Tips / Mods / Observations - Android General

Please read ENTIRE post before flaming..and/or commenting...
I am a Windows advocate going WAY back. I LOVE Windows, I am certified, and I have had Windows mobile for YEARS.
I only have this to say about Android. It's more advanced, better structured, and higher performance. Some would argue that is has less security, but as an Avid mobile user and OS support Tech I can tell YOU that *NO* OS is SAFE. ZERO, don't believe the hype. AIX, Unix, and yes even the beloved iOS / Apple OS X can be hacked.. don't believe me? Well that's fine.. it's true.
AIX / Unix sits behind a firewall (if not multiple firewalls) but if you are on the inside like me.. you KNOW how vulnerable they really are, problem is you will *NEVER* get to these machines, unless you have inside access, and even then it's usually restricted to only 1 or 2 machines.... so AIX / Unix you never heard about "security" issues, because they are "contained" or quarantined as the case may be.
I have one basic philosophy. People will ONLY go after the largest segment, period. Who currently has the highest market share of Desktop OS? Windows, that's right. Why doesn't apple get hacked and you hear about it.. because 12% of a segment isn't anything to write home about, that's why. No hacker will go after 12% of users.. that's just well dumb.
Yes, Apple iPhone is making a killing, it's MORE about profit MARGIN and less about market infiltration. I believe that iPhone gets MORE profit per phone and from licensing revenue than actual phone.. this is supported by the Android which has a larger market share..
Why am I saying this.. I am giving some background, to lead into my real point.
I believe Android is totally AWESOME. I have personally tested about 5 different MODS (not a lot, but it was several iterations of each) since I bought my first Android (Samsung Galaxy S2 Skyrocket) in December..
I have tested Alien, Sky, the stock, and a couple of hybrids.. right now I settled on Alien (just personal preference).
From my experience it's a good idea to factory wipe, and make sure if you are installing over MOD 7 (Gingerbread) with ICS MOD 9, it's a necessity to format the mnt/system and mnt/cache. format wipe factory and Dalvik cache also.
I did a bench (Antutu) of my phone. I am currently sitting at 6503. Maybe not great, but considering I went from 4000 on stock, and Gingerbread mods to just over 5000 and now on ICS with latest Alien 7.4 build.. that's pretty significant.
My phone gives good performance, I am happy. More important is NO force closes... NONE. Alien is very stable.
I LOVE Apex launcher (yes plugging my likes), Go SMS Pro. I routinely turn off Talk, media share, and that other system background junk.. I don't use twitter, facebook.. I just Taptu, Pocket, News, and assorted games. My battery life is actually quite good. I set my CPU to userspace on Superuser tuner Pro, I can get over.. yes I said OVER a full day battery.
So yes battery still isn't perfect, but again I went from going 80% of a day (7 AM til 8PM) before I needed to charge.. to now I can fully charge at night, start my day at 7:00 AM use the phone here and there (same as before) and have 30-40% charge remaining on my phone, go the night.. leave it sit until next morning.. and STILL have about 10% left... Of course that makes no sense because I have to charge at that point.. but battery AND performance has improved.
If that's not testament to how good Android is.. compare that Windows / Apple devices give you one continuous list of Apps, no customization to speak of, smaller screens.. and NO live widgets.. Microsoft thinks they "smoked" Android, well they didn't invite me! I will PROVE their diminutive device wouldn't even be able to stutter out of the gate, let alone keep up!
Windows mobile.. is a FAD.. I have a Samsung Focus.. had it for a YEAR (remember I said I am a Windows guy going WAY back) that was my phone.. so I do have some insight..
I think it's fair to say that since I know Linux, Windows, android, (even used 3G iPhone for a year as well) iPhone, and I am a Systems engineer.. I THINK that qualifies me to be an expert on the mobile platform.
Android, hands down.. clear winner.

Thread moved to Android General, 'For general comments and thoughts relating to the Android platform'.

Related

Are phones becoming more unreliable?

Over the past 2 years I have had 3 separate and different mobile phones. Each with their own problems.
1st a htc hero which had many problems , not anything which needed it sending back but things such as push call and it wouldn't call anyone for 5 mins then place 15 calls to that person. Not sending texts and dropping calls.
2nd a htc desire hd , got the day of release , sent back 4 separate times. Faulty phone which drained the battery dry in 3 hours even when not using it . Another twice for the phone dying and not switching on. And then a problem with the screen not displaying anything aswell as each time taking a photo it would switch the phone off.
3rd and finally the iPhone 4 which I have had for 2 months , and granted to software is a lot more stable than android (and more boring even when jailbroken) but even this phone has a fault with the light sensor so the screen dosnt re illuminate when making a call.
Is it just my bad luck or as phones are packed with more gizmos and gadgets are they becoming less reliable? Because as you can see here the more advanced the phone gets the more issues arise. Now I'm not complaining i think even with the faults there is no way I could live without a smartphone.
Any comments or are other people feeling this way ?
no, in our environment where broadband and instant gratification has become so pervasive our expectations have risen ... sometimes to unrealistic levels
Bummer...fortunately I've had no big issues with my last 3 HTC devices!
I think they're generally just as reliable as before, which is to say not very reliable at all. There's not enough testing and quality control and, as ever, new technology is constantly replacing the old before the old is ever perfected. That applies to both hardware and software where it seems every iteration brings a new set of problems.
Also consider how much more frequently they are used as opposed to the days of the Nokia 33** phones, voice only, no such thing as texting or data.
The more features you have the more these is to go wrong...
omgjosho said:
Also consider how much more frequently they are used as opposed to the days of the Nokia 33** phones, voice only, no such thing as texting or data.
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Click to collapse
This.
Or it is probably your luck
From reading your post, I'd say the majority of the problems lies within the user. It's like giving an inexperienced 18yo a classic Ferrari and expect the kid to know on how to properly take care of it. Maybe it's the case of TOO much technology for one to handle rather than phones becoming more unreliable. Funny how I've had about 4-5 phones in the last 2yrs and none have gone in for repair.
All phones now are unreliable crap. . . . All the way from beyond garbage software that needs to be changed to for even daily use(that is why this community exists), to junk hardware.
Windows 7 < enough said
As an ex-Android and WinMob user I can only agree, phones are unreliable ... and lets be honest, they have been for more than a couple of years!
The problem as I see it with OS's like WinMob and Android - they are written to be "everything to everyone". They are then customised either with drivers or a front end or both by a manufacturer and this is where the weak points come in.
Why do you think IOS and WinPho7 are far more stable? Because they are closed environments with restrictions to hardware access/low level coding. Because of this its much harder to introduce unstable code.
I am now a Winpho 7 owner and I cannot express here just how happy I am with its stability. OK, it *currently* doesn't do everything Android and WinMob do but what it does do, it does reliably
How embarrasing was it when you went to give a friend a phone number and your "contacts" would lock up or, you try to make a phone call and nothing happens or, you don't get phone calls ... only to find out your phone had locked up!
Reliability is now 100% key for me.
omgjosho said:
Also consider how much more frequently they are used as opposed to the days of the Nokia 33** phones, voice only, no such thing as texting or data.
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Click to collapse
dont be rediculous.
I've been using phones as "modems" for years, probably actually thinking about, over a decade! As as for "no such thing as texting"......
jordanprudent said:
Over the past 2 years I have had 3 separate and different mobile phones. Each with their own problems.
1st a htc hero which had many problems , not anything which needed it sending back but things such as push call and it wouldn't call anyone for 5 mins then place 15 calls to that person. Not sending texts and dropping calls.
2nd a htc desire hd , got the day of release , sent back 4 separate times. Faulty phone which drained the battery dry in 3 hours even when not using it . Another twice for the phone dying and not switching on. And then a problem with the screen not displaying anything aswell as each time taking a photo it would switch the phone off.
3rd and finally the iPhone 4 which I have had for 2 months , and granted to software is a lot more stable than android (and more boring even when jailbroken) but even this phone has a fault with the light sensor so the screen dosnt re illuminate when making a call.
Any comments or are other people feeling this way ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It beggars belief that people are saying that these are YOUR fault and the way you use it.... unless of course you decided to throw it on the floor (which i doubt!)
So all those "its your fault" people, how would he/we break a light sensor or stop the screen switching on? Seriously .. would love to hear this!
DirkGently1 said:
I think they're generally just as reliable as before, which is to say not very reliable at all. There's not enough testing and quality control and, as ever, new technology is constantly replacing the old before the old is ever perfected. That applies to both hardware and software where it seems every iteration brings a new set of problems.
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Click to collapse
Would have to 100% agree with this! Too much rush, not enough QA.
no, in our environment where broadband and instant gratification has become so pervasive our expectations have risen ...
Monty Burns said:
dont be rediculous.
I've been using phones as "modems" for years, probably actually thinking about, over a decade! As as for "no such thing as texting"......
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Click to collapse
I'm hardly being ridiculous. It's common sense. If you leave your car in the garage 6 days out of the week and only drive it on Saturday, the probability of failure is significantly lower than if you were to commute daily. There are a number of factors involved: mechanical failure and accidental damage being two examples.
The same could be said of cell phones - when they had less function than the phones of today, there were fewer points of failure and a lower probability that it would occur.
Just because you may be the exception to the rule does not change the rule. Assuming that is ridiculous.
omgjosho said:
I'm hardly being ridiculous. It's common sense. If you leave your car in the garage 6 days out of the week and only drive it on Saturday, the probability of failure is significantly lower than if you were to commute daily. There are a number of factors involved: mechanical failure and accidental damage being two examples.
The same could be said of cell phones - when they had less function than the phones of today, there were fewer points of failure and a lower probability that it would occur.
Just because you may be the exception to the rule does not change the rule. Assuming that is ridiculous.
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Click to collapse
I wasn't refering to the complexity=failability, couldn't agree more!
I was refering to the fact that you suggest that people didn't text or use mobiles as modems, of course we did.. The only diference was that we had a modem cable and proprietry dialer! I even setup an NT4 RAS server for our company...
and texting? Your seriously suggesting texting is a "new" craze....? I might suggest the exception to the rule might be you.
I was referencing the period before SMS was an available service, actually. So you're missing the point.
And the majority of people were not setting up their cell phones as modems on NT4, so you are still missing the point and bordering irrelevancy.
Regarding SMS... I sent my first text message before making my first mobile call...
Regarding reliability, my previous phones (roughly £100 dumb phones) were all useless.
Friend has LG cookie. Worst, least reliable phone known to man.
Hero? Used it heavily for 16 months out of my 18 month contract, and still not seen anything that takes my fancy to replace it comes May...
Best, most reliable phone has been the most recent one.
For those who complain of a device's speed, just whip up a custom rom and optimise it.
Never had any speed issues on my own ROMS... had plenty in others
omgjosho said:
I was referencing the period before SMS was an available service, actually. So you're missing the point.
And the majority of people were not setting up their cell phones as modems on NT4, so you are still missing the point and bordering irrelevancy.
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Click to collapse
I'm guessing your in the USA where adoption of digital networks was far slower (and later) than in the UK (and probably Europe?).
Texts have been an integral part of mobiles since well before your Nokia 33xx models i.e. before 2000.
For example, my first mobile was on Hutchinson Telecom (now Orange) back in 1995 Linky
And do you even know what NT4 RAS was? You wouldn't put a mobile on it! You would use a Win95/98 client to dial into it ... usualy from the laptop with its modem i.e. cellphone! Here in London it was common place for IT support to carry this kind of setup around. IT people were some of the first to take advantage of digital networks.... for this very reason. (Yes you could do it over analogue but it was easily monitored)
So, as we are going to labour a pointless point, why on earth do you think texts are a relatively new thing!? Maybe in the states it is but not here in Europe and certainly not in the UK!
edit:
ahh yeah there we go "Location: Livermore, CA" of course, the rest of the world doesn't exist does it...
There's no point debating with someone who's failing to read.
I never once said that texting was a new thing. You put those words into my mouth, and I'm yet to agree with you about that.
Regardless, let me know when you're ready to actually discuss the topic, sans tossing out insults and making assumptions about what I do and do not know

Ok, maybe I am overthinking

But I have been reading lots of things and am still not exactly sure what the benefit of installing a rom is. I am on t-mobile pre paid, so I am only getting EDGE for the moment. So speed is not going to be an issue, because I am limited by my network.
My battery has to be charged maybe 2 times a day. That is an annoyance, and that is one thing I think will be benefited by the rom.
I have never had a smartphone. So I am just learning what my phone is actually capable of doing. I am sure I do not even know a fraction of what my phone can do, but I am loving all the neat apps I have gotten. Living wallpapers, games, virtual guitars.....google sky map (which is amazing btw),
And I have been seeing all of these themes, and tweaks. The themes I think I understand, but can I even install a theme if I have stock system?
I know this is all preferences, but some suggestions and advice would be appreciated......
The benefit as I see it is basically getting a refined and more efficient OS onto your phone. Stock phones tend to come with a lot of bloatware that can both slow down the phone and take up space, not to mention that some items can also draw away the very limited amount of battery we already have to begin with.
Generally it also opens up the phone even more to being able to do additional things that require root access, etc. The way I think about it, in a very general and broad scope, is like buying a PC from a store and just using out of the box versus taking it home, formatting it, and then putting on a scaled down version of Windows (or other OS) that doesn't have all the added junk. Again, that's a rough example but hopefully you know what I mean.
Even when my phone was stock, I didn't have to charge it twice a day.
Consider removing some of the 'just for fun' apps and see if that makes a difference in battery life.
Chances are the OP needs to disable the H+ and only activate on E...... twice a day is nuts. I've only seen that on a HTC evo.... I use mine heavyly(spelling?) And only have to charge it when I get home.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA App
Debloating is one of the main things.
For example, one of the DRM services in the stock AT&T ROM is a known battery hog.
The stock Rogers ROM has Carrier IQ, which is basically spyware.
Go ahead and flash yourself a custom ROM, I'm sure that'll help your battery life, because I mean 2 times a day is CRAZY, even on the Inspire's 1230mAh battery, it'll live all day (albeit, it'll be close to dead by the end, heavy usage sucks).
If you need help, go ahead and ask, but it's not hard.

htc hd7s

just orderd my htc hd7s what can i expect? going to install mango as soon as i get it. how is the batter life? i get 8-12 hours on my infuse
Not sure about the HD7, but it's pretty dismal. Prepare to turn off push, limit your live tiles, turn the brightness down, turn off location, etc.
Probably not as bad as Androids, but not the best either.
sure haven't said:
Not sure about the HD7, but it's pretty dismal. Prepare to turn off push, limit your live tiles, turn the brightness down, turn off location, etc.
Probably not as bad as Androids, but not the best either.
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Click to collapse
hmm....i leave all of that running on my android and still get the 8-12 hours. might have to return the phone or get some extra batteries
I get about 32 hours out of a charge on my HD7. 2 email accounts, hotmail and gmail. Not really a real heavy user though, too busy doing work and other stuff.
I'm in the habit of charging it every night so it never runs out. My phone hasn't been off in about 2 months for any reason (unless you count resets for firmware flashes).
I am a heavy user of my HD7, 2 email accounts with push enabled lots of web browsing, reading on kindle and listening to music, it has never failed to get me through my 16 hour day, i charge it every night.
Not sure what heavy use means to you people. I'm a heavy user and there's no way in hell the HD7 can last 16 hours with that battery. Just not gonna happen.
HD7s is an AT&T phone. If you want a WP7 phone on AT&T then get the focus. The extra 0.3 inches is not worth getting the HD7s.
Good rule of thumb is don't buy any smartphone with less than a 1400 mAh battery unless it's a blackberry. Really high end devices, you prolly want at least 1600. On T-Mobile there wasn't a choice unless you wanted to buy from Dell, but that creates issues in cases when you get DOA and defective devices (have to ship back, get shipped a new one, etc. instead of just driving 10 minutes to a carrier store), so we had to deal with it. I don't recommend this phone. The battery is the primary reason, but aside from that this phone has the worse sound of all the WP7 launch devices.
N8ter said:
Not sure what heavy use means to you people. I'm a heavy user and there's no way in hell the HD7 can last 16 hours with that battery. Just not gonna happen.
HD7s is an AT&T phone. If you want a WP7 phone on AT&T then get the focus. The extra 0.3 inches is not worth getting the HD7s.
Good rule of thumb is don't buy any smartphone with less than a 1400 mAh battery unless it's a blackberry. Really high end devices, you prolly want at least 1600. On T-Mobile there wasn't a choice unless you wanted to buy from Dell, but that creates issues in cases when you get DOA and defective devices (have to ship back, get shipped a new one, etc. instead of just driving 10 minutes to a carrier store), so we had to deal with it. I don't recommend this phone. The battery is the primary reason, but aside from that this phone has the worse sound of all the WP7 launch devices.
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Click to collapse
Well, I also get 16 hours of use easily with my HD7s. Also, having previously owned a Focus, I much prefer the HD7s and I am having better success with battery life vs the Focus.
I'm not sure what you mean about the sound, but no issues on my end. The HD7s has a much better look and feel and reading text is much better than it was on the Focus. The SAMOLED may be great for movies, but it is sub par for reading text. HTC also provides much more useful OEM apps and add-ons than Samsung.
N8ter said:
Not sure what heavy use means to you people. I'm a heavy user and there's no way in hell the HD7 can last 16 hours with that battery. Just not gonna happen.
HD7s is an AT&T phone. If you want a WP7 phone on AT&T then get the focus. The extra 0.3 inches is not worth getting the HD7s.
Good rule of thumb is don't buy any smartphone with less than a 1400 mAh battery unless it's a blackberry. Really high end devices, you prolly want at least 1600. On T-Mobile there wasn't a choice unless you wanted to buy from Dell, but that creates issues in cases when you get DOA and defective devices (have to ship back, get shipped a new one, etc. instead of just driving 10 minutes to a carrier store), so we had to deal with it. I don't recommend this phone. The battery is the primary reason, but aside from that this phone has the worse sound of all the WP7 launch devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a slightly different experience w/ the sound - so far the sound is better than the focus. Everything else though, is in the Focus' favor (outside viewing of the screen turned out to be much more important than I thought - it was awesome on the focus).
The battery is dreadfully inadequate on this device. My calling, e-mail, browsing, etc., ran it out of charge by the end of the workday and I was charging it up in the car on the way home. I could make it all the way to bed w/ my Focus (since once home I tended to use my device less).
An acceptable workaround for me has been the Power Skin (other's milage will vary greatly since it's a personal thing) .
The Power Skin gives me an extra 1500 (?) on the battery. It's different than I thought it would be - the phone works like it's pluged in and charging all day. When the skin is out of juice I slip it off and return to the nice sleek phone again. Pushing the power and volume buttons throgh the thick protective skin took some getting used to, but they're ok I guess.
If I'm going out and want to slip the phone in my pocket I just take off the skin and run w/out it. For me, it's more versitile than a larger battery w/ a new back cover since I have the best of both worlds (more power when I want or need it, slim phone when that's what I want or need).
N8ter said:
Not sure what heavy use means to you people. I'm a heavy user and there's no way in hell the HD7 can last 16 hours with that battery. Just not gonna happen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also get confused when I read things like this. I have the LG Quantum, 3.8". Wouldn't it take even less power than the HD7? With moderate use, I'm charging it by 3pm (off the charger at 7am). Or on the commute home at 6pm. Cause if not, it's dying by dinner time. And I've got a 1500 battery (which I believe is 100 more than the HD7 has).
-edit-
HOWEVER, to the OP:
I do recommend this phone. It just works. No fuss, no muss. Someone else has said it on here, but you just pick which set of limitations you're willing to live with. There's no HDMI out, XviD support, or robust DLNA functionality, which I'm finding is more important to me than previously thought. But everything works sooo well. Seemless, smooth, zero lag, graphically pleasing. Fantastic.
I've said it before, just head into a store and play with one until they kick you out.
I use my HD7s all the time (exchange, email, internet, music, games, wi-fi, games) so I'll occasionally have to charge mine at my desk at work. But if i'm not messing around with it all times of the day (like I usually am b/c I love my phone so much)...the battery lasts all day from when I wake up til I go to bed at night.
N8ter seems to have a knack for coming on the boards and slandering what he can, so I wouldn't put much trust in him.
I myself came from a Focus to an HD7S and it's pretty okay. The battery lasts quite a long time for being such a small one. I get about 14-16 hours of use if I'm checking my phone a lot, using FB, playing games, making a call and refreshing my email. I am on WiFi most of the time but I really don't see any difference using cellular data. I can get easily 24+ hours off one charge if I'm just using it a few times during the day.
The one gripe I really have about the HD7S is the screen. The ghosting on it is absolutely horrible. With the Mango update installed, I noticed it wasn't much of a problem reading scrolling white text as much, but grey text still was unreadable and tiles had a "streaking" effect still. Either way, my next phone won't be an HTC unless they change their panels. It's not really the blacks of the AMOLED screen that draw me in as much as outdoor visibility, brightness/vibrance and the ability to actually read text while you're scrolling. The Focus has it beat there. I reckon once a good price is found on eBay for one, I'll be switching over to a Focus S. The 4.3'' screen size is awesome, but WP7 really isn't made for SLCD.
thanks for the feedback. i decided against the focus because my other samsung phone seems to have really bad service, even my brother mom and dad that have the same phone said it about their samsung. i am really excited about mango.im a little confused on what i need to do to get mango installed. seems to be a lot of diff mango threads for this phone. does the htc come with a different live weather tile then the htc hub?
N8ter said:
Not sure what heavy use means to you people. I'm a heavy user and there's no way in hell the HD7 can last 16 hours with that battery. Just not gonna happen.
HD7s is an AT&T phone. If you want a WP7 phone on AT&T then get the focus. The extra 0.3 inches is not worth getting the HD7s.
Good rule of thumb is don't buy any smartphone with less than a 1400 mAh battery unless it's a blackberry. Really high end devices, you prolly want at least 1600. On T-Mobile there wasn't a choice unless you wanted to buy from Dell, but that creates issues in cases when you get DOA and defective devices (have to ship back, get shipped a new one, etc. instead of just driving 10 minutes to a carrier store), so we had to deal with it. I don't recommend this phone. The battery is the primary reason, but aside from that this phone has the worse sound of all the WP7 launch devices.
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Click to collapse
Sadly, the Focus BL isn't any better than the HD7. They both are pretty much horrible.
I predict the OP will be returning his WP7 phone before long...unless he just loves the style, smoothness and elegance of WP7 enough to live with it...even with Mango.
---------- Post added at 04:43 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:40 PM ----------
speedfreak228 said:
thanks for the feedback. i decided against the focus because my other samsung phone seems to have really bad service, even my brother mom and dad that have the same phone said it about their samsung. i am really excited about mango.im a little confused on what i need to do to get mango installed. seems to be a lot of diff mango threads for this phone. does the htc come with a different live weather tile then the htc hub?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't expect much help from the devs. They tend to ignore questions because they believe any question that can ever be posted is already answered out there in the world wide web...so read.
And the rooting of WP7 phones is quite complex and vague.
i might just buy extra batteries if the battery life is that bad. so i root then install a rom with mango, right? just like my android
It's not root, it's unlock. All it does is allow you to sideload apps such as homebrew. With official unlock, you can unlock anytime. The Chevron method must be done before NoDo. Just find a pre-NoDo ROM for the HD7(S) & flash away. Chevron Unlock & upgrade to NoDo. Passing it into Mango is a bit more work as, at least with the leaks, Mango relocks WP7. there's a way to do it with ProvXML & HTC's Connection setup app. There will be an official Chevron labs Unlock for Mango that will cost money, but cut out a lot of the work. There is work on a root tool by Heathcliff & a FullUnlock (Unofficial name) by Cotulla in the works. These look promising, plus the custom update CAB's for custom ROM's that'll allow you to apply custom updates to the ROM (Change registry, patch system files, possibilities are endless).
As for battery life, I'm pretty sure I already said it. I get 8 hrs of work on moderate to heavy usage on & have 50+% left at least. I browse the internet, check Facebook, use Bing Maps, Check Emails, make calls, send SMS/MMS, all the normal stuff. Sometimes I even forget to turn off WiFi, which is supposed to eat battery life. Today alone, I used Bind Maps for directions from one delivery to another twice for a total of 1 hr with the screen on constantly, no car charger, just ordered one for work. I honestly don't know why people are complaining about battery life, it's not bad at all IMHO.
drkfngthdragnlrd said:
It's not root, it's unlock. All it does is allow you to sideload apps such as homebrew. With official unlock, you can unlock anytime. The Chevron method must be done before NoDo. Just find a pre-NoDo ROM for the HD7(S) & flash away. Chevron Unlock & upgrade to NoDo. Passing it into Mango is a bit more work as, at least with the leaks, Mango relocks WP7. there's a way to do it with ProvXML & HTC's Connection setup app. There will be an official Chevron labs Unlock for Mango that will cost money, but cut out a lot of the work. There is work on a root tool by Heathcliff & a FullUnlock (Unofficial name) by Cotulla in the works. These look promising, plus the custom update CAB's for custom ROM's that'll allow you to apply custom updates to the ROM (Change registry, patch system files, possibilities are endless).
As for battery life, I'm pretty sure I already said it. I get 8 hrs of work on moderate to heavy usage on & have 50+% left at least. I browse the internet, check Facebook, use Bing Maps, Check Emails, make calls, send SMS/MMS, all the normal stuff. Sometimes I even forget to turn off WiFi, which is supposed to eat battery life. Today alone, I used Bind Maps for directions from one delivery to another twice for a total of 1 hr with the screen on constantly, no car charger, just ordered one for work. I honestly don't know why people are complaining about battery life, it's not bad at all IMHO.
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thanks for the mango rom explenation.i might have to pm you for help. that is really good battery life, seems alot better than my android
Over8ted said:
N8ter seems to have a knack for coming on the boards and slandering what he can, so I wouldn't put much trust in him.
I myself came from a Focus to an HD7S and it's pretty okay. The battery lasts quite a long time for being such a small one. I get about 14-16 hours of use if I'm checking my phone a lot, using FB, playing games, making a call and refreshing my email. I am on WiFi most of the time but I really don't see any difference using cellular data. I can get easily 24+ hours off one charge if I'm just using it a few times during the day.
The one gripe I really have about the HD7S is the screen. The ghosting on it is absolutely horrible. With the Mango update installed, I noticed it wasn't much of a problem reading scrolling white text as much, but grey text still was unreadable and tiles had a "streaking" effect still. Either way, my next phone won't be an HTC unless they change their panels. It's not really the blacks of the AMOLED screen that draw me in as much as outdoor visibility, brightness/vibrance and the ability to actually read text while you're scrolling. The Focus has it beat there. I reckon once a good price is found on eBay for one, I'll be switching over to a Focus S. The 4.3'' screen size is awesome, but WP7 really isn't made for SLCD.
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The SLCD screen is decent. The screen is much better than the panel on the original HD7.
That being said. I'm not slandering anything. Anyone who claims to be getting 16 hours with "heavy use" on this phons either lying or using a definition of "heavy use" that none of us have ever heard before. The phone never goes that long on heavy use. It's practically impossible to do it.
If they get 16 hours of heavy use on an HD7, then I get 400 hours of heavy use on my Vibrant. That's how ridiculous that sounds, and is.
What kind of plan that AT&T require you to stick with the HD7s?
Strike_Eagle said:
What kind of plan that AT&T require you to stick with the HD7s?
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i have the unlimited data plan
Sent from my Windows Phone 7
Like what can you choose on your plan? Or you must stick with only one plan that At&T provide for hd7s?
Sent from my Schubert using XDA Windows Phone 7 App

Could YOU go back to a Nokia E71?

Just having a look on my phone and I relise that all the things I use and rely on are available on my previous Symbian Nokia E71 and that in fact if I still had my E55 I'd be able to almost everything I do now but with 5 days battery life for camping trips instead of 1.
The Nokia E71 was released in 2008. We're now looking to 2013. This makes me want to take stock and say are we really achieving anything with smartphones these days?
Yes, there is massive improvement in an entertainment way and to be honest it's the tweaking and hacking that I love...
and indeed they are getting easier to use...
But my E55 used to be readable in bright sunlight, had global maps coverage, no wakelock problems and loads more battery life. I don't think any of that is possible with a Galaxy Note?
When I look at my frequently used, useful apps I see the following that is available on Symbian:
- VoIP via Fring
- Opera Mini... that fills in many gaps for the lack of apps
- various encryption apps, but... is this with a better security model than permissions that have been broken and sdcards that can be read?
- Gmail
- Global sat nav maps precachable
The only thing don't see that I use regularly is the HDRCam app but do I really need amazing photos?
What about you? Do you find the ebay or Eggdrop apps essential? What about QR codes?
Could you go back to a Nokia E71?
The best features of S60 was battery life I have a 6120c and I had a E72 both phones last 2 - 3 days easily and Copy/paste text Remember iOS before 2009?
What would stop me more from going back to these phones is that non touch devices blow at browsing the web, and also the fact that on Symbian you can't turn 3g connection off, which will most likely kill your battery if you have something like whatsapp installed. I could even be fine with everything else, looking at how I use my phone right now. You're kinda right, most of the mobile innovations of the latest years actually have to do more with entertainment than with anything else. Basic functions actually got better but there's actually nothing spectacular going on with that, apart from internet speeds being bumped up.
Sent from my Lumia 800 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
vnvman said:
What would stop me more from going back to these phones is that non touch devices blow at browsing the web, and also the fact that on Symbian you can't turn 3g connection off, which will most likely kill your battery if you have something like whatsapp installed.
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Click to collapse
You can change 3G only to dual mode or 2G only in settings -> phone -> network or something like that.
I have an E71 that I got for testing purposes with our mail system. The stock interface is awful compared to the latest smartphones.
That said, I took it when travelling internationally last year. As a phone and a device to get mail, it worked fantastic. It easily kept a charge all day long, often through 12+ hour work days.
I'm not going to use it as my everyday phone, but I am going to keep this bad boy and use it when I travel or when I what i need most is a phone that will stay charged longer.
I used to own an e71...until someone stole it while I was sleeping by my bedside. Lol. Easiest robbery ever I think.
Anyway...yeah it was a very good handset for its time. Loved it to bits. Battery was very good and the keyboard was a particular favorite. Last phone I had with any physical keyboard actually.
I could not see myself go back to it however. Just be a big step backwards in terms of apps and general performance. Everything except for battery life is so much better on the modern smart phones of nowadays.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium
Not exactly the same but: I miss my e90 :-( It was the best phone ever! I just wish it had US 3G. No other phone keyboard I have ever used measured up to that phone... I wonder if I could use it as a bluetooth keyboard....
Well, I have been forced into going back to my E71 while my Galaxy SII is under going warranty repair (it refused to connect to the mobile network one day after running it's battery flat).
What I miss most is my calendar syncing, and a decent imap email client that doesn't bomb when you have a few emails in the inbox. As others have said the smartphones are way better for web browsing. The E71's user interface seems just awkward and somewhat counter intuitive. I actually like the physical keyboard better then the touch screen keyboard (doesn't take up screen real estate) but accessing the extended maps is a bit of a pain. I reacon the shift key is in the wrong place and should be in the bottom outside corner as it's used more. But then it's only been a few days and I'll no doubt get used to it again.
I'd really love to make it run android and might give it a crack once I've got my SGSII back.
yeah I could. I have a Nokia e5 as a back up and it does all of the essentials and is way better to type on than my current touch screen phone is. I would miss the syncing abilities of android, and the entertainment possibilities of the nice big screen.... and apps...but I'd definitely survive.
I still can a spare copy of my sim that goes in my Nokia E71 as I use it all the time when I go on camping trips and long distance when I would be away from my charger for a extended period of time. It is hardy phone and the battery life is legendary.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 4 beta
**Press the thanks button if I have helped you.

Whats happened to Google

Since my Desire Z I have really had great respect for almost every Google App.
Slowly since then Google has been messing up every app they have, requiring me to mess around and waste my time every single week it seems.
Then Google decided to abandon microSD and dragged HTC along with them.
The first victim was Google maps. I loved Google Maps 6. At first it worked great and did everything I asked of it. Slowly over time even Maps 6 started to suffer. Upgrading my HTC One S to Android 4.1.1 resulted in a Google Maps that never worked properly again unless an old version was side loaded.
I got a Samsung S3 and Maps 6 worked well for me. Then came 7 and what a mess it was. After months it finally is usable on my S3, but Maps 7 consumes so much power that my car charger can't keep up and on long trips my battery will deplete even when plugged in. And my phone gets very hot to the touch, very hot. Entering destinations by voice worked in 6, rarely works in 7. The traffic overlay has become inaccurate where it used to be almost accurate enough to drive with your eyes closed WRT speed.
The came battery problems associated with the play store and Google apps. Eventually I got so tired of it I just restricted background data on Play and as many Google apps as feasible. Battery life went from 6 hours to 23 hours. Unfortunately this seemed to eventually cause issues with sync and Gmail required hours and much frustration to fix. After that things seemed to work even without background data disabled.
Then came Chrome which I used and was extremely satisfied with until the end of 2013. Then the back screening started where loading bookmark page caused the Chrome Screen to go black and unresponsive. I put up with that for months and now it is worse with screen freezing with the bookmark icons visible instead of a black screen. Reinstalling may fix this but I am tired of this and simply switched to Firefox. Firefox was also much faster and had no issues so far .... ironic, Firefox makes a better browser than Google despite that they manage Android.
Every problem I have had has been fixable with some pain and suffering on my part so it isn't my hardware .... but I am tired of the pain and suffering. I have an S3 which might just be the most common phone on the planet so there is really no excuse for all these issues.
So whats left ...... Gmail and Android itself. They are next on the block .... Google is already slipping ads into my mailbox but that isn't enough yet.
I also notice that Google has made it quite impossible to see negative reviews of software on the play store. Most were "This software sucks" or something UN-useful like that but mixed in were very useful reviews of the apps. Gone now because you just cant search them. I also notice that many of the forums to talk and complain about Android are gone form Google Forums.
All of this points to a company in serious decline or a company at war with Samsung, with issues being unaddressed or created for this phone to force upgrades and whatever.
Are Nexus phones ant better? I would consider buying one if they had microSD but they never will as that conflicts with Google's core business of information.
A year ago if when asked what my next phone would be I would have said and Android device, by HTC or Google if they supported microSD again, or Samsung most likely. Now I simply don't know. I am tempted to try Windows Mobile because despite what people say about M$, my homebuilt PC has been a rock with Windows 7 and there has always been a way to get it to do just what I want, and then I can forget about it and just use it. Windows 8 is a abomination without a touchscreen.
That is the problem with Android. I can't just forget about it and just use it ...... something is always messing up almost weekly. I have already stopped installing new apps a while ago because every new app was just too much of a risk for causing battery drain issues.
Seems like you need to install Greenify and hibernate any app that is keeping your device awake and using too much data.
I personally think that Google has not only created a great, stable OS in terms of battery life and performance...
But there is more greatness to come with what they offer and what the future holds.
The loss of the MicroSD card expansion was a hit, but you learn to manage and adapt.
Online cloud services are your best friend, that or learn how to manage what you put on your device.
In 9/10 situations, you really do not need to have your entire life on your phone... But that's just me.
But do check out Greenify and make a wakelock monitor app off of Google Play.
See whats doing the damage, and shut it down.
That or check out CM/AOKP/PA.
Great roms with excellent performance and battery life.

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