Database Info

Slashgear Review . . .

I think this is the first proper review.
http://www.slashgear.com/htc-sensation-review-23153699/
Do the people with the phone already, agree with the conclusions drawn?

freedirk said:
I think this is the first proper review.
http://www.slashgear.com/htc-sensation-review-23153699/
Do the people with the phone already, agree with the conclusions drawn?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seemed pretty fair and balanced. Glad to see that pics are better with this handset over some other HTC ones. Little bummed about the tearing int he video - but I imagine that might be something that a software update might address. Browser seems fine if a little different than the samsung when zooming flash. Battery life looked ok - but what surprised me was that they have great battery life on their SGS II. That seems to be one of the most dominant complaint threads on their boards.
All in all I feel better about looking to purchase one when it comes out in the states.

Damn.
I'm thinking more and more of getting the SG2 now instead due to lack of dev support and this review is swaying it more too. The SG2 is a much better hardware package but i prefer the design of htc and i prefer sense to touchwiz.

I can comment on TouchWiz vs. Sense. I got an SGS2 because I couldn't wait for the Sensation to come to the States to evaluate it. I had Sense on my former HTC phones and was expecting TouchWiz to be kind of the same thing. Sense is an environment with apps tightly integrated whereas TouchWiz is really just a Samsung launcher. I used launchers on my last two phones which were vanilla Android so TouchWiz's more Android feel felt comfortable. People looking for HTC's approach toward common apps being front-ended by Sense and tightly integrated would be disappointed with TouchWiz. Not that TouchWiz is bad and a lot of Samsung's proprietary apps and hubs are really good, it's just a very different approach.

"Sensation as the consumer’s phone and the Galaxy S II as the Android fan’s phone"

this review is that whas i need.
i dont intresting sg2. i only intresting or sensation is beter that desire in all aspekts ( screen, power, call quality, camera, sound in 3.5mm and laudnes in speeker, battery u.t.t)
Sensation is beter? i think it is.
hope for root, bet some time i cen live without that
p.s in latvian phone cen wait 2-3 weaks after unbranded realise in eorope. need wait some time

MartijnMM said:
"Sensation as the consumer’s phone and the Galaxy S II as the Android fan’s phone"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i disagree. sg2 is just too ugly and iphone'esque (even if Apple copied their original design from samsung)
HTC are a better all rounder i think

Well Barff1984, I do agree with you that in the all-rounder category the Sensation is the winner, however in terms of "Android Fans Phone" I think it's a bit inconclusive:
On one hand you've got the fact that the SGS2 was released earlier, with its bootloader opened wide with the sound of devs cheers, incredible specs and whatnot. Is it the easy fan choice? Well;
On the other hand: Some people (myself included, hate me if I sound a bit biased) prefer HTC's approach - albeit slightly weaker, when it comes down to the experience of actually using it - the UI, the sense of quality in your hand is a key factor.
And you know what? I think that's another way of being an Android fan - sticking with the things you like, and not fitting into an iFruity pattern. That's the beauty of Android - you've always got choice, whether its hardware or software. If you don't like it - change it. Because you can.
Plus I can smell the dev gods are cooking delicious stuff for us Hardcore HTC guys, and just because Samsung got a head start doesn't mean the Sensation is DOA.

i agree with you trek -
I don't think you can say either phone is better, they both had good points, both had bad points...
but the reason i love android - WE are left with a choice of which one WE prefer !
i happen to prefer better build and feel of htc and sense over touchwiz.

Barff1984 said:
i disagree. sg2 is just too ugly and iphone'esque (even if Apple copied their original design from samsung)
HTC are a better all rounder i think
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you've mis-read the quote slightly.
I think it's to do with the sensation having a more polished interface which will make it sit better with casual users. Whereas people that have researched the phones a great deal will possibly prefer the Galaxy2 for its unlocked bootloader and arguably better hardware.
Of course as slashgear also stated,this generalisation does nothing for either phone as both are power houses.
P.s. I also realise that the vast majority of users here have researched both phones and have alot of knowledge, hence the reason we're here. ;-)
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App

It's a never-ending debate.
As long as someone is happy with any of the phone, I would say job well done from the part of the manufacturer/OEM. And I believe the review did it's best not to raise the fanboy-ish sentiments that we have.
I am absolutely sure that Engadget review will be provocative/controversial (it's always their goal to generate maximum comments). Gsmarena/Anandtech seems to be much more detailed and objective.

Phil750123 said:
i agree with you trek -
I don't think you can say either phone is better, they both had good points, both had bad points...
but the reason i love android - WE are left with a choice of which one WE prefer !
i happen to prefer better build and feel of htc and sense over touchwiz.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What i just hate is that HTC failed on a few VERY simple issues,
if they did better on those points, they would easy have a winner.
1) More RAM and internal storage
2) Non signed bootloader
3) Hardware accl browser

Barff1984 said:
i disagree. sg2 is just too ugly and iphone'esque (even if Apple copied their original design from samsung)
HTC are a better all rounder i think
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1, put together, SGS2 is ugly look.
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using XDA App

I think the review was good. I saw some complaints about it being too superficial but I think it serves its purpose and was unbiased pointing out the benefits and cons giving each phone its due (I don't care that it was more of a comparative review as that's basically how people on here treat it). I also hope the GSMArena one comes out soon. They tend to have very detailed review going into all aspects of the phones. I'm still quite sure I'm getting it but I like to be aware of all the "bad" stuff before I get something (this is also nice because often the bad doesn't turn out to be as bad as I thought it would be making me pleasantly surprised rather than disappointed )

MartijnMM said:
What i just hate is that HTC failed on a few VERY simple issues,
if they did better on those points, they would easy have a winner.
1) More RAM and internal storage
2) Non signed bootloader
3) Hardware accl browser
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree, minor steps for big improvements.
1) Think the ram is the big issue, specially when sense is going to take up
more ram then touchwiz (im guessing here but im pretty certain it be the
case)
2) Im sure "hoping" that this will be by passable, I've read a detail
article about this stating, it not as bad as people believe. I dont understand
it fully but as most people on here, i just want custom roms!
3) Would be nice, but not on my top list as personally im not a big
web broswer on my mobile. (Although might change when i get a bigger screen
and faster web browsing )
Im leaving work early to fly down to the vodafone shop and see if
they have one in stock - bar that to phones 4 u shop opposite so
hopefully I'll be able to talk from first hand experience!

Hmm, I wonder when we'll start seeing reviews with proper GPS testing. Not comments like "the gps is fine, it locked really fast!" but showing some tracks and proof of decent accuracy and consistency. That would help avoiding fiascos like the one with the Galaxy S.
I'm curious about the Sensation but will definitely not buy another toy without clearing this out first... can't get lost.

did anyone notice sample camera picture taken by sensation at slashgear review have soft image on left and sharp on the right?
ignore the already out of focus background flower pic, other street and tree pictures it doesn't seem like depth of field, anyone got the device on hand can confirm or share your picture please.

Beowulf_pt said:
Hmm, I wonder when we'll start seeing reviews with proper GPS testing. Not comments like "the gps is fine, it locked really fast!" but showing some tracks and proof of decent accuracy and consistency. That would help avoiding fiascos like the one with the Galaxy S.
I'm curious about the Sensation but will definitely not buy another toy without clearing this out first... can't get lost.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True, I'd like to know this. But no tech site, or youtube review has brought up the GPS issue, which I'm sure they would when they did their review.
I did hear (made a poll), on androidforums, that a few had these problems but all of them, now, have basically ironed themselves out. Really odd, but a few days later virtually everyone reported back that it fixed itself. I know your looking for hard evidence but I just thought I'd share what I know.

ratchetnclank said:
Damn.
I'm thinking more and more of getting the SG2 now instead due to lack of dev support and this review is swaying it more too. The SG2 is a much better hardware package but i prefer the design of htc and i prefer sense to touchwiz.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, Its kinda just got out on contract... wait for it to be off-contract and published in the USA and more :O

http://www.slashgear.com/sensation-vs-galaxy-s-ii-does-qhd-make-a-difference-24154010/
Addition stuff about the screens. Looks like for games its the SGII for movies/webbrowsing/text based stuff - Sensation.

[Q] Another "I cant decide which Phone" thread

Hey,
I cant decide which phone I should get. I cant decide between the Samsung Galaxy Note and Samsung Galaxy Nexus?
Pro's and Con's:
Note is bigger, but seems to lagg a bit.
Note's screen is easily damagable (I read about it on XDA).
Nexus is pure Google and gets easy updates.
Nexus has many bugs, and seems to be a banana phone (maturate at the customer).
Nexus is fast(?)
More?! Help me please!
I use my phone for several tasks:
Browsing the web
Twitter
RSS Feeds
Mails
Developing
Facebook
Some games

If you feel the need to ask the question, then you should go with the Note. If you don't know what it means to own a Nexus, you will not appreciate it.

SGS1 is my first Android Phone and I love it, because I don't have to use messed up Samsung ****. I bought it and switched to custom ROMS like CM7 and now CM9. (*cough* before I used an iPhone *cough*)
What means a Nexus?

Leandros_Ger said:
SGS1 is my first Android Phone and I love it, because I don't have to use messed up Samsung ****. I bought it and switched to custom ROMS like CM7 and now CM9. (*cough* before I used an iPhone *cough*)
What means a Nexus?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A nexus is a pure google/aosp based phone. No manufacturer UI such as Touchwiz, just pure android. It is very very development friendly. A nexus is for a true android fan.

lowandbehold said:
A nexus is a pure google/aosp based phone. No manufacturer UI such as Touchwiz, just pure android. It is very very development friendly. A nexus is for a true android fan.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I never used TouchWiz so much on my SGS1. Is it better as 1 and a half ago? And I don't use it now.
But how is the performance of the nexus? Fast? How is it with the bugs? I read there are a lot? How is the display? Against the Note?

Leandros_Ger said:
I never used TouchWiz so much on my SGS1. Is it better as 1 and a half ago? And I don't use it now.
But how is the performance of the nexus? Fast? How is it with the bugs? I read there are a lot? How is the display? Against the Note?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course it is fast, all new high end phones are fast. The GPU is slightly better in the SGSII and the Note, but the lightweight software optimized specifically for the nexus easily makes up for that. There were bugs when it first came out, but that is to be expected with the first phone with ICS. They have been ironed out through updates though. The display is a matter of opinion. Some like the Nexus, some like the note.

lowandbehold said:
Of course it is fast, all new high end phones are fast. The GPU is slightly better in the SGSII and the Note, but the lightweight software optimized specifically for the nexus easily makes up for that. There were bugs when it first came out, but that is to be expected with the first phone with ICS. They have been ironed out through updates though. The display is a matter of opinion. Some like the Nexus, some like the note.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dont helps me a lot.
Does you, or anyone else know, how much I have to tweak the to phones that they are fast as hell and reliable?

Leandros_Ger said:
Dont helps me a lot.
Does you, or anyone else know, how much I have to tweak the to phones that they are fast as hell and reliable?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly, with the new phones you don't have to do much tweaking at all to make them fast.

lowandbehold said:
Honestly, with the new phones you don't have to do much tweaking at all to make them fast.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice.
I can remember my hardcore SGS1 times, LagFix and so on, I tweaked the hell out of my phone ^^
And now I am to lazy, I only want to root and a software update here and there. But not loose all data and so on. If you know what I mean.

My father has the known galaxy is beautiful and is a cross between tablet and phone and not even look so great ... Also the screen is beautiful .. Regarding the nexus has already being done by google ics also be updated for the first ... If I had to choose to take the notes is really HUGE

This...Is Difficult

Just make sure it's using Exynos Processor
Imetumwa kutoka U8150 kutumia XDA

[Q] Which phone is "best"?

Hey guys,
I'm looking up for a new phone to buy and after a while digging into I got caught undecided between a Nexus S and an Omnia W. One is Android, other Windows Phone. I had a Galaxy 5 before, using unofficial Cyanogemod 7, and got a little disappointed with Android Gingerbread. Don't know now with ICS. Is it really better? But what I like about Android is the ability to install ROM's and being able to have the newest updates. On the other hand, there's the WP, which I had an oportunity to try for a few minutes, and liked at first, the system is really smooth, fast... Also, the Omnia W has a great battery life. But I just don't know about future updates for the Omnia... Also, I'd like to know about the battery life of Nexus S, someone who has one, could you tell me?
I'd apreciate a lot if someone could help me. Sorry about my english, ha.
Thank's in advanced.

what is the dissappoint things about GB?

I don't understand why people even like winmo7, android is fast moving and more user flexible
I would suggest grabbing either
-Galaxy S (international I9000), Nexus S, Galaxy Nexus
ICS is pretty good but if you don't like GB it is most likely the launcher that is the problem, try using a different launcher until you are happy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Android_Launchers
I personally like ICS & ADW

Murmur95 said:
I don't understand why people even like winmo7, android is fast moving and more user flexible
I would suggest grabbing either
-Galaxy S (international I9000), Nexus S, Galaxy Nexus
ICS is pretty good but if you don't like GB it is most likely the launcher that is the problem, try using a different launcher until you are happy en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Android_Launchers
I personally like ICS & ADW
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly, WP 7 seems to be a great platform. Also is Android. And the comment about the Launch, it wasn't it (at least I guess), I used to change between them. The thing was, I used to get a lot force close and this stuff.
Thanks for the reply.

considering WP7 is quite a new contender compared to droid, sooner or later both have their own adv and disadv. As murmur95 stated, Android tends to move faster because of its open source licensing (but not saying other than open source, the rests are bad things, they are good also, but i don't know their advs and disadvs).
If launcher forces close, I think have some issues with compatibility with the ROM, so you can either reflash the ROM and see if it works. ICS is essentially a new version of GB with some modification here and there, and yes. gives more feature, more stability, more speed, more battery saving etc2..so ICS is a very nice addition. That aside, you can simply watch videos, or read people's feedback of both WP or Android, but if you ask me, I favor Android better ^^V

I have tried W7 android and IOS believe me android is the best.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

Buy the Nexus, is better than the other
Sent from my X8 using xda premium

Go ahead and buy one of Google's golden cages...
If you're such a lover of Android why not the latest MOTOROLA DROID which
at least is reasonably independent from Google gimmicks.
With any other device you'll have to ask for permission to, subscribe a compulsory
gmail account, allow google interfering with sundry notifications --
interrupting whatever activitties you may be on the edge of performing, etc.
Samsung machines while undeniably well designed and produced are little
more than advertising enforcers for Google -- see if you can easily get rid of
applications that fulfil your restricting space of internal memory, such as research,
google talk, etc. etc -- unless you're a fan of the said.
I'm inviting you to take notice of a two-posts query and shout for help concerning
one of those marvellous pieces-of-work:«Guidance to Samsung Galaxy Gio (S5660)??»,
and provide me your feed-back abou my issues therein...
Good grief! And i thought that the major manipulative OS was Windows -- I
even changed to linux (ZORIN 5,2 if you care to know) -- and then i went and
spoiled my own move and bought a Galaxy Gio...
I'm sorry if i sound too boring to you (and all).
Greetings and better luck than i had.
N'Rique

Why would you not consider the Galaxy Nexus, the successor to the Nexus S?

I think if that if you like the idea of installing custom roms then going for the nexus s would be a good shout. I believe that Google have been a bit slow rolling out ICS to it officially but this would give you the perfect opportunity to flash the latest versions of it yourself

First, thanks to all for replying.
About the force closes it wasn't only about the Launcher, was about lot of apps. The Galaxy Nexus is twice the price of Nexus S here, so...
What about Nexus S battery life? Has anyone tried this phone?
Thanks.

Worth it for ~$250?

I was originally thinking about getting an international Galaxy Tablet, but as much as I'd like a tablet as a phone...I know it's not the ideal solution for multiple reasons (lack of warranty, primarily).
Anyway, a friend can get me one brand-new for $250, and it'd be a decent upgrade from my HTC G2. I know development for it isn't the best, and ICS probably won't arrive at least for another month (and it'll suck going back to Gingerbread after having used ICS for a bit on my G2), but I don't want my G2 to completely crap out and have to buy a new phone on a whim like that (and it'd be nice to have the G2 available as a backup).
Not interested in the Galaxy II (I get that it has better features, but it just looks/feels so cheap to me), and the Galaxy III is a nice phone, but I won't use half the features/power and it'd be an extra $100 or so. Nothing else on T-Mobile really appeals to me.
That being said, other than the previously-mentioned lack of development, are there any issues with the Blaze that I should know about? Or any major reason (other than development) that I should go with the GS3 instead?

If you've only ever used a AOSP style CM capable device (like me) you may regret going to something that only runs TouchWiz. Sure, you can change the launcher, uninstall swype and install the better version, and root it to uninstall a bunch of apps you don't want/need... but there are other things you can't change.
The lock screen, phone call screen(s) and some other things are remarkably slow and unresponsive, and is this ridiculous attempt to bring ICS looks and features to a poor gingerbread implementation. I don't understand how a company can make a phone with dual 1.5Ghz cores perform some things so slowly when my 1Ghz MT4G was responsive as hell. The phone feels "nicer" in the hand than some other samsungs I've held but that's about all it has going for it. Oh, and it supports T-Mobile's WiFi calling.
And yeah, the development is going REALLY slow and will likely remain so, even with the generous help of the guys that are making moves on this phone now.
If I had the choice again, I wouldn't. I will never again purchase a phone that isn't already supported by some AOSP style ROM. I thought root was enough and I'd get by with it, but I was wrong.
But that's just me.

dr4stic said:
If you've only ever used a AOSP style CM capable device (like me) you may regret going to something that only runs TouchWiz. Sure, you can change the launcher, uninstall swype and install the better version, and root it to uninstall a bunch of apps you don't want/need... but there are other things you can't change.
The lock screen, phone call screen(s) and some other things are remarkably slow and unresponsive, and is this ridiculous attempt to bring ICS looks and features to a poor gingerbread implementation. I don't understand how a company can make a phone with dual 1.5Ghz cores perform some things so slowly when my 1Ghz MT4G was responsive as hell. The phone feels "nicer" in the hand than some other samsungs I've held but that's about all it has going for it. Oh, and it supports T-Mobile's WiFi calling.
And yeah, the development is going REALLY slow and will likely remain so, even with the generous help of the guys that are making moves on this phone now.
If I had the choice again, I wouldn't. I will never again purchase a phone that isn't already supported by some AOSP style ROM. I thought root was enough and I'd get by with it, but I was wrong.
But that's just me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well then, wasn't exactly expecting to hear that on this of all boards - it's definitely good to hear, though, as I didn't realize how serious reviews were about the device being bloated like that.
My only other choice I'd be remotely interested in would be the HTC Amaze, and not that I don't like HTC, but I've read the battery life isn't the best, and there's issues like backlight bleeding and whatnot. I guess I'll just wait to get the GS3 and hope there aren't any major issues.

Yeah, sorry
For the price, if the community were more active, I'd say it's a great deal. But if it isn't active now, the sad truth is that it won't get more active down the road. And I wouldn't wait for the likes of me to actually succeed in getting CM9 running on this thing...
As a comparison, the HTC One S has been around half as long and has like 10x the interest and activity. Just walk around their XDA Android Dev subforums and you'll see what I mean. Mind you, the 1S has the same CPU, memory, and other misc. features. The storage and battery are fixed, but that's the only downside. It's got a slimmer package and more accessories available. The blaze is dead in comparison.
TouchWiz just irritates me, but I make do with the phone, and maybe I'm being picky. Ask if you can test drive the thing... insert your sim and make/answer some calls... do some basic things and just know that's pretty much how the device will always be. If you could live with that, then so be it.
For a T-Mobile compatible phone, I'd just get a new Galaxy Nexus, or a 1S. The Galaxy Nexus will be the first to run Jelly Bean, and you'll also have support for a fairly long time from the likes of the CM team and AOKP, et al. It has some great features too. Just food for though

dr4stic said:
Yeah, sorry
For the price, if the community were more active, I'd say it's a great deal. But if it isn't active now, the sad truth is that it won't get more active down the road. And I wouldn't wait for the likes of me to actually succeed in getting CM9 running on this thing...
As a comparison, the HTC One S has been around half as long and has like 10x the interest and activity. Just walk around their XDA Android Dev subforums and you'll see what I mean. Mind you, the 1S has the same CPU, memory, and other misc. features. The storage and battery are fixed, but that's the only downside. It's got a slimmer package and more accessories available. The blaze is dead in comparison.
TouchWiz just irritates me, but I make do with the phone, and maybe I'm being picky. Ask if you can test drive the thing... insert your sim and make/answer some calls... do some basic things and just know that's pretty much how the device will always be. If you could live with that, then so be it.
For a T-Mobile compatible phone, I'd just get a new Galaxy Nexus, or a 1S. The Galaxy Nexus will be the first to run Jelly Bean, and you'll also have support for a fairly long time from the likes of the CM team and AOKP, et al. It has some great features too. Just food for though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess I'll try and look into the Blaze in person more before I totally dismiss it, then. After hearing numerous issues with the 1S (between random reboots, screens failing, really hot temperatures, data/service issues, and even stuff as weird as the capacitive buttons being completely unresponsive - all reasons people have returned it, according to a friend at T-Mobile), I'm staying away from it, at least for the moment; I like everything else about the phone, however, and don't care about lack of expandable storage or removable battery. Not a fan of the lack official accessories (and accessory choice in general), however, compared to most Samsung phones.
And nothing against the Nexus but...it just doesn't appeal to me. I can understand any of the numerous reasons to go for one, but it just doesn't stand out to me in any way; I'd much sooner get the Galaxy S 3 for the better specs and camera alone.

magus57 said:
I guess I'll try and look into the Blaze in person more before I totally dismiss it, then. After hearing numerous issues with the 1S (between random reboots, screens failing, really hot temperatures, data/service issues, and even stuff as weird as the capacitive buttons being completely unresponsive - all reasons people have returned it, according to a friend at T-Mobile), I'm staying away from it, at least for the moment; I like everything else about the phone, however, and don't care about lack of expandable storage or removable battery. Not a fan of the lack official accessories (and accessory choice in general), however, compared to most Samsung phones.
And nothing against the Nexus but...it just doesn't appeal to me. I can understand any of the numerous reasons to go for one, but it just doesn't stand out to me in any way; I'd much sooner get the Galaxy S 3 for the better specs and camera alone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe the Nexus also has various issues. I honestly don't understand where are all the pessimism is coming from. We are getting the official ICS update, so CM9 is likely to get to us. We are also funding a developer to help him buy a Blaze and improve his ROM. I'll admit the development is slow, but that's to be expected for a carrier specific device that got no advertising. Descent due development will come in time I think.
Sent from my SGH-T769 using xda premium

dr4stic said:
If you've only ever used a AOSP style CM capable device (like me) you may regret going to something that only runs TouchWiz. Sure, you can change the launcher, uninstall swype and install the better version, and root it to uninstall a bunch of apps you don't want/need... but there are other things you can't change.
The lock screen, phone call screen(s) and some other things are remarkably slow and unresponsive, and is this ridiculous attempt to bring ICS looks and features to a poor gingerbread implementation. I don't understand how a company can make a phone with dual 1.5Ghz cores perform some things so slowly when my 1Ghz MT4G was responsive as hell. The phone feels "nicer" in the hand than some other samsungs I've held but that's about all it has going for it. Oh, and it supports T-Mobile's WiFi calling.
And yeah, the development is going REALLY slow and will likely remain so, even with the generous help of the guys that are making moves on this phone now.
If I had the choice again, I wouldn't. I will never again purchase a phone that isn't already supported by some AOSP style ROM. I thought root was enough and I'd get by with it, but I was wrong.
But that's just me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's funny, but that's exactly how I feel about my Blaze. I thought rooting it to get rid of all the bloat would be enough, but I want more, and there just isn't more out there, despite the efforts of our lovable and hard working dev's. And you're right - the call screen sometimes just isn't responsive at all and I wind up being unable to answer calls, especially if it's coming from an app I'm already running, such as a game. So from now on I'm coming to XDA and doing developmental research before getting a phone. Right now I'm leaning towards a Galaxy S2 (even though the S3 is a faster phone and all - it just does not feel right IMO).

While the lack of development is discouraging to "early" adopters, I really love the form factor (can't stand the 4.3" screens or bigger) and the build quality is surprisingly nice.
Having used CM before on another device, it is weird not having it on here. The lack of customizability is a bit frustrating. But I'm patient. I really think the price point, performance potential, and friendly size will make this a winner once ICS and the appropriate sources/information are released.

So I got a chance to play with one a little bit (basically brand-new, just factory reset)...I'm not seeing the sluggishness/delay you guys are talking about, particularly with the phone calls (receiving or placing). Maybe I'm just used to the delay/sluggishness on my G2 that I don't notice it, but I'd imagine removing all that bloat (and removing stuff like built-in ringtones) would help a decent amount...

magus57 said:
So I got a chance to play with one a little bit (basically brand-new, just factory reset)...I'm not seeing the sluggishness/delay you guys are talking about, particularly with the phone calls (receiving or placing). Maybe I'm just used to the delay/sluggishness on my G2 that I don't notice it, but I'd imagine removing all that bloat (and removing stuff like built-in ringtones) would help a decent amount...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I have none of the sluggishness issues either. Stock may be bloated but its pretty damn snappy. I've used a MT4G with CM7 and my Blaze is much more responsive overall, it even handles flash without breaking a sweat.

I'm really happy with this phone despite not having much rom support. Coming from a defy there are two things that I don't miss: battery pulls and random reboots. Never happens on this device. For me that makes it worth giving up AOSP...at least for now.
Sent from my SGH-T769 using Tapatalk 2

Just out of curiosity - I've heard that internally there are many similarities between a Blaze and a Galaxy S2. Has anyone ever tried throwing an S2 ROM on their Blaze and, if so, what were the results? Just curious.
Sent from my SGH-T769 using xda premium

sparkie6point0 said:
Just out of curiosity - I've heard that internally there are many similarities between a Blaze and a Galaxy S2. Has anyone ever tried throwing an S2 ROM on their Blaze and, if so, what were the results? Just curious.
Sent from my SGH-T769 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
they are similars but don't recommend something like that iif you don't know what might happen. Because flashing wrong kernel/rom can brick peoples phone.
sent from my batcave

sparkie6point0 said:
Just out of curiosity - I've heard that internally there are many similarities between a Blaze and a Galaxy S2. Has anyone ever tried throwing an S2 ROM on their Blaze and, if so, what were the results? Just curious.
Sent from my SGH-T769 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The B4G is specifically very much like the T-Mobile GS2 (The T989). They are both based on the msm8660_surf board, with the same CPU, GPU and many of the same sensors. There are differences, specifically with the panel (display) and a few of the sensors. The differences are enough that it doesn't quite work on our device. Yeah, I've tried ;-)
What I've been doing is specifically trying to port a number of the things for our device into the ICS kernel available for the T989. My goal is to come up with a bootable ICS kernel for our device. I think that's gonna be the biggest stepping stone to a working CM9 or AOKP build for our phone.
The B4G has nothing other than specs in common with the other SGS2 phones on the market, save for maybe the AT&T SkyRocket. They all use different CPU's and GPU's on a different platform all built by Samsung... and thus different sensors.

I've had a lot of phones starting with the Nexus One (actually the Eris but I try to forget). So far the only issue I see is the ability to "crack flash". IMO sooner or later you'll have a phone that just won't have every developer swooning over it. if for no other reason than there are so many phone out there. (remember the threads when the Nexus came out?)
I bought this phone because it met all of my needs and had good specs. I had the G2x and the Sensation (sold on gave another to my son) but ths phone is better. The extra Ram is noticeable difference IMO and the size of the phone is right for me.
We could have all opted for the Galaxy SII and I'm sure everybody looked at the threads and saw what was going on so........participate........and relax a little.........the phone works very well.

[DISCUSSION]Nexus Brand Name

Before I start, I'd just like to say that this is just my personal rant and even though some of you may not agree, that's why I'm having this as a discussion thread.
Let's get this started then.
All I see going around XDA are people comparing their own devices to the latest Nexus device and saying 'Should I switch to the Nexus?' or a load of people rimming off the Nexus' as if they're the best thing since sliced bread.
Some of you may wonder why this bothers me. I'll tell you.
Just because a device has the Nexus brand name, it doesn't make it any better than any other phone of equal quality. A hell of a lot of people will see a device is a Nexus and immediately want to get it.
Why would you want to?
If you ask one of those people why a Nexus is so great, they'll say one of three things or a mix of the three.
The reasons are;
1) All Nexus devices look great and have great build quality.
2) It's guaranteed to have great developer support.
3) It's officially supported by Google so it will get the latest Android updates before any other device.
Now, let me tell you my response to each of those points...
1) Most Nexus devices don't look great. The only one which looks good, in my opinion, is the Nexus 7. Apart from that, none of them look any better than other devices around.
2) Yes it will have great developer support, but so do a lot of phones which are already around and have been for ages now. An example of that is the Galaxy S2. It's been around for over a year and a half and it still has more development than most phones do
3) Again, this is true. But they're not the only devices to get the Android updates quickly. This site has a smattering of great developers so it will never take long for other devices to get the latest versions, and you haven't even needed to buy a new phone just to get the latest and greatest.
So with that being said, why buy the latest Nexus device when I'm reality it isn't any better than devices which are already available?
I know some of you may be Nexus fanboys and not agree with anything I've said, but I'm hoping that some of you agree just so I know that I'm not the only person who isn't being hypnotized by the word 'Nexus'.
As I said at the top of this post, I'm leaving this as a discussion so if anyone would like to add anything extra or disagree with what I've said, then you can feel free to do so.
But whatever you do, DON'T TROLL OR FLAME OTHER PEOPLE SIMPLY BECAUSE YOU DON'T AGREE WITH THEM!

Agree with all of the above! I'm getting it to replace my GNex.. it's a better device and I don't need two Nexuses
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

True most other phones have similar specs (lol dnt want a nexus 4 anymore)
any suggestions??

My first real Android experience has been with the Nexus S 4G about one year ago today actually... i replaced my iPhone 3GS...
Being my first android experience, i didn't know what android offered until i physically had the phone in my hands... i had it for two weeks before deciding to root it and try out the latest Android at the time, 4.0 ICS... fell in LOVE with my phone after that... i only realized other Carriers/manufacturers added their own version of android after i got used to ICS and started looking for other devices to upgrade to... once i became educated with android, i realized that i got extremely lucky with my first android experience/purchase... because not only were other devices not officially updated to ICS, but the rollout of ICS took a very long time to even start getting stable ports/builds from developers... the skin thing also turned me off from wanting another device...
Simply put, even tho my phone is rooted, i can only vouch for devices that come with pure Google experience as that was my first real android experience... someone will say that you can always root your device and update as developers push out there latest ROMs for other devices... but i can't promote that to my friends/family that don't even know what rooting means (like myself before)...
i strongly promote the Galaxy S3... in fact just yesterday someone posted on Facebook asking if they should get the gs3 or iPhone 5... i was surprised to see out of around 20 replies, only 2 said to get the iPhone 5... i said gs3 but i also mentioned the Nexus 4 and its amazing price point... she looked it up but liked the gs3 look more... today she bought the gs3 because of that and because the N4 isn't available yet...
Before, if anyone asked me what phone to get, I immediately said the gs3 hands down... now my response is Nexus 4... i prefer the sleek/clean look and curved glass of the Nexus devices... the gs3 would be great IMO if it didn't have hard keys like back/home/menu at the bottom... so with that, the N4 looks better to me than any other device out there... i also loved the look of the Gnex... sadly, that one lacked in specs for me to upgrade my ns4g... and sadly the N4 lacks CDMA/LTE support for me to upgrade... now I'm kinda stuck as to what now?
Hope that was a civil response you want in this thread
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk 2

FangV said:
True most other phones have similar specs (lol dnt want a nexus 4 anymore)
any suggestions??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ask in this thread mate
the1dynasty said:
My first real Android experience has been with the Nexus S 4G about one year ago today actually... i replaced my iPhone 3GS...
<SNIP>
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can understand why some would want the pure Google experience, but there are ROMs which provide an extremely close experience anyway. Plus with the added features they have, it seems like the logical choice to go for custom ROMs, at least in my opinion.
If you use the thread linked above, you'll be able to ask there about what device to get next if you're not too sure.
And yeah, that response was all good

Galaxy S3 was a lot slower and laggy compared to my gnex. Went back to my gnex after a week. I buy the nexus for the pure android. Its smoother, cleaner, quicker and just better.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

bendirkss said:
Galaxy S3 was a lot slower and laggy compared to my gnex. Went back to my gnex after a week. I buy the nexus for the pure android. Its smoother, cleaner, quicker and just better.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah.. noticed the same when comparing JB on my S3 to JB on my Nexus..
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

KidCarter93 said:
Ask in this thread mate
I can understand why some would want the pure Google experience, but there are ROMs which provide an extremely close experience anyway. Plus with the added features they have, it seems like the logical choice to go for custom ROMs, at least in my opinion.
If you use the thread linked above, you'll be able to ask there about what device to get next if you're not too sure.
And yeah, that response was all good
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know custom ROMs are available for other devices... but the only other phone on my radar was the gs3 but I hated those buttons... i enabled the on screen buttons on my ns4g and my kernel let's me dim the light on the capacitive buttons so its like they're not even there anymore lol... i lost some screen real estate but no biggie really...
I was really looking forward to the next nexus and was really disappointed to hear no CDMA/LTE support being that i have unlimited with Sprint now and I'm gonna be switching to a special unlimited plan with Verizon in a month or so... i really wanted to continue using nexus devices but looks like I'll have to go elsewhere for now... luckily, I'm content with this ns4g being that i got it tuned nearly perfect for good performance... the SD read is still a bit slow tho... i can survive until something wets my appetite again like the N4... or I'll just get the SGS4 if nothing comes out before then...
Btw, I'm on 4.1.2 right now running most apps from 4.2 system dump... so this 2year old phone can even take photosphere, and quite well i might add... no rush to upgrade devices... if rather put that money to getting the Nexus 10
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk 2

Another reason is that all of the hardwares of Nexus devices are guaranteed to be open, unlike most Samsung touchwiz devices.
Another one is that new nexus devices are all have insanely low prices as they are subsidized by Google.
Also, now nexus devices have the greatest fastest socs in the market. Just look at nexus 4's S4 pro and nexus 10's Exynos 5.
In response to your opinion,
1. Not all nexus devices have great build quality, especially those ones made by Samsung. But in my opinion, all nexus devices have great design and look. Just look at the nexus 4. It's one of the most gorgeous phones in the planet.
2. For your information, the development of the Galaxy s2 is now dead. Also, the galaxy s3 is almost dead. Those are caused by their closed source drivers.
3. Nexus devices are the first to get the STABLE, latest android version.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

The reason is that the Nexus line keeps choices simple. Also, they don't have bloat (TouchWiz, Sense, etc) - and don't say get an AOSP ROM. I have heard that they are nothing but trouble. I quite like the idea of my tablet looking like it's running the same OS as my phone. And personally, the Nexus 4 is the best looking phone out there IMO, even compared to the iPhone 5 and the Samsung S3 (the style/position of the home button killed that design). I really like the UI design of stock Android too, it's not childish or cutesy looking like the bloat or iOS. I'm into the whole 'sci-fi' theme of it.
Also, looking at most other phones, they generally fall short in certain areas, whereas the Nexus devices as of late are looking relatively well considered. After using a Galaxy Nexus, I despise the current state of AMOLED tech. That rules out almost every Samsung phone under the sun. HTC One Xes supposedly have sucky battery life (plus, Tegra 3 vs a quadcore Snapdragon simply isn't a competition at all), and I've decided that lasting less than 5 hours with the screen on (for any mobile device, tablet, phone, whatever) just isn't good enough anymore.
Tablet-wise, for an Android tablet, there is no comparison to the upcoming Nexus 10. The Note sucks and the Infinity really sucks. The iPad wants you to get into the whole Apple ecosystem with Macs and iPhones to really get the best out of things like iCloud and whatnot, and Mac sucks for software & games.
The only real competitor to a Nexus is Windows 8 and WP8, which both look great (better than Android except for the whole 'Bing' thing) but their ecosystems aren't ready for real use yet. I have to say, the Lumia 920 is packing some awesome technology, and with the winter season coming I would really appreciate the touch screen you can use with gloves on. Not to mention the typical Nokia build quality, plus it seems to have everything covered.

The Nexus phones are the quickest to get updates and don't have any OEM skins or bloatware that is forced on the users. While an AOSP ROM can be ported to any phone in theory, it takes time and there are usually hardware issues due to closed source or unavailable drivers, and also locked bootloaders.
The problem with the Nexus line is its sort of like Apple's devices in the sense that there is limited hardware choice and device's memory can't be expanded. My personal hardware tastes are for a smaller device with no more than a 4.3" screen and it must have a microSD slot. I'll put up with OEM skins, bloatware can be frozen with root, as hardware is more important to me than software. But everyone it entitled to their own opinions and preferences.

Nexus phones do have bloat. Google+, google currents, Google earth, google movies, Google books, etc. All /system apps that can't be removed. Most of them are useless.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

Personally running Slim on my S3 is fast enough for me and my aged brain, any faster and I can't keep up!
Add to that my phone is my main music player hooked up to amp and speakers, I love that I can dual boot to get Samsung best bits(few!)
Not worried about lte
Glass back may be stylish.....but is utterly stupid on a phone.
......I am stupid!.....the reasoning?..... .this is all my opinion, nobody is really interested, and I'm not really interested in theirs......ergot......I MUST be stupid for posting in first place.....

jordanishere said:
Nexus phones do have bloat. Google+, google currents, Google earth, google movies, Google books, etc. All /system apps that can't be removed. Most of them are useless.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was that your final answer? I use most of those... and last I checked, u can go to the play store and uninstall all of them... don't even need root if I'm not mistaken...
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk 2

KidCarter93 said:
If you ask one of those people why a Nexus is so great, they'll say one of three things or a mix of the three.
The reasons are;
1) All Nexus devices look great and have great build quality.
2) It's guaranteed to have great developer support.
3) It's officially supported by Google so it will get the latest Android updates before any other device.
Now, let me tell you my response to each of those points...
1) Most Nexus devices don't look great. The only one which looks good, in my opinion, is the Nexus 7. Apart from that, none of them look any better than other devices around.
2) Yes it will have great developer support, but so do a lot of phones which are already around and have been for ages now. An example of that is the Galaxy S2. It's been around for over a year and a half and it still has more development than most phones do
3) Again, this is true. But they're not the only devices to get the Android updates quickly. This site has a smattering of great developers so it will never take long for other devices to get the latest versions, and you haven't even needed to buy a new phone just to get the latest and greatest.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) I'll agree not all Nexus look great, though that's a real personal preference thing. I for one, would prefer the Nexus one look over the Nexus s. I currently own a Gnex and I'd be honest in saying it looks alright, but I would like some changes made (Nexus 4, comes close)
2) To be fair, of course the S2 (and noteably other handsets) will have a large dev support, in terms of quantity they sell a lot more than the Nexus family (exception of the Nexus 7, that's the first Nexus priced aggressively)
3) Quick =/= first to get updates. Some people just want the newest FIRST.
I personally choose the nexus because I don't want to be caught with a device that will have a short support life (mentioned above). History shows the Nexus WILL have the most official updates:
Nexus one: Shipped with Eclair, last official version was GB
Nexus S: Shipped with GB, officially supported till Jelly bean
Gnex: Don't know yet, but its gone from ICS to JB.
If you go to dev section, there are even newer (unofficial builds) I don't buy phones every year so I want a phone that will last me 2 years at least.