegra devices...I'll be an ex owner but then my son will be a new owner.

Man! I'm disappointed! With the title I was hoping we were gonna have a rumble!
WWE presents! The Tablet Wars!
Me, I will be in the audience watching. I'm too old to rumble anymore

dcom222 said:
I was an owner, then became an ex-owner, then an owner again.
I got my first one in November when Sears first had them. This was before there was really any mods going on. I kept it about a week and liked it except the WiFi would error out most of the time. I returned it and got a Hauwei S7. The S7 was actually pretty nice as it had a good out-of-the-box experience (full market, gapps, etc...), but in the end the terrible battery life got me to return it.
So I got another gtab after monitoring these forums and seeing such good progress with the mods. I got it home and the touch screen just didn't work right (top half hardly responded to touch). I exchanged it the next day and everything worked on this one except it would not wake from sleep. I tried all of the various ROMs on it and was happy, but after a week or two the sleep issue just got too annoying for me so I returned it again. Finally I seem to have one where everything works - no Wifi, sleep, or touch screen issues so far.
Right now I've just side loaded some apps I like to use, but otherwise it's completely stock. I was planning to put the VegaN ROM on it after the OTA update on Dec 19th or 20th comes out just so I can check it out on a stock tab, but I don't think I can wait and will probably update it this weekend.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In case you haven't seen it there's a thread on a fix for 'touch sensitivity' in this forum.
Jim

I'm a big fan of CM, so I'm hoping to see improvements.. That said, I'm a total VEGAn. The only thing that'll get me to replace it.. is new better equipment... easier said than done just yet.

Still own it ...
The hardware is good, the only issue is the software part. I'm
in for the long run ... most likely Viewsonic or others will release
a update that will make the gtab run better ..
Now it's a waiting game.

I am in the in between keeping it and taking it back. I am going out of town tomorrow, and the battery life on this will keep me occupied on the plane. Wish it would play x264 to make up for the lack of quality of the screen but an optimized rom wont be out by tomorrow. I am going to be buying a nook color soon in a few weeks because I think I am more into 7" tablets after playing with it in the store.

As long as it is not a hardware defect, I am definitely keeping it as I am not a big fan of ipad
I am happy with the the vegan rom and the screen issue doesn't bother much anyways.

Brought it home and loaded "XDA special ROMs" right after charge hit 100%. No looking back since.
Thinking of selling my dell XT 12" laptop to buy 2nd GTab.

i'm keeping mine until there are better ones. probably a couple months from now when the android tablets start to stabilize and there's good competition, prices will drop and should see some really good hardware. then i'll probably pass this one off to someone else in the family.

gotwillk said:
i'm keeping mine until there are better ones. probably a couple months from now when the android tablets start to stabilize and there's good competition, prices will drop and should see some really good hardware. then i'll probably pass this one off to someone else in the family.
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+1. Was pretty much always my plan. But this has been a lot more fun in the meantime than I had been expecting!

Planning on keeping mine. Still on TnT Lite 2.0. Wondering which ROM to do next.

I had one but returned it to Sears after a week. The screen would not respond quickly to input. I ran Vegan with Launcher Pro. I'm picking up the B&N nook color since I see Froyo is coming in January. The 7" form seems to be best for my household.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App

I might be returning mine tomorrow office depot up the street from my house where I bought it pulled it for a manufacters recall and offered me my money back, which makes me think that this is more than a software issue that an update can't fix.

GentillyWoods said:
I had one but returned it to Sears after a week. The screen would not respond quickly to input. I ran Vegan with Launcher Pro. I'm picking up the B&N nook color since I see Froyo is coming in January. The 7" form seems to be best for my household.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a thread with a fix for those having that issue. Basically, add an empty text file named calibration.ini to the root of sdcard2 (your micro SD card) then reboot and don't touch the screen while it boots. You should see great improvement. Then delete the file or add a .bak to the file name so calibration does not run again unless you need it after a rom flash.

Loaded tnt lite... then vegan....have had no problems, so I'm keeping it.

First ten days with HTC One S

I received my phone from Orange Spain. The phone itself is very nice, quick and smooth and everything you have read about it in general review is correct. It is a very good phone and I am happy with it. BUT here are the things I don't like:
1. Micro oxydation is very nice looking although it smells a little like dirty hair. And, unfortunately, like it has been reported I have a small edge chipped. I don't know yet if I will return it for that.
2. The default browser is new and some HTML5 games are incompatible with it or play very slow. Android is still behind Apple iOS Safari Browser and this is very bad since I work for a mobile game network. I suspect this is not a problem of the phone but the ICS browser.
3. I have installed the Chrome browser and it crashes almost everytime I use it. Not only Chrome crashes but the whole phone. The phone freezes and the only way to reboot it is to maintain the power button pressed for a while.
4. Camera is fantastic. I tested a few times and worked very well. But the first time I really used it I could take the first picture then the screen became black. I mean, everything I should see through the camera stayed black. The buttons and menu were visible but I couldn't use them. I shut down the app and reload it with same problem. I had to reboot the phone to fix it.
I have one app (Live TV from Lyric) with a shortcut on the homescreen. Everytime I reboot, the icon disappear from the homescreen and is replaced with the Android robot icon. I have to replace the icon every time I boot. The app doesn't disappear, only the shortcut.
5. Maybe this is the most important problem. Reception is not very good and many times I loose the GSM signal totally, then it comes back. My HTC Desire had better recepción. 3G and HSDP is veery slow when reception is weak (2 bars or under)
The doubts I had:
- When I read reviews about this phone I had my doubts about the screen resolution and pentile technology. This is bull****. The screen is great and more than enough for a high end phone.
- Battery and autonomy. I don't care about having a non removable battery. All my previous ones had removable battery and I never used a spare. The autonomy of this phone is good and much better than my Desire. I can keep it running with a lot of use during a full day and probably two days on light use.
- Non removable memory. It is advertised to have 16GB user memory but the reality is way different: I have "only" 10GB available and I feel ripped off. Although I know I will probably never use so much memory (I don't store music or movies).
Conclusion: I would probably buy this phone again even after knowing the limitations. But I hope some software fixes will come.

I haven't bought one yet but i'm the same as you having doubts about the S's screen. I have viewed the S and X side by side in a shop and obviously the X's panel is much better to look at, but in my opinion it's the only thing the X has going for it over the S.
The per-core performance of the S is better, it's easier to hold and use, feels better built, the battery lasts at least as long if not longer and it's cheaper. I don't really care about NFC and the better front facing camera on the X as I'll never use them (apart from maybe the mirror app!)
The X seems laggy to me even though it really shouldn't. I know it has a fair few more pixels to push around but the GPU is marginally better than the S so should breeze through. This is especially noticable on the world clock... tap the globe to make it full screen and spin/zoom it. The S is super smooth and the X is very choppy in comparison.
So in all I think I can deal with the pentile matrix... I just don't want to buy it and have HTC announce a One S "2" in a few months with a 720p display!

kadison;
that shouldn't be a concern. because at any given time there will be coming better and better phones
- so don't worry that this one will get outdated, because it's not. Just look at the Desire HD or the Galaxy S2 (which people still buying btw)
I'm superhappy with this phone, although I can't wait for the xda development to start working on replacements to Sense 4.0
Sent from my HTC One S using XDA

kadison said:
I haven't bought one yet but i'm the same as you having doubts about the S's screen. I have viewed the S and X side by side in a shop and obviously the X's panel is much better to look at, but in my opinion it's the only thing the X has going for it over the S.
The per-core performance of the S is better, it's easier to hold and use, feels better built, the battery lasts at least as long if not longer and it's cheaper. I don't really care about NFC and the better front facing camera on the X as I'll never use them (apart from maybe the mirror app!)
The X seems laggy to me even though it really shouldn't. I know it has a fair few more pixels to push around but the GPU is marginally better than the S so should breeze through. This is especially noticable on the world clock... tap the globe to make it full screen and spin/zoom it. The S is super smooth and the X is very choppy in comparison.
So in all I think I can deal with the pentile matrix... I just don't want to buy it and have HTC announce a One S "2" in a few months with a 720p display!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not many people will continuously look at a One X and a One S screen.
AMOLED displays have been impressive on my friend's Windows 7 device, and since I'm coming from a device from less than 200 PPI, it should be a great screen.

Been disappointed with my first few days with it. It seems to suffer from constant crashes where the phone reboots itself.
I've tried stock and some custom roms but am still getting random reboots.

paulpenny said:
Been disappointed with my first few days with it. It seems to suffer from constant crashes where the phone reboots itself.
I've tried stock and some custom roms but am still getting random reboots.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Were you getting Crashes and Random reboots before you Rooted and started flashing other ROMS? or do you think it might be because you are flashing different ROMS that might have some minor bugs here and there?

jmercil said:
Were you getting Crashes and Random reboots before you Rooted and started flashing other ROMS? or do you think it might be because you are flashing different ROMS that might have some minor bugs here and there?
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Click to collapse
I don't know about the original poster but this happens with my One S with the stock ROM. It seems to maybe happen when I'm at a wifi connection boundary (maybe?) but a couple times a week, I'll either:
1) notice the phone rebooting as it's just sitting idle on my desk
2) hear the "I just crashed and am rebooting" sound from the phone in my pocket
3) go to use it and notice the notification bar icon telling me it just recovered from a crash.
I'm sending the crash data to HTC every time, hoping they're prioritizing the fix because though it has never crashed on me like this while I'm using it (which is weird...), it's starting to get annoying.

I have not had a single random reboot, using WIP CM9.

jipi said:
1. Micro oxydation is very nice looking although it smells a little like dirty hair.
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Click to collapse
I really regret smelling it now lol.
Agree about the display, reviews were making a big deal put of the pentile display but it's a non issue for me. Only issue I've had, coming off an iPhone 4, has been the size of the phone. Maybe I just have small hands but not finding it too comfortable to use with one hand.
Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk 2

My girlfriend had the One X and i have the One S. I can definitely notice the difference with the pentile matrix on my phone especially with small writing and horizontal lines. (the edge of the messaging icon for example looks like a dotted line) but honestly it's only noticeable if im using the phone in bed and using it really close to my face. The One X is crisper looking but it's a little washed out compared to the One S's screen. The blacks on my screen are way darker compared to the X.
I've had my One S for just over a week now and have yet to see any rebooting or crashing. The phone has been fantastic so far except that i get absolutely terrible reception. I had a Desire before this phone and in places where i used to get full bars i can now maybe get one, if it's not in emergency mode. The signal bounces around from really good to really bad (mostly hovering around -107dbm) which is not good at all. I took the phone back and got it replaced as well as the sim card and i still have issues.
Overall i really like it, but i think i might have to take it back and get something else that can keep good reception.

Ive got my phone for about 4 days now, and its the best investment ive made in the past few years
I allready worked on a few Android devices ( Root etc etc ) but newer owned one myself, so the first thing I did was Unlocking, Rooting and flashing LeeDroid´s Firmware onto it.
And the phone is fantastic.
Far beyond what I expected.
The Battery life is great, my friends are allready pissed because their iPhone cant take so long OnScreen-Times
I really hope that there will be [S-OFF] and the Kernel Source available soon

FixedTheFernBack said:
I've had my One S for just over a week now and have yet to see any rebooting or crashing. The phone has been fantastic so far except that i get absolutely terrible reception. I had a Desire before this phone and in places where i used to get full bars i can now maybe get one, if it's not in emergency mode. The signal bounces around from really good to really bad (mostly hovering around -107dbm) which is not good at all. I took the phone back and got it replaced as well as the sim card and i still have issues.
Overall i really like it, but i think i might have to take it back and get something else that can keep good reception.
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I'm with the phone for 6 weeks now (bought it in Switzerland unbranded) and agree with you so much.
I'm thinking of sending it to Greece for "repair" although I'm not sure they can make the network reception and data connection loss disappear unless a new firmware is out, which I can update myself, if there will be (I'm on 1.78 currently).
Unfortunately, unlike you, I cannot anymore return it for a refund
I had Desire which was magnificent and am so depressed with this phone in terms of its reception! Other than that, it's magnificent as well!!!

jipi said:
3. I have installed the Chrome browser and it crashes almost everytime I use it. Not only Chrome crashes but the whole phone. The phone freezes and the only way to reboot it is to maintain the power button pressed for a while.
robably never use so much memory (I don't store music or movies).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have crash too. for example it crashes with this and this
It is a common or just a few devices have this problem?

This phone got no problems.

Got my One S a week ago. The black one. Was using a Desire before that. Here are my findings:
* Size: It is a bit unwieldy. The fact that the entire front side responds to touch doesn't make it easier to hold. I probably have to grow into it.
It feels like the chances of dropping it are higher and the results of dropping it are worse.
* Power button: A bit hard to reach and hard to press. On the Desire we have 'trackpad to wake'. I miss that.
* Reception: I don't know about actual signal, but the bars in the notification area jump back and forth pretty much between 1 and 4.
* Battery: About a full day. Of course since the device is new, I play with it more than normal. Really too soon to tell. I remember on the Desire the battery life was a bit disappointing in the beginning, but became better with time. (Better calibration? Better kernels & ROMs?)
* Body: The weight, the thinness, the shape, damn this is a marvelous piece of engineering! The MAO aluminium feels fantastic.
I don't use a case and I don't plan to. No point (for me) to hide its beauty in order to retain it. Maybe a screen protector, not sure yet. No chipping or scratching (yet?). Dropped it once, from about 1 meter, on wooden floor (not on concrete). [SH24TW]
* General performace: It just screams.
* Screen: Bigger, brighter, more pixels, yummm! (I realize that this is a counterpoint to "It is a bit unwieldy".) I am personally not bothered by pentile matrix layout
* WiFi is better: Stronger signal, faster joining, better speed, less latency.
* GPS: Was already pretty good on the Desire, but on the One S it is even better. Stronger signal, better accuracy, GLONASS.
* Camera. I'm just blown away with the awesomness of the camera.
I am very impressed so far.
-Jobo

My experience so far (have had it for 10 days now):
-Phone looks amazing - miles ahead of pretty much everything else out there. Makes my Sensation feel like a brick. That said, I agree with some that the gray finish is quite slippery and it can be hard to get a good grip. Build quality is fine, no creaks or anything.
-The non-removable battery and lack of SD slot are non-issues. Battery life is good so far and I've never used more than 5GB on my previous phones so 16GB should be more than enough.
-Screen looks great. PenTile is not a problem for me.
-Sense 4 is very nice both aesthetically and functionally, better than 3.6 and certainly at least as good as stock ICS (I have tried all three for extended periods on my Sensation as well, so they were all on an even footing).
-Very happy with the performance. No random reboots, crashes, or major bugs so far. Only issues I have are 1) Wi-Fi randomly disconnecting and then immediately re-connecting and 2) in areas with weak "4G" reception the signal will spike between no bars and full bars occasionally. Hopefully the OTA will fix these.
-Camera is excellent. Haven't had much chance to play with it but it's really, really fast and the quality is very good.
Overall, very satisfied.

Couple of weeks in.
I got 2 of these phones during the week of release, and so far i haven't got a bad word to say about it.
Reception has been superb. Not a single crash or reboot. Rooted straight away and have used several ROMs before settling with one I like. Not wanting to repeat what others have said, but i'm very happy with this phone.
My wife on the other hand, has done nothing but moan about reception issues. Although I think that says more about her, than it does the One S.

Meedmo said:
I got 2 of these phones during the week of release, and so far i haven't got a bad word to say about it.
Reception has been superb. Not a single crash or reboot. Rooted straight away and have used several ROMs before settling with one I like. Not wanting to repeat what others have said, but i'm very happy with this phone.
My wife on the other hand, has done nothing but moan about reception issues. Although I think that says more about her, than it does the One S.
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Click to collapse
I've tried extensively to convert my iPhone using wife to an Android device. I bought her a Galaxy Nexus, she said it wasn't comfortable in one hand. I got her the SGS2, she had the same complaint. Purchased the Amaze, she said the screen was too washed out (?) and Sense 3.0 wasn't her "cup of tea". I gave her a G2X for the hell of it, which she liked, but ultimately, wanted her iPhone 4 back. So, after hell and high water trying to find her the "perfect" Android device, she's back to her iPhone 4. I told her that I didn't want her to feel pressured just because I'm an Android user, and she said that the main reason she wanted her iPhone back was to facetime with her family in Canada, which I can't argue with.
So about a month later, I purchased the One S. She instantly was in shock by the gorgeous hardware design. She asked if she could use it for a few days to see if she can make the switch. So, after using it for a week (she wouldn't give it back to me), she said that she couldn't believe how vibrant the screen was (the regular consumer who has no idea what pentile is will not notice this "flaw", and that's speaking strictly from the end user who see's the screen for what it is, 4.3 inches of pure beauty), how quick and easy Sense 4 was to use, and how well it fit in her pocket. So by that point, I wanted my phone back, (I switched between an Amaze and SGS2 temporarily), and ultimately, ended up purchasing one for her. Without my knowledge, she went and got a complete guard on the entirety of the phone, as well as a white skull candy case. She's kept it in perfect condition (learns from the best =) and has officially (at least for now) retired her iPhone.
Since most of her friends are iUsers, she can boast about being the only one with common sense to use what she believes is a superior device (which it is, in our opinion). I've dealt with her whiny friends who have asked me, "why did you let her buy a droid?!" My answer is, it isn't a droid, a droid is a phone made by Motorola, first off, and second, because it's just better for her personal use, and in many ways, then the iPhone itself. They then proceed to balk on about how the iPhone just "works" etc. etc., but after they got a glimpse of the One S, she was actually able to convert a longtime iPhone user into purchasing a white Galaxy S2 for Sprint! Two down, a worlds to go, but no less, it's encouraging.
The real test begins when the "New iPhone" is released, we'll see then how she reacts. But for now, I feel as though this phone has really done well for HTC and transcended a lot of the "complications" iUsers have when trying to convert to Android. The One S has such good touch sensitivity, that it compares to that of the iPhone, where as I've noticed using the Galaxy Nexus and SGS2 that the sensitivity of touch wasn't as prevalent as these HTC devices. It's likely just perception, but it's something I've noticed.

Considering A Xoom -- Advice Wanted!

Hey All--I'm considering getting a Xoom off craigslist at a decent price, but I was hoping for some advice first:
What I really care about is having a device that runs well, that the screen is pretty good on, and that has great developer support.
I will most likely run AOKP on whatever I get (it's what I run on my galaxy nexus).
Is this the tablet for me? What are the benefits, and perhaps more importantly, what are the drawbacks that you see to the xoom?
Thanks!

I really hate the screen on this Xoom, my Samsung fascinates screen at half dim is easier to see out side than my Xoom at 100.
I got mine cheap online also and wish I would have just saved a bit more and got a galaxy tab. Prob will be upgrading to galaxy tab 2.
Before I go, I would like to add that this tablet is a pain to hold, I would prefer a screen that is a bit closer to square such as gal tab or ipad, this Xoom is like widescreen, it's also kinda heavy, I do like a bit of weight but without a case on it, the shell on this thing is very slippery.
Id go hold some different devices to make up your mind on if it's worth saving 100-200 bucks on something you intend to enjoy and use often for some time to come.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk

My only real complaint is battery life. I get about 8 -10 hours out of it continous use. Other complaint would be the backlight. If you plan on keeping it stock, there are better options. If you plan on rooting and roming it, there is allot of developmental support that will completely transform it. Add in hdmi port and expandable storage via external sd card slot(xoom can accept the sandisk 64gb micro.)
It really matters, what you will be doing with it, and where will you will be using it.. If out doors during day hours allot, check out other options before getting the xoom. Its glare can be bad and the backlight will barely make up for it... out in the sun, just about forget about it. If it will be indoors allot overcast days or in the shade, and/or very media oriented, the xoom is excellent. Someone else will have to comment on gaming.
If you like to use allot of apps, or a windows like experience of multiple apps or screens at once, there is the cornerstone rom(there is a youtube video.)
I personally am very happy with my xoom, I like music and love movies, price aside(xoom verizon lte, no contract) Resolution is good, tegra2 does everything I ask, on the eos nightly rom there are great customizing options. I have no reason at all to look for some thing else.... if i get sick with what I got, I just switch a rom, the only thing that stays the same is the case.
As for weight, yeah its a little heavier and thicker than most, do a couple pushups once in a while, you'll be fine

Q vs Epic

I have been a very faithful fan of the epic. I have to have a qwerty keyboard and I really need decent battery life. I have seen a few post comparing the two phones but not a real good breakdown. The q seems to have things that I like, qwerty, dedicated camera button, 4.3 inch screen, sd card option, possible better radio, is there any serious good or bad things on the q that I should be aware of? Also if any other ex epic user would want to do a quick comparison of the two devices that would be awesome. Software excluded, I know that the epic had more life than it should as I am running aokp jb on it as I type this.
sent from the other woman

bryanfritz1 said:
I have been a very faithful fan of the epic. I have to have a qwerty keyboard and I really need decent battery life. I have seen a few post comparing the two phones but not a real good breakdown. The q seems to have things that I like, qwerty, dedicated camera button, 4.3 inch screen, sd card option, possible better radio, is there any serious good or bad things on the q that I should be aware of? Also if any other ex epic user would want to do a quick comparison of the two devices that would be awesome. Software excluded, I know that the epic had more life than it should as I am running aokp jb on it as I type this.
sent from the other woman
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Photon is definitely a step up from the Epic. Battery life is much better. Radios are better. I prefer the software over touchwiz.

qbking77 said:
Photon is definitely a step up from the Epic. Battery life is much better. Radios are better. I prefer the software over touchwiz.
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Click to collapse
Of all the people to happen to read and reply, I am super happy its you, your reviews and how to's have been very helpful on the epic and I know what you say to be worth while. thx.
sent from the other woman

bryanfri. tz1 said:
Of all the people to happen to read and reply, I am super happy its you, your reviews and how to's have been very helpful on the epic and I know what you say to be worth while. thx.
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Click to collapse
ill second that. I've been waiting to buy till the development for this thing is a little more active. Good to see QB in here.
Also Fyi if you plan on getting one, I saw them at Sam's club for 74 Or 78$

I *was* typing this from the Q, but hit the wrong button and lost the message. Blah.
The Q is very similar to the epic, and is a natural upgrade. There is much more in common between the two phones than there are differences. That said, the Q is hands-down the better android device.
Body: The phones are almost exactly the same size and weight. The shapes and textures feel more different than the size or weight do, and even that is subtle. The general design cues are the same: shiny black plastic with a bezel on top, matte black rubberized plastic on the back. External buttons are laid out differently, but it's mostly just different, not better or worse.
Keyboard: I really like the keyboard layout on the Q. The keyboards are very similar overall, but the Q has a real tab button, an "OK" button which acts as the center of a D-Pad or the press of a trackball and works well with ConnectBot/VXConnectBot. The default keys (as opposed to those accessible by fn) seem better. The layout took me about a week to get used to. I DO miss the hardware home/back/menu/search buttons from the epic keyboard, but I think I'll get used to that eventually.
Screen: I was really worried that the screen would not be as good as the Super AMOLED on the epic, especially in daylight. But the reviews were right, and the screen is great. Very comparable... tough to say which is better in daylight. Colors are bright, but they were on the epic, too. I'm even using auto-brightness, which was always annoying and a battery drain on the epic.
Forget about the extra .3 inches on the display. That is taken up by the software buttons that never go away. For practical purposes the displays are exactly the same size. (Looking closely, the display appears to be 1-1.5mm bigger in each dimension)
The increased resolution is noticeable if you look really closely. I definitely can't see individual pixels at normal viewing distance, so I definitely don't regret not having an "HD" screen. I have noticed that some software looks "odd" in the new resolution. I'm not sure if that's because the apps are old and not updated (gsettlers) or maybe just a font difference. Not a big deal, and it only affects maybe 5% of apps, but it surprised me.
Camera: The reviews were not kind to the camera, but it really is at least comparable to the epic. I haven't really done a side-by-side comparison, but I have had plenty of "keepers" taken with the Q. The camera on the Q is definitely faster. The camera button is definitely nice to have, but is not two-stage. There is no "focus only" half-press. Touching the screen can trigger focus, and this can definitely help in some situations.
Battery: For me, battery life is about the same. Both phones would just about hit the low-battery warnings by the time I would go to bed on a typical day with no charging. That said, I have atypical days all the time, so I just charge whenever I'm sitting near a charger. I did have an extra battery for the epic that I used a handful of times, mostly when traveling. I intend to get a battery powered pocket charger to cover this use case for the Q. It should be noted that the Q is more picky about usb cables. I have at least one usb cable that the Q will not use to charge. All the samsung cables and chargers do appear to work, though.
Radio: The radio is, again, comparable. There are a couple spots where I have noticed better signal than the epic, and a couple where I've noticed worse with wifi. In both cases, the Q seems to do less "hunting" than the epic.
Ports/SD: SD card is more accessible than the epic. Q does *not* come with an SD card like the epic did. A 32 GB card is less than $30 on amazon, though. I haven't had a chance to use the hdmi port. There is no port cover like the epic has for the usb port.
Dock: The car dock for the Q deserves a special mention. This dock is really great, and is a stark contrast to the absolutely crap docks that were available for the epic. The car dock has power and audio out, in a single wire (which is great for hard/subtle installs). The dock also leaves all the buttons and the headphone jack accessible. There is even a removable liner so the phone would fit with a case, although apparently none of the cases released so far fit. The software for car mode is good. Audio is routed correctly, even for bluetooth, which means no more "dock sound redirector" needed. The car mode app even has customizable spots for whatever apps you want, which is a big step up from the comparable samsung apps.
Speed: This is by far the biggest thing you will notice about the Q. Or rather, *not* notice it. You know how the epic is pretty fast, and sometimes, everything is smooth and just works great? The Q is *always* like that. No random slow-downs. No pauses where you hit the button twice because you weren't sure if the first one registered. I didn't realize how big the difference was until I went back to use the epic after a couple days with the Q. I could never go back, now.
Also, the extra memory and storage are great. No more messing with apps-to-sd, and fewer pauses when switching between apps. That said, I'm guessing everyone needs more than 4 GB (of the 8GB internal storage, this is accessible to users) so it's not like SD card is optional.
Audio: Sound is about the same, really. External speaker is plenty loud.
Software: I'm not going to write all that and skip software, even though you aren't interested. I was last using CM9 on the epic, and the transition from that to ICS on the Q was pretty smooth. The home screen app is more capable than CM9, so I haven't switched to another launcher like Nova. Similarly, the lock screen has convenient shortcuts for camera, etc. so I haven't had to customize that. The "quick view" on the stock apps is neat. I don't like that you can't pick which home screen is the one you get to when you hit the home button... it's always the leftmost. The camera app is less customizable than the touchwiz or CM9 ones. Panorama mode is in a menu, for example. Settings/etc are not too different from CM9: there are motorola customizations, but generally in areas that are rarely accessed.
Voice Commands/Voice Dialing are better than the epic in any incarnation. (Froyo, the crappy GB or ICS from CM9)
Root: I waited until the phone was rooted before I bought it (thanks shabby!). Unlocking and rooting was very easy, even compared to the epic, which was pretty easy to start with. Unlocking *will* void your warranty, and adds a boot-time warning message about the unlocked bootloader. The few mods that are available now are all geared towards playing catchup with other roms, things like the toggles in the notification drawer (missing in motorola stock), the 1% battery icon and the power menu with more options. I'm guessing that there will be more and more small mods like this, and eventually custom roms.
I don't know exactly what needs to happen before custom roms can happen, but the *need* for them is very different than for the epic. Samsung was notoriously slow with updates. The rom community had Gingerbread long before samsung provided a rom, and there was never an ICS rom from samsung, let alone JB! Plus touchwiz was much more invasive than Motorola's current offering. Motorola, on the other hand, has promised Jelly Bean updates for new phones, and put cash on the line to prove it. But, the epic *needed* newer android versions because they were faster and had better memory and disk space management. I am curious about Jelly Bean, but I don't feel like I "need" project butter or the other enhancements on the Q.
I do hope that the unlocked bootloader attracts the mod community and especially cyanogenmod given the success I had with CM9 on the epic.

zurvan2 said:
I *was* typing this from the Q, but hit the wrong button and lost the message. Blah.
The Q is very similar to the epic, and is a natural upgrade. There is much more in common between the two phones than there are differences. That said, the Q is hands-down the better android device...
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Wow. Very well thought out & well written comparison. Thank you zurvan.
Sent from my XT897 using xda premium

Nice write-up. The only part I don't agree with is the battery. I can get through a full day with this device without charging (even leave it unplugged overnight) I wasn't able to do that with my Epic. I might have just been using a crap governor

KitsunePaws said:
Nice write-up. The only part I don't agree with is the battery. I can get through a full day with this device without charging (even leave it unplugged overnight) I wasn't able to do that with my Epic.
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Click to collapse
I agree, my experience with this battery is far better than any of my previous devices, regardless of rom or batt mods.
Sent from my XT897 using xda premium

Great post/rundown zurvan, hard to add much to that. So far I'm really enjoying the Q as well...my only problem is that I'm in Nashville this weekend and getting halfway decent 3g speeds, which i'm not used to at home...I'll be interested to see how it does under my more normal conditions.
I'm noticing two bugs while typing this post though that I hadn't encountered before...for one, sometimes a letter will render twice when I type, and also sometimes when I make a typo and them arrow back to try and correct it, when I start to type again the cursor will jump back to the end of where I'd last stopped typing and render the next character there again. Alsocaps lock doesn't always work (its not right now). I'm using Chrome at the moment so dunno if its something to do with that or not. I also mentioned before that the keyboard layout is a bit frustrating coming from the Epic..the three keys giving me the most fits are the m (too far to the left) and then the comma and especially the apostrophe/single quote....that one is making me want to bash my head into concrete lol. Also the lack of a shift key on the right is a hindrance as well

KitsunePaws said:
Nice write-up. The only part I don't agree with is the battery. I can get through a full day with this device without charging (even leave it unplugged overnight) I wasn't able to do that with my Epic. I might have just been using a crap governor
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Click to collapse
I had the 1800 mah battery for the Epic (from the 4G touch?). That might make a difference.
---------- Post added at 03:52 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:27 AM ----------
PythonFanTN said:
I'm noticing two bugs while typing this post though that I hadn't encountered before...for one, sometimes a letter will render twice when I type, and also sometimes when I make a typo and them arrow back to try and correct it, when I start to type again the cursor will jump back to the end of where I'd last stopped typing and render the next character there again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The keyboard/cursor thing sounds like spelling correction. It might be the ICS defaults, or swype, or something. I've definitely experienced it on the epic, too, but forget which combo produces it.
The M/, keys bothered me, too. I *think* I'm used to it, now.
The Q also has a neat, subtle thing: when you turn caps lock on, there's a tiny little light next to the 1 key that lights up. This surprised me.
Also, a major note for epic owners: the GPS on the Q "just works".

Another positive for previous Epic owners....going into developer options and choosing 'Stay awake' so the screen stays on when charging actually stays checked after a phone reboot. I would always have to go in and re-check that on the Epic and it was one of those kind of minor things that still annoys the heck out of me all the same.

Thx guys, after reading what a lot of you said I took the plunge, and I'm happy. A few things, here and there, but I'm still more happy with this even knowing there may not be a ton of dev stuff for a while, than how I was feeling lately about my epic, it was tired.
Blasted across the interwebs from a photon q.

As far as I'm concerned, all I needed was shabbypenguin root and Rangerbry's 1% and toggle mods. I am in no hurry for any roms. The Q just works. I hated my epic and gave it away when the first photon came out. Even with all the devs on the epic, that toy annoyed me.
Sent from my XT897 using xda premium

Update on battery life vs epic, no contest its way better.
Sent from my XT897 using xda app-developers app

scratch resistance?
The screen on my epic doesn't have a single scratch on it despite it being almost 2 years old and never having used a screen protector. I was never careful with it and it still looks perfect :good:
Does the photon seem to have the same level of scratch resistance?

I had a epic while it was a good phone, BUT the q blows it out the water!
Sent from my XT897 using xda premium

VECCTOR said:
The screen on my epic doesn't have a single scratch on it despite it being almost 2 years old and never having used a screen protector. I was never careful with it and it still looks perfect :good:
Does the photon seem to have the same level of scratch resistance?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I only had it for about 2 weeks now, no screen scratches yet, I did nick the edge of the phone but it rises above the surface of the screen by 1/2 mm to protect the screen so that's nice too. I never used a screen protector on my epic as well and it only got micro scratches(you have to look at the screen in direct sunlight to see them). I did order screen protectors off amazon but I don't know if ill use them, the case I ordered will be probably be enough
Sent from my XT897 using xda app-developers app

Thanks for the reply
I think the last time Sprint had a top-end phone with a physical keyboard was the Epic, which makes me feel like I have to pull the trigger on this one even though there are a couple things I don't like about it. Who knows when they will have another good one available
I might wait if I thought there would be another in 6 months but history is not on our side there. I wish there was more information about what is in the pipeline.

First post here and happy to see QBKing!
bryanfritz1 said:
Of all the people to happen to read and reply, I am super happy its you, your reviews and how to's have been very helpful on the epic and I know what you say to be worth while. thx.
sent from the other woman
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Oh Man, I know I didnt post alot in the epic forums, but I'm also very happy to see QBking here.
I bought the Photon Q and have been questioning if it was the right choice, since the lack of ROMS.
Seeing a familiar face in the forum makes me feel alot better about the possibility of roms in the future.
Any other Epic users notice the inabilty to focus on close objects with the camera on the Q?
I'm still using my Epic to take picture for ebay and other things where I need close detail.

I can't lie, I miss my epic a little... but this phone did kinda lay it to rest permanently. I even endured a samsung transform for a while (not even going to say how long), and that's just embarrassing. But out of every android device I've owned with a keyboard, this one puts them all to shame. The keyboard took a little while to get used to, and a few little things here and there are somewhat annoying... but it seems this phone would be pretty flawless after a little development.
Sent from that one mopho...

No haters - 3 month thread

So with all the threads out there complaining about the lack of features that came with the 8X or WP8, I thought it due time for me to post an update on my phone.
My only request is if youv'e got a real anger issue with something that I post, and want to flame, do it in your backyard, all I hope to see here is just a little love for the 8X and the WP8, K punkins!?
So its been 3 months now, thought I would update what I posted before in the '2 weeks with my 8X' thread. And yes, its a thread full of mcluvin for my 8X. Call me a fanboy, I don't mind. Still gonna sleep good knowing my phone is taking care of my wake up concerns!
so without further adue (spelling? I aint french), here we go:
Industrial Design/Durability - 3 months ago, all I heard was about durability, corners going bad, screen scratching, etc. Well, 3 months later and my phone is still called 'sexy beast' because it really is just a beautiful phone. I keep it in my pocket as well, and the corners are still looking as good as the day I got it. Cleaning is still easy, and I have noticed a few minor scratches on the screen, which considering how many times I put it in the same pocket as my keys, thats downright amazing! My TB had screen gouges after the 1st month.
Build Quality - Still solid as a rock! That little issue about the 1mm difference is still not something I notice, so its still rocking out, lookng and performing great.
Usability of Buttons - I wouldn't say I have large hands, at least I don't think I do. I have noticed that when I hold the phone in my left hand (my usuall position), the volume buttons fall perfectly between my first finger which rests just below the buttons and my next two fingers, which are able to grasp the sides of the phone without touching the rockers. The camera button then falls between the pinky which also rests just below the button and my two middle fingers. And its an easy slide for me to swing my finger to the power button. When the phone is in a pocket and I am listening to music, I find the volume buttons raised just enough where I can find them inside the pocket, and turn up or down. I haven't had any issues with the buttons, and actually find them better in terms of functionality than the buttons on my old TB. And just learned something the other night when my alarm went off. i don't have to hit the off or snooze, just give any button a love tap, bip, off goes the alarm! Woo Hoo! Thankfully the buttons are no problem for me!
Screen - still a gorgeous screen! Still crystal clear! The minor scratches are only seen in full daylight (don't get much of that in WA) and only when viewed at an angle. Otherwise, you wont notice it. And my oils still wipe off without any issues.
Windows Phone 8 - I am still loving the OS of this baby, and sorry folks, I still don't know what the Portico update did! Havent noticed anything new, other than the Wifi thing, which was never a bother for me. I always managed to stay under 1/2 GB even with internet, streaming vids and radios. Its still wicked smooth, quick and very responsive. Still no lag, and only had one random reboot last week. I blame me for that, I was fooling around and started hitting all the tiles I could as fast as I could. It kept trying to open everything I hit, then shut down and came back.
Bottom Line - I still love this phone! Any little issues that I have encountered (few, really few and far between) really are overshadowed by the performance, design, and reliability of the phone and OS itself. I keep learning something new on it, and keep getting compliments!
So I would like to challenge other 8X folks, lets see if we can spread some love to our phones instead of complaining about the little things!
My name is Jerry, and this is my Windows phone!

I've had my 8X for a few months as well, and I have been very impressed with both the hardware and software aspects of the device. It's actually one of the few gizmos I've bought that actually exceeded my expectations.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

70363c1413 said:
I've had my 8X for a few months as well, and I have been very impressed with both the hardware and software aspects of the device. It's actually one of the few gizmos I've bought that actually exceeded my expectations.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tend to agree with you. It's a great phone. I am starting to see the black corners and I have the more than occasional lag when using the windows buttons at the bottom but apart from that, I am happy.
Funny, I had an iPhone I just had to jailbreak. I had an android that I had to keep flashing and with the exception of wanting a few more theme colors and a little tighter integration with Skype, I'm a very happy camper.
I started this journey with the HD2 and WP7 when it first came out. Liked the OS but hated the lack of apps. Went back to android and then bought my HD7. Things continued to improve bit by bit and then I stepped up to a Lumia 900 with WP7.5. Except for the front facing camera (which I want but never use...) and a few of the Nokia apps, it didn’t seem too much of an upgrade from the HD7. Then I got the 8X. Lve the way my live tiles are laid out, love the look, the feel and overall I'm extremely happy.
The only reason I will jump at the next WP8 to be released is if it has an SD expansion slot. I find the 8GB version a real pain (even with skydrive) and the 16GB version has filled up to 13GB in a very short space of time. I'm surprised they ever released WP8 without a requirement for adding storage. MS dictate the start screen buttons, why not storage configs?
Anyway, enough said. Love the phone 95% and that's a damn good number! Cheers! :good:

A little more love
Just wanted to add some love for a feature on the 8X that really is better than any other phone I have used.
thats the bluetooth. I use a vehicle, 2 actually, that have the Sync option. And its so nice to have such quick and effortless connectivity to that system. I turn on the bluetooth, and connection is quick, and controls are flawless. And of course, with Beats working through BT, the sound is really great.
What I also like is how I can set the phone to 'vibrate' only, and it will continue to play sounds or provide turn by turn, read texts, etc until I turn car off, then it goes back into vibrate mode without me having to do anything.
My old TB wouldn't work half the time, or only half the controls would work, or it would skip or pause on and off for minutes on end.
Ah, so nice to be able to listen to music without a hitch.
Now, does anyone know where I can use the NFC? Wouldn't mind giving that a go! What about at like Jack in the box? Would it work there?

Tomorrow i arrive back to windows 8 i had the 8x the day it came out. I sold it thinking i needed ios or android i was wrong tomorrow my new htc8x arrives and I cant wait
Sent from my HTC One S using xda premium

chiefy009 said:
Tomorrow i arrive back to windows 8 i had the 8x the day it came out. I sold it thinking i needed ios or android i was wrong tomorrow my new htc8x arrives and I cant wait
Sent from my HTC One S using xda premium
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Click to collapse
Then welcome back! Every now and then here I will see a new update, or ROM, or something 'cool' for android, will get a little nostalgic, then look at the.home screen of my phone, and am reminded just how good this phone is!
Sent from my wicked sexy HTC 8X windows phone using Board Express