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[POLL] Google edition or active?

OK, here's the deal: I am hard on phones. I don't mean that I'm clumsy and drop my phone in the toilet or piss myself while drunk with my phone in my pocket, I mean I work in an industrial environment but need to keep my phone available. I pick up heavy things, I occasionally get soaking wet, and often am completely covered with dust. My old phone is a Motorola Defy+ and I managed to crack the housing on both sides with an Otterbox case on it - just the 'Commuter' case, but still. Don't ask me how, I don't even know when it happened. My phone before that was one of the old Casio G'zone flip phones, and durability wise was the best thing ever, too bad they don't make anything that really keeps up on the Smartphone end, I want a bigger screen. I'm fairly tech-savvy for a blue collar guy, but I'm definitely blue collar. Even on my days off I'm doing rough dirty stuff: yesterday I pulled an engine out of a motorcycle and helped my dad stand up a wall on an outbuilding he is putting up - he works harder retired than he did when he worked!
So to sum up, IP67 seems like a worth addition, but even with it, I would want the toughest case I can find.
Now the other side of the coin, software. My Defy opened my eyes to the smartphone world, and it is simply too handy a tool to me, but its limitations were a constant annoyance. The stock Motorola rom was simply horrid (my second and final Motorola phone) and their locked bootloader made changing roms a bit sketchy at the least. I wound up with a tweaked version of Cyanogenmod 7.2 and it works fairly well, but not perfectly. Good enough to use, but buggy enough that I wish it was a fully supported device. If I had a fully unlocked device, I might try stock android and I might try a few other things, but overall I like the feel of CM combined with Go launcher and would be content with that combo if nothing else were available. Given my preferences, I'm hesitant to saddle myself to a locked bootloader again.
Price isn't really an issue, I'm not interested in saddling myself with a contract, so $50 difference isn't much. Part of me wants to vote with my dollar, but do I vote for unlocked bootloaders (that I feel every device should have) or do I vote for a very basic level of durability (that I feel every device should have)?
What does everyone think? Go with the open bootloader, buy an Otterbox Defender (or is there a better option?) and maybe give it the Neverwet treatement?
... or go for the Active that will maybe be a little tougher, but may never get the software support I want (and still get the toughest case I can and possibly give it the Neverwet treatment anyway...)?
...or live with my Defy a while longer to wait and see if anyone figures out an effective way around the bootloader on the Active?

If you're really looking for a durable smart phone, I think the only one is the Samsung Rugby Pro, but it doesn't compare to the S4 variants, so get that if ruggedness is most important, otherwise...
I went from the Samsung Galaxy Nexus to the S4 Active, and I can tell you that I absolutely love the Nexus line, with their quick updates, clean design, and general lack of goofy UI overlays and their compatibility issues. I honestly bought the S4A because I needed something to tide me over until the Nexus 5 (or whatever) comes out. I chose the Active because I didn't like the feel of the standard S4, and I love that I can see my screen in the brightest daylight. Other than these items, the camera (which I don't use that much) is the only real difference, so the S4 and S4A are about the same, and it's simply personal preference.
After playing with the S4A for awhile, however, I'm really digging some of the Touchwiz features, especially smart stay which keeps the phone on whenever you're actually looking at it. I can't tell you how many times my GNex shut off on me while I was using the phone, so I love this feature. Some of the others are gimmicky, so I can't say that Touchwiz is the greatest thing since sliced bread, but I can say that once you decide what features you like and shut off the rest, Touchwiz isn't so bad, and I'm finding that all the things that bugged me about my GNex simply don't with my S4A. The one negative here is the vast amounts of bloatware. My recommendation is to use Android 4.2's ability to disable the bloat, or better yet root and freeze (or even better, uninstall) them. Once you do that, the biggest negative is mostly nullified.
On the flip side, the GE phones have unlocked bootloaders, and no bloat, so that's a plus, but the biggest negative with the GE phones is that they're not truly Nexus phones. Their updates will come from Samsung (or HTC for the One), not Google. Nobody knows how long it will take these GE phones to actually get their updates, although it will probably be faster than Carrier-specific variants.
My suggestion: Get the Active. With a contract, it's under $200 (or maybe even $100 depending on how you're getting it), and once the next Nexus phone comes out, if you really miss the Nexus experience, buy that phone for the $300 or so it will cost, and you'll STILL spend less than you will for the far-too-expensive GE S4. I know you said you don't want a contract, so you could buy it, get it SIMM-Unlocked, and if necessary sell it to pay for your Nexus when it comes out... or at the very least, try the Active for 14 days and take it back. The return is going to be a heck of a lot less painful than the GE phones. I've heard they're kind of a hassle to return (although I have no direct experience there).

The active is water resistant and dust resistant, not rugged so you will still need a good case for it. Seidio is making the OBEX case for the S4 which should be out soon and is rugged. (for the S4 not S4A). I hear cases are not readily available for the Active yet. The S4 GE will fit all cases and accessories for the S4.
The S4 GE woulds give you the things you want on an OS and has a lot of accessories ready now. Plus Google Wallet which is something I liked using on my Nexus 4.
---------- Post added at 04:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:16 PM ----------
jt3 said:
If you're really looking for a durable smart phone, I think the only one is the Samsung Rugby Pro, but it doesn't compare to the S4 variants, so get that if ruggedness is most important, otherwise...
I went from the Samsung Galaxy Nexus to the S4 Active, and I can tell you that I absolutely love the Nexus line, with their quick updates, clean design, and general lack of goofy UI overlays and their compatibility issues. I honestly bought the S4A because I needed something to tide me over until the Nexus 5 (or whatever) comes out.
After playing with the S4A for awhile, however, I'm really digging some of the Touchwiz features, especially smart stay which keeps the phone on whenever you're actually looking at it. I can't tell you how many times my GNex shut off on me while I was using the phone, so I love this feature. Some of the others are gimmicky, so I can't say that Touchwiz is the greatest thing since sliced bread, but I can say that once you decide what features you like and shut off the rest, Touchwiz isn't so bad, and I'm finding that all the things that bugged me about my GNex simply don't with my S4A. The one negative here is the vast amounts of bloatware. My recommendation is to use Android 4.2's ability to disable the bloat, or better yet root and freeze (or even better, uninstall) them. Once you do that, the biggest negative is mostly nullified.
On the flip side, the GE phones have unlocked bootloaders, and no bloat, so that's a plus, but the biggest negative with the GE phones is that they're not truly Nexus phones. Their updates will come from Samsung (or HTC for the One), not Google. Nobody knows how long it will take these GE phones to actually get their updates, although it will probably be faster than Carrier-specific variants.
My suggestion: Get the Active. With a contract, it's under $200 (or maybe even $100 depending on how you're getting it), and once the next Nexus phone comes out, if you really miss the Nexus experience, buy that phone for the $300 or so it will cost, and you'll STILL spend less than you will for the far-too-expensive GE S4. I know you said you don't want a contract, so you could buy it, get it SIMM-Unlocked, and sell it to pay for your Nexus... or at the very least, try it for 14 days and take it back. The return is going to be a heck of a lot painless than the GE phones.
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Actually the Google edition phones will get their updates from google. Maybe not at the exact time as the Nexus line, but they say right on the google play website that they will be updated directly from google.

Maybe you might want to wait for the S4 Developer's edition. Bootloader unlocked and basically the same as the S4, and then put a case on it.

planoman said:
The active is water resistant and dust resistant, not rugged so you will still need a good case for it. Seidio is making the OBEX case for the S4 which should be out soon and is rugged. (for the S4 not S4A). I hear cases are not readily available for the Active yet. The S4 GE will fit all cases and accessories for the S4.
The S4 GE woulds give you the things you want on an OS and has a lot of accessories ready now. Plus Google Wallet which is something I liked using on my Nexus 4.
---------- Post added at 04:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:16 PM ----------
Actually the Google edition phones will get their updates from google. Maybe not at the exact time as the Nexus line, but they say right on the google play website that they will be updated directly from google.
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Really?? I rember reading somewhere that google said they would still leave the updates ri the manufacturer...maybe things have changed...or maybe I never read that lol
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2

planoman said:
Actually the Google edition phones will get their updates from google. Maybe not at the exact time as the Nexus line, but they say right on the google play website that they will be updated directly from google.
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Okay, I should probably clarify this. Google has gone back and forth on this point a few times, so the short answer is that we really don't know yet WHO will push the updates, but it's logical to assume that they'll come from Google. First, however, they'll be submitted by Google to Samsung (or HTC) for approval or modification (mainly drivers, supposedly, but again, nobody really knows). They are then returned to Google, who will probably need to review it to see what was done. This may go back and forth a few times (although not necessarily), until both parties agree on an update, when it will then be pushed out by Google.
In short, the updates COULD come out the same day, or at least same week, as the Nexus updates, or they may take months. Nobody knows, since it hasn't been put into practice yet. Carriers of the GNex all promised that it would be treated as a Nexus phone, and that updates would be timely, controlled by Google, and (at least in the case of Sprint and Verizon) only driver-specific changes would be made by the carrier, and we all know how that turned out. Granted, those were carriers not manufacturers, but until we see how the update process actually works, I wouldn't count timely updates as a benefit of the GE phones.

jt3 said:
If you're really looking for a durable smart phone, I think the only one is the Samsung Rugby Pro, but it doesn't compare to the S4 variants, so get that if ruggedness is most important, otherwise...
...
...My suggestion: Get the Active. With a contract, it's under $200 (or maybe even $100 depending on how you're getting it), and once the next Nexus phone comes out, if you really miss the Nexus experience, buy that phone for the $300 or so it will cost, and you'll STILL spend less than you will for the far-too-expensive GE S4. I know you said you don't want a contract, so you could buy it, get it SIMM-Unlocked, and if necessary sell it to pay for your Nexus when it comes out... or at the very least, try the Active for 14 days and take it back. The return is going to be a heck of a lot less painful than the GE phones. I've heard they're kind of a hassle to return (although I have no direct experience there).
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Rugby: too small and outdated, just like the G'zone smartphone. As to swapping the phones, I'm not a guy who likes to do this a lot. I'm fairly irritated to be phone shopping this soon and I wouldn't be if the Defy were just a little bit better at anything, but poor reception and poor performance are just too much to bear, plus I can't imagine it is very water resistant anymore, what with the cracks in the housing. The money just isn't that big a deal to me compared with having something I don't have to mess with constantly.
planoman said:
The active is water resistant and dust resistant, not rugged so you will still need a good case for it. Seidio is making the OBEX case for the S4 which should be out soon and is rugged. (for the S4 not S4A). I hear cases are not readily available for the Active yet. The S4 GE will fit all cases and accessories for the S4....
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That OBEX case looks pretty sweet to me. That really may be the ticket, thanks for making me aware of it.
scott14719 said:
Maybe you might want to wait for the S4 Developer's edition. Bootloader unlocked and basically the same as the S4, and then put a case on it.
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Google edition / Developer edition: unless I'm mistaken, it is the same hardware, same price outright, and if the Bootloader is unlocked I'm sure I can flash either ROM to either phone long run.
I don't really see myself being too enamored of the Touchwiz interface, but I'm sure I can put it back on Google version if I feel inclined. Seems a bit gimmicky, but perhaps I'll have to stop by a store and play with one for a minuter or two.
Software updates are a bit of a non-issue to my mind, no matter who they come from. Like I said, I'll probably wind up with CM anyway.

jt3 said:
Okay, I should probably clarify this. Google has gone back and forth on this point a few times, so the short answer is that we really don't know yet WHO will push the updates, but it's logical to assume that they'll come from Google. First, however, they'll be submitted by Google to Samsung (or HTC) for approval or modification (mainly drivers, supposedly, but again, nobody really knows). They are then returned to Google, who will probably need to review it to see what was done. This may go back and forth a few times (although not necessarily), until both parties agree on an update, when it will then be pushed out by Google.
In short, the updates COULD come out the same day, or at least same week, as the Nexus updates, or they may take months. Nobody knows, since it hasn't been put into practice yet. Carriers of the GNex all promised that it would be treated as a Nexus phone, and that updates would be timely, controlled by Google, and (at least in the case of Sprint and Verizon) only driver-specific changes would be made by the carrier, and we all know how that turned out. Granted, those were carriers not manufacturers, but until we see how the update process actually works, I wouldn't count timely updates as a benefit of the GE phones.
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True we do not know when, But I think it is agreed that Google will push them (at least Google Play says they will) The bottleneck is the carriers. I have owned an International model (OG Note) and it was updated all the time! I cannot say it will be the same as a Nexus but Samsung has a good record of updating their recent devices sans carriers...my opinion.

Please don't check "yes this is a question" if you are posting a POLL. As it puts a Q in the title and all Q's get moved to Q&A. Title edited.
FNM

Sorry, didn't realize. It was a question with a poll, so I said yes... Thanks for fixing it.
At the moment, I'm really leaning heavily toward the Google edition with one of those OBEX cases. It gives me a good deadline: wait until the OBEX is available, and see what develops for the Active in that time frame, whatever that may be...

Frustrated, confused, venting

I come this morning a little confused and frustrated, since my gf doesn't understand what I'm talking about, maybe the online community will. I like many others brought the Samsung Galaxy S6 on April 10th. Its a beautiful phone, amazing build quality and specs and for the most part I love it. Now I don't know where to aim my frustration towards whether its Samsung or Verizon but why can't we have the same features like the international version of our phones...why is it that these carriers (I'm pointing at Verizon now cause that's who I currently empty my pockets to) always dictating what apps can come preinstalled on our phones and removing things that we were told are cool new features. For example, where's the stock samsung browser? With the fingerprint login? How about the smart manager for checking ram, CPU and such? Where's the Microsoft apps that Samsung have teamed up with so we can get 100GB of online storage through the one drive app? We see them do this year after year, I know the community usually roots phones (if possible) and find ways around this but why should the average person have to go through all this hassle?

I concur, I'm pissed, what can ya do about it, straight abuse of power.

I agree, I absolutely HATE Verizon for what they do, locking down phones, preventing root and keeping us who like it unable to have it, bloating phones and making them use what would normally be unallocated RAM and forcing you to keep them, etc. F*** you to Verizon, I want the S6 and I have it but I can't stand the bloat & the lack of root or an unlocked bootloader, though I am fine with a locked bootloader for the time being as I have my M8 for that, I would seriously like root just to know that I HAVE CONTROL, not THEM. God I hate Verizon, so much honestly I hope they fail as a company and T-Mobile buys all their towers here. F them.
- Angry Rant Over.

Yeah it just sucks. You get pumped up about a phone and all it can do just to find out some of its features are removed... And for no good reason I might add

Soldi3rxx said:
Yeah it just sucks. You get pumped up about a phone and all it can do just to find out some of its features are removed... And for no good reason I might add
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Of course there's a good reason!! Verizon would hate for you to use 100GB of free online storage instead of paying a monthly fee for their Verizon Cloud storage.

Averix said:
Of course there's a good reason!! Verizon would hate for you to use 100GB of free online storage instead of paying a monthly fee for their Verizon Cloud storage.
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...:banghead: who's side are you on
lol jk, I'm pretty pissed about the missing stuff too but not the drive storage since I already got 130 gb of one drive storage free from some other deal that's only 15 gb being used right now.
Sent from my SM-G920V using XDA Free mobile app

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ewanspence/2015/04/14/samsung-galaxy-s6-att-verizon/
^^ made me like that guy more

Hey at least VZW released the nexus 6 for those that want a unlocked bootloader.

Looks like the one drive app works
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3086465

I remember seeing this the other day and something about the verbiage in the initial discovery made me think Samsung/Microsoft pushed it manually from their end, bypassing Verizon and AT&T's silliness.

Yeah I think so too cause it definitely wasn't working when the phone first launched

I just wish they would have left aosp browser. Chrome performs like garbage on this device. The lag and stuttering is killing me.

Installed adguard and its significantly improved my chrome performance.

Soldi3rxx said:
I come this morning a little confused and frustrated, since my gf doesn't understand what I'm talking about, maybe the online community will. I like many others brought the Samsung Galaxy S6 on April 10th. Its a beautiful phone, amazing build quality and specs and for the most part I love it. Now I don't know where to aim my frustration towards whether its Samsung or Verizon but why can't we have the same features like the international version of our phones...why is it that these carriers (I'm pointing at Verizon now cause that's who I currently empty my pockets to) always dictating what apps can come preinstalled on our phones and removing things that we were told are cool new features. For example, where's the stock samsung browser? With the fingerprint login? How about the smart manager for checking ram, CPU and such? Where's the Microsoft apps that Samsung have teamed up with so we can get 100GB of online storage through the one drive app? We see them do this year after year, I know the community usually roots phones (if possible) and find ways around this but why should the average person have to go through all this hassle?
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Click to collapse
These ears heard you and understood my friend... hope you feel a little lighter since offloading the frustration. I'm here doing the same (maybe XDA should consider opening a "48hr New Device and Carrier Disappointment Support Thread").
Fortunately, I'm inside the 14 day return window and the phone will be sent on it's way back to Verizon tomorrow.
The S6 is a beautiful piece of hardware aesthetically... build quality is second-to-none but I'm nonetheless disappointed at the departure from function to form.
I started typing a big rant but I'm just going to summarise my negativity;
Glass on the back - form over function need I say more... well yes, if only to vent my frustration. The phone in naked form is bloody slippery and I there's not a single practical reason why Samsung would do this. I'm convinced this is purely a money grabbing move; make it more like the iPhone (yes it does look nice) and secure more sales from broken phones.
Removal of the SD card slot... FU Samsung - you've let down an avid supporter and I feel you're no better than Apple anymore (and FU Apple... just for good measure).
Verizon... FU for locking down and screwing with Android et al. Actually FU for everything you do. CDMA being the biggest contributer, bloatware and restrictions the next.
I figure $35 is a bargain for such a life lesson... eBay HTC M8 here I come.

I hear what your saying man. It sucks big time

CiaoMongolis said:
These ears heard you and understood my friend... hope you feel a little lighter since offloading the frustration. I'm here doing the same
Glass on the back - form over function need I say more... well yes, if only to vent my frustration. The phone in naked form is bloody slippery and I there's not a single practical reason why Samsung would do this. I'm convinced this is purely a money grabbing move; make it more like the iPhone (yes it does look nice) and secure more sales from broken phones.
.
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One of the big complaints about the Galaxy S phones was that they looked cheap for flagship phones because of the plastic. Almost all the online reviewers and many users on the various forums made a big stink about the plastic. Like the saying goes, be careful what you wish for. I have a S4 and I am perfectly OK with the plastic body. Besides most people put their phones in cases anyway and the only thing you mainly see is the screen. I came very close to buying the S6 but decided against it mainly because of the lack of memory expansion and removable battery. I'll probably leave Samsung for my next phone. FWIW, there is a Youtube video where a guy drops a S6 Edge on cement from 10 feet high and the glass didn't crack.

Eddie Hicks said:
One of the big complaints about the Galaxy S phones was that they looked cheap for flagship phones because of the plastic. Almost all the online reviewers and many users on the various forums made a big stink about the plastic. Like the saying goes, be careful what you wish for. I have a S4 and I am perfectly OK with the plastic body. Besides most people put their phones in cases anyway and the only thing you mainly see is the screen. I came very close to buying the S6 but decided against it mainly because of the lack of memory expansion and removable battery. I'll probably leave Samsung for my next phone. FWIW, there is a Youtube video where a guy drops a S6 Edge on cement from 10 feet high and the glass didn't crack.
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Oh yes, I've also never had an issue with the use of a plastic back nor wished they'd move to glass.
Evidence of that is my upgrade path over the years;
Touch Diamond
Touch HD
S (original)
iPhone 4 (yes, a shameful 3 month period in my life when I went against my own better judgement and allowed myself to be swayed by the hype)
S2
S3
Note
Note 2
S6
One M8 (and thus the end of my era with Samsung)
So disappointed...

So has anyone found a way to get the stock Samsung browser yet? It's performance is so much better than chrome that it's a shame we're stuck without it.
Can't we just install an extracted version from one of the other variants? I saw ported versions for s5 but they required root as they installed to system. Maybe on the s6 it won't need it since it's originally made for it? I'm gonna look around and try some but if anyone finds something that works please post about it.
Sent from my Verizon S6

I to was not happy that Samsung moved to a glass back and no SD card, removable battery I can live without. I picked up the S6 any way, I was paying 29 a month on the Edge plan for a 32 Gig M8 and I had a 32 Gig SD card, well the 64 Gig S6 is the same 29 a month so I am OK with no SD and 64 Gig of internal storage. So far I am loving the S6.

MarkLI88 said:
I to was not happy that Samsung moved to a glass back and no SD card, removable battery I can live without. I picked up the S6 any way, I was paying 29 a month on the Edge plan for a 32 Gig M8 and I had a 32 Gig SD card, well the 64 Gig S6 is the same 29 a month so I am OK with no SD and 64 Gig of internal storage. So far I am loving the S6.
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Loving mine too. Can't see a phone replacing this one until the Note 5 comes out.

V10 >>>Banter BONANZA<<< and Tagline Thread _______________

So the Root thread was starting to get out of hand.
If you want to "talk shop" or "shoot teh $hit", let's do that here and keep the Root thread clean for development headway.
Got a few thoughts on the V10 myself.
1) Battery life is not the best, leaves me desiring more.
2) When wearing a case, the Volumptuous10 has a very "specific" spot it likes to be touched. (we are talking about the fingerprint reader here... get your mind outta the gutter)
3) General performance is pretty good, but graphic prowess is severely lacking. Wished LG had used something other than the 808
4) Speaker is a bit weak for my uses. I often work in loud environments where using speakerphone on calls is necessary just to hear the other party
5) I miss having dual cellular radios. Means no simultaneous data and voice calls unless using your Carriers "advanced calling" app/feature. Not an ideal solution
6) Second screen is useful, but too restricted. I hope LG opens this up more to 3rd party apps that can expand its usability 100 fold
7) Picture quality for me is softer on the V10 when compared to the G4 in side by side shots. I have tested this under many different conditions
8) WOULD CARRIERS STOP LOCKING DOWN OUR DEVICES AND LOADING THEM UP WITH CRAPWARE ALREADY ???? damn.....
9) Love the design. Looking at it reminds me of Star Wars imperial designs. I have officially named my V10 " TIE-Fighter X " . And I guess the relation to the Dark Side is fitting seeing that Verizon just had to brand the back plate.
That brings me to TAG LINES. If you have one bouncing around in that noggin of yours, let it loose here...
1st point on my list above spawned this thought.
Tag line reads: " V10 battery life got you down? Could've had a V8 "
Needs to have an image to go along with this. Someone make me one??
And my feelings about the battery life and design of this spectacular device come with a development request.
SOMEONE PLEASE MAKE A STAR WARS ROM FOR THIS BEAST!!! I beg of you.
Call it something like "Star Destroyer", or "Vader's Vain". Maybe even "DeathStar". Get creative.
As you can see by the title of this thread and the content within... ANYTHING GOES.
Have at it !!!

Why in the bloody hell does the default camera app have to sharpen every image. I think LG wants to compensate on everything *wink wink*

Battery life is ... Meh... ok though.. two batteries / fast charging is a nice option...
also, and probably the bigger topic. I can talk and use data (either on the device itself or tethering via Foxfi) at the same time. I'm not doing anything special but it works for me.

Development for this phone it's pretty much non existent. I should have kept my nexus 6 or bought the newest note.
The second screen is a total waste at this point and a awful gimmick that managed to suck me in to buy the phone. ( that was one of the reasons I bought it).
This is my first and probably last LGv phone.
Battery life is less than desirable but so are most Android phones.

TheRealKingSen said:
Development for this phone it's pretty much non existent. I should have kept my nexus 6 or bought the newest note.
The second screen is a total waste at this point and a awful gimmick that managed to suck me in to buy the phone. ( that was one of the reasons I bought it).
This is my first and probably last LGv phone.
Battery life is less than desirable but so are most Android phones.
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Is your name Nancy by chance?
I like the second screen. use it to control pandora (or music app) while in another app or while screen is off, quick apps to launch (from anywhere), answer or ignore phone calls without it taking over your screen. I extended the text notification to ten seconds so if i see one come in I have time to click on it to bring it up or swipe it away. anyhow. just my opinion. Hope it grows on you and if not that you are able to trade someone for a phone you like better.

ke5pcv said:
Why in the bloody hell does the default camera app have to sharpen every image. I think LG wants to compensate on everything *wink wink*
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I tested my V10 side by side with my mothers G4. Her G4 takes a sharper shot on almost every attempt. This is testing them literally side x side taking shots in various conditions.
So either the software on the V10 need tweaking, or I bought my Mom a killer G4. LOL Just my $.02
kaluna00 said:
I can talk and use data (either on the device itself or tethering via Foxfi) at the same time. I'm not doing anything special but it works for me.
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Log into your Verizon account online and look on the right side of the page. You should see "Plan Management" in red letters. Right under that are 2 red buttons. Click on the [My Products and Apps].
On the next page under the Get Products tab, click on "Free Products". You should see HD Voice. If that is enabled already, that might be why you can do that.
Now the feature that originally allowed you to use data and voice simultaneously used to be listed here under the name Advanced Calling 1.0. It does not appear there any more, but it was there just a month ago. I am not sure if it has been rolled up into the HD Voice or not, but it's probably baked into all current Verizon phone Roms (official). And probably enabled by default.
What it does is call over your data connection (basically like VOIP) thus you are not really using voice and data simultaneously. You are making calls over LTE while still using LTE.
Try going out to an area where there is no LTE and you will find that you cannot use the Advanced Calling while on 3G. AC can also drop calls if you are in an area where LTE signal is weak, or you are moving around a large distance at a time (driving, etc.)
Its a compromise, but it certainly does not make up for the true capabilities of separate radios.
TheRealKingSen said:
Development for this phone it's pretty much non existent. I should have kept my nexus 6 or bought the newest note.
The second screen is a total waste at this point and a awful gimmick that managed to suck me in to buy the phone. ( that was one of the reasons I bought it).
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Gimmick.... eh, maybe somewhat. "Eye of the beholder" I suppose. I think it would have made more sense on the bottom, but then it just would have been a longer screen.
The way I see it being useful is having it on the bottom where your nav bar would be, and allowing it to swipe and change to something else beside the nav buttons. And this would give you back the screen space that you are loosing to the nav bar. But like I said, then you just have a longer screen overall.
Custom Roms already have features like this, so it wont be anything revolutionary except to those that didn't know such a thing existed.
I think it will gain more traction when LG decides to let devs expand on the 2nd screens functions and 3rd party support.
But the phone is beautiful right? The Note used to be my favorite phone line, but now it is in the dumpster along with the whole Galaxy line-up. It lays right there next to the iFone slopped in decaying banana guts, just beneath the rotting apple.

I've had Samsung phones back to the Captivate, and I REALLY like what LG has put out with the V10. For me it isnt so much a drastic change in the GUI/Software, that's all really just a change in the "theme". GUI wise, it's a bit refreshing to get away from Sammy. Hardware wise, I LOVE what LG did with this device, it's far more solid feeling than my Note III. It has a great weight. It did take a little getting use to the button placement, but after a month or 2 it's really MUCH more intuitive than the placement on the side rails. I suppose the bump to a higher rated processor would've been really nice, but for my usage I see zero lag/performance issues.
So to carry over from the Root bounty thread, and I KNOW this will cause a fury of discussions on device lock down/Root/locked bootloaders
I've mentioned this before in other areas, and unfortunately, I believe this is the way things are going to continue to move.
One of the things I think we (here at XDA) fail to realize is the full scope of a devices impact in the market versus the size and scope of XDA's "footprint". Take the S6 and S6 edge as an example. Estimated combined device sales figures are somewhere around 45 million (as of June 2015). XDA's current membership is close to 7 million in total, for ALL devices. If you (generously imo) estimate that 10% of all XDA members own a S6 or S6 edge, that would account for around 1.6% of the devices total sales.
As someone said in the other thread, that "we" should boycott the carries that are locking devices down...... under 2% of total sales(again for the S6/S6 Edge as the example)? I think they would barely even notice
It just makes really good business sense to cater sales to large scale corporations who require a secure device. Which is why I think Big Red and Big Blue are locking the devices down. This model, is really just securing all of the business that they ripped away from Blackberry.
T-Mo, seems to be moving in a different direction by catering to the "younger generation"/family's, etc. Which doesn't really "require" a locked system.
I think that we are still very lucky to have some really talented folks who are still able to dig in and get things done. Unfortunately, I fear this is going to become more and more difficult to do
This is all "what I think", not "what I know" so take it with a grain of salt

@fire3element
Log into your Verizon account online and look on the right side of the page. You should see "Plan Management" in red letters. Right under that are 2 red buttons. Click on the [My Products and Apps].
On the next page under the Get Products tab, click on "Free Products". You should see HD Voice. If that is enabled already, that might be why you can do that.
You were right... It was enabled on my line. I have been able to do this since I had my Rezound though (also on my G2). I still have an UDP and could talk while tethering or surfing... don't know why (rooted, custom ROM???) anyway. glad it is still working and I'll try it if I get into a place without 4G and report back. anyway..

kaluna00 said:
You were right... It was enabled on my line. I have been able to do this since I had my Rezound though (also on my G2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am pretty sure that the Rezound had separate data and voice radios. Let me clarify that. LTE radio is separate from the 3g/1x radio. The Note 3 and I believe up to the S5 have separated raidos. Think that changed with the Note 4 and other phone that came out around that time.
Note 3 had the 801 chipset, so most phones around that time had the same radio setup.
Snapdragon and other manufactures started merging to single radio setups to conserve power. The result is hindered operation, which is trying to be solved with software. Seems ok till you don't have a strong LTE signal or no LTE at all. The call dropping is also very aggravating. Specially those that use their devices for business... _________________yeah

Hate to admit it.. But guess that was just dumb luck. I normally have week LTE @my brothers house. I'll try it out next time I'm there.

kangi26 said:
I've mentioned this before in other areas, and unfortunately, I believe this is the way things are going to continue to move.
One of the things I think we (here at XDA) fail to realize is the full scope of a devices impact in the market versus the size and scope of XDA's "footprint".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you are absolutely right. We are of little to no significance to the phone makers, but there IS a large market to influence with Unlockable devices. As has been proven with Nexus, One+, and Motorola sales.
On the subject of T-mobile, I think the majority of their decision to allow Unlockable devices is purely grasping at straws for more customers. That and the fact they realize the % of users that are even interested in this is just a small portion of the customer base, thus fairly irrelevant vs. being something that impacts their bottom line.
BUT WHY WON'T GOOGLE FORCE ALL MANUFACTURES TO ALLOW BOOTLOADER UNLOCKS FOR USERS THAT CHOOSE TO DO SO?? I mean it is GOOGLE's OS. They could make this mandatory.
And implement it the same way the Nexus line does. You can unlock your Bootloader, but you are forced to wipe the device in the process. Yes there could be ways around this, but so exist exploits to gain Root on devices without wiping.
I think Motorola has a good policy on this. You are allowed to officially unlock your Bootloader upon agreement that Moto is not responsible for your security thereafter, and your warranty is now VOID.
I see little risk allowing this with all devices. And this is what Android SHOULD BE.
Users need to have the choice to do with their devices what they want. I have a feeling that there is a bigger player in this that is keeping the Gubermint from forcing manufactures to abide by this like they did to Verizon with the Carrier unlocking.

fire3element said:
Yes, you are absolutely right. We are of little to no significance to the phone makers, but there IS a large market to influence with Unlockable devices. As has been proven with Nexus, One+, and Motorola sales.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that if we look a little at the device sales for last year,
Samsung sold 392 million
Lenovo, Motorola sold 84 million
LG sold 76 million (this would include Nexus)
and so on and so on(sales numbers get smaller). I think what were looking at is complete dominance in the handset market. Even Apple only sold 191 million, not even close to Sammy!
So to me, it's a "Do what you can to stay a viable device manufacturer", and to do that you have to get as many sales as you can. Being in IT in the Healthcare industry, I know what the company I work for requires. The more secure the manufacturer can make the device, the more likely they'll be in the running to get a sale/contract
fire3element said:
On the subject of T-mobile, I think the majority of their decision to allow Unlockable devices is purely grasping at straws for more customers. That and the fact they realize the % of users that are even interested in this is just a small portion of the customer base, thus fairly irrelevant vs. being something that impacts their bottom line.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you're spot on here! I've thought that for a while too
fire3element said:
BUT WHY WON'T GOOGLE FORCE ALL MANUFACTURES TO ALLOW BOOTLOADER UNLOCKS FOR USERS THAT CHOOSE TO DO SO?? I mean it is GOOGLE's OS. They could make this mandatory.
And implement it the same way the Nexus line does.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that it's because Google is in the market to sell it's OS, and if they can provide a product that will sell and ship on well over 500 million devices in 2014. That's what I call makin' money!
To be honest, I've always thought that the reason Google came out with the Nexus line was to maintain a platform that was "Pure Google" knowing full well that the rest of the industry was going to be changed. And keep it the way the first rolled out and hoped it would be. I think that's really cool

I enjoyed the dialog you two posted and agree with it all and the parts in the middle.
Thanks Kangi26 and Fire3Element, good stuff.

This is my first LG device and in happy that I purchased it. I've read all through the forum people are complaining about things that could've been avoided before you left the carrier store or where ever the device was purchased. When I went in I had three devices in mind, this device the note 5 and Samsung Galaxy S6. I tested all three over an hour and half time frame and ended up choosing the LG V10. I've even dropped it or its been knocked off my counter to tile flooring about 4 or 5 times with no issues. The only thing that I've found that I don't like is the LG keyboard so I switched to the Google keyboard... Problem solved. I have good battery life, so I'm happy

Overall, I am happy with this phone. Yes there are some nitpicks, but ALL devices have them.
The fact that I still get a removable battery and microSD card slot more than make up for the rest of the V10's issues.
But I will say I am still a Note fan. If the Note 5 had kept the removable battery and SD card, I'd most likely have bought the Note 5. My Note 3 has been an absolute beast, and still is to this day.
Unfortunately, the LTE reception issues have been getting so bad that I was forced to upgrade to a new phone. Otherwise, I would still be using my Note 3 until SamSmug got their $tuff together. If the V10 gets Root, I will be more than happy. Hope for a Bootloader unlock as well.

this thread is what we needed to vent and just bs. thanks bud.

fire3element said:
Overall, I am happy with this phone. Yes there are some nitpicks, but ALL devices have them.
The fact that I still get a removable battery and microSD card slot more than make up for the rest of the V10's issues.
But I will say I am still a Note fan. If the Note 5 had kept the removable battery and SD card, I'd most likely have bought the Note 5. My Note 3 has been an absolute beast, and still is to this day.
Unfortunately, the LTE reception issues have been getting so bad that I was forced to upgrade to a new phone. Otherwise, I would still be using my Note 3 until SamSmug got their $tuff together. If the V10 gets Root, I will be more than happy. Hope for a Bootloader unlock as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really loved my Note 3 as well, and was really on the fence with the Note 5. I loved the size and how small the screen bezels are, but there were a couple things that I really didn't like at all. The removable battery/no SD slot wasn't the straw that broke the camels back, it was oddly the glass back. I had that thing in my hand at the AT&T store, and it was WAY too slick for me
And really when I got the V10 in my hands, it just felt so much better than even my Note 3, I bought it on the spot (I had been looking at the specs for a while too)

kangi26 said:
The removable battery/no SD slot wasn't the straw that broke the camels back, it was oddly the glass back. I had that thing in my hand at the AT&T store, and it was WAY too slick for me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is where we differ the most then. I absolutely have to have a case on my phones due to working conditions. After having the Zero Lemon extended battery + case on several phones, there is no way I would ever sacrifice having a removable batt on my main device again. That is unless there are no longer any phones with removable batt.
I had contemplated building a design just like what Zero Lemon sells back when I had my LG VX8700 flip phone. A triple cell battery that covered the entire length of the phone just made sense to me. I pondered on it for a while, but did not see how I could get a manufacture to build them.
Then when I got my Droid X, I bought 3 batteries and attempted to build one. It seemed to work ok, but again my working conditions are harsh. I had to stop using it in fear that I would lose/drop them while working.
Now that there is a manufacture making these tri-cell batteries, I don't think I could ever live without one. Just so close to what I had envisioned years ago so I guess it means more to me than most.
Not everyone's idea of portable I suppose. But when you can tether for 48hrs straight and never have to worry that your battery is going to go dead... now THATS POWAR!!!
Prob could jump start your car off one of these. LoL

fire3element said:
But when you can tether for 48hrs straight and never have to worry that your battery is going to go dead... now THATS POWAR!!!
Prob could jump start your car off one of these. LoL
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HAA!! That's a riot!!
You know, that gives me an idea! You could take a spare back for the V10, epoxy it to one of these, run a cable to the USB ports.
You could run FOREVER, and jump a car all at the same time!!
---------- Post added at 12:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:51 PM ----------
fire3element said:
This is where we differ the most then. I absolutely have to have a case on my phones due to working conditions. After having the Zero Lemon extended battery + case on several phones, there is no way I would ever sacrifice having a removable batt on my main device again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In the past few years, I've not been quite the power user I use to be, and also saw that the N5 had an option for larger memory (Not the BEST options, but I could've lived with it). And even my career changed too, so even a case isnt NEARLY as important as it use to be for me (I was in construction, so Otterbox was a MUST)

This very type of thread was created back when the device was launched here.
No need to start another.
Please carry on in the Lounge:good:
This thread has been closed
Thank you.

S7 Edge migration to Pixel XL ?

I only owned 1 nexus before due to the simple reason they were not playing on the stronger league of hardware, despite the fact being updated often it was still not enough to convince me to go back to mid-range cell phones... I guess not time has come to say goodbye to samsung, their crappy bloatware and let go the edge (that in reality has few use from me, it's there...so I can swipe it...once a week for the news that I recive a notification anyway )
So most certainly gonna move to the new google phones and leave samsung to eat their own filth regarding their policies and bloatware after a few generations that I had... s3, s4, s6 and s7. Time to a new game...
Anyone else planning to move?

I agree on most of the above points for reasons to move away from Sammy to Google's new phones if they deliver.
I am however waiting for my S7E to be delivered... I use the Note 3, which is still amazing to this day thanks to the xda and other dev communities. I've tried moving away to LG V10, which had awesome camera, apart from which my Note 3 beat it in every other way (performance and battery life being the major ones).
Thrilled to get my hands on the S7E and flash away....... Let's see how long it lasts (hoping the screen is not that fragile).
But ultimately Google's Pixel phone should be a killer, I am especially excited to check the camera (it appears to be the only real reason to upgrade the phone for me currently) so I will most likely switch to Google camp
Otherwise OnePlus3 is a decent phone for half the price...

The s7e is better than the pixel lineup
Sent from my SM-G935F using XDA-Developers mobile app

no offense , but only a brain dead idiot will change from s7e to damn costly pixel xl , that too running stock android

The galaxy s7 edge is better!

The Pixel lineup is fine imho, but not at that price range. Too expensive! Should be way cheaper to even be an alternative. I would miss the expandable storage and the ip certification as well. In hindsight not so fine i guess after all...

That's the general consensus I've been reading since yesterday. Who in their right mind would pay 760€ - 1000€ for either of the Pixel phones with their only outstanding feature being Daydream? Yeah, there are timely updates and a complete "Google experience" but the average consumer doesn't care about these things. Google doesn't hit it. A. In that price range, you have devices that can do way more, and are better equipped, e.g. water resistance, no headphone jack, S-Pen etc. Something the Pixel phones don't offer and B. the things the Pixel phones offer you can easily have on a OnePlus 3 or many other 300€ - 400€ devices.
Besides, these things being non-Nexus devices, I can imagine Google implementing a feature similar to an irreversible flash counter like the KNOX FLAG.
But fear not! The Nexus line is not dead. The Pixel phones are just a distraction. At least, according to Stephen Hall from 9to5 Google.

nitrous² said:
That's the general consensus I've been reading since yesterday. Who in their right mind would pay 760€ - 1000€ for either of the Pixel phones with their only outstanding feature being Daydream? Yeah, there are timely updates and a complete "Google experience" but the average consumer doesn't care about these things. Google doesn't hit it. A. In that price range, you have devices that can do way more, and are better equipped, e.g. water resistance, no headphone jack, S-Pen etc. Something the Pixel phones don't offer and B. the things the Pixel phones offer you can easily have on a OnePlus 3 or many other 300€ - 400€ devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wait...... no headphone jack is a GOOD thing???

WerkFlowJones said:
wait...... no headphone jack is a GOOD thing???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That was poorly implemented sarcasm. Sorry.

Price vs. features vs. design ... Pixel and Pixel XL are a expensive HTC garbage that ruined the Nexus realm.
The Pixels have nothing on the S7 or S7 Edge.

insaned said:
I only owned 1 nexus before due to the simple reason they were not playing on the stronger league of hardware, despite the fact being updated often it was still not enough to convince me to go back to mid-range cell phones... I guess not time has come to say goodbye to samsung, their crappy bloatware and let go the edge (that in reality has few use from me, it's there...so I can swipe it...once a week for the news that I recive a notification anyway )
So most certainly gonna move to the new google phones and leave samsung to eat their own filth regarding their policies and bloatware after a few generations that I had... s3, s4, s6 and s7. Time to a new game...
Anyone else planning to move?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm thinking about it, mainly because of the battery life. No matter what I do, this phone sucks on battery life. I'm going to wait and see what the reports are though before I jump in and order one.

Mmmmmm the only phone that can make me think of replacing my s7e with is Note 7. Been using note 4 before and I miss it...
Google phone is too expensive for having nothing really better but the cam... only few apps that I wont use like the new google now.

No way, the pixel is far to expensive.
I can't see any advantage over the S7e except the slightly faster Updates.
Over the last years Samsung has improved the Update-cycle to an really good level so i can live with it.
I wouldn't give up the excellent Battery, the waterresistance and the SD-Card for the Pixel...

Well, maybe I'm too long on samsung galaxys and just wanna move... I went trough all the headaches, knox ****, the harder ways to personalize the phone...
At the moment the truth is that I cannot complain about the s7 edge, however this is due to long headaches... I have 120 apps/services frozen. Most is samsung junk... google now didn't make sense to me, I was avoid some battery draining not using it,until I realized that the voice is too handy while I'm driving to put reminders, notes or ask for stuff which just made things little smoother specially when Im driving.
And I have a rooted phone, with xposed and now even the systemless is giving headaches.. so it's a choice of using flashfire or systemless and i'm simply fed up of all the around and arounds each time I wanna mod the phone. Ofc this is not a phone for the whole market... but for me just having updates a a more functional way to modify/root/xposed the phone the better.
I can be wrong... ANd I agree that samsung got way better with the battery draining and updates, but still because I rely a lot on frozen and modified stuff.
Nougat already out and we can sit and wait until january for that samsung test it, fill it up with their junk and release it to the s7. yes because now s8 is on the way so their aim is to release s8 with nougat... which is been typical from samsung lately, hold the updates and then release a new model already with the update leaving the older users waiting. still better than before though...

I was going to move from my S7e to the Pixel XL but I decided to wait for the S8. One of the things that made me want a Pixel was the 128gb storage capacity. Why don't Samsung come in larger capacities? This honestly really frustrates me because even with expandable SD it's still not having the same as a huge internal storage. Why can't they copy apple and have 128gb, 256gb? I love my S7e but I'd be more loyal to my phone if it had a larger internal capacity. So far, more than happy with my rooted S7e!

The Pixel does nothing for me AT ALL.
It's disgustingly expensive. It has no wireless charging, no removable storage, looks incredibly bland and boring, has nothing new at all. It brings nothing new to the table. I simply can't see any reason why anyone would switch. Except if they were a diehard plain vanilla stock Android fan.
And I don't care if they get updates quicker.

the_scotsman said:
The Pixel does nothing for me AT ALL.
It's disgustingly expensive. It has no wireless charging, no removable storage, looks incredibly bland and boring, has nothing new at all. It brings nothing new to the table. I simply can't see any reason why anyone would switch. Except if they were a diehard plain vanilla stock Android fan.
And I don't care if they get updates quicker.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But but but but................you don't want to have Google Assistant? You can have conversations with your phone :silly:

bvdxr said:
Why don't Samsung come in larger capacities? This honestly really frustrates me because even with expandable SD it's still not having the same as a huge internal storage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SD slot.
Samsung EVO or Select 256 GB SD + 32 GB internal F T W !
---------- Post added at 02:58 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:56 PM ----------
Galactus said:
But but but but................you don't want to have Google Assistant? You can have conversations with your phone :silly:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That pretty much sums it up!
You should see the loathing idiots putting so much emphasis on GA being a huge differentiator, a decisive motivator to overpay for a Pixel on other sites.

The pixel is ugly AF. I'd question peoples tastes for dumping the s7e for that.

A phohe thats cost 1000 euro pixelXL? and no water resistant? go away google

Quick opinion on someone who has the phone...

I, like most of you, was waiting impatiently for this device for the past few weeks. I was given a retail model on Thursday early and wanted to let my thoughts after 48 hours.
I have to say I haven't been this disappointed in a phone in a while. While the phone is a looker, fundamentals are quite lacking.
Battery life - Same as the S7 and that's not a good thing. Has the same inconsistent issues of quick drains while running idle. As an example, was working on my house yesterday for roughly 4 hours and left the phone down with out being touched. Left it at 90% and came back at 74%. Again no usage. I have 3 other Android phones with more apps running and this doesn't happen except on Samsung. They will never change in this regard. Every year I have hope and get sucked into buying one. Same results.
Fingerprint sensor- I was one of the people that thought all the complaining was unwarranted about the fingerprint sensor placement. I thought this is just an issue for certain people with finger dexterity issues or just looking for something to complain about. Boy was I wrong. It's actually worse! It works maybe75% of the time and that is only using my right hand. Forget about the left hand.. way too awkward and difficult to do with one hand. At first, I thought no biggie, I'll just use face scanning or supplement with Iris scanning. Face scanning again is hit and miss and forget about Iris scanning if you are anywhere outside of bright light. I had the note 7 and that seemed to work a ton better. Maybe a software fix coming? Back to the fingerprint issue.. Samsung Pay doesn't even come preloaded on the phone! Why?!?! Because the NFC chip is on back so have fun using the sensor and holding it to a pay device. I was perplexed how this was a main selling point with the s and note series of last year and how it couldn't be preloaded. Hell it is on the gear S3. I used it 3 times yesterday at 3 different stores. I had to hold the phone upside down and the back facing the terminal. Picture that for a second... Holding your finger on a sensor which is located on the back and also having to have the back of the phone facing the CC reader at the same time. It's unreal. It's absolutely crazy that they threw this phone with the sensor placement at last minute and gathered...Oh yeah how are they going to use Pay? Ah just don't preload it and we won't get so many complaints. If you think I'm full of it.. go try it.
As mentioned with unlocking with the fingerprint, the new home button is virtually useless. I am trying to understand why they are trying to reinvent the wheel and not just use the tried and true method that every Android manufacturer has used for the past few years. It takes a ridiculous amount of time to unlock this phone. Too many steps.touch the side button or home button, wait for face unlock to work and if it doesn't then do finger gynastics with the fingerprint sensor. Seriously I wind up just using pattern after both fail. I use my V20 as my DD and it's 100% unlocking with the fingerprint on one touch Everytime. What the [email protected]#&$ were you thinking Samsung?
Audio - I love music and media and I am a wanna be audiophile. The headphone jack output and sound is no better than the S7. Lower output than most phones and music has a tight soundstage. Sound is tinny and missing elements you would hear on other high end phones. The Bluetooth audio is actually better but that was the same as the S7. It's nothing to write home about to be honest. I knew it wasn't going to be V20 quality but I was hoping for better with the akg tuning and Harmon partnership.Maybe those changes will come to the note 8?
Not all is bad with the phone, I love the screen and how I missed wireless charging! But there are fundamental ergonomic design issues that make this phone clumsy to use day to day. It's like you have to think to unlock it instead of it being second nature. People will see what I mean when they get their device. It feels like Samsung rushed again to market a product. I am praying that the note 8 is the next big thing.

sillyphillie said:
It feels like Samsung rushed again to market a product.
I am praying that the note 8 is the next big thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How is this "rushed"? Samsung has had a full year since last year's Galaxy S7, and all the manufacturers have a team actually start working on the NEXT release before they launch the current one. So, OVER a year.
Are you suggesting Samsung do what Apple does? Release a new phone EVERY TWO YEARS? And then the ones in between are just to fix what they screwed up? iPhone 4S = iPhone 4 antenna fiasco fix.
And as for "big", the Notes are TOO big. I will never own a Note phablet.

Just giving my take. This phone is definitely not ready for prime time in my opinion. RAM management is also an issue I forgot to list but that has always been an issue with Samsung so nothing to see here on that. Knew that coming in. Just disappointed they didn't do much to address. Again these are my opinions.
Camera is definitely improved though... Sweet shots I'm getting.

Samsung pay didn't come preloaded in my Verizon S7 Edge, I had to download it. But I do see what you're saying about paying with your fingerprint. But I, myself, have the gear S3 so feel there's no need to use Samsung pay on my phone since the watch does it.

sillyphillie said:
Just giving my take. This phone is definitely not ready for prime time in my opinion. RAM management is also an issue I forgot to list but that has always been an issue with Samsung so nothing to see here on that. Knew that coming in. Just disappointed they didn't do much to address. Again these are my opinions.
Camera is definitely improved though... Sweet shots I'm getting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It may not be ready for Prime Time, but they had plenty of time. Any design failures is on Samsung -- their skill set, their design/manufacturing expertise.
Whereas "rushed" is like Google's 2016 Pixel with the HUGE bezels because Huawei turned them down for a Google Pixel phone with no manufacturer branding, and they had to go to HTC and use a re-purposed frame HTC already had -- and they only had 9 months to design/test/release a phone. THAT is "rushed". They couldn't even make it waterproof like they wanted because they ran out of time.
The Pixel and Pixel XL aren’t waterproof because Google ‘ran out of time’
http://www.androidauthority.com/google-pixel-xl-waterproof-724120/
According to Pierce, when he asked Google why its phone isn’t waterproof, its response was, rather simply: “We ran out of time”.
Pierce states that the development cycle for the smartphone was uncharacteristically short, reportedly “nine months and a week” from design to launch, as Google abandoned its original plans for the phone at the end of 2015.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Samsung has no such excuses, unless you are just saying they are incompetent.

I completely agree hence why I sold my pixel months ago. I'm not saying other manufacturers aren't rushing either. Just making a note that Samsung is as well. Anyway.. my take as someone who has the phone already. Hoping software fixes some of the concerns. But that fingerprint sensor and Samsung pay is there to stay.

ChazzMatt said:
Whereas "rushed" is like Google's 2016 Pixel with the HUGE bezels because Huawei turned them down for a Google Pixel phone with no manufacturer branding, and they had to go to HTC and use a re-purposed frame HTC already had
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Come on its a brand new design... http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=8346&idPhone2=8297
Any phone coming out after the s8 and g6 with ugly ass bezels will be dead on arrival, lets see if htc has enough time to shrink those bezel's.

Re: Samsung pay, there are more than a few phones with rear fingerprint scanners and NFC chips that have been out for some time. I've never found this an issue nor have I heard complaints like this. As of right now the technology you're longing for (a front facing under the screen fingerprint scanner, since that's the only feasible alternative with the infinity display) simply hasn't been released. Unfortunately, the reality is it's these shortcomings that are debatably left out (intentionally?) to keep interest in the next iteration and keep overhead down. Hence why we never get the perfect smart phone. I'll you know when I get the device but I assume it's no different then the others: shiny, new, with some improvements, likely the best phone out, but still short of the perfect phone. (Never get too high of expectations, these companies are here to be profitable) I had the G6 all of 2 days before I was left unimpressed, hopefully that's not the case with the S8.
Oh well take my money. Thanks for the write up!
---------- Post added at 05:55 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:53 AM ----------
peachpuff said:
Come on its a brand new design... http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=8346&idPhone2=8297
Any phone coming out after the s8 and g6 with ugly ass bezels will be dead on arrival, lets see if htc has enough time to shrink those bezel's.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HTC is screwed if the renditions/leaks are accurate. Still has same general design and big ol bezels

sillyphillie said:
I, like most of you, was waiting impatiently for this device for the past few weeks. I was given a retail model on Thursday early and wanted to let my thoughts after 48 hours.
I have to say I haven't been this disappointed in a phone in a while. While the phone is a looker, fundamentals are quite lacking.
Battery life - Same as the S7 and that's not a good thing. Has the same inconsistent issues of quick drains while running idle. As an example, was working on my house yesterday for roughly 4 hours and left the phone down with out being touched. Left it at 90% and came back at 74%. Again no usage. I have 3 other Android phones with more apps running and this doesn't happen except on Samsung. They will never change in this regard. Every year I have hope and get sucked into buying one. Same results.
Fingerprint sensor- I was one of the people that thought all the complaining was unwarranted about the fingerprint sensor placement. I thought this is just an issue for certain people with finger dexterity issues or just looking for something to complain about. Boy was I wrong. It's actually worse! It works maybe75% of the time and that is only using my right hand. Forget about the left hand.. way too awkward and difficult to do with one hand. At first, I thought no biggie, I'll just use face scanning or supplement with Iris scanning. Face scanning again is hit and miss and forget about Iris scanning if you are anywhere outside of bright light. I had the note 7 and that seemed to work a ton better. Maybe a software fix coming? Back to the fingerprint issue.. Samsung Pay doesn't even come preloaded on the phone! Why?!?! Because the NFC chip is on back so have fun using the sensor and holding it to a pay device. I was perplexed how this was a main selling point with the s and note series of last year and how it couldn't be preloaded. Hell it is on the gear S3. I used it 3 times yesterday at 3 different stores. I had to hold the phone upside down and the back facing the terminal. Picture that for a second... Holding your finger on a sensor which is located on the back and also having to have the back of the phone facing the CC reader at the same time. It's unreal. It's absolutely crazy that they threw this phone with the sensor placement at last minute and gathered...Oh yeah how are they going to use Pay? Ah just don't preload it and we won't get so many complaints. If you think I'm full of it.. go try it.
As mentioned with unlocking with the fingerprint, the new home button is virtually useless. I am trying to understand why they are trying to reinvent the wheel and not just use the tried and true method that every Android manufacturer has used for the past few years. It takes a ridiculous amount of time to unlock this phone. Too many steps.touch the side button or home button, wait for face unlock to work and if it doesn't then do finger gynastics with the fingerprint sensor. Seriously I wind up just using pattern after both fail. I use my V20 as my DD and it's 100% unlocking with the fingerprint on one touch Everytime. What the [email protected]#&$ were you thinking Samsung?
Audio - I love music and media and I am a wanna be audiophile. The headphone jack output and sound is no better than the S7. Lower output than most phones and music has a tight soundstage. Sound is tinny and missing elements you would hear on other high end phones. The Bluetooth audio is actually better but that was the same as the S7. It's nothing to write home about to be honest. I knew it wasn't going to be V20 quality but I was hoping for better with the akg tuning and Harmon partnership.Maybe those changes will come to the note 8?
Not all is bad with the phone, I love the screen and how I missed wireless charging! But there are fundamental ergonomic design issues that make this phone clumsy to use day to day. It's like you have to think to unlock it instead of it being second nature. People will see what I mean when they get their device. It feels like Samsung rushed again to market a product. I am praying that the note 8 is the next big thing.
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I have never used a fingerprint scanner or whatever on a phone, just good old passcode/pattern. It blows my mind people getting all uppity (no you, people in general) over a freaking unlock method to their phone. It's like a new Porsche/Mercedes and instead of talking about its performance people get all hung up on the palm sensor to unlock the door all the while they have the keys. Phones are all about the screen and apps, etc. Who gives a hoot about a stupid fingerprint sensor.

i plan to use samsung pay with Pin instead of fingerprint since it' on the back

Should we cancel our pre-orders then? I'd be more than happy to stick with my Note 4 than pay £55 a month for the next 2 years.

The funny thing about this bezel less design is I really think it's more beauty than function. Maybe it's the bezel less combined with the edge display but I feel less secure with this phone. I have a gs7 and lgv20 I keep referencing back to and when you are out and about the flat display lends to more secure in the hand feel. Maybe even more comfort.
Every year we hear how awesome a phone is from MWC through the first round of reviews. I'm really wanting to know what the consensus will be on this phone. The LG G6 was a darling when announced now the shine has come way off and people are finding out the size and feel are not what's it's cracked up to be. I'm going to give this phone more time and hope it grows on me.

The Phone Company said:
Should we cancel our pre-orders then? I'd be more than happy to stick with my Note 4 than pay £55 a month for the next 2 years.
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everyone's got a different opinion... i am still happy to proceed with my s8 plus, and keep in mind... these folks complainin abt battery life are the US models running SD... and we've got exynos

Is Exnos a more thrifty battery chip?
I will get the EU model in any case.