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I just put official to reduce the amount of individual threads. Anyway, since some people are getting their Captivates, please post your first impressions of the device below. Also please include pictures of your phone to make it less boring! Also describe your experience getting it at the store, I'm sure people will want to know things when they get theirs.
Will update when I get it.
n' for the love of god, plz try out the gps
Picked mine up yesterday at the local ATT store. It was only $350 no commitment.
(I am coming from a tilt2)
This thing flies. Yes menus may jerk a little, but thats because of all of the Samsung and ATT crap. It is definitely worth the money. It is much lighter and thinner than I expected too.
Now if we could only figure out how to root this thing and kill the ATT and Samsung stuff
EDIT: GPS is great. Locks in about 5-15 seconds for me.
matthewpapa said:
Picked mine up yesterday at the local ATT store. It was only $350 no commitment.
(I am coming from a tilt2)
This thing flies. Yes menus may jerk a little, but thats because of all of the Samsung and ATT crap. It is definitely worth the money. It is much lighter and thinner than I expected too.
Now if we could only figure out how to root this thing and kill the ATT and Samsung stuff
EDIT: GPS is great. Locks in about 5-15 seconds for me.
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wooo 1 confirmed good gps experience!
im glad you like it. cant wait to pick one up myself
Wow you got it quick! I could have sworn that ATT was going to release the device later in the week. Where you are, it is already released? Do they have store models as well (for demo purposes)?
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
No store models out. They may let you try one out though.
I knew since it was supposably coming out on Sunday that they would have to have them before then because nobody that I know of delivers sunday. So id been calling every day since monday to see if theyd gotten them in, and finally yesterday they did
i think samsung pressured att to move up the launch because the droid 2 (or whatever its called) came out yesterday as well
EDIT: if anyone has any questions please shoot. im glad to share the wealth
matthewpapa said:
No store models out. They may let you try one out though.
I knew since it was supposably coming out on Sunday that they would have to have them before then because nobody that I know of delivers sunday. So id been calling every day since monday to see if theyd gotten them in, and finally yesterday they did
i think samsung pressured att to move up the launch because the droid 2 (or whatever its called) came out yesterday as well
EDIT: if anyone has any questions please shoot. im glad to share the wealth
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is there stutter in the videos u record at 720p on objects moving quickly? saw a youtube of droid x and galaxy recorded clip and the galaxy had stutter when panning and on cars driving by.
quick question, how is call quality on the phone? also speaker phone quality?
I havent had any problems with video record quality or stuttering, but i will put it to more tests later
As far as call quality: reception is unparalleled on any phone ive used. I can hear people better than I have ever been able to. The quality of the audio you send out is upper average. The dual mike noise cancellation works almost without a flaw, however. Speakerphone is 99% as great my old tilt2, which was the best speakerphone I have ever heard.
And as far as fingerprints? dont worry about those. This phone's screen is so great that i never notice them even though it can accumulate quite a few
only complaints so far is that the stupid power cord receptacle is cheap and it doesnt lock the power cord in when charging, and that gameboid for some reason doesnt work correctly
im trying to get this phone for my girlfriend. i was looking on the ATT website but i don't see it, but you picked it up in store...are they slowly coming to all the stores?
what is gameboid?
another user posted something about the power cord then corrected himself saying it was the way he had it plugged in. try playin around with it. i think he said something about a slide cover he hadnt opened all the way
@thisguy10
its hit or miss at local stores. call ahead n confirm they have it and will sell it.
matthewpapa said:
only complaints so far is that the stupid power cord receptacle is cheap and it doesnt lock the power cord in when charging, and that gameboid for some reason doesnt work correctly
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I wonder if your device is just an oddball in this regard. Most of those adapters are fairly snug in the devices I've used. Has anyone else talked about this in reviews and videos? I've watched a few and haven't heard anything, but perhaps I just ignored it.
-In general how is the navigation in terms of smoothness ?
-How is xvid/divx video play back ?
-I know it plays several audio formats, but does it play FLAC ?
matthewpapa said:
I havent had any problems with video record quality or stuttering, but i will put it to more tests later
As far as call quality: reception is unparalleled on any phone ive used. I can hear people better than I have ever been able to. The quality of the audio you send out is upper average. The dual mike noise cancellation works almost without a flaw, however. Speakerphone is 99% as great my old tilt2, which was the best speakerphone I have ever heard.
And as far as fingerprints? dont worry about those. This phone's screen is so great that i never notice them even though it can accumulate quite a few
only complaints so far is that the stupid power cord receptacle is cheap and it doesnt lock the power cord in when charging, and that gameboid for some reason doesnt work correctly
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Dual mic nosie cancellation? I was under the impression that there was just one mic.
Well i dont know but if there is no dual mike cancellation, whatever software/hardware filter they are using worked really well
I will have to test different video formats when I get home for benchmark sake.
Just went by the apple store in the mall because it was on the way to lunch. I loaded some websites on the demo iphone 4 and my captivate side by side at the same time. as far as loading speeds its pretty much a draw, which is good. Opera mini was significantly faster, but of course that is a preprocessor browser and a completely different animal. I tried rotation benchmarks and the Captivate for sure wins that one. Keyboard on the iphone4 is def better than the samsung keyboard, but if you switch to swype (and know how to use it) it is like 300% faster
@ systoxity
you are correct about the door not being open all the way. i charge it before i go to bed so i guess i didnt see that the door was still partially closed because my lights were out
@I,Rookie
Window speeds are fast, except with the Samsung widgits. I am very impressed so far. I could be biased though because i am coming from a tilt2 which was uber slow
btw does anyone know of a good Android RSS reader that does podcasts too?
Can you change the Iphone like "shortcuts" that are on the bottom of the screen? I've seen several videos saying that you are stuck with the defaults but seem to remember watching someone change them in a video a few days ago, but can't find it now.
Going off a hands-on video, I believe you have to go into the App Drawer and then hit menu then edit.
Has anyone tried the DLNA sharing (sharing video/music from a desktop to the phone on a LAN)? Is it laggy?
Wireless Tethering?
One of the Samsung videos mentioned wireless tethering. Has anyone check the Captivate for that capability?
Alright, here are my first impressions. I don't have one yet, but I got the chance to play with one for a while.
----Screen----
It's beautiful. The most impressive part is that blacks are truly black. The colors are impressive as well and aren't as oversaturated as the AMOLED screens on the Incredible and N1. Sharpness wise, the Captivate is on par with the Incredible and N1. Like the AMOLED screens on the Incredible and N1, these new Super AMOLED screens still aren't as sharp as LCDs. You can see jaggies if you look close. If you're coming from an iPhone 4, you will definitely notice that the Captivate's screen is less sharp.
----Launcher and UI----
Scrolling between home screens is pretty smooth. It's not iPhone smooth, and it's not quite as smooth as the HTC Aria, but it's on par with the Incredible and Evo and a lot smoother than the Droid X (which is awful). Swiping through the application drawer is iPhone smooth though, which is appropriate because it looks nearly identical to the iPhone interface. Scrolling through lists on this phone isn't iPhone smooth, but it's smoother than any other Android phone. Samsung has also implemented elasticity within many lists so that they bounce when you reach the end. I like it. Oh, and live wallpapers run like butter.
----Browser----
Scrolling around web pages is very smooth. Again, it's not iPhone smooth, but it's smoother than any other Android phone. Unfortunately, the browser has one major flaw. It doesn't reflow text to fix the screen when you zoom in. This is something you may not appreciate unless you've used an HTC phone or some alternative browser with this functionality. After using the Aria for the past two weeks, I can say that browsing is tedious and frustrating on the Captivate without this feature. I'm not sure if Dolphin supports this functionality, but if it does it would instantly become my default browser if I got this phone.
Update: It seems the browser DOES reflow text, but only when you double tab or use the buttons to zoom, not when you pinch to zoom. In light of this, it's not such a big deal. I could live with the default browser.
----Lag/Stalling----
Some refer to it as lag. Others refer to it as the stalling issue. Either way, it's real and it's there. I noticed it whenever I was in an application and pressed the home button to return to the home screen. I set my Aria next to it and compared them side by side. My Aria returned to the home screen faster every single time. On the Aria, returning to the home screen happened instantly, while on the Captivate it often took a second or two, or sometimes as much as 5 (yes FIVE) seconds! I first noticed the issue when leaving the Maps application. It consistently took 3 or 4 seconds to return to the home screen from the Maps application.
If it weren't for the fact that there is supposedly a fix for this (which isn't exactly foolproof and may have side effects by the way), this would be a total deal breaker for me. It's that bad. I really hope Samsung releases an update soon to fix the issue for those who don't want to go tinkering with the OS, but Samsung isn't exactly known for their support or quick releases.
Really on a high atm after 2 days of playing with my international exynos i9500 I must say I'm really impressed so far, things I love, the screen, wow its so clear and perfect great colour no banding like my note was, just unreal. I've been reading about this smearing but I cant see it so not sure if my device has it or not. Secondly the sound quality is really something special I have a degree in music which was tailored towards production so I can tell a good sound from a bad. Loaded up my poweramp and without even touching the eq the bass is so punchy(I use sennheisers cx300 iis) it really pops so glad it hasn't got that massive oversatured bass that people seem to go nuts for, bass should be warm but punchy imo. I even think the speaker is quite impressive for a phone. The lightness of the phone is also great.
The styling is also very impressive people slate samsung for this, but I love the way the s4 looks,been getting praises off everyone at work for how nice it is, and I tend to agree. I also love that text is underlined when its spelt wrong I dont know if this is the browser,the keyboard or what but its very handy. The light effect on the lockscreeen is also a beautiful way to open the phone, I am hoping someone locates the sound file for the noise that plays while doing it so I can swap it out for my own. Lastly text boxes perform so much better on this than my note from editing text to highlighting to general inputting it seems to just work a lot more efficiently.
What I dont like is firstly the norrowness of the screen coming from the note it seems weird but probably get used to that. Secondly the eye features what a load of crap they never work properly well maybe smart stay works but the rest its enfuriating!!
Thirdly the logo on the back is really sharp and feels really cheap, think I'm going to have to buy a different back because every time my finger touches it its like running my finger over a cheese grater. The bloatware is also obviously a very bad point as well cant wait to root and get rid of it all.
Well think thats all for the first few days of use hopefully it's all smiles from because its an amzing phone leaps and bounds ahead of my note well apart from the screen size and no s pen of course.
I also have the exynos I9500. I like the gestures, handy and amazing. Battery life is superb on 3G. The screen is so sharp and vivid colours, I had the same apps on my previous xperia but I feel that they are completely different on this phone, it is so fast and it performs well with everything you throw at it. I really like this phone
Alexanderbooth said:
Really on a high atm after 2 days of playing with my international exynos i9500 I must say I'm really impressed so far, things I love, the screen, wow its so clear and perfect great colour no banding like my note was, just unreal. I've been reading about this smearing but I cant see it so not sure if my device has it or not. Secondly the sound quality is really something special I have a degree in music which was tailored towards production so I can tell a good sound from a bad. Loaded up my poweramp and without even touching the eq the bass is so punchy(I use sennheisers cx300 iis) it really pops so glad it hasn't got that massive oversatured bass that people seem to go nuts for, bass should be warm but punchy imo. I even think the speaker is quite impressive for a phone. The lightness of the phone is also great.
The styling is also very impressive people slate samsung for this, but I love the way the s4 looks,been getting praises off everyone at work for how nice it is, and I tend to agree. I also love that text is underlined when its spelt wrong I dont know if this is the browser,the keyboard or what but its very handy. The light effect on the lockscreeen is also a beautiful way to open the phone, I am hoping someone locates the sound file for the noise that plays while doing it so I can swap it out for my own. Lastly text boxes perform so much better on this than my note from editing text to highlighting to general inputting it seems to just work a lot more efficiently.
What I dont like is firstly the norrowness of the screen coming from the note it seems weird but probably get used to that. Secondly the eye features what a load of crap they never work properly well maybe smart stay works but the rest its enfuriating!!
Thirdly the logo on the back is really sharp and feels really cheap, think I'm going to have to buy a different back because every time my finger touches it its like running my finger over a cheese grater. The bloatware is also obviously a very bad point as well cant wait to root and get rid of it all.
Well think thats all for the first few days of use hopefully it's all smiles from because its an amzing phone leaps and bounds ahead of my note well apart from the screen size and no s pen of course.
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amagdy81 said:
I also have the exynos I9500. I like the gestures, handy and amazing. Battery life is superb on 3G. The screen is so sharp and vivid colours, I had the same apps on my previous xperia but I feel that they are completely different on this phone, it is so fast and it performs well with everything you throw at it. I really like this phone
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Yeah I've since learnt the hand gestures which are really good just a shame you cant use the music one on other music apps cause the Samsung one is poor! The scrolling hand gestures is good for browsing though.
Alexanderbooth said:
Yeah I've since learnt the hand gestures which are really good just a shame you cant use the music one on other music apps cause the Samsung one is poor! The scrolling hand gestures is good for browsing though.
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What is really nice is hovering your fingers above emails, messages and photos for preview. I am really impressed with the battery, I got 19 hours on 3g, many phone calls and whatsapp and I still have 30% of battery. I like the eyes scrolling thing in the email and browser but I am not using it
I have had my I9505 since about 4pm yesterday and let me list my bad points first
Eye scrolling thing in web browser is nonsense, doesnt work all the time so just turned it off
Text message limit to three pages is annoying as sometimes i do send long messages
everything else love love love, audio, screen, battery life, the air gestures like hovering to read texts, wave to answer phone calls, smart stay, smart pause in video, the mini music player app on the lock screen that you can see the current playng song and scroll down in the songs list, ahh too much to mention just a fantastic phone love it, looks and feel are fantastic (i had a HTC one before hand aswell and this feels better)
r89HTC said:
I have had my I9505 since about 4pm yesterday and let me list my bad points first
Eye scrolling thing in web browser is nonsense, doesnt work all the time so just turned it off
Text message limit to three pages is annoying as sometimes i do send long messages
everything else love love love, audio, screen, battery life, the air gestures like hovering to read texts, wave to answer phone calls, smart stay, smart pause in video, the mini music player app on the lock screen that you can see the current playng song and scroll down in the songs list, ahh too much to mention just a fantastic phone love it, looks and feel are fantastic (i had a HTC one before hand aswell and this feels better)
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Eye scrolling thing is a new unique thing but I have and will never use it. The feel in my hand is amazing and it is elegant. I love this phone
congratz my friend what about the overheating
Hi people of XDA, I think I'm going to buy this phone tomorrow, and I want to hear your impressions after use.
I've used it in a local dealer, but I'm afraid of that glass breaking, I've read so much about it... and I've seen people have been careful with it, and it still breaks... What about gaming performance and heat? Have you played intensive games where the phone was very hot? Has anything happened to glass?
So are there any cons that you know? I'm stunned by phone's look. Ex Arc owner hiihihi
I'm really happy with my phone! The battery is amazing and it handles games like a champ. No heating problems or cracked glass, but I'm using a case so don't know if it would be the same without it.
My only complaint would be low audio output with headphones because I like my music loud.
My only complaint is theres still no built in call blocker and unlike my note 4 theres no caller name readout, so you know whos calling you.
Yes the phone could be louder in headphones but atleast It is a improvement on previous Z series and even the Xperia S & T.
The DSEE HX really helps with loudness, as does using the MDR-NC31EMs or my Beats Mixrs.
Happy but there is a small part of me that wishes i went with the compact version! Dont get me wrong, I much prefer the larger screen and its obviously better if watching videos / youtube or even just web browsing. However its a tad awkward to use one handed when on the move outdoors because of its size where as the compact felt much better in hand and felt alot less likely to drop/slip from my grip (when i tested it out in store)
I expected a little more from the camera especially when it comes to detail but none the less its a good camera. Battery life is excellent to so all in all iam happy
Oh and for the person that mentioned 'call blocker' . Theres an option to send a choosen number to voicemail which is pretty similar to blocking the number i think. Also if you use the textra app you can now block incoming sms
If you like installing custom ROM's, i'd avoid Sony. That said, my thoughts;
The phone is very fast, and has a super bright screen, although it's much too blue. Speakers are loud but inconsistent. Camera is good but not amazing.
Compared to my previous phone, M8, i'd say this is faster with much better battery life, but speakers, camera and screen, as well as the puny LED flash which is useless make this phone a little disappointing.
Disclaimer : I am very very picky, so while this phone isn't of the quality of the M8, the glass won't break on it's own, and you won't regret it unless you've had an M8 lol.
Playdough96 said:
I'm really happy with my phone! The battery is amazing and it handles games like a champ. No heating problems or cracked glass, but I'm using a case so don't know if it would be the same without it.
My only complaint would be low audio output with headphones because I like my music loud.
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Do you mind if I ask you what case you are using? Thanks.
Hustlervanz said:
Do you mind if I ask you what case you are using? Thanks.
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http://www.krusellcases.com/uk/p_krusell_product.aspx?i=265580
Bought this one from a store here in Sweden the first day i got my phone. There were no other ones and it looked good and sturdy. Good price too.
Another minor flaw thats a little annoying for me also is that iam finding auto brightness to be crap! The display is too bright in dark settings and to dim in bright settings unless i manually adjust!
I've had it for one week, and I'm very satisfied. I changed from a Z and everything is much better, lighter, brighter screen (I can see it under direct sunlight), usable in wet conditions.
The only bad thing I can say about it is that I can't root it without unlocking the bootloader, at least for now (I like to remove all the Google and Sony bloatware).
I've had my 6603 model for two days. Maybe the honeymoon is still going, but I really love this phone. I did manage to scratch the rear glass already. No cases in USA yet and Amazon backorders them into November after you buy one that shows " in stock". After the past year with Nexus 5, and looking at how the Nexus 6 is whale sized the Xperia Z3 was the only semi stock device I could find that met my needs/wants. I'm thrilled with it.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app
NFC not working
The phone is great! apart from the NFC only working sporadically.
It only works if i push on the back where the NFC makes contact. It used to work fine for the first week so not sure why the NFC module isnt making contact to the main board.
Anybody else having this issue?
I bought my first Sony smart phone and its Z3 last week. Till now its working great and i have seen no issues just one when using 3G or LTE signals get dropped. Same issue is coming in nexus 5 too. Other than this its very very fine smart phone. Look and feel is good Battery time is awesome and most importantly there in no lag. I switched from galaxy S4 so i am feeling this difference a lot.
I have the phone for a week or 2-3 now and still happy verry with it. Biggest downside is no root and the camera could be a bit better... Coming from a Z1 (and Lumia 930 in between) just about everything is an improvement, screen, build, speed, the whole package. Just hope development will set off soon for the Z3 (again, root mainly).
The phone does get hot when playing games (even candycrush) but that's just what phones do. No issues with glass so far here *knocks on wood*.
I've had this phone since September 26th. I came from an iPhone 5 (i know, I been missing out) and i'm kinda amazed!
There are a few things though:
1. As mentioned by someone before, i'm having issues while it's switching between 3- and 4G. And additionally while it's switching from WiFi to 3/4G. There are spots possibly up to ~15 seconds without any connection.
2. I'm using a cover, but the back got scratches inside the cover, by miniature particles, so I'm guessing it's not too scratch resistant.
3.First I set it up following the set up instructions, and setting everything up with syncs and whatnot. I wasn't too impressed by the battery life when I had it like that, so I did a factory reset and set it up a bit more cautiously, switched stamina mode on and boom, easily the best battery life I ever had!
Over all I'm loving the phone though, reading the news in the shower every morning, no worries about whipping it out in the rain, watching tv-series on the metro in wonderful quality, without noticeable battery drops. No crashes yet, the ps4 remote play to come. The list is long!
I guess what I'm saying is that having had an iPhone since my HTC desire was pensioned I secretly missed android all along, and what a great device this is for a comeback ?
Great phone.. Coming from an LG G2, I miss the thin bezels.
Also miss development for it.
No regrets. Z1 - Z2 - Z3
Hi..!! I´m thinking about buying this phone, I REALLY like it, but I´ve seen in reviews that the phone has some bugs and that Blu is not too worried about keep up to date thei phones... Also I wnat to know if the camera is good or bad, how does the finger print work, sound, and also if is going to be able to root... THANK YOU, hope you can help me..!!
Andrews_pozo said:
Hi..!! I´m thinking about buying this phone, I REALLY like it, but I´ve seen in reviews that the phone has some bugs and that Blu is not too worried about keep up to date thei phones... Also I wnat to know if the camera is good or bad, how does the finger print work, sound, and also if is going to be able to root... THANK YOU, hope you can help me..!!
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Overall it's a really good phone. The fingerprint scanner works well, the camera and sound are also really good quality. The only thing that I extremely hated was the OS. It is TERRIBLE, I'm not even joking, no app drawer, all the apps flood your screen, just a big no. There is a fix though, use nova launcher and it's gonna work a hell of a lot better. Also, I've heard there is some problems with google pay, but I don;t use it so I can't say for sure. Also, be aware that the costumer service is downright laughable, so don't expect BLU to be of much help. On the root, well there is a dev team here working on it, so I can't say if they'll be able to root it.
@Andrews_pozo - the phone is great, but there are few things that are annoying ... i made this video about 5 things i hate the most:
@ETC295
OS TERRIBLE??? ... lol
dude - its android - put a freaking launcher on it and u will have an app drawer
Andrews_pozo said:
Hi..!! I´m thinking about buying this phone, I REALLY like it, but I´ve seen in reviews that the phone has some bugs and that Blu is not too worried about keep up to date thei phones... Also I wnat to know if the camera is good or bad, how does the finger print work, sound, and also if is going to be able to root... THANK YOU, hope you can help me..!!
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Click to collapse
This is the best phone I've ever had, and I would definitely recommend it, as long as you're okay with a big 6" phone. I personally got used to the size quickly. It is relatively easy to hold for the size. Fingerprint scanner works great for me, and the camera is better than I was expecting. It's not the best camera on a smartphone since it is a little slow to focus at times, and the low light pictures are okay, but overall I would say the camera is very good. The sound from the rear speakers is nice and loud. The call quality is great, and surprisingly I get a better data signal than on my HTC M9. I also got used to the UI quickly, but there is no app drawer. If that bothers you, you can easily install another launcher. The biggest issue with this phone is currently a lack of root, zero software development, and possibly no upgrade to Marshmallow. If you can live with the possibility of zero software development, I would highly recommend this phone. I truly feel that for the price you can't beat it. I have not discovered any major OS bugs to report. There are minor issues which you can easily fix by downloading an app or changing the launcher etc. Give it a go, and if you don't like it you have 30 days to mess with it and make a decision.
I have a couple of phones from work that I'm playing with to compare with the BLU Pure XL.
I'm on the fence. The large size is good to use but not many car gripper dock fits it well. You really have to try a few. Then there's the few issues with software updates etc that I'm not that concerned with since I have a few devices that are still on KitKat with no issues.
The phone has very good voice and data signal, GPS is pretty good. I often have that problem getting GPS lock with Note 4.
The screen is very well calibrated even better imo than the Note 5 which is a bit on the cool warm side. So overall this phone is a good deal for they money however it is so big that it's not a good daily driver for every situation like going to gym or out jogging this thing is a bit too big.
Hi, All! I am going to be leaving the world of Windows Phone and switching to Android. The V20 looks like a good choice. The only thing that worries me is the bootloop problem I keep seeing when I search for user reviews.
Has this been resolved? I don't want to get a used one and have it pop up suddenly. If the issue has been corrected, then a new one from the factory might be a better option?
The other thing that I cannot figure out are the bad reviews complaining about lag, poor audio volume, and loss of wireless signal. Is that all related to the bootloop/solder issue? Are these common problems?
Anyone wish they had gotten an S7 or another phone?
I'd appreciate any advice or thoughts.
Update: And let me add that I first came to xda years ago when I was messing with Palm ROMs. I am not afraid of getting my hands dirty with rooting, etc. I'm getting old and not as up on things like I used to be, but I'd rather post here than some Android site with less technical knowledge.
frettd said:
Hi, All! I am going to be leaving the world of Windows Phone and switching to Android. The V20 looks like a good choice. The only thing that worries me is the bootloop problem I keep seeing when I search for user reviews.
Has this been resolved? I don't want to get a used one and have it pop up suddenly. If the issue has been corrected, then a new one from the factory might be a better option?
The other thing that I cannot figure out are the bad reviews complaining about lag, poor audio volume, and loss of wireless signal. Is that all related to the bootloop/solder issue? Are these common problems?
Anyone wish they had gotten an S7 or another phone?
I'd appreciate any advice or thoughts.
Update: And let me add that I first came to xda years ago when I was messing with Palm ROMs. I am not afraid of getting my hands dirty with rooting, etc. I'm getting old and not as up on things like I used to be, but I'd rather post here than some Android site with less technical knowledge.
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I've had my Verizon V20 for awhile now. Honestly stock isn't so bad. After awhile it got laggy for me, but I had it loaded full of apps and media. Never had any issues with it until I rooted, unlocked bootloader, and starting flashing ROMs. Since then I've been running LOS. I love the phones stock camera, the filters and software are amazing. The wide angle camera is my favorite feature. Video quality is amazing. The sound output on headphones even better (with good headphones). Louder than any phone I've ever tested...but the actual phone speaker is rather dull. Would I recommend it for a first Android phone? Probably not. Usually Sammy phones are great first Android phones. Personally I'm coming from a Galaxy Note5. I do miss my Galaxy a bit. Just better overall build quality. My V20 hasn't had a single software update and is still months behind on security patches. Cell signal is iffy all the time, although it may just be the area I live in but I've heard this is a V20 issue. Never had VoLTE working, which sucks too. Lose data each time I call. Do I wish I had chose another phone? Not really. Although my next phone will most likely be a Note 8 since I'm a basic Sammy fanboy. But that's my 2¢ for what it's worth. I never really knew about the solder/bootloop issue until you brought it up actually. That may have been an early production defect...
I haven't really seen definite proof of a bootloop issue on the V20s-- just lots of people who know of LG's reputation (G4/V10 *do* have horrible bootlooping issues-- much of it due to a processor that runs far too hot, which the V20 does not share) and make assumptions. People who get into bootlooping situations on the V20 are usually trying to root the phone without reading the instructions. (and with that said, the V20's root is complicated but not impossible and as long as you're patient and *read*, you can get out of most any jam.)
I love my Verizon V20 but I don't know about it being someone's first Android phone. It's not a perfect phone, but it's AMAZING at what it does well. The sound quality for both playback and recording is unmatched IMHO. The onboard speaker is pretty bad but with headphones and good source material it shines. I haven't had any lag or jerk issues but I DID root it as soon as the exploits were available and have done a lot of tweaking on it to keep it running well (on stock rom). That said people talked about lag out of the box which I never experienced (I had it for about a month or two before the root was found) which makes me wonder if there wasn't a bad initial batch of hardware. I'd say if you decide to get one and it lags, return it and get a new one right away. It's not "normal", or at least doesn't have to be.
I feel like the V20's hardware was incredible, but let down a bit by LG's software (it's not as bad as some complain, but it is a bit "spartan" and would've been nice if it was better documented given how complicated the phone is) and really let down by lack of documentation and by reviewers who didn't "get" it and tried to review it like an iPhone. I feel like it got a bad reputation from LG's previous hardware and from people not understanding this isn't an iPhone. This phone is incredibly complicated to use at times if you really want to push it, and it takes patience to learn. It's sort of like giving a fighter jet to someone who's never even driven before-- this isn't a standard "phone" and takes time to learn its ins and outs. That said,if you take the time you'll realize it can do a lot of things most phones can't do and in a lot of ways is as good or better than much more expensive media devices in general. It was my primary camera on a trip to Europe this summer, mostly because it was just easy to have it with me all the time. The photos aren't perfect but I felt like much less of a tourist/target using it a lot of the time. Manual mode is your friend, which is the case for much of this phone.
I love mine, but it's not for everyone by any stretch. I have no idea what I'd want to replace it with since the things I use are pretty much dead features now going forward on phones-- I USE the spare battery (again, on the trip to Europe, I had to swap batteries a few times mid day after a lot of photos-- quick charge would've been of no help in the middle of a sightseeing day!), I use the SD card, I use the remote, I use the HD audio recording... I think I'll have this phone until it dies, and then I might have to find another one.
I've had my v20 for about 7 months now or so.
After rooting and getting on the lastest Weta + Werewolf kernel, adding in updates here and there, installing xposed, and substratum themes... I think this is the perfect phone for me.
When I purchased the phone from the verizon store it was blazing fast. It's been fast for me since I bought the thing. I haven't had any issues with it whatsoever besides my own blunders. Signal never cut out for me. Bluetooth works fantastically. This phone + Arise makes every single song I play sound like an ear orgasm. I haven't even looked at other phones or felt that urge to flash roms I've had on other phones like the LG G3, Galaxy S3, and such. I get constantly 7 hours of Screen on Time. Even more if I use it conservatively.
This is the first phone I fell in love with. Everything is how I want it exactly the way I want it and I wouldn't have it any other way. If this phone lasts another 2+ years I'll be perfectly fine.
Id say its an ok device i moved in
Thanks for the advice thus far. THIS is why I didn't want to ask on an Android fan site. I wanted input from power users and people that would be more objective.
I actually just made the same move as you. Been using a windows phone for years but finally switched to the V20. It's a nice phone but there are a lot of things about windows phone I miss. I've been frustrated with it since I got it but I think they are android beefs and not beefs with this phone. I have seen the lag though, not sure what is causing it but it's definitely there. Not enough for me to recommend against getting this phone.
Quality of stock Google/LG apps seem to be of lesser quality than Microsoft apps, but I have been pleasantly surprised that some 3rd party apps have way more functionality than their windows phone counterparts did.
Also, I am using the Microsoft launcher and switched to all Microsoft services and it has made the transition a little easier.
Well till about a couple of years back i used to be a Samsung fanboy, but the day I got my G3, I realised how good LG can be.
You might hear a lot of stuff about LG phones here and there but I find them to be pretty good, the best part is the screen, due to ips display the whites are pretty punchy and that's what I prefer.
I have had all the LG devices (mostely ) g2, G3, g4, g5 and now the v20.
V20 is pretty solid, nice build quality, great cusyomization options via LG smart world, you can get Ringtones, wallpapers, themes. If you are willing to spend you can buy many more awesome looking themes from The playstore.
Camera is good, battery backup is decent, I haven't rooted it and apart from those adverts here and there I don't see the need, though till date i have only used rooted devices with huge cusyomization therein.
Call quality is great, signal strength though network dependent but is great.
Another notable thing is the awesome dac that v20 has, wonderful audio output from of the 3.5 mm jack and Bluetooth.
Go for it, though you might find more whistles than you may be used to like the second screen, but they are great to play around with.
My 2, best is go to the store, check the device personally if it's still available in em, play around for atleast half an hour and check whatever you can.
Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk
lord dredd said:
Well till about a couple of years back i used to be a Samsung fanboy, but the day I got my G3, I realised how good LG can be.
You might hear a lot of stuff about LG phones here and there but I find them to be pretty good, the best part is the screen, due to ips display the whites are pretty punchy and that's what I prefer.
I have had all the LG devices (mostely ) g2, G3, g4, g5 and now the v20.
V20 is pretty solid, nice build quality, great cusyomization options via LG smart world, you can get Ringtones, wallpapers, themes. If you are willing to spend you can buy many more awesome looking themes from The playstore.
Camera is good, battery backup is decent, I haven't rooted it and apart from those adverts here and there I don't see the need, though till date i have only used rooted devices with huge cusyomization therein.
Call quality is great, signal strength though network dependent but is great.
Another notable thing is the awesome dac that v20 has, wonderful audio output from of the 3.5 mm jack and Bluetooth.
Go for it, though you might find more whistles than you may be used to like the second screen, but they are great to play around with.
My 2, best is go to the store, check the device personally if it's still available in em, play around for atleast half an hour and check whatever you can.
Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk
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I bought mine used last February, and it has been an excellent device. I plan on grabbing a new one before they become unavailable. The V20 is a large phone, though, so if you prefer small phones, it's not a good choice. Extra battery and charging cradle means I rarely need to plug it in.
Sent from my VK815 using Tapatalk