I'm months overdue from getting rid of my Touch Pro 2, and the Charge is one of my top contenders. I was holding out for the Bionic (or rumored Verizon Nexus S), but after researching the X2 and Droid 3 and seeing the Dev community having issues achieving root, I'm now leaning back towards the current single core LTE handsets.
The brief time I've spent looking around, it looks like the battery life is great considering the usual LTE excess drain. Obviously the phone is rootable, there are kernels and roms available, and the dev community seems to be very active with the phone in general.
I haven't specifically seen any mention of overclock ability or "stealth" tethering, but I would have to assume these are all doable considering the kernel and rom availability.
If anybody wouldn't mind sharing some general feedback, I would greatly appreciate it!
* In general, how happy have you been with your Charge, and why?
* Why did you choose it over, say, the LG Revolution?
* Anyone unhappy with their decision to go with the Charge (after-the-fact) over something else, and if so, why?
Thanks again in advance for any comments, they would be much appreciated!
Cheers!
I like my charge. I also came from a TP2 like you. The battery life is decent but the 4g is awesome to have. It flies. I use stealth tethering via wireless tether for root users. The dev community is very active. The main issues I have are bluetooth related. I often have to reboot before I get into my car so I know there will not be bluetooth disconnects. Now that netflix is available I like the phone even more. Also I love swype.
Good luck and smart idea asking the questions that you are asking.
Sent from my VZW SGT running a Gingerbread Sprint Rom
I came to the Charge from the Revolution. I liked the feel of the Revo, it was heavier, felt solid and well made and it was also a much faster phone than the charge out of the box giving me Quadrants in 2k to 22k range. On 4g Speed tests the Charge is faster.
But when I had two Revolutions brick themselves so hard that I could not get into a factory reset, nor anything else in the space of 30 days I had VZW upgrade me to the Charge.
So far the Charge has beena pretty decent phone (considering I've rooted and ROMed it.) Stock I hated it.
I'm using Humble 1.42 as my ROM and I'm happy so far.
Time to upgrade buddy. Humble 1.51 is sick.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk
omnia38 said:
Time to upgrade buddy. Humble 1.51 is sick.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
**** humble he is nothing but a thief gummy is where it's at.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using XDA Premium App
schick79 said:
* In general, how happy have you been with your Charge, and why? Very happy. 4G is lightning fast; the screen is the best out there; I personally find the Samsung TouchWiz UI to be very friendly. Others don't; each to his own. Battery life seems at least as good as any other Android phone; I can get 9-12 hours, which is all I need, unless I'm in a fringe reception area.
* Why did you choose it over, say, the LG Revolution? LG phones generally seem to be more troublesome from what I've read. Plus the screen is greatly inferior.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Red comments above.
schick79 said:
I'm months overdue from getting rid of my Touch Pro 2, and the Charge is one of my top contenders. I was holding out for the Bionic (or rumored Verizon Nexus S), but after researching the X2 and Droid 3 and seeing the Dev community having issues achieving root, I'm now leaning back towards the current single core LTE handsets.
The brief time I've spent looking around, it looks like the battery life is great considering the usual LTE excess drain. Obviously the phone is rootable, there are kernels and roms available, and the dev community seems to be very active with the phone in general.
I haven't specifically seen any mention of overclock ability or "stealth" tethering, but I would have to assume these are all doable considering the kernel and rom availability.
If anybody wouldn't mind sharing some general feedback, I would greatly appreciate it!
* In general, how happy have you been with your Charge, and why?
* Why did you choose it over, say, the LG Revolution?
* Anyone unhappy with their decision to go with the Charge (after-the-fact) over something else, and if so, why?
Thanks again in advance for any comments, they would be much appreciated!
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for quoting this long, its hard to look back at posts on your phone. I came from an LG Versa. That phone was complete ****, but I was 13 or 14 and something appealed to me. This is my upgrade. I love it, except for the battery life. We have 2 main custom roms, GummyCharged and Eclipse. (Humble is just a spinoff/kang of GC), and 2-3 kernels - PeanutButtaJellyTime (plus an OC edition, you mentioned you didn't see it), Nameless, and imoseyon's kernel, which you will only find on his Twitter page. "Stealth Tethering" is still available with Wifi Tether Beta3 on Google Code. I chose this over the Tbolt and Revolution because a verizon rep told me this was the 4G phone with the least issues and most positive customer feedback, plus I thought this one had the most support from XDA (the tbolt has a lot too though). My only peeve with this phone is its lack of support from Samsung. We basically have to do everything ourselves because Sammy hasn't given us good source. We don't get TW4 (although we have our attempts at porting it), and GB is FINALLY almost here. The Wolfson DAC is amazing, but the GPS (Yamaha?) leaves something to be desired. But in closing, I love this phone and im glad I got it.
Sent from my Droid Charge running GummyFroyo 1.9.1
kvswim, thanks VERY much for that! Quick question, though (or for anyone else), not actually having an Android phone yet, I have no idea what TW4 or DAC means.
Great to know OC is an option, as well as stealth tethering.
Also appreciate the scoop on the different flavors of roms/kernels/etc.
If I end up going with this phone (which is now far ahead in the lead), that will be the first thing I do upon opening up the box.
Thanks again!
schick79 said:
kvswim, thanks VERY much for that! Quick question, though (or for anyone else), not actually having an Android phone yet, I have no idea what TW4 or DAC means.
Great to know OC is an option, as well as stealth tethering.
Also appreciate the scoop on the different flavors of roms/kernels/etc.
If I end up going with this phone (which is now far ahead in the lead), that will be the first thing I do upon opening up the box.
Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TW4=TouchWiz 4, Sammy's 4th generation of their UI overlay, similar to HTC's Sense or Motorola's Motoblur. We have TW3. Also, the stock theming is HIDEOUS. Poop color EVERYWHERE.
The Wolfson DAC is the audio chipset in most (all?) Samsung Galaxy phones. It is amazing compared to other phones, it's audiophile quality. Plus the EQ and amplifier outputs can be modified with the Voodoo Control app (you can also change Voodoo lagfix in it).
PROTIP on selecting ROMS: If you like the stock feel go with Eclipse. If you like more of an Android Open Source Project (AOSP) feel, use GC. I highly reccommend trying both and seeing what you like more. Also, as of now, Gingerbread is completely up to you, as all we have in GB are leaks and no source (its completely unnoficial). Our Froyo builds are built from official ROMS and source.
Oh yes, we have stuff like MIUI and CM7 and OMFGB in development. Protip: NEVER ask for ETAs.
Sent from my Droid Charge running GummyFroyo 1.9.1
Gotcha, thanks. I do have a Xoom, but considering that's on Honeycomb, I didn't think there would be any relation between it and any phone.
When you said DAC the only thing that came to mind was digital to analog converter, but I didn't think that would be it. Guess I was wrong! That's another huge plus as my phone is always my mp3/flac player.
Will definitely check out all roms if/once I get the phone.
At this point I'm pretty much sold on the Charge as opposed to the Revo or TB, and even the Bionic. However, I am wondering if it's worth waiting a couple weeks until the rumored September release date for the Bionic to see if the price points fall. All things being equal, they should.
Again, thanks for all the help!
I got my charge 2 days ago...via a sweet craigslist deal. Anyways, I'm coming from the THunderbolt. I still haven't rooted the phone yet but the tbolt was perma rooted running a GB rom. Now I know you said LG rev but I'm going to go on a little rant here based on my initial thoughts.
I gotta say, I think the charge is an underrated phone. So far the battery life on the charge is DESTROYING the thunderbolt. The real test will be tomorrow when I'm at work with a poor data signal. I think the phone itself looks great, it is much better in person than you see in pictures. In pictures it looks fat and weird, I think its pretty sleek for a 4.3" LTE phone. Nice metal accents, good form factor, I could've done without the android hardkeys, but I don't mind them.
Samsung phones get knocked for build quality, but my galaxy s when I was on tmobile took a ton of abuse, the screen never scratched and even the "metal" accent trims don't scratch much. Also, I personally like the lighter weight feel of the samsung phones (galaxy, nexus, charge, etc).
Take that in comparison with HTC phones and the thunderbolt... I seroiusly don't know what kind of HTC koolaid people drink but I've never been impressed. The thunderbolt's screen is NOT very scratch resistant, the kickstand peel reaked of sh*t quality, I ended up polishing mine. When I had my nexus one, the power button felt like crap. When I had my HD7, the battery cover squeaked like hell. Like I said, I don't get how HTC gets so much credit.
Moving on to slam HTC more, if you ask me, HTC sense sucks, its so intrusive and blocky to me. Maybe I'm in the minority there but I'm sick of the stupid HTC clock widget, the menus, etc, just isn't my thing I guess. Lets not to mention the messages app in the thunderbolt freezing ALOT. Of course I ditched sense with the AOSP rom I was running but still, initial frustration. People give touchwiz heat, but I really don't mind it.
Reception - I'm getting FAR better 4g connectivity with the charge. I don't know what was up with my tbolt but once I'd drop to 3g or 1x, I could never get back to 4g unless I rebooted. Multiple radios - same issue.
Finally, the screen. Sorry but one of the most rewarding things with a phone is the screen, every time you turn it on, you obviously see it, and with the charge, thats a good thing because the super amoled plus is just excellent. Destroys the thunderbolt and most other phones in general.
Forget quadrant scores (people get wayyyy hung up on QS), dual cores, everything else. At the end of the day, if the aesthetics of the phone are good - size, weight, pocketability, the screen, the device is snappy (and the charge is smooth for me in stock form), and battery life is good, I'm gonna be happy. With all those things into account, I think the charge is a great phone so far and I'm really surprised its kind of slid under the radar and not given credit because people are waiting for the bionic and gs2.
Sorry to do tbolt vs charge since thats not what you're looking for, but as far as general feedback - I think you're going to be happy with the charge, its quite honestly a very nice phone. I'm glad I gave another LTE phone a chance before I lost faith in it.
Thanks Dale, I actually do appreciate the TBolt comparison. It was originally my #1 or #2 pick, so this reaffirms that it is rightfully at the bottom of my list.
It just hit me that Super AMOLED is probably the same as SAMOLED. I saw another article (about a completely different phone, actually) that was raving about SAMOLED. Good to have some additional confirmation on that.
I was originally hung up on Quadrant scores and having that dual core. However, after I thought about it, I'm really not sure how important it is considering what I would use the phone for. I have my Xoom, and that is my real "mobile workhorse" now, so that's the device that I'm more concerned about performance on. The phone will primarily be for web browsing, work e-mail, music, tethering, and that's pretty much it. Any other heavy lifting would probably be done by the Xoom. All that being said, I've pretty much convinced myself I won't miss not having the second core. Plus, I'm sure the battery life is better with only 1 core versus 2.
I'm actually pretty stoked after reading all of this feedback, especially the feedback from people who had another LTE phone. I feel good about going with this phone in the very near future.
Again, thanks to all!
schick79 said:
Thanks Dale, I actually do appreciate the TBolt comparison. It was originally my #1 or #2 pick, so this reaffirms that it is rightfully at the bottom of my list.
It just hit me that Super AMOLED is probably the same as SAMOLED. I saw another article (about a completely different phone, actually) that was raving about SAMOLED. Good to have some additional confirmation on that.
I was originally hung up on Quadrant scores and having that dual core. However, after I thought about it, I'm really not sure how important it is considering what I would use the phone for. I have my Xoom, and that is my real "mobile workhorse" now, so that's the device that I'm more concerned about performance on. The phone will primarily be for web browsing, work e-mail, music, tethering, and that's pretty much it. Any other heavy lifting would probably be done by the Xoom. All that being said, I've pretty much convinced myself I won't miss not having the second core. Plus, I'm sure the battery life is better with only 1 core versus 2.
I'm actually pretty stoked after reading all of this feedback, especially the feedback from people who had another LTE phone. I feel good about going with this phone in the very near future.
Again, thanks to all!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"Super AMOLED" and "SAMOLED" are the same thing, however the Charges' screen is SAMOLED+ But yeah I think it was pretty solid upgrade for me, I love the screen, 4G is blazing fast, build quality and durability are pretty decent and the included 32gb sd card is plenty of room for music, videos and apps
schick79 said:
I'm months overdue from getting rid of my Touch Pro 2, and the Charge is one of my top contenders. I was holding out for the Bionic (or rumored Verizon Nexus S), but after researching the X2 and Droid 3 and seeing the Dev community having issues achieving root, I'm now leaning back towards the current single core LTE handsets.
The brief time I've spent looking around, it looks like the battery life is great considering the usual LTE excess drain. Obviously the phone is rootable, there are kernels and roms available, and the dev community seems to be very active with the phone in general.
I haven't specifically seen any mention of overclock ability or "stealth" tethering, but I would have to assume these are all doable considering the kernel and rom availability.
If anybody wouldn't mind sharing some general feedback, I would greatly appreciate it!
* In general, how happy have you been with your Charge, and why?
* Why did you choose it over, say, the LG Revolution?
* Anyone unhappy with their decision to go with the Charge (after-the-fact) over something else, and if so, why?
Thanks again in advance for any comments, they would be much appreciated!
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude...
Don't get the Charge.
While it's very true there will alwaya be devices that outperform * it'a safe to say the Charge seemed rushed from development to market probably because they were tapped to do so because of either HTC or Motk dropped the ball...
While rooting can solve the much outdated 2.2 joke made at our expense and even though many people have been forced to look at a front face camera (that takes back assward pics no less) and that isn't working across the board for many video chat users....you are forced to deal with an unrecoverable error such as the laughable RAM, arguably necessity of a notifcation LED, and ****ty build quality Samsung (in this device) exemplifies times 10.
Wait and be patient is the best intelligent decision considering the norm will (soon) be:
4.3-4.5 screen (hd res)
1gb of RAM
16gb internal storage
Up to date operating systems...
That said, I enjoy and dislike my Charge.
It's better than my O.G. DROID.
It takes THE best pictures and video of any phone Verizon offers...period.
Do I enjoy the squeaky hard buttons?
Do I like seeing particles of dust (a la bb storm 9530) ?
Do I enjoy ****ty plastic that easily scratches?
Nope.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using XDA App
schick79 said:
I was originally hung up on Quadrant scores and having that dual core. However, after I thought about it, I'm really not sure how important it is considering what I would use the phone for. I have my Xoom, and that is my real "mobile workhorse" now, so that's the device that I'm more concerned about performance on. The phone will primarily be for web browsing, work e-mail, music, tethering, and that's pretty much it. Any other heavy lifting would probably be done by the Xoom. All that being said, I've pretty much convinced myself I won't miss not having the second core. Plus, I'm sure the battery life is better with only 1 core versus 2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For what it's worth, running overclocked and undervolted on Froyo Eclipse, my Quadrant scores were 1800-1900, which was about double the original score. Not the best but not terrible. Still had solid battery life, great stability, etc. Definitely glad I got this phone, but that's mainly because I rooted it and fixed so many of the things I didn't like originally. Playing on the EP1Q GummyCharged GBE ROM now and still loving it, just get to use the FFC for video chat.
Honestly, yes there will be VZW devices that out-spec it soon, but I've not found it lacking anything (that couldn't be fixed thanks to the dev community). Very happy with it.
You have the Motorola Bionic and the Galaxy S2 dropping within the month, I'd hold out. Not to say that the Droid Charge isn't good, but, those phones are going to be right around the same price and will smoke the Charge in performance.
The Droid Charge isn't that great. I only got it because I needed something to get in on Unlimited data and the Charge was supposed to get better battery life than the other two LTE phones.
First, the battery life is just OK. Only around 4-5 hours of music streaming.
Second, the 4G reception is incredibly spotty. The phone will drop to 3G for seemingly no reason. Sometimes data cuts out completely or goes to 1x (this is a widespread problem).
Like other Galaxy S phones, this has GPS issues. Sometimes GPS will stop working until you reboot the phones. I've never seen it reports an accuracy of more than 5 meters.
Even after trying the GPS fix posted in the other topic, I was only getting 10-18m accuracy outside with 7-9 satellites in view.
The Super AMOLED+ screen is pretty much amazing though.
It seems like Samsung is decent at hardware but bad at software. And there aren't any ROMs available here that aren't based on Samsung software.
I'd at least wait and see about the Bionic or Nexus Prime.
schick79 said:
* In general, how happy have you been with your Charge, and why?
* Why did you choose it over, say, the LG Revolution?
* Anyone unhappy with their decision to go with the Charge (after-the-fact) over something else, and if so, why?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) I'm VERY happy with my Charge. It's probably because this was my first smartphone but I'm simply blown away by it. Especially considering we have Cyanogen & OMGB/OMFGB coming our way(in-fact, they just got CM working! Not finished, but it's a start)
2) I looked at all the phones that were out and coming out and decided on the Charge. I didn't look into the dev support for other phones I was just looking at specs/reviews to make my decision.
3) Lets get this straight, I am in no way unhappy with my Charge and did not "settle" when picking this phone but in all honesty the Prime/GalaxyS2/Bionic look great and if they were released at the time of me picking out a phone I would have gotten them in that order. Only downside to this phone is the fact that it's not on GB and most likely won't ever get TW4. If you can get around that you'll love this phone. Also, once you see the screen you will never go back to a non Amoled, qHD ain't got **** on this baby!
My wife an I both got charges a couple of months ago. I am rooted and she is stock. When I pick up her phone and mess around with it, I absolutely hate it. I love mine (gummy charged). I don't know how people can use this phone stock.
el_brio said:
My wife an I both got charges a couple of months ago. I am rooted and she is stock. When I pick up her phone and mess around with it, I absolutely hate it. I love mine (gummy charged). I don't know how people can use this phone stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im almost in the same exact situation and couldnt agree more
Related
I am seriously considering jumping ship from my Craptivate to the Insipre. The main thing holding me back to the screen. I realize it will be somewhat of a downgrade from the Captivate's, but my question is how much so? For those that just made the switch, are you already missing the Captivate's gorgeous screen? Or is the difference not that bad? I'm just scared that I'll miss the dark blacks and vibrant colors to much and maybe regret it.
I'm also curious as to the ease of messing with different ROMs/kernals and such. I've had the Captivate since launch day, but it was my first Android phone. I came from iOS, which I was very familiar with 'messing with'. Anyways, I learned the ins-and-outs of the Captivate and Android in general soon after I got it, and I probably flashed new ROMs over a hundred or so times over the last 7 months. I know my way around the Captivate very, very well now, and am wondering how much of that knowledge will translate to this as I am already running across unfamiliar terms on this forum like gold cards and such. I am already noticing a few Captivate developers jumping ship, which is helping to sway me to the HTC side. I am still missing my GPS way to much, and am tired of keeping my old 3gs (not activated) in my car to make sure I had access to a reliable GPS when needed, which I would tether to my Captivate to use.
You should go into the store and see the phone for yourself. I have both phones and I think the screen is as good or better then the captivate.
milleirish said:
You should go into the store and see the phone for yourself. I have both phones and I think the screen is as good or better then the captivate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I wanted to hear, thanks. I do live pretty much next door to an AT&T store, so I guess I'll go check it out in a second. I just wanted to hear from people that already have some real-world use with the Inspires and Captivates, versus a 5 minute try-out I'd have at the store. Thanks for your reply, appreciated.
Lets face it the Craptivates screen is nice but the phone is a true to life FAIL.
You will not miss your phone once you have a fast/stable phone that has the only drawback of a not so loud speaker (this will be fixed down the line, some using a custom rom already see improvements in sound)
We already have root, custom kernels and roms.
Its only day 4 and the xda community have accomplished so much, and trust me this is just the tip of the iceberg.
legend221 said:
Lets face it the Craptivates screen is nice but the phone is a true to life FAIL.
You will not miss your phone once you have a fast/stable phone that has the only drawback of a not so loud speaker (this will be fixed down the line, some using a custom rom already see improvements in sound)
We already have root, custom kernels and roms.
Its only day 4 and the xda community have accomplished so much, and trust me this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Man, I'm going to be talked into this within the hour! I'm trying to get my wife to switch as well, as she still has a 3gs. She wants a new phone (reason she never jumped to an ip4), but keeps saying she's waiting until something that jumps out is released. Also, the problems that she knows I've been having with my Captivate is not helping matters on the Android front, although I try explaining that most are isolated to the Captivate and the fact that I'm running basically beta ROMs just to get the newer Froyo. She's not took shabby technology wise either, as she is able to do quite a lot with her iphone like jailbreaking, ssh'in into it, and all kinds of other tweaks available with jailbroken iphones. I think she'd much rather Android, because she's really into messing with the UI and such to get it more to her liking.
Thanks for the advice.
Also thatclaw, the GPS on the Inspire is fast as hell. On Valentines day I need to get to the place where we here having dinner. Started Maps, hit my location and within a second, boom there I was and it was right on spot.
thatclaw said:
Man, I'm going to be talked into this within the hour! I'm trying to get my wife to switch as well, as she still has a 3gs. She wants a new phone (reason she never jumped to an ip4), but keeps saying she's waiting until something that jumps out is released. Also, the problems that she knows I've been having with my Captivate is not helping matters on the Android front, although I try explaining that most are isolated to the Captivate and the fact that I'm running basically beta ROMs just to get the newer Froyo. She's not took shabby technology wise either, as she is able to do quite a lot with her iphone like jailbreaking, ssh'in into it, and all kinds of other tweaks available with jailbroken iphones. I think she'd much rather Android, because she's really into messing with the UI and such to get it more to her liking.
Thanks for the advice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're welcome, heres a bit more to contemplate.
I have to admit the one other drawback, the 1250 mAh battery.
If you are not 24-7 texting or playing with the phone it should be fine and last you an entire day like it does with me with ONE daily charge unless Im using the phone like crazy.
Then again that's why CHARGERS and USB cables were invented, I have them in 3 or 4 select locations so I'm never out of juice.
In the 4 days Ive had it Ive noticed the battery is getting better and better with the battery charges.
If on the other hand your wife is always on the phone as well perhaps a phone with a bigger battery would serve her better. , ack Im going to say it the Atrix or maybe something a few months ahead.
Im more than happy with my Inspire though, Dual Cores be damned.
The only problem with the Inspire's screen is you can see the touchscreen grid under certain angles.
Kinda annoying, but not too bad.
harlenm said:
The only problem with the Inspire's screen is you can see the touchscreen grid under certain angles.
Kinda annoying, but not too bad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is strange to be able to see it but I.think it looks cool. Haha.
Sent from my HTC Inspire 4G using XDA app
Anthonok said:
It is strange to be able to see it but I.think it looks cool. Haha.
Sent from my HTC Inspire 4G using XDA app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I approve this message
legend221 said:
You're welcome, heres a bit more to contemplate.
I have to admit the one other drawback, the 1250 mAh battery.
If you are not 24-7 texting or playing with the phone it should be fine and last you an entire day like it does with me with ONE daily charge unless Im using the phone like crazy.
Then again that's why CHARGERS and USB cables were invented, I have them in 3 or 4 select locations so I'm never out of juice.
In the 4 days Ive had it Ive noticed the battery is getting better and better with the battery charges.
If on the other hand your wife is always on the phone as well perhaps a phone with a bigger battery would serve her better. , ack Im going to say it the Atrix or maybe something a few months ahead.
Im more than happy with my Inspire though, Dual Cores be damned.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While battery life is important, we are both fine as long as its decent. We both commute to work (charge in car) and both usually keep a charger at work. So going a full day is not a necessity nor expected, especially for me because use my phone very heavily during the day. >1.5 hours of talk time, and usually >2.5 hours of screen time before 5pm. I always plug in my phone while at my desk. The only time I need it to last is when I'm out and about, at bars and such, which I don't really use heavily then. I just want something reliable, of good quality, snappy, and a freaking working GPS. I live in the city (NOLA) and am always on the go throughout the day to places I've never been to meet up with clients, etc. A working GPS is very important, and I'm tired of not having that over the last 7 months.
How easy is it to swap ROMs and such as compared to the Captivate? Although I have nothing to compare the Captivates processes to, I find it very easy and pain free for the most part on it. As a matter of fact, probably half the time I flash is while on the road and in traffic (no lectures please, I'm careful mostly wait till redlights to do things). I'm scared I'll be starting from scratch again, and will have to re-learn everything. I'm not the one to post questions about rooting/flashing/etc. that can easily be found with a little effort, when I know I can find everything I need by just reading up and searching. Although I know people on here are usually glad to help, I'm not the one that needs someone to hold my hand as I know the information can be found on my own, and I find I learn better this way. I'm just worried that the Inspire won't be that simple, because I'm running across too many unfamiliar terms already. BTW, my self-suffiency is evidenced by my post count, and I've been coming here and for knowledge and know-how since I got the Captivate in July. I'd like to keep it this way, but just am worried it won't be the same for some reason.
Also, a big thanks to everyone who chimed in already so quickly, its much appreciated and makes me want to be more involved with this great community, and not just be a lurker coming here daily (multiple times) only to read up, check for updates, grabs tools, etc.
thatclaw said:
While battery life is important, we are both fine as long as its decent. We both commute to work (charge in car) and both usually keep a charger at work. So going a full day is not a necessity nor expected, especially for me because use my phone very heavily during the day. >1.5 hours of talk time, and usually >2.5 hours of screen time before 5pm. I always plug in my phone while at my desk. The only time I need it to last is when I'm out and about, at bars and such, which I don't really use heavily then. I just want something reliable, of good quality, snappy, and a freaking working GPS. I live in the city (NOLA) and am always go the go throughout the day to places I've never been to meet up with clients and such. A working GPS is very important, and I'm tired of not having that over the last 7 months.
How easy is it to swap ROMs and such as compared to the Captivate? Although I have nothing to compare the Captivates processes to, I find it very easy and paid free for the most part on it. As a matter of fact, probably half the time I flash is while on the road and in traffic (no lectures please, I'm careful mostly wait till redlights to do it). I'm scared I'll be starting from scratch again, and have to re-learn everything. I'm not the one to post questions and such about rooting/flashing/etc., when I know I can find everything I need by just reading. Although I know people on here are usually glad to help, I'm not the one that needs someone to hold my hand as I know the information can be found on my own. I'm just worried that the Inspire won't be that simple, because I'm running across too many unfamiliar terms already. BTW, my self-suffiency is evidenced by my post count, and I've been coming here and for knowledge and know-how since I got the Captivate in July. I'd like to keep it this way, but just am worried it won't be the same for some reason.
Also, a big thanks to everyone who chimed in already so quickly, its much appreciated and makes me want to be more involved with this great community, and not just be a lurker coming here only to read up and grabs tools and such.
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Click to collapse
No you must flash Roms while driving if not you are Un-American, hahaha.
Yeah I understand youre so used to the Craptivates way of doing things.
I would say go here and see for yourself what steps there are
---->> http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=952352
Also the other threads on the Development section.
legend221 said:
No you must flash Roms while driving if not you are Un-American, hahaha.
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Click to collapse
What if I told you that I was a commercial pilot, and the 'red lights' I spoke of do not really exist?
Just joking, but knowing me, I probably would. Guess that's why I'm NOT a pilot.
Ive had a captivate since august, picked up a inspire last night.
Stock for stock the inspire is worlds better, but the captivate @ 1.4ghz with voodoo color and a good rom is proving hard to leave behind. The captivate has such little available memory once everything is loaded up compared to the inspire, Ill give it a good week before I decide.
I am personally preferring the Inspire screen so far. I like the more muted look, but not washed out like say, the 3GS.
sportedwood said:
Ive had a captivate since august, picked up a inspire last night.
Stock for stock the inspire is worlds better, but the captivate @ 1.4ghz with voodoo color and a good rom is proving hard to leave behind. The captivate has such little available memory once everything is loaded up compared to the inspire, Ill give it a good week before I decide.
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Click to collapse
If you're having a tough time deciding between an insanely tricked out Captivate and a completely stock Inspire, imagine what the Inspire will be like in a couple months when the dev community blossoms.
gtg465x said:
If you're having a tough time deciding between an insanely tricked out Captivate and a completely stock Inspire, imagine what the Inspire will be like in a couple months when the dev community blossoms.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
absolutely, Its always fun to get in on the ground floor with a new phone and follow all the development excitement.
I have a thunderbolt right now... Im going to get getting rid of my girlfriends iphone so we can lock her in the 4g unlimited plan. She likes my thunderbolt so thats what she will probably get. Now i'm thinking about switching over to the charge but i'm having a hard time. I hate sense but I hate touch wiz even more. I like the fact that the thunderbolt has 2 aosp roms to choose from but the gummy rom I just saw for the charge looks pretty good. Help me decide please!
My contract has been up for a few weeks, I've been researching phones vigorously to find the best one and so far my conclusion is
#1: Samsung Galaxy S2
#2: HTC EVO 4G/3D
#3: Droid Charge
#4: HTC Thunderbolt
Galaxy S2 is a BEAST of a phone, only problem is there is no US release date as of yet, and even worse there is no US Verizon/Sprint/T-Mobile/ATT release date as of yet...
HTC EVO 4G/3D are great phones, I personally didn't look too far into them since they aren't on Verizon but you can look up their specs to see if they are in your ballpark
Droid Charge is my personal phone of choice, i WOULD get the GalaxyS2 but we aren't seeing a release date(it's expected in July-September but I can't wait)
HTC Thunderbolt was an obvious contender if the Charge was on the list but I've heard of a lot of problems with this phone such as rebooting issues, battery issues etc.
so the verdict? Droid Charge if you need/want a phone now, Galaxy S2 if you can wait(I'm not psychic but it's pretty obvious that phone is going to be HUGE, which in turn means great support from the developers & tons of easy root methods)
There's several threads along these lines that you should check out, so skim through the section and read them, even the one about "learning to hate the Charge" or something like that...you'll get plenty of pros and cons and TB vs Charge comments in those, but since I feel like whining about my Charge I'll jump in here. IF you don't read my whole post, at least check out the last paragraph, you might like the idea.
IF, and that's a big IF, the Galaxy S II ever comes to Verizon or ATT with an LTE radio, I'll be all over it once it's rootable, but since you're up against the expiring unlimited data offer, there's just the two to choose from (Charge, Thunderbolt).
I have both, and it's still a tough call for me on which I prefer. So many pluses, and so many minuses on both.
If I had to choose one right this minute to toss away, I think it would be the Charge, though. The Charge has got about the best damn display I've ever seen on a phone. iPhone 4 is sharper, but smaller, and the Charge blows away the iP4 in the contrast and inky blacks department.
The Charge is lighter than the TB, by a very noticeable amount. It's arguably got better battery life, but seriously, you won't be happy with it either. If you're in a spotty 3G area, the Charge seems to have exponentially better battery life than the TB, but in a solid 4G area, they both suck. I haven't spent enough time with both in a solid 3G area to compare yet.
The Charge's screen seems scratch proof without protection. Mine rides naked and has no mars. It fell out of my pocket on the leg press machine the other day and the front hit the metal bar on its way down. No damage to the screen but a small nick in the bezel (which is soft plastic). The Thunderbolt is a scratch magnet- treated mine with kid gloves, but no protection, and it's still somehow managed to get two nasty gouges in the screen.
The Sammies are pretty good at playing any media you throw at them, not so sure about the HTCs.
The Charge's hardware buttons at the bottom are pretty nice; I didn't think I'd like them, but once you get past the cheap plasticky feel, they're a solid competitor to the capacitive ones.
Those are about the only major plusses on the Charge for my usage.
Major minuses include a laggy as heck phone unless you do the voodoo ext4 conversion AND install the Gummy ROM. VooDoo alone, debloating, using different launchers, etc, did not fix the lag on the Charge for me. Gummy seems to have for the most part, but there's still an occasional sluggishness on waking the phone or switching some apps.
The plastic is cheap feeling compared to TB. It's a big issue for some.
There's no kickstand on the Charge. I know I'm not alone in thinking this is one of the coolest, most obvious enhancements to a phone to have. One of the big Android blogs, Android Central I think, made a blog post along those lines just recently.
There's no Gingerbread yet for the Charge, but there is (unofficially, anyways) for the TB.
You mentioned you hate Sense, but with the BAMF Sense 3 ROM I am in love with Sense. It's the slickest thing I've seen on a phone for a launcher and some cool widgets. I've been a CM7 and Launcher Pro guy for all my Androids since the N1 once CM7 became available, but for the TB, I think it will stay Sense on mine for quite a while.
We might see more activity with the Charge development-wise, it's still fairly new, but I believe that by the this time in the phone's life on the TB we had a lot more activity. We don't even have a full and proper ClockWork or Amon Ra recovery for the Charge yet. Imnuts has given us a pretty decent one, but you'll soft-brick (or worse) your Charge if you try to do a Nandroid restore with it, and unless I missed an update, you have to do a battery pull to reboot if you try a factory restore/wipe on it.
All that said, and my overall preference for the TB...why not grab a Charge and play with it for a while in daily use. GET IT AT COSTCO. You'll get locked in with the unlimited data plan, but unlike VZW purchased phones, you get 90 days to test drive the phone itself. 14-day right to cancel on cell plan still applies though. If you just hate the thing, you can go back and get the Thunderbolt, or better yet, by August or end of September when your 90 days is up we'll have some more choices (like maybe that oh-so-sweet Galaxy S II).
Thank you. I just got back home with a new Charge. Gave my girlfriend my thunderbolt. Now im trying to figure out how I root this on a mac?
You're gonna want gummy...the phone's a laggy turd with any variant of stock for me...YMMV.
Use Odin in a VMWare Windows box to flash the Imnuts Clockwork, then use Clockwork to flash the Gummy rom, which is pre-rooted.
There are plenty of tutorials around here on using Odin, so I won't bother explaining, but a good tip get the phone recognized in the Windows box while in download mode is to plug it in in regular mode first, wait for the virtual cd-rom that will open, then run the driver installer (all in the Windows box). Make sure USB debugging is off, or the virtual cd won't open.
You can try flashing Clockwork with Heimdall, but many of us can't get it to work on the Mac with the Charge.
My wife and I just got one. I rooted mine and I don't plan on rooting hers. When I try to go back from Gummy to the last touchwiz crap I want to smash the damn thing. This phone files once you get a good rom on it @ use the voodoo lagfix. My quadrant (doesn't really mean much, but FWIW) was around 800 before and 1700 after. The rom is still not perfect but it is miles ahead of stock.
Ohhh... do you self an favor and use a windows machine to root the thing. It takes half an hour if you know what you are doing.
Thank you. Yes I rooted and flashed gummy already. Huge difference!
It is amazing how much I hated this phone when I got it vs how much I love it after a Voodoo kernel and Gummy
It took me a while to figure it out, but once I got the voodoo kernel on my Charge, I tried the ROMs out and while Gummy is fast, I still think AC's Altered Beast ROM is the best. It might still be in its Alpha stage, but its crazy fast and looks very sexy. Gummy is definitely great right now, but I think once the Altered Beast is finished that will be the ROM to go to. If your looking for speed and looks, Altered Beast is a good way to go.
Also, where as the phone does seem to be made out of a cheaper material, I have also noticed that my screen seems nearly invincible. Plus it looks amazing.
Altered beast looks awesome but I love soap look I don't know if I can leave yummy... haha
cacash89 said:
Also, where as the phone does seem to be made out of a cheaper material, I have also noticed that my screen seems nearly invincible. Plus it looks amazing.
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Click to collapse
Samsung definitely makes a damn good display, both in appearance and durability. I've never scratched a Galaxy S based phone... and I've had four of them.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk
edit: edited ***** to both and been to never...sheesh the autocorrect on the phone is bad sometimes.
Went From TB to Charge
After having to many issues with the TB (4 of them) Verizon got me the Charge.
The Development for the TB is awesome and a ton of roms and kernels and themes to keep you busy for months, but I had quite a few reboots and cell issues and was about the same on all models. The Charge has excellent battery life on 3g sense 4g won't be on till July 21st for me. The Thunderbolt was good to with the right rom/kernel combo, but the Charge wins and also wins in the display department. Like another poster said the TB seemed to get dirty/scratched easy don't know why I had cases and screen protectors and never could manage to keep it looking good the Charge has yet to get any marks/ other then a cheap back that will proly wear fast, but then again can be replaced for $10. All in all I love both phones, but when it comes down to it I more then anything want a working phone which thus far seems to be the Charge.
If you're looking for a Verizon LTE phone now, the main thing is to not wait. Get a TB or Charge now and sell it later if you hate it. Its worth locking in the unlimited data before it goes away. I was wavering between all 3 LTE phones, as what I'm really waiting for is a Droid Bionic (in whatever form it finally comes in...) but at this point the unlimited data is more important to me than an extra core and some more memory. SAMOLED and battery life is what swung me from the TB to the Charge, but the TB seems to have a more lively dev community, not to mention much better dev support from HTC than what Samsung provides. Its all a tradeoff...
Hey guys,
Currently have the incredible and love it but I need a bigger screen. Im due for an upgrade and like the charge. Would Anyone who upgraded to it from an incredible be down to post their experiences?
Thanks,
Sent from my 2.3.5 Incredible Obsession
bigsapz said:
Hey guys,
Currently have the incredible and love it but I need a bigger screen. Im due for an upgrade and like the charge. Would Anyone who upgraded to it from an incredible be down to post their experiences?
Thanks,
Sent from my 2.3.5 Incredible Obsession
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It depends on you want. There is not nearly the amount of roms to choose from as there is for the DInc, but the ones we do have are great. If I had an upgrade, and was in your situation, I'd wait for the SGS2 or HTC Vigor. The Charge is a great phone but I wouldn't use an upgrade on it considering what is coming in the near future. Just my opinion though.
I did this in a roundabout way in that I used the Incredible for a year before getting my Charge, but I didn't use an upgrade (one of my kids had the Fascinate, but since he doesn't live in a 4G coverage area, I replaced his Fascinate with my Incredible and appropriated the Charge). I can say that I'm much happier with the phone having gotten it for free than I would be if I had paid for it, but overall quite pleased.
The Charge has has better:
-Battery life (by around 40%)
-Screen (I had both the SLCD and OLED DIncs- SAMOLED+ blows both away)
-Usability (screen size is much better for typing accuracy)
-Multimedia experience- SGX540 trounces the rather dated Adreno200
-Audio quality- especially with Voodoo Sound
-Bootloader design- ODIN mode is great for recovering from ****ups
Things that really don't impact my opinion
-4G is incredible in theory- in practice, Google Music and Netflix could both stream just fine over good old EV-DO RevA, and for anything else I need to download I have home wifi and 25Mbit Comcast Xfinity, so it's still sort of unnecessary. It is cool to be able to say my phone has a faster broadband connection than my home.... I'm regularly seeing 30mbit down/6 up. I'm not using it as a hotspot as I don't feel like either shelling out or risking my service, and I will say that I'm using 3-4x the data on LTE than I did over 3G, with better battery life as previously mentioned.
-Overall usability- the Hummingbird is a tad quicker than the Snapdragon, but overall I always found the DInc to be a quite responsive phone- no problems with either
-Call quality- though the Charge has a dual mic setup, they both sound the same on my end. Hard to find fault with Verizon.
Things that I still have to hand to the Incredible
-I have the Charge in an Otterbox Commuter to protect its incredibly vulnerable back shell. While this gives it a great solid feel in the hand, it also makes it a bit on the difficult side to slide in and out of pockets. The DInc was a very convenient size.
-ROM selection is way better for the DInc- though, let's be honest, I didn't care about anything else once CM7 for DInc was out. Here's hoping it hits the Charge soon.
Final thoughts- rumor has it the Bionic could be out within a week, but even if that's premature it's certainly not more than a month away. The Galaxy S2 and HTC Vigor are also both right around the corner. The Charge is about to be replaced as a flagship model. My approval of it is tempered by the fact that I got it for free. You may want to hold off a bit.
I came from the Droid incredible as well and echo the posts above. The charge is an upgrade but at this point just wait for gs2, vigor, or nexus.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using XDA App
I came from the Dinc which I treasured. The dev community was awesome for the Dinc but I love eclipse.
Not sure why you would wait for the sgs2, it may not have 4G.
And the Bionic is just a bigger droid 3 with 4G. Of course to each his own, and I personally saw the samoled+ and just had to have it. I could have waited for the bionic or sgs2 but why? Whatever phone you get, im sure you will love. Afterall, they all do just about the same thing.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using XDA App
I upgraded from the Dinc a couple of months ago and I'm semi happy with my upgrade. The 2 main reasons to upgrade to this phone are the screen and 4G. I guess it depends how important those two things are to you. All the phones coming out in the next couple of months will probably have those two things AND have upgraded processors, RAM, etc. So if I were in your shoes, I would wait a couple of months to see what else is coming out.
I came from the Incredible and am in love with mCharge. Has the hardkey buttons and 4g. Plus the screen it was everything I wanted. Before I got the Charge I was considering waiting on the Bionic but I personally am happy with the choice I made.
Sent from my GummyCHARGED Charge using Tapatalk
MillionManMosh said:
I did this in a roundabout way in that I used the Incredible for a year before getting my Charge, but I didn't use an upgrade (one of my kids had the Fascinate, but since he doesn't live in a 4G coverage area, I replaced his Fascinate with my Incredible and appropriated the Charge). I can say that I'm much happier with the phone having gotten it for free than I would be if I had paid for it, but overall quite pleased.
The Charge has has better:
-Battery life (by around 40%)
-Screen (I had both the SLCD and OLED DIncs- SAMOLED+ blows both away)
-Usability (screen size is much better for typing accuracy)
-Multimedia experience- SGX540 trounces the rather dated Adreno200
-Audio quality- especially with Voodoo Sound
-Bootloader design- ODIN mode is great for recovering from ****ups
Things that really don't impact my opinion
-4G is incredible in theory- in practice, Google Music and Netflix could both stream just fine over good old EV-DO RevA, and for anything else I need to download I have home wifi and 25Mbit Comcast Xfinity, so it's still sort of unnecessary. It is cool to be able to say my phone has a faster broadband connection than my home.... I'm regularly seeing 30mbit down/6 up. I'm not using it as a hotspot as I don't feel like either shelling out or risking my service, and I will say that I'm using 3-4x the data on LTE than I did over 3G, with better battery life as previously mentioned.
-Overall usability- the Hummingbird is a tad quicker than the Snapdragon, but overall I always found the DInc to be a quite responsive phone- no problems with either
-Call quality- though the Charge has a dual mic setup, they both sound the same on my end. Hard to find fault with Verizon.
Things that I still have to hand to the Incredible
-I have the Charge in an Otterbox Commuter to protect its incredibly vulnerable back shell. While this gives it a great solid feel in the hand, it also makes it a bit on the difficult side to slide in and out of pockets. The DInc was a very convenient size.
-ROM selection is way better for the DInc- though, let's be honest, I didn't care about anything else once CM7 for DInc was out. Here's hoping it hits the Charge soon.
Final thoughts- rumor has it the Bionic could be out within a week, but even if that's premature it's certainly not more than a month away. The Galaxy S2 and HTC Vigor are also both right around the corner. The Charge is about to be replaced as a flagship model. My approval of it is tempered by the fact that I got it for free. You may want to hold off a bit.
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Click to collapse
I came from the Incredible as well, and I echo everything this guy said. Although I did pay for the phone instead of free (lucky guy lol) I feel like it was worth it. I still use my Incredible (deactivated, but still works on wifi) just for random games and testing out custom roms because we all know the Inc has some great developers. Charge development is looking great too though and I can't wait to see the likes of CM7, MIUI, etc on this phone. It's not perfect, but if you convert from RFS to EXT4 it's really close.
DINC to Charge
bigsapz said:
Hey guys,
Currently have the incredible and love it but I need a bigger screen. Im due for an upgrade and like the charge. Would Anyone who upgraded to it from an incredible be down to post their experiences?
Thanks,
Sent from my 2.3.5 Incredible Obsession
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I echo all the "good" comments as I came from the DINC a month or so ago. The only thing I miss is the LED that the "DINC used for letting you know it's charging. The Charge experience is a little different than the HTC experience but it just lets you know what else is out there.
I would hold out for the Bionic. I upgraded from Dinc to Charge because Verizon was changing their unlimited tier plans and I was afraid of missing the boat so I used my upgrade to lock myself in. The Charge was the best at the time but if you can wait until the Bionic comes out 9/8-ish I would. Dual core, 4G, 4.3 inch screen plus the ability to use the Motorola dock/laptop thingy (if you're interested) is a def plus. I can't remember RAM and storage specs but I think they beat the Charge as well.
One thing I did notice coming from Dinc to Charge was the snappiness of the ROMs. Once lagfix was enabled though it was pretty hard to distinguish the difference.
wenzer said:
I would hold out for the Bionic. I upgraded from Dinc to Charge because Verizon was changing their unlimited tier plans and I was afraid of missing the boat so I used my upgrade to lock myself in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You do realize if you were already on an unlimited data plan, you were locked in?
Anyway to the OP. I came from the Fascinate to the Charge. I got in on the free exchange. The Charge is a great phone. I would say it's a Fascinate 2. I don't think I would have used (wasted) an upgrade on this phone. I think it's best to see what the Bionic, Vigor, SGS2 & iPhone 5 bring to the table. This is especially true when you consider Verizon did away with 1 year contracts.
On a side note, my daughter has a Dinc. She absolutely refuses to upgrade her phone. She says it's simply "Incredible". Lol.
I've used my Atrix 2 for severa weeks. There are several great features, while I have a few issues with it too. I am thinking of returning it back to get a Samsung Skyrocket. But I'd to have a fair comparison of the two before making any decision.
Here are the things I really enjoy:
1. The screen is fantastic, very clear and bright.
2. The battery is super. I've not charged it in the last two days, and it is still alive.
3. The build feels very solid. Its feeling is so great.
4. Compared to Skyrocket, it is much cheaper.
Here are some issues with my Atrix2:
1. GPS is not working correctly, not even for once. I am watching this forum, but seems no one else has the same issue.
2. No way to flash modified ROMs, at least at this moment.
3. Internet sometimes is not good. Not to mention the super fast speed of Skyrocket's LTE.
However, I have not spent enough time on my phone---I have not rooted it or installed other useful applications. Nor do I know much about the possible issues with SkyRocket. So my observations above may be imcomplete or biased.
I would appreciate if you can share your thoughts and experience. Many thanks!
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using xda premium
sureway said:
I've used my Atrix 2 for severa weeks. There are several great features, while I have a few issues with it too. I am thinking of returning it back to get a Samsung Skyrocket. But I'd to have a fair comparison of the two before making any decision.
Here are the things I really enjoy:
1. The screen is fantastic, very clear and bright.
2. The battery is super. I've not charged it in the last two days, and it is still alive.
3. The build feels very solid. Its feeling is so great.
4. Compared to Skyrocket, it is much cheaper.
Here are some issues with my Atrix2:
1. GPS is not working correctly, not even for once. I am watching this forum, but seems no one else has the same issue.
2. No way to flash modified ROMs, at least at this moment.
3. Internet sometimes is not good. Not to mention the super fast speed of Skyrocket's LTE.
However, I have not spent enough time on my phone---I have not rooted it or installed other useful applications. Nor do I know much about the possible issues with SkyRocket. So my observations above may be imcomplete or biased.
I would appreciate if you can share your thoughts and experience. Many thanks!
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
for 1 and 3, why not just go to at&t store and exchange for another atrix2 since there's no one has the same issue. I have no problem with those issue too.
for 2, i guess we need a bit patient, as long as the stupid bootloader is unlockable, we will get custom rom.
Thanks for your suggestions. I will try an exchange this weekend.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using xda premium
sureway said:
I've used my Atrix 2 for severa weeks. There are several great features, while I have a few issues with it too. I am thinking of returning it back to get a Samsung Skyrocket. But I'd to have a fair comparison of the two before making any decision.
Here are the things I really enjoy:
1. The screen is fantastic, very clear and bright.
2. The battery is super. I've not charged it in the last two days, and it is still alive.
3. The build feels very solid. Its feeling is so great.
4. Compared to Skyrocket, it is much cheaper.
Here are some issues with my Atrix2:
1. GPS is not working correctly, not even for once. I am watching this forum, but seems no one else has the same issue.
2. No way to flash modified ROMs, at least at this moment.
3. Internet sometimes is not good. Not to mention the super fast speed of Skyrocket's LTE.
However, I have not spent enough time on my phone---I have not rooted it or installed other useful applications. Nor do I know much about the possible issues with SkyRocket. So my observations above may be imcomplete or biased.
I would appreciate if you can share your thoughts and experience. Many thanks!
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I came from the GS2 and have not looked back....
Just feels better (more solid) in the hand and battery life last a lot longer. (and this is even before a custom ROM.... just imagine how long it will last once ROMs start being developed)
As far as GPS & Internet I have not had any issue w/mine, works great.
Lastly the price speaks for its self. $50 (@Bestbuy)..... wow.
One of my co-workers have the Skyrocket, and I've played with it extensively since he is an iPhone refugee and wanted me to help him set it up.
I will say that you are correct in the feel aspect, the A2 feels twice as expensive as the Skyrocket. The screen is the one thing that would keep from getting the Skyrocket, it is horrible to me. IT IS BLUE!!! I am sure one could get used to using it, but as soon as I see another phone and see actual white...I would be pissed again. As far as phone speed, it didn't feel any faster than my A2, some things the Skyrocket did faster, some things the A2 did faster...it was a draw. As far as internet speeds go, without unlimited data I really couldn't see where I could fully take advantage of the higher speeds. Mobile websites load rather quickly on HSPA+ and only slightly quicker on LTE. Faster none the less. But what really shows the true advantage of LTE was watching videos and downloading large apps neither of which I do a lot of over our limited data plans. My friend is constantly complaining about his battery life. He said that if he uses it gingerly it makes it through the day, if he really starts playing with it, he needs to find a charger. I for one have always been able to make it back to the house at night with a lot of battery left, whether I use it a lot or use it a little. As for development, we just have to be patient, I am sure we will get a way to flash ROMs and kernels, but until then the A2 really can't fight in that battle.
I have not had any of the issues you brought up, I would take it back. And from what I've read, Sammy's are notorious for GPS issues, I don't know if the Skyrocket is in that boat or not, but they don't have the greatest track record with GPS.
I say go to an AT&T store that has a Skyrocket demo phone and do your comparison, what I didn't like you might like. Don't get caught up in looking at pictures as a lot of reviewers do when reviewing the SGS2's. Look at the everyday stuff, surf the web and sit it next to your A2, go to google.com and compare them. You will see what I'm talking about.
The only thing I dislike about A2 is its camera quality. Don't know why Moto even bothered with a dedicated camera button; without two-stage focus it's pretty useless.
Ok considering I owned the Skyrocket temporarily and the Atrix 2 I can tell you a few differences.
1. The Skyrocket feels Cheap and the Skyrocket is Wider which makes the phone feel a little odd.
2. This is mixed but I noticed it and so have others on the screen, the Skyrocket when viewed in the dark and looking at either a dark photo or watching a scene in a movie where it is dark you will notice a blobbing effect as well as banding issues through the screen. Atrix 2 does not suffer from this at all.
3. Super AMOLED Plus from what I have read suffers from screen degradation over time.
4. Def. not nearly as many accessories (Lapdock, HD Dock, Etc. for Atrix 2)
5. Skyrocket's bootloader is unlocked....Bad Motorola Bad
6. Camera and Video seem about the same on both of them as far as I can tell but I don't have a photographers eye let alone if you are that picky just go get an Actual REAL Camera.
7. As for fluidity of the UI they seem about the same and the irony here is that the Atrix 2 is running currently at 1ghz as opposed to the Skyrocket running at 1.5ghz
8. Once Atrix 2 does get bootloader unlocked they will be pretty much dead even other than LTE but like someone stated earlier unless you have an Unlimited Data Plan kinda useless.
One thing that has not been meantioned is the charge time!
The Atrix 2 charge time is much, much, much, faster then the SG2
Coldheat1906 said:
One thing that has not been meantioned is the charge time!
The Atrix 2 charge time is much, much, much, faster then the SG2
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Agree with this.
My friend has sgs2 and charging longer than mine,although he use my charger or i use his,a2 is faster when charging. Also his battery life is worse,he charge twice/three times a day,but a2 can give me a day with data connection always on and widget.
And when i play a game on his phone,back camera feel so hot.
Screen look good on sgs2 but a2 is brighter.
Sgs2 feels so fragile and cheap in hand,a2 is so solid.
But back again,decission is yours.
Just choose what you like.
But when a2 is unlocked,i believe we will see a beast awake from its bed. :-D
Sent from my MB865 using Tapatalk
I am planning on picking up an Atrix 2 tomorrow, I was told by a Target Store associate that the Atrix 2 will be FREE...the SG2 will be $199.99, so that pretty much sold me on the Atrix 2.
I too was worried about the Super AMOLED screen on the SG2, I owned a Captivate previously and it suffered from image burn, which bugged the crap out of me.
You will probably like the A2. It's a very refined phone. Feels a ton nicer than the SGSII, which I considered.
I am very grateful to all your comments! They have saved me a lot troubles.
More than a year ago, I had Samsung captivate for several months, and it was my first smartphone. As it had much more functions compared to my previous non-smart phones, overall I quite liked it, despite its cheap looking, bad GPS, and short battery life.
Today I tried SkyRocket in an AT&T store. I had expected there should be a lot changes compared to captivate. It turns out SkyRocket still looks as cheap as captivate. The screen might be brighter, but there is a bluish tone.
As for the GPS issue with my Atrix 2, it went away after a salesperson simply pulled out the battery and then restarted the phone. I then tried GPS several times after, the issue is really gone. A little bit curious why a restart with battery removed can solve the problem.
I haven't looked for any change of the Internet connection issue. Previously, when phone signal is low, around 2 bars, the internet is really really slow. However, as I work on computer all the time, so this issue does not bother me that much.
After reading numerous very helpful replies, I decide to keep this new phone. I picked up Atrix 2 mainly because it is much cheaper, plus I'd like to try a different company. Now I realize that I made a good decision.
Thank you all, again!
I did pick up my Atrix 2 on Sunday and all I can say is WOW! I love it, it even made a couple of my iPhone toting co-workers jealous...that was great. I am now looking forward to some development and custom ROMs in the future.
PeteSeiler2010 said:
I did pick up my Atrix 2 on Sunday and all I can say is WOW! I love it, it even made a couple of my iPhone toting co-workers jealous...that was great. I am now looking forward to some development and custom ROMs in the future.
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Click to collapse
Glad to have you aboard!
Another thing worth pointing out is the resolution. The Atrix2 has 960x540 as opposed to 480 x 800 pixels on the Samsung. Before I bought the Atrix2, I had thoroughly compared the two. The higher resolution makes for an increase in display area. When comparing the same yahoo news article on both phones, the words get wrapped to the second line earlier on the Samsung. So you get to read more on the Atrix2 before having to scroll. Also, the higher resolution provides a crisper and clearer font.
As far as brightness is concerned, Atrix2 is way brighter. The store salesman tried to change the Samsung config to increase the brightness but it was already at it's highest. But apparently as he mentioned the Samsung has deeper more brilliant colors but I thought the Atrix2 colors looked more "natural".
droidwalla said:
As far as brightness is concerned, Atrix2 is way brighter. The store salesman tried to change the Samsung config to increase the brightness but it was already at it's highest. But apparently as he mentioned the Samsung has deeper more brilliant colors but I thought the Atrix2 colors looked more "natural".
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Click to collapse
The Atrix is *really* bright, especially compared to my Nexus One. In fact, in some ways, I wish we had a Contrast setting option, because the brightness tends to wash out any vaguely light wallpapers.
But I certainly don't have the problems seeing the screen in the outdoors the way I did with my N1. And indoors I turn the brightness *way* down. (Never bother with auto-brightness.)
Congrats on your decision. I think you'll love the A2. The LTE is an added plus for the Skyrocket, but it's only slightly faster than the A2's 21 mb/s and there is a big battery drain; SGS2 = Bad battery life, LTE = Worse battery life, SGS2 Skyrocket = Terrible battery life.
The worst thing about the A2 (for me) is that it still hasn't been added to the official list of updates to ICS. That just annoys me a lot.
Glad I had asked before made the decision. Very very happy about the screen and battery.
I just got my Atrix 2 rooted and turned on Mobile Hotspot. And now typing on a transformer.
On my unit, I only got 2mb/s for the internet. Perhaps because the reception signal at my place is bad. Anyway, it will be enough for occasional use.
cogeary said:
Congrats on your decision. I think you'll love the A2. The LTE is an added plus for the Skyrocket, but it's only slightly faster than the A2's 21 mb/s and there is a big battery drain; SGS2 = Bad battery life, LTE = Worse battery life, SGS2 Skyrocket = Terrible battery life.
The worst thing about the A2 (for me) is that it still hasn't been added to the official list of updates to ICS. That just annoys me a lot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using xda premium
sureway said:
Glad I had asked before made the decision. Very very happy about the screen and battery.
I just got my Atrix 2 rooted and turned on Mobile Hotspot. And now typing on a transformer.
On my unit, I only got 2mb/s for the internet. Perhaps because the reception signal at my place is bad. Anyway, it will be enough for occasional use.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
2mb/s for bad signal is great result.
I've tried to compare the speed test between my gsm modem and a2 on usb and wifi tethering (i've tried both) using the same gsm simcard,and speed is better on a2.
Sent from my MB865 using Tapatalk
Once I get my atrix2 (friday) I can give a good comparison between the two since Ill own both. I love the skyrocket to death and it is by far the best smartphone Ive owned but once a friend showed me webtop I knew I needed to have that too lol Ive got a second ATT line (concession) and had one of my yearly upgrades available so I ordered an atrix2. After seeing some benchmark scores Im hoping to get the atrix and help with the bootloader situation. Last time I ran antutu with a stripped stock factory clock on the skyrocket I pulled 6314. I saw in another thread the atrix pull 5000 something. Im sure a lot of that has to do with the stock rom and lower clock speed so Im hoping that development will ramp up. Will have a little comparison review this weekend when I get my atrix2 and lapdock
i currently have a droid x2. and while i would like to say that i could wait until the x-phone comes out, or the htc one comes out. i just cant stand having a non-functional phone anymore.
my question is:
do you guys think this phone is worth upgrading to ?
does development seem to be growing since unlock? ( does future development seem likely?) ( 5.0+ ? )
should i consider going with a galaxy device? (s3 or s4) i am kind of indifferent towards these plasticy devices.
i like motorola a lot. their build quality is fantastic. but i am not sure how i feel about a non removable battery (essentially limiting the life of the phone) , or the slightly outdated specs.
just looking for some users two cents on the topic. thanks guys.
It's a great phone and if your worried about battery get the maxx version.
Sent from my PACMAN MATRIX HD MAXX
deeje00 said:
it's a great phone and if your worried about battery get the maxx version.
Sent from my pacman matrix hd maxx
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Click to collapse
+1000000000000000
I love this phone....battery life of course is phenomenal and I've yet to hear of anyone's battery crapping out on them. I've had mine now for several months and I think I've used my car charger maybe once. And thats only because I didnt charge my phone the night before.
The whole S4 oct-core plasticky phone's are outright redonkulous. The 1.5 ghz dual core is all you really need.
As far as development, since the unlock, it's skyrocketed. And its just in its infancy. Hashcode already has a new Kernel up for review as we speak. Once Cynaogenmod approves, we'll get official support and the development will be on par with the rest of the other top tier devices.
This board is just the tip of the iceberg. Check out www.droidrzr.com for more...
I've owned many a phone, from the first Android with the G1 to the RAZR HD and I have honestly never had a more fast, stable and force close free phone. This device is truly amazing and the battery life is flipping incredible. My wife has an S3 and it's okay but I would definitely rather own this one over that.
Development has exploded, as of right now I am running the following Rom. Perfection... http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2293262
Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using xda premium
legend221 said:
I've owned many a phone, from the first Android with the G1 to the RAZR HD and I have honestly never had a more fast, stable and force close free phone. This device is truly amazing and the battery life is flipping incredible. My wife has an S3 and it's okay but I would definitely rather own this one over that.
Development has exploded, as of right now I am running the following Rom. Perfection... http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2293262
Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using xda premium
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Click to collapse
thank you sir. ! this helped a lot. its good to hear from someone who has seen both phones firsthand.
do you ever feel like the one gig of ram is not enough?
Lorenzo VonMatterhorn said:
thank you sir. ! this helped a lot. its good to hear from someone who has seen both phones firsthand.
do you ever feel like the one gig of ram is not enough?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're welcome mate. The 1 GB of Ram is more than enough for my needs. I can have a lot of different apps running and never notice it sluggish or falling behind. I've seen a article or two mentioning that the camera isn't all that great and I can agree just a bit.
Only negatives are the non removable battery and the camera quality. All else is top notch.
Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using xda premium
Similar decision
I figured I'd post this for anybody else considering the RAZR HD.
.
I first used the original DX for two years before switching to the HD.
Here's my opinion:
Pros:
- Great battery. HD is good. MAXX is unbelievable
- Comfortable to use. Not too large, not too small, and a pleasure to operate.
- Removable storage
Cons:
- VERIZON. nuff said
- RAM used up fairly quickly.
- No removable battery (bad)
- NFC works fine, but the big V won't allow its customers to use Wallet
- Sound is meh.
- No OFFICIAL Cyanogenmod 10.1
- Unlocked bootloader = AP Fastboot EVERY power down AND you mustn't allow the battery to die with an unlocked bootloader.
I certainly love my HD more than the DX, but unless the X phone is amazing, I'm leaving Motorola.
I never see the fastboot screen unless I do it on purpose. And I've had my phone die quite a few times with no issues..
Sent from my PACMAN MATRIX HD MAXX
deeje00 said:
I never see the fastboot screen unless I do it on purpose. And I've had my phone die quite a few times with no issues..
Sent from my PACMAN MATRIX HD MAXX
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ya? What are they talking about. Never seen that either.
Sent from my DROID RAZR MAXX HD
I must say that I truly love this phone. seems snappy and honestly no issues. I am going to venture into flashing my first ROM tonight when I get off of work. I had a gnex, which had a ton of support. I didn't like it so I traded it in for the rezound. It had way less support, but the devs were awesome! I bought this phone on CL and I must say it has even less development. That is my only concern about this phone. I would hope that the unlocked boot loader would bring on more devs, but coming from an OG, to the X, it appears the devs are not feeling the moto love.. If I had the money Id buy my favorite devs this phone. I think they would love it..
ushallneverknow said:
- Unlocked bootloader = AP Fastboot EVERY power down AND you mustn't allow the battery to die with an unlocked bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try This
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=42272243&postcount=1
AP Fastboot every time can either be a Sticky Bit error (from not tweaking a fastboot's xml file before flashing with RSD) or just a bad flash somewhere in general. Ensure you're using the snapdragon fastboots located in Mattlgroffs section on the Batakang FTP whenever you're doing any kind of fastboot flashing on any RAZR QCOM phone -- Atrix HD, all RAZR HD variants, both Phonton Q 4G LTE's.
Reality check...
OK, so I've been through a LOT of Android devices, and this one has some poo that goes along with it (as many others have).
1. The radios have become worse over the generations. While LTE is technically faster now on this device, I had WAY more coverage on my POS Revolution, but this device smokes the Galaxy Nexus for LTE coverage hands down (SGN is a joke as an LTE device).
2. Phone is mediocre. This is where the SGN showed what it was supposed to really sound like on a phone. On a call to my dad, he stated in my car that it sounded like I was in a quiet room by myself. He definitely doesn't say that with this phone.
3. Gaming. This one irritates me the most. Every few minutes there is lag. Sometimes it's short lag, sometimes you drop to 5fps for 6-7 seconds. Try Subway Surfers - you'll want to chuck the phone at the wall. I'm guessing this is an IO issue as I saw this in the TF300, and whatever CleanROM did for the TF300, it made the term "buttery smooth" no longer tongue and cheek. I'd give anything (except stability and features) to see that on this phone.
4. ROMs - I can't comment on this one, but I've been following the threads for a while now, and there's still some dealbreaker trade-offs going on - hopefully we'll see less of that as time goes on (great improvements over just the past few weeks). I've been waiting for the right time to make the move.
5. Tethering - Interesting that less people have seem interested in this problem, but as an unlimited user, I have found NO possible way around VZW. I'm rooted and have tried WiFi tether in the configurations people have suggested in multiple forums with no luck. I've tried the SQL hacks, I've tried other programs, I've tried WFT 3.2b, I've tried every configuration you can think of. The best I have had was a connection, but no internet. Every thread suggests something, but from my experience, nothing works.
6. A little lag in Nova Launcher when waking up and switching between screens.
7. VZW and Motorola seem more interested in blocking the devs from cleaning up Moto's mess than fixing their own crap. With the Ultra coming out, I figure that they'll block it from devs the best they can with a few more updates, then jump ship to create a shinier turd and repeat the cycle.
8. Browsing is still slow, even on WiFi, but show me a phone where this isn't true?
The pros?
1. Battery life. This is hands down the best phone I've had for battery, and it's only the HD, not the Maxx.
2. Better LTE than an SGN? LOL...
3. Depending on your usage, it's a decent phone I guess. It's ok in between downright irritating lagging for games(laugh), the WiFi works, albeit a little slow in areas, it's average as a phone, and if you're just interested in checking your e-mail and doing navigation, it's not bad.
4. Decent built in storage space stock.
5. Pretty good sound - no complaints on the music front.
Just don't EXPECT tethering, or a decent, lag-free gaming experience.
I either have a knack for choosing bad phones, or Android just STILL isn't there in the phone arena yet, even with the greater specs. If the former is true, I wouldn't follow my devices (minus the TF300 - that was excellent with CleanROM).
I paid in cash, and if I had to do it all over again, I have no idea what I'd do... I'm starting to believe that the big V along with these manufacturers, they are just slapping coats of wax on turds, then high tailing off to put the next, bigger, and shinier turd in front of people. There's no pride put into the devices past the marketing strategy. I'm never going Apple, MS is still hard to take seriously, and Android? Maybe I'm just really bad at choosing phones.
Edit: as an aside, my dad loves his (late 50s), but he doesn't game or care about tethering (with me, it's not often as well, but when I do, I expect it to work well). For him, it is mostly just navi, e-mail, and on rare occasions, browsing.
Edit 2: why do we not see more reviews like this instead of "omg it's the bestest octacore beast with terapixel camera that makes poking your friends on FaceBook a breeze?" I think we need "pro" reviewers at well known sites to dig a little deeper, and actually use devices as hard-core daily drivers for a week or so before passing judgement.
I tether just fine using easy tether pro. Sure it's not wireless but it's an easy way to get Internet on my netbook once in a blue moon. Worked just fine before I rooted.
I don't really disagree with anything from the previous entry. You would think motorola mobility's acquisition would have significantly changed things for the better. All I saw was a loss of webtop support. And wow going from the support of the galaxy nexus forums to these was a bit of an adjustment.
I watched a video today at android central regarding specs. Why they become so important. You don't see the issue with apple or windows phone. Yes there's fewer devices. More options should cause a healthy competition and I think we're getting there.
I do love the battery life on this phone. It's the sole reason I have it. I do also appreciate that there aren't tons of issues with the display and having to deal with worrying about the quality of a replacement device. Nobody wants a phone they can't rely on or enjoy. I just think it's funny how my galaxy nexus had all the features a year ago and I'm just finally starting to have friends and acquaintances ask me or brag to me about them.
I do think the X phone and its customizable aspects are great for certain users. But look how apple sells the iPhone. They focus on a feature like its camera. Interesting stuff.
Maybe android needs a figurehead to blatantly lie about her/his health to the public and get backdated stock options.
Edit 1
I do find it unsettling that technology advances so quickly that a device is much less popular in 6 months or a year. I feel this way especially because most people are in a contract for two years and are stuck with the device.
Edit 2
At least with a computer, you can upgrade it. Give it a new display, video card, max out the ram and it's like Christmas. Perhaps one day technology will permit the majority of smartphones to not only expand their storage space, but also easily enhance the hardware.
Sent from my DROID RAZR MAXX HD