Related
I have read many reviews and many comments on the web. I thought I would hear from xda to help me make a decision.
I am with Sprint right now, and have been for 10 years. I am ready for a new device and put my Diamond to bed.
I have been to the T-Mobile store and have spoken about the myTouch.
I have also spoke to Sprint about the Eo 4G. I have not held either in hand But I like the form function of both. I do see the Evo 4G is slightly larger and I will have to see how I like it in my pocket.
I have seen all the speed tests etc. But would like feedback from members with real world use.
As I said, I am with Sprint right now but have no problem changing carriers. I do have apprehension regarding the unknown issue of how T-Mobile works in my area of usage. Sprint is not an unknown as after 10 years, the reception has been very good.
If I do port to Sprint, i will not be able to port back to my older plan. The cost is approx. the same regarding pans except for the $10 surcharge Sprint charges for 4G.
Regarding the myTouch 4g, I like the >
- display seems brighter and more vivid then the Evo, at least on the Vids I have watched
- size. The 3.8" screen is more than enough for my usage, and the device is more compact
- 5 mp camera is not a deal breaker
- 768mb RAM as compared to 512mb for the Evo 4g. The myTouch appears to operate slightly faster. may not be a big deal though.
- 4gb Internal Storage as compared to the Evo 4G 1gb
Regarding the Evo 4G
- I would be Comfortable staying with Sprint because of the reception I have received over the years.
- the Evo is true 4G which may make a difference as compared to T-Mobile's HSPA+ network. It all depends on where you are regarding coverage
- 4G may be quicker on Sprint network, But I have seen the numbers all over the place
As you can see by the above, I feel that the myTouch has the advantage regarding the specs. I also like the myTouch display (as long as I get the Sony screen ) I also like the size factor. I most likely overlooked some advantages of the Evo 4g though.
If the myTouch was offered by Sprint, I would most likely purchase it over the Evo 4G. But they don't and I'm on the fence regarding which carrier and device to get.
This is the reason I wanted real world feedback regarding both the Evo 4G and the myTouch. Just because I feel the specs are better on the myTouch, does not mean it performs better in the real world. The same may be true for the display.
Thanks for any input.
If this has been gone over and is in another thread, please let me know.
If you're not looking for the huge screen the evo has, then the mytouch all the way.
Since you've been with Sprint all this time though and would like to stay, then hold on til the MWC when Sprint is likely to announce new phones all of which should be better than the year old evo.
I have a mytouch 4G and my best buddy has a Evo. I had a chance to play with both; root, hack etc also both since he is a newbie. What can I say....I like mytouch 4G for it's hardware specs like RAM and CPU, but I like Evo better.
The size: At the beginning I though it's too big, but after I got mytouch 4G and used it for a while, Evo seems to me an actual smartphone size phone. Easier to type, video playback is awesome, gaming also no doubt.
The speed: Even with 768MB of RAM mytouch doesn't really seems to be faster. An EVO with CM is a beast, and it has enough juice to handle any ROM
The display: If you think that mytouch has more vivid colors, u r wrong. It's a known issue with mytouch displays being bad. Only few phones out there have good displays, and it's really a matter of luck to find one. Mytouch display with good display is about the same quality with Evo's, but you have to find one.
My advice, if u have a good plan with Sprint, stick with it and get a Evo or wait for a new release. If you are not happy with the service, consider the mytouch or wait for HTC Thunderbolt and switch to Verizon with true 4G LTE.
@ QUERDRO
Thanks for the feedback. I have read all about the myTouch screens. Sony vs. Sharp Type 1, Type 2 etc. and know how to check the device which I would do in store. As long as both displays are as clear and vibrant as the other, all is well.
As for waiting for a newer device, I have a feeling Sprint won't be offering anything to compete with the Evo for a few months, But I may be wrong
Originally i was going to wait for the dual core HTC devices to come out, and see what the reviews are. But that may be months ahead.
I do know that the myPhone ha the 2nd generation SnapDragon which gotta have an advantage.
When I started researching these 2 devices a few days ago, I realized that the Evo has bee out since June and the myTouch since October, hence the updated specs.
I would like not to wait a few months for a possible dual core, which is why I am looking now.
Aspeds2989 said:
If you're not looking for the huge screen the evo has, then the mytouch all the way.
Since you've been with Sprint all this time though and would like to stay, then hold on til the MWC when Sprint is likely to announce new phones all of which should be better than the year old evo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When is the MWC? Edit: I see it is 2/14 - 2/17.
Then it may be a few months till rdevice elease. Maybe I'll get on the T-Mobile train. I am still unsure but i am leaning towards the myTouch.
The myTouch does look sweet, and as I mentioned I do favor that device over the Evo, even though I don't have experience with either. The myTouch is new regarding technology, and as long as it has better performance than the Evo, that is what is important. I guess it just has to do with taking a chance on the T-Mobile network. Hey, if it doesn't work out, I guess i can port back to Sprint.
Definitely the Evo. I've had mine for 5 months. Great phone. One-click-root for all models (unrevoked.com). HUGE community. Tons of ROMS. Priority from Cyanogen in terms of his releases. Also this is probably the best Sense ROM you'll encounter: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=793471
And it doesn't run Espresso UI (basically a "kiddie" version of Sense). Plus, with Sprint, you can tether using Wireless Tether without them cracking down on you, like T-Mobile is doing. And you get free roaming on Verizon which you can force with Roam Control. Now if you want to go to T-Mobile, I would highly suggest the G2 over the MT4G. Better build quality that doesn't feel plasticky, best hardware keyboard around, and it will probably get Android releases quicker than most phones since it's AOSP (no third-party interface). No matter what you choose, HTC said that most of its current phones and upcoming phones will get Gingerbread.
tl:DR: Evo. But if you want T-Mobile, go with the G2.
Thanks for the above feedback. Yes, i heard that all their devices will get the 2.3 upgrade to Ginger Bread.
I also have seen that there is much going on regarding the support that the Evo gets regarding 1 step Rooting, etc. which is a Big Plus.
The myTouch just came out in Nov. so I'm sure the developers are hard at work regarding 1 step Rooting etc. But it would seem that the Evo gets and will get much more support, But am unsure.
I have also read that tmo was cracking down on tethering, But I then read that they are allowing tethering. But my guess is that Sprint is and would be more acceptable of it.
Decisions, decisions.
How's the size regarding pocketing the Evo?
And is there any lag working the device, scrolling etc.?
And does the on-board ram spec look better on paper than in real world use?
Thanks
btw, don't like a keyboard
Saw that the myTouch had better specs than the G2 also, and a better display
Biker1 said:
- the Evo is true 4G which may make a difference as compared to T-Mobile's HSPA+ network. It all depends on where you are regarding coverage
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nothing is true 4g. I would consider it marketing hype used by companies because they want to distinguish it from 3g.
With that being said, the myTouch does have more updated hardware which is comparable to a phone overseas and the Droid Thunderbolt (no quick boot though). I would say that the G2 is better even though it has a lower clock rate. Vanilla android and it is pretty quick based on my demo at the T-Mobile store. But it did feel a bit heavy due to the keyboard.
I saw the quick boot. Impressiveness, But I forgot which device had it. myTouch??
I'll google it.
Edit:
How is this on the Evo 4G >>
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=699857
Biker1 said:
I saw the quick boot. Impressiveness, But I forgot which device had it. myTouch??
I'll google it.
Edit:
How is this on the Evo 4G >>
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=699857
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would assume so because there are reports of boot up times being rapid. You can test it by going to a store even though some people might look at your weird.
I think the Droid Thunderbolt (Verizon) has quick boot and the AT&T version of the Desire HD.
Biker1 said:
Thanks for the above feedback. Yes, i heard that all their devices will get the 2.3 upgrade to Ginger Bread.
I also have seen that there is much going on regarding the support that the Evo gets regarding 1 step Rooting, etc. which is a Big Plus.
The myTouch just came out in Nov. so I'm sure the developers are hard at work regarding 1 step Rooting etc. But it would seem that the Evo gets and will get much more support, But am unsure.
I have also read that tmo was cracking down on tethering, But I then read that they are allowing tethering. But my guess is that Sprint is and would be more acceptable of it.
Decisions, decisions.
How's the size regarding pocketing the Evo?
And is there any lag working the device, scrolling etc.?
And does the on-board ram spec look better on paper than in real world use?
Thanks
btw, don't like a keyboard
Saw that the myTouch had better specs than the G2 also, and a better display
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's actually very pocketable and not just for giants like people say about it. Battery life might not be great at first, but you can just use SetCPU to set the CPU to slow down when you turn off the screen. Doing that, I was able to get about 15 1/2 hours out of it. On top of that, you can purchase an extended battery from Sprint or anywhere online. But overall, battery life is no longer an issue with the latest updates.
You really don't need more than 512 MB of RAM. Especially since Froyo manages memory better than Eclair and earlier versions of Android. You don't need a task killer or anything. I'd highly suggest this phone.
Also, the black one has a rubber-matte backing while the white one is really half black (front half), half white with a glossy white backing.
Been doing more research, and the general consensus is that the battery life is not so good. With that being said, I read earlier in a few places that there are tweaks that can be done to insure a much better battery life.
I would like to know if better battery life can be had regarding tweaks, apps, etc.
This reminds me of when the HTC Diamond came out. We all got pretty bad battery life until the developers got to work, and we had apps that elped out a lot.
I also always carry at least 2 cells, no matter what device I have.
Anyway, has there been substantial battery life improvements compared to when the Evo was first made available?
Biker1 said:
Been doing more research, and the general consensus is that the battery life is not so good. With that being said, I read earlier in a few places that there are tweaks that can be done to insure a much better battery life.
I would like to know if better battery life can be had regarding tweaks, apps, etc.
This reminds me of when the HTC Diamond came out. We all got pretty bad battery life until the developers got to work, and we had apps that elped out a lot.
I also always carry at least 2 cells, no matter what device I have.
Anyway, has there been substantial battery life improvements compared to when the Evo was first made available?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup. The reason battery life isn't so great (without tweaks/apps) is 3 reasons:
- Big screen
- 1500 mAh battery
- Processor is running at 998 MHz most of the time
There are a few things you can do to make the battery last much longer:
- Use SetCPU profiles to force the CPU to run @ 245 MHz when the screen goes off (and optionally to lower the max frequency as battery life goes down).
- Collin_ph battery tweak (you flash it and it's removable as well) will automatically adjust the CPU to maximize battery life
- Use kernels with HAVS to allow fluctuation of voltage
I wrote this up a while ago. It's a pretty simple breakdown of the different aspects of kernels and how they work and save battery. Trust me it's nowhere near as complicated as it looks:
Some things to keep in mind:
HAVS - Hybrid Adaptive Voltage Scaling. This changes the voltage to the CPU depending on a number of things, but mainly it's based on what the phone needs when you're using it. Each CPU frequency is able to take more or less voltage than it needs, rather than a specific voltage for each frequency. You shouldn't use SetCPU profiles when using a kernel with HAVS as they will conflict and the benefits will be diminished.
BFS/CFS - Two different types of schedulers of the kernel. Most kernels you encounter will come in two "main" flavors (I'll explain why later). BFS stands for Brain **** Scheduler. CFS stands for Completely Fair Scheduler. BFS tends to give greater, but inconsistent performance (not in a bad way though), while CFS tends to give lower latency but less performance. One is not better than the other; it depends on how you use your phone and what ROM you're using. Sometimes BFS will give you both battery life and performance, other times CFS will. BFS is intended for gaming mainly and things that hog the CPU. CFS is intended more for everyday usage (web browsing, texting, music) and focuses more on the system as a whole, as well as being more stable.
Undervolting - A sub-category of HAVS, the goal of both it is to get the phone to draw as little power as necessary to run, while being both stable and fully functional. Usually, a kernel will come in just 2 flavors: BFS and CFS. But kernels that offer HAVS will come in 6: Aggressive undervolting, Less Aggressive undervolting, and NO-HAVS (3 for BFS and 3 for CFS). Aggressive undervolting tries as much as possible to keep electrical draw to a minimum. Less aggressive undervolting is for phones that start to act up because they're not getting enough power. And NO-HAVS is self-explanatory. Often times, you can get the same result using a NO-HAVS kernel with SetCPU profiles to lower the CPU frequency as battery life goes down.
Collin_ph Battery Tweak - a service that's installed by flashing a zip in recovery. It tries to optimize CPU speed in relation to battery life. That is, it will lower your CPU frequency as your battery life goes down. It contains a few other tweaks, but mainly that's what it's for. It'll start working as soon as you flash it, but you can tweak it to your liking by going into your Terminal application and typing "batt-cfg". You can disable the tweak through the built in configurator, or completely remove it by typing "batt-rm" and following the prompts. DO NOT USE WITH A HAVS KERNEL OR SETCPU PROFILES.
Also:
- 2600 mAh Extended battery from Sprint. It's $54 and comes with a one year warranty and 2 back battery doors (matte black and glossy white). You can also get credited back for it if you chat with Sprint online.
There's also a 3500 mAh battery from Seido that everyone raves about.
Seriously, the stock roms that come with the phone aren't even something to consider since rooting and installing CM or any other rom is as easy as it is.. So why even compare that?
Also, I've seen the "good" display and my "bad" one (according to those who have labeled it that) side by side.. I am 100% happy with mine and know I'm not missing out on anything. People are just nitpicking because they have nothing else to nitpick about.
Moreover, if you scroll through a lot of the comments in many apps, for some reason there's always a lot of Evo owners complaining about an app not running smoothly on their phone - now that's something to consider.
Also, considering the mt4G has only been out 2 months and the community already behind it, I wouldn't say the mytouch community is missing anything much compared to the Evo.
Btw, if anyone can please tell me one thing the Evo can do that the mt4G can't? I'm just curious. Thanks.
Thanks for the great info. I will re-read and digest it more. New to Android, but slowly learning
May just get the Evo, but I will give more thought to it.
As for the cells, would most likely carry a spare 'regular' capacity cell as I am not to fond of the 'humpy' cells, although I will take a look at them regarding the humps.
But as you said, the tweaks will make the cells last much longer.
Currently I own an atrix with ATT, but im planning on moving to tmobile and buying the g2x next wednesday(may 18). My questions are.... will I notice that lack of ram compared to the atrix? How is the screen resolution compared? Tmobile has better coverage where im at, and the hspa+ coveraged is amazing here. ATTs is basically non existant. I just want to make sure that I don't regret it. Which im pretty sure I won't considering the pros. Real hspa+ connection. Bigger, well built phone. IPS display richer colors. Unlocked bootloader. (I like the fact that I can put gingerbread on that phone day one) and it still will have the tegra 2 chip in it, which I fell in love with. The battery may suffer a bit, 1950 mah- 1500mah , because im on my phone all day doing just about everything, so I hope the charge lasts a day. Ok so basically im.just looking for some feedback on your experiences with the g2x and if you think it's a good idea to switch. Much appreciated.
nory82688 said:
just looking for some feedback on your experiences with the g2x and if you think it's a good idea to switch. Much appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Short answer? Yes.
Long-winded answer? Yessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss Better in every way Except the smaller battery
I didn't mean to push thanks ha ha I was trying to push quote.
Have you seen the Device DB here at XDA? The link is at the top of every page. There is an excellent compare feature there. You can see the phones specs side by side.
I'm thinking the phones compare well. Same processor.
I had the Atrix and switched over to T-Mobile for the G2X and I am extremely happy I did! I still have my Atrix and I play around with it at home on wifi from time to time and I don't miss it at all. I don't even notice that this phone has less ram and the G2X feels way more polished and smooth. You will be a lot happier once you switch!
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA Premium App
I also came from att to Tmo. I liked having the ability to load custom roms on the g2x and the lower price of an equivalent plan on tmo ($90 vs $145).
I like the Atrix better out of the box, but the g2x can be made better with tweaks and roms.
overall the money saved made it worth it, ymmv
Lol you guys were quick with answers, thanks alot. I will definitely be on you guys team come wednesday. I can't wait.
ickster said:
I didn't mean to push thanks ha ha I was trying to push quote.
Have you seen the Device DB here at XDA? The link is at the top of every page. There is an excellent compare feature there. You can see the phones specs side by side.
I'm thinking the phones compare well. Same processor.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol it's cool man, makes my stats look better
omarsalmin said:
Short answer? Yes.
Long-winded answer? Yessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss Better in every way Except the smaller battery
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is the smaller battery really that noticable?
one more question, and this is probably the most important. Is the g2x as easy to mod as the atrix?or is it harder?
nory82688 said:
one more question, and this is probably the most important. Is the g2x as easy to mod as the atrix?or is it harder?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you mean in terms of having custom ROMs? The G2x is much easier to mod. The Atrix bootloader is locked, signed and encrypted. Third party development on the G2x is light years ahead of development for the Atrix.
FWIW, I had an Atrix for almost a month, and I agree with the sentiments above. The Atrix is a fine piece of hardware, but the G2x is a much better platform. 512Mb of RAM is plenty for this generation of phones. The Atrix has more mostly for webtop. But I typically had around 512Mb of RAM or more free on the Atrix.
It's ddr2 ram
I had the atrix at for about two weeks while having my G2x and it gave me time to compare... I would really say in every day use the G2x seems to be much quicker and smoother compared to the atrix. The G2x has been MUCHHH easier to tweek and mod... I like the look of the atrix better and I miss being able to brag about my fingerprint reader but that was the only perks I found with the Atrix. I strongly dislike MotoBlur and I prefer a highly customizable vanilla android device. Out the box my Atrix was a bit laggy.
You will only know if you like it and if it will be a downgrade once you get it but I do suggest looking at comparison videos
baykakes said:
I had the atrix at for about two weeks while having my G2x and it gave me time to compare... I would really say in every day use the G2x seems to be much quicker and smoother compared to the atrix. The G2x has been MUCHHH easier to tweek and mod... I like the look of the atrix better and I miss being able to brag about my fingerprint reader but that was the only perks I found with the Atrix. I strongly dislike MotoBlur and I prefer a highly customizable vanilla android device. Out the box my Atrix was a bit laggy.
You will only know if you like it and if it will be a downgrade once you get it but I do suggest looking at comparison videos
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol I can't stand motoblur, and i only used the fingerprint scaner for about a week, then It it got annoying. But so far in the comments, no one has compared battery life. How does the g2x stack up? I can get a full 24 hours out of my atrix as is, but I'm a little hesitant of the smaller battery on the g2x. I mean im going to get the phone anyway, just want to make sure its not going to die after 5-6 hours of moderate to heavy use.
nory82688 said:
Lol I can't stand motoblur, and i only used the fingerprint scaner for about a week, then It it got annoying. But so far in the comments, no one has compared battery life. How does the g2x stack up? I can get a full 24 hours out of my atrix as is, but I'm a little hesitant of the smaller battery on the g2x. I mean im going to get the phone anyway, just want to make sure its not going to die after 5-6 hours of moderate to heavy use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once rooted, YES but prior to root sadly NO... if you intend to root then you're alright... I do miss my Atrix battery
after I rooted my phone I get 24 hrs prior I was only getting about 16hrs (moderate use) phone calls, plenty of texts, a few emails, and some gaming
baykakes said:
Once rooted, YES but prior to root sadly NO... if you intend to root then you're alright... I do miss my Atrix battery
after I rooted my phone I get 24 hrs prior I was only getting about 16hrs (moderate use) phone calls, plenty of texts, a few emails, and some gaming
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What was the reason rooting improved battery life? Removed crapware running in the background, alternative rom, kernel, or something else?
I've rooted my G2x, and froze some of the junk, but haven't messed with the ROM yet. I've been a big CM fan since it came out on the Evo, and I'm currently waiting for A2DP to work before switching.
Really, the main reasons I rooted my Evo were HDMI mirroring, tethering, and AOSP, so the G2x has been amazing to me.
laydros said:
What was the reason rooting improved battery life? Removed crapware running in the background, alternative rom, kernel, or something else?
I've rooted my G2x, and froze some of the junk, but haven't messed with the ROM yet. I've been a big CM fan since it came out on the Evo, and I'm currently waiting for A2DP to work before switching.
Really, the main reasons I rooted my Evo were HDMI mirroring, tethering, and AOSP, so the G2x has been amazing to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Using SetCPU I underclocked when screen is off and it really helped a WHOLE lot ... then using timerific I set different profile times for my device so that Wifii and volumes aren't left on when I'm sleeping (helping save battery) timerific also dims the phone if needed during certain times as well... rooting also allows kernal tweeks that'll help your device...
Rooting has DEFINITELY helped my device... I know some people who are using juicedefender and other apps but thus far those have provided me enough life for my average use
Also people do not take into account that even though the atrix has a qHD display, it uses a pentile grid meaning the resolution suffers a little. When I looked at the atrix, I could definitely see the screen door effect that I use to gett on my epic 4g. The g2x screen seems sharper and also has better colors due to being ans IPS panel
I now can upgrade my DROID X to a newer phone.
Is the Verizon Droid Charge worthy as a replacement to Droid X? I keep reading about some of the growing pain on rooting the VDC, which I can understand. Beyond that, despite a better screen, is VDC's hardware close enough in term of its performance specifically on these three major criteria, i.e. GPS antenna, battery life and responsiveness, when you compare it with DX? Or, will I suffer from it due to the noticeable difference in poorer performance of those things? Discuss.
Note that my only reason to even pick VDC is for the 4G speed as I'm quite happy with DX hardware.
You and I are in the same boat. Although I don't have a Charge in my possession, I have decided to get it as an upgrade to my X, and here is why.
I initially got the Xperia Play as an upgrade, and had it for a day, and got rid of it because I didn't like many aspects of it.
That got me looking at an alternative upgrade, so I looked at all the 4g phones. Knowing data tiering is right around the corner, I feel this was a good move on my part. Anyway, after playing with the thunderbolt, Charge, and Revolution, I felt none of the phones were perfect for me, but the Charge was the best. I also feel it is an upgrade over my DX running team black hats Gingerbread.
The camera isn't quite as good as the Thunderbolt. The colors are... off, but resolution is better than the X by a little.
Game speed is faster. While I was at the vzw store looking at the phones, I downloaded Dungeon Defenders and played Deeper Well on insane. Faster than the Droid X by far, and what a wonderful screen!!! Not to freaking mention I was able to download the entire game over 4G faster than I could at home with Comcast/wifi. (20min) That's a freaking bonus right there buddy!
I think it will be a nice upgrade, but I wont know for a week, so ask me again then.
Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk
Its alot better. The possessor is an a new hummingbird so it handles battery better. The screen is super amoled plus. Once you install the lagfix its fast. And finally 4g is 4g
Sent from my SCH-I510 using XDA Premium App
Ted A said:
Note that my only reason to even pick VDC is for the 4G speed as I'm quite happy with DX hardware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you can go without an upgrade, then I say stick it out for the next best phone. If you need an upgrade but don't necessarily need 4G LTE, go Droid X2, imo. Beast of a phone. I just don't like how it's sans 4G LTE.
Ted A said:
I now can upgrade my DROID X to a newer phone.
Is the Verizon Droid Charge worthy as a replacement to Droid X? I keep reading about some of the growing pain on rooting the VDC, which I can understand. Beyond that, despite a better screen, is VDC's hardware close enough in term of its performance specifically on these three major criteria, i.e. GPS antenna, battery life and responsiveness, when you compare it with DX? Or, will I suffer from it due to the noticeable difference in poorer performance of those things? Discuss.
Note that my only reason to even pick VDC is for the 4G speed as I'm quite happy with DX hardware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I upgraded from the DX to the DC primarily because I wanted to be grandfathered in to unlimited 4G when they make the change. I chose the DC over the Tbolt because of the battery life and the battery life to me does seem better than my DX.
from a performance stand point, I would not have upgraded just for the hardware originally. I might have waited it out for the Bionic BUT that being said, there is a noticeable difference in the performance of the 2 phones and I for one like the feel of the charge as opposed to the feel of the X.
Though the dev community is just now starting out, I find ROM flashing and such to be so much easier on the Charge, primarily because you don't have to deal with the bootstrapper and all that mess.
Overall, i'd say your decision has to come down to priorities, my priority was 4G unlimited (assuming that VZW will grandfather people in). If you want straight up hardware and performance, possibly hold out to the Bionic or go with the DX2 (I would've have gone with it except I couldn't see the point in getting a new phone that couldn't do 4G). Better battery life IMO go with the DC.
I am extremely happy with with all aspects of the DC over my X.
I'm months overdue from getting rid of my Touch Pro 2, and the Charge is one of my top contenders. I was holding out for the Bionic (or rumored Verizon Nexus S), but after researching the X2 and Droid 3 and seeing the Dev community having issues achieving root, I'm now leaning back towards the current single core LTE handsets.
The brief time I've spent looking around, it looks like the battery life is great considering the usual LTE excess drain. Obviously the phone is rootable, there are kernels and roms available, and the dev community seems to be very active with the phone in general.
I haven't specifically seen any mention of overclock ability or "stealth" tethering, but I would have to assume these are all doable considering the kernel and rom availability.
If anybody wouldn't mind sharing some general feedback, I would greatly appreciate it!
* In general, how happy have you been with your Charge, and why?
* Why did you choose it over, say, the LG Revolution?
* Anyone unhappy with their decision to go with the Charge (after-the-fact) over something else, and if so, why?
Thanks again in advance for any comments, they would be much appreciated!
Cheers!
I like my charge. I also came from a TP2 like you. The battery life is decent but the 4g is awesome to have. It flies. I use stealth tethering via wireless tether for root users. The dev community is very active. The main issues I have are bluetooth related. I often have to reboot before I get into my car so I know there will not be bluetooth disconnects. Now that netflix is available I like the phone even more. Also I love swype.
Good luck and smart idea asking the questions that you are asking.
Sent from my VZW SGT running a Gingerbread Sprint Rom
I came to the Charge from the Revolution. I liked the feel of the Revo, it was heavier, felt solid and well made and it was also a much faster phone than the charge out of the box giving me Quadrants in 2k to 22k range. On 4g Speed tests the Charge is faster.
But when I had two Revolutions brick themselves so hard that I could not get into a factory reset, nor anything else in the space of 30 days I had VZW upgrade me to the Charge.
So far the Charge has beena pretty decent phone (considering I've rooted and ROMed it.) Stock I hated it.
I'm using Humble 1.42 as my ROM and I'm happy so far.
Time to upgrade buddy. Humble 1.51 is sick.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk
omnia38 said:
Time to upgrade buddy. Humble 1.51 is sick.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
**** humble he is nothing but a thief gummy is where it's at.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using XDA Premium App
schick79 said:
* In general, how happy have you been with your Charge, and why? Very happy. 4G is lightning fast; the screen is the best out there; I personally find the Samsung TouchWiz UI to be very friendly. Others don't; each to his own. Battery life seems at least as good as any other Android phone; I can get 9-12 hours, which is all I need, unless I'm in a fringe reception area.
* Why did you choose it over, say, the LG Revolution? LG phones generally seem to be more troublesome from what I've read. Plus the screen is greatly inferior.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Red comments above.
schick79 said:
I'm months overdue from getting rid of my Touch Pro 2, and the Charge is one of my top contenders. I was holding out for the Bionic (or rumored Verizon Nexus S), but after researching the X2 and Droid 3 and seeing the Dev community having issues achieving root, I'm now leaning back towards the current single core LTE handsets.
The brief time I've spent looking around, it looks like the battery life is great considering the usual LTE excess drain. Obviously the phone is rootable, there are kernels and roms available, and the dev community seems to be very active with the phone in general.
I haven't specifically seen any mention of overclock ability or "stealth" tethering, but I would have to assume these are all doable considering the kernel and rom availability.
If anybody wouldn't mind sharing some general feedback, I would greatly appreciate it!
* In general, how happy have you been with your Charge, and why?
* Why did you choose it over, say, the LG Revolution?
* Anyone unhappy with their decision to go with the Charge (after-the-fact) over something else, and if so, why?
Thanks again in advance for any comments, they would be much appreciated!
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for quoting this long, its hard to look back at posts on your phone. I came from an LG Versa. That phone was complete ****, but I was 13 or 14 and something appealed to me. This is my upgrade. I love it, except for the battery life. We have 2 main custom roms, GummyCharged and Eclipse. (Humble is just a spinoff/kang of GC), and 2-3 kernels - PeanutButtaJellyTime (plus an OC edition, you mentioned you didn't see it), Nameless, and imoseyon's kernel, which you will only find on his Twitter page. "Stealth Tethering" is still available with Wifi Tether Beta3 on Google Code. I chose this over the Tbolt and Revolution because a verizon rep told me this was the 4G phone with the least issues and most positive customer feedback, plus I thought this one had the most support from XDA (the tbolt has a lot too though). My only peeve with this phone is its lack of support from Samsung. We basically have to do everything ourselves because Sammy hasn't given us good source. We don't get TW4 (although we have our attempts at porting it), and GB is FINALLY almost here. The Wolfson DAC is amazing, but the GPS (Yamaha?) leaves something to be desired. But in closing, I love this phone and im glad I got it.
Sent from my Droid Charge running GummyFroyo 1.9.1
kvswim, thanks VERY much for that! Quick question, though (or for anyone else), not actually having an Android phone yet, I have no idea what TW4 or DAC means.
Great to know OC is an option, as well as stealth tethering.
Also appreciate the scoop on the different flavors of roms/kernels/etc.
If I end up going with this phone (which is now far ahead in the lead), that will be the first thing I do upon opening up the box.
Thanks again!
schick79 said:
kvswim, thanks VERY much for that! Quick question, though (or for anyone else), not actually having an Android phone yet, I have no idea what TW4 or DAC means.
Great to know OC is an option, as well as stealth tethering.
Also appreciate the scoop on the different flavors of roms/kernels/etc.
If I end up going with this phone (which is now far ahead in the lead), that will be the first thing I do upon opening up the box.
Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TW4=TouchWiz 4, Sammy's 4th generation of their UI overlay, similar to HTC's Sense or Motorola's Motoblur. We have TW3. Also, the stock theming is HIDEOUS. Poop color EVERYWHERE.
The Wolfson DAC is the audio chipset in most (all?) Samsung Galaxy phones. It is amazing compared to other phones, it's audiophile quality. Plus the EQ and amplifier outputs can be modified with the Voodoo Control app (you can also change Voodoo lagfix in it).
PROTIP on selecting ROMS: If you like the stock feel go with Eclipse. If you like more of an Android Open Source Project (AOSP) feel, use GC. I highly reccommend trying both and seeing what you like more. Also, as of now, Gingerbread is completely up to you, as all we have in GB are leaks and no source (its completely unnoficial). Our Froyo builds are built from official ROMS and source.
Oh yes, we have stuff like MIUI and CM7 and OMFGB in development. Protip: NEVER ask for ETAs.
Sent from my Droid Charge running GummyFroyo 1.9.1
Gotcha, thanks. I do have a Xoom, but considering that's on Honeycomb, I didn't think there would be any relation between it and any phone.
When you said DAC the only thing that came to mind was digital to analog converter, but I didn't think that would be it. Guess I was wrong! That's another huge plus as my phone is always my mp3/flac player.
Will definitely check out all roms if/once I get the phone.
At this point I'm pretty much sold on the Charge as opposed to the Revo or TB, and even the Bionic. However, I am wondering if it's worth waiting a couple weeks until the rumored September release date for the Bionic to see if the price points fall. All things being equal, they should.
Again, thanks for all the help!
I got my charge 2 days ago...via a sweet craigslist deal. Anyways, I'm coming from the THunderbolt. I still haven't rooted the phone yet but the tbolt was perma rooted running a GB rom. Now I know you said LG rev but I'm going to go on a little rant here based on my initial thoughts.
I gotta say, I think the charge is an underrated phone. So far the battery life on the charge is DESTROYING the thunderbolt. The real test will be tomorrow when I'm at work with a poor data signal. I think the phone itself looks great, it is much better in person than you see in pictures. In pictures it looks fat and weird, I think its pretty sleek for a 4.3" LTE phone. Nice metal accents, good form factor, I could've done without the android hardkeys, but I don't mind them.
Samsung phones get knocked for build quality, but my galaxy s when I was on tmobile took a ton of abuse, the screen never scratched and even the "metal" accent trims don't scratch much. Also, I personally like the lighter weight feel of the samsung phones (galaxy, nexus, charge, etc).
Take that in comparison with HTC phones and the thunderbolt... I seroiusly don't know what kind of HTC koolaid people drink but I've never been impressed. The thunderbolt's screen is NOT very scratch resistant, the kickstand peel reaked of sh*t quality, I ended up polishing mine. When I had my nexus one, the power button felt like crap. When I had my HD7, the battery cover squeaked like hell. Like I said, I don't get how HTC gets so much credit.
Moving on to slam HTC more, if you ask me, HTC sense sucks, its so intrusive and blocky to me. Maybe I'm in the minority there but I'm sick of the stupid HTC clock widget, the menus, etc, just isn't my thing I guess. Lets not to mention the messages app in the thunderbolt freezing ALOT. Of course I ditched sense with the AOSP rom I was running but still, initial frustration. People give touchwiz heat, but I really don't mind it.
Reception - I'm getting FAR better 4g connectivity with the charge. I don't know what was up with my tbolt but once I'd drop to 3g or 1x, I could never get back to 4g unless I rebooted. Multiple radios - same issue.
Finally, the screen. Sorry but one of the most rewarding things with a phone is the screen, every time you turn it on, you obviously see it, and with the charge, thats a good thing because the super amoled plus is just excellent. Destroys the thunderbolt and most other phones in general.
Forget quadrant scores (people get wayyyy hung up on QS), dual cores, everything else. At the end of the day, if the aesthetics of the phone are good - size, weight, pocketability, the screen, the device is snappy (and the charge is smooth for me in stock form), and battery life is good, I'm gonna be happy. With all those things into account, I think the charge is a great phone so far and I'm really surprised its kind of slid under the radar and not given credit because people are waiting for the bionic and gs2.
Sorry to do tbolt vs charge since thats not what you're looking for, but as far as general feedback - I think you're going to be happy with the charge, its quite honestly a very nice phone. I'm glad I gave another LTE phone a chance before I lost faith in it.
Thanks Dale, I actually do appreciate the TBolt comparison. It was originally my #1 or #2 pick, so this reaffirms that it is rightfully at the bottom of my list.
It just hit me that Super AMOLED is probably the same as SAMOLED. I saw another article (about a completely different phone, actually) that was raving about SAMOLED. Good to have some additional confirmation on that.
I was originally hung up on Quadrant scores and having that dual core. However, after I thought about it, I'm really not sure how important it is considering what I would use the phone for. I have my Xoom, and that is my real "mobile workhorse" now, so that's the device that I'm more concerned about performance on. The phone will primarily be for web browsing, work e-mail, music, tethering, and that's pretty much it. Any other heavy lifting would probably be done by the Xoom. All that being said, I've pretty much convinced myself I won't miss not having the second core. Plus, I'm sure the battery life is better with only 1 core versus 2.
I'm actually pretty stoked after reading all of this feedback, especially the feedback from people who had another LTE phone. I feel good about going with this phone in the very near future.
Again, thanks to all!
schick79 said:
Thanks Dale, I actually do appreciate the TBolt comparison. It was originally my #1 or #2 pick, so this reaffirms that it is rightfully at the bottom of my list.
It just hit me that Super AMOLED is probably the same as SAMOLED. I saw another article (about a completely different phone, actually) that was raving about SAMOLED. Good to have some additional confirmation on that.
I was originally hung up on Quadrant scores and having that dual core. However, after I thought about it, I'm really not sure how important it is considering what I would use the phone for. I have my Xoom, and that is my real "mobile workhorse" now, so that's the device that I'm more concerned about performance on. The phone will primarily be for web browsing, work e-mail, music, tethering, and that's pretty much it. Any other heavy lifting would probably be done by the Xoom. All that being said, I've pretty much convinced myself I won't miss not having the second core. Plus, I'm sure the battery life is better with only 1 core versus 2.
I'm actually pretty stoked after reading all of this feedback, especially the feedback from people who had another LTE phone. I feel good about going with this phone in the very near future.
Again, thanks to all!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"Super AMOLED" and "SAMOLED" are the same thing, however the Charges' screen is SAMOLED+ But yeah I think it was pretty solid upgrade for me, I love the screen, 4G is blazing fast, build quality and durability are pretty decent and the included 32gb sd card is plenty of room for music, videos and apps
schick79 said:
I'm months overdue from getting rid of my Touch Pro 2, and the Charge is one of my top contenders. I was holding out for the Bionic (or rumored Verizon Nexus S), but after researching the X2 and Droid 3 and seeing the Dev community having issues achieving root, I'm now leaning back towards the current single core LTE handsets.
The brief time I've spent looking around, it looks like the battery life is great considering the usual LTE excess drain. Obviously the phone is rootable, there are kernels and roms available, and the dev community seems to be very active with the phone in general.
I haven't specifically seen any mention of overclock ability or "stealth" tethering, but I would have to assume these are all doable considering the kernel and rom availability.
If anybody wouldn't mind sharing some general feedback, I would greatly appreciate it!
* In general, how happy have you been with your Charge, and why?
* Why did you choose it over, say, the LG Revolution?
* Anyone unhappy with their decision to go with the Charge (after-the-fact) over something else, and if so, why?
Thanks again in advance for any comments, they would be much appreciated!
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude...
Don't get the Charge.
While it's very true there will alwaya be devices that outperform * it'a safe to say the Charge seemed rushed from development to market probably because they were tapped to do so because of either HTC or Motk dropped the ball...
While rooting can solve the much outdated 2.2 joke made at our expense and even though many people have been forced to look at a front face camera (that takes back assward pics no less) and that isn't working across the board for many video chat users....you are forced to deal with an unrecoverable error such as the laughable RAM, arguably necessity of a notifcation LED, and ****ty build quality Samsung (in this device) exemplifies times 10.
Wait and be patient is the best intelligent decision considering the norm will (soon) be:
4.3-4.5 screen (hd res)
1gb of RAM
16gb internal storage
Up to date operating systems...
That said, I enjoy and dislike my Charge.
It's better than my O.G. DROID.
It takes THE best pictures and video of any phone Verizon offers...period.
Do I enjoy the squeaky hard buttons?
Do I like seeing particles of dust (a la bb storm 9530) ?
Do I enjoy ****ty plastic that easily scratches?
Nope.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using XDA App
schick79 said:
I was originally hung up on Quadrant scores and having that dual core. However, after I thought about it, I'm really not sure how important it is considering what I would use the phone for. I have my Xoom, and that is my real "mobile workhorse" now, so that's the device that I'm more concerned about performance on. The phone will primarily be for web browsing, work e-mail, music, tethering, and that's pretty much it. Any other heavy lifting would probably be done by the Xoom. All that being said, I've pretty much convinced myself I won't miss not having the second core. Plus, I'm sure the battery life is better with only 1 core versus 2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For what it's worth, running overclocked and undervolted on Froyo Eclipse, my Quadrant scores were 1800-1900, which was about double the original score. Not the best but not terrible. Still had solid battery life, great stability, etc. Definitely glad I got this phone, but that's mainly because I rooted it and fixed so many of the things I didn't like originally. Playing on the EP1Q GummyCharged GBE ROM now and still loving it, just get to use the FFC for video chat.
Honestly, yes there will be VZW devices that out-spec it soon, but I've not found it lacking anything (that couldn't be fixed thanks to the dev community). Very happy with it.
You have the Motorola Bionic and the Galaxy S2 dropping within the month, I'd hold out. Not to say that the Droid Charge isn't good, but, those phones are going to be right around the same price and will smoke the Charge in performance.
The Droid Charge isn't that great. I only got it because I needed something to get in on Unlimited data and the Charge was supposed to get better battery life than the other two LTE phones.
First, the battery life is just OK. Only around 4-5 hours of music streaming.
Second, the 4G reception is incredibly spotty. The phone will drop to 3G for seemingly no reason. Sometimes data cuts out completely or goes to 1x (this is a widespread problem).
Like other Galaxy S phones, this has GPS issues. Sometimes GPS will stop working until you reboot the phones. I've never seen it reports an accuracy of more than 5 meters.
Even after trying the GPS fix posted in the other topic, I was only getting 10-18m accuracy outside with 7-9 satellites in view.
The Super AMOLED+ screen is pretty much amazing though.
It seems like Samsung is decent at hardware but bad at software. And there aren't any ROMs available here that aren't based on Samsung software.
I'd at least wait and see about the Bionic or Nexus Prime.
schick79 said:
* In general, how happy have you been with your Charge, and why?
* Why did you choose it over, say, the LG Revolution?
* Anyone unhappy with their decision to go with the Charge (after-the-fact) over something else, and if so, why?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) I'm VERY happy with my Charge. It's probably because this was my first smartphone but I'm simply blown away by it. Especially considering we have Cyanogen & OMGB/OMFGB coming our way(in-fact, they just got CM working! Not finished, but it's a start)
2) I looked at all the phones that were out and coming out and decided on the Charge. I didn't look into the dev support for other phones I was just looking at specs/reviews to make my decision.
3) Lets get this straight, I am in no way unhappy with my Charge and did not "settle" when picking this phone but in all honesty the Prime/GalaxyS2/Bionic look great and if they were released at the time of me picking out a phone I would have gotten them in that order. Only downside to this phone is the fact that it's not on GB and most likely won't ever get TW4. If you can get around that you'll love this phone. Also, once you see the screen you will never go back to a non Amoled, qHD ain't got **** on this baby!
My wife an I both got charges a couple of months ago. I am rooted and she is stock. When I pick up her phone and mess around with it, I absolutely hate it. I love mine (gummy charged). I don't know how people can use this phone stock.
el_brio said:
My wife an I both got charges a couple of months ago. I am rooted and she is stock. When I pick up her phone and mess around with it, I absolutely hate it. I love mine (gummy charged). I don't know how people can use this phone stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im almost in the same exact situation and couldnt agree more
I'm a long time iPhone user, and I'm trying Android seriously for the first time. I'm currently using a LG Optimus 3D, running a custom gingerbread rom, and I'm getting 4G on my T-mobile USA network (FOR THE FIRST TIME! since iPhone's do not support high speed data on T-mobile USA)
My question is this, is the LG O3D a good phone to judge android by? The rom I'm using is overclocked to 1188mhz, the screen is much larger than the iphone screen, and certain things I really like, other things I find extremely annoying. And I'm not trying to start a debate about iphone vs android... I'm just trying to figure out if the hardware I'm using sucks or if other phones (samsung G2S or others?) are considerably better? Is it worth spending more money on another android?
If anyone can chime in with advice I'd appreciate it.
Araltd said:
I'm a long time iPhone user, and I'm trying Android seriously for the first time. I'm currently using a LG Optimus 3D, running a custom gingerbread rom, and I'm getting 4G on my T-mobile USA network (FOR THE FIRST TIME! since iPhone's do not support high speed data on T-mobile USA)
My question is this, is the LG O3D a good phone to judge android by? The rom I'm using is overclocked to 1188mhz, the screen is much larger than the iphone screen, and certain things I really like, other things I find extremely annoying. And I'm not trying to start a debate about iphone vs android... I'm just trying to figure out if the hardware I'm using sucks or if other phones (samsung G2S or others?) are considerably better? Is it worth spending more money on another android?
If anyone can chime in with advice I'd appreciate it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The hardwares good, great gpu and I love mine but apart from 3D there are better phones. What about its hardware is dissapointing you?
You can use a different launcher, go launcher is a good one, and if you are rooted you can uninstall system apps you don't like.
I have to say while I love it I do wish it had more ram, a lot of android phones now have more ram but I would say its a good android phone yes.
But if you don't want the 3D then yes phones such as s2 are better in a lot of areas. Lgs hardware is actually very good but their software not so.
Dave
Sent from my LG P920 using Tapatalk
What I don't like, well here's a few gripes...
Battery life is terrible, I had to buy a thick 3500mah battery, because the stock battery was only lasting for about 4-5 hours tops. The bigger battery made the phone HUGE.
The operating system seems to lag, which I feel is from either poor ram management or as you stated, not enough ram.
Touch sensitivity on the screen is sketchy in certain apps, like if I press in a certain spot, it seems like I'm pressing a little off the mark.
Seems like restarting (reboot) it daily is almost needed for some reason.
I guess the battery is the biggest deal to me. I'd very much like to use the factory slim battery, but I would basically HAVE to charge it whenever possible to do that, and that's not practical for me. And there seems to be a lot of complaints over in the O3D section about the lack of software support from LG, so I have no other serious android experience to compare this too.. that's why I asked
Araltd said:
What I don't like, well here's a few gripes...
Battery life is terrible, I had to buy a thick 3500mah battery, because the stock battery was only lasting for about 4-5 hours tops. The bigger battery made the phone HUGE.
The operating system seems to lag, which I feel is from either poor ram management or as you stated, not enough ram.
Touch sensitivity on the screen is sketchy in certain apps, like if I press in a certain spot, it seems like I'm pressing a little off the mark.
Seems like restarting (reboot) it daily is almost needed for some reason.
I guess the battery is the biggest deal to me. I'd very much like to use the factory slim battery, but I would basically HAVE to charge it whenever possible to do that, and that's not practical for me. And there seems to be a lot of complaints over in the O3D section about the lack of software support from LG, so I have no other serious android experience to compare this too.. that's why I asked
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes battery life is bad, on that front there are many phones that last much longer I have to admit.
Not noticed lag on mine but I do stop apps autorunning so I get more memory free. Though installing or starting an app does produce a pause for some reason.
Not had to restart mine so can't comment on that or touch screen as both fine for me but I have to say (and fellow android fans may berate me for this) ios will be smoother than a similar spec android device as ios is tailored only for specific hardware (unlike android), doesn't support some things that eat battery life (like widgets or full multitasking for example) and so you will notice this on optimus 3D.
Dave
Sent from my LG P920 using Tapatalk
I feel you would benefit from a stock android experience. I loved my nexus s but just recently upgraded to a droid 3/xt860. I recommend that you take a look at the nexus s or galaxy nexus...that way you can really see what the OS is all about rather than having to deal with the gimmicks some of these other phones bring about.
Sent from my XT860 using XDA App
LG Optimus 3D was probably a bad choice for Android. The GSII and the Galaxy Nexus are the best Android phones out right now. HTC seems to have stalled in their innovation, though they still make really good phones. Motorola is lagging behind as well.
I would recommend checking out the phones I mentioned at the store and see if that's what you want. I always mess with phones at the store before buying them just to see if my initial impressions are good or bad. Then go from there.
If you get cm7 on your phone and add an ICS theme... it takes over and is amazing... best phone ever!!!
Sent from my LG Thrill 4G on Cm7 Nightlies with ICS theme!
I've used 3 roms so far, King, Thiaiz and now Rushdroid.... and I'm really trying to love this phone but I always seem to have issues of one kind or another.
I'd like to have a Galaxy nexus, but that super expensive right now...