Related
I have owned an iPhone since the day it was released and I was generally happy with the device. I of course was VERY interested in the Android OS once it was released on the G1. However I thought the G1 was clunky and just not all together there. Once Android hit 2.1 I went out and sold my iPhone 3Gs for a Nexus one. Loved that phone to death except for the fact that the screen sucks in the daylight. It was completely unreadable in dense sunlight. Once the iPhone 4 dropped I switched to it due to the amazing specs and awesome app store games (Angry birds lol) but I soo realized that I missed Android. I didn't want to go back to the Nexus One due to screen brightness issues in the day light. The Captivate was my obvious choice due to its similar spec sheet and Super AMOLED screen. However after several weeks with the device I have some griped I need to express.
1st I will say that Samsung has made some nice additions to the UI with the Mail app and the Contacts app not sure if this is seen on other devices or not. Also the stock camera app is the most excellent most feature packed camera app ive ever used. That being said the battery life is complete ****. I have no gadgets running, my screen is mostly at half brightness and yet I am lucky to get a complete day out of the battery. I doubt there are any extended batteries out there but I'm not entirely sure I even want to bother making such a slim and sleek phone more bulky.
I do at time find that the stock 2.1 is sluggish at times and I am hoping that a 2.2 update will resolve that.
I am well aware of the GPS issues that have plagued this device and I can honestly say it frustrates me that this has gone unresolved up until this point. I have had two Captivates thus far and both have major GPS location issues.
The stock recovery rom is obviously crippled. The Clockwork Recovery rom is nice but I need to know how I can install it permanently because the Nandroid backups are worthless if there is no way to for sure boot to Clockwork recovery if for some reason the OS gets bricked.
My last and final issue with this phone is the fact that it has no LED noticfication light nor is there a trackball or clear way to adjust the cursor when selecting or editing text. My hope was for google to drop a Nexus 2 but I seriously doubt that will happen.
All in all The Captivate provides a great Android Experience and I really hope to see a Froyo update soon.
Please feel free to respond to me as I would love to hear what others think.
Thanks everyone.
Captivate is my very first smartphone.I really love this phone.
Many of my friends have iPhones and i even got a chance to use the iPhone 4. Frankly, i got bored in 10 mins. Be as beautiful as it is , i cant just keep admiring it and feel happy the way it looks, bcoz there's nothing much i can do with it. Combined with the fact that i have to listen to crap on the way i need to hold my phone after paying for it i was definitely sure it was not the iPhone (I am on ATT so the high end phone choices are pretty limited. I dont consider blackberry as a phone. I think is more of a mini-keyboard in a pocket.)
But with android its a completely different story. It is like a linux machine in my pocket. Google Android OS is the main reason i bought a Captivate.
Since i am on ATT, i was waiting for a high end android phone to be released and it was samsung captivate (i wudve bought any high end android phone ATT released it with). I went for the captivate and have absolutely no regrets. I was not ready for the HTC aria as i wanted a high end phone.
Comping to the points you mentioned.
1. Why is everyone expecting everything in a phone to be perfect!!! There is no perfect phone.
2. Battery Life : This device has a 4 inch screen. Obviously we shud understand tht the display in any device sucks most of the battery. So when u know u r buying a 4 inch screen dont expect it to run till eternity.
Its no surprise that evo 4G has an even worse battery life!
(I am surprised that there are so many comparisons between phones like Nexus one, iphone4, captivate etc... Compare battery life with phones having the same screen dimensions otherwise the comparison is worthless. I challenge APPLE to make a phone with 4 inch screen and retain the same retina display and same battery life.. Does anyone think thats possible?)
3. Regarding GPS i am pretty sure its a software problem and can be fixed!! I fixed it the way mentioned in the Sticky section link and the GPS work perfect!!
4. The remaining sluggishness etc is again a software issue. Everbody has to realize that with an android phone you have the most Customizable phone in your hands. So its left upto you to modify the phone the way you want it!
Finally, i am extremely satisfied with my Captivate. It has its share of problems, and sluggishness etc , but some things we can live with (definitely this phone may not be as beautiful/good finishing as an iPhone4, but then it can do the very basic function of a Phone :: make and receive calls.)
Finally the FROYO is definitely gonna make things better.
Cheers
==============
itzz(AN)dRoiD
The only thing that I can really speak to is the battery life.
Haven't used the GPS much at all and don't really notice the sluggishness coming from a Blackjack II.
But I can easily get a day out of a charge....if not more if I stopped using this to replace my laptop lol.
I've been unplugged since 3am. Did some light emailing...Facebook checking...gtalk chatting..xda viewing, etc. Fully charged at 3am before work and used since and I'm only at 63%.
One thing that can help is keeping brightness all the way down. I only turn it up when I'm outside in the sun.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
im satisfied w/ my Captivate minus the ****ty battery life and bad GPS lol
The Captivate is my first smart phone. As such, I can't compare it to other phones, but I feel qualified to comment regardless.
The battery hasn't been a problem for me, as I'm not constantly using it during the day for texting/watching videos/etc. However, I have noticed that it drains quickly when you do watch a lot of video. But I went in expecting this, so it's not a big problem for me. If it gets to be that big a problem, I'll buy an extra battery (a cheap shot, but anyway) or pack a charger.
The GPS issues bugged me a lot to start with, but for whatever reason it's become less of a problem over time. I don't know why, but it's seemed to have become more reliable over the past week or so. Still, it is slow to locate, and I expect it to be patched in the near future. However, to get rid of it over that one issue is a bit much in my book.
The lack of a notification light doesn't bother me simply because I'm not used to having one in the first place. Besides, it warbles at me when something new arrives, so it's not a total loss. I can see where it would be useful, as when in a meeting, but you can't exactly start tooling around on your phone at those times, either, so, to quote Clara Peller, "where's the beef?"
I hear a lot of folks complaining over the lag in the phone, whether it's due to Eclair or TouchWiz or bad ley lines or whatever. I experience these from time to time, and I find that Advanced Task Killer usually takes care of the issue. I wish multitasking was handled better, and that there was a built-in way to terminate apps and services you don't need. But it's not been enough of an issue for me to bother with rooting and wiping data and risk doing something stupid and wind up with a black plastic brick for my trouble. I, too, look forward to the Froyo update and the goodness it promises to bring with it, not the least of which is greater speed and reduction of lag...not just for this phone, but the advancement of the platform as a whole.
While I have more-or-less disagreed with the OP on most of his complaints, I must also disagree with the one who said, "why is everyone expecting everything in a phone to be perfect". Anything for which I pay $200 should meet my expectations. See the GPS issue: I think it'd be foolish of me to return the phone based on that complaint, but that's because I use it primarily as a phone and not a GPS receiver. If it's a deal-breaker for someone else, I certainly wouldn't hold it against them. Their standards are not my standards, and so long as it remains a personal standard, more power to them.
The only reason I would have returned mine would have been to go to Walmart and get the same phone for $148 instead of $199, but the savings wouldn't have been worth the hassle of backing up and restoring everything. Besides, I did get it ahead of street date, and you have to pay for little pleasures sometimes
So I currently have a Huawei U8100 from WINDMobile. It's a good starter android (at a good price) but it's not much more than that and I want something better. I dislike how small it is and how slow it can be at times (as well as jam up and reboot), and it doesn't have a great list of features. Getting my hands on an unlocked good android in Canada (at a decent price) doesn't seem to be so easy, but WIND does carry the XT720. My first impressions from checking it out a bit online is that it looks very nice (I really like the glass screen and unusual design) and that it has some pretty good specs, as well as a high quality camera and video recording. And the price of $400 is not too hefty. So, basically it's something I'm considering.
Here are my questions though:
Updates: So this is stuck at 2.1 from Motorala, which is something that initially turned me away from this. But apparently, this forum has decided to hire a dev to get 2.2 on it (something I find very cool btw). So it seems that this will have 2.2 sometime in the near future (I hope?). That increases the appeal for me significantly. I was wondering though, hypothetically are the development of future updates (2.3, 2.4 etc...) possible to bring to the XT720 like 2.2 is being brought? I'm trying to think long term here and figure out if I want a phone that will never go higher than 2.2 (and if that's true), or if I'm fine with that.
Speed: One of the biggest drawbacks for me and my Huawei U8100 is the speed of it. It's just not very fast. I do have it overclocked and it works a bit faster, but it's just not that fast even after that. The XT720 seems to be at 550mhz (which isn't much faster from the standard U8100 speed) but I read that Motorala released an update that overclocked it to 720mhz. But what I read seemed to imply that it was only for UK and some other place (i.e. not Canada). Does that mean I won't have that update if I get the phone? Even if that's the case, there are ROMs for the phone that will allow me to overclock to that and be stable? Will the dev who is making 2.2 for this allow overclocking in his build? Additionally even though it comes at 550, I read that Motorala's enhancements (??) make it feel fast. Is that true? Is the XT720 a fast phone?
Camera/Video: No question that it takes good pictures. How's the video though? I use a flip Mino for all my video recording needs and while it works, the screen is tiny and the resolution isn't the best (nor is it HD). Does the XT720 have a better camcorder then my flip Mino?
Screen quality/sound: How does the actual graphics and display look? Is it very clear? And how is the sound quality? As well, the U8100 has a resistive touch screen that isn't very responsive (though it works), how's the touch on the XT720?
Your general opinion: How do you, as a owner feel about the XT720? Do you love it? Do you just consider it a decent phone? Do you just want it for it's camera? Do you not recommend it? What is your opinion about this phone in general?
Also, if you're from WIND and had a U8100 and got an XT720, please say so (just for curiousity's sake ).
Also, one more thing, not really related to this subforum, but more of a general question. My U8100 is rooted with the popular The Celestial Teapot. Does rooting your phone take down the value of resellability? If I try to sell the U8100 on let's say ebay, would people want to stay away from rooted phones? If so, is there a way to "unroot" the phone?
Any help and clarity is appreciated. Thanks
But apparently, this forum has decided to hire a dev to get 2.2 on it (something I find very cool btw). So it seems that this will have 2.2 sometime in the near future (I hope?). That increases the appeal for me significantly. I was wondering though, hypothetically are the development of future updates (2.3, 2.4 etc...) possible to bring to the XT720 like 2.2 is being brought?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Currently there is no chance of getting 2.3 or 2.4 without Motorola's help. The 2.2 we're talking about actually comes from Motorola. Motorola released 2.2 for the Korean XT720 in December, but won't release 2.2 in any other region. We're hoping Dexter can help us figure out how to run the Korean 2.2.
I am super disappointed about the locked bootloader. It would be bearable if Motorola intended to actually support the phone, but Motorola has officially announced that 2.1 is the end of the line. I will never again purchase a phone with a locked bootloader. I chalk that up as a learning experience.
As far as speed goes, I've only used an XT720--it's my first smartphone. It seemed faster than the Palm III I used for years . Eventually I came to feel it was unbearably slow in its "official" form. After rooting, applying the all-in-one optimizer, and replacing the class 2 sd card with a faster one, I'm pretty happy.
I don't use the camera much at all, though, and the few times I've tried to use it, I've been frustrated with the shutter lag (even with a class 10 card). There may be camera tweaks I don't know about, it's not been a priority for me.
maybe this topic will help
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=892703
many have already replied to similar questions there
If you unroot it and wipe the files on the SD, any ordinary person shouldn't be able to tell if it was rooted before.
re: rooting
any one who wants good android experience will root the phone
so, no worries about resale value there
re: video
there are plenty of apps in the market with better quality, just try them out, most of them are free anyways, see which one you like best
re: speed
the phone is stock at 720, not 550, only old ROM will still be there
the update is OTA, as soon as i turned on my new phone, it asked me if i wanted to update, and it was done, that was with the stock ROM, no root, no nothing
also, the CPU spec (manufacture spec of the chip) is actually rated for 1000 Mhz
it was actually under-clocked to 720 (550) mostly to save battery power
re: Froyo 2.2
yes it's true we might not see anything better than 2.2
but that is more than enough to bring out the full power of the phone
re: general
this phone is awesome, comparable to the latest stuff available, just the battery is a bit on the shy side 1390 mAh... which will get drained very quickly if you leave your phone running at 1000 Mhz all the time, reason why i speculate it was released at as a 550, and then updated by Moto to 720 to bring a happy medium for speed vs. battery life
it can run smoothly any of the latest 3D games that work on the other phones
it's one of the rare phones that have a true authentic Xenon flash, and not a LED light for "falsh"... i meant "flash"
re: sound
simply the better one of all the phones i have
re: screen
is a normal TFT LCD, no much you can expect from it.... that's comparing it to a SAMOLED display, there's simply no comparison
Hi, I am windmobile user with XT720, previous phone was Nokia 5230. XT720 is definately an upgrade compare to the Nokia, however, if you compare with other Android AWS phones, such as Galaxy S, Nexus One, Nexus S, it is a little behind. Consider I paid $250 for it (450 -$50 discount, - $150 windtab), it is actually a good deal for this phone.
RE Update:
With JIT enabled, App2SD, new Golauncher, it is acceptable without Froyo/Gingerbread. The down side is Flash 10.1, but the youtube app fixes it.
RE Speed:
JIT actually enhances the overall performance by a noticable amount, with slightly OC from 720Mhz to 850~900Mhz you could eliminates the lack in most game. Note worth: the default speed is [email protected], but I could actually achieve [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], much of a performance boost w/o killing battery life.
RE Camera/Video.
XT720 is absolute awful when it comes to camera/video. the image quality is worst then my Nokia N73 (3.2MP). 720p video recording is terrible, laggy as hell, i rather record at SD resolution. If you plan to do alot of Photo/Video, you better go for X10i AWS, but X10i has a lot of problem of its own, but photo/video is definitely much superior to XT720
RE Screen.
it is a good size, not much to complain, nothing much too special either.
Re General Opinion.
for $250 (as i paid), i am cool with xt720 as an Android phone, but if you going to pay $400 brandnew for it, I suggest you get an lightly used Galaxy S from Kijiji or Craiglist or RFDs, probably around $480 ish. little more pricy but much better IMO.
RE U8100
I don't think U8100 is capable of providing user the full Android Experience, XT720 does however.
PM me if you have specific questions. Hope this helps you a little bit.
AllGamer said:
maybe this topic will help
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=892703
many have already replied to similar questions there
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, checking it out
AllGamer said:
re: rooting
any one who wants good android experience will root the phone
so, no worries about resale value there
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, but considering the U8100 is like an entry level phone, I was worried that people unfamiliar with android would be scared off. Though I suppose I should check around and see what's selling on ebay
there are plenty of apps in the market with better quality, just try them out, most of them are free anyways, see which one you like best
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mean it just utilizes the hardware better than stock app?
re: speed
the phone is stock at 720, not 550, only old ROM will still be there
the update is OTA, as soon as i turned on my new phone, it asked me if i wanted to update, and it was done, that was with the stock ROM, no root, no nothing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh good.
also, the CPU spec (manufacture spec of the chip) is actually rated for 1000 Mhz
it was actually under-clocked to 720 (550) mostly to save battery power
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This phone can be safely overclocked to 1GHz? If so, that really increases the appeal for me.
re: Froyo 2.2
yes it's true we might not see anything better than 2.2
but that is more than enough to bring out the full power of the phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, froyo seems to add a lot over most other updates.
re: general
this phone is awesome, comparable to the latest stuff available, just the battery is a bit on the shy side 1390 mAh... which will get drained very quickly if you leave your phone running at 1000 Mhz all the time, reason why i speculate it was released at as a 550, and then updated by Moto to 720 to bring a happy medium for speed vs. battery life
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What does very quickly mean? I'm fine charging my phone every day (like I do now).
re: screen
is a normal TFT LCD, no much you can expect from it.... that's comparing it to a SAMOLED display, there's simply no comparison
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It does look better than my current though I think.
teruyume said:
Consider I paid $250 for it (450 -$50 discount, - $150 windtab), it is actually a good deal for this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Heh. I think I misunderstood how Windtab works. I'll have to check into it more.
RE Camera/Video.
XT720 is absolute awful when it comes to camera/video. the image quality is worst then my Nokia N73 (3.2MP). 720p video recording is terrible, laggy as hell, i rather record at SD resolution. If you plan to do alot of Photo/Video, you better go for X10i AWS, but X10i has a lot of problem of its own, but photo/video is definitely much superior to XT720
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I looked at some examples posted in someone's review and I thought they looked decent. I guess it's not actually . Whatever the case, camera/video isn't a major feature for me, but a nice one.
Re General Opinion.
for $250 (as i paid), i am cool with xt720 as an Android phone, but if you going to pay $400 brandnew for it, I suggest you get an lightly used Galaxy S from Kijiji or Craiglist or RFDs, probably around $480 ish. little more pricy but much better IMO.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
/goes to check out Windtab some more
PM me if you have specific questions. Hope this helps you a little bit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks.
So I'm going to check out that link Allgamer posted, check out WindTab options some more (is it only for new customers?) and then see if I can figure out what I'm doing.
Are there any estimates for when the 2.2 will be ready? (And is it basically confirmed that it will happen?)
Thanks for all the help guys
The screen is actually much more beautiful than a AMOLED, but that is just my personal opinion.
And am I the only one who thinks this camera is NOT crap? Image quality here is more than fine and video @720p isn't laggy AT ALL. Note that overclock is needed to record in 720p, else the camera app will crash. But I don't care about that. Once overclocking is enabled, it runs really, really great
So I think many of you need to stop complaining. Or am I really the only one who is actually very happy with this camera?
i really like the camera as well, it is very good, it's great phone for taking picture
I suggest you stick with your current phone and buy a new phone from eBay which is compatible with WIND. Yu should get a Google phone at least you will always get the latest for it unlike us who are stuck with what is given. Unlike an Apple product you can easily watch others surpass you while you are stuck running old version of your software.
Sent from my Milestone XT720 using XDA App
the top choices right now that are AWS (1700+2100) compatible are only this phone XT720 and Nexus S
the XT720 can be found for less than $400 new on phones stores, and are unlocked
the Nexus S, average street price is $700 to $800
unless you can travel to the USA and buy one yourself for $530+tax +GAS or plane ticket
the XT720 is subsidized by WIND & MobilityCity if you buy through them, so it's cheaper than $400
What AllGamer said. Nexus S isn't as easy to get my hands on. And to be honest I do really like the design and features of the XT720.
I think what I need to do in order to figure out more about it (especially since I'm getting mixed reviews about the camera/video) is to check it out for myself. Which is precisely what I'll be doing when I head to a WIND store today or tomorrow. Hopefully they can also clear up the deal with WINDtab for me (I don't think I can use it since I'm not a new customer but who knows, they might be nice lol).
What versions are compatible with WIND? Here's international version on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-MILE...BJC8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1296432364&sr=8-1 and it's new for $70 cheaper than WIND (and with Warranty). Compatible with WIND? Is there anything different from this and the one WIND sells? I'm just wondering why Motorola is selling it for $70 cheaper lol.
Thanks
Guys is it worth it to switch from Samsung wave to Motorola xt720? thanks
So after playing around for a bit, my first impressions: (granted, I didn't play around with it for very long)
Touch - Way better touch reaction than my U8100
Look/Design - Looks better (and much thinner) in real life. Really like the look.
Sound - Didn't get a chance to test.
Camera - I didn't play around with it for very long, but my first impressions were that the camera quality was very very nice.
Video - Also. I don't think I was even using the higher settings and I think this is better than my dedicated camcorder (flip mino - which does happen to be over 2 years old.)
Display - Very roomie (as opposed to the U8100), very visual.
Speed - Didn't get good oppurtinities to test with.
Anyways, I was overall impressed with it and I'm leaning towards buying it. They said that WINDtab is only for new activations, but I could just create a new account and get it for $250 ($150 WINDtab). WINDTab does expire on the 31st though which is like... tomorrow. XD
I think it makes more sense to get from Amazon though (provided that works with WIND). It will take quite a while to get $150 paid on WINDtab (with WIND's cheap plans). Additionally, if I make a new account I lose my current benefits of my special plan (which saves me $5 a month until September - i.e. $35 ). Through Amazon I save $70 and keep my $35 + I'm not forever stuck on paying off WIND.
My one major concern before making a purchase is if 2.2. doesn't get released (by Dexter) for this, but it does seem likely that it will be.
Anyways, if anyone could clear up the deal with Amazon (does it work with WIND?) as soon as possible (so I can figure out if I should buy from WIND), that would be a great help.
Thanks for all the help from you guys.
syrenz said:
Anyways, if anyone could clear up the deal with Amazon (does it work with WIND?) as soon as possible (so I can figure out if I should buy from WIND), that would be a great help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It works on WIND.
my XT720 is international, not Wind model, but using it in Wind
and it's a shame to say, the XT720 works better (as a phone & camera) than the Nexus S
See now you people were able to easily answer that question while when I asked on WIND community no one could give me a straight answer... (worst comes to worst there is Amazon's 30-day return policy)
Anyways, think I'm going to get this.
----
Time to check around these forums and figure out all the rooting stuff. (though I may just wait until Dexter does his thing before rooting)
syrenz said:
Time to check around these forums and figure out all the rooting stuff. (though I may just wait until Dexter does his thing before rooting)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
easy root http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=887416
The situation is similar at Cincinnati Bell. The XT720 is much cheaper upfront than the Nexus S so that definitely tips the scales. It's pretty nice after rooting and optimizing and it is worlds better than the Nokia 6010 I was using previously. Plus, I like to ***** about multinationals. Win win.
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
I'm a long time iPhone user, and I'm trying Android seriously for the first time. I'm currently using a LG Optimus 3D, running a custom gingerbread rom, and I'm getting 4G on my T-mobile USA network (FOR THE FIRST TIME! since iPhone's do not support high speed data on T-mobile USA)
My question is this, is the LG O3D a good phone to judge android by? The rom I'm using is overclocked to 1188mhz, the screen is much larger than the iphone screen, and certain things I really like, other things I find extremely annoying. And I'm not trying to start a debate about iphone vs android... I'm just trying to figure out if the hardware I'm using sucks or if other phones (samsung G2S or others?) are considerably better? Is it worth spending more money on another android?
If anyone can chime in with advice I'd appreciate it.
Araltd said:
I'm a long time iPhone user, and I'm trying Android seriously for the first time. I'm currently using a LG Optimus 3D, running a custom gingerbread rom, and I'm getting 4G on my T-mobile USA network (FOR THE FIRST TIME! since iPhone's do not support high speed data on T-mobile USA)
My question is this, is the LG O3D a good phone to judge android by? The rom I'm using is overclocked to 1188mhz, the screen is much larger than the iphone screen, and certain things I really like, other things I find extremely annoying. And I'm not trying to start a debate about iphone vs android... I'm just trying to figure out if the hardware I'm using sucks or if other phones (samsung G2S or others?) are considerably better? Is it worth spending more money on another android?
If anyone can chime in with advice I'd appreciate it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The hardwares good, great gpu and I love mine but apart from 3D there are better phones. What about its hardware is dissapointing you?
You can use a different launcher, go launcher is a good one, and if you are rooted you can uninstall system apps you don't like.
I have to say while I love it I do wish it had more ram, a lot of android phones now have more ram but I would say its a good android phone yes.
But if you don't want the 3D then yes phones such as s2 are better in a lot of areas. Lgs hardware is actually very good but their software not so.
Dave
Sent from my LG P920 using Tapatalk
What I don't like, well here's a few gripes...
Battery life is terrible, I had to buy a thick 3500mah battery, because the stock battery was only lasting for about 4-5 hours tops. The bigger battery made the phone HUGE.
The operating system seems to lag, which I feel is from either poor ram management or as you stated, not enough ram.
Touch sensitivity on the screen is sketchy in certain apps, like if I press in a certain spot, it seems like I'm pressing a little off the mark.
Seems like restarting (reboot) it daily is almost needed for some reason.
I guess the battery is the biggest deal to me. I'd very much like to use the factory slim battery, but I would basically HAVE to charge it whenever possible to do that, and that's not practical for me. And there seems to be a lot of complaints over in the O3D section about the lack of software support from LG, so I have no other serious android experience to compare this too.. that's why I asked
Araltd said:
What I don't like, well here's a few gripes...
Battery life is terrible, I had to buy a thick 3500mah battery, because the stock battery was only lasting for about 4-5 hours tops. The bigger battery made the phone HUGE.
The operating system seems to lag, which I feel is from either poor ram management or as you stated, not enough ram.
Touch sensitivity on the screen is sketchy in certain apps, like if I press in a certain spot, it seems like I'm pressing a little off the mark.
Seems like restarting (reboot) it daily is almost needed for some reason.
I guess the battery is the biggest deal to me. I'd very much like to use the factory slim battery, but I would basically HAVE to charge it whenever possible to do that, and that's not practical for me. And there seems to be a lot of complaints over in the O3D section about the lack of software support from LG, so I have no other serious android experience to compare this too.. that's why I asked
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes battery life is bad, on that front there are many phones that last much longer I have to admit.
Not noticed lag on mine but I do stop apps autorunning so I get more memory free. Though installing or starting an app does produce a pause for some reason.
Not had to restart mine so can't comment on that or touch screen as both fine for me but I have to say (and fellow android fans may berate me for this) ios will be smoother than a similar spec android device as ios is tailored only for specific hardware (unlike android), doesn't support some things that eat battery life (like widgets or full multitasking for example) and so you will notice this on optimus 3D.
Dave
Sent from my LG P920 using Tapatalk
I feel you would benefit from a stock android experience. I loved my nexus s but just recently upgraded to a droid 3/xt860. I recommend that you take a look at the nexus s or galaxy nexus...that way you can really see what the OS is all about rather than having to deal with the gimmicks some of these other phones bring about.
Sent from my XT860 using XDA App
LG Optimus 3D was probably a bad choice for Android. The GSII and the Galaxy Nexus are the best Android phones out right now. HTC seems to have stalled in their innovation, though they still make really good phones. Motorola is lagging behind as well.
I would recommend checking out the phones I mentioned at the store and see if that's what you want. I always mess with phones at the store before buying them just to see if my initial impressions are good or bad. Then go from there.
If you get cm7 on your phone and add an ICS theme... it takes over and is amazing... best phone ever!!!
Sent from my LG Thrill 4G on Cm7 Nightlies with ICS theme!
I've used 3 roms so far, King, Thiaiz and now Rushdroid.... and I'm really trying to love this phone but I always seem to have issues of one kind or another.
I'd like to have a Galaxy nexus, but that super expensive right now...
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
Click to expand...
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
Click to expand...
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