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What would you do in my situation? (Please Read)

Hey everyone! I just picked up the Samsung Captivate on launch day and it is a very impressive phone (don't ask me why big tech blogs like Engadget and Android Central haven't even done a review on such a great phone, but this is for another day) I love the screen it is by far the best looking screen I have ever seen on a mobile device and it was even a big jump coming from my Nexus One (which I still own and will never part with, long live the king). I have been very impressed, but I am having some major problems (yes I am having some GPS and some other bugs like the lag issue which hopefully can be fixed with a firmware or Froyo). Please read on and let me know if you too have any of these problems as I have yet to of seen any of these in any threads. I am really considering taking this back tomorrow and demanding a replacement and if I have the same problems I will unfortunately have to permanently return to my Nexus One.
1. I noticed from the moment I played with the phone (after the longest charging I have ever seen in a phone btw) that when I grab the phone within a second or two I lose a couple bars of service, and yes I know that "bars" mean nothing so I have been watching my phone in "Menu > About phone > Status > Signal Strength" and I have my Nexus One (on AT&T and I have never noticed any of the T-mo N1 problems with losing service) I set my phone down in many different places in town like my apartment, work, fiance's work, a couple restaurants, and even the pool and it has given me a lot of concern.
-Sitting down on the table at my home the N1 comes in at -69 dBm 23 asu and the Captivate comes in at -81 dBm 16 asu. I have never even dropped a call here on my Nexus One ever. Picking up the N1 it will jump up to between -71 dBm and -83 dBm (sometimes a little higher), but the phone still seems to run like a champ and I have owned it going on 5 months. The Captivate once picked will jump back and forth very quickly from 81 dBm to between 97 dBm and -112 dBm and will continue to jump around going from 5 bars down to between 3 and 1 bar and then I set it down and it seems to jump back up.
I don't know a lot about signal strength even though I have done some research so this may not even be a huge problem, and that is why I am asking all you wonderful people here at XDA on your opinion as I really don't want to get stuck with a lemon. I know I am an early adopter and being a huge Android fan I run the risk of "bugs" because I always want the newest, fastest, brightest, and best before anyone else (hell, that's why we all hang out here right?). I would really appreciate it if anyone could respond to this and give me some quick advice. I have given it a couple days now.
2. I am one of those people that keeps their Nexus One in the included Android sleeve and it doesn't have a scratch or mark on it. I have always kept my tech in very nice shape and you could say I am on the OCD side of things. This brings me to my second big gripe. Where the screen meets with the plastic on the top and bottom seems to have a small gap and it is collecting so much dust. I was cleaning it out in the first couple hours and this phone hasn't even been in my pocket yet (I am using my N1 and my phone during work until I find me a nice case or sleeve). It isn't just a little bit either. It hasn't made it's way under the screen so I can deal with a little dust and maintenance (god knows I did with my Nexus One). I am worried that I will run out of time and end up with a screen with dust under it and a fight with Samsung trying to replace it. I really want to root this phone and remove it's only flaws and we all know the wonderful devs here at XDA will have some great ROMs running Froyo in no time and we can't always count on Samsung to keep up with things.
These are main gripes, but like I said I am having problems with GPS (and know I am not basing my problems off of being in the house that is just ludicrous to even ***** about something stupid like that). It took me forever to get my Captivate to lock on and now it seems to triangulate by the AT&T towers and I jump all over the place, and again I have never had any problems with my Nexus One I use it all the time as my main GPS. I have been following threads on these problems ever since the Galaxy S i9000 launched over seas as I have been wanting this phone for awhile. I also have been watching the threads about the "Galaxy S Lag" that I am sure most have experienced. I kinda think some of this has to do with coming from my N1 rooted with great ROMs and Froyo for the past couple months and going back to Eclair 2.1. I know that they don't have the HIMEM (or whatever it is called) and I am only working with half of my RAM so I am a little more patient with these two problems then I am with potential hardware problems.
If you could take a second and drop a comment on this thread about how your Captivate is running and especially holding up on the signal strength and gaps in the hardware between the screen and housing I would really appreciate it. Also, if you could let me know what you all would do in my situation as I really do love this phone and it has a lot of potential for some time in the Android world. Thanks again, you all are great and the Android community is second to none. Thanks again to all you devs that work so hard for free to make all of our devices that much better and for helping us get the most life out of our hard earned high end products. Android For Life!
Cody

hi
Your observations are exactly reflecting my opinion (minus the nexus one : captivate is my very first smart phone).
I am facing all the issues u hav mentioned
1. The bars keep varying a lot but i am inclined to believe that its a software problem bcoz i never had a drop call with the zero signal. But today morning my calls were continuously dropping. It could be an isolated incident though bcoz after tht the calls did not drop.
2. To verify the fact that the signal bars could.be misleading i made quite a number of calls, was on the speaker during the calls. I was observing the signal strength menu ( the one tht shows in dB) and to my surprise ii was still on call when the strength showed 0 dB . The signal strength indicated zero for more than a minute on multiple calls but the calls did not drop.
3. GPS issue is very significant but i am confident that will be fixed.
4. And yes i too found a significant gap in the hardware where dust is already accumalating. The charging port too does not look very sturdy.
Having said all this i really love this phone and am thinking most of the aoftware issues can definitely be resolved.
WRT hardware this phone is the most powerful in terms of graphix too and i can only imagine the awesome performance when running froyo.
I think i am gonna get my phone replaced. But definitely not thinking of switching to any other phone.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
itzz(AN)dRoiD

Hey thanks for writing back it makes me feel a little better knowing that I am not the only one. I too think that many of the problems are just problems that all early adopters have to worry about although it is a little disheartening that Samsung launched the i9000 over seas with some of the same problems and didn't fix the two that came to America (Captivate and Vibrant). I am very aware that these things take time and I won't ever say anything especially since I am not developing myself. We have some great devs working on Android phones of all makes and providers and I have confidence that a great phone like this is going to attract some great devs and who knows maybe in a couple years I will be able to give back to the community with work on some killer Android phone as I am going to school for that kind of thing and would love to mess around with it.
I too am not to the point of giving up this great phone. I know my post was filled with negatives and concerns, but this phone is great! I feel that the phone is built great and I am not to worried of breaking it as I am with some phones out there. I am blown away by the screen and 4" seems to the best size out right now in my opinion as I have messed with the Droid X and EVO 4G and I feel that the Super AMOLED blows these screens out of the water. It is a huge jump from the AMOLED on the N1 and I still love that screen. I know this phone has some great specs and I think besides the Sprint Epic it has the best looking feel to it. It is a sexy phone indeed and has the potential (along with the EVO, Droid Inc, Droid X, and Droid 2) to lead the next generation of Android phones. Being on all four US carriers and more all over the world is going to attract a great many users and better yet a lot of great devs that should be working on this great phone. It is the fastest (spec wise) Android phone out right now and I am blown away by just how much of a difference the processors GPU makes compaired to 1 Ghz Snapdragon phones. The screen is my favorite part and the MaxTouch Sensor and Super AMOLED screen make for a very responsive device and it really feels very smooth. I am willing to be patient with things that can be fixed like software (just wait until this beast gets Froyo you will be amazed), but hardware is a different story. Coming from the Nexus One (best phone I have ever owned and I refuse to give it up with all the development behind it) I refuse to deal with hardware limitations as this will be my phone for atleast the next year. Using a generation old touch screen on such a high powered best in class (at the time of course) phone is very silly and it was and still is a huge annoyance that I have had to learn to deal with while using the N1. MaxTouch was one of the main reasons I wanted this phone along with Super AMOLED (I really can't see myself going to any other screen ATM), Hummingbird Processor (and PowerVR GPU), and overall sexiness. It's a great phone and I am sure I will enjoy it as I am enjoying it now with some minor problems I just wanted to see what other new Captivate owners are experiencing and see what I could expect if I was to exchange it tomorrow.
Again, thanks for the response and good luck! I am sure I will continue to see you around as we are now in the same Android family.

generally the dust gets inbetween the screens. But since they are together in the new Super Amoled, i don't think there will be dust inbetween the screen!

Hi Angermeans,
Regarding the GPS issue, did you try the fix from the Vibrant forums? If not, go check it out. The thread is called "Gps fix 101" in the Samsung Vibrant section of the forums. Also, before you do that enable the "Use Wireless Networks" setting under Location and Security settings, if you haven't already done so.
I too had the GPS issues and once I did what was written on there (and added the Cold Start option, as you can see in my post there, you might not need to do that), my GPS locks on in seconds, I even got a lock indoors. I also locked while driving 70mph on the freeway. At home, I compared it side-by-side to an iPhone 4 and it seemed the same. I really hope it helps you out, it's lame to have the excitement towards this awesome phone dampened like this....I hope AT&T (and Tmobile) and Samsung address this crap...it's a shocker why they even let the phone get released with this bug...this phone deserves better than this

You know what I really didn't even think of that! I did read somewhere that the super AMOLED was going to be losing part of the screen and really that was my biggest concern especially since I have spent the better part of the last five mo
nths fighting with dust trying to get under my screen with my rooted nexus one. Thanks for sharing that information that helps put my mind at ease as I swear I read that it is impossible to get dust under samsungs super AMOLED screen.

angermeans said:
You know what I really didn't even think of that! I did read somewhere that the super AMOLED was going to be losing part of the screen and really that was my biggest concern especially since I have spent the better part of the last five mo
nths fighting with dust trying to get under my screen with my rooted nexus one. Thanks for sharing that information that helps put my mind at ease as I swear I read that it is impossible to get dust under samsungs super AMOLED screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've taken apart multiple nokia phones because of dust, and it is because there is a gap between both screens. With these, it is air free. That is why they are able to make the screen so thin. I prefer not having the gap, because if you look well enough, you can see the two screens.

With "Use Wireless Networks" enabled under Location and Security settings I've always been able to get a lock within a second or two, but it doesn't seem to be a strong lock. In Google Nav, the GPS accuracy circle around my car will randomly appear, get bigger, and then disappear, and it will occasionally think I'm off the road or will take a second to catch up after I've turned. It's usable, but I wish it was better. Hopefully it can be fixed by a software update.

No I didn't but I just read something about that on a thread just a little while ago I'll haveto check that out tomorrow especially since it worked for you thanks for sharing that. This is why I love the android community and XDA forums. Now most off my concerns are put to rest and I can continue to enjoy this phone. Now time to worry about bigger problems like when samsung is going to push froyo out to this beast! I have been spoiled using the nexus one. Do all you guys have your phones rooted? I was holding off until I decided if I was going to take this phone in for another captivate.

Yeah you are right I read somewhere tonight that some people think that samsyng did this on purpose to save battery life I'll try to find the thread and post it tomorrow. Hopefully its not a ****ty GPS chip in the phone I can't imagine samsung going top off the line in everything else in this phone and then cheaping out on a chip but then again google and HTC did the same thing with the nexus ones screen so you never know when it comes to high end android phones. I have yet to see any of the top of the line android phones ber perfect they all seem to have some problem especially HTC.

I bought the case sold at the at&t store and that solved the losing bars issue.

I posted in a different thread that I changed and tweaked my gps settings and it was spot on unless i was by a tree the size of a house.
I was very happy with it for my 2 mile drive. I will use it tomorrow since I need to navigate somewhere I've never been and update on here.

[Q][SPRINT] Major issues with reception vs HTC Evo

Just got in the new Samsung Nexus S from Sprint and I've noticed some major issues in reception versus the HTC Evo from Sprint as well. I'm seeing a 2+ bar difference in the exact location sitting next to the Evo on the same Sprint network.
Is anybody having this issue? Or does anybody know of a fix.
I have the latest firmware (suggested fix by Sprint) and have seen several complaints about it on other less developer friendly forums.
If I can't come up with a solution soon, I think I'll have to get an Evo. But if you guys can understand, I'd prefer to keep the phone that will get timely updates.
Thanks ahead of time for any suggestions!

You can't compare signal across different devices based on "bars". Check the actual signal strength in Menu > Settings > About Phone.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

I know you need dB... As soon as I can get the Evo next to me again for a comparison, I will post.
I'm a tech savvy guy, run a computer building company and build websites. I even develop some entry-level apps for a few clients (yes entry-level).
If one googles "spring nexus s reception," they'll find that this issue is quite common. I'm just curious as to whether it's hopeless or not.
I know I can petition for the Airave with Sprint and can at least get decent service at home.
It just seems peculiar to me that Google would endorse an inferior product. I live in a major Metropolitan area (DMA has it as a top 25 market - for those who aren't in the media business, that means it's one of the top 25 sized cities in the country). And this phone gets dismal reception.
Fact is, Evo does great in my house, Nexus S does not. I've heard some pretty bad reviews with the Galaxy S line of hardware so I'm figuring it's worth moving to the Evo.
To be honest, this phone is far superior (at the moment) with responsiveness and usability but if a phone can't operate well at being a phone, it's a waste of money. Especially if the hardware is inferior (phone-wise) to most of what HTC released a year ago. I love having a mini-computer in my pocket but I did aim at having a working phone.
Thoughts? Suggestions? School me? I will post the exact numbers when they again are available, until then, please only offer up friendly advice or questions. I am willing to try anything before taking this thing back.

You have not really described your issue. Do you have dropped calls or what?
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

I'm having issues with the Sprint Nexus S reception as well. Although my home location on Sprint's coverage map lists my area from medium to strong with 4G available right around the corner from my house I have dismal reception with the Nexus S. I had a trial EVO for a few weeks and reception was much better in the same area. If I try to call the Nexus S I often go right to voicemail, I'm told calls out (when I can) are choppy, data signal is often listed as 1x as opposed to 3g. Is it just this particular phone? Should I go to a Sprint store to have it tested?
There is atl least one thread over at the Sprint Message boards about bad reception on the Nexus S.
At work we have a repeater and the signal still only shows at one or two bars most of the time but data speeds seemed fine to me and I had no problem with making and getting calls.
No one else is having this issue?

This isn't the first post about this subject. I understand and agree. I'm not 100% sure about this when it comes to cell phones but different companies with different radios will give you different signals. If this is the same as two way radios, there's no standard on say how much signal equals one bar on the meter. Even the programs that give the signal strength in numbers, aren't universally accurate. When it comes to received signal, its how you can hear it, not really what the meter says. That number can easily be manipulated. A receiver sensitivity can be adjusted too but there are things that are thrown out too. Crank up the receive and you get more noise than distinguishing signal and adjacent frequency rejection goes to crap. You can work the receiver to have good rejection and sensitivity but you are making it more deaf too.
What I'm getting at is don't always go by what the signal meter says and take it as 100% truth. It is a good indicator of signal but not absolutely 100% accurate.
I am sitting about twenty feet from my router and yet the meter is telling me 50% signal which I know is bull****.

are you up to date?
Yobye, are you on 2.3.4? I have heard the update fixes some people's signal/radio issues.

yobyeknom said:
I'm having issues with the Sprint Nexus S reception as well. Although my home location on Sprint's coverage map lists my area from medium to strong with 4G available right around the corner from my house I have dismal reception with the Nexus S. I had a trial EVO for a few weeks and reception was much better in the same area. If I try to call the Nexus S I often go right to voicemail, I'm told calls out (when I can) are choppy, data signal is often listed as 1x as opposed to 3g. Is it just this particular phone? Should I go to a Sprint store to have it tested?
There is atl least one thread over at the Sprint Message boards about bad reception on the Nexus S.
At work we have a repeater and the signal still only shows at one or two bars most of the time but data speeds seemed fine to me and I had no problem with making and getting calls.
No one else is having this issue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ditto on this. Have all the latest updates. Think it may be time to trade in for the Evo.

I am on 2.3.4. I brought home another Sprint phone from work - a Sanyo Taho and got about the same terrible reception despite the fact I'm in a Sprint Best Coverage area on their map. I miss and drop calls and can't get voice or data connection - send mms, etc from my home. I've contacted Sprint about the tower strength in my neighborhood.

Comparison of cell phones by antenna strength?

I've searched all over the place for an actual comparison of cell phones and the antenna strength they have. Not how much reception they have, or if they lose signal depending on how you hold them, but how strong their internal antenna is.
Example, the Motorola Milestone, from what I understand has two antennas. Blackberry Torch has two as well. At least that is what I've picked up from bits and pieces around the internet. Not sure if accurate.
But, I know for a fact that the Motorola Milestone will have superior coverage compared to my Galaxy S Fascinate. At least -10dbm, and 5asu better. Which equals almost 2 bars. The Blackberry Torch as well. 3 bars better consistently. So, in this day and age of buying unlocked phones, surely there has to be a comparison somewhere to show which phones have stronger antennas, which ones have the two antennas, etc, etc.
And I just can't find it anywhere. Anyone have ideas?

Bravo!
That's a good wake up call
it's true a lot of people are forgetting the phone main function should be "to be a phone"
yet now in days when people talk or compare a phone, is more into competing power, and how entertaining it's
from personal experience i can say as a PHONE, the Moto Milestone XT720 has absolutely the best reception, vs Nexus S, I9000 and SGS2 i9100, HTC devices, etc
on 2nd place i'll put SGS2 T989 as good reception
3rd place goes for all the others phones

Any other response to this, on the spot, question?
Cheers !
K.

AllGamer said:
Bravo!
That's a good wake up call
it's true a lot of people are forgetting the phone main function should be "to be a phone"
yet now in days when people talk or compare a phone, is more into competing power, and how entertaining it's
from personal experience i can say as a PHONE, the Moto Milestone XT720 has absolutely the best reception, vs Nexus S, I9000 and SGS2 i9100, HTC devices, etc
on 2nd place i'll put SGS2 T989 as good reception
3rd place goes for all the others phones
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Few months later, and I still say the Motorola Milestone has the best reception I've ever seen.
Still looking for an answer to the original question though. Seems like no one has done any research on it and put together some information.

Virtually the same....
Mobile customers planning to do a cell comparison of phone reception strength are pretty much wasting their time.
The majority of cell phones today are so well designed and competitive that they virtually all deliver the same level of service. Users may notice a difference between carriers due to cell site positioning compared to their homes or offices. The closer the cell site is, the better your phone reception is going to be regardless of which cell phone you utilize. Doing a cell comparison phone reception strength of carriers can be a good idea...

AllGamer said:
Bravo!
That's a good wake up call
it's true a lot of people are forgetting the phone main function should be "to be a phone"
yet now in days when people talk or compare a phone, is more into competing power, and how entertaining it's
from personal experience i can say as a PHONE, the Moto Milestone XT720 has absolutely the best reception, vs Nexus S, I9000 and SGS2 i9100, HTC devices, etc
on 2nd place i'll put SGS2 T989 as good reception
3rd place goes for all the others phones
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cause everyone just uses texts now-a-days rather than calling

cpumaster said:
Mobile customers planning to do a cell comparison of phone reception strength are pretty much wasting their time.
The majority of cell phones today are so well designed and competitive that they virtually all deliver the same level of service. Users may notice a difference between carriers due to cell site positioning compared to their homes or offices. The closer the cell site is, the better your phone reception is going to be regardless of which cell phone you utilize. Doing a cell comparison phone reception strength of carriers can be a good idea...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, MOST cell phones are more or less the same within a general 'bar' or two. But there are a few that stand out, like the Motorola Milestone and the Blackberry Torch. I was just wondering if there are others that have similar exceptional antenna strength and reception.

I'd like a list like this to, The Nexus S is terrible.

I've noticed that out of all the phones I have had, Nokia's have the best reception. I still like Symbian over Android, but eh
Sent from my GT-S5830 using xda premium

Nokia and Motorola seem to have the best signal strength based on my experience regardless of the "antenna strength " indicator.

+1 for Nokia phones on sym.

the best signal phone are those with antenna in exterior, and those are safer for healthy.

The original Motorola Droid and my current Droid Razr Maxx have the best signal out of all the phones I've ever had. And I'm talking measuring the signal strength with programs not just by bars, as I found them to be inaccurate.
My HTC phones would have to be held a certain way or the signal strength would drop.

Motorola is best for me .

In my experience most Motorola phones have great antenna/signal strength.

For me Nokia always had best signal but nowdays what to do with their usless phones.

If I remember right when the Galaxy Nexus came out people were showing horrible signal strength across the board. So Samsung issued a 'fix' that changed what was previously 2 bars or something to show as 4-5 bars.

To bump this old thread again.
Consistently getting 2 bars would be fine. Probably good enough to call, and for sure good enough to text.
My problem is I get 1 bar maybe inside my home with the Galaxy S, while the Motorola Milestone gets 4 bars.
Is the Galaxy S2 better in terms of reception than the original Galaxy S? I want to upgrade phones anyways. It is a bigger phone than the original Galaxy S, so perhaps it has better reception.

Azure1203 said:
To bump this old thread again.
Consistently getting 2 bars would be fine. Probably good enough to call, and for sure good enough to text.
My problem is I get 1 bar maybe inside my home with the Galaxy S, while the Motorola Milestone gets 4 bars.
Is the Galaxy S2 better in terms of reception than the original Galaxy S? I want to upgrade phones anyways. It is a bigger phone than the original Galaxy S, so perhaps it has better reception.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try switching modems for galaxy S, I get 1-2 bars using JVU modem and 2-4 bars using JW4.

Mostly all Hi-End Motorola phones have the best antennas but if your a modder, stay away

Galaxy S4... And others.... a bit.... meh?

This is likely to be first time in 7 years i haven't upgraded my phone upon a handset refresh.
I'm a terrible phone whore with very little loyalty to brand, i like to own the best phone of the moment and hop between manufacturers. I'd imagine most people on here do the same, with the exception of the insanely irreverent fanboys. Recently (Last 2 years) i've owned.. S2, iPhone 4S, S3, HTC One X and Nexus 4. (Also throw in a couple of dips to Sony and Windows Mobile for brief periods).
First of all, the S4 and the HTC One look like cracking devices. In my eyes they both have positives and negatives and if push came to shove and somebody forced me by gunpoint to pick one, i'd be hard pressed to make a decision.. Perhaps S4 but only because of the battery life and timely updates.. There really is little in it.. Anyone who thinks so is only splitting hairs.
If you're sat using an S2 or a mobile a good 2 years old i can truly appreciate what a jump that the S4 or HTC One to be for you. But if you're the kind of person who upgrades over a 12 month period, there really is little to excite at the moment.
I can't help but feel disappointing..
CPU:
This is the most frustrating topic... We've been steadily increasing in power with little gains in power management, Nvidia tried their best with that '5th core' but ultimately left us all wanting... I'd say the biggest single concern for most smartphone users is battery life now, struggling to make it through a heavy day is part and parcel of owning a mobile.
We are so very close to big.LITTLE kicking in and it seems to be that Samsung and HTC kicked off a little early, shown by the (almost complete) lack of availability of their Exynos variant..
If i bought the S4 or HTC One i'd feel almost cheated if the rumored battery performance of the upcoming CPUs in this segment are anything to go by.
Screen:
Mobile phone addiction aside, one of my other rather 'nerdy' fascination is with audio visual kit, much to my wifes misery.. Screen quality is undoubtedly a big thing for me, yet even i struggle to justify the move from a 720p resolution to a 1080p resolution on a screen only 4.7-5" big..
I've seen the HTC One in person and while i will confess at close proximity i can distinguish the difference, it is by no means the jump the market departments of said companies would like you to think.. I'd go as far to say that most (myself included) would struggle to notice the difference between the two during regular daily use.
LTE:
This is less the mobile manufacturers fault and more the networks but 4G coverage is absolutely woeful when you consider the mass rollout of hardware to utilize. I always thought the S3 LTE was pointless but was convinced this was the early warning sign the governments / networks needed to shift into gear, it doesn't appear to have happened. It's like giving everybody a Bugatti Veyron and telling them they're only allowed to drive it in speed limited residential areas..
I've got friends in the states and U.K and despite the rather gut-wrenching price they pay for LTE price plans, the performance seems poor. I do think we are a good year away from 4G being a realistic benefit to the average consumer, with small pockets of countries experiencing early gains if they live in the capital.
The only positive i can take away from all this is my other half does not have to watch me trawl through reviews, debate the best deal and then watch me giddy on the day of delivery...
Here's hopping next year is a little better!

Have to agree with this, nothing special so far

@OP ( dont wanna quote the whole post lol), trust me when i say that i am one of the biggest phone junkies around, i owned almost all of the flagship of 2012 and plan on owning quite a few in 2013. I see what you're saying when you say " meh" cause phones like the nexus 4, S3, Optimus G and note 2 are already mighty powerful but i think this is where samsung and HTC lead the pack and differentiate themselves with other brands. HTC came out with the best design a phone ever had ( in my opinion) and fantastic sound quality while samsung is expanding its crazy awesome features ( gimmicky for some, absolutely great for me). Its hard to outdo the great phones that came out last year so my question is what did you expect?

I think you need to find more hobbies/occupations in your life tbh.

But to be honest, we are at a point where technology, and especially phones are improving at a very systematical and incremental ways.
Slightly better processor
Slightly better camera
Slightly better screen
Slightly better battery
Really, we will be stuck on this pattern until something revolutionary comes into the mobile market.

JaeKay said:
But to be honest, we are at a point where technology, and especially phones are improving at a very systematical and incremental ways.
Slightly better processor
Slightly better camera
Slightly better screen
Slightly better battery
Really, we will be stuck on this pattern until something revolutionary comes into the mobile market.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, but with all that, there's a lot that's looked over. Like if you have a Samsung Smart TV you can stream what is on your TV to your phoen anywhere you go.
We now have a IR controller with a built in TV Guide. Built in reminder to remind you also. Links to Rotten Tomatoes for movies.
There's a lot more. I just don't know what is revolutionary anymore. The problem is other technology has to catch up, like TVs, Amplifiers and audio receivers, car GPS, etc. The only thing the phone can do now is control and interact with other things.
What can honestly be revolutionary with current technology and our phones now?

How about work on voice call clarity. This quality has been the same Damn thing since the nokia brick phones lol
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using xda app-developers app

Squirrel1620 said:
How about work on voice call clarity. This quality has been the same Damn thing since the nokia brick phones lol
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The thing is in a day I make max 20 min call time but day in day out 4+hours screen time, iyam this is the norm so this dictates developments, so I bet we get stuck with ok call quality.

Euthye said:
The thing is in a day I make max 20 min call time but day in day out 4+hours screen time, iyam this is the norm so this dictates developments, so I bet we get stuck with ok call quality.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
20 min the norm? Speak for yourself.

j510 said:
20 min the norm? Speak for yourself.
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I know but how about getting a different phone if your prime use is phoning, like a 2g that'll give you 2/3 days, or if you're making calls while indoors plug it in or use a land line, flagship smartphones are computing devices not really phones any more.

thedalmeny said:
This is likely to be first time in 7 years i haven't upgraded my phone upon a handset refresh.
I'm a terrible phone whore with very little loyalty to brand...!
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While I agree that the upgrades in the GS4 are barely a full generation ahead of the GS3, which is unfortunate given how much a jump the GS2 was over the GS1, and how much the GS1 was ahead of anything else at its time... there is a sort-of point about diminishing returns here as well. It's harder to "improve" certain aspects but so much, as we're beginning to hit the limits of what can even be perceived as an upgrade.
I mean, think about the screen. Very low res -> QVGA -> WVGA -> 720p -> 1080p. Well that's great, but for the next generation, where do you go? There's really no perceivable need to put anything higher into a sub 5" device. Maybe flexible screens? Unbreakable screens? etc etc? That's still not gonna actually increase the photonic information presented to your eyes from the device.
Or take the physical phone body. The GS4 is pushing the screen so far that it's easily covering 80-90% of the entire front surface area. So okay, next gen, you make the entire front surface a screen. Then what? Make the phone thinner? Well, at a certain point you hit a limit there as well. People can only grasp and comfortably hold objects of up to a certain depth. When you get it smaller than that, you're basically just printing a screen onto a knife blade. So that's no good...
Let's try connectivity. LTE and 802.11ac? Most cell networks couldn't saturate their LTE links if they tried, they simply don't have the capacity yet. And even if they did... You're telling me you can even find a use-case where your phone is pumping out/in 100+ mbit/s of data? I mean, at home it's nice to move music/videos/files around sure. But I highly doubt anyone is routinely moving gigabytes of data per hour on any sort of mobile device. Once you hit what you need for say HD video streaming... where else is there to go? Again, the next generation doesn't really need to move data any faster than this.
Sensors? Well, there's actually lots of room for improvement here. And also, un-coincidentally, this is where the GS4 has some the of greatest advantage over other current/last generation devices. While we're still pretty far away from a proper tricorder, we can now sense via magnetometer, accelerometer, gyroscope, light sensor, infrared sensor, microphones, thermometer, hydrometer, barometer, and two cameras... But building sensors isn't the hard part. It's building clever software to do something with these sensors.
I could go on further... but the point I should think is clear. Yea, it's a bit disappointing that nothing since the original GS1/GS2 has really been a full "generation and a half" ahead of the competition... but a large portion of that is simply because we're beginning to hit the ceiling with some of these improvements. Yea, in 20 years "phones" will be unpredictably evolved from what we have now. But I bet the screens still won't have any higher effective PPI than what we're approaching now...

nastyhobbits said:
posting to hit 10 posts so I can actually post in development section....wth.....
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Wrong and wrong.
1) There's a reason you need to post elsewhere first.
2) The fact that you say "what the hell" to that requirement further shows you are not yet ready to post in development.
3) Spamming random unrelated comments into random threads is not the way to reach the 10 post minimum
I suggest you start by reading the rules and the stickies.
Have a nice day, and welcome to XDA.

Im only getting it becuase i wanted a smaller note 2 with no spen. The s4 gives me that with plenty of horsepower. Plus the 32gb $250 price point is a good sell. If the htc one had a replaceable battery it would of been a no brainer based on design alone.

nastyhobbits said:
posting to hit 10 posts so I can actually post in development section....wth.....
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*Face palm* If there's one place where you never post something like that, it's XDA. The moderators here take people who break the rules pretty seriously.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

I wish we could have a revolutionary phone come out like the Galaxy SII did. Even today, Galaxy SII is unsurpassed with performance. Is there any app or game that it can't run? I mean, it came out nearly 2 years ago, and still has not been matched by an app.
I hope Galaxy SV comes in the way of the revolution.

Euthye said:
I know but how about getting a different phone if your prime use is phoning, like a 2g that'll give you 2/3 days, or if you're making calls while indoors plug it in or use a land line, flagship smartphones are computing devices not really phones any more.
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I never said my prime use is phone calls. I just said 20 min is not the norm. And again where do you get your information. No matter what phone whether it is a dumb phone or smart phone, one of the main focus of a phone period involves making phone calls. Otherwise it would be called a multimedia device and not a phone.

jahjah440 said:
I wish we could have a revolutionary phone come out like the Galaxy SII did. Even today, Galaxy SII is unsurpassed with performance. Is there any app or game that it can't run? I mean, it came out nearly 2 years ago, and still has not been matched by an app.
I hope Galaxy SV comes in the way of the revolution.
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Wait, what, lol!
Pretty sure the Gs1 started the trend there. Gs2 was nice, but nothing revolutionary.... The s3 was by far the best in the series thus far, until this one comes out.
With that said, I like my Note 2 more so than my s3.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2

I think the Note series has been pretty revolutionary and Samsung has worked hard to come up with clever things to do with the stylus.
I don't know what big hardware improvements are left to do. The one I would like the most is 3-D capabilities, both screen and camera, like the Evo 3D. I would imagine in the last two years the technology has gotten better and Samsung could market it a lot better than HTC. Plus there is more 3D content than two years ago. Samsung could also do cool things with 3D and the hover technology.

j510 said:
I never said my prime use is phone calls. I just said 20 min is not the norm. And again where do you get your information. No matter what phone whether it is a dumb phone or smart phone, one of the main focus of a phone period involves making phone calls. Otherwise it would be called a multimedia device and not a phone.
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Ah well tough break, I guess this phone isn't for you then.

Shammyh said:
While I agree that the upgrades in the GS4 are barely a full generation ahead of the GS3, which is unfortunate given how much a jump the GS2 was over the GS1, and how much the GS1 was ahead of anything else at its time... there is a sort-of point about diminishing returns here as well. It's harder to "improve" certain aspects but so much, as we're beginning to hit the limits of what can even be perceived as an upgrade.
I mean, think about the screen. Very low res -> QVGA -> WVGA -> 720p -> 1080p. Well that's great, but for the next generation, where do you go? There's really no perceivable need to put anything higher into a sub 5" device. Maybe flexible screens? Unbreakable screens? etc etc? That's still not gonna actually increase the photonic information presented to your eyes from the device.
Or take the physical phone body. The GS4 is pushing the screen so far that it's easily covering 80-90% of the entire front surface area. So okay, next gen, you make the entire front surface a screen. Then what? Make the phone thinner? Well, at a certain point you hit a limit there as well. People can only grasp and comfortably hold objects of up to a certain depth. When you get it smaller than that, you're basically just printing a screen onto a knife blade. So that's no good...
Let's try connectivity. LTE and 802.11ac? Most cell networks couldn't saturate their LTE links if they tried, they simply don't have the capacity yet. And even if they did... You're telling me you can even find a use-case where your phone is pumping out/in 100+ mbit/s of data? I mean, at home it's nice to move music/videos/files around sure. But I highly doubt anyone is routinely moving gigabytes of data per hour on any sort of mobile device. Once you hit what you need for say HD video streaming... where else is there to go? Again, the next generation doesn't really need to move data any faster than this.
Sensors? Well, there's actually lots of room for improvement here. And also, un-coincidentally, this is where the GS4 has some the of greatest advantage over other current/last generation devices. While we're still pretty far away from a proper tricorder, we can now sense via magnetometer, accelerometer, gyroscope, light sensor, infrared sensor, microphones, thermometer, hydrometer, barometer, and two cameras... But building sensors isn't the hard part. It's building clever software to do something with these sensors.
I could go on further... but the point I should think is clear. Yea, it's a bit disappointing that nothing since the original GS1/GS2 has really been a full "generation and a half" ahead of the competition... but a large portion of that is simply because we're beginning to hit the ceiling with some of these improvements. Yea, in 20 years "phones" will be unpredictably evolved from what we have now. But I bet the screens still won't have any higher effective PPI than what we're approaching now...
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Click to collapse
I have to disagree about LTE. That 100mbs conection is shared across possibly 100's of users and it does not take alot to bring it down to it's knees.
Video of sub 500kbs LTE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-VVwPqhXwI
That and really 2,3,4,5,10 GB is not really that much data if you plan using the LTE speeds fully. If I didn't have a unlimited plan, my bill would be higher in a month than what my phone cost.
I will say your right about the screen 1080p is good, well really for most 720p does the trick. ( I can still see the dot's on a 720p 4.3in screen though, but most can't.)

Republic Wireless Moto X Review

Hello fellow android users,
My name is Fishwithadeagle, and I have recently purchased the Moto X from Republic Wireless. I just wanted to summarize in a semi deep review my own opinions on Republic’s new phone and plan. Some places may already have some of this information, but I wanted to summarize it and put it into a niece, compact review. Also, if you are interested, there is a link at the bottom that will not only help support me, but also give you 19 dollars off your first month.
Republic Wireless is a new wireless company founded by bandwidth.com that has a focus on value for the consumer. The cheapest plans that are available start at $5 and work their way up to $40 (more on this in the plans section). They plan to do this by putting some of the responsibility on the consumer. The thing that is special about the Republic Wireless phones (hence why there is currently no byod) is that they all run a custom rom that supports Republic’s proprietary wifi calling and messaging service. RW wishes that customers connect their phones to wifi whenever they can. This allows them to circumvent the carrier’s fees (which is sprint). This is not based off of Google voice or anything of the sort, and thus will not be affected by Google’s new enforcement of their policies against 3rd party apps using Google voice as their primary means of communication. Read below for an in depth analysis of whether this service truly stacks up against competitors at a cheap price.
Out of the box:
You will get the basics, a Moto X, a dual port usb charger, a micro usb cord. And for some added touches, RW puts in a nice congratulations card for purchasing a phone from them. There really isn’t all that much to see her.
Setup:
Once booted up, the phone will prompt you to update service. I highly recommend that this be done on wifi because the sprint activation seems at this point to be at best, shoddy. I have yet to see a successful activation over cellular, even though RW claims that it can be done. Other than some minor complications (had to restart once) there really isn’t anything all that surprising. My phone came straight from Republic Wireless with all account information on there, all I had to do was log into the Republic Wireless app and I was good to go.
Specs:
These are the same specs as any other Moto X. Nothing new here except that it uses a proprietary cdma frequency, and therefore the phone cannot be used on any other carrier except for Republic Wireless even though the internal chips may support it. Also it runs an older 4.2.2 version, which should be updated to Kit Kat by Q1 of 2014. There doesn’t seem to be a big difference to me between the various versions (I have a Nexus 7 2012 running 4.4.2). Everything is in working order. As another note, comparing the performance of this phone to other leading phones (such as that of the galaxy s4) by specs alone is not actually all that accurate. This phone has the same exact video card as the galaxy s4, except that it has roughly half of the pixel to power. This in turn results in a greater performance from the same chip. Also don’t worry about the screen resolution, it more than clear enough, I have only been able to see the pixels when I have taken a magnifying glass and looked at the screen. As a second note, the memory on this phone tends to read at about 70 megabytes a second, leading to a significant performance increase over phones with slower memory read speeds. This means that many large games load in very short times on the startup.
Screen:
This may be categorized under the section of specifications, but it needs a separate section in my own opinion. The colors on this phone are phenomenal. After looking at this screen for hours on end, I go back to the led displays that I have on my desktop and laptop, even my 2012 Nexus 7, and each one looks simply washed out compared to that of the Moto X. And for all the people that are going to complain about the screen resolution, this phone boasts a strong 323 ppi, which is above that of the iPhone with its supposed retina quality screen. As a side note, while this phone has a gorilla glass 3 screen, I would still recommend a screen protector because there is always the possibility that the screen will get scratched. On black Friday, I had a keychain that I left in my pocket, and with sufficient force, it scratched my screen. So just take this as a warning.
Software:
Seeing that this is a standard android phone, this is running a near stock rom that Motorola has put on the phone, with the exception of the Republic Wireless app. For those wondering, yes it can be disabled. Some may want to just buy the phone straight up, and you can use stock Motorola skinned os. This is the same copy that you will be able to find on any other Moto X. This can be found in many other reviews.
Republic Wireless Software:
This is the biggest feature that separates this version of the Moto X from every other version and is probably the reason why you are buying this phone. Because this is built directly into the rom, yet still upgradeable through the play store, the updates on Republic Wireless will be slightly delayed as this must be incorporated into the updates.
Call quality could be improved on wifi a little because in certain parts of my house, there was some static with a wndr 3400 router and about two bars. Other than that call quality is as expected. It is very clear and easy for the people on the other end to hear you since there are two mics on the moto set aside for the sole purpose of voice identification. The interesting feature about the phone is that there is seamless transitioning between cell and wifi. I have had no issues with this and the phone seems to not even have a delay when it transitions. I didn’t even know that it had switched to cellular the few times that I have switched to cellular.
Texting is exactly the same as calling. It can be done on both wifi and cellular, the features are exactly the same. You are able to even send mms videos through wifi. Everything works spectacularly here. As a side note, even when downloading, I did not notice any degradation in call quality or the ability to text.
Reception:
When the phone is on wifi, you can do everything that you could on cell. This means that in areas where there is no reception, you can have perfect reception on wifi. When the phone is on cell, it is as expected with sprint; it depends on the area that you are currently located in. In certain instances, I have been able to get better reception than others who have cellular through sprint in the same area. This can most likely be attributed to the better radios in the moto, but don’t expect any miracles. Although I have been quite impressed with sprint service so far.
Plans:
$5 Dollar: Unlimited calls, data, texting on wifi.
$10 Dollar: Unlimited calls and texting on cellular, unlimited data on wifi.
$25 Dollar: Unlimited calls, texting, and 3g data (capped at 5 GB per month, 100mb roaming)
$40 Dollar: Unlimited calls, texting, and 4g data (capped at 5 GB per month, 100mb roaming)
*Each cellular plan includes 100 minutes of roaming calling.
For most people, the $25 dollar a month plan is the best. It is a shame to ruin a phone such as the moto x by not having mobile data when not on wifi. Only use 4g if you really need to get your data fast. So far, 3g has been fast enough in the Cleveland area and I have had no issue using it. The other two plans are for those looking to conserve more money. $25 dollar plan is ideal.
Battery:
This is the area where the moto shines. I can get around two days of use with two and a half hours each day. That is phenomenal, in combination with the fact that the moto charges fully with the stock charger in about an hour and a half. Leaving the wifi on constantly (as per Republic business idea of receiving all calls and texts through wifi when possible) does not seem to decrease battery life that much. When roaming, battery is chewed up very quickly, but this is expected. When first received, I highly recommend shutting off activity monitoring. This monitors movement of the phone to detect whether a call should be placed and received on cell or wifi. This is just to prevent possible interruptions during calls, but can easily be turned off in the Republic Wireless app settings and provide a great boost in battery life.
Camera:
Same as what every other website says. One of the better cameras on phones, but not a dslr.
Concluding thoughts:
This phone is just your average moto x with a new app added to the rom.
Positives:
Good call quality
Good Battery Life
½ price of moto x from Motorola (unlocked)
2x data of other prepaid plans
Top android smartphones
Negatives:
Sprint not available in certain locations
Limited memory (solved by the meenova memory card reader)
Phone not as scratch resistant as gorilla glass hopes.
SHOULD I BUY IT?
I would recommend it. There is a plan for everyone on one of the best smartphones that I have ever used. Nothing really not to like, plus this is such a new service with many things to offer. Highly recommended. 9/10.
Miscellaneous Reviews:
http://www.engadget.com/2013/08/05/motorola-moto-x-review/
http://reviews.cnet.com/motorola-moto-x/
Meenova Memory Card Reader For memory expansion:
http://www.meenova.com/
If you have any further questions, leave a comment. Also, if you are considering purchasing this phone, get 19 dollars off your first month’s service, and also help support me by using this link: http://referrals.republicwireless.com/a/clk/1mJGhs
Thanks for reading this review!