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Hi all,
I'm out of contract at the moment so I thought I'd see what was available, and settled on the BB Storm.
Originally I got my TP as I wanted a decent email machine but wasn't enthralled by anything else out there. And while I love the TP (thousands of available apps and themes, endlessly customisable, and excellent email support)...it's inability to hang on to a signal has tried my patience (despite me trying several different radios). What good is a phone that can't be used in my house!!
So, I have a BB storm waiting for me at home right now. The first thing I plan to do is try the vodafone sim in my TP and see if anything improves (currently with t-mob), failing that I will try the storm for a while. if it doesn't flick my switch then it'll be going back...and I'll be looking for something else.
anyone else any experience with the Storm?
My friend on Verizon has one, I played around with it at lunch.... that clicky touch screen pisses me off no end. As much as I dislike the Iphone3G I'd take that over a Storm.
I've come to realize that I require a hardware QWERTY on my phones, long emails are a snap with a real keyboard. The Raphael or X1 are really the best for that form factor so far.
What was wrong with your signal on the TP? Did you try different band settings?
I've tried all sorts of settings, in my house the absolute maximum I get is two bars, and as son as you move around it drops out. I really do think the phone has everything else, but a phone that doesn't work as a phone isn't much use to me.
I get good signal on my Raphael, compared to an old Nokia flip phone I keep around for backup the signal bars are always 5 on both phones.
If you try your T-Mobile SIM in a different phone do you get better signal than on the TP? It could be T-Mobile just has bad coverage in your area.
BB Storm is a great phone, with one caveat... the click screen forced them to have an open ridge around the screen, and I know of two people who have already complained that it attracts any lint from their pockets, and they've had to clean out that ridge a few times with a piece of paper (or toothpick).
I wonder what will get behind that screen after a few months, and will the click screen still work..
The SIM isn't activated by default and Verizon doesn't use the SIM in the US. The SIM is for international travel and it's a vodafone/Verizon SIM to enable their Canada access plan. You can have them enable that SIM, but it doesn't unlock the phone. They've apparently had a lot of people unlocking and dumping Verizon, so they've taken a hard stance on their 60-day unlocking policy. Sucks for us that actually travel. I had my first Storm unlocked with no issues, but got a replacement and can't get it unlocked now. Canceled my account and the phone is going back.
I have tried the Verizon version, and I can't get over the clicky screen. It's just plain annoying. I have been a BlackBerry user for 3 years, have had 20 different devices, and I will not get a Storm nor will I recommend it to anyone.
Hey everyone! I just picked up the Samsung Captivate on launch day and it is a very impressive phone (don't ask me why big tech blogs like Engadget and Android Central haven't even done a review on such a great phone, but this is for another day) I love the screen it is by far the best looking screen I have ever seen on a mobile device and it was even a big jump coming from my Nexus One (which I still own and will never part with, long live the king). I have been very impressed, but I am having some major problems (yes I am having some GPS and some other bugs like the lag issue which hopefully can be fixed with a firmware or Froyo). Please read on and let me know if you too have any of these problems as I have yet to of seen any of these in any threads. I am really considering taking this back tomorrow and demanding a replacement and if I have the same problems I will unfortunately have to permanently return to my Nexus One.
1. I noticed from the moment I played with the phone (after the longest charging I have ever seen in a phone btw) that when I grab the phone within a second or two I lose a couple bars of service, and yes I know that "bars" mean nothing so I have been watching my phone in "Menu > About phone > Status > Signal Strength" and I have my Nexus One (on AT&T and I have never noticed any of the T-mo N1 problems with losing service) I set my phone down in many different places in town like my apartment, work, fiance's work, a couple restaurants, and even the pool and it has given me a lot of concern.
-Sitting down on the table at my home the N1 comes in at -69 dBm 23 asu and the Captivate comes in at -81 dBm 16 asu. I have never even dropped a call here on my Nexus One ever. Picking up the N1 it will jump up to between -71 dBm and -83 dBm (sometimes a little higher), but the phone still seems to run like a champ and I have owned it going on 5 months. The Captivate once picked will jump back and forth very quickly from 81 dBm to between 97 dBm and -112 dBm and will continue to jump around going from 5 bars down to between 3 and 1 bar and then I set it down and it seems to jump back up.
I don't know a lot about signal strength even though I have done some research so this may not even be a huge problem, and that is why I am asking all you wonderful people here at XDA on your opinion as I really don't want to get stuck with a lemon. I know I am an early adopter and being a huge Android fan I run the risk of "bugs" because I always want the newest, fastest, brightest, and best before anyone else (hell, that's why we all hang out here right?). I would really appreciate it if anyone could respond to this and give me some quick advice. I have given it a couple days now.
2. I am one of those people that keeps their Nexus One in the included Android sleeve and it doesn't have a scratch or mark on it. I have always kept my tech in very nice shape and you could say I am on the OCD side of things. This brings me to my second big gripe. Where the screen meets with the plastic on the top and bottom seems to have a small gap and it is collecting so much dust. I was cleaning it out in the first couple hours and this phone hasn't even been in my pocket yet (I am using my N1 and my phone during work until I find me a nice case or sleeve). It isn't just a little bit either. It hasn't made it's way under the screen so I can deal with a little dust and maintenance (god knows I did with my Nexus One). I am worried that I will run out of time and end up with a screen with dust under it and a fight with Samsung trying to replace it. I really want to root this phone and remove it's only flaws and we all know the wonderful devs here at XDA will have some great ROMs running Froyo in no time and we can't always count on Samsung to keep up with things.
These are main gripes, but like I said I am having problems with GPS (and know I am not basing my problems off of being in the house that is just ludicrous to even ***** about something stupid like that). It took me forever to get my Captivate to lock on and now it seems to triangulate by the AT&T towers and I jump all over the place, and again I have never had any problems with my Nexus One I use it all the time as my main GPS. I have been following threads on these problems ever since the Galaxy S i9000 launched over seas as I have been wanting this phone for awhile. I also have been watching the threads about the "Galaxy S Lag" that I am sure most have experienced. I kinda think some of this has to do with coming from my N1 rooted with great ROMs and Froyo for the past couple months and going back to Eclair 2.1. I know that they don't have the HIMEM (or whatever it is called) and I am only working with half of my RAM so I am a little more patient with these two problems then I am with potential hardware problems.
If you could take a second and drop a comment on this thread about how your Captivate is running and especially holding up on the signal strength and gaps in the hardware between the screen and housing I would really appreciate it. Also, if you could let me know what you all would do in my situation as I really do love this phone and it has a lot of potential for some time in the Android world. Thanks again, you all are great and the Android community is second to none. Thanks again to all you devs that work so hard for free to make all of our devices that much better and for helping us get the most life out of our hard earned high end products. Android For Life!
Cody
hi
Your observations are exactly reflecting my opinion (minus the nexus one : captivate is my very first smart phone).
I am facing all the issues u hav mentioned
1. The bars keep varying a lot but i am inclined to believe that its a software problem bcoz i never had a drop call with the zero signal. But today morning my calls were continuously dropping. It could be an isolated incident though bcoz after tht the calls did not drop.
2. To verify the fact that the signal bars could.be misleading i made quite a number of calls, was on the speaker during the calls. I was observing the signal strength menu ( the one tht shows in dB) and to my surprise ii was still on call when the strength showed 0 dB . The signal strength indicated zero for more than a minute on multiple calls but the calls did not drop.
3. GPS issue is very significant but i am confident that will be fixed.
4. And yes i too found a significant gap in the hardware where dust is already accumalating. The charging port too does not look very sturdy.
Having said all this i really love this phone and am thinking most of the aoftware issues can definitely be resolved.
WRT hardware this phone is the most powerful in terms of graphix too and i can only imagine the awesome performance when running froyo.
I think i am gonna get my phone replaced. But definitely not thinking of switching to any other phone.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
itzz(AN)dRoiD
Hey thanks for writing back it makes me feel a little better knowing that I am not the only one. I too think that many of the problems are just problems that all early adopters have to worry about although it is a little disheartening that Samsung launched the i9000 over seas with some of the same problems and didn't fix the two that came to America (Captivate and Vibrant). I am very aware that these things take time and I won't ever say anything especially since I am not developing myself. We have some great devs working on Android phones of all makes and providers and I have confidence that a great phone like this is going to attract some great devs and who knows maybe in a couple years I will be able to give back to the community with work on some killer Android phone as I am going to school for that kind of thing and would love to mess around with it.
I too am not to the point of giving up this great phone. I know my post was filled with negatives and concerns, but this phone is great! I feel that the phone is built great and I am not to worried of breaking it as I am with some phones out there. I am blown away by the screen and 4" seems to the best size out right now in my opinion as I have messed with the Droid X and EVO 4G and I feel that the Super AMOLED blows these screens out of the water. It is a huge jump from the AMOLED on the N1 and I still love that screen. I know this phone has some great specs and I think besides the Sprint Epic it has the best looking feel to it. It is a sexy phone indeed and has the potential (along with the EVO, Droid Inc, Droid X, and Droid 2) to lead the next generation of Android phones. Being on all four US carriers and more all over the world is going to attract a great many users and better yet a lot of great devs that should be working on this great phone. It is the fastest (spec wise) Android phone out right now and I am blown away by just how much of a difference the processors GPU makes compaired to 1 Ghz Snapdragon phones. The screen is my favorite part and the MaxTouch Sensor and Super AMOLED screen make for a very responsive device and it really feels very smooth. I am willing to be patient with things that can be fixed like software (just wait until this beast gets Froyo you will be amazed), but hardware is a different story. Coming from the Nexus One (best phone I have ever owned and I refuse to give it up with all the development behind it) I refuse to deal with hardware limitations as this will be my phone for atleast the next year. Using a generation old touch screen on such a high powered best in class (at the time of course) phone is very silly and it was and still is a huge annoyance that I have had to learn to deal with while using the N1. MaxTouch was one of the main reasons I wanted this phone along with Super AMOLED (I really can't see myself going to any other screen ATM), Hummingbird Processor (and PowerVR GPU), and overall sexiness. It's a great phone and I am sure I will enjoy it as I am enjoying it now with some minor problems I just wanted to see what other new Captivate owners are experiencing and see what I could expect if I was to exchange it tomorrow.
Again, thanks for the response and good luck! I am sure I will continue to see you around as we are now in the same Android family.
generally the dust gets inbetween the screens. But since they are together in the new Super Amoled, i don't think there will be dust inbetween the screen!
Hi Angermeans,
Regarding the GPS issue, did you try the fix from the Vibrant forums? If not, go check it out. The thread is called "Gps fix 101" in the Samsung Vibrant section of the forums. Also, before you do that enable the "Use Wireless Networks" setting under Location and Security settings, if you haven't already done so.
I too had the GPS issues and once I did what was written on there (and added the Cold Start option, as you can see in my post there, you might not need to do that), my GPS locks on in seconds, I even got a lock indoors. I also locked while driving 70mph on the freeway. At home, I compared it side-by-side to an iPhone 4 and it seemed the same. I really hope it helps you out, it's lame to have the excitement towards this awesome phone dampened like this....I hope AT&T (and Tmobile) and Samsung address this crap...it's a shocker why they even let the phone get released with this bug...this phone deserves better than this
You know what I really didn't even think of that! I did read somewhere that the super AMOLED was going to be losing part of the screen and really that was my biggest concern especially since I have spent the better part of the last five mo
nths fighting with dust trying to get under my screen with my rooted nexus one. Thanks for sharing that information that helps put my mind at ease as I swear I read that it is impossible to get dust under samsungs super AMOLED screen.
angermeans said:
You know what I really didn't even think of that! I did read somewhere that the super AMOLED was going to be losing part of the screen and really that was my biggest concern especially since I have spent the better part of the last five mo
nths fighting with dust trying to get under my screen with my rooted nexus one. Thanks for sharing that information that helps put my mind at ease as I swear I read that it is impossible to get dust under samsungs super AMOLED screen.
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Click to collapse
I've taken apart multiple nokia phones because of dust, and it is because there is a gap between both screens. With these, it is air free. That is why they are able to make the screen so thin. I prefer not having the gap, because if you look well enough, you can see the two screens.
With "Use Wireless Networks" enabled under Location and Security settings I've always been able to get a lock within a second or two, but it doesn't seem to be a strong lock. In Google Nav, the GPS accuracy circle around my car will randomly appear, get bigger, and then disappear, and it will occasionally think I'm off the road or will take a second to catch up after I've turned. It's usable, but I wish it was better. Hopefully it can be fixed by a software update.
No I didn't but I just read something about that on a thread just a little while ago I'll haveto check that out tomorrow especially since it worked for you thanks for sharing that. This is why I love the android community and XDA forums. Now most off my concerns are put to rest and I can continue to enjoy this phone. Now time to worry about bigger problems like when samsung is going to push froyo out to this beast! I have been spoiled using the nexus one. Do all you guys have your phones rooted? I was holding off until I decided if I was going to take this phone in for another captivate.
Yeah you are right I read somewhere tonight that some people think that samsyng did this on purpose to save battery life I'll try to find the thread and post it tomorrow. Hopefully its not a ****ty GPS chip in the phone I can't imagine samsung going top off the line in everything else in this phone and then cheaping out on a chip but then again google and HTC did the same thing with the nexus ones screen so you never know when it comes to high end android phones. I have yet to see any of the top of the line android phones ber perfect they all seem to have some problem especially HTC.
I bought the case sold at the at&t store and that solved the losing bars issue.
I posted in a different thread that I changed and tweaked my gps settings and it was spot on unless i was by a tree the size of a house.
I was very happy with it for my 2 mile drive. I will use it tomorrow since I need to navigate somewhere I've never been and update on here.
Well, the story goes like this. I ordered the One S originally for my contract upgrade but read some doom and gloom reviews regarding the screen so changed to the one X at no extra cost. I prefer the look and the materials used in the One S.
To my suprise, the One S still came. I asked Three if I could have a little play and they said it was fine as long as I didn't put the sim card in it.
The phone is absolutely stunning. It's razor thin design and solid build quality make it the most impressive phone I have handled to date. The MAO process used on the housing has a unique finish to it which is grippy as well as gorgeous, and makes the phone feel like it could survive thermo-nuclear war.
One of the reasons I changed to the One X was the chipping issue. I have been brave and actually (fairly gently) hit the edges of the phone against my class desk. Tapping it in such a hard surface I would have assumed would chip the phone if a defect was present, and it weathered it without any marks, luckily for me. I have heard chips start appearing after the first week of use though, so don't take my word as gospel when I say it hasn't affected this unit.
Another reason for me scrapping my One S dreams was the reviews of the screen. Several websites I trust said the screen was low quality and you could easily see individual pixels. Now this was personally my biggest turn off for the One S... I spend a lot of time browsing the web on my phone so even minor pixalation would piss me off, however I'm pleased to say the screen is stunning. The only trademarks of a pentile display I noticed was very very faint jagged edges on straight lines during screen animations, not a deal killer for me as text was wonderful.
Finally the performance of the One S has blown me away. It's dual-core snapdragon S4 is a brilliant CPU and coupled with the Adreno 220 GPU everything ran smooth like a hot knife through butter.
My conclusion? As an average user, ignore the doom and gloom about the screen. There are some incredibly minor jagged edges on transition efects but apart from that I loved it. Battery life seems to be impressive too, I have had it since 10 AM this morning and it is midnight now and is on 30% charge, and I've been using this phone a lot, however without any sort of 3g radio turned on, only WiFi. If you love the look of this phone, buy it. It feels amazing.
too bad there is no nfc and its mid 2012
kolyan said:
too bad there is no nfc and its mid 2012
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Click to collapse
>implying that nfc is some kind of must-have feature in 2012
I really don't think it is. Maybe next year.
NFC is useful. But not much implemented. I won't miss it the next 2-3 years I imagine. Nothing to ***** about imho.
I've had my MOA S since Friday afternoon, and I'm very satisfied with it so far. I have to agree with most observations in this review. It's spot on!
As for chipping, I've not noticed any on my device yet, apart from a little around (more like inside) the usb port. But then I have not taken much care when plugging in either, so I'm not surprised it has a little worn look there.
It feels secure and good to the grip, and the screen is perfectly adequate for a phone. I'm not using this device as a replacement for my HD TV-set or for image manipulation
Two things I would have wished for as a personal preference is bigger battery (even at a cost of a couple of millimeters thicker body and more weight) and a smaller screen. 4" had been enough with this hardware to be a great phone
I don't see NFC as a big part of technology in 2012. Maybe after the premier handsets have it and then it starts rolling out, that will be when I care if a phone has NFC or not. I certainly don't mind at all that the HTC One S isn't a pioneer in NFC technology.
NFC
kolyan said:
too bad there is no nfc and its mid 2012
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be fair, have you even been able to use NFC for anything productive?
I have been using a Bold 9900 for the last 5 months and the ONLY thing I have used NFC for is getting a free cadburys cream egg from a promotional stand at a bus stop in reading.
And in the UK you can only use NFC for payments under £15, which in my case is usually just a drink or lunch, both of which I would usually pay for in loose change, not with my card, so NFC is, in my opinion, an entirely worthless feature in 2012.
It could be great, but currently it has no use and I don't see why any phone ships with it currently apart from to entice businesses into finding more uses for it as the user base grows.
For the screen, the pixel is visible if the text is written in white. ( under the icon.
It is less visible in the browser as the text is in black.
I ve put my desire s in front of the one s and the desire s screen is sharper.
The one s could have been the best device with an hd screen to me.
I just think when u are buying a new and nice device, its nice to have it future proof considering most top of the line phones do have nfc....galaxy nexus, one x, Sony phones, and gs3 will most likely have it too.
nfc is not just for payments. tags are pretty cool and useful.
I don't have nfc and never used it, but sure wouldn't mind trying it out
kolyan said:
I just think when u are buying a new and nice device, its nice to have it future proof considering most top of the line phones do have nfc....galaxy nexus, one x, Sony phones, and gs3 will most likely have it too.
nfc is not just for payments. tags are pretty cool and useful.
I don't have nfc and never used it, but sure wouldn't mind trying it out
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Click to collapse
The One S is not a top of the line phone, it's a mid end device. Bare that in mind when you talk about future proofing. Most people on these forums will update their phones once a year or so, I personally upgrade every 6 months sometimes. NFC will not be big this year, nor probably next. It's not something that has started trending yet, and when it does I suspect it will explode and then die out again, because it's really not as useful as people like to make out.
So yeah, most top end phones have it now, but this is not a top end phone. And our countries like to future proof their nuclear defenses, but it's not like anyone is going to fire a nuke at us any time soon. Same goes with NFC...
P.S, I went for the One X in the end
I see NFC more useful with tags rather then its easy payment feature.
maybe its not what i actually think it is and using Tasker is just as convenient if not better. But it sure nice to have automated tasks, i use this feature ALOT
Isn't nfc just asking for trouble security loopholes'
Sent from my HTC One S using XDA Premium App
CaveManDave said:
The One S is not a top of the line phone, it's a mid end device. Bare that in mind when you talk about future proofing. Most people on these forums will update their phones once a year or so, I personally upgrade every 6 months sometimes. NFC will not be big this year, nor probably next. It's not something that has started trending yet, and when it does I suspect it will explode and then die out again, because it's really not as useful as people like to make out.
So yeah, most top end phones have it now, but this is not a top end phone. And our countries like to future proof their nuclear defenses, but it's not like anyone is going to fire a nuke at us any time soon. Same goes with NFC...
P.S, I went for the One X in the end
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Click to collapse
Hmm I do not really agree.
First point: The One S is maybe promoted by HTC as the mid end device but this for sure only is for them. It is faster than any other smartphone (even the high class One X) and when you compare it to other producers devices, the One S has to be compared to the power horses of those (and beats them)..
Second: nfc doesn't has to be big to be useful. You are right that it needs to be spread for some fancy and useful services like payment or I dunno but actually people owning the new Sonys are playing around with the tags a lot and producing interesting ideas. For example: tags placed at your appartements entrance that tell your phone how to behave (sound profile, wifi, alerts, tasks etc..) if you pass it, depending on leaving (profile 1) or entering (profile 2).
I agree that it's not a must have for me, but certainly a nice to have and it would've been realistic to implement it in the One S or at least the X, which is the top class and doesn't have it either.
^ One X does have NFC
---------- Post added at 03:47 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:03 PM ----------
This is how I look at it....out of Built quality (theoretically goes to S), Screen quality, NFC, SD-Card slot, and Removable battery, I would choose like this:
1. Screen quality
2. Built quality
3. NFC
4 and 5. SD Card and Removable battery < this is just something I never care about
Hello all,
Long time lurker, first time poster that figured I would post this here in the XDA-Assist forum to avoid mis-posting. Please feel free to move the thread elsewhere.
My wife and I are interested in purchasing new phones. Several years ago we purchased two new Samsung Galaxy S II phones from Tmobile (SGH-T989) within a few months of their release. The long story short has been that we haven't been terribly impressed, and while we have been desperate to replace them with something new, the bad experience has left us hesitant to spend that kind of money again.
From this experience we have learned a few things after having both phones replaced at least once under insurance due to them failing, living outside the US for short bursts, and very heavy travel for work:
-We like Android (thought that must be obvious posting here on XDA).
-We like (not love) T-Mobile. While we could change providers in the US, the overseas data plan works well enough for us.
-We like T-Mobile's Wi-fi calling feature. It has allowed us to use our phones as we would at home while overseas which has been great, and when it home it has proven to be a great way to limit battery drain and speeds charging. Further it has allowed great connectivity in some hard to reach places and places with thick walls and bad regular reception.
-We need to purchase the phones outright so that they may be unlocked as soon as possible. While the Wi-fi calling feature is great, we have frequently needed local sim cards so that locals could call us easily and cheaply. Having a local number also helps grease the wheels for all kinds of things along when overseas. Adds a great bit of credibility.
-The battery must be removable. The battery that Samsung provided was ****. It was later replaced with another Samsung battery and finally with an Anker brand battery that is amazing. Further, carrying an external usb battery or a powerpack to attach to the phone is just bulky, heavy and annoying. Carrying an extra fully charged phone battery is lighter, easier, and fixes the issue faster.
-The phone must have a microSD card slot. There are a myriad of reasons that I likely don't need to explain.
-The camera should be better than the 8 MP one we have now.
-The phone must play nicely around the world. This is a big one. For a year I was living in Paris with a local sim-card. It was amazing how poorly the phone worked there. I tried two of the big providers and with both the phone simply had a hard time. Sure I got signal, but the phone seemed to be especially prone to serious battery drain throughout the day even though it was not used any differently than in the states. I removed extraneous apps, made sure all the settings were optimized for battery life and yet it was still bad, even with the really great Anker battery. I was left with the impression that it had problems with foreign networks. I again saw this problem in Spain, Portugal, Vietnam, and Australia before we going blaming the French for one more thing (in fact the deal in got in France on data would make Americans start a very French-like revolution).
-Most importantly the phone needs to last a while. We don't feel a phone should be replaced every year. After all we are like most people in the world. We used the phone for essentially lightweight tasks: calls, texts, email, reading the news, checking the transit app, and occasional street navigation. Though my wife still has it on her phone I got rid of FB and wow did standby battery improve as well as all the other apps responsiveness.
-After this experience with Samsung I am hesitant to buy another. I have already resigned myself to the notion that we will likely be forced into buying a phone that is larger in its physical dimensions simply because that is where the world is headed, though my pockets are the still the same size.
Thank you for your patience reading this posting. What do you recommend?
MallardAdjusted said:
Hello all,
Long time lurker, first time poster that figured I would post this here in the XDA-Assist forum to avoid mis-posting. Please feel free to move the thread elsewhere.
My wife and I are interested in purchasing new phones. Several years ago we purchased two new Samsung Galaxy S II phones from Tmobile (SGH-T989) within a few months of their release. The long story short has been that we haven't been terribly impressed, and while we have been desperate to replace them with something new, the bad experience has left us hesitant to spend that kind of money again.
From this experience we have learned a few things after having both phones replaced at least once under insurance due to them failing, living outside the US for short bursts, and very heavy travel for work:
-We like Android (thought that must be obvious posting here on XDA).
-We like (not love) T-Mobile. While we could change providers in the US, the overseas data plan works well enough for us.
-We like T-Mobile's Wi-fi calling feature. It has allowed us to use our phones as we would at home while overseas which has been great, and when it home it has proven to be a great way to limit battery drain and speeds charging. Further it has allowed great connectivity in some hard to reach places and places with thick walls and bad regular reception.
-We need to purchase the phones outright so that they may be unlocked as soon as possible. While the Wi-fi calling feature is great, we have frequently needed local sim cards so that locals could call us easily and cheaply. Having a local number also helps grease the wheels for all kinds of things along when overseas. Adds a great bit of credibility.
-The battery must be removable. The battery that Samsung provided was ****. It was later replaced with another Samsung battery and finally with an Anker brand battery that is amazing. Further, carrying an external usb battery or a powerpack to attach to the phone is just bulky, heavy and annoying. Carrying an extra fully charged phone battery is lighter, easier, and fixes the issue faster.
-The phone must have a microSD card slot. There are a myriad of reasons that I likely don't need to explain.
-The camera should be better than the 8 MP one we have now.
-The phone must play nicely around the world. This is a big one. For a year I was living in Paris with a local sim-card. It was amazing how poorly the phone worked there. I tried two of the big providers and with both the phone simply had a hard time. Sure I got signal, but the phone seemed to be especially prone to serious battery drain throughout the day even though it was not used any differently than in the states. I removed extraneous apps, made sure all the settings were optimized for battery life and yet it was still bad, even with the really great Anker battery. I was left with the impression that it had problems with foreign networks. I again saw this problem in Spain, Portugal, Vietnam, and Australia before we going blaming the French for one more thing (in fact the deal in got in France on data would make Americans start a very French-like revolution).
-Most importantly the phone needs to last a while. We don't feel a phone should be replaced every year. After all we are like most people in the world. We used the phone for essentially lightweight tasks: calls, texts, email, reading the news, checking the transit app, and occasional street navigation. Though my wife still has it on her phone I got rid of FB and wow did standby battery improve as well as all the other apps responsiveness.
-After this experience with Samsung I am hesitant to buy another. I have already resigned myself to the notion that we will likely be forced into buying a phone that is larger in its physical dimensions simply because that is where the world is headed, though my pockets are the still the same size.
Thank you for your patience reading this posting. What do you recommend?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi and welcome to XDA!
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Good luck
Hey everyone!
I am currently using Xiaomi mi4, but i found that it runs slower and slower, i asked some people on forums, they also have the same problem, so i am considering purchasing a new mobile phone that can accompany me for at least 2 years.
Last weekend, i went to Samsung Shop, the Samsung S8 attracts me in a sudden, yet when i close to see its price, oh god, it is near to sky, i know i have to give up the idea of buying it, then i walked out with sad
on the way of backing home, i search S8 pictures from google, i amazingly found another similar Samsung S8 mobile phone, the brand name seems like MEIIGOO S8, it doesn't matter, the important thing is its price is just near €180, how it could be so cheap. it is even with 4G RAM 64G ROM, MTK6750T, 1.5GHz, Octa Core6.1 Pollici Dual Camera , Android 7.1 system.
I already considered two days to buy it, i want to ask you guys is it worth of buying it?
Thanks guys!
myefox.it said:
Hey everyone!
I am currently using Xiaomi mi4, but i found that it runs slower and slower, i asked some people on forums, they also have the same problem, so i am considering purchasing a new mobile phone that can accompany me for at least 2 years.
Last weekend, i went to Samsung Shop, the Samsung S8 attracts me in a sudden, yet when i close to see its price, oh god, it is near to sky, i know i have to give up the idea of buying it, then i walked out with sad
on the way of backing home, i search S8 pictures from google, i amazingly found another similar Samsung S8 mobile phone, the brand name seems like MEIIGOO S8, it doesn't matter, the important thing is its price is just near €180, how it could be so cheap. it is even with 4G RAM 64G ROM, MTK6750T, 1.5GHz, Octa Core6.1 Pollici Dual Camera , Android 7.1 system.
I already considered two days to buy it, i want to ask you guys is it worth of buying it?
Thanks guys!
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Click to collapse
Most people here wouldn't know of this phone, i ordered it and received it yesterday.
I am testing it out now, so far i can say the screen is beautiful and huge, yet because of the 18:9 and very thin bezels it is pretty small and is a pleasure to hold in the hand. i'll be testing more and if you are still interested let me know here and i'll post my findings.
krouri said:
Most people here wouldn't know of this phone, i ordered it and received it yesterday.
I am testing it out now, so far i can say the screen is beautiful and huge, yet because of the 18:9 and very thin bezels it is pretty small and is a pleasure to hold in the hand. i'll be testing more and if you are still interested let me know here and i'll post my findings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, thank you, welcome to share more of your experience
myefox.it said:
yes, thank you, welcome to share more of your experience
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So the phone is snappy screen is great, viewing angles are very good as well. More info. to come.
Ok so the phone is unfortunately not good at all! Apps randomly close, Bluetooth connection works with my car, and then i go out and back in and the phone keeps on saying connecting, yet it never does. The only way to make it work is restart the phone. WiFi says it's connected and it actually works...till it doesn't! I look and see for example that my Whatsapp messages haven't been sent, so i take off the WiFi and as soon as the phone gets the cellular data i get notifications galore. The phone's battery is very bad, 5-7 hours on time with 1.5-2 hrs. SOT. My banking app which can be unlocked with a Fingerprint scanner says my device isn't compatible with the feature. Speaking of the fingerprint scanner it is slow! And i'd say works approx. 60% of the time at best. I bought a blue one and the paint they use is a joke, as the phone's paint came off on the side and i only used this phone for 3 days!!! No falls or drops.
On the good side the 6.1" Sharp 2160*1080 screen is vibrant huge and gorgeous, the phone is pretty snappy for everyday use, the design is beautiful and it does have very narrow bezels all over, another nice touch is the rounded corners on top and bottom of screen. I am very saddened by the fact this phone turned out to be unuseful, as i had high hopes as their only previous model the M1 got some great reviews.
krouri said:
Ok so the phone is unfortunately not good at all! Apps randomly close, Bluetooth connection works with my car, and then i go out and back in and the phone keeps on saying connecting, yet it never does. The only way to make it work is restart the phone. WiFi says it's connected and it actually works...till it doesn't! I look and see for example that my Whatsapp messages haven't been sent, so i take off the WiFi and as soon as the phone gets the cellular data i get notifications galore. The phone's battery is very bad, 5-7 hours on time with 1.5-2 hrs. SOT. My banking app which can be unlocked with a Fingerprint scanner says my device isn't compatible with the feature. Speaking of the fingerprint scanner it is slow! And i'd say works approx. 60% of the time at best. I bought a blue one and the paint they use is a joke, as the phone's paint came off on the side and i only used this phone for 3 days!!! No falls or drops.
On the good side the 6.1" Sharp 2160*1080 screen is vibrant huge and gorgeous, the phone is pretty snappy for everyday use, the design is beautiful and it does have very narrow bezels all over, another nice touch is the rounded corners on top and bottom of screen. I am very saddened by the fact this phone turned out to be unuseful, as i had high hopes as their only previous model the M1 got some great reviews.
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Click to collapse
That is the standard story for knock off devices. Remember that with cell phones like anything else, you get what you pay for. A good cellphone isn't cheap and a cheap cell phone isn't good.
zelendel said:
Remember that with cell phones like anything else, you get what you pay for. A good cellphone isn't cheap and a cheap cell phone isn't good.
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Click to collapse
I will mostly agree with you, but i have a Xiaomi Redmi note 4, a Xiaomi mi A1 and had the Honor 6X and I can't fault any of them even though they were "cheap" in comparison.