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OK, so I've been using a Kaiser/Tilt with Eclair on it for awhile. I've spent countless hours drooling after the Nexus One. When AT&T finally got the "Backflip" from Motorola, I just couldn't resist. I took the plunge.
I should've known better. I have plenty of AT&T horror stories, and this is the same carrier that wont allow you to tell your Java apps NOT to ask for permission more than once (making Opera mini a PITA but the only usable browser for non-smart-phones).
There is NO option to install applications from untrusted sources. This means anything on your SD card, downloaded from the web or over your wifi at home WILL NOT WORK. Naturally, you also cannot use the "su" command in terminal.
Motoblur is nice I guess, but the uninstallable AT&T paid apps, the limitations of 1.5 firmware (ie: no google navigator, no voice search) and the locked-to-yahoo-search-bar are enough to get me to say NO to any further AT&T abuse.
With the Kaiser's bloatware, they removed/hid apps from you so you wouldn't try to use them and replaced them with their crapware.
AT&T does not know the meaning of "open" and they do not understand Android. You are not buying an Android phone when you buy from AT&T.
You are buying a device LOCKED to a market with a smaller number of applications than the iPhone (I don't use Apple products either ) forced to use a lesser search engine for your most convenient option and subject to losing any application that was once on the market but then removed. You can't install your own apps or even test them on your device. Period.
Also on my first day of using it I got a number of "Force Close" messages including on the built-in applications (ie: Motorola's flavor of the desk clock).
It's decent hardware, it feels pretty zippy to me, but this is exactly why I WONT buy an iPhone.
Screw you, AT&T. I will make sure that everyone I know is properly informed about this crippled device that is nothing like the Android experience is supposed to (expected to!) be.
/endrant phew, going to go breathe for awhile.
EDIT: I will add:
- Set "orientation" on this phone when you tilt it and somehow it gets stuck in one orientation or the other (who knows maybe this one is just me, not seen any other backflips) if you set it back to just when you open/close it it's fine again though
- The desk clock can't be launched manually and is tricky to get to appear trying to get the phone in that perfect angle to display it
- I don't have a separate camera on me right now to show you the menu but to back up with sources:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/1910...n_atandt_not_the_full_android_experience.html
https://supportforums.motorola.com/message/121849
Don't buy this phone. Stay away from AT&T, stay away from Motorola (IMO or at least the motorola backflip).
This is pretty horrible.
I have two questions, though.
1) Can you take a screen cap of the Settings > Applications screen so we can see the lack of Unknown Sources option? That'd really help people see the validity of this issue.
2) I hope you have some kind of 30-day money-back guarantee when buying a handset from AT&T like Sprint offers. Otherwise, ouch =/
I haven't tried to install an apk from astro or anything, but i have pushed a few with ADB which seems to work fine. It kinda sucks, but I really hope that we can figure out root access soon! I don't care for blur, but I like android. Hopefully we don't have to wait to long. Here is an ADB guide http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=643866
I wonder if Apple suddenly took over AT&T because this kind of behaviour is more common to them
... It's not only AT&T who manages to confuse their customers about an OSS... Don't forget who decided to lock down an open software system boot-loader for everyone *cough*Motorola*cough*
Apple made them an offer they could not refuse!
nuff said
I spent some time with one yesterday.
Ouch, even my Fuze running eclair is faster.
They really broke this machine.
I am worried about other att phones!
My hope for an even somewhat open x10 on AT&T is starting to dwindle.
HushH said:
My hope for an even somewhat open x10 on AT&T is starting to dwindle.
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Click to collapse
mines as well. i hope they dont. i know its off topic but is there an officail release date for the x10 on att? i hear it may be april/may
Someone more familiar than I needs to figure out the proper java system call to enable unknown/untrusted sources and then post on this thread the proper at command to execute it via CLI. You wouldn't even need root to do this.
IConrad01 said:
Someone more familiar than I needs to figure out the proper java system call to enable unknown/untrusted sources and then post on this thread the proper at command to execute it via CLI. You wouldn't even need root to do this.
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Click to collapse
Assuming the software running on the Backflip is the same software they released the source to on opensource.motorola.com, there may be hope of that. I'll dig into it when I get time.
Wow. I am surprised that this was picked up by Gizmodo. Do we have anyone corroborating this? Doesn't this somehow violate Google's terms of service?
HushH said:
My hope for an even somewhat open x10 on AT&T is starting to dwindle.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine too! Just means to spend the couple extra hundred dollars and get an unlocked unbranded one.
I got the Backflip just because I am moving on from my jailbroken iPhone and I wanted something neat and shiny.
I can say that there is a lot of smack talk here, but give these guys a chance here to root the phone and get some things working on it.
It's been two days since the release and I can already say, that I like the phone a hell of a lot more today then I did on Sunday. I've been able to install untrusted sources using the Droid Explorer, a bit of a pain in the ass, but it's okay, considering that if I want Android, then this is the only way to go for now.
But I have faith in someone out there... Someone will figure this out.
I just hope it's within my 30 day return policy.
EDIT: I Installed "GDE" on my device and I am able to use the Google search widget... So that issue is sort of solved...
This may just be my unit but the A2DP doesn't work right, it starts playing music then begins to fast forward whatever you are watching or listening to. Did a hard reset, no luck. Looks like I already need a replacement lol.
Squeaky369 said:
EDIT: I Installed "GDE" on my device and I am able to use the Google search widget... So that issue is sort of solved...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you please explain how you got the google search widget working?
nutcake852 said:
Can you please explain how you got the google search widget working?
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Click to collapse
Eh; fail on my part. It's mostly a cosmetic fix. I didn't actually test it, but when you click on it, it changes to "Yahoo".
So my bad on that one.
God, I hate Yahoo. Ever since that stupid ass cowboy did that commercial, it's ate away at my soul...
I don't know why...
To think we were all worried about how Verizon was going to cripple android only to have ATT do it instead. At first I was amazed and then I realized that any android phone would have outshown their prized phone...oh well one more reason to love being on T-Mobile. ;-)
I played with a Backflip. My god it's a horrid phone. And yeah, Android is completely locked down, with no way to delete those AT&T apps and no installing off-Market Android Apps out of the box.
I was going to wait to see what AT&T was going to bring to the table, but I'm not holding my breath.
Btw, I noticed that AT&T trained to sell the Backflip pretty hard. Like, seriously, I was looking at phones today, and every other word out of the rep's mouth was that I should buy the Backflip. Thankfully I'm more informed than that. I walked out with an iPhone instead. (Don't grill me, I use a Touch Pro2, I just needed a good phone for my work line >_<)
Help i ****ed up my phone
So i just rooted my g1 to get the nexus one features to it and now all it is doing is foreclosing instead of going to the home screen if anyone can help can you please email me at [email protected] thank you
Xodium said:
I played with a Backflip. My god it's a horrid phone. And yeah, Android is completely locked down, with no way to delete those AT&T apps and no installing off-Market Android Apps out of the box.
I was going to wait to see what AT&T was going to bring to the table, but I'm not holding my breath.
Btw, I noticed that AT&T trained to sell the Backflip pretty hard. Like, seriously, I was looking at phones today, and every other word out of the rep's mouth was that I should buy the Backflip. Thankfully I'm more informed than that. I walked out with an iPhone instead. (Don't grill me, I use a Touch Pro2, I just needed a good phone for my work line >_<)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really do think though that this is going to end up to be a decent phone.
I know I am a little pro for that comment, just because I bought one. But lets look at every phone that ever comes out. There is always some sort of challenge that we have to overcome.
And; with all the threads I've been reading about this; it looks like it was BOTH AT&T and Motorola that are to blame for locking this phone down. ATT cause they don't want us to install from anything but an "App Store" and Motorola because they don't want their devices used for what "there were not intended to be used for," is the wording I've seen floating around the internet.
But in all seriousness. I am coming from an iPhone 3GS which I had jailbroken. So I am coming from a phone that I had everything and anything on to this, and I am, overall, happy with it. Although it's only been 5 days, I can say I don't think I'll change my mind in the next 25 days.
But that's just my two-cents.
Because of all of the issues about the Captivate S I've read about on this forum, I've decided not to purchase one. I travel a lot (read GSM/UMTS) and need an unlocked handset for local numbers. I also depend on GPS navigation that isn't functional on the Galaxy S.
Goodbye Android, hello Symbian ^3 in the form of a Nokia N8 I just ordered.
I really appreciate the good info I got from this forum. Next year I'll again consider an Android handset.
And Symbian dont have ANY problems? That is hard to believe.
ha great choice, not.
To each his own I suppose... have you tried using the Captivate? I have a feeling with even all the supposed negatives, it still blows any Nokia away. The GPS isn't a big deal for me and I'm sure a sim unlock is just a call to ATT away (I've called and asked for 3 unlock codes for an LG and two blackberries just last year).
The problem with coming to this type of board for the kind of advise you're seeking on getting a new phone is, a lot of people complain about the negatives. People are seeking out fixes or mods for this issue or that.
To be fair, I'm not a big fan of Nokia or Symbian. I owned a 5800 XM and it was pretty horrible and the N8 or Symbian ^3 doesn't really do it for me. The apps are sorely lacking, messaging and email left a lot to be desired. I'll probably get another iPhone 4, jailbreak it and run ultrasn0w baseband unlock so I can use international sim cards before going with the Nokia again.
I can tell you from personal experience that one of the better phones from Nokia in the past 3 years is the e71.
The n81 is a very cheap feeling phone, and you'll hate the buttons. The n82 is good, but only has european 3g.
n95 is still a beast of a phone, and the 8gb model is nice.
You should be looking at the n8 if you really want to go with symbian, or wait for their S-Series to come out running MeeGo!
And it is not symbian^3, it is just s60.
Go to any forum for any phone and you will see hundreds of negative posts, but most issues don't effect most people.
I have not had the gps issues or many other problems. Also, the users with no problems never post.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
alphadog00 said:
Go to any forum for any phone and you will see hundreds of negative posts, but most issues don't effect most people.
I have not had the gps issues or many other problems. Also, the users with no problems never post.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thats a good point. ne way his loss. I question the purpose of this thread though, what exactly was the intention here?
ua549 said:
Because of all of the issues about the Captivate S I've read about on this forum, I've decided not to purchase one. I travel a lot (read GSM/UMTS) and need an unlocked handset for local numbers. I also depend on GPS navigation that isn't functional on the Galaxy S.
Goodbye Android, hello Symbian ^3 in the form of a Nokia N8 I just ordered.
I really appreciate the good info I got from this forum. Next year I'll again consider an Android handset.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow. I used the GPS tweak on this forum and my Captivate has been rock solid since the tweak! I use the Google navigation all the freaking time! By the way, the Google navigation is > the ATT Navigation (AKA Telenav) & it's free!! Sorry to hear you didn't utilize the level of detail available to you. Good luck with the Nokia.
returned my captivate for an iphone 4 today...i wanted to love this phone and it just didn't work out. today was real bad and i had enough of it. it was lagging really badly, it would take 10-15 seconds to open an app, screen froze up for a good 30 seconds, and phone wouldn't turn on from being locked. gps is still an issue, even with the tweaks...it takes 15-30 seconds to lock on which is not good enough for me. The music player is terrible, its very sluggish and theres no set program to transfer music/videos/whatever onto the phone. It took me an hour just to transfer 300 songs over to the captivate...wtf. android market wasn't that great, the facebook app was terrible for it btw. there are some good points to the phone, it has nice widgets, swype, camera, and videos are amazing on this. i blame samsung, they pushed this phone out before it was ready, if they had waited and fixed the problems it would've clearly blown iphone out of the water.
kashc2 said:
returned my captivate for an iphone 4 today...i wanted to love this phone and it just didn't work out. today was real bad and i had enough of it. it was lagging really badly, it would take 10-15 seconds to open an app, screen froze up for a good 30 seconds, and phone wouldn't turn on from being locked. gps is still an issue, even with the tweaks...it takes 15-30 seconds to lock on which is not good enough for me. The music player is terrible, its very sluggish and theres no set program to transfer music/videos/whatever onto the phone. It took me an hour just to transfer 300 songs over to the captivate...wtf. android market wasn't that great, the facebook app was terrible for it btw. there are some good points to the phone, it has nice widgets, swype, camera, and videos are amazing on this. i blame samsung, they pushed this phone out before it was ready, if they had waited and fixed the problems it would've clearly blown iphone out of the water.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow..... Seems like you had a "special" captivate.
Wow, I'm just really surprised that you researched some Captivate problems but didn't bother to research all of Symbians problems.
The biggest problem not having as much features as any Android phone does.
I've been happy with my Captivate, and it does everything I need it to do and a lot of times it does more than I need it to.
I even save $15 a month with free SMS with google voice. Picasa syncs and saves all my pics to my phone from my PC, and so does my calender.
Captiate has been the best phone I have ever had.
dressanderc said:
Wow..... Seems like you had a "special" captivate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nope. mine was starting to get to that point and then did a factory reset and the phone is blazing again. I think it was all the apps because i felt like some apps like apndroid didnt uninstall right(yes i know i gotta enable b4 uninstalling).
tytdfn said:
nope. mine was starting to get to that point and then did a factory reset and the phone is blazing again. I think it was all the apps because i felt like some apps like apndroid didnt uninstall right(yes i know i gotta enable b4 uninstalling).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i also did factory reset...it didn't help. i might have had a defective captivate maybe idk, but im the type of guy that likes it simple and get it done, with the captivate you have to do a lot of tweaks and stuff like that, until it gets fixed atleast. i was disappointed when i had to return the phone...i really wanted to like and i thought it was the phone i was gonna keep for a long time when i first got it.
Your experience hardly reflects the average user experience with this phone though....i love mine and so do a lot of people...sorry to hear about your issues but maybe you should have gotten a replacement or do you really think all the people praising it are just putting up with all the stuff you experienced?
I've used message boards for years. I've even adminned a few, and I still maintain my own small one. And I still don't understand why people start threads based on this kind of pap, other than to draw attention to themselves either for self-aggrandizement or to make martyrs of themselves.
In either case, I don't care. I'm not here to find out what phone anyone uses or why, nor do I care about the second-hand opinions that fuel those decisions. All I care about is learning more about the experiences of others with the one I've chosen in an effort to both expand my own experience with it and to share likewise.
I agree with not buying the captivate, I would have gone with a Nexus One or a Dell Streak though.
shaolin95 said:
Your experience hardly reflects the average user experience with this phone though....i love mine and so do a lot of people...sorry to hear about your issues but maybe you should have gotten a replacement or do you really think all the people praising it are just putting up with all the stuff you experienced?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i admit, i think most captivates are fine but i also think there are plenty of users that are willing to put up with the problems of this phone, i wasn't one of those users though. those users that are willing to put up with this phone are hoping that samsung will come out with a fix for it and who knows when that is and whether that even fixes the problem. Like froyo, i hardly doubt it will come in September. I'm not going to sit and wait for that to happen when i can get a phone (iphone) that works flawlessly and can perform the same core functions as a captivate. i gave this phone a try and didn't work out, it's simple as that.
Shwiggie said:
I've used message boards for years. I've even adminned a few, and I still maintain my own small one. And I still don't understand why people start threads based on this kind of pap, other than to draw attention to themselves either for self-aggrandizement or to make martyrs of themselves.
In either case, I don't care. I'm not here to find out what phone anyone uses or why, nor do I care about the second-hand opinions that fuel those decisions. All I care about is learning more about the experiences of others with the one I've chosen in an effort to both expand my own experience with it and to share likewise.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yet you take the time to vent on other people expressing their opinions. Whats the difference from the man telling us why he dosent like the phone, vs. You telling us why you dont like the thread?
kashc2 said:
It took me an hour just to transfer 300 songs over to the captivate...wtf. android market wasn't that great, the facebook app was terrible for it btw. there are some good points to the phone, it has nice widgets, swype, camera, and videos are amazing on this. i blame samsung, they pushed this phone out before it was ready, if they had waited and fixed the problems it would've clearly blown iphone out of the water.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looking at your complaints, seems to me that your biggest problem is that you never got off the Apple tit, and don't know how to live without iTunes.
The rest of the issues you listed have easy fixes found on this very forum.
to the OP...
Obvious Troll is Obvious...
For anyone wanting to know if they should by a Galaxy S phone or not here is my 2 cents worth. The phone has decent hardware, except maybe for the GPS. The screen is the best I've ever used.
So much for the good stuff. If you are one of those users who reloads phone ROMs every week then by all means, this is the phone for you. If you are a user who wants to buy a phone that does what it is advertised to do then STAY AWAY FROM THIS ONE!!!
The first requirement for a phone on my list is to be able to syncronize AT LEAST my contact list. If all you use is Google then you are one of the lucky ones. If you want to syncronize with Outlook you will have better luck buying lottery tickets. I've tried to syncronize 2 different Captivate phones with 5 different computers. On 2 of the computers I was ably to get the phone to sync one time on each computer. The rest of the times it ranges from the phone saying it is connected and the computer constantly looking for a connection to the Samsung software not even running. After spending more than 3 hours with Samsung Tech support, both tier 1 and tier 2, the final resolution was this: We are sorry but Samsung does not support Kies and syncronizing in North America! So if I move to say, Vietnam, Samsung will help me but since I live in North America I'm screwed? Are you kidding me? They recommended going to the Android Market and buying software that will let me do what I want. This isn't even an option for me though since I cannot even get the Samsung USB drivers to load. No amount of aftermarket software is going to fix that but obviously Samsung got my money already so it's not their problem anymore.
I guess this is the way the world works anymore. We already got your money so screw you! That's OK. I'll buy many more electronic devices in my life. Many may be good and many may be bad but I do know one thing...none will ever be Samsung again!!!!!
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Every phone has flaws, and the samsung rep gave the best info available. This phone was never advertised to sync to outlook, nor is it possible to sync it with stock. If you want to sync outlook, google for apps to do that. To say that this phone is junk simply because it won't fit your exact needs is just greedy. If you want a phone that is specifically for business out of the box, then get a blackberry. Crying about what your phone cant do is pointless, go google around and fix it rather than complain.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
iRetard said:
Every phone has flaws, and the samsung rep gave the best info available. This phone was never advertised to sync to outlook, nor is it possible to sync it with stock. If you want to sync outlook, google for apps to do that. To say that this phone is junk simply because it won't fit your exact needs is just greedy. If you want a phone that is specifically for business out of the box, then get a blackberry. Crying about what your phone cant do is pointless, go google around and fix it rather than complain.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, winmo or bb. Sell the phone and get a wp7 in a month and a half.
From a phone on an app
Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out. Sour people like this don't know what they have.... go talk to an iphone user with dropped calls and crappy data.... phone is great and works well with exchange. Sure gps could be better but this phone is easily the best phone i have seen and owned.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using Tapatalk
I came from an iphone to the captivate. I use this phone for business and it works just fine. I don't rely on my phone for important e-mail, rather I forward from my mail server to my gmail account. It would be foolish for anyone to rely on a phone exclusively for anything of great importance. I took the time to add all of my regular contacts(300+) to my gmail account and eliminated the problem of synchronization with outlook. After the update, my GPS works just fine, but I do have a real gps in my truck if needed. I don't expect my 200.00 phone to replace A real GPS unit(200.00), a real computer(1200.00 give or take) and thousands in software. I only expect it to compliment them and it does this nicely. I enjoy this phone much more than my old iphone or blackberry.
And FWIW, my Samsung BluRay player and TV work great!
I'm just happy that ATT finally got around to offering a high-end Android handset. I waited for so long with my iPhone 3G. I followed press-releases up to the launch of the Galaxy S line, and on launch day went and bought my phone. I also got one for my GF. We both love our phones. Not that they don't have their issues, but I've never had a phone that didn't have some kind of issues.
My GPS works SOMETIMES, which is ok by me as I don't need it all the time, and I can always just look at the maps which are always available if I'm really in a pinch. The only real complaint I have about this phone is the Touchwiz UI. I didn't dump my iPhone to get something thats trying to be an iPhone...but thats ok as ROMs will take care of that!
You can spend your whole life searching for a phone or consumer electronic device that doesn't have problems. They will all encounter issues at one point or another. My next handset will probably be an HTC, but that doesn't mean I'd completely swear off Samsung all together.
Finally, in us coming together and trying to figure out all these problems and ways to improve our phones we are embracing what Android is all about. I like learning about this stuff and trying different things with my phone. If I wanted something that a 3 year old could use, I'd go back to the iPhone.
nooomoto said:
I'm just happy that ATT finally got around to offering a high-end Android handset. I waited for so long with my iPhone 3G. I followed press-releases up to the launch of the Galaxy S line, and on launch day went and bought my phone. I also got one for my GF. We both love our phones. Not that they don't have their issues, but I've never had a phone that didn't have some kind of issues.
My GPS works SOMETIMES, which is ok by me as I don't need it all the time, and I can always just look at the maps which are always available if I'm really in a pinch. The only real complaint I have about this phone is the Touchwiz UI. I didn't dump my iPhone to get something thats trying to be an iPhone...but thats ok as ROMs will take care of that!
You can spend your whole life searching for a phone or consumer electronic device that doesn't have problems. They will all encounter issues at one point or another. My next handset will probably be an HTC, but that doesn't mean I'd completely swear off Samsung all together.
Finally, in us coming together and trying to figure out all these problems and ways to improve our phones we are embracing what Android is all about. I like learning about this stuff and trying different things with my phone. If I wanted something that a 3 year old could use, I'd go back to the iPhone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just wanted to mention that you do not have to root and flash ROMS to get out of TouchWiz UI. You can install another launcher like TouchPro which I use and is the best for customizing away from the iPhone feel if you like.
Love threads like this, especially when it is the OP's first post.
Samsung Homers
Flame all you want but when the ATT rep selling me the phone says it will sync I firmly believe it is my right to expect it to sync. If Samsung isn't going to support my phone why make me waste 3 hours talking to them before they tell me to go away. You are free to do as you please but I am also free to let others know what to expect before they make a purchase. Newbies beware. You would be well advised not to listen to only me or these others who would lead you to belive it is the best phone you can buy.
DO YOUR HOMEWORK FIRST!!
One thing is for sure. SAMSUNG WILL NOT SUPPORT YOU IF YOU LIVE IN NORTH AMERICA. If you do not believe me then go to Samsungs website and download the Kies app. NOTE: You will have to switch to a region outside of North America to even get to the download. Look through the forums. Other posts will also show this same thing. Once you install Kies, after you finally can find it, then try to go to the Android Market in the app. It will tell you it is not supported in your region. Once you buy this phone you are on your own supporting yourself.
I do think it is funny that you flamers are suggesting if I want a phone that really works I should by WinMo or Blackberry.
Sounds more like it should be " I'm through with AT&T and their crap"
So you listened to an AT&T rep about what a phone could do, the phone didn't do it, so you blame the phone? Why not blame the AT&T rep for lying to you, it's not the phones fault.
I do think it is funny that you flamers are suggesting if I want a phone that really works I should by WinMo or Blackberry.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All the things you've complained about are fixable, and most all of them with quick app downloads. This will be the same thing for all Android phones, if it's not there, an app is probably made for it anyways. You seem to be too lazy to look for ways to customize your Android phone for what you need, or even research it, so a different phone OS is probably best for you.
I am wondering what phone you will be going to from the captivate.
As i said before, android is for people who like to read manuals, or who know and take the time to program a universal remote. If you don't have patience for that stuff stick with an iphone.
I am loving my captivate with ssh, rdp, vnc, logmein, vpn, keyring, canon printing from my phone... list goes on and on...
These phones are just like blackberries, it is pretty hard to brick them.. so what can't you figure out here, that you would need to call them about?
still easily the best phone i have ever seen or used to date, and after killing the phone all day with 4+ hours of talk, web, twitdroid, weatherbug, facebook, gps, etc.. I still charge at night with about 30% battery life...
I am one happy dood.
I think most of you are being a little harsh with this guy. This guy expects a good experience out of the box and he didn't get it. Whether it was lack of knowledge, something someone told him, whatever. Having been in the technical support business most my life, I expect things to not work as I want even before I get my new phone. I research the issues in the forums expecting to come across them before my new phone is in my hands. It really shouldn't be this way. Perfect example is GPS. This didn't work properly out of the box for MOST people including myself. How can you release anything where a major feature just simply does not work? And on top of that, take over 2 months to come out with an update where no one knows for sure if it was addressed or not? And further, the update fails for most people? And even bricks phones? What happens when an update is forced on you, you are out of warranty and your phone is bricked? This seems like a big problem to me.
I just got my phone and I love it. But I am one that is skeptical on owning another Samsung phone again. My update failed at 100% and I am happy that my phone was not fried. My GPS is now working thank goodness but the failed update has me concerned. What happens when Froyo update comes out? I suspect we will be here again with 1000 threads on how the update fried phones. All issues I blame Samsung, they need to control these updates and take responsibility for failures. Calling ATT for an update failure should automatically send you to Samsung where they need to resolve the issue regardless. If that is a replacing the phone, so be it. ATT and Samsung pointing fingers at each other will not resolve the actual issue or even help to figure out what the issue is. Instead of pointing fingers, technical support should be gathering information and log files, isolate the problem, and come up with a fix. That does not seem to be happening in my opinion.
And on top of all this, there needs to be a supported way to restore the phone back to factory OS regardless of what you do to it. We can do this with our Windows OS! And ODIN does not count. If you flash that to JH6 and try to update, you get 50% failure so that is not a true restore.
I would expect better from a device that is $500+ with no carrier commitment.
well it is easier for a windows device to talk to a windows device.
not so much for linux and windows.
that, not the gps is this phones biggest flaw.(in my opinion)
just hope they got this bug worked out of the tab
keitht said:
Just wanted to mention that you do not have to root and flash ROMS to get out of TouchWiz UI. You can install another launcher like TouchPro which I use and is the best for customizing away from the iPhone feel if you like.
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Yeah I checked out the launchers and decided on ADW Launcher. What a difference!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
catfan said:
for anyone wanting to know if they should by a galaxy s phone or not here is my 2 cents worth. The phone has decent hardware, except maybe for the gps. The screen is the best i've ever used.
So much for the good stuff. If you are one of those users who reloads phone roms every week then by all means, this is the phone for you. If you are a user who wants to buy a phone that does what it is advertised to do then stay away from this one!!!
The first requirement for a phone on my list is to be able to syncronize at least my contact list. If all you use is google then you are one of the lucky ones. If you want to syncronize with outlook you will have better luck buying lottery tickets. I've tried to syncronize 2 different captivate phones with 5 different computers. On 2 of the computers i was ably to get the phone to sync one time on each computer. The rest of the times it ranges from the phone saying it is connected and the computer constantly looking for a connection to the samsung software not even running. After spending more than 3 hours with samsung tech support, both tier 1 and tier 2, the final resolution was this: We are sorry but samsung does not support kies and syncronizing in north america! So if i move to say, vietnam, samsung will help me but since i live in north america i'm screwed? Are you kidding me? They recommended going to the android market and buying software that will let me do what i want. This isn't even an option for me though since i cannot even get the samsung usb drivers to load. No amount of aftermarket software is going to fix that but obviously samsung got my money already so it's not their problem anymore.
I guess this is the way the world works anymore. We already got your money so screw you! That's ok. I'll buy many more electronic devices in my life. Many may be good and many may be bad but i do know one thing...none will ever be samsung again!!!!!
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godbless you my brother
Ok just go die a happy death ,att/sam/craptivate
Oma fuhreekin gawd!! Finally someone who understands how much this phone sucks!! I was under the impression this phone would do EVERYTHING.
Well i don't want to try and sell my phone and buy another phone. Let me start and write a long ass story on how my phone ruined my life.
My life sucks and Im alone and my phone isn't filling that void. So i was sold this phone had many free apps to do whatever i want. So i tried when i bought this phone.
Heres my story about that.
I want my phone to be my bestfriend. So i found this app and it talk back to me when i talk to it. But it only speaks spanish. I've been ok with it for the first 30 days i owned the phone, but now its really starting to piss me off and i can't take it back because i waited til after 30 days. If i wanted a phone that speaks spanish i wouldn't have bought this! I want an English phone. Too late, screw you Samsung!
I don't want to have to use apps to make my phone better. I don't even want to mod it a little. Even if it makes it amazing. I want it to be perfect when its out of the box. And only want to use it. No apps. You know what i mean.
Im impatient because my life sucks and i can't wait for updates.
And btw wtf My PHONE doesn't do all the same things my computer does. I hate this.
And like i said, i was under the impression this phone does everything..
Well. It has yet to tie my fawkin shoes. So fawk this phone!!
Can i get a fistpump!!?!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
jasonyump said:
Oma fuhreekin gawd!! Finally someone who understands how much this phone sucks!! I was under the impression this phone would do EVERYTHING.
Well i don't want to try and sell my phone and buy another phone. Let me start and write a long ass story on how my phone ruined my life.
My life sucks and Im alone and my phone isn't filling that void. So i was sold this phone had many free apps to do whatever i want. So i tried when i bought this phone.
Heres my story about that.
I want my phone to be my bestfriend. So i found this app and it talk back to me when i talk to it. But it only speaks spanish. I've been ok with it for the first 30 days i owned the phone, but now its really starting to piss me off and i can't take it back because i waited til after 30 days. If i wanted a phone that speaks spanish i wouldn't have bought this! I want an English phone. Too late, screw you Samsung!
I don't want to have to use apps to make my phone better. I don't even want to mod it a little. Even if it makes it amazing. I want it to be perfect when its out of the box. And only want to use it. No apps. You know what i mean.
Im impatient because my life sucks and i can't wait for updates.
And btw wtf My PHONE doesn't do all the same things my computer does. I hate this.
And like i said, i was under the impression this phone does everything..
Well. It has yet to tie my fawkin shoes. So fawk this phone!!
Can i get a fistpump!!?!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
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.... lol
keitht said:
This guy expects a good experience out of the box and he didn't get it.
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I have never seen a powerful multi-use electronic device that has worked perfectly the way it's wanted right out of the box though. A computer does not come with software and accessories. An ipod has never come full of the music you want. A camera doesn't come with the batteries, cards and lenses.
Accessories and add-ons are always needed to customize a device to one's own use. It requires a lot more set up than out of the box.
I respect when someone does not like or recommend something they've used, tried to get it to work right, and could not get it working. We all know that most major companies have horrible customer service, who don't know what they're talking about. But to hate a device and write about it because it doesn't meet the customized standards you want right of the box?
This is what this forum is for. Troubleshooting and creating, without the need of the large companies telling us what to do. He hasn't asked anyone here if there is a solution to the problem, or tried to get help. Even in this thread someone got help with something they wanted changed. People around here are eager to find solutions to problems we have.
I understand not liking the phone out of the box. But the problem is with not understanding the OS, apps, and also an AT&T rep. It may have needed a little research, but usually any high-end electronic device does. This is like me buying a Canon 1D dslr, and saying that it's crap because it doesn't fit the lenses I already have, and someone said my SD card would fit in it, but it doesn't...
So I have a Skytex Primer Pocket, little 4.3" thing running Android 2.2. No market, no official Google apps, and, above all, no mention of it anywhere except for brief reviews. So I'm looking into rooting it, or just getting the Market onto it (and maybe the Gmail app). It comes with GetJar, which, as I've just learned, is a ****ty alternative app store full of spam and ads. I'm also learning that if you wanna have a half way decent experience you NEED the Market, which this doesn't have. I've had very little experience with Android (never owned an Android device before this), so please bear with me if I say or said something stupid. What would yall smart people suggest?
Please use the Q&A Forum for questions Thanks
Moving to Q&A
oops! sorry
I just got a pocket primer for my three year old to play with (navigates my EVO 4G better than my wife). In it's stock form he can play videos and basic angry birds but even he will get frustrated if I can't get the same apps on that thing as the rest of his family has,......and he beats me.
haha wow i'd given up on this thread. I've actually pretty much given up on my device entirely and use it almost exclusively as an mp3 player. The browser doesn't open anymore (it displays a message stating that it crashed whenever I open it), the wifi doesn't turn on and it's just a ****ing piece of ****.
thefinn93 said:
haha wow i'd given up on this thread. I've actually pretty much given up on my device entirely and use it almost exclusively as an mp3 player. The browser doesn't open anymore (it displays a message stating that it crashed whenever I open it), the wifi doesn't turn on and it's just a ****ing piece of ****.
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The problems you are having can most likely be resolved by hitting the reset button, as I have had to do once or twice. Also, if you wanted it to have all the things you mentioned, why did you buy this device? The ad states pretty clearly that the apps market that this device uses is Getjar. And, once again, you get what you pay for. BTW, there are many apps on the Amazon Apps Market that work just fine.
You can also download 1 Mobile Market as a good alternative, much better than Getjar...
warneso said:
The problems you are having can most likely be resolved by hitting the reset button, as I have had to do once or twice. Also, if you wanted it to have all the things you mentioned, why did you buy this device? The ad states pretty clearly that the apps market that this device uses is Getjar. And, once again, you get what you pay for. BTW, there are many apps on the Amazon Apps Market that work just fine.
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Yeah I had mine given to me and wasn't really sure what to expect, but wasn't terribly impressed. It makes an OK media player. And yes, I ended up resetting it and getting the browser back.
As for 1 Mobile Market, good to know, will try it. Thanks. For everyone who has it: is it "pre rooted"? like, when you connect with ADB do you get a root shell, or do i have a weird one?
hmmm I wonder if SlideMe market would work as well, I think all skytex devices come with root already its one of there monkiers, I just wish the dev community would pick a couple up and throw ROM's at em cheap devices that work well as gifts but have crappy stock roms
right now my daughter is using one as mp3 player and using amazon market on it but she calls me everyday and I have to tell her reset, Im just going to start answering the phone, "reset it"
I have tried myself with the Gapps and i managed to install them by installing the market vending. Youtube doesnt work, and by that I mean that the video doesnt play. Which I cant understand because mobile youtube can play just fine. Plus from what I can remember it disables its own lockscreen and the home button ceases to work and a factory reset is the only answer. Defiantly a unique situation and ridiculous as well. How does all that happen from just installing the market? A clusterf**k of BS is all I can say about it. These low grade tablets are mostly hopeless to get properly suited with G apps so Im at a loss for anything else to do.
I am accustomed to using and working within the generic android environment. I generally like it. I am pretty much exclusively a Samsung guy but I just recently got my wife a G3. I have read all the things about how I can make my phone lightning quick without all the bloatware and I can be entitled to all the event driven programming that stock android allows me but I have to say, I 90% like what I get out of the box. Sure, there are little annoyances that come up but mostly what I want to gain is the 10%. I don't want to reinvent the wheel and put in a new launcher and then have to get accustomed to a whole new way of doing things. Or worse, my camera might not work as well etc.
I am mostly sold. I don't care about voided warranties. I am going to drop $800 on a Note 4 in the coming weeks when it finally rolls out and frankly I would like to really access the power of that processor and ram (whether it is 3 or 4 gigs - only Samsung knows right now). A big part of my buying the phone is the compatibility with the SPen. I am a business man so it would negate me buying it, to root it and then see the SPen go bye bye. In short, this phone is to be a simple tool for my business but I am afraid of what I am about to get.
Let me go back a bit. Last week, I bought my wife a G3. Another top of the line phone. I bought it and am considering the note 4 for the same reason, they can do split screens. I thought I might be able to do limitedly with the phone on the go what I do with my laptop, drag and drop from email to email, files. The note 4 is going to be a powerful phone but who knows if we are there yet. Regardless, from these forums and around the net, it seem the technology is there. So what is there to do? I like the bulk of Samsung's programming but it really angered me when I started toying with the LG G3 and I discovered that I could not open all apps in their duel mode. I mean what the H E double hockeysticks! How does LG know what I would find valuable to have open at once?
So, I am committed to the Note 4 because I know I will get top of the line. I am assuming that I am going to be restricted from using the phone like I want, like the LG and will be faced with: to root or not to root. What I am saying is, can I root the phone and still keep all the stuff I like? yes I know one of you nifty busy-bodies have not even gotten your hands on the phone yet to discover how to mess with it and get by knoks etc but do you feel my pain and understand my quandary?
It is not that I am afraid to root. I am adventurous at heart but I need to make money. I am a business man. I don't make money by the hour but by the opportunity. When I see something that can help me be productive, I try to implement it into my way of doing things. I like tinkering like you guys. I appreciate you but I only have limit time to do these things, otherwise they become distractions. So I don't have hours to figure out why my main camera is now only taking selfies on the face of the phone instead or why the SPen doesn't work. I want what I want but the move needs to make sense to me.
So the basic question is: if I go down this path (with any phone) can I root and still have touchwiz experience, for instance just so I can mess with the phone ever so slightly? A side question would be - am I going to find many disadvantages for the right of having full control of my phone such as having to update the phone or having bugs? I guess, the simple short question is: Do the challenges outweigh the benefits?
I have currently an old S2 that is working. I am using a galaxy LTE awaiting, the note 4. But, I assume I am going to get pretty angry when I find that an $800+ phone won't what a hack can make it do. I just don't want to lose everything else for the sake of one entitlement. So, I can practice seeing what it is like doing these things with my S2 or even my recent LTE. I just have not seen anyone bring this up. People go on about the romance of blanking out a phone for total freedom but they don't tell me much about how close the new launchers are going to be to what I am used to.
Thanks, community for all that you develop. You are cool. I only wish I had countless hours to mess around with this stuff but money has to be made. Believe me, I am looking for any excuse to have a "lightning fast" phone or to do some funky things like you guys do, but give me the war stories. Tell me if I have to decide to compromise. Recommend a launcher maybe. Yes I know the Note can't even be developed yet but it will someday. Anyway, thanks.
I'm not sure you understand exactly what root does. Root gives you "root" level access, aka Superuser, aka Administrator access. Think of Android like a computer in a public library. Lots of things (settings, certain programs, certain directories mainly) are locked down and inaccessible by people who don't have the password or an admin account, because they don't want people messing around with them. Android is the same way. Many (most?) people think of smartphones as just that - phones. They don't think of it as a computer, even though that's exactly what it is, in every aspect of the word. Without restrictions, it would be very, very easy for the average user to completely screw up their phone.
And that is why Android comes with these restrictions (which carriers exploit to install unremovable apps). Rooting your phone removes many of these restrictions, which is also why rooting typically voids your warranty. You might want to root to get rid of useless bloatware like NFL Mobile or Verizon Navigation or Samsung's browser because you only use Chrome. But it's just as easy to (accidentally or stupidly) delete a core Android program, and now your phone is stuck in a crash loop and you've got a $700 battery powered paper weight.
That said, root gives you Superuser access. And that's it. Root doesn't change anything, for better or worse.
It's what you do with that access that matters. Freezing/deleting bloatware that would otherwise be constantly running in the background can improve your phone's performance. You can install the Xposed framework to clear up your notification panel and status bar, add functionality to your buttons, and port features from other brands to work on yours. Tasker is a very powerful (and very confusing) app that you can use to make your phone do things automatically depending on where you are, when it is, etc. You can block ads within games and browsers. You can do back-ups of your apps and data and share them between devices, or when moving from and old phone to a new one. With root sometimes you can bypass restrictions imposed by the carrier because they want to milk you for more money (like wifi hotspot).
I'm also not certain you understand what a launcher is. The launcher is merely the interface. Homescreens, app drawer, dock, icons, etc. I honestly don't know what a 3rd party launcher like Nova, Apex, or Go does to S-Pen functionality on the Note series. But it's merely a different interface, which can be disabled or uninstalled without issue.
What you might be thinking of is the ROM itself. ROM is a bit of a misnomer (meaning Read Only Memory, like a CD_ROM or DVD-ROM), but in the Android world, the ROM is what we have taken to call the operating system. For example, a TouchWiz ROM is heavily modified, and very different than the ROM of a Nexus, which is 100% "stock" Android. Then you have custom ROMs like Cyanogenmod. Installing a different ROM on your Note 4 will absolutely kill your S-Pen functionality, unless it's based on the stock N4 ROM (for example, stock, but debloated, streamlined, and tweaked a bit) and retains those features that Samsung built into it.
With a launcher you can make one phone's homescreen and app drawer look like another's. But when you go into the settings, they'll look different, because that's the ROM, not the launcher you're looking at.
One thing to nota bene is that Samsung has become increasingly restrictive about root and unlocked bootloaders. An unlocked bootloader is required to flash a different ROM (although running different ROMs in Safestrap is usually still possible). Samsung flagships from AT&T and Verizon are notoriously restricted. Google "towelroot" to find out just how restrictive they're getting. Of the "big 4" US carriers, T-Mobile is undoubtedly the least restrictive. With AT&T and T-Mo you also have the option to buy an "unlocked" device, but you won't get the pay-over-time benefits of a subsidy or payment plan. "Unlocked" refers to carrier compatibility, not the bootloader (although carrier unlocked phones are typically easier to unlock the bootloader). But if you subsidize a phone from VZW or AT&T, particularly one from the Samsung Note or Galaxy S line, it's entirely possible that root might never be achieved, or might take a long time. We're talking about rooting a phone that isn't even out yet, and we have no idea what kind of "security" measures are in store.
Root is a powerful tool, but the most powerful tool for your phone other than root is knowledge. Read, read, read, read, ask some questions, and read and read. Find some "for dummies" guides and read those. Watch some youtube videos. The problem with XDA, if there is one, is that stuff like this doesn't have a learning "curve" so much as a learning "sheer cliff made of buttered ice". Lots of acronyms, jargon, technical terms, and other gibberish. Grab some coffee or Red Bull, and start learning.