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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
I just became elegible to upgrade my phone, I keep hearing things that vz is gonna switch to tiered pricing and would prefer to get locked in before they change things. Really split between those 3 choices, get a charge with it's amazing amoled screen thats larger and customization of android, or go with iphone 4 with it's higher pixel density, built quality and pretty good camera detail, I can always wait for the apple event on the june 6th-10th and risk being closer to tiered pricing.
I looked at dx 2 but I just couldn't get into the whole pentile screen, it just wasn't right for my taste even with a higher resolution.
Get the charge. You can always sell it on craigslist for an iphone 4. Besides iphone sucks lol
Sent From My VooDood Charge
I've used every single iPhone every year since Apple initially release it. It wasn't until last summer (2010) that I got on Android. At first I didn't like it; i thought it was pretty complicated, confusing, and too frustrating to use. I didn't like Android 1.8 that was pushed onto the HTC Hero as well. So I went back to iPhone. A week later, I got the HTC Evo 4G. I started to like Android a bit more, but still used iPhone 4 as my "daily beater," if you know what i mean.
Long story short, I LOVE android now. I never want to use another POS iOS software device again. Android is the way to go, buddy.
Z51 said:
Get the charge. You can always sell it on craigslist for an iphone 4. Besides iphone sucks lol
Sent From My VooDood Charge
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Question: If you buy the Charge on contract, and let's say in 6 months you want something else, you can't sell it because it's ESN will still be tied to your account till the contract is up, correct?
ChaOConnor said:
Question: If you buy the Charge on contract, and let's say in 6 months you want something else, you can't sell it because it's ESN will still be tied to your account till the contract is up, correct?
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It's tied to your account until you want to change it, but it requires little to no effort. You can either change either online through the verizonwireless.com portal or by calling customer service.
Once you have changed the ESN/IMEI tied to your account to your new phone, you can do whatever you want with the old phone as it is no longer tied to your account.
There is absolutely no comparison between these two phones. The charge does everything better except iTunes and battery life. Faster phone and way faster network = no comparison.
I What?
Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk
Syn Ack said:
There is absolutely no comparison between these two phones. The charge does everything better except iTunes and battery life. Faster phone and way faster network = no comparison.
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Well, out of the box, the Charge lags quite a bit. In fact, it's almost to the point where it is unbearable. But the Debloated ED2 solved that problem. There is ZERO lag now.
Android is a hobby, not just a phone, and once you start playing with it, you'll be hooked. iPhone is pretty much a phone for simpletons who just want a smartphone.
The Charge is similar to the iPhone in some minute ways, probably the closest thing to an iPhone on the Android OS. Im trying to sell my iPhone for Verizon now because I just like Android better.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using XDA Premium App
im considering going back to my iphone 4, switching back n forth between the charge and thunderbolt right now .... as someone said, there can be quite a bit of lag with the charge, try adding a widget to your homescreen, takes a really long time to load the menu of choices ... i actually like using the tb more than the charge but can't read the screen very well in sunlight, so i use the charge more...
as for the iphone 4, most of the apps are done better than the android version, no idea why but that's the way it looks to me.... a minus for the iphone 4 is lack of voice integration, sometimes i'm too lazy to type a txt msg, so i just speak it when i'm using an android phone... it can be done on iphone 4 but you have to use 2 programs, just a pain in the ass ...
also, i don't have great eyesight anymore so it's hard to read the fonts on the iphone 4 at times, on my charge i've installed bigger system fonts so i can read pretty much everything without wearing glasses
oh yeah, games run better on iphone 4 than the charge... could be because of the smaller screen on the iphone, angry birds seasons can really lag on my charge..
another plus for android is the 'integration' of things like pics... there is an option to share with many different social networks, email, txt, etc... can be done on the iphone but usually have to use a different program....
all in all, it's a tough choice.... the iphone is really easy to use, has some great apps, and is stable for the most part..
the charge has a really nice screen, not the resolution of the iphone, but still looks great ...
too many choices, lol, hope this helps some.
Yea, what everyone else said in comparison between iPhone and Android OS/Charge is spot on.
If you're not ready to settle for a Charge and a bit unwilling to go back to iPhone/iOS, then you can definitely wait for the SGS2. I picked one up from the grey market (expansys) and I am loving it. Definitely one of the best phones i've ever used.
I would love to get a galaxy 2 but I don't think its even mentioned to coming to vz, I would prefer to stay with vz, been with them for years and am content with the service.
It's like having to choose from vanilla and chocolate but preferring strawberry.
Only concern with going with iphone is I might get renewed in a 3g data and not be allowed to switch to a 4g device without going for the new tiered pricing if thats what they have if I want to sell and change the phone. There's also low quality on youtube video unless I go wifi and it would be more complicated getting my own ringtones in it. Then again the iphone 4 is well built, reliable and stupid proof. Might be harder to unbrick an iphone 4.
You'll only receive biased answers asking this sort of question here - especially given your posting in the Charge sub-forum.
Having owned both the iPhone4 and Charge, I can say they are both great devices. The answer really depends on what you want to get out of your phone. The iPhone has far superior battery life, itunes syncing keepings things simple, the browser is far superior to any Android browser, and overall - the phone just works.
With that said, Android/Charge is the better option in my opinion. I love LTE, much prefer the 4.3" SAMOLED screen, and love that I can easily swap things like keyboards, themes, fonts, etc. I also like how google does not try to tell you what you want, much like Apple does.
If you want to lock in unlimited data, why would you lock in unlimited 3G data? The only phones on your list right now to lock in unlimited data should be Thunderbolt, Revolution, and Charge, and I'd say that the Charge is by far the best of the 3.
ellover009 said:
I would love to get a galaxy 2 but I don't think its even mentioned to coming to vz, I would prefer to stay with vz, been with them for years and am content with the service.
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It seems like it's coming to Verizon under the moniker Function.
PeterDLai said:
It seems like it's coming to Verizon under the moniker Function.
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The question is when will it come out? I feel like it's coming out later rather than sooner.
Iphone has great build quality.... but that's it
Apple blows. Get the charge
Sent from my SCH-I510 using XDA Premium App
Anyone played with some nes, snes, and psx emulators on the charge? Can it keep up? Is it true you can use Bluetooth gamepads with android phones and any recommendation on a pad? I played with the xperia phone but was not impressed with the screen.
I got my charge this Sunday. I totally love this thing so far, it's not perfect but I am pretty happy with it. I am coming from a touch pro 2 phone. Only thing I miss from the tp2 is that speaker phone was quite a bit louder, and even output volume through usb jack to cassette deck adapter is not as loud as the tp2.
There's some trade off and most are positive. it's a little wider but it's thinner and a lot lighter, I definitely do not miss the extra weight associated with the tp2 and it's keyboard. Screen is responsive, I have not encountered any slowdown with the exception of flash heavy sites. But then again I am not running too much unnecessary junk on the phone.
Battery is usually 2/3 by the time I get back home or 6/7th if I don't use it much. I ended up getting the dock and it's nice, you can charge the phone and at same time an additional battery in a special compartment, don't even need to charge phone. Low battery, please, I just pull one outta the charger pop it in and put the depleted cell in there.
I wish I could force the camera to orientate itself to portrait instead of assuming your taking landscape pictures.
Programs I loaded so far are Google maps., Beautiful widgets, angry bird rio, psx4droid (got lunar 2, ff7 and crash bandicoot warped working), unEcm and linda manager (lets me browse files).
I still got some work to do, I have avoided getting the ed2 update because it intrudes with rooting. I've been content with the phone so far so I don't know if I will bother rooting and doing some mumbo jumbo with some voodoo kernel thing. ( I'm still new to the lingo, supposedly it helps make the phone faster).
Upgrades I am thinking of doing is maybe flipping my memory card and putting the difference towards a class 10 card, I ordered some phantomskin screen protector, meanwhile I got the anti glare one from vz the day I got it but I think it just makes it glitter a bit.
Rooting and the kernel thing are still under question.
I love the contrast.
Hi everyone,
I'm a longtime lurker in these forums, and I'd love some advice on phone options.
I'm a Verizon Wireless customer, and for some specific reasons, have to stay that way.
My current phone is a Droid 2 Global. It's my first Android device. Previously, I had Windows Mobile, for phones and PDAs, dating all the way back to when it was called Windows CE.
I'm happy-ish with Android, and plan on staying with Android for now, but it's time to upgrade, and I'd like to do it while I can still stay on my grandfathered unlimited data plan (so anytime between now and the next 3-4 months).
I'd like to get a phone I'll be happy with for the next 2 years, so I'd like to have some future-facing features, like high resolution and NFC, in addition to enough RAM to run today's software and tomorrow's.
My current phone, the D2G, running the stock rom and the .629 update, is slow like a turtle moving through molasses. It once wasn't this way, and it's not overloaded with apps, but it's a situation I'd like to avoid in the future.
So, in my next phone, I'm looking for the following, and I can't seem to find a phone that has all of these features:
-removable, easily replaceable battery (so I can carry around more than one)
-global (GSM/HSPA) capability
-physical keyboard
-1 GB RAM or more
-dual core processor (or better)
-4G LTE
-ICS + moderately decent upgrade schedule for future releases
-NFC
-1280x720 screen
No phone matches all of these. The three phones that come closest are:
1. HTC Rezound: no physical keyboard or NFC
2. Samsung Galaxy Nexus: no physical keyboard or global capability
3. Droid 4: non-removable battery, no NFC, no 1280x720 screen
I travel internationally a couple of times a year, but not more frequently, so I suppose that I could just keep my current phone (the D2G, which is SIM-unlocked) for world-roaming purposes, and use it when I travel.
I've had a physical keyboard for a long time - my last 5 phones have had one, and I type much faster on it. I could give it up, but don't really want to.
I feel like NFC is a serious want-to-have, not for today, but for 12 months from now, when it'll be convenient and more common.
I want the higher resolution 1280x720 screen. I don't HAVE to have it, but when buying a phone for 2 years, it seems like it'd be foolish not to get it.
The other thing that tempts me is that it seems like we have phones with quad-core processors just around the corner - is it worth waiting a few more months to get one? My single core D2G was the fastest phone out there when I got it about two years ago, and now it's one of the absolute slowest - does it make sense to go dual core when quad cores are here?
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Anyway, that's what I am thinking about. Can anyone provide some guidance?
Should I just bite the bullet and get the Galaxy Nexus, and travel globally with my slow-as-molasses D2G? Or should I saddle up with the Droid 4 and its sad screen, forget about replacing the battery, and live near a charger at all times? Or maybe just wait until something cooler comes out from around the corner?
Anyone?
Bueller? Bueller?
Wait a couple weeks for the S3 and either use your D2G for global use, or buy an incredible 2 or Droid 3 for global use on the cheap. Physical keyboard is worthless now, as screen sizes coupled with amazing auto correct software make touchscreen keyboards a breeze and an obvious choice.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using XDA
Would you take the SIII over the Galaxy Nexus?
Are the non-Nexus Samsungs much harder to root?
I honestly love the Nexus. It's sexy and snappy. I bought one for my wife. I don't think the SIII will be harder to root than the Nexus. Your call really. The SIII will be newer and the "it" phone for a while, but the Nexus is still very capable and is gonna be way cheaper right now. You can probably get a Nexus for about $100 on contract as long as you avoid corporate Verizon stores. They will rape you on price and give you **** service. Check Costco or Best Buy in your area. They'll be cheaper on both devices than a Verizon store.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using XDA
one thing I would say about the resolution is that its a bit of a marketing ploy.
once you start getting above WVGA resolutions unless you perch the device on your nose its quite hard to tell the difference.
Whats more important is actually the screen tech, I can promise you that a decent panel at a lower res will look a lot better than a cheap or average panel with a high res.
Will time make a difference? nope, not unless you become very short sighted and actually have the device on the end of your nose
To be honest id agree with you on the NFC thing, if your set on keeping it for a few years it would be worth it, but that's a relatively newish tech hitting the markets, might be worth holding back a few months until Q3 12 to see whats in the pipe line. A lot more NFC devices will be coming out, one of them is bound to tick more of your boxes....
just a thought.
Nexus is always a good bet...
Coming from Sprint, I don't really know about Verizon's phones..
However,
Physical Keyboards are a dying breed. Most of these phones will be bulky and have bigger batteries or shorter battery life.
Currently typing this on my Galaxy Nexus, I highly recommended this phone.
Yes, there are only soft buttons (sans the power and volume), but its definitely future tech.
Amazing resolution (the screen has mfc defects, but they're often overlooked)
LTE, HSPA, GSM
And I do believe it has a place for your SIM card (Sprint doesn't use sim cards, so I'm not sure)
The phones extremely thin, light battery, and has a nice feeling curved glass and battery cover.
Great battery life once you unlock it and flash a battery mod.
No complaints here
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA
My contract is coming up for renewal in late February and I'm thinking of replacing my phone with a new Android device. I realize this might be the wrong forum section to post in, but who better to ask than my fellow Shield lovers.
I had a Galaxy Note (original) and a Galaxy S2 prior, and they weren't bad. For the time Touchwiz, and a poor email client really put me off of Android as a phone primarily for me is a communication device, but I still like to have fun with it.
I ended up going back to Blackberry and have been rocking a Z10 for a long time. But won an iphone 5s through work and have been using that for about the past year. I bought a Z30 recently as it was being sold at a stupidly low price new in box from factory and I am sick and tired of the small screens and piss poor battery life of the iphone.
I also have a first gen Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet, and I've been complaining about it for the past 6-10 months because of it's size and weight and now that apps are being optimized for newer OS versions it's getting really slow. So my wife bought me a Shield for Christmas and I absoltuley love it!
I love how the UI is on this tablet and now know what all the fuss is about for Andorid. Touchwiz ruins the experience in my opinion. So I'm thinking for my new phone I'm going to get a Lollipop device for sure...the question is which one?
I don't want a Nexus as I don't like the idea of non-expandable memory and my 64gb card in my Sheild is getting pretty full, no way I could survive with a device that isn't at least 64gb (my iphone is 64gb and is usually between 50-60gb loaded up with music and media.)
So which device has a UI that is as close to the Shield as possible with expandable memory and isn't the size of a house. 5" is about my max screen size. There is no need to go larger as I already have the Sheild, and I want it to be pocketable. I got rid of my Note because I just kept leaving it on my desk. I would also love to get a 16-20 hour day with heavy use. FWIW my iphone 5s is completley dead by the time 2:00pm rolls around when it comes off the charger at 5:30am. I'm usually not near a charger again until 6:30-7:00pm on average. It's going to be a lot to ask but a 5:30am to 10:00pm battery life would be fantastic...
If you want a stock OS look and MicroSD, get the HTC M8 Google Play Edition. Stock Android, front speakers, and MicroSD support just like the ST.
Not going to be a popular opinion around here but the iPhone 6 gets much much better battery life than the older ones, if you are already invested into iTunes that may be a valid option for you. For me I have the 6 plus and it is cool because I get awesome battery life and then I get completely different games then the ones that are available on my shield tab so I have pretty much the best of both worlds.
Also my reason for going to the iPhone is because I have ATT and needed a carrier subsidized phone, tried the Nexus 6 it is utter crap build quality and the Note 4 is not even rootable, there is not much else that is really modern on ATT.
As far as gaming ready devices, all Qualcomm Snapdragon devices fall into a mediocre range. None of them are really "smooth" at gaming and all of them work hard to provide perpetual fluidity. Bad video drivers and non-existent high clock efficiency mean those devices scale vey poorly, and gaming takes a monstrous drain on the battery for even simple 2D games. If you are looking for a device which can handle gaming in a manner similar to the shield (and aren't too concerned with what you might lose) then tegra phones and iPhones are your best option objectively. It's impossible to recommend a Qualcomm device as better for gaming. If you are just looking for a simple phone with light gaming, then something like the upcoming HTC M9 or a likewise lollipop based device would be fine. But if gaming is your concern (which you don't seem to mention) then my above statements hold very true.
All "stock" suggestions should definitely fly with "but shall include excessive Google bloatware that wouldn't be accepted from Samsung or any other OEM." That much said, crap like Drive Earth Docs Sheets Slides Newsstand Books Music Movies Plus Fit Now Wallet Keyboard Chrome and the ever constant location stalker CAN be disabled quite easily.
Preliminary reports say the S5 is shaping up to perform amazingly on Lollipop. A simple comparison of this tablet and the Nexus 7 and the iPad-Mini-esque Nexus 9, has shown me that it's all about the implementation of lollipop, not comparing who has the biggest version number, that is essential in determining which device is best.
Google Play Edition phones like HTC One M8 or Galaxy S4.
The Moto G and X phones also offer nearly stock OS.
Gaming is not a concern for me with a phone, thats what the Tablet is for. a Pretty stock non-bloated with manufacture crud OS is whats most important I think. Touchwiz was just annoying when I was test driving a Note 3 and on my S2 when I had it. Just didn't enjoy it. I also don't like how big the S5 and such has gotten.
I'll take a closer look at the Google Play edition phones. I wanted to get something direct from carrier to get the subsidy and save some cash... I'm on Rogers in Canada... No Moto X is avaialble, and it doesn't appear to have a micro SD. However the Sony Z3 seems to have a pretty stock version of Android... what are peoples opinions on that device?
Well I wouldn't say it's stock by any means. It's actually fairly heavy on skinning, but it does look nice. Updates will be very slow for Sony phones. But the battery life is fantastic, and the overall hardware is nice. Sony phones can be problematic, but since it's a carrier device you can always yell at Rogers.
Nintonito said:
Well I wouldn't say it's stock by any means. It's actually fairly heavy on skinning, but it does look nice. Updates will be very slow for Sony phones. But the battery life is fantastic, and the overall hardware is nice. Sony phones can be problematic, but since it's a carrier device you can always yell at Rogers.
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Yea, I'm reading more on the Z3 forums and seeing stuff I'm not overly happy with.
One thing that is ever important to me is the speed and quality of the camera, something I'm addicted to on my iphone. I'm a part-time professional photographer along with my day job. So I got a camera for manual control and taking beautiful shot. I love my iphone for the quick burst that I can do within a couple of seconds on the fly (and thats about it that I've found as a pro over Android). I don't know if there is an Android phone out there that can compete, which is very unfortunate. When I was test driving the Note 3, one of the few major reasons I returned it was due to the crappy camera speed/AF. (The others were size and touchwiz)
Moto X, Moto G, Nexus 5, Nexus 6 or the Google Play Edition phones from the play store. Thats about it. I guess the OnePlus One fits the bill also.
I can't recommend the Moto X enough. Mine is absolutely amazing and I've owned QUITE a few different phones over the past few years including Samsung, HTC, Sony, Nexus, ZTE. The Motorola lineup of the past year or so has been nothing short of phenomenal.
I disagree on the basis that the battery life is pretty bad. Like iPhone levels of battery life frankly. I'm surprised people just glaze over that. 2300mah battery with lollipop+amoled is battery hell.
Nintonito said:
I disagree on the basis that the battery life is pretty bad. Like iPhone levels of battery life frankly. I'm surprised people just glaze over that. 2300mah battery with lollipop+amoled is battery hell.
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Do you own one? Because I do. And I routinely hit 18-19 hours with 2.5-3 hours of screen time. Everyone I see complaining about battery life doesn't own one, and are just parroting FUD.
Nintonito said:
I disagree on the basis that the battery life is pretty bad. Like iPhone levels of battery life frankly. I'm surprised people just glaze over that. 2300mah battery with lollipop+amoled is battery hell.
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icase81 said:
Do you own one? Because I do. And I routinely hit 18-19 hours with 2.5-3 hours of screen time. Everyone I see complaining about battery life doesn't own one, and are just parroting FUD.
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I'd also have to agree. I was hesitant about the phone when it was first announced because of the battery and held off buying one until the Cyber Monday coupon deal. Since then, I've added a wireless charging module (thread in the accessories sub-forum for the phone) and I couldn't be happier. Not saying you need a wireless mod, I just missed that from the Nexus 5. But even so, the battery has been above and beyond what I expected, the phone's performance is top notch, Active Display or whatever its called has no second best and Motorola's adherence to near stock Android is the cherry on top.
Like icase said, unless you have one and have something to back up your comment, you're just blowing FUD. My go to devices today are my 2014 Moto X and my Nvidia Shield Tablet.
wired335 said:
My contract is coming up for renewal in late February and I'm thinking of replacing my phone with a new Android device. I realize this might be the wrong forum section to post in, but who better to ask than my fellow Shield lovers.
I had a Galaxy Note (original) and a Galaxy S2 prior, and they weren't bad. For the time Touchwiz, and a poor email client really put me off of Android as a phone primarily for me is a communication device, but I still like to have fun with it.
I ended up going back to Blackberry and have been rocking a Z10 for a long time. But won an iphone 5s through work and have been using that for about the past year. I bought a Z30 recently as it was being sold at a stupidly low price new in box from factory and I am sick and tired of the small screens and piss poor battery life of the iphone.
I also have a first gen Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet, and I've been complaining about it for the past 6-10 months because of it's size and weight and now that apps are being optimized for newer OS versions it's getting really slow. So my wife bought me a Shield for Christmas and I absoltuley love it!
I love how the UI is on this tablet and now know what all the fuss is about for Andorid. Touchwiz ruins the experience in my opinion. So I'm thinking for my new phone I'm going to get a Lollipop device for sure...the question is which one?
I don't want a Nexus as I don't like the idea of non-expandable memory and my 64gb card in my Sheild is getting pretty full, no way I could survive with a device that isn't at least 64gb (my iphone is 64gb and is usually between 50-60gb loaded up with music and media.)
So which device has a UI that is as close to the Shield as possible with expandable memory and isn't the size of a house. 5" is about my max screen size. There is no need to go larger as I already have the Sheild, and I want it to be pocketable. I got rid of my Note because I just kept leaving it on my desk. I would also love to get a 16-20 hour day with heavy use. FWIW my iphone 5s is completley dead by the time 2:00pm rolls around when it comes off the charger at 5:30am. I'm usually not near a charger again until 6:30-7:00pm on average. It's going to be a lot to ask but a 5:30am to 10:00pm battery life would be fantastic...
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Hi, just my two cents, IMHO the Nvidia Shield is a great tablet but to play PC games you have to stream to Nvidia, so if I want to recommend to you a similar device, the closest phone you can get is the Sony Experia Z3, Android 5 Lollipop, battery levels are very good, beautiful design and you can connect it to a playstation and play the games wireless on your phone with the PS controller. You even get the sound from your controller by connecting the headphones to it.
I have a couple of ideas.
If you can wait, the HTC Hima promises to be a beast. A Snapdragon 810 with a 1080p screen means that it will probably crush every other phone in terms of performace, thanks to every other phone jumping on the pointless 4K train. Look it up. It looks pretty nice. *drool*
If you need something now, then....I know you want a smaller phone, but....I can't recommend the Oneplus One enough.
-It is actually thinner than and not as wide as the Note, dispite its slightly larger screen.
-Even though it has no expandable storage, 64 gigs of internal storage has actually proven more useful to me. I never have to worry about limited storage for application data.
-The battery life on this thing is nuts. I'm a heavy user and I only need to charge it every other day.
-1080p screen. This is a plus because it it uses less resources than a 4k display. And honestly, most, if not all people, cannot tell the difference.
-Snapdragon 801 with 3 gigs of RAM. This thing flies, and multitasks like a champ. I remember a time not too long ago when more than 2gb RAM was considered excessive for most DESKTOP computers. I think its more than the specs that make this thing fly, though. Something in the hardware implementation must be special, because people have been reporting some pretty unbelievable benchmarks. Oh, and Sonic Adventure 2 runs smoothly in Reicast.
-The XDA scene is HUGE for this device. Its the most popular device on the forums. There are, like, 73 billion ROMs for it and maybe 2.5 billion kernels. I've never owned such a popular device. This is my favorite feature.
Its also the one of the only devices I have right now that isn't defective in some way. I tend to have horrible luck when purchasing electronics.
I hope I've helped you reach some sort of conclusion. Good luck. :good:
thanks guys,
I went into my Rogers store and manhandled what they had on display as well as a few open box units. I also took at look at Telus, but they can't meet me on my plan so no point in switching over. But the Moto X seemed like the best device.
I found the Z3 to be the best value for me right now. As I originally mentioned I'm not looking at the phone for gaming, but to be a workhorse and get me through a very heavy use work day. Not having Touch-Wiz was a huge plus for me, and I really enjoyed some of the things they changed in the skin. The camera performed a lot better than the other phones I tried in store. the HTC M8 was a very close contender, but the camera just sucks so horribly it got kicked out of the running faster than I could blink. I honestly think that Nokia/Windows Phone has the best camera interface after playing around with phones the past week, but the Z3 does a pretty good job.
For me it was the battery power, the UI, and the pretty impressive spec sheet that (hopefuly) will not force me to upgrade in the next 18 months that caused me to go with the Z3 overall. Rogers has a pretty limited offering right now which is annoying. I almost went with the Samsung S5, but remembered how much Touch-Wiz pozioned me the first time.
If they had a Nexus 5 32gb in stock I would have probably gone with that instead...and dealt with the size limitiation...but none left for corporate customers.
So my Black Z3 is in the mail and I'm really looking forward to it. Especially since my time frame for getting a new device really escallated with an unexpected smashy smashy of my iphone (dropped it and ran it over with a stroller by complete accident. One of the only times it wasn't cased!) now I need a case for my Z3
I thought nothing could replace my bootloader unlocked and rooted LG G3 running SkyDragon and the Xposed framework. Then came my US996 V20 factory unlocked, rooted and also with Xposed framework. This phone nearly had it all for me. I wanted FM radio but all attempts at getting it with Verizon as a carrier were unsuccessful. But I still loved and love myV20! Now is a very sad time for me because my 2.5 year old V20 is showing signs of advanced age. One of the primary reasons for choosing it was the replaceable battery. I don't give a rat's rear end about waterproof design, selfie cameras, using near field to pay for purchases or fingerprint unlocking but apparently the marketplace is driven by those desires. I do care about the ability to root and unlock the bootloader and, above all, the ability to replace the battery in any phone I own. Looks like I'm screwed on the latter!
If I bite the bullet on replaceable battery but absolutely must have root, what are my primary options? I would really like to hear from you guys and perhaps start a discussion on this subject. I paid $800 for my V20 and think it was nearly worth it but I do not have to have a flagship, especially when prices are getting absurd. I also would prefer a phone physically no larger than the V20 (absolutely loved the G3 sizewise!) and require a display that is visible in sunny outdoors. I would also like to be able to use my 256 GB SD card. I know my quest is practically hopeless but when the time comes I would like to get a phone that I feel I haven't paid for a lot of those trendy features I don't want or will never use.
Sorry about the rant – but the current state of affairs sucks, imho! BTW, 5G will "never" get to my area either but most of my usage is WiFi and I have a Gigabit FiOS connection but my V20 does not do well in the WiFi speed category.
PhoneBill said:
I thought nothing could replace my bootloader unlocked and rooted LG G3 running SkyDragon and the Xposed framework. Then came my US996 V20 factory unlocked, rooted and also with Xposed framework. This phone nearly had it all for me. I wanted FM radio but all attempts at getting it with Verizon as a carrier were unsuccessful. But I still loved and love myV20! Now is a very sad time for me because my 2.5 year old V20 is showing signs of advanced age. One of the primary reasons for choosing it was the replaceable battery. I don't give a rat's rear end about waterproof design, selfie cameras, using near field to pay for purchases or fingerprint unlocking but apparently the marketplace is driven by those desires. I do care about the ability to root and unlock the bootloader and, above all, the ability to replace the battery in any phone I own. Looks like I'm screwed on the latter!
If I bite the bullet on replaceable battery but absolutely must have root, what are my primary options? I would really like to hear from you guys and perhaps start a discussion on this subject. I paid $800 for my V20 and think it was nearly worth it but I do not have to have a flagship, especially when prices are getting absurd. I also would prefer a phone physically no larger than the V20 (absolutely loved the G3 sizewise!) and require a display that is visible in sunny outdoors. I would also like to be able to use my 256 GB SD card. I know my quest is practically hopeless but when the time comes I would like to get a phone that I feel I haven't paid for a lot of those trendy features I don't want or will never use.
Sorry about the rant – but the current state of affairs sucks, imho! BTW, 5G will "never" get to my area either but most of my usage is WiFi and I have a Gigabit FiOS connection but my V20 does not do well in the WiFi speed category.
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I bought an Essential phone and then moved to a new Mi mix 2S and both have been great replacement for the V20.
The new Mi 9 is also a great alternative
Sent from my Mi MIX 2S using Tapatalk
OnePlus is also very good, that's where I moved to from V20 and S8+.
No matter what people say I'll stick with my us996 and f800k.......this ticks all the boxes for me.
Same problem I have with all the new devices. I tried the non-replaceable battery in a Nexus 6. Never again. Sucks when it dies, and they all will. It's just chemistry. And you can't get known good quality cells, just random China crap that is completely unknown. Perhaps a bigger name flagship like the S8 would have some options for good quality cells. Everyone else gets the rejects. It's a bit harsh, but I've personally tested random batteries and they are nearly universally crap that don't meet the stated capacity and lifetime. Not just in a phone either, real discharge testing. There are a couple decent manufacturers, but you pay more and they don't make batteries for every device, they just can't. Particularly when "normal" people don't go opening up a glued together device to replace the battery.
I get that my desires mean I'm not the "mass market". But it would be nice to have a couple options to pick from. Maybe just a big and small? I like larger devices, but not everyone does.
If they want more than about $300, I demand replaceable batteries, expandable storage, and headphone jack. And, most important, root. If I don't have root, I don't own the device. If I don't own it, I'm not paying nearly a grand for it. Hell, I got all that on my V20 for about $400. Sadly, at the moment there is no upgrade path. The best thing is, the things I ask for are cheap as hell, maybe $5 total in quantity, so the potential profit margin is huge. Everyone is just too busy trying to look like Apple. If I wanted that, I'd have already bought an iPhone.
stinka318 said:
No matter what people say I'll stick with my us996 and f800k.......this ticks all the boxes for me.
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Totally agree. The V20 is the last of it's kind and they did most things right for it's time.. it even has an IR blaster, which I use as a universal remote. Like it's been mentioned before: the replaceable battery, expandable memory, quad dac+3.5mm jack, and decent all around specs for it's time makes this phone one of a kind. They don't make phones like this anymore, at least on the hardware level. Even though we all complained about LG and their crappy software updates, at least I gotta give credit to LG for making a phone like this (hardware wise).
Hopefully the dev community keeps it running for some time, in retrospect, this phone is a legend.